Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1321: Section 1322: Victors and Losers

The cries of the audience had already been alienated from the duelists.

In their eyes, only the opponent remained.

The belief burning in their hearts was the desire for victory!

With a whistle from City Lord Monroe, both combatants entered the battle state! And without hesitation, they charged at each other!

The clinking of metal echoed as Knight’s rapier clashed with the sickle for the first time.

In the following moments, this sound continued unabated. Like the War Horn, it created a regular beat, slowly driving everyone’s emotions to a climax!

...
…

Tullas brought a visual feast to the bout, as others had said. His movements were free and unrestrained, and even though he was fully alert, Tullas did not abandon his flamboyant fighting aesthetics during the battle.

What Sabel brought was a simple and unadorned Knight’s Stiletto technique that, despite its simplicity, did not fall short when faced with Tullas’s aggressive onslaught.

In their exchanges, they were evenly matched.

In terms of fighting style, Tullas was wide open while Sabel was almost completely defensive, but this didn’t mean Sabel was weaker, it was just his style.

Tullas was like a furious passing storm, Sabel a steadfast tree with deep roots. For a short time, neither could do anything to the other.

And speaking of skill, what Angel found somewhat surprising was that it wasn’t Tullas who had the upper hand, but Sabel. Although appearing defensive and hardly moving, he used his Knight’s Stiletto to trace an “circle” on the ground. Within this circle, Sabel was the uncrowned king. Even with Tullas using every trick in the book, he couldn’t penetrate this impenetrable circle.

However, Tullas was actually quite strong in combat, if not as strong as Sabel. It wasn’t that he hadn’t studied enough, but rather, he had more tricks at his disposal compared to Sabel.

First, Tullas appeared unarmed but his missing left foot was replaced with a sickle, which was his most potent weapon!

Second, centered around his sickle, Tullas developed many strange routines. For example, he could use the resilience of the sickle to leap more than ten meters into the air, somersaulting, flying horizontally, and diving rapidly… and so on, while Sabel could not do this. Air supremacy was controlled by Tullas, meaning Sabel needed to expend more energy defending against attacks from above.

Third, Tullas’s attacks were wildly unpredictable, making it impossible to guess where he would strike next, like a draft that penetrates every nook and cranny.

Of course, Tullas’s weakness was also clear. Generally, surprise attacks are meant to catch the enemy off-guard. But Sabel’s defensive stance left no such vulnerability. Outside the “circle,” Sabel was like an unbreakable shell; inside the “circle,” he was capable of both offense and defense. Thus, Sabel actually countered Tullas’s creative talent.

However, Sabel’s “circle” was too small, and although it was clear he wanted to gradually expand its range, Tullas’s powerful offense kept suppressing his expansion.

Thus, the battle turned into a drawn-out tug-of-war, waiting to see who would catch the other’s flaw first.

In the judges’ area, Lyon’s eyes shone. For a Battle Maniac, this fight was like a perfect feast extolled by gourmets, with every movement, technique, and detail in handling the battle at the moment tasting like the most exquisite food, making Lyon relish it again and again.

Lyon was excited in his heart and wanted to share it through words with others.

“Angel, what do you think of this battle?” Lyon asked softly when the fight reached a deadlock.

To Angel, the battle was very interesting.

Although both were limited to being mere Transcendents, the intensity of the fight they showed was stronger than some of the lower, and even intermediate, Apprentices.

Previously, rumors had it that Sabel had killed a Transcendent, and now it seemed to be confirmed as true, for Sabel indeed had that strength.

Angel shared his thoughts, and Lyon nodded repeatedly in agreement.

At this moment, Angel noticed that Sanders’s gaze was fixed on the battle, but oddly, although he was looking at the arena, his attention seemed to be drifting towards the sky.

Angel asked curiously, “Mentor, what are you thinking?”

Sanders came back to his senses: “Watching this duel reminds me of when I went to challenge the Infinite Battle Tower. Back then, my Illusion Technique was quite weak, and I hadn’t developed Nightmare Illusion, so my fighting was actually more inclined towards a Bloodline-based style.”

When Sanders spoke up to this point, he paused, as if recalling the past. He did not continue, but the nostalgia was clearly visible in his eyes.

“So Mentor, what do you think of this battle?”

“For their level, they have indeed performed at a very high standard,” Sanders said as his gaze returned to the arena, first looking at Sabel and speaking with a touch of emotion, “This Sabel, with his vision and strength, is already nearing the limit of his simple and unadorned technique. It’s a pity, limited by his mortal body… If he could become a Transcendent, his unadorned sword, combined with the Shadow Cat Bloodline, would break many shackles. If he wanted to establish his circle, he could also use the power of the Shadow Cat to swiftly conquer the battlefield.”

“The Shadow Cat Bloodline is just one way to break his limitations; there are many other transcendental methods that could elevate his unadorned sword to higher and further levels.”

Sanders’s response was actually also Angel’s thought.

At the level of ordinary people, Sabel had reached the limit, to advance further, he had to break through to Transcendent.

“Many positions that were unreachable in the past due to offensive and defensive tactics, and extreme operations that human bodies couldn’t perform, all become possible once one becomes Transcendent,” Angel paused and then asked, “What about Tullas?”

Sanders, who had heard Angel’s story about Tullas, and combined with what he had witnessed in today’s battle, pondered for a moment and said, “His potential is actually greater since he has a broader combat thinking. Back then, if Tullas had been able to sail to the Flourish Continent and really become a Transcendent, he might have turned into a rather impressive wizard.”

Indeed, had Tullas not been trapped on that dark island, he might truly have made a name for himself in history.

“However, compared to this battle, what I actually saw was the prospects of the Wilderness of Dreams,” Sanders’s eyes flashed, “If the Wilderness of Dreams could bring in its own strength, once it becomes widespread in the future, one could not only duel here but even develop combat skills.”

“By then, I reckon the people behind Sky Tower and Infinite Battle Tower would be worried.”

That being said, for the Wilderness of Dreams to truly become widespread within the Wizards’ Realm is still a distant prospect. At least, until Angel gains control of the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain’s Core Authority, he can’t let too many people know about the Wilderness of Dreams.

After all, the pie of the Wilderness of Dreams is far too big, and even if Angel is willing to share it, not everyone can restrain their desires like Sanders.

Desire is wanting more when you have it, and wanting it even more when you can’t get it.

Like an eternally unsatisfied gaping maw of greed, if Angel were to reveal the Wilderness of Dreams to the public without controlling its Core Authority, he would probably end up being devoured by it.

Moreover, there are many other issues to consider for popularization: Are people willing to trust you and enter the Wilderness of Dreams? The equipment to enter the Wilderness of Dreams, and so on…

Therefore, this matter still requires long-term consideration.

…

An hour later, the battle continued. This was quite a lengthy duel among mortals.

Although the contestants on stage still seemed energetic, signs of fatigue had emerged in their eyes and expressions.

Meanwhile, those offstage were largely preoccupied with one question: Who would be the victor?

Each had their supporters and their own speculation, but very few could actually articulate the reasons for victory or defeat.

Even Lyon, a former Knight and a future Bloodline-side Transcendent, was also at a loss at this moment. He leaned over to Angel and asked in a low voice, “Who do you think will win?”

The conditions for victory were one party being unable to fight or falling out of the ring.

After pondering for a moment, Angel shook his head, “It’s hard to say.”

If it were in the real world, Tullas would certainly have won by now, for time had bestowed upon him a baptism of the soul, and the power of the Transcendent had begun to emerge; his fight was no longer solely based on skill, and he had started to form a Transcendent momentum.

On the other hand, if Sabel were in the real world, after all, he’s still a mortal and aging, surely his heart is willing but his body weak. The reason he could match Tullas blow for blow now is because the Wilderness of Dreams had resolved the issues of “energy and injury.”

You could say, the Wilderness of Dreams leveled the playing field between Sabel and Tullas.

To speak of who would win, it would depend on which way the situation on the field developed, as well as who had better luck and attention to detail.

During the wait for the outcome, Sanders left first. Firstly, so much time had passed, the journey in the outer world was approaching its final phase, and he would soon return to Pat Manor; secondly, the level of this battle itself was too low, and to Sanders, it was purely to pass the time, there was no need to fuss over the result.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be surprising if, with Sanders’s stature, he had already foreseen the outcome.

After Sanders’s departure, Lyon grew restless and even began to shift his focus away from the match on the ring.

After much hesitation, he finally voiced the question he had been suppressing in his heart but had not dared to ask earlier: “Why has Illusion Demon appeared here? Wasn’t he following the Mentor to capture Rolando?”

“Didn’t I tell you before, Rolando has already been captured?”

“You did say so, but didn’t you mention there was an unexpected change and Rolando was still under interrogation?”

Angel: “All that’s over, and we have already begun preliminary negotiations with Rolando. They are on their way back now… I estimate that within an hour or two, they will arrive at the manor.”

Upon hearing Angel’s explanation, a spark lit up in Lyon’s eyes.