Kaier: "What happened? It seems Vay had the upper hand previously, and although later he withdrew the spikes from the ground for some unknown reason, he should still be in balance, right?"
Dox: "Whether it’s balanced, I don’t know. Because the ghost shadow has never directly confronted Vay, without face-to-face contact, where’s the balance? The ghost shadow purely relies on tactics, depleting Vay’s magic power."
So far, the ghost shadow has only used Mist Technique and Shadowhide Technique.
Among them, the Mist Technique doesn’t even count as a trick, it can only be considered a means or a ploy. And the Shadowhide Technique is inherently basic in the Shadow Series.
Just like the Illusion Node is to the Illusionist Wizard, it’s the most basic of the basics.
Including the shadow avatar created, it’s merely an application of shadowhide.
As a result, two simple tricks uncovered Vay’s two trump cards. The final outcome of this duel is still unknown, but from a tactical aspect, the opponent completely outclassed Vay.
"Sound in theory one after another, but once on stage, immediately exposed." Dox shook his head in resignation.
"Yet you still lost to him back then?" Angel’s voice rang in the Mind Ribbon.
Dox grunted twice: "I was young back then, plus Vay knew all my tactics and abilities well, but his own abilities he liked to hide, claiming them as family secrets. So losing in a duel was only natural, right?"
"Besides, at that time, Vay was good at organizing and managing the rhythm during our adventures and solving riddles, I just..."
Angel: "Did you just hang around like an accessory?"
Dox was at a loss for a moment, then sheepishly said after a while: "My intuition wasn’t bad... "
Angel: "So, aside from your inspiration talent, you’re just an accessory."
Dox remained silent for a moment, didn’t respond to that, but changed the topic: "Anyway, Vay was quite strong at that time, but after all these years, he’s only grown stagnant."
Dox only dares to touch on the subject lightly, because the reasons for stagnation are actually related to the Black Earl.
Vay is very cautious around the Black Earl, always hesitating to cultivate too aggressively. This is why Dox has long become an Official Wizard, while Vay is still lingering at the peak of apprenticeship.
To avoid being controlled, Vay hasn’t left Mesomyia for years. No matter how strong your strategy, no matter how sharp your blade, time will eventually blunt them.
Watching Vay becoming diminished in the battle, Dox felt no ridicule but more of helplessness and lament.
"Perhaps Vay is currently laying out a strategy?" After saying this, Kaier sneakily glanced at the Black Earl, hoping to glean some hint from him. Unfortunately, the Black Earl showed no reaction.
Dox: "If this is really his strategy, it’s quite something. Using his own trump card to bluff the opponent’s Basic Sorcery?"
Dox shook his head: "Moreover, didn’t you notice? Vay suddenly coughed up blood while casting spells."
Kaier naturally saw Vay’s moment of coughing blood. He always wanted to ask what was up, but seeing Vay quickly adjusted himself, he didn’t think too much, simply assuming it was a side effect of Vay’s ability.
But now, according to Dox, is there something fishy going on?
Dox: "Naturally there’s something fishy, it’s impossible to cough up blood out of nowhere."
Dox stopped here, without continuing, as there was a new development on the battle stage.
The mist spread out, completely enveloping Vay within it.
Although Vay activated his bloodline, petrifying his skin to temporarily ward off bacterial intrusion, he himself fell into a predicament, a dual dilemma—lost and attacked.
Though being lost, Vay wanted to find a place not covered by the mist, yet no matter how he walked, he couldn’t get out of the mist.
As for the attack, Vay was occasionally ambushed by ghostly shadows in the mist, and even withstanding the petrified skin, he was beginning to struggle.
"Alas, it’s hard," Dox sighed.
Kaier watched Vay like a headless chicken, his face showing worry.
Dox turned to Kaier and said: "How is it? Have you figured it out? Better to understand it, you might be the next up against the ghostly shadows."
Upon hearing Dox’s question, Kaier forcibly pulled himself out of his worry.
No matter who wins or loses this match, it’s best for him to analyze himself, clearly understanding the vital points of victory and defeat. Otherwise, in the battles to come, he might fall into the opponent’s trap too.
Besides, if the ghostly shadows are this cunning, aren’t the others equally cunning? Perhaps even more so.
Thinking of this, Kaier began to comb through everything from the start.
When reviewing the previous battle scenario, Kaier found the crucial point lay in Vay suddenly coughing up blood, interrupting the casting of the Earth Cocoon, allowing the ghostly shadow to escape.
If Vay had no issue then, the ghostly shadow might already have lost.
But why did Vay cough blood at that time?
According to Dox, Vay’s coughing blood was certainly fishy. The so-called fishiness must be something the ghostly shadow did.
Maybe it was a trick, or maybe some trick was played.
To play tricks, the ghostly shadow must have directly contacted Vay. So far, the only contact would be at the start.
Back then, Vay was swept up by an attack from above by the ghostly shadow, bouncing off over ten meters away.
This is the only face-to-face contact Kaier remembers. Could it be that during the close encounter, the ghostly shadow did something?
Kaier pondered for a moment, rejecting this guess. Because after this contact, Kaier hid in the stone prison and started taking potions.
At that time, Red Sword and Chaowei were conversing, and from their talk, Kaier did not catch any mention of Vay being tricked.
If tricked, even if Chaowei didn’t mention it, given Red Sword’s personality, he would murmur a few sentences.
Yet excluding this encounter, there was no contact?
So how was Vay tricked?