VBNWDW - Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Perhaps because the weather was about to turn, the sky was dim and gloomy from the moment one woke up, without a trace of sun.
It was just like Teacher Cadmon's expression at that moment, which had nearly fallen to the floor, dark and sullen.
He glanced to his left at the students who were usually the most attentive: Her Majesty the Queen and Ivo, the illegitimate daughter of the Iliana family.
One had dark circles under her eyes and a pale face, her gaze frequently wandering elsewhere. The other was staring blankly at the ground, lost in thought.
Cadmon held his breath and looked to his right. Orion stood with his arms crossed, deliberately turned away from Nestor, his eyes sweeping over him with a cold glint from time to time.
His two lackeys mimicked him perfectly, even adding a touch more hatred to their expressions.
Nestor, already displeased, grew even angrier. He also turned sideways to face them, glaring back without any sign of weakness. The people behind him followed suit.
If a passerby were to see this, they would think they had stumbled upon a gang turf war, not a classroom lesson.
Cadmon took a deep breath, told himself to be patient, and looked further away. The student sent by the Temple of Light was kicking stones out of boredom. Although someone from the Temple had told him he had already completed these courses and didn't need to listen to the theories again, his presence at this moment was exceptionally jarring.
He retracted his gaze, telling himself there was no need to get angry over this. But as soon as he looked up, he saw Mo Wen, a paragon of chivalry who was always polite and humble, staring dazedly at the back of Ivo's head.
The anger Cadmon had just suppressed surged up again. Although he hadn't wanted to take this job in the first place, how could a Great Mage like himself endure such humiliation?
He roared, "Nestor, Orion!"
He would start with the two most arrogant ones.
"Do you find each other that good-looking? Or are you just that eager to have a duel?"
The two who were called out were stunned for a moment before turning to look at him.
Cadmon, furious, yelled, "If you want to fight, then get to the middle of the lawn right now! Don't stand there making eyes at each other like cowards who don't dare to compete!"
As soon as he said this,
Caius and Leif immediately took a step forward and shouted, "Boss, hurry up and help us kill this arrogant brat! He dares to hit us now, who knows what he'll do to you in the future!"
"Boss, he's just trying to use us to threaten you!"
Orion's expression grew even darker. Although he didn't think much of these people, even when hitting a dog, one had to consider its master. Nestor was clearly provoking him.
Before he could speak, Nestor shouted first, "Orion, do you have the guts to fight me again?"
How could Orion tolerate that? He immediately shot back, "Don't come crying when you lose."
"That would be you!"
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. The two snorted coldly and walked toward the center of the lawn.
Metis only glanced over. Seeing that things were developing as she had expected, she paid it no more mind. Her gaze flickered for a moment, and an inappropriate memory surfaced again.
An angered dragon was truly vicious. The playful punishments came one after another. Although Metis didn't know much about this sort of thing, she knew it shouldn't have stopped there. But a certain dragon refused to proceed, merely pressing against her with its knee, stirring waves of unbearable torment. She was tossed high, yet never allowed to fall.
The promised punishment was just that—a punishment, with not a shred of pleasure given. She was left suspended in mid-air, suffering pitifully.
In the end, the bedsheets piled beneath the mountain of gold coins were soaked through. It was hard to tell if it was from Her Majesty's tears or something else.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Metis, between sobs and gasps, could barely make out the person before her through the misty haze in her half-closed eyes.
At some point, its bony wings and tail had appeared, and they seemed to be swaying with extreme satisfaction.
Metis's dress was wrinkled and soaked, utterly unwearable. Her pearl earrings were also gone; perhaps the dragon had stuffed them into its own space along with its other things.
In any case, Metis couldn't remember clearly. She only felt time becoming harder and harder to endure. Her willing pleas for mercy changed nothing. Her bent legs were bound at the ankles, forbidden from coming down.
The patterns of the gold coins pressed into her soft skin, imprinting intricate and splendid designs. Paired with patches of faint red, a sapphire held between her teeth fogged over with her breaths, and her golden hair was scattered wantonly. It was a scene of extreme allure that a painter might pursue for a lifetime, yet its creator was a thoroughly vicious black dragon.
With a teasing smile, it lifted Metis again and again, never letting her fall.
Metis couldn't recall the rest. She only remembered that when she came to, the other had turned back into a black dragon, pressing its gems, gold coins, and Metis herself beneath its body. Its tail, dangling by the bedside, swayed unconsciously, as if it were having a pleasant dream.
Metis took a deep breath, trying to tell herself not to think about it anymore. She raised her head and looked toward the center of the lawn.
The young men were reckless, not considering the consequences. Both had fire pent up inside them, and their attacks were meant to kill. Though they were only junior mages, they fought with the ferocity of world-destroyers, especially when they reached the last line of a spell, practically roaring it out.
This small patch of land was a whirlwind of wind and fire. The stronger the wind, the fiercer the flames, each wishing to devour the other completely.
Cadmon wasn't worried. He watched them with a cold eye. To a Great Mage of the light element, these childish games were hardly worth his notice.
One after another, fireballs rained down like a meteor shower. An invisible wind lifted Orion, allowing him to dodge through the gaps between the fireballs.
When the fireballs paused, wind blades appeared, slashing directly toward his opponent's vital points.
The noise from the lawn made Mo Wen raise her eyes slightly. As one of the only two people present who knew something of the situation, she was much calmer and more composed than those around her, who were shouting and exclaiming in surprise at how desperately the two were fighting.
An explosion tore up the lawn again, sending dirt and dust flying everywhere. One had to wonder if the wood-element mage responsible for cleanup and restoration today would sigh and hold their forehead at this sight.
But soon, both of them showed varying degrees of weakness. They were junior mages, after all, and couldn't sustain such a high level of consumption for long.
Orion retreated three steps. Just as he looked up, he saw a blade of fire stabbing toward him. He hurriedly tried to dodge, but the searing blade was already upon him. The hair at his temples was instantly singed, and a bloody gash was carved into his cheek.
"Nestor!" How could such a proud person tolerate this? He immediately cursed out loud.
But his opponent was relentless. Gritting his teeth, he conjured another fireball the size of a human head and blasted it straight at him.
His rhythm broken, Orion had no time to counterattack. He could only retreat again and again, his heels already at the edge of the circle.
Though weakened, Nestor knew he was on the verge of victory. A flash of triumph crossed his eyes, and he suddenly shouted, "Orion! Not even your sixth-tier magic core staff can save you this time!"
Orion glanced out of the corner of his eye at the people he looked down on, who were still watching him. To lose in front of them…
He gritted his teeth and yelled, "Don't get cocky, Nestor!"
With a flip of his hand, an ancient parchment scroll appeared in his palm.
Teacher Cadmon was the first to notice. His pupils shrank, but it was too late to stop him. He could only watch as Orion unfurled the scroll.
A third-tier cross wind blade appeared abruptly, shooting directly toward Nestor, who was still chanting on the other side. A great wind howled, carving a cross-shaped white mark in the air. The next second, it slammed viciously into Nestor's body.
His thin clothes tore instantly. Nestor was sent flying more than ten meters away, sliding several more meters across the grass before stopping. When the crowd got a clear look, his entire body was a bloody mess, his face mangled beyond recognition.
Panic flashed across Cadmon's face. Ignoring the other students, he rushed over in a few great strides, chanting a spell as he went. A gentle light element emerged.
The other students were dumbfounded. It wasn't that they hadn't seen such brutal scenes before, but one was the future of the Naist Family, and the other was the proudest genius of the Maple Family. No matter how many conflicts existed between the Council families, they would never resort to such deadly force in the open.
This was tantamount to dragging the conflict between the families out into the open!
Chaos was coming.
Some of the more perceptive ones realized what was happening. Their eyes darted around, planning to find a chance to send a message to their families later.
Caius and Leif were also stunned. They hadn't expected Orion to go this far for them. They exchanged a look and scrambled over to Orion.
Metis and Mo Wen, on the other hand, were the calmest. While everyone else was still in shock, Mo Wen walked up behind Metis and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, should I inform my mother?"
The implication was whether their family needed to do anything.
A thoughtful look flashed in Metis's eyes. "This matter must be known by everyone," she said.
Mo Wen understood immediately. She murmured a "yes," took a step back, and scanned her surroundings, planning to find a chance to slip away. At the very least, she needed to get to the outer perimeter of the palace, where the soldiers were all under her family's command.
As for Ivo, who was standing very close to them, she simply kept her head down, as if none of this had anything to do with her, completely detached.
On the other side, Cadmon cast several healing spells in quick succession, hastily throwing them at Nestor.
He was already weakened and had taken a third-tier spell head-on, leaving him on the brink of death. It was only thanks to Cadmon's healing that he was pulled back from the edge.
But the wounds on his body were still horrific. His right hand, which he had subconsciously raised to block with his staff, was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, with white bone faintly visible. Splinters from his shattered staff were embedded in the wound, a truly gruesome sight.
The experienced Cadmon immediately determined that even if they summoned the Head of the Temple of Light, the only light-element Magister in the Roy Kingdom, Nestor's right hand would never fully recover or move as freely as a normal person's.
A cold sweat broke out on his brow. He couldn't understand how these Council families raised their children. To use such a precious scroll in a simple sparring match—hadn't their families told them that scrolls were meant for saving one's life?
He was both angry and annoyed, but the healing in his hands never stopped.
Only when Nestor on the ground looked a little better did he turn to the student from the Temple and order, "First, go inform the Temple Head. Then, notify the heads of both families."
He sighed, knowing this matter would not end easily…
That night, the usually bustling and prosperous Anthelia City, under the pall of the gloomy, oppressive weather, had an inexplicable air of grimness. The ever-lively streets were quieter than usual.
The events of the afternoon had spread through the streets and alleys with incredible speed. Everyone was speculating on how the various families would handle it, but there was no real conclusion.
The number of guards in iron armor had doubled, tightly encircling the palace walls. Their expressions were all solemn, unlike their usual casual and lax demeanor.
Inside the brightly lit hall, the sound of arguments was incessant. The two factions, led by the Naist and Maple families, sat opposite each other. The students sat beside their respective families, having fallen silent after their initial panic.
Orion was the same. As his anger dissipated and reason returned, he finally realized the impropriety of his actions. He tugged at his father's sleeve, his expression uneasy.
Her Majesty the Queen sat at the head of the table, saying nothing.
This palace had once been where the king hosted banquets for the members of the Council. It had been abandoned for a long time, but unexpectedly, it was being used once more.
Behind them, separated by a wall, the unconscious Nestor was still being treated by the Temple Head. No sound had come from within for a long time.
"It's inevitable for children to fight. It's normal to get a little hurt in the heat of the moment," the Naist family representative said, trying to smooth things over.
The people from the Maple Family were so angry their eyes turned red. The person lying in the next room was their future heir, the only genius of this generation to be taken as a disciple by a Magister.
The head of the Maple Family stood up directly and roared, "What do you mean, a children's fight? Who uses a third-tier scroll to ambush someone? I say he clearly intended to kill Nestor!"
"They all said it was Orion who deliberately provoked Nestor since this morning. This was premeditated!"
Someone from the other side immediately retorted, "Caius and Leif both said it was Nestor who deliberately followed and ambushed them. Orion only glared at Nestor because he couldn't stand it."
The Maple Family immediately shot back, "You're lying! How would Nestor have time to ambush them?"
"Then why don't you tell us where Nestor was last night, being all secretive for so long?"
The two sides argued endlessly. Just then, Her Majesty the Queen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke: "Arguing like this won't lead to any result. Why don't we wait until the Temple Head has finished his treatment and Nestor has woken up before we continue?"
As her words fell, everyone in the hall showed their displeasure, their sharp gazes instantly turning toward the person at the head of the table.
If it weren't for this person insisting on creating some royal guard, none of this would have happened.
Facing everyone's cold stares, Metis's tone was calm and unruffled. "Everyone has been arguing for a day. I have already had the kitchen prepare some food. Why don't you all have something to eat first and wait for Nestor to wake up before we discuss this further?"
This was like pouring a bucket of gasoline on a burning fire.
One of the disgruntled nobles was about to speak up and reprimand this self-righteous little queen, but before he could, his eyes suddenly widened.
A small, palm-sized black dragon hooked its claws onto the edge of the table, then pushed off with its hind legs, struggling to climb up.
No one knew when it had appeared or how long it had been lying on Metis's lap. Only now did it reveal itself to everyone.
The breathing in the hall hitched, and a dead silence suddenly fell.
The little black dragon, however, seemed completely unaware. It crawled over to Metis's hand, attempting to lean against it and lie down.
Metis looked down at it. She offered no help as it climbed, and even deliberately moved her hand when it tried to lean against her.
The little black dragon fell onto the tabletop with a soft thud. Its gilded eyes shifted, looking pitifully at Metis.
But Metis wasn't buying it. She even pushed it a little further away.
The little black dragon didn't get angry. Instead, it stood up again and crawled back to her hand. Just as it was about to wrap its claws around her, Metis dodged again.
If one didn't know any better, they would think this was a scene of a simple-minded little pet playing with its owner and find it utterly adorable. But not only did they know, they knew very well that if the dragon were to suddenly get angry, not just them, but everyone in the entire city would be unable to escape.
Cold sweat dripped onto the table. No one dared to say another word.
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