Chapter 60

"No, that's not it, I haven't lost, I haven't lost. Look, look at him, he can't even hold his sword. How can someone who lost their weapon be considered the winner?"

Gongsun Murong's opponent first broke out in a cold sweat, but after hearing the referee declare Gongsun Murong the winner, he couldn't control his emotions and shouted loudly.

Gongsun Murong retrieved his sword, turned, and walked down. He wanted to watch Nalasha's match.

His opponent wouldn't let him go, shouting, "Don't leave, come back, let's have another match, one last time. I will definitely win this time, you have to believe me."

"I believe you, but I won't give you the chance. What if you win me?" Gongsun Murong was in a very good mood and turned to say this to his opponent frankly.

"You are despicable, what else can you do besides run? Run, run, you don't have the courage to fight me fairly. You don't deserve the Sunflower Badge, let's have another match, just one more time..."

The man kept shouting, but Gongsun Murong had already walked off the stage and was far away.

Emperor Rexlar leaned back in his luxurious, comfortable chair, picked up a large cup of wine, and drank it down. In his other hand, he held half a beggar's chicken.

"Ha ha, I won, it's delicious. I heard this chicken was made by Gongsun Murong."

Emperor Rexlar's mouth was smeared with oil as he praised the chicken.

Beside him, the minister in charge of documents held the other half, taking small bites and nodding in agreement.

The chicken was indeed made by Gongsun Murong when he arrived in the capital. He made hundreds of them, which the steward Yifu sent as gifts. Somehow, it ended up in Emperor Rexlar's hands.

Not just one chicken, but almost all the ministers who had the privilege to watch the match with the emperor had half a chicken, and it wasn't cold. Made the day before, it seemed they knew to reheat it.

Thus, the entire area was filled with the aroma of beggar's chicken.

James, the leader of the Gers Principality, was so far away that the wind carried the scent to him. He was familiar with this smell, having eaten it many times.

He asked Yifu, "Who did you give the chicken to yesterday?"

"I delivered it to the palace gate and had the guards distribute it to the ministers, saying it was a gift from the Gers Principality," Yifu answered honestly.

"Hmm! In the future, open a store in the capital, and the principality will no longer provide you with expenses," James decided, as he had the authority to do so.

"Ah?" Yifu was stunned. The principality usually gave him 20,000 gold coins for activities, and the remaining income came from gifts and money from the principality's nobles in the capital.

If he opened his own store, selling the Gers Principality's specialties, it wouldn't be very profitable, barely enough to cover expenses.

20,000 gold coins just gone?

James glared at him, "Smell that, the emperor and the ministers are eating it. Beggar's chicken sells well in the principality too. You can't imagine the income it brings."

"Oh~!" Yifu suddenly understood. If he was to sell it, he would sell it, but he was a bit worried and asked, "Lord Gongsun..."

"He won't care. He has many ways to make money, like the betting house for this match."

"Oh~!"

******

While some people were drooling over the beggar's chicken, Nalasha's match began.

Her opponent, number 155, was a nine-year-old boy, two years older than her. She always thought she was seven, just that her body hadn't grown.

At that moment, she held a staff, the stick still had bark on it, and at the top, a split opened to hold a crystal core of a desert-patterned leopard beast, a third-level fifth-stage core. Any lower, and no core could be found in the beast's body.

It was so shabby that if not for her beautiful dress, people would think her staff was given to her by a kind person.

Many people doubted whether this staff could function.

"Ha ha ha ha..." Emperor Rexlar laughed again.

He had previously received a secret report from Duke Gers about the assassination attempt on the Mitchel Empire. The little girl was the genius mage Nalasha, who could instantly cast numerous large-scale spells, a dual-domain full-series mage.

Now, she was holding a broken staff, looking very serious, which was a perfect act.

This would be interesting to see how much the betting house would lose.

The little boy opposite Nalasha also had a serious face. He held a staff with a water-element ninth-level crystal core.

As the match began, the little boy pointed his staff forward and chanted, "Under the guidance of the Spell God—Wind Blade."

A wind blade spun out and flew straight toward Nalasha.

Nalasha nodded slightly, knowing that the boy could concentrate his mental energy quickly, so he didn't need to recite the full incantation that resonated with his mental energy.

So she imitated him, "Under the guidance of the Spell God—Wind Blade."

The two wind blades met and then changed direction, flying off in different directions.

Nalasha didn't control them, just stared at the opposite side. When she saw the boy about to open his mouth, she immediately said, "Under the guidance of the Spell God—Wind Blade."

The boy repeated it.

The two of them kept casting wind blades back and forth.

After dozens of collisions, the boy became frustrated. He wanted to change to another spell but found that the little girl was casting too fast.

Although her incantation was two characters longer, she recited it quickly.

If he changed, would he have enough time?

The boy was sweating, struggling.

Nalasha was also sweating, looking very strained, her body swaying slightly, as if she was about to fall.

The boy gritted his teeth and sped up, the point of collision getting closer to Nalasha.

Nalasha's swaying became more pronounced, her face pale.

The boy endured the mental energy drain and finally found an opportunity when the distance of the collision advanced a bit.

"Under the guidance of the Spell God, water spirits of the world, heed my call—Wind Blade Swarm..."

"Oh!" Just as the boy was about to complete the Wind Blade Swarm spell, Nalasha suddenly fell forward, her staff hitting the ground with incredible speed.

The crystal core, still partially covered by bark, split open and bounced off the ground, hitting the boy's forehead with a "thud."

The boy's Wind Blade Swarm spell was interrupted, his face turning pale from the spell's disruption. He swayed and fell to the ground, convulsing, unable to get up.

"I'm so tired." Nalasha used her staff to prop herself up, slowly standing and wiping the sweat from her forehead, complaining.

"Nalasha wins!" The referee announced, picked up the boy, and carried him away. The boy needed two days to rest and recover.

"Yay!" Nalasha waved her staff, looking like a victor.

The audience was stunned. Was this allowed? You throw a sword, and you knock out the crystal core, and you win?

On the viewing platform, Emperor Rexlar was almost laughing so hard he couldn't stand. His evaluation was one word: accurate.

So accurate, the angle, distance, timing, and force were all perfect.

Emperor Rexlar stopped laughing, sighed with relief, and felt hopeful about the Continental Resource Genius War.

They hadn't won enough resources for three cycles, which was 150 years.

Even if they had once been first and twice third in the resource distribution on their continent, they always fell short in the continental competition.

If it were just a matter of spells and battle qi, it would be one thing, but the last cycle, they were outsmarted.

Their children were lured into a trap and couldn't return alive.

Would this cycle be different?

One child per age group was enough to stand out.

"Go, invite them both," Emperor Rexlar ordered.

The servants naturally knew who to invite, "Invite them, invite them!"

Nalasha and Gongsun Murong's matches ended in the morning.

On the adjacent stage, Lucia had just gone up. She didn't need to hide her strength. Her opponent was a ninth-level mage who could instantly cast three spells.

Lucia didn't hesitate. As soon as the referee announced the start, the opponent moved swiftly, instantly casting four wind blades, one water arrow, and six small fireballs.

Lucia's eyes narrowed, and she softly said, "Ice Roar!"

At the same time, a mound of earth appeared around her, shielding her.

The referee appeared and extinguished the circle of ice shadows that appeared under Lucia's opponent's feet. If not for the timely intervention, the opponent would have been shredded.

"Wow~!" The audience erupted in noise.

There were also sighs, for the opponent. Casting so many attacks instantly and controlling his movements with spells, such strong combat power, yet he was declared the loser in one exchange.

Was the child six years old? Was he? A ninth-level mage.

Such high spell talent, perfect attack and defense, why did he meet that more aggressive little girl?

Was the girl four years old?

Instantly casting a water-element variant wind-element combination spell, Ice Roar, and a variant earth-wall spell, Earth Shield.

Most importantly, the combat instinct. The Ice Roar wasn't just cast to hit; it required judgment of position.

Usually, it was cast when the enemy was in a group or stationary, targeting one or many.

But the opponent was moving. How did she judge? How much combat experience did she need to master it instinctively?

Who was she?

Were the geniuses of this cycle not valuable?

Emperor Rexlar's eyes lit up. He knew who she was, the granddaughter of Duke Gers, the ninth princess of the Gers Principality, who had just turned five.

Her talent was truly too high, no wonder the Mitchel Empire tried to assassinate her through the Gers Principality's Marquis Francis.

"Invite her too," Emperor Rexlar ordered again.

When the palace servants found Gongsun Murong and the other two, the surrounding discussions had not ceased.

Many mages, after seeing the match, felt very disheartened. They had worked for decades and still couldn't match a child.

Especially that little girl, who seemed to be on a battlefield, not a stage. After casting those two spells, there was a noticeable wind-element spell fluctuation, a large-scale spell, likely a Wind Blade Swarm or Ice Wind Slaughter.

This was an attack with no intention of holding back, a strong offensive spirit.

Soon, the big screen began to introduce the little girl, the granddaughter of the Duke of Gers, a genius mage, who had reportedly been assassinated before, and so on.

******

I originally planned to update at noon, but since someone was waiting to read, I'm updating now.