Chapter 32

Facing the approaching enemy, Gaodeng did not panic. He took out two vials from his dimensional bag, drank them in a few gulps, and immediately auras of Cat's Grace and Jump sprang up around him. No longer the impoverished mage he once was, Gaodeng had stored a sufficient amount of various magical potions in his dimensional bag to deal with situations like this.

With the enhancement of Cat's Grace, Gaodeng's agility attribute reached 17 points, surpassing that of a low-level rogue. With the aid of Jump, he easily escaped before the encirclement could close.

"Damn! He's getting away!"

Gaodeng sneered and took out his bone magic wand. "Getting away? Who said that?"

With a slight thought, six thick green water arrows shot out from the tip of the wand.

The four attackers' eyes widened in shock as they watched the acid arrows fly toward them at an incredible speed. They immediately stopped their charge and rolled to the sides, hoping to avoid the deadly acid.

However, two of them were unfortunately hit by the strong acid arrows. Two dark green splashes bloomed on the bodies of these unfortunate souls, like the most venomous flowers.

Sizzle...

The acid corroded leather armor and clothing, then bit by bit, thoroughly and rapidly stripped away flesh and bone. The acid hissed on the human body like a venomous snake's tongue, and a putrid smell spread through the air.

The power of the potent Marufo's Strong Acid Arrow was so terrifying that a human body was completely corroded and melted in less than three seconds.

The leader of the four attackers, who was charging last, saw the remaining two strong acid arrows heading toward him. With no way to avoid them, he gritted his teeth, grabbed a surviving companion, and used him as a shield.

"Ah!" The unfortunate human shield only managed a shrill scream before being killed by the strong acid arrow.

"Truly ugly," Gaodeng muttered, and his magic wand shot out two more green beams.

He had thought the attackers would take this opportunity to escape, so he fired two strong acid arrows to block their retreat. However, Gaodeng clearly underestimated their determination. The leader of the attackers actually held up the acid-corroded human shield and charged toward him!

He suddenly pulled out a crystal from his pocket, crushed it, and slammed it on the ground.

Tiny crystal fragments turned into sparkling light points in the air, releasing a surge of magical energy.

"Lion's Charge!"

Gaodeng's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected the attacker to have this move left. As he rapidly retreated, he instinctively raised his hand to shield himself.

"Ha, too late!" The attacker suddenly threw away the human shield, which was riddled with holes from the acid. Under the spell's enhancement, he charged at a speed that was hard to see with the naked eye, instantly closing the distance between himself and Gaodeng to zero.

The dagger moved like lightning, struggling to pierce the semi-transparent disk-like mage shield, leaving a shallow but deep wound on Gaodeng's arm.

The pain made the mage's face twitch, but Gaodeng, with his extensive combat experience in the Ancient Era, did not lose his composure. He pressed the magic wand against the attacker's chest and fired another strong acid arrow.

"Now, you don't have a human shield to save your life."

The last attacker lost his life, and his corpse, with a large hole corroded in the chest by the acid, fell to the ground with a thud.

The system's voice sounded.

"You have killed three level 3 rogues, gaining 180 experience points."

"You have killed one level 4 rogue, gaining 100 experience points."

"Note: You are in a stiffened state. When casting any spells that require physical actions, you must make a spell concentration check. If the check fails, the spell will fail. This state will last for 72 hours. The 6th-level divine spell 'Cure' can remove this state."

Gaodeng raised his arm and looked at the wound caused by the dagger. The blood was mixed with a strange blue hue. He moved his hands and found that both were as stiff and numb as if they were frozen, with the sensation gradually fading.

"Damn!" he cursed under his breath. "It seems that to win this duel, Hao Lin and Deng Wei will stop at nothing."

This attack was clearly not intended to kill him; otherwise, the dagger would have been coated with a deadly poison. Being hit by this stiffening toxin would greatly reduce his spellcasting success rate in the duel.

Just like in every cliché police action movie, after Gaodeng killed the four attackers, the patrol team, who had been distracted by the fire, finally arrived late.

"Sir Mage, what happened here?" The patrol captain was shocked by the four disfigured corpses on the ground, but he did not dare to be arrogant in front of Gaodeng, who was dressed in a mage's robe. He asked politely.

"They attacked me, and I killed them in self-defense. That's all there is to it," Gaodeng's voice was as cold as ice. It was clear that he was trying hard to suppress his anger.

The patrol captain swallowed hard and mustered the courage to say, "Could you please come with me for an investigation?"

"I am Baron Gaodeng Freeman. I have urgent matters to attend to. I need to teach a despicable and shameless person a lesson. Do you understand?"

"But..." The patrol captain wanted to insist, but when he saw the blazing anger in Gaodeng's dark eyes—though it was not directed at him—his heart, a level 3 warrior, still raced uncontrollably, and he almost couldn't speak.

"Baron, please do as you wish. I will personally visit you at a convenient time to inquire about this attack."

Watching Gaodeng's retreating back, the patrol captain and his subordinates all let out a long sigh of relief, their backs drenched in cold sweat.

"Whoever angered this mage is in for a bad time," they thought.

...

Platinum Square, 8:45 AM.

After the intentional and unintentional publicity by both Gaodeng and Hao Lin, the duel attracted a large number of adventurers to watch. Even many passersby couldn't resist stopping to see the spectacle.

Whether in the savage orc tribes, where muscles and fists decide the ownership of food and slaves; in the luxurious and elegant courts, where sharp rapiers decide who gains honor or love; or in the dark and deep, conspiracy-filled drow cities, where poisoned daggers and divine spells decide who becomes the matriarch. In the world of Telos, where the rule of law is not yet well-established, duels are a very common activity, often seen as the fairest and most effective way to resolve conflicts.

Today, another popular duel was about to begin, and what made it special was that the main participants were two mages.

The thought of the usually calm and wise mages using spells to fight to the death on the dueling field was exciting. Even after their spell slots were exhausted, there was a rare possibility that the two mages might engage in a close-quarters combat with staves and daggers—this was far rarer and more thrilling than two barbarian warriors fighting.

Everyone was looking forward to the duel. As for the focus of the dispute between the two mages—whether Hao Lin had slandered Gaodeng—no one cared anymore. Everything would be left to the fair judgment of the Platinum Dragon God Bahamut.

Hao Lin was sitting in a luxurious carriage, side by side with Deng Wei. He looked relaxed and confident.

"The duel starts in fifteen minutes. It seems Gaodeng will be late."

"Four professional thieves ambushing a low-level mage should not fail. Gaodeng will use up a few spell slots and be affected by the stiffening toxin I bought at a high price. Your chances of winning will be very high, Mage Hao Lin," Deng Wei said with a sinister smile.

Hao Lin was unconvinced. "You're being too cautious. With my strength, I could easily crush Gaodeng even without this method."

"Gaodeng is not a fool. Do you really think he would propose a duel without any hidden means? If you win this time, Gaodeng will fall into an abyss from which he can never recover. His baron title and his beautiful sister will be within reach. So, I must be cautious."

After proposing to Xieona and sending people to murder Gaodeng, the originally rash Deng Wei had learned to be careful.

"Then, Mr. Deng Wei, please watch as I torture Gaodeng."

"I will enjoy the process."

At 8:50, Gaodeng finally appeared.

Dorn, a disciple of the Lannister family and one of the duel witnesses, came forward. "The duel is about to start... Your arm is injured! What happened?"

"It's nothing. I killed four dirty rats. This minor injury won't affect me," Gaodeng said casually. Although the stiffening toxin would affect his spellcasting success rate, after this period of accumulation and relentless practice, his spell concentration skill had reached 8 points. As long as he didn't use spells more complex than 3rd level, his body should not be too affected by the toxin.

"Judging by your complexion, you seem to have been affected by the stiffening toxin. I think it's extremely unwise to enter the duel in this state," a melodious female voice said. Gaodeng looked over and saw a tall, slender figure in silver armor, a blonde paladin walking toward him. Her companion was Jack the priest.

"Paladin Rynas?" Gaodeng remembered that this was the paladin who had cut off the demon lord's avatar in the cemetery. That night, the blonde, blue-eyed, and valiant paladin had left a deep impression on Gaodeng.

Dorn, seeing a beautiful woman suddenly appear and apparently having some connection with Gaodeng, had wanted to tease them, but after glancing at the long sword hanging from Rynas' waist, he decided it was best to quietly step aside.

"At the invitation of Priest Jack, I came to watch this duel," Rynas nodded slightly to Gaodeng as a greeting.

Jack the priest, who was following her, was both amused and exasperated. "It was you who came along. When did I invite you?"

But he wouldn't say such things. He was just an ordinary priest, a mid-level church member, while Rynas was a favorite of Lady Dawn, someone he couldn't afford to offend or speculate about.

Jack the priest had been invited to watch the duel today, mainly to see how Hao Lin, the instigator of the rumors that had humiliated him, would fail. However, Gaodeng's condition did not seem optimistic.

"To remove the toxin from your body, you need a 6th-level divine spell, 'Cure,' but there's no time to find a high-level priest who knows it," Jack the priest said worriedly.

"That's simple. Please be at ease, Priest Jack," Rynas said, drawing her silver sword from her waist.

The streamlined blade shone like the rising sun in the morning sky. The sun-shaped guard, inlaid with three Dawn Diamonds, bore an intricate and beautiful inscription: "Even if the night is long, dawn will come."

"This is... Dawnbreaker!" Jack the priest exclaimed.