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."