Chapter 2755: Chapter 2756: Demon of the Void

At the moment Kaier was ambushed by the Shepherd Dog, his mind went blank, and the only thing reflected in his eyes was the mocking smile of the Shepherd Dog.

When Kaier came to his senses, it was two seconds later.

What happened during those two seconds was actually a bit blurry for Kaier, or rather, he saw it with his eyes... but his mind hadn’t comprehended it yet.

For Kaier, those two seconds were in a daze.

For the Shepherd Dog, those two seconds were bewildering. It remembered that it clearly seized the opportunity to attack that idiot who would fall for pity-selling tricks, but why... in the end, it was the one in pain?

Yes, the Shepherd Dog was now in so much pain that it was rolling on the ground, its fore paws completely broken. Even though they would regrow soon under the nourishment of Wind’s Force, the pain wouldn’t diminish at all.

Wailing as it tried to recall bitterly, its eyes were filled with both concern and tears.

"It’s really that bastard’s fault! I shouldn’t have heeded its summon! I’m so miserable!"

Despite the cursing, the Shepherd Dog still couldn’t figure out how it got injured?

This wizard apprentice is too bizarre, clearly had its back turned and unguarded, yet the attack felt like it hit an incredibly hard stone... no, even harder than stone!

To be known, its claw strike was entwined with a special sharp wind, and its point damage was terribly destructive, even a defense spell would be easily broken through, genuinely making it a "defense breaking technique".

The only drawback of the claw strike was that it was hard to hit people. Previously, as long as the claw strike hit, it was basically a funeral for the wind dog. However, this time, even though it hit, the once unbeatable defense breaking technique met with a crushing defeat.

Not only did it fail to bury others, but it nearly had its own funeral.

The Shepherd Dog’s miserable state was witnessed by everyone. They were not people of little experience and could easily tell that the Shepherd Dog’s pain this time was not an act.

This time it indeed suffered a rebound from its own attack.

As for the reason, the Shepherd Dog did not know. However, everyone else, including the Shepherd, was very clear about it.

From where everyone’s gaze fell, it could be seen—

nearly everyone was staring at the gray-black robe on Kaier.

Without this robe, Kaier’s defensive power and casting efficiency were not this fast, but now, wearing this robe, it was like a complete transformation.

What kind of magic does this robe possess?

It wasn’t just everyone else curious, Kaier himself was very puzzled too.

Before the apprentices’ duel began, Angel gave him three trump cards. The first trump card was the alchemy golem possessed by Speedy; the second was some expensive potions and magic rune scrolls; and the third was this robe.

The first two cards, with Speedy for attack, potions for support, and magic rune scrolls for control, were enough to settle the battle when applied reasonably. As for the last card, it was specifically prepared against the Magic Elephant. According to Angel’s description of its function: "Wearing it would basically secure a position of undefeated ground."

At that time, Kaier was curious and asked the reason, and Angel’s answer was straightforward: "The robe’s defensive power is quite strong, even a True Knowledge Wizard might not break through it in one go."

The implication was that even a True Knowledge Wizard would likely have to expend some effort, let alone an apprentice like the Magic Elephant. Even if the Magic Elephant was bloodline-based, it couldn’t damage this robe.

This was why Angel claimed that wearing it would secure a position of undefeated ground.

Back then, Kaier didn’t have much attachment to the robe, just marveled inwardly that Lord Chaowei was indeed a member of the Research and Development Institute. He hadn’t heard of a robe that could withstand a True Knowledge Wizard’s attacks. Not even in Mesomyia’s largest auction has such a treasure appeared. Only the Research and Development Institute in the Sky Mechanical City might be able to create this kind of treasure, right?

Though he marveled, he didn’t have a direct concept. Until Kaier wore the robe, he realized the effects Angel talked about were probably just the robe’s basic effects.

Previously, the Shepherd summoned the Shepherd Dog Beibei trying to break Kaier’s casting. But in fact, Kaier seemed to be still gathering power for casting at that time, when he actually completed the cast. He didn’t move because he was stunned by the robe’s effects.

Angel only mentioned the robe’s defensive strength but did not mention at all that this robe had a bonus for space series tricks!

At that time, the Shepherd thought that Kaier’s casting fluctuations were unprecedentedly strong, thinking he was casting some powerful space series trick... In fact, Kaier was merely casting the most ordinary "Space Rip".

It was just Space Rip, only Space Rip.

But the end effect stunned Kaier, not just the near-instant casting speed boost, but the magnitude of the casting effect was amplified to a terrifying degree!

It directly magnified a Space Rip to the level of a Space Rift!

Although it was just half a Space Rift, it was still very astounding! A Space Rift is a top-level space series trick nearing spell technique, while Space Rip is a second-level trick, the most basic space trick. If compared, it’s like the difference between a Wind Blade and a Crescent Blade, fundamentally different.

Rip is called a rip but doesn’t actually touch "space essence", it’s more like leaving a "mark" in the air with a certain spatial nature.

While a rift is truly a spatial ability, it can tear a pathway leading to the interlayer space.

Of course, this interlayer space is only the very outermost layer, countless layers away from the Void, from the traversable Plane Corridor, but at least it has torn through space.

Kaier casting Space Rip amplified it to the level of a Space Rift, which is simply ridiculous!

Moreover, apart from half of a Space Rift, there was a particularly slender Space Rip, long enough to construct a three-dimensional birdcage!

This was a length that Kaier had never encountered before.

A basic sorcery triggered two effects. One was a qualitative change, the other a quantitative change.

Even in dreams, Kaier wouldn’t dare dream of such a wonderful thing. Let alone, this wasn’t a dream, it happened in the present, in the real world!

Because of this, Kaier was stunned as he completed the casting. He was stunned for a long while until the Shepherd Dog Beibei’s attack was almost upon him, Kaier snapped out of it.

Perhaps also due to being shocked by the terrifying effects of the robe, Kaier forgot about Lord Chaowei’s statement about the "amazing defense power" of this thing. Later when the Shepherd Dog ambushed from behind, Kaier almost got scared.

The facts proved that Lord Chaowei emphasized indeed terrifying effects, the robe’s defensive power was quite astonishing.

The Shepherd Dog’s ambush had no effect, and it even broke its claw because of it.

Most importantly, Kaier felt absolutely nothing. Not even feeling the impact of the Shepherd Dog’s ambush.

It was as if all the force was absorbed and rebounded by the robe. As far as Kaier was concerned, it was like being slightly brushed by the wind, painless and itchless.

Now, outsiders, including the Shepherd’s conjectures, were that the robe enhanced defensive capabilities alongside the efficiency of space sorcery casting, but the reality was more astonishing than they speculated.

Therefore, Kaier, who knows the truth, is more curious about what magic this robe holds and where it came from?

...

"Beibei, are you okay?" the Shepherd’s voice came through.

From behind Kaier came the curses of the shepherd dog: "You bastard, you never call me for the good stuff, but always leave me to handle the mess!"

The Shepherd’s expression was slightly awkward, but from Beibei’s spirited shouts, the Shepherd indirectly understood that Beibei’s condition was probably not bad.

Just as the Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief, a breeze carrying whispers blew in from not far away.

The Shepherd glanced toward the source of the breeze, which was the position of the four black-faced sheep.

Listening to the whispers, the Shepherd’s expression gradually sank, his eyes filled with contemplation... Two seconds later, it seemed the Shepherd made a decision and looked up at Kaier.

The Shepherd ignored Beibei’s swearing and instead looked apologetically at Kaier: "I apologize for Beibei’s sneak attack."

Kaier said nothing, just frowned slightly. In his opinion, as long as it’s within the rules, a sneak attack isn’t a big deal. Instead, it was the Shepherd’s sudden apology that confounded Kaier a bit.

Previously, when the shepherd dog Beibei staged an ambush, the Shepherd actually warned him first to watch his back. Wasn’t this essentially a betrayal of his companion, the shepherd dog?

Seeing Kaier didn’t respond, the Shepherd wasn’t bothered and gently placed a hand on his chest as a salute.

Next, the Shepherd said, under Kaier’s surprised gaze: "This duel, I forfeit."

With those words, the Shepherd gestured into the air toward the Wise Sovereign.

"Are you sure you want to forfeit?" the Wise Sovereign asked routinely, without questioning the Shepherd’s choice.

The Shepherd glanced beyond the dome, seeing Fenmo’s wide-eyed disbelief, and also observed the slight sigh of the Magic Elephant.

He then looked at Grey Merchant and the Evil Woman; unlike Fenmo’s shock, Grey Merchant nodded gently at the Shepherd, seemingly supporting his decision; while the Evil Woman didn’t even glance at him, focusing instead on Kaier.

Surveying the scene, the Shepherd finally retracted his gaze and nodded at the Wise Sovereign: "I’m sure."

The Wise Sovereign said nothing more, just dissolving the dome, and a detached voice reached everyone’s ears: "This duel, the Traveler wins."

After conceding, the Shepherd saluted Kaier again before turning to step down from the stage. Meanwhile, the shepherd dog Beibei and the four black-faced sheep all rushed back to the Shepherd’s side.

The shepherd dog had dropped its previous wailing demeanor and, looking quite foolish, cozied up to one of the black-faced sheep, muttering "baby, baby" incessantly.

The black-faced sheep, referred to as "baby," didn’t reject the shepherd dog. Instead, another black-faced sheep came over, trying to block the shepherd dog.

The shepherd dog immediately wanted to snarl at this latter black-faced sheep. But "baby" bleated once, and the shepherd dog instantly calmed down.

This latecomer black-faced sheep was presumably the "Hei San" the shepherd dog mentioned before, also the one pampered the most by the "baby."

One must admit, this motley crew of sheep and dog, vying for attention, presented quite an amusing sight.

However, Kaier didn’t pay attention to these details. As for the Shepherd’s decision to forfeit, he never voiced his opinion or questioned why.

Because when Kaier put himself in the Shepherd’s shoes, he would most likely choose to forfeit too.

With the appearance of that robe, unbeatable defense paired with the amplification of spatial abilities, no matter how strong the Shepherd was, he stood no chance of winning.

Thus, forfeiting at this moment was, in fact, a wise choice.

However, Kaier was considering from a known-results perspective. Without knowing the outcome, the Shepherd’s prompt decision to forfeit was unexpected for Kaier.

Because the Shepherd should only have known about the robe’s strong defense; just how strong, he was unaware. As for the amplification of the spatial trick’s strength, the Shepherd didn’t know; he just realized the casting efficiency had been accelerated.

When so many aspects remained unknown or unclear, in normal thinking, one would attempt to probe the robe’s capability limits further.

But the Shepherd didn’t do this. Why? Was it truly because of guilt from the shepherd dog’s ambush? That doesn’t quite add up, does it?

Previously, the Shepherd had done illogical things too, such as being so obsessed with confirming if the Wind’s Force was released by him?

Kaier had increasing doubts about the Shepherd...

Yet, observing the Shepherd step off the stage, Kaier realized these doubts would likely go unanswered.

...

After the Shepherd left the stage, Fenmo wanted to say something, but the Magic Elephant pulled her aside.

"He must have made this choice after much deliberation; you need to trust the Shepherd’s judgment."

Though still a bit dissatisfied, Fenmo backed down, yet her eyes didn’t stray from the Shepherd. Since the Magic Elephant claimed it was a deeply considered decision, Fenmo wanted to understand what exactly the Shepherd had pondered.

The Shepherd remained silent for a moment, not looking at Fenmo but instead gazing at the Magic Elephant: "Next match, just forfeit again."

Originally, Fenmo wanted to hear the Shepherd’s explanation, but to her surprise, the Shepherd recommended that the Magic Elephant concede. She couldn’t hold back any longer and leapt out to question the Shepherd.

Yet the Shepherd continued to ignore Fenmo and instead sat down cross-legged, summoned a black-faced sheep as a backrest, looking rather lazy.

The Magic Elephant was also surprised, but he was more rational than Fenmo.

"What’s the reason?"

The Shepherd squinted slightly: "There’s no particular reason, anyway in facing that Traveler, forfeiting can’t go wrong."

The Shepherd had his reasons, but some matters weren’t for him to openly disclose, because what he saw and the intel he obtained couldn’t be derived from the open battle.

Like how Kaier didn’t understand why the Shepherd didn’t even attempt probing and forfeited so quickly.

The Magic Elephant: "Without a reason, I won’t give up."

After musing for a moment, the Shepherd said: "... suit yourself."

After these words, a silence unexpectedly settled between the Magic Elephant and the Shepherd, creating an intangible yet unsettling atmosphere that gradually spread through the air.

This tense ambiance lasted until half a minute later when it was broken.

The one who broke the silence was the Evil Woman.

She took a long breath and softly said: "The Shepherd’s choice to forfeit is right. Moreover, his advice to the Magic Elephant isn’t incorrect. If he were to fight now, the Magic Elephant couldn’t defeat that Traveler."

The crowd looked at the Evil Woman in confusion, even Grey Merchant glanced over. He vaguely knew the reason lay with the robe, but what the robe was made of, Grey Merchant didn’t know; however, judging by the Evil Woman’s prior reactions, she seemed to know some inside information?

The Evil Woman snorted lightly and said: "Because that guy’s robe is stitched from the skin of a Void Demon."

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