Chapter 519: 【Decay Curse】 and Match-Fixing

Many people within the Arena noticed Stuart's predicament; after all, it was plain for everyone to see that he had been struck by the opponent's spell, and Xia Duo could not help but break into a cold sweat for him.

Just then, the situation on the field underwent a subtle change—Stuart deployed his Arcane Fire, and wisps of Magic Net String spread out, occupying a small amount of space near Stuart.

Although it could not completely shield against the influence of the external Magic Net environment, it could construct an environment more favorable to himself.

Xia Duo noticed that right after Stuart deployed his Arcane Fire, his opponent, that Elf Mage from Yierlan, immediately accelerated the rhythm of his attack, though for a moment, Xia Duo could not identify exactly what spell it was.

He saw the Magic Net around that Yierlan Mage suddenly twist together, as if several parallel strings in the space were being twisted into a single strand by an external force, forming a rope-like structure.

Afterward, this effect expanded rapidly, as if one end of this rope-like structure were extending quickly until it neared Stuart, and then this end rapidly unfolded, turning into scattered Magic Net Strings that climbed onto the Micro Magic Net Stuart had deployed.

Xia Duo had never seen such a spell before; one could even say this was no longer a normal spell. Normal spells use Magic Net Strings as a medium, the resulting Magic Effect is independent, and the Magic Net Strings are finished once used.

But this spell was manipulating the Magic Net Strings, treating the Magic Net Strings as a weapon to attack the opponent directly.

However, Xia Duo also knew that any change in the Magic Net Strings would produce a corresponding Magic Effect, so what kind of manifestation would this magic, formed by twisting Magic Net Strings into a rope-like structure extending into the distance, have?

Setting aside the changes in the Magic Net Strings seen through Magic Vision, what presented itself before Xia Duo was a ray flashing with a strange light, emitted from the Yierlan Mage's fingertips, which hit Stuart almost instantly.

No, it should have hit the space around Stuart!

The next moment, the position where Stuart was located suddenly dimmed, but the moment after that, Xia Duo clearly saw a fierce expression appear on Stuart's face, and then, completely ignoring the opponent's spell, he simply continued to dispel the opponent's Protection.

To Xia Duo's surprise, that Yierlan Mage did not dodge or evade, and did not even put up the slightest resistance, letting Stuart's Dispel Magic hit his body, followed by a restrictive spell.

However, before Stuart could continue his attack, the host of this Snow Melting Competition, who was also a part-time referee and Senior Arcanist, Elkamon, directly banished both of them from the Semi-plane battle space and delivered the verdict:

"Snow Melting Competition 【Spell Duel】 first match, Stuart, wins!"

After speaking, he looked toward the three-party representatives seated in the front row; Princess Xiya nodded in acknowledgment, and that high-level Mage from Yierlan also had no objections.

If it were the Snow Melting Competition of the past, which only involved Netheril and Yierlan, then at this time, a Great Arcanist or high-level Mage would offer some commentary, as this was tradition and had not changed for hundreds of years.

But once tradition is broken, and now with Cormanthor added, the commentary segment was simply canceled.

"Will both contestants please exit the field!"

The positions from which the two were banished from the Semi-plane battle space were not on the two sides of the battle platform; after all, the battle platform was small, and if they really came out face-to-face, and if they had truly lost their tempers earlier, they might have started fighting again upon finishing, which would be awkward.

Therefore, the two appeared directly near the spectator area.

Xia Duo was finding it a bit strange that they were so far apart when they came out, but when he saw the fiery look in Stuart's eyes, he understood; as for the other side, that Yierlan Mage did not seem like a loser, but rather as if he himself had won.

His expression showed no displeasure; instead, there was a strange joy, and when he returned to his seat, he was quite high-spirited while chatting with his companions.

"Was Stuart's Arcane Fire damaged?" Xia Duo looked at Niya with doubt.

However, Niya could not answer this question either; after all, the gap between her and Xia Duo was not large, and a problem that Xia Duo could not see, she might not be able to see either.

"Perhaps," Niya gave an ambiguous answer.

For a moment, Xia Duo did not know what to say, so he asked again: "Have you heard of anyone having their Arcane Fire damaged in the Snow Melting Competition in previous years?"

"I don't seem to have heard of it; of course, it's also possible they hid it well, as not many people came to watch the Snow Melting Competition in the past."

Is that so!

The competition continued, and the second match was the Yierlan contestant challenging the Cormanthor contestant.

Two Elves conducting a Spell Duel in front of humans was an extremely rare event. Just as nearly a thousand human Spellcasters, including Xia Duo, were full of anticipation for what a duel between Elves would be like, unexpectedly—

When the two Elf Mages entered the Semi-plane battle space, both sides actually acted like Apprentices fighting; you cast a Magic Missile, I cast a Scorching Ray, back and forth, and the scene looked very lively.

But that was only lively in the eyes of ordinary people; in the eyes of the Spellcasters, it was simply like child's play.

After a few rounds, the Yierlan Mage voluntarily conceded.

For a moment, the whole audience was in an uproar; with such blatant match-fixing, was there no one to manage it?

It seemed there really was no one to manage it. After Elkamon announced the result, none of the Great Arcanists expressed any objection, as if they were very satisfied with the performance just now.

And the third match that followed, the Cormanthor Mage challenging the Netherese Mage, made everyone understand that this year's Snow Melting Competition was indeed different from previous years!

This Netherese Arcanist who appeared was almost suppressed and beaten by his opponent, and the battle was very intense. Although there were no various flashy light and shadow effects in the eyes of ordinary people, in the eyes of the Spellcasters, this match was much more exciting than the previous one.

But very unfortunately, Netheril lost this one.

"Snow Melting Competition 【Spell Duel】 third match, Weier'si, wins!"

The competition continued, and the fourth match was the turn for the Netherese side to challenge the Yierlan side, but this time Xia Duo did not focus his attention on the competition, but instead observed the situation on the Elves' side.

Although only three matches had been played, many people had already discovered that this Snow Melting Competition, while called a competition, was more like a collective action by Yierlan and Cormanthor to suppress Netheril.

Xia Duo had not seen past Snow Melting Competitions and was unclear about the atmosphere of the competitions in the past, but this time, it was clearly full of malice; once an Elf Mage faced a human Mage, they would attack with all their might.

Yet the duels between them were like child's play.

While maintaining a minimum level of attention on the competition, Xia Duo focused his attention mainly on one Cormanthor Elf, the very Weier'si who had just defeated the Netherese Arcanist.

The sound, of course, could not reach him, and Xia Duo could not read lips, but just by looking at his movements, expressions, and demeanor, he could roughly discover some clues.