Even if the Wise Sovereign hadn’t intervened, nothing major would have happened. Black Earl and Dox were present on this side, while on Grey Merchant’s side, the Vixen had also emerged from the Sunlight Sanctuary, her appearance fully restored to how it looked at their first meeting, the bandages fluttering in mid-air, perfectly capable of protecting a few apprentices.
They were quite eager to experience the energy waves. This way, they could directly compare the energy differences between the two sides, but they were slightly disappointed when the Wise Sovereign stopped it halfway through.
However, even if it wasn’t possible to judge through the energy ripples, the changes in the battle on the arena were enough to show who held the advantage in the initial encounter.
The moment they landed, the Shadow Giant maintained its original form. But two seconds later, the shadow at the outermost layer began to burn. Even though the Blue Lantern Flower atop the shadow’s head swayed constantly, trying to stabilize the shadow form, a third of the massive body still dissipated.
Currently, the figure formed by shadows could still be considered a giant, but compared to before, it appeared significantly weaker.
Without a doubt, Angel’s side was at a disadvantage in this confrontation.
But from Grey Merchant’s perspective, he did not hold a complete advantage either. He landed, rolled several circles on the ground, bounced and landed again before finally stopping his momentum.
Although Grey Merchant didn’t appear injured, his body lost control for at least four or five meters. If this had been at the edge of the arena, Grey Merchant might have already been knocked out of bounds.
Additionally, there was one thing Grey Merchant and his group didn’t know.
The person who seemed to face Grey Merchant head-on was Angel, but it was actually Earl Mi, the panic demon from the Panic Realm.
Grey Merchant, as a Blood Origin Wizard, appeared to have only activated the bloodline in his hands, but in reality, one move could affect his entire being, with the bloodline within him boiling, achieving at least half of the full activation level.
Generally speaking, even at half level, a Bloodline Wizard’s physical prowess far surpasses that of wizards of the same tier.
Yet, Earl Mi relied on his physical body alone to withstand Grey Merchant’s physical assault, underscoring the frightening strength of Earl Mi’s physique.
Moreover, Earl Mi was using shadow form. Neither his true form nor elemental form was activated. Most importantly, Angel hadn’t intervened. Besides commanding Earl Mi to attack, Angel seemingly did nothing else.
In fact, the crowd was mistaken. Angel not only didn’t intervene, but he also didn’t even command Earl Mi.
Who is Earl Mi? An awakened demon from the Panic Realm! What is a demon’s strongest attribute? Combat instincts.
Because of their incredibly powerful combat instincts, when Rhein first heard about the effects of the Seed of Distortion, he immediately thought of the demon. Even without spirit intelligence, a demon’s combat instincts surpass many wizards who diligently study tactics.
Angel didn’t think he had the qualifications to command Earl Mi in combat. So, he did absolutely nothing... well, he was sensing the surrounding malice. However, this had nothing to do with the duel. As for the duel, Angel had completely handed it over to Earl Mi.
After the first encounter, Grey Merchant roughly understood the opponent’s "strength."
So, when he turned around to face the now smaller Shadow Giant again, Grey Merchant became more cautious than before, though his sense of vigilance was greatly reduced.
Vigilance arises from the unknown, and since there has already been contact, the unknown naturally begins to fade away.
In the second engagement, the Shadow Giant was the first to make a move. This time, Grey Merchant did not move. As his arms crossed, they formed a diamond-shaped gemstone shield of a transparent yellow hue. Additionally, a crystallized, spiny tail emerged from the base of his spine, embedding deeply into the ground, providing an absolutely solid anchor point. Clearly, Grey Merchant had decided to confront the attack head-on this time.
The Wise Sovereign did not voice any demand for compensation from Grey Merchant for ground damage, which indicated that the gemstone earth dragon’s tail did not damage the ground as it directly integrated into the arena.
This was also a signal —— it was very likely that Grey Merchant’s tail was not just an anchor, but could also become an attacking blade.
If it were Angel, he might have deduced from the Wise Sovereign’s silence.
As for Earl Mi... he could detect it even better. He didn’t need the Wise Sovereign’s confirmation; Earl Mi could simulate various elements and was just as familiar with the earth’s vibrations as the Earth Wizard.
Though Grey Merchant possessed the bloodline of the gemstone earth dragon, which could be considered half a Gemstone Secret Technique, it still fell a notch short compared to a genuine Gemstone Secret Technique.
Therefore, trying such Earth Wizard tricks on Earl Mi would be of no use.
Still, despite seeing through some of Grey Merchant’s subtle plans, Earl Mi had no intention of stopping. The Shadow Giant surged at Grey Merchant with supreme speed.
Black mist swirling, a gigantic fist was simulated by the Shadow Giant, fiercely crashing down on Grey Merchant’s shield.
Grey Merchant had confidence in his gemstone shield. Even if it broke, he had more than enough time to react. As such, Grey Merchant paid no mind to the massive fist, choosing instead to manipulate the tail hidden underground, suddenly thrusting up from behind the Shadow Giant.
The tail of the gemstone earth dragon was lined with numerous sharp crystals capable of skewering a person.
Yet, Grey Merchant refrained from doing so, not out of kindness, but because there were still uncertainties about this Shadow Giant. Until now, he had yet to determine the connection between the Shadow Giant and that red-haired, golden-eyed wizard. Was this the wizard’s own ability or a summoned creature?
Moreover, earlier when Grey Merchant and the Shadow Giant briefly clashed, Grey Merchant distinctly sensed that the previous charge by the Shadow Giant bore true "shadow" characteristics. Without the energy of Grey Merchant’s fists, it might have been completely immune.
So, if the Shadow Giant was in shadow state, Grey Merchant did not believe piercing it would cause significant damage. At most, the energy from the crystals could cause penetrating damage, but the most notable shadow ability is damage transfer, allowing any penetrating damage to be relocated to a non-critical area, bearing no impact on its combat effectiveness.
Thus, Grey Merchant chose not to pierce with the sharp gemstone tail but instead let it blossom.
Literally blossomed.
The transparent yellow tail suddenly split into four petals like a cannibal flower. The opened tail revealed no predatory teeth like a cannibal flower but was filled with gems of various colors, sizes, and elemental properties.
Under Grey Merchant’s control, these gems silently floated up, transforming into colorful streaks of light, rushing towards the Shadow Giant when it wasn’t looking!
Each of these gems contained elemental properties, and during their rapid flight, they had already shifted into an unstable state. However, the gemstone crust crafted by the gemstone earth dragon restrained this unstable state, preventing an immediate explosion.
Yet, this gemstone crust would immediately disintegrate upon contact with any other energy or physical collision.
It’s easy to imagine that once these gems contacted the Shadow Giant, a massive explosion would undoubtedly ensue.
The shadow ability of damage transfer would also be powerless in the face of such a widespread explosion.
However, Grey Merchant was unaware that Earl Mi was not entirely shadow-based, or rather, he wasn’t solely reliant on shadow abilities.
When a misjudgment occurs at the very beginning of an assessment, subsequent results are bound to be skewed. In battle, this variance is infinitely magnified.
It might even spell the difference between victory and defeat.