A green circular ripple immediately appeared before Longbottom, and shook continuously, as if it was trying to push Baelin out.
However, Baelinâs face remained composed, and from his blade large amounts of vertical eye phantoms appeared.
âBio Boosting armour and sword!â
The sword with the vertical eye phantom gave off rays of flames, and evaporated all the green ripples. With indomitable strength, it directly targeted Longbottomâs right chest.
Blood flowed through the corner of Longbottomâs mouth, and a long wound opened up on his chest. He flew through the air, and landed on the ground, giving rise to a long trail of blood.
*Boom!* The many soil layers behind him had piled up into a small mountain, and had finally offset the inertia in Longbottomâs body, which had caused him to be unable to stop.
âYou lost!â Baelin landed calmly in front of Longbottom, his emotions complex. There was no visible hint of joy or victory in his expression.
âI lost!â Immediately, Longbottomâs face registered his defeat.
*Cough!* He violently coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood: âBro⊠Brother Baelin, I have some things regarding my sister that I wish to talk to you about!â
âWhat about your sister?â Having heard Longbottomâs familiar address, Baelinâs heart softened. Moreover, Longbottomâs sister was his first love!
Baelin could not help but lower his body.
âMy sister, she⊠sheâŠâ Longbottomâs voice gradually became softer, which caused Baelin to get closer to him.
âShe wants you to die!â After seeing that situation, a hint of a maniacal smile flashed across Longbottomâs face, and a crystal in his hands was launched like a lightning bolt.
âNot good!â
Baelinâs eyes widened, and he unceasingly flew backwards, his Bio Boosting armour continuously adding layers of defense.
But it was too late. A grey ray of lightning detonated in front of Baelinâs chest, and smashed the milk-white talisman.
*Boom!* A pillar of light enveloped Baelin, and caused him to disappear from the secret plane in an instant.
*Crash! Bang!*
Baelinâs figure appeared at the site of the competition, his face still registering shock and grief. He looked at the charred area above his chest and remained silent.
âHaha! Even though the tactics werenât entirely legitimate, at least I won!â The Magus from the west, who had bet against Leylin, immediately laughed loudly.
âThatâs right! You won!â Magi were not knights, and did not have to conform to a code of honour. Even though Longbottomâs tactics were overboard, and he used whatever he could to obtain success, he was undoubtedly the champion! Leylin naturally had to recognise this point.
What was more important was that there was nothing wagered on this. To concede defeat was nothing much.
Leylinâs attitude actually caused these Magi to feel embarrassed.
âActually, the Magus that you thought highly of was strong too. Not only has he reached the level of a peak rank 1 Magus, he is walking the ancient path of the Bio Booster. If I am right, his armour was inherited from at least an ancient rank 2 Bio Booster. If we were to compare their true strengths, he would still surpass Carlâ
âEn!â Leylin nodded outwardly, but he did not agree with the claim.
Even though Baelin was strong, Longbottom was not a person to be provoked. A son of destiny just like Baelin, his most terrifying dark elven meditation technique and other secret cards had not been revealed.
Of course, both of them had suppressed themselves for the sake of the Magi who were watching, and Baelin himself had concealed his trump card, the Underground Winter Spider Emperor. Were the two to have battled without considering the consequences, both parties would have equal chances of winning.
By now, Longbottom had finished off the remaining few Magi in the secret plane, dominating his opponents, and the host announced loudly, âThe champion has already emerged. He is Green-robed Carl from the west! Let us cheer for him!â
âCarl!â âCarl!â âCarl!ââ
The Magi present instantly let out cheers of happiness, and welcomed Longbottom.
âWhat are we to do? Should we openly reveal his identity in public?â Aaron secretly communicated with Baelin.
âNo! Not at all! He threatened me earlier on. Should we do so, he will immediately initiate his plot and bring huge amounts of casualties to the Magi present. Before we clearly understand what heâs planning, it would be best not to do so!â
Baelin hesitated, and was seemingly indecisive.
Regardless of how they were communicating secretly, the process of the competition had been advancing bit by bit.
âNow, may we invite our champion and the other 30 Magi on stage, for our 9 most distinguished and high-ranked judges to give out the prizesâŠâ
Along with the hostâs voice and cheers, a stage decorated with gold and silver, bedazzled with numerous rays started rising slowly from the middle of the site.
Other than Baelin, Longbottom, and a few other Magi who held other intentions, the 30 Magi who had obtained a high enough score walked up to the stage emotionally.
To them, this was the pathway to fame, the glorious road to success.
âLetâs go. They are actually having us present prizes to them! What a bother, couldnât they just have passed down the prizes?â A rank 2 Magus from the west complained to Leylin.
âThis is actually the important stage where budding Magi obtain credit due to their ambitions. Even though itâs only a ceremony, it still has to be done!â
Leylin smiled and got up, and went to the golden stage together with the other rank 2 Magi.
âI, Victory, rank 2 Magus and guild leader of Glorious Sword, solemnly announce that this Magus from the west is the champion of this seasonâs young genius talent competition!â
The rank 2 Magus standing in the middle announced, at the same time placing on Longbottom a golden crown encrusted with gems.
âCarl!â âCarl!â âCarl!â
Many Magi were cheering, and bouts of cheers got overpowered by other bouts of cheers.
âOther than obtaining the reward previously, Carl, you have the opportunity to choose a guild to enter! What is your choice?â
Victory had high hopes for Carl, and hence in his voice held a tinge of excitement and pressure, as well as feelings of enticement.
âMy choice is obviouslyâŠâ
Longbottom deliberately hesitated a while and then said, âItâs obviously the Dark Elves, you idiots!â
âWhat?â The jaws of numerous Magi dropped open. They all thought theyâd heard wrong.
âNot good, we have been cheated by him!â On the other side, Baelinâs face immediately changed, the armour on his body once again surfaced. He had wanted to rush over, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
âMud membrane!â
A layer of clay-coloured invisible film surfaced from Longbottomâs body, with 9 rays of lights shooting out of his body, directly shooting at the 9 rank 2 Magi judges on the stage who had no time to dodge the attack.
*Kacha! Kacha!*
A deep blue ice layer immediately spread out on their body, and caused all 9 Magi to freeze into ice sculptures.
In the ice sculptures, the numerous rank 2 Magi had life-like expressions of anger or fear.
This sudden change had shocked all the Magi present at the site.
âLongbottom! What are you doing! Release Master Leylin now!â
Baelin suppressed the rage within, having seen the ice sculpture of the already frozen Leylin. He had originally wanted to undo his pretense here and give Master Leylin a big surprise!
Furthermore, from the bottom of Baelinâs heart, he respected Leylin and had treated him like a teacher. Having seen Longbottomâs actions, he instantly felt anger.
âCarl! What are you doing!â The face of the host on the stage instantly became more solemn, a ray of a peak rank 1 energy wave imploded from his body.
*Boom! Boom!*
2 rays of spells attacked the surface of an ice sculpture, yet it was entirely useless, and could not leave any traces on the crystal clear surface of the ice sculpture.
âThereâs no use, the matriarchs of the dark elves used one thousand years to extract this essence of the cold abyss. Even rank 2 Magi cannot be able to overcome itâŠâ Longbottomâs voice was unhurried.
âAs for Leylin? Iâve wanted to kill him for so long! And now, he is finally in my hands. Do you reckon I would easily let this opportunity go by? HahaâŠâ
Presently, Longbottom had removed all restrictions, and laughed hysterically.
*Boom!* A light ray flashed across, Longbottom removed the skin alteration spell on his body, and recovered his original appearance. At the same time, a strong and enormous energy was released from his body like the surging waves of the ocean.
âAnd this noisy crow, Iâve borne with you long enough!â
Longbottom lifted his hands and a dark silver spiritual strength exploded. The body of the host, not having time to react, exploded into a rain of flesh.
The Magi standing on the stage immediately retreated, with one of them shouting out, âSolidified spiritual force! Rank 2 Magus!â
âThis is the leader of the revolutionary army, Longbottom! I saw his face in a picture once!â
âItâs already too late. Attack!â Longbottom shouted.
*Swish! Swish!* Numerous shadows appeared all around the competition site, all tearing apart magic scrolls.
Dark clouds instantly enshrouded the area, and large numbers of tiny spiders were shot out of the dark clouds. The spiders spat out threads continuously, binding up the entire area in a short duration.
From a distance, the competition site that was enshrouded by a white silk wall looked like a giant cocoon.
Baelinâs face dimmed, and the aura on his body exploded forth. He treated Longbottom as a rival. âSo your target was not only the 9 judges but also all the Magi in this competition site!â
He was secretly shocked. Around 20% of the elite Magi of Twilight Zone were present at the scene, and if they were to all die here, it would be a terrifying blow to the humans.
âKill!â At this point in time, the black-clothed men hiding amongst the crowd immediately took action, and many more spiders drilled their way through the cocoons, surrounding and attacking the human magicians.
Large amounts of silk wove together into a formation, weakening the human Magi while channeling the strength to their opponents. Immediately, lights flashed and explosions occurred everywhere.
The obstruction made it impossible for the human Magi to escape. Some Magi, eyes turned red, fired off spells in all directions, adding further to the chaos.