Chapter 0063: Clash

Arrogance is not uncommon, but never before had they encountered such unbridled arrogance! A mere novice apprentice dared to challenge the elite law enforcement group, whose lowest rank was senior apprentice, right to their faces. This was enough to set everyone’s nerves alight.

The elite apprentices grinned wickedly as they accepted the wager, egging on Blackwood with cheers, threats, and encouragement, urging him to teach this ignorant upstart a harsh lesson. As the pile of bets beside the arena grew ever larger, the crowd’s excitement intensified; even the burly, bald-headed Afu was pushed aside, as everyone swarmed around the two contestants and ushered them into the ring.

Witnessing his companions’ feverish enthusiasm, Afu’s expression grew strangely complicated. He quietly pulled Kevin, the black-handed one, aside.

“Kid, you brought this fellow here—don’t let things get out of hand. Do you actually think he has a chance?”

“Well… According to the soul memories extracted by Wizard Angus, this Grim does possess a rather formidable earth-element puppet. Maybe… possibly… if he gives his all, he might avoid defeat, but as for besting Blackwood, that’s absolutely impossible!”

Satisfied with the answer, Afu’s excitement returned.

“All right, clear the ring and make space for our contenders—don’t want that kid weaseling out later. Mensa, tally up the wagers, and don’t forget mine. I’m betting two hundred magic crystals on Blackwood’s overwhelming victory!”

Afu’s roar echoed throughout the arena, igniting the atmosphere to a fever pitch. Shouts and strange cries rang out, with Blackwood’s name resounding above all.

At that moment, Grim and Blackwood stepped into the ring, facing each other across nearly a hundred meters.

With calm composure, Grim began quietly preparing for battle. Blackwood, grinning to display his yellow, broken teeth, sneered coldly, “You’ve got guts, kid! But let’s hope you’re not left writhing in a pool of your own rotten blood. Don’t worry—if you get on your knees and admit your ignorance loud enough, I might consider sparing your worthless life! Keh keh keh…”

Unmoved by his opponent’s taunts, Grim only sneered coldly and tossed out his summoning crystal core.

Today’s arena was perfect—the ground beneath their feet, though hardened by witchcraft, was still earthen.

In the next moment, an immense mass of earth elements gathered, and a hazy, colossal figure gradually materialized before the crowd.

Wait a minute… isn’t that a bit too huge?

As the massive Croc Hunter emerged, the cheers at the edge of the arena gradually died down; the crowd’s confidence wavered. Was this kid a summoner? How could he conjure a creature that size?

With the earth elements condensing, the Croc Hunter’s body became ever more solid—a hulking frame and a savage visage coming into stark relief. Grim climbed atop its mighty back.

Damn it, this kid really is something!

Blackwood cursed inwardly and began quickly preparing his own spells.

Since this was a duel under so many watchful eyes, both sides could ready support spells in advance, but direct attacks were forbidden until the signal. Accordingly, Blackwood focused on support and summoning magic. As he rattled his ebony staff, the many trinkets tied to its tip clinked together with a crisp melody. From trinkets resembling beast fangs and miniature human skulls burst globules of white phosphorescence, which coalesced into two ghastly bone shields hovering near him.

These bone shields were assembled from countless bleached bones; grotesque, twisted skull faces protruded from their surfaces, their eye sockets flickering with baleful green flames, jaws gnashing hungrily as if ready to devour the living.

Meanwhile, Blackwood muttered his incantations, and an eerie black halo coalesced in his empty right palm, its purpose unclear.

“Are you both ready?” Afu’s roar rang out.

Seeing both participants nod, Afu shouted, “Then I declare—the battle begins!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the black halo in Blackwood’s hand quivered strangely. On the other side, Grim, already on high alert, instantly sensed the incoming attack through his elemental vision.

A curse attack!

Only a curse could come so formless and unseen, almost impossible to guard against.

Perched atop the Croc Hunter, Grim’s apprentice robe fluttered in the breeze. Beneath his elegant noble headband, his blue-glinting eyes never left Blackwood, a hundred meters away.

Another might have fallen to Blackwood’s treachery before realizing what was happening, but through Grim’s elemental vision—which pierced all magical phenomena—it was clear: an intangible, insubstantial black noose was being cast from the halo in Blackwood’s hand, arcing toward him along a sinister trajectory.

At the same time, the Screaming Twig Grim had prepared was vibrating in his pocket, but his mind remained undistracted, focused entirely on the chip’s warning in his consciousness.

“Warning… Malicious psychic lock detected… Host is advised to move immediately… Otherwise, a follow-up curse attack will occur… According to the spell database, probability of Confused Mind: 71%, probability of Sluggish Consciousness: 26%, probability of Soul Worm: 3%…”

So that’s how curse spells work—they require a psychic lock to forge a hidden mental channel, allowing the curse to take effect instantly, bypassing any visible traveling time. That, Grim realized, was why curses were so hard to intercept or counter mid-cast!

With new understanding, Grim’s mental connection with the Croc Hunter took effect. At the crucial instant, the beast stepped back half a pace, causing the black noose to land on its body instead of Grim’s.

In the next second, the black halo in Blackwood’s hand flashed and vanished. A plume of smoke erupted from the Croc Hunter, as a black skull circled its body and sank into its form.

Damn it—ineffective! That creature’s an elemental puppet.

Sensing his curse had failed to affect a sentient target, Blackwood cursed under his breath, clawing the air with his right hand as he hurriedly began preparing his next spell.

But now, Grim’s attack had already arrived.

From atop the Croc Hunter, the Earth Hunter’s twin arms swung in unison, hurling spear after spear of condensed earth element through the air, battering Blackwood’s bone shields so ferociously that they trembled violently. Next came a spear of pure, dense fire element, which smashed straight into the bone shield.

In the next moment, a wild explosion of elemental fire swept across the narrow patch where Blackwood stood.

“Huh…”

At that moment, even the elite apprentices outside the ring exchanged astonished glances. This level of offensive power, this form of magical assault—was this really something a novice apprentice could achieve? Such rapid casting, an attack strength of thirty-two points—could a novice really manage that?

A hush fell over the crowd as they reconsidered this seemingly farcical wager.

If the bystanders could sense something amiss, Blackwood—assailed by earthen spears and firebolts—felt it even more acutely. Damn it, triple assault from earth, fire, and physical force! As the furious flames raged around him, the bone shield already showed signs of crumbling under the relentless assault.

Blackwood’s expression darkened. Focusing his will, he swapped out the battered shield for the spare, then gritted his teeth and pulled several chunks of black, fetid flesh from his pouch, tossing them to the ground.

Just as Grim urged the massive Croc Hunter forward to crush his opponent beneath its bulk, a bizarre figure burst from the lingering flames—crouched low, it sped toward the Croc Hunter in an utterly unnatural sprint.

It was a monstrous Patchwork Ghoul, two meters tall, with a pallid body, two heads, five arms, and seven legs—a grotesque amalgam of several mangled human corpses. Crawling low, it propelled itself with all five arms and seven legs in a wildly unpredictable dash, nimbly evading the incoming earth spears and rapidly closing the distance.

The Croc Hunter’s massive forelimbs slammed down, shaking the ground with rippling shocks. The Patchwork Ghoul, just within reach, faltered, unable to keep its balance.

A blast of wind—the Croc Hunter lunged, jaws wide, and snapped up the Patchwork Ghoul, crushing and tearing it to shreds with its rows of razor-sharp, backward-curving teeth.

With a dull thud, the Patchwork Ghoul exploded in a spray of black blood, drenching the Croc Hunter’s entire head. To Grim’s dismay, the earthen head dissolved instantly, tons of earth collapsing to the ground, freed from cohesion.

Damn, what potent corrosive black blood—enough to dissolve even elemental particles!

Fortunately, the Croc Hunter’s control crystal was not housed in the head; had the black blood touched the crystal, Grim’s trump card would have been ruined then and there.

Headless, the Croc Hunter pressed on. Dense earth elements gathered at its fore, and soon the outline of a new head became clear.

The Croc Hunter’s passive earthen regeneration was indeed impressive—so long as it remained in contact with the earth, it could restore ten percent of its body every minute. This, in turn, was the very foundation of its legendary resilience!