Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2732: Chapter 2733: Gemstone Secret Technique

The aura of the Shadow Giant grows stronger with the passage of time.

It’s akin to a spell technique that requires a period of energy buildup before activation.

Logically, the referee should have announced the start of the match by now. However, the referee in black hovering mid-air remained silent, which caused Grey Merchant and others to watch Angel’s aura intensify.

Even surpassing what they understood.

It wasn’t until Angel’s aura almost reached its peak that the black-clad referee leisurely declared, ”The second duel, now begins... Enter the preparation phase for both sides.”

Grey Merchant, who was ready to launch an assault at any moment, almost choked.

The usually elegant and amiable Grey Merchant, now unable to recall crucial memories, furrowed his brow. On the other side, the apprentices displayed expressions of indignation.

This is way too biased. Knowing they’re a team, but they’d never imagined such favoritism. It’s as if they don’t want them to win at all!

With the apprentices on the opposing side fired up, Angel, hidden within Earl Mi, could clearly sense that most apprentices on the opposite side were starting to feel disdain towards him.

Previously, they were likely absolutely neutral, but now were leaning towards malicious neutrality.

Interestingly, although they were internally cursing the Wise Sovereign, their feelings towards him remained neutral.

This is what the so-called ’knowing one’s place’ means.

Recognizing that the Wise Sovereign is so powerful that even the Birlos Family couldn’t oppose him, they restrained their grievances and instead directed their resentment towards others, avoiding implicating the Wise Sovereign.

It’s worth noting that among the apprentices opposite, there was a green-haired man leaning against a black-faced sheep, whose emotions remained absolutely neutral, even after witnessing the Wise Sovereign’s injustice.

Angel recalled that his codename seemed to be... Shepherd?

Judging by the aura emanating from the black-faced sheep at his back, it appeared to be a summoned creature, meaning he was a Summoning System apprentice?

Shepherd... Summoning System apprentice... This reminded Angel of some past memories.

Among the Summoning System apprentices in Barbarian Cave, there were a group known as the ”Triple Waste Triple Elite”.

The so-called Triple Waste Triple Elite referred to the three most promising figures with potential among the Summoning System, and three deemed worthless with no prospects.

Judging their potential is based on the summoned creatures they could call forth.

Among them, Abulei was considered one of the three worthless.

Naturally, Angel’s memories weren’t linked to Abulei, but rather to the ”Shepherd Dog” from the three worthless, and ”Fox Herder”, whom Angel had defeated on the arena from the three elite.

Incidentally, this two’s nicknames bore striking resemblance to Shepherd from the opposing side.

Angel certainly didn’t believe Shepherd was connected to them, but mused upon how Summoning System members seemed to favor such similar codenames — could this be a conventional rule?

Speaking of it, he seemed well-suited to disguise as a Summoning System member; Earl Mi was his summoned creature, after all.

Should he therefore create a codename for himself, say... Demon Herder?

While Angel’s thoughts were adrift in all directions, Grey Merchant’s expression grew increasingly grave.

This was because Earl Mi’s released aura had reached a level beyond Grey Merchant’s imagination — True Knowledge Level!

Even without any oppressive force, the aura alone gave Grey Merchant a sense of being stalked by a natural enemy. While this might not be a True Knowledge Wizard, it certainly embodied True Knowledge-level combat capabilities!

Grey Merchant’s face became progressively serious. If facing an alleged ”Illusion Series” wizard alone, he wouldn’t fear. But confronting one nearing True Knowledge level strength required cautious deliberation.

Grey Merchant’s emotional shifts did not escape Angel’s observation. Despite recognizing the referee’s bias, it was curious that Grey Merchant’s perception of Angel remained unchanged and retained faint kindness.

Angel instructed Earl Mi to continue showcasing its aura, attempting to extend the pressure outward.

Upon Earl Mi’s compliance, Grey Merchant became more guarded, but no other changes occurred.

”She”, hidden in the shadows, remained elusive.

While Angel was observing, the sound of the Wise Sovereign emerged faintly through the Mind Ribbon: ”Just how long do you intend to flex your muscle?”

Angel: ”I can start now.”

The Wise Sovereign gave a cold snort, ending further communication.

Indeed, the Wise Sovereign fostering such resentment was actually a joint plot by Angel and him.

Angel sought to exploit the ever-expanding aura to locate hidden onlookers. Consequently, he asked the Wise Sovereign not to rush with the commencement.

The Wise Sovereign cooperated with Angel, resulting in the unfolding charade, provoking endless curses in Grey Merchant’s heart.

However, they hadn’t realized that Earl Mi’s inherent strength neared True Knowledge level, rendering so-called ”energy buildup” unnecessary — it was all for show to others. Their assumptions were solely delusions.

”Preparation time is over; now the duel commences!”

At the moment the words were uttered, Angel and Grey Merchant charged at each other simultaneously.

The Shadow Giant shrouded in dim fragments, while Grey Merchant’s hands transformed into purple gems during his sprint, casting a stretched trail of purple light.

A clash between shadows and purple light.

There was instant separation upon contact.

The energy ripple generated by their collision burst forth abruptly when both sides landed on the ground. This demonstrated the swiftness of their movements.

Just like the resulting black mist and purple glow from the energy explosion, the energy wave’s two-color intertwine was mutually counteracting and spread outward.

The spreading speed was incredibly fast, almost reaching the edge of the arena in the blink of an eye.

The Wise Sovereign intervened just in time, cutting off the two still-active energy waves to prevent harm to the apprentices.

Even if the Wise Sovereign hadn’t intervened, nothing major would have happened. Black Earl and Dox were present on this side, while on Grey Merchant’s side, the Vixen had also emerged from the Sunlight Sanctuary, her appearance fully restored to how it looked at their first meeting, the bandages fluttering in mid-air, perfectly capable of protecting a few apprentices.

They were quite eager to experience the energy waves. This way, they could directly compare the energy differences between the two sides, but they were slightly disappointed when the Wise Sovereign stopped it halfway through.

However, even if it wasn’t possible to judge through the energy ripples, the changes in the battle on the arena were enough to show who held the advantage in the initial encounter.

The moment they landed, the Shadow Giant maintained its original form. But two seconds later, the shadow at the outermost layer began to burn. Even though the Blue Lantern Flower atop the shadow’s head swayed constantly, trying to stabilize the shadow form, a third of the massive body still dissipated.

Currently, the figure formed by shadows could still be considered a giant, but compared to before, it appeared significantly weaker.

Without a doubt, Angel’s side was at a disadvantage in this confrontation.

But from Grey Merchant’s perspective, he did not hold a complete advantage either. He landed, rolled several circles on the ground, bounced and landed again before finally stopping his momentum.

Although Grey Merchant didn’t appear injured, his body lost control for at least four or five meters. If this had been at the edge of the arena, Grey Merchant might have already been knocked out of bounds.

Additionally, there was one thing Grey Merchant and his group didn’t know.

The person who seemed to face Grey Merchant head-on was Angel, but it was actually Earl Mi, the panic demon from the Panic Realm.

Grey Merchant, as a Blood Origin Wizard, appeared to have only activated the bloodline in his hands, but in reality, one move could affect his entire being, with the bloodline within him boiling, achieving at least half of the full activation level.

Generally speaking, even at half level, a Bloodline Wizard’s physical prowess far surpasses that of wizards of the same tier.

Yet, Earl Mi relied on his physical body alone to withstand Grey Merchant’s physical assault, underscoring the frightening strength of Earl Mi’s physique.

Moreover, Earl Mi was using shadow form. Neither his true form nor elemental form was activated. Most importantly, Angel hadn’t intervened. Besides commanding Earl Mi to attack, Angel seemingly did nothing else.

In fact, the crowd was mistaken. Angel not only didn’t intervene, but he also didn’t even command Earl Mi.

Who is Earl Mi? An awakened demon from the Panic Realm! What is a demon’s strongest attribute? Combat instincts.

Because of their incredibly powerful combat instincts, when Rhein first heard about the effects of the Seed of Distortion, he immediately thought of the demon. Even without spirit intelligence, a demon’s combat instincts surpass many wizards who diligently study tactics.

Angel didn’t think he had the qualifications to command Earl Mi in combat. So, he did absolutely nothing... well, he was sensing the surrounding malice. However, this had nothing to do with the duel. As for the duel, Angel had completely handed it over to Earl Mi.

After the first encounter, Grey Merchant roughly understood the opponent’s ”strength.”

So, when he turned around to face the now smaller Shadow Giant again, Grey Merchant became more cautious than before, though his sense of vigilance was greatly reduced.

Vigilance arises from the unknown, and since there has already been contact, the unknown naturally begins to fade away.

In the second engagement, the Shadow Giant was the first to make a move. This time, Grey Merchant did not move. As his arms crossed, they formed a diamond-shaped gemstone shield of a transparent yellow hue. Additionally, a crystallized, spiny tail emerged from the base of his spine, embedding deeply into the ground, providing an absolutely solid anchor point. Clearly, Grey Merchant had decided to confront the attack head-on this time.

The Wise Sovereign did not voice any demand for compensation from Grey Merchant for ground damage, which indicated that the gemstone earth dragon’s tail did not damage the ground as it directly integrated into the arena.

This was also a signal —— it was very likely that Grey Merchant’s tail was not just an anchor, but could also become an attacking blade.

If it were Angel, he might have deduced from the Wise Sovereign’s silence.

As for Earl Mi... he could detect it even better. He didn’t need the Wise Sovereign’s confirmation; Earl Mi could simulate various elements and was just as familiar with the earth’s vibrations as the Earth Wizard.

Though Grey Merchant possessed the bloodline of the gemstone earth dragon, which could be considered half a Gemstone Secret Technique, it still fell a notch short compared to a genuine Gemstone Secret Technique.

Therefore, trying such Earth Wizard tricks on Earl Mi would be of no use.

Still, despite seeing through some of Grey Merchant’s subtle plans, Earl Mi had no intention of stopping. The Shadow Giant surged at Grey Merchant with supreme speed.

Black mist swirling, a gigantic fist was simulated by the Shadow Giant, fiercely crashing down on Grey Merchant’s shield.

Grey Merchant had confidence in his gemstone shield. Even if it broke, he had more than enough time to react. As such, Grey Merchant paid no mind to the massive fist, choosing instead to manipulate the tail hidden underground, suddenly thrusting up from behind the Shadow Giant.

The tail of the gemstone earth dragon was lined with numerous sharp crystals capable of skewering a person.

Yet, Grey Merchant refrained from doing so, not out of kindness, but because there were still uncertainties about this Shadow Giant. Until now, he had yet to determine the connection between the Shadow Giant and that red-haired, golden-eyed wizard. Was this the wizard’s own ability or a summoned creature?

Moreover, earlier when Grey Merchant and the Shadow Giant briefly clashed, Grey Merchant distinctly sensed that the previous charge by the Shadow Giant bore true ”shadow” characteristics. Without the energy of Grey Merchant’s fists, it might have been completely immune.

So, if the Shadow Giant was in shadow state, Grey Merchant did not believe piercing it would cause significant damage. At most, the energy from the crystals could cause penetrating damage, but the most notable shadow ability is damage transfer, allowing any penetrating damage to be relocated to a non-critical area, bearing no impact on its combat effectiveness.

Thus, Grey Merchant chose not to pierce with the sharp gemstone tail but instead let it blossom.

Literally blossomed.

The transparent yellow tail suddenly split into four petals like a cannibal flower. The opened tail revealed no predatory teeth like a cannibal flower but was filled with gems of various colors, sizes, and elemental properties.

Under Grey Merchant’s control, these gems silently floated up, transforming into colorful streaks of light, rushing towards the Shadow Giant when it wasn’t looking!

Each of these gems contained elemental properties, and during their rapid flight, they had already shifted into an unstable state. However, the gemstone crust crafted by the gemstone earth dragon restrained this unstable state, preventing an immediate explosion.

Yet, this gemstone crust would immediately disintegrate upon contact with any other energy or physical collision.

It’s easy to imagine that once these gems contacted the Shadow Giant, a massive explosion would undoubtedly ensue.

The shadow ability of damage transfer would also be powerless in the face of such a widespread explosion.

However, Grey Merchant was unaware that Earl Mi was not entirely shadow-based, or rather, he wasn’t solely reliant on shadow abilities.

When a misjudgment occurs at the very beginning of an assessment, subsequent results are bound to be skewed. In battle, this variance is infinitely magnified.

It might even spell the difference between victory and defeat.