Chapter 18: How Naive!

Yoni pulled a translucent gem emitting a faint azure glow from within his mage’s robe. A subtle blue breeze seemed to swirl within it. “Then I’ll wager this Celestial Azure gem for our duel. How’s that?”

Lis glanced at the gem in Yoni’s hand, then at him, and replied leisurely, “If you wish to offer me a gift, I certainly won’t refuse.”

“Great!” Yoni exclaimed excitedly when Lis finally agreed. “Let’s head to the training ground.”

“No need. Right here will do, since it’ll be over soon,” Lis said casually with a wave of his hand.

Yoni didn’t mind and agreed. Passersby, sensing a duel was about to begin, gathered around. Most were mage students from the academy, confident they wouldn’t be harmed by any stray magic. They formed a circle, leaving space in the center for the duelists.

“You’re stubborn. Just hand over the qualification straightforwardly,” Yoni said confidently as he took his staff from a friend, since he lacked a precious storage ring.

Lis was in a good mood and even smiled, returning a formal mage duel salute to Yoni.

“You won’t be smiling for long!” Yoni channeled his magic, reciting incantations expertly. Wind elements gathered before him, and he appeared to be casting a second-level spell—a swirling wind blade.

To the observers’ surprise, Lis made no move to cast a spell, instead standing still, waiting for Yoni to complete his.

A crescent-shaped azure wind blade appeared before Yoni and slashed toward Lis.

Judging by the blade’s solidity, Yoni was indeed one of the better students in their cohort, skillfully wielding the swirling wind blade.

Lis silently assessed this as the blade advanced, still motionless...

Just as the blade was about to strike Lis, a figure flashed forward, breaking the wind blade apart. The shattered wind dispersed in all directions.

Clad in armor, Welf stood before Lis, his longsword shimmering with faint breezes—proof that he had just destroyed Yoni’s spell.

Though the crowd did not recognize Welf, his single sword strike that shattered the spell and the golden emblem on his chest revealed his identity.

The Golden Warrior!

Yoni instantly knew this was Lis’s bodyguard from the start, but only now realized this man was a top-tier warrior.

Though not a legendary hero reigning atop the continent, dispatching a novice mage was an effortless task.

Yoni hastily stepped back, nervously looking at Welf, then half-turned to Lis and shouted, “Lis, what’s the meaning of this? Why is your bodyguard interfering in the duel? Are you trying to cheat?”

“Of course not. I’m a law-abiding, honorable citizen,” Lis shook his head and looked at Yoni with exasperation.

“But you might have... perhaps... seemingly forgotten who I am.”

“Your identity?!” Yoni seemed to realize something, his face suddenly stiffening, speechless.

At that moment, the onlookers explained the situation: “Lis is a court viscount, right? I remember the royal decree states that unless restricted beforehand, nobles holding titles can have their bodyguards participate in duels!”

“Exactly. It’s recorded in the kingdom’s laws, so I’m not breaking any rules, am I?” Lis smiled at Yoni, though to Yoni that smile was like a snarling demon mocking his ignorance.

In truth, this rule was a loophole for nobles—few aristocrats eager for honor duels were willing to risk fighting themselves; usually, their family-trained bodyguards fought in their stead.

Damn, how could I have forgotten this?

Yoni cursed inwardly, willing to concede, but the thought of losing the Celestial Azure gem—lent to him by his elder brother Camus to facilitate this duel—filled him with unbearable pain. Was he supposed to watch Lis snatch it from him?

Yet he saw no chance whatsoever of defeating Welf!

“Lis, you coward! Only letting your bodyguard fight? Dare you face me one-on-one?” Yoni tried to provoke Lis verbally, hoping to secure a solo duel.

Lis didn’t even bother to reply. Though he could easily defeat Yoni himself, why waste effort when Welf was right there?

As for Yoni’s insults, Lis treated them as the impotent rage of a loser. Compared to internet trolls of his past life, these were kindergarten-level. Lis didn’t even feel like responding; it was beneath him.

“Welf, deal with him. And retrieve the wager,” Lis ordered.

“Yes, young master,” Welf said with some disbelief at these challengers who dared provoke such a prodigy.

Welf completely forgot his own recent sneaky tattling.

Without hesitation, Welf appeared before Yoni in a flash and delivered a powerful kick.

“Ugh!”

Yoni had no time to react, clutching his stomach in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Welf took the Celestial Azure gem from Yoni’s chest and casually slapped him hard across the face—after all, Lis paid no mind to insults, but as captain of the guards, Welf couldn’t ignore them.

Yoni, severely injured, fainted instantly, and a few shattered teeth flew from his mouth.

When Welf returned to Lis’s side, Yoni’s companions finally dared to approach and check his condition.

“Moderate injuries, healing underway!” someone announced.

Suddenly, a man in a black mage’s robe stepped forward from the crowd. He cast a healing spell on Yoni, who looked somewhat better, then turned to Lis.

“Viscount Cain, aren’t you going too far? Why such harsh violence?”

“Oh? And who might you be?” Lis tilted his head, scrutinizing the man. This stranger hadn’t come with Yoni’s group to ambush him. His features were delicate, smiling, but with a hint of darkness in his eyes.

“I am Camus. Viscount Cain, will you not answer me?”

Lis recalled—Camus was the leader of Yoni’s small group, a distinguished student admired by many teachers at the academy.

“You think you are something special? Why should I answer you?” Lis retorted bluntly.

“This is the Royal Magic Academy. You ordered your bodyguard to strike so violently. Are you trying to kill a fellow student?”

“Really? Trying to pin that on me!” Lis sneered at Camus’s righteous expression.

“First, this is a duel, and I’ve broken no rules.”

“Second, injury is inevitable in duels. This was merely a lesson. Do you expect the Golden Warrior to hold back and spare him?”

“Third!” Lis narrowed his eyes, fixing Camus with a glare. “You hid at the start of the duel, then stepped out to grandstand when your man lost. Do you think I didn’t see that? You’re asking for death.”