Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

If not only his mind but also his physical body were to be blasted apart, even he would likely be beyond saving.

“Never mind, Daisy,” Angelita stopped Daisy just as she was about to press her advantage and continue to put pressure on her. “Since someone is not afraid of death, then there is probably no other way. I will deal with her.”

As she spoke, the girl took out the Guardian Sword, an elven longsword that could transform into other forms, which she always carried with her. Seeing that things were finally developing as expected, the two deans breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, their hearts jumped again.

The young, but incredibly talented and handsome bard who had been freeloading at the table turned and looked at them with a smile:

"Since Annie wants to deal with that little fool herself... May I ask the names of the two deans?"

She came for them!

Chapter 433 The Bet That Goes Back and Forth

"Look at those two, they're about to start fighting!"

"Exchanging skills" in such a setting is obviously neither in line with the culture of the Empire nor with the traditions of Inathas. However, compared with other regions, Ironforge and even the entire eastern Inathas are more influenced by Ampieri, so although this situation is not common, it is not too unorthodox.

Compared to the other people with all sorts of ulterior motives, the strong woman sitting at the table with Raslaufer clearly had a simpler purpose: she simply enjoyed watching it.

Who do you think will win this match?

"What do you think, Thunder?" The officer didn't answer directly, but instead asked the gladiator, "That Imperial girl's sword-wielding posture is quite remarkable."

“Yes, that’s right. Look, her steps are changing too. She’s a master swordsman—don’t underestimate her because of her young age.” Everyone present was an expert, and no one would underestimate Angelita because of her age.

Even if there were, Miss Daisy had just pulled out a large sum—even someone who knows nothing about magic could see that the two renowned deans were extremely wary of that girl.

“But even so, I still have to stand on Miss Ursula’s side, after all, she is my master.” Thunder shook his head with some regret, as if he was disappointed that he could only support one of them.

Upon hearing this, the officer leaned back slightly: "Is that so? Very well, in that case, I also support Miss Ursula. I've seen her exhibition match, and it was absolutely brilliant."

He tilted his head and looked Reslaufer up and down: "So what about you? You're not thinking of supporting the other side, are you? You're definitely missing out—oh, I almost forgot, someone like you has no right to observe these things."

It seemed that if things continued like this, he would be no better than the three little girls on the sidelines.

Suddenly, Raslaufer smiled at the officer. Just as the officer was stunned, Raslaufer grabbed the largest knife in front of him and pinned one of the officer's hands to the table!

With a loud "bang," many people turned to look in this direction, but the thunder blocked their view.

"You like to yell, don't you?" Leslaufer raised one hand to indicate that everything was alright, but kept the other hand pressed against the knife embedded in the table. "Keep yelling, let everyone know."

The officer's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth were chattering, and his surviving hand covered Raslaufer's hand. Although he managed to stop his screams, he could not pry open Dopler's iron hand no matter what he did.

"You...don't even think about it!"

From the very first day of his military training, he was determined to change the status quo dominated by mercenaries. To ask him to compromise with a mercenary? No way!

On the other side, Thunder was stunned by this scene. She was not shocked that Raslaufer dared to make a move openly here, but that he could move so fast!

The officer's hand wasn't always stationary on the table; his earlier verbal advantage had made him complacent, thus revealing his weakness. Therefore, Raslaufer didn't have a chance to aim for an extended period; he simply wanted to, and succeeded!

"I don't understand, how could you..."

“I was going to aim for his head, but it was too far away,” Leslaufer said nonchalantly, making the officer’s blood run cold. “You saw it just now, and even that distance was a bit of a limit. His hand was already pulling back, and the wound was proof of that.”

Despite the officer's strong hand pulling at him, Raslaw raised his palm as if it were nothing, showing Thunder the knife wound. The officer's white glove was now torn open, blood soaking through its leather inside and out.

“Since you just mentioned who you’re supporting, let’s make a bet,” Raslaw said to the officer. “I’m supporting the other side, and if you lose, you’ll lose your life.”

“…Fine! But what if I win?!” The officer’s back teeth were practically grinding to powder.

“Then you can live,” Raslaw’s face twitched. “Even though you look down on us mercenaries, you should at least know a few of the big shots. Human Stick, you can live like him from now on. You’ve only been gambling with your own worthless life, brother, you’ve hit the jackpot.”

"No, you wouldn't dare!" The officer's pupils constricted. "This is Iron Fortress, a seven-layered iron fortress. How can we allow you to run wild here!"

Leslaufer leaned forward, forcing the officer to back away, but his hands wouldn't move: "Are you stupid, kid? Do you remember why you were planning to eliminate us mercenaries? If you 'accidentally' forgot, I can give you a hint."

"The reason you dislike us is that I can run wild wherever I want—you're still a long way off!"

"Annie!" After saying that, Leslaufer ignored her and stood up, shouting at Angreta, who was standing in the now-empty field, "Kill her!"

"Is that your bodyguard? You rude bastard," Raslaufer's voice was loud enough for Angelita to hear, and Ursula, who was already prepared, could hear it too. She immediately sneered, "Even more savage than Thunderclap, for that alone, you are nothing!"

Angelita looked at the other person. Although she had never intended to argue with this strange fellow from the beginning, she had now completely lost interest. She turned to look at Paul and the two deans: "Teacher, Your Excellency, may we begin now?"

"Should we get a little closer?" The Arcane Dean glanced somewhat guiltily at Daisy, who was watching him intently. He had just reviewed the spells prepared for today and it seemed that none of them could counter that psionic spear. "Miss Ursula is a spellcaster, so this distance is a little unfair."

If it weren't for Daisy, this would be a perfectly fair playing field. And without Paul, for the sake of "fairness," Ursula should have had some pre-match preparation time, starting the fight the moment she finishes casting her "preparation spell" and begins her offensive magic. While some might argue that a true life-or-death battle wouldn't give spellcasters such ample preparation time, the academy's usual response is that a real battle wouldn't leave Ursula facing the enemy alone.

However, all of that is now put aside. The two deans are thinking about how to regain control of the situation without losing face or hurting either side, and how to bring the dispute back to just talking.

Verbal battles are generally safer and can buy more time.

Chapter 434 The Use of Spells

Angelita refused any further "charity": "No need, this distance is fine."

“You will pay the price for your ignorance,” Ursula said coldly to Angrita, holding a wand with an ice crystal at its tip that now emanated a faint arcane glow. “And all of this is your own doing.”

"Ursula, focus your mind!" the Arcane Master interrupted, for some reason feeling a slight unease in his heart—could Ursula lose?

But why? He couldn't imagine a reason. For him, the most important thing as a spellcaster was to understand everything, to understand how the opponent would lose and how he would win. If everything was presented accurately in his mind, then the outcome was almost predictable.

He couldn't imagine how Ursula could lose the match—unless she didn't use any magic at all, but that was impossible.

"Now that both sides have entered the arena, the countdown will begin. The sparring can only begin after the countdown reaches zero. Any actions such as chanting or getting too close beforehand will result in an immediate loss—" As several numbers were announced in succession from the mouth of a priest who had been brought in as referee, the two people in the arena moved almost simultaneously!

"What's so great about having a good sword? I have a thousand knives here!" A small piece of glass vanished in Ursula's hand, and hundreds upon hundreds of spinning daggers were instantly summoned into the arena, sweeping towards Angelita. Behind the cloud of daggers, Ursula did not stop casting her spell. Just as Angelita dodged, another ice blade pierced through the cloud of daggers and shot straight toward Angelita's neck.

Both deans, including Paul, admitted that they were just a hair's breadth away from having to force their way in to save the person!

However, Shouzhi Changshi made a change almost simultaneously. Angelita's longsword instantly transformed into a shield, blocking the ice blade along with the fragments from its explosion. She then took the opportunity to dodge around it, attempting to avoid the suppression of the cloud of daggers from the side and continue her advance.

"So this is your trump card!" Ursula, thinking she had outmaneuvered her, burst into laughter. Layers of spiderwebs spread out beneath Angrita's feet, binding the girl's rapid steps. "Let's see how you dodge now!"

The ice crystals on her wand shimmered intermittently. Like priests using the symbols of their gods, sorcerers, as spellcasters, also possess spellbooks and magical implements as aids in casting spells. However, a "spellbook" isn't necessarily a book in the narrow sense; for example, Ursula recorded her magic within this ice crystal embedded in her wand, thus combining the spellbook and the spellcasting implement into one.

In an instant, with a series of buzzing sounds, flames, ice, poison gas... all sorts of colorful magic burst forth from the tip of the wand, shooting towards Angrita in rapid succession. Angrita parried with her longsword or blocked with her shield; although Ursula's spells were completely ineffective, she didn't feel discouraged. On the contrary, she felt she had completely gained the upper hand, firmly suppressing Angrita. With this in mind, the variety of spells she cast increased even further.

“All show and no substance,” Paul shook his head and muttered.

The two deans took it as the old monk's stubbornness, and in contrast to him, yet somewhat similar to him, their expressions relaxed upon seeing the scene unfolding before them.

Ursula used her two most powerful spells to restrict her opponent's movements. She should have about three or four more spells similar to Ice Blade left. Since she couldn't easily break through the defenses, she didn't dare to use them rashly. As it turned out, this battle was likely to last a long time and the outcome was uncertain, with everyone going their own way.

However, despite their hopes, the players on the field did not share this sentiment. Self-consolation could not diminish the fact that Ursula could not break through Angrita's defenses. In desperation, the young mage, driven by malice, abruptly stopped her pointless spellcasting.

"Ursula, stop!" How could the dean of the Mathematical Olympiad Academy not see what she was going to do? He immediately shouted to stop her, but Ursula ignored him completely. She suddenly thrust her hands forward, as if she were moving the spinning cloud of daggers, and swept them toward Angrita, who had already moved out of its range!

At this moment, Angelita was still bound by the web magic and had nowhere to hide. How could a shield possibly stop those layers upon layers of daggers? It seemed that she was about to be torn to pieces!

Just as everyone was about to step in to rescue her, suddenly, several arcane lights shone from behind the shield, and three flashing darts formed by magical force fields soared into the air, heading straight for Ursula's face!

"Magic missile!" Paul seemed even more shocked than the others. "Annie, well done! I never expected you to find the trick to casting magic at this time!"

"Deans, I must thank your student. If it weren't for the pressure she put in, Annie probably wouldn't have been able to make such a breakthrough!"

The abbots of the Serak Church all turned their heads. Although Pol was trying to save face for them, the skill level of this spellcasting was definitely not the first time it had been used. And you, little old man, really don't know?

Who would believe that!

But now is not the time to pick a fight. As Angelita revealed her spellcasting ability, the situation on the field reversed in an instant. Although the magic missile spell has limited power, it has the ability to target enemies. Without a suitable countermeasure, it will inevitably leave three bloody holes in the target. If Ursula insists on pushing the dagger cloud teleportation position, this battle will probably turn into a life-or-death struggle!

"Aren't you afraid of dying?!" Ursula screamed, her eyes wide with rage as the missile drew near.

Angelita did not answer, but Ursula had the answer the next moment. As the magic missile was neutralized by a force field shield that appeared in front of her, both the Cloud of Daggers and the Web spell on the field disappeared at the same time.

Ursula performed exceptionally well this time, maintaining focus on two spells simultaneously. However, as the third arcane spell was hastily cast, this unrepeatable state was forced back by Angrita!

"Ha... your tricks won't work on me!" Ursula gasped, her voice filled with hatred as the surrounding shields dissipated. "You fool, do you know how rare my condition was just now! Even if someone protects you, you have a reason to die now!"

"Is that so?" Angelita's shield returned to its blade, and the look in her eyes that moment made Ursula, whose heartbeat had just calmed down, tremble again. The other woman was looking at her as if she were a dead person.

The next moment, with no terrain obstacles, Angelita leaped forward, rapidly closing the distance of several dozen meters, and the tip of her longsword was already pointed at Ursula's throat!

She didn't have that many reasons: Uncle Raslaw had just said "take her down," not "beat her!"

Chapter 435 Arcane and Divine Magic

"Shift!"

The epic poem of the Guardian swept in like a whirlwind, but only dispersed the silvery-white mist that had remained where Ursula had been. The mage himself appeared at the edge of the arena and began to mobilize his remaining magic power once again.

As a price for having almost unlimited access to all arcane magic, a mage can only cast a relatively limited number of spells each day. Powerful mages often compensate for this deficiency with a large number of magical items, but a student like Ursula clearly does not have this ability—the wand alone and the ice crystals on it are already an astronomical sum.

If she still fails to seize the next opportunity, then defeat in this competition will be her fate.

Off the court, Brandon's brow was furrowed, his mind not on Angelita or Ursula at all—he was now certain that the problem wasn't with Anne.

Professor Heinrich couldn't possibly be wrong, so who could be the demon here? The bard?

The immense power that woman displayed just a moment ago was enough to astound everyone present, but precisely because of that, when Brandon tried to recall it now, he couldn't find a trace of it. Perhaps, that was a gift of her talent.

If talent equates to demonic possession, then Brandon is probably the greatest demon in the Church of Seraphim in Ironforge.

The young priest thought with a touch of arrogance, but realizing he had underestimated his opponent, he quickly came to his senses and once again sensed the poet's fleeting power, confirming that there was indeed no trace of evil spirit within it.

After all, Daisy did not sign a contract with Zheng Lingzhen, and all her magic was truly her own—although the source of this magic might be different from that of most bards.

But Brandon was completely unaware of this connection.

As he surveyed his surroundings, the situation on the field shifted once more. Ursula had finally exhausted her remaining spells, but she was not prepared to surrender, nor was Angreta willing to cease her attack. The emerald longsword traced exquisite arcs, perfectly sealing off all of Ursula's escape routes, preventing her from even stepping out of the arena to concede defeat.

But she doesn't intend to do that.

"clang--"

A faint glow, exuding the scent of ink, spread out in front of Ursula, blocking Angelita's sword strike. Even faster than the girl's change of move, the glow immediately formed a defensive shield around Ursula, giving her opponent no chance to break through.

She should have already used up all her magic!

"It's divine magic!" The two deans exchanged a glance; even they hadn't expected this. "When did she master the Shield of Devotion?"

“Heh, heh,” Ursula looked at Angrita coldly, reaching into her sleeve to pull out a scroll of prayer. “Didn’t expect that, did you? Senior Brandon still prefers me. Although my course isn’t over yet, what I know goes far beyond arcane magic!”

"I originally planned to use this to defeat the other students in the seminary, only then would I be qualified to stand beside my senior... But now, I have no choice but to use you as my starting point—halfway!"

Ursula's words seemed to possess magic in themselves; red threads emerged from the void, reaching out to bind Angrita's limbs. Angrita knew that these magically generated threads could not be resisted by conventional means, so she tried to find another way on a mental level, but unfortunately, she still could not escape the shackles of the command spell.

"The death knell!"

As Ursula pointed her hand toward Angelita, an energy completely different from the previous arcane energy condensed above Angelita's head into a mournful bell. Although Angelita had only suffered some minor injuries, under the influence of this death knell, their existence was magnified infinitely, almost destroying her!

"Oh no," Daisy's expression changed slightly as she muttered to herself, "Annie's perception is too low; she didn't pass a single exemption!"

If they control everything, how are we supposed to fight?

But she had already managed to hold her own once, and now this was a fair one-on-one duel. Even if she could intervene, she wouldn't be in the right. What should she do? The bard's gaze involuntarily turned to Leslaufer on the outer edge.

Old Lei... he probably wouldn't care about this, right? But why isn't he moving?

"Heh... the little girl you bet on is about to lose!"

Meanwhile, the officer, whose hands were still pinned to the table by Raslaw, sneered through gritted teeth, "So? Do you want to go help her?"

“Perhaps Annie is talented, but Ursula is also a genius! And she has undergone systematic training. Without you, Annie would definitely lose.”

"But if you dare to go up there, you mercenaries will be one step closer to becoming rats in the street. I admit you made the right bet just now, but now, it's my turn!"

Although the three had just been betting on the outcome of a wager, Reslaufer had unwittingly begun a second gamble—he had pinned the officer to the table, betting on whether the officer dared to relinquish his honor and dignity in this situation. The officer based his position on these principles and believed that they made him "superior" to mercenaries. If the officer were to abandon them, the so-called replacement of mercenaries would become a joke, and he would be nothing more than one of the mercenaries.

He's still holding on, and Ursula is about to hand him the victory. He's betting that Raslaufer will definitely interfere with the match, because that's what these lawless mercenaries are all about!

However, to the officer's utter surprise, instead of paying close attention to the situation, Raslaufer began to slowly shake the handle of the knife. The excruciating pain almost made the officer release his tongue.

Why do you think I should go and help?

"Then... you're going to lose our bet!"

“Ha,” Leslaufer laughed, “Let me give you a piece of advice: young people shouldn’t be so naive—how do you know she’ll lose?”

On the field, Angelita leaned on her sword to keep herself from collapsing, her mind still foggy. On the other side, Ursula raised a finger once again.

“I’m tired, little sister,” she said, feigning a yawn with her other hand, though actually observing Brandon’s reaction outside. “Let’s finish this. Kneel down!”

The death knell once again hovered above Angelita's head, but this time, before the bell could even ring, Angelita, freed from the command spell, was nowhere to be seen beneath it. The next moment, a flash of sword light appeared less than three centimeters from Ursula's nose.

A ring, a ring found in the tomb of a half-lich, emitted a faint glow of blue and purple. As the blue part of the ring rose, the Guardian's Long Poem was immediately covered with emerald green flames, which enveloped Ursula's entire upper body!

“It’s time to end this.” The princess of the empire kicked the unsuspecting Ursula to the ground, stepping on her shoulder. As Ursula tried to look up, the tip of the sword was already pointed at her pupils. Only then did her wildly beating heart finally calm down: “But unfortunately, madam.”

"You're the one who should kneel before me!"