Chapter 012: The Difference Between Victory and Defeat

Barbari was utterly desperate. Those at their level of strength had a clear sense of who was stronger and who was weaker. Barbari knew well that even if he and Brisbane were at their peak right now, they would still be no match for Abraham.
Mages were proud people—winning meant winning, losing meant losing, with no room for argument.
With this thought, Barbari let out a bitter laugh and dropped his wand. With a snap, the wand fell to the training ground.
Brisbane, behind Barbari, had already fainted. If not for Barbari holding him, he might have fallen as well.
As Brisbane lost consciousness, the bone birds and giant skeletons he had summoned disappeared instantly, leaving only the firebirds summoned by Abraham circling in the air…
Barbari smiled bitterly and looked up at Abraham.
But in an instant, Abraham appeared right in front of him.
Abraham smiled slightly and said, “Master Barbari… do we still need to continue?”
Barbari’s smile was bitter as he simply sighed and said, “We’ve lost…”
Abraham still smiled and asked, “If we’ve lost… what should we do?”
Barbari’s expression changed slightly, but after a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “This time it’s our fault for not seeing the truth… Since we’ve lost, I, Barbari, won’t deny it. In a situation like this, there’s no victory or defeat—only life or death. So please, Master Abraham, go ahead and end it!”
Abraham shook his head. “Why would I want your lives? To turn your mage guild and Prince Fischer into mortal enemies? But even though I don’t want your lives, I can’t let you go either… After all, under these circumstances, if you two still stand by the Great Prince, you’ll be a trouble to me. So, I’m sorry, but I have no choice.”
With that, Abraham raised his hand slightly, and strands of golden thread floated out from his fingertips, quickly wrapping around Barbari and Brisbane. Barbari closed his eyes, refusing to look any further…
In less than a moment, the two great mages were wrapped in a giant cocoon formed by the golden threads from Abraham’s fingertips, and their figures disappeared.

Some astute nobles had already recognized that this was a binding spell from magic—those trapped by the golden threads would need at least three days and nights for the spell’s effect to fade, unless the one who cast it decided otherwise… In other words, the two great magicians sent by the Crown Prince had now lost all their combat capability… yet Abraham seemed as if nothing had happened.

Abraham floated in mid-air, gazing down at the Crown Prince. With a smile, he said, “Your Highness… can this battle be considered a victory for me? Or do you still have others? Send them in too!”

The Crown Prince let out a soft sigh. He looked up at Master Abraham in the air, suddenly raised his hand and clapped a few times, then declared loudly, “Master Abraham is truly formidable… In this battle, it’s me who has lost…”

Hearing this, Abraham nodded gently. With a casual gesture, another spatial rift appeared in the air, and the giant firebird flew back through it. The two great magicians trapped by the golden threads fell into Prince Fischer’s camp. Immediately, two court magicians stepped forward and took those two away.

Abraham himself also descended lightly in front of Prince Fischer. He bowed slightly, glanced at Austin III, then said calmly, “Your Majesty, Your Highness… Abraham has fulfilled his mission!”

Prince Fischer nodded. “I knew Master would not disappoint me…”

Austin III merely smiled slightly without saying much.

Abraham didn’t seem to expect anything from Austin III either. He simply nodded and stepped back behind Prince Fischer.

The scene fell quiet for a moment…

The battle between the great magicians ended with Prince Fischer’s victory. So although his side had fewer people, the power of a single great magician could often rival that of thousands of soldiers… Under such circumstances, the originally tilted balance began to stabilize again…

It seemed no one could predict what would happen next.

Du Fan frowned as he watched it all end. Beyond being shocked, he could only feel awe… The numerous and complex spells used by those three great magicians were beyond what an ordinary person could imagine… Their precise control over mental power and magic was far beyond someone like Du Fan, a novice.

At this moment, Du Fan was like someone who possessed vast wealth but didn’t know how to use it. Suddenly seeing others spend money, he felt an epiphany—a sudden understanding that was almost impossible to put into words, yet had an immense impact on him.

To others, this magnificent battle might have been just the prelude to a struggle for power, but for Du Fan, it was like a brand-new door suddenly opening up, instantly elevating his understanding of magic by a great deal. Of course, such breakthroughs and advancements couldn’t be seen immediately; only through long-term practice and comprehension could real results be achieved.

Du Fan was aware of this, so although he had the urge to leave right away and study magic, he struggled to control his emotions… After all, what was happening here would have a profound impact on him, his family, and the empire…

Du Fan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before looking toward the battlefield…

The atmosphere was quiet and heavy… yet there was a faint sense of something wrong in the air…

Something was wrong!
Extremely wrong!!!

Du Fan’s mental strength was beyond ordinary people’s, making him exceptionally sensitive to various sensations. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off, as if there was something unexpected in the scene. Though he could sense that something was amiss, he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was… But when his gaze fell on the Crown Prince surrounded by military officers, he finally understood!

The Crown Prince’s behavior!!!
This guy was incredibly calm. After all, most of the members of the Mage Guild had been won over at great cost to him. It was no small feat for the Mage Guild to send two high-ranking mages to assist him in seizing power…

Yet now, these two mages from the Mage Guild had been defeated and captured, in such a crushing and decisive manner… Yet throughout the entire process, the Crown Prince remained calm, as if he had expected those two mages to fail all along, as if he had sent them out to die… As if it were all entirely expected!

The problem is… the Crown Prince is part of the royal family and must surely have some idea of the strength of the head of the court magicians… yet he sent someone who was bound to lose… Could this be intentional? Du Fan even faintly sensed that the Crown Prince seemed to have let out a sigh, as if… having shed some burden! It seemed that Du Fan was the only one present who vaguely noticed the weighty expression in the Crown Prince’s eyes, though it only lasted for a moment… “He’s really just a great mage after all!!!” Du Fan sighed inwardly… He wasn’t sure how much of his speculation was true, but from what he knew about Prince Fischer, he definitely wasn’t someone who could be easily tricked, and the Crown Prince also appeared utterly unafraid… It seemed the struggle for power tonight held endless variables! On the platform, Prince Fischer made a gesture, signaling those around him to step aside, before walking up to Austin III, bowing slightly and saying, “Father, it seems my elder brother won’t give up easily today. Please leave everything else to me to handle, shall we?” Austin III nodded, his gaze somewhat peculiar—far from that of a man on his deathbed. He sighed softly before saying, “Then… hurry up. As you know, my time is running out; I can’t wait that long…” Prince Fischer nodded, stepped back a few paces, took a deep breath, and then declared loudly in the direction of the Crown Prince, “Elder brother, you’ve already lost the first round. If you admit defeat, I won’t blame you… Or do you still intend to stubbornly resist?”