"Let's just watch the show... I don't know"
Thinking of this, he shook his head slightly to get rid of the inexplicable depression in his mind.
He was actually very curious about how Candice would perform in such an occasion.
As a smelter whose level is second only to demigod, and also a private friend of the emperor, Romon certainly knows the strength level of his daughter Candice.
To put it bluntly, her extraordinary talent was... very ordinary due to some special reasons. Although she successfully broke through the bottleneck of "apprentice" at the age of fifteen and reached the level of a full-fledged mage, it was a very good result among other noble peers.
But considering the huge amount of resources the emperor spent to allow her to practice and advance... a mere beginner-level master of magic really feels a bit unworthy of the original investment.
Roman knew that Candice herself was well aware of her own level and should not seek trouble by going head-on with those truly talented and qualified extraordinary people.
In that case...it would be fine if I won, but if I lost...even if others didn't say it openly, they would inevitably feel some mockery in their hearts.
Especially when the emperor tried hard to extort cultivation resources for Candice, which led to a bad financial situation for the royal family, the ministers and their followers in the palace who opposed this might give them a handle, leading to some unfavorable results for the emperor.
Although in a purely entertaining competition like the one now, the result of winning or losing does not mean anything, and it is difficult to use it as evidence to support the conclusion that "the emperor of the time spent a lot of resources to cultivate a waste."
But who knows what those high-ranking officials and powerful ministers are thinking. The most important thing in the court is people's hearts. Stability is the most important principle.
Roman believed that Candice would be able to think of these questions. Based on his understanding of the little princess, she did not seem like someone who would deliberately do anything that might harm her father's interests.
Then her idea of participating in this event... is worth pondering.
"It seems that she is very confident that she can win? She is sure that even if she can't win first place, she will definitely get a good title?"
Luo Meng crossed his arms and leaned on the railing of the rooftop, thinking with a relaxed look on his face:
"Why is that... I'm really curious."
Even though he had thought about it so much before, as if this matter was of vital importance and concerned the overall situation, in fact, it was just the subconscious consideration of a powerful person, equivalent to a thinking game to pass the time.
He didn't think the matter itself was worth exploring.
Therefore, the expression on his face now was very relaxed and comfortable, as if he was watching a bright and lively musical drama, looking at the scene on the stage from afar.
But a hundred meters away, whether it was another contestant on the stage, the dense audience below the stage, or the school leaders and referees in the backstage and guest seats, none of them were as relaxed as he was.
"Canyang, this lady is really on..."
The staff standing in the corner of the venue who was responsible for ensuring the personal safety of the contestants had cold sweat on their foreheads. They stared nervously at the movements on the stage, their eyes constantly shifting between Candice and her opponent, for fear of missing any clues.
The school leaders in the guest seats were all sweating and kept winking at Candice's opponents.
As an off-campus wizard, Danny was relatively relaxed. Not only was he not as nervous as the others, but he looked like he was watching a show:
"It's so rare! I can actually see Her Highness the Princess fighting so heroically."
"Mr. Danny, please stop joking and talk less..."
The bald leader next to him stepped forward hurriedly and signaled him to stop, roaring madly in his heart, thinking how come this guy was so lazy before, now he has the look of a person who is eager to stir up trouble.
The audience, most of whom were students, had much simpler expressions, staring expectantly at the two people confronting each other on the stage.
"Gudong... I'm so unlucky..."
As the center of attention, Candice's opponents were extremely conflicted.
He was a boy slightly older than Candice, and was covered in various spiritual equipment that he had prepared in advance.
Although the specifications are not too high due to competition requirements, experts can tell at a glance that they are carefully matched and can maximize their effectiveness within the constraints of the rules. There are also many rare and expensive varieties.
It can be seen that he is not only quite accomplished in the field of magic, but also comes from a fairly wealthy family. He is either the son of a noble with a certain reputation, or the son of a wealthy merchant.
But at this moment, his face did not show the readiness and eagerness that should have appeared before the competition. Instead, it was full of anxiety and nervousness.
When he first heard through the grapevine that Princess Candice would also participate in this competition, he felt somewhat gloating and joked with his friends that the opponent would be in big trouble.
After all, in this kind of occasion...you absolutely cannot win. This is the preliminary round. If Candice is eliminated in the first round, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of the royal family in public?
Although she is a royal, Candice should not be so stingy as to retaliate against herself in private...but who dares to gamble with her family's property?
He had to lose! But he couldn't lose too abruptly, or he wouldn't be able to fool anyone. That might even arouse Candice's disgust, and the consequences might be even worse...
How to lose naturally and beautifully has become a very serious problem!
These were all said casually when he was chatting with his friends before, but he didn't expect that after the schedule was announced, Candice's opponent... was actually himself!
Now, the nonsense that he had gloated over before has become a difficulty that he has to face personally!
"Beep——!"
The second whistle pierced the sky, announcing the official start of the duel.
Chapter 348: A Predicted Confrontation (Part )
As the whistle sounded across the field, this competition with a strange atmosphere officially began.
"Hold on! Don't take the initiative yet. Let Her Royal Highness the Princess make the first move, and then I will react accordingly..."
The boy who was Candice's opponent secretly made up his mind, bent his upper body slightly, lowered his center of gravity, put one hand on a small thing on his waist, and the spirituality in his body was ready to go.
At the same time, he was concentrating on the actions of the other party, his mind was working rapidly, and his nerves were tense to the extreme.
"I remember that Her Royal Highness the Princess is a true mage who specializes in the 'Giant' domain spells... Logically speaking, her offensive methods would be quite radical, and her spell skills would tend to be violent and swift.
"I can try to block the first blow head-on. If I succeed, I will pretend to be flustered by the impact and deliberately reveal my flaws. I believe that with Her Royal Highness's vision, she should be able to take this opportunity to knock me off the stage...
"This way, we can end the competition in a reasonable way without causing loss of face to Her Royal Highness the Princess... Really, losing in a reasonable way is more tiring than a proper competition..."
Relying on his rich theoretical knowledge, he quickly came up with a solution, but at the same time he couldn't help but complain.
"brush!"
While he was thinking, Candice on the opposite side finally made a move.
She took a step back suddenly, raised her right hand, and pointed her palm at her opponent.
A noticeable and flamboyant spiritual fluctuation emerged from her without any concealment.
The boy immediately focused his attention on the other person's every move in order to analyze the most "reasonable" response.
Then, he saw that Candice had raised her right wrist and was wearing a peculiarly shaped bracelet. It was obviously a spiritual item.
At this moment, the bracelet was flashing a lively light, its brightness rising and falling rhythmically as if resonating with Candice's spirit.
The next second, a fiery red light burst out from her palm and rushed towards the boy at an extremely fast speed.
"Remote attack?!"
Seeing this scene, the boy was filled with surprise and astonishment, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly:
"What were you thinking, Princess? Why did you choose the skill you are least good at?"
Candice's area of expertise is "Giant", which is an extremely strong, violent, and bold path. The most notable feature is the extremely strong explosive power and attack speed, which can have a huge impact on the outside world in a very short period of time.
But the disadvantage that comes with it is that as the duration of the attack and the distance between the attack and the caster increase, the effectiveness of the skill will drop drastically.
In other words, the effective range of spells in the "Giant" realm is very narrow. If the realm is not high, it can often only work a few meters away from the caster.
Any further away, the effects of skills and spells will be reduced to the level of a minor trick, and will hardly pose a threat.
Therefore, the most reasonable combat mode for a mage in the "Giant" realm should be to use magic to strengthen his own physique first, then rush to the enemy as quickly as possible, and then launch an attack at a distance of almost zero.
Trying to break all the laws with one's own force, and strive to inflict huge damage to the opponent's face before he can react - this is the combat concept of the "Giant" field, overbearing and fierce, and it is difficult for those without great courage to fully unleash its power.
Attacking from a distance of more than ten meters, like Candice is doing now, is the least efficient way and can be easily dodged or blocked.
And what a coincidence, this boy... is a righteous mage who specializes in the field of "mutation".
The magic in the field of "Mutation" is characterized by "temptation", "unknown" and "secret". It is known for having no fixed form, unpredictable effects and various tricky methods.
This slow, straight-forward, fireball-like attack was the easiest for him to deal with. Not to mention dodging or blocking it, he could even easily distort its trajectory, making the flames return along their original path and hit its owner.
Absolutely no water!
Otherwise, others will be able to tell at a glance that you did it on purpose!
Furthermore...
"Damn it, you're using this kind of magic trick against me, Princess... Are you looking down on me too much? Or is your magic level so low that you can't recognize your actual situation?"
The opponent actually used the means he was least proficient in to attack the area he was most proud of... This made him feel humiliated, as if the opponent was clearly saying "Your so-called strengths are not even as good as my weaknesses."
No matter what, he is a young and energetic student. Putting aside other things, his self-esteem alone makes it impossible for him to accept being eliminated like this.
"Okay, then let me see what your true level is..."
So, he no longer racked his brains to think of how to lose the battle reasonably, but instead calmed down and devoted his mind to the real contest of strength.
All his thoughts happened in a flash. Before the fiery red light that came like a flood hitting him, he urged the spirituality in his body and activated the spiritual item on his waist by pressing his hands on his waist.
"boom!"
With a dull sound like a sandbag bursting, his body suddenly disintegrated into a large indigo mist, which quickly spread in all directions.
The flame released by Candice was like a thrown javelin, penetrating the green mist without any resistance, as if passing through a shadow, without causing any impact on it.
After flying over a distance of more than ten meters, the flame could no longer sustain itself and quickly faded and went out.
Candice saw that her attack had no effect, but there was no trace of surprise on her face, as if all this was completely within her expectations.
She calmly interrupted the release of the flames, and her hands flew nimbly and quickly in front of her. Her slender fingers outlined a complex pattern composed of fluorescent curves in the air at a speed of several blocks, which was full of mysterious and flamboyant aura.
And the green mist that was transformed by her opponent seemed to come alive at the same time the flames disappeared. It surged and rolled, pounced towards Candice, and rapidly shrank, trying to wrap her up in it.
At this moment, the brilliant pattern in front of Candice had not yet been fully constructed. It was obviously a preparatory ritual for casting some kind of spell, but no matter what its effect was, it was definitely too late to take effect.
Because the indigo mist would cover her in the next moment.
“Is this a win…?”
The boy, who had combined his own abilities and special spiritual items to transform into Green Mist, was slightly stunned when he saw this, somewhat unable to believe it.
This indigo mist is mainly composed of his own spirit. Once it is directly touched, one will suffer an extremely violent mental shock, causing the consciousness to be blurred for a short period of time.
If Candice were to encounter this situation, the referee would definitely rule her defeated on the spot. After all, if it were on a real battlefield, a moment of distraction would be enough for the opponent to kill her a hundred times.
"It's, it's, it's too easy..."
He didn't know what effect the spell Candice wanted to cast now would have, but if he were in Candice's shoes, he would want to break his attack...
In fact, all you have to do is rush forward, stack a few layers of speed-enhancing protection on yourself, and then rush out of the fog with all your strength.
If the mental shock wants to be transmitted from his spirit to Candice's spirit, it must break through her physical defense, which will inevitably take a certain amount of time.
As a sorcerer specializing in spells from the "Giant" domain, Candice's physical fitness is not considered strong, but she has a natural resistance to mental spells and can resist them for a short period of time.
As long as she doesn't stay in contact with Qingwu for too long, this line of defense will not be broken.
This was also the "flaw" he deliberately left for Candice. As long as Candice's understanding of the spiritual system reached the passing level, she would definitely be able to think of this method.
But... not only did she not do that, she also stood there preparing her spell, allowing the mist to envelop her?
This is the most wrong way to deal with it!
She made two extremely serious mistakes in a row within just a few seconds!
"Could it be that Her Royal Highness's academic level is really this poor?"
The boy wanted to laugh for a moment.
If Candice's strength was really just a facade, then he would never let her lose on purpose. Firstly, it would be extremely unreasonable no matter how he tried to cover it up, and secondly, his self-esteem and competitive spirit would not allow him to do so.
"...I'm sorry, but the qualifying spot for this preliminary round is mine, Your Highness..."
Without any hesitation, he controlled the overwhelming indigo mist and pressed hard towards Candice's slender body.
But at the last second before the mist touched her body, she suddenly stopped what she was doing.
A mysterious pattern composed of various symbolic abstract symbols, geometric shapes, and smooth curves was floating quietly in front of her.
At first glance, it looked like a majestic figure standing on the ruins made up of the remains of countless swords, spears, and halberds.
The spell with unknown effect was finally prepared and activated.
"boom!"
The boy who was about to win suddenly felt dazed, as if someone had thrown a flash bomb into his brain, and his consciousness went blank in an instant.
"…There is no doubt that the winner of this round is - Candice Octavius!"
Maybe only a moment passed.
Maybe a long time passed.
