Deathly silence.
They had discerned nothing of his abilities, seen no pattern at all. Names were exchanged, and then everything was already over.
The headless body swayed, toppled sideways, and landed with a soft thud.
Feeling several intense gazes on him, Ruger smiled and looked around. They all walked the path of Wizards, supernatural beings whose primary cultivation was mental power. The force of those gazes, and the mental power fluctuations within them, felt like face-to-face glares.
Ruger's mental power was solid and stable enough that he had nothing to fear. Even facing a Three-Ring Wizard would merely cause him some discomfort, as it had last time.
Of the three agreed-upon bouts between Two-Ring Wizards, the Vango Family had won two and lost one.
A middle-aged-looking Wizard from the Savens Family stepped out of the crowd, walked slowly up to Ruger, and put away the headless body.
Ruger had intended to turn and leave, but he sensed the Wizard before him focusing his mental power on him.
This was a Three-Ring Wizard.
Ruger maintained his demon form and monitored him carefully. At the slightest suspicious move, he would keep this game of collecting headless bodies going by passing the task on to someone else.
"Shall we have an extra friendly contest? Profound friendship can work miracles. My deep friendship with and high hopes for the Savens Family might give a Two-Ring Wizard like me the motivation to defeat a Three-Ring Wizard..."
Ruger looked at him with a guileless smile, but his demonic face could only produce a savage grin. Sharp teeth occasionally showed as he spoke, and rings of markings flickered across his body, making anyone who looked at them dizzy.
In the utter silence, many people heard his words.
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
It changed in the distance, and