The scene fell into a deathly silence.

  Pierce's calmness made everyone present feel a touch of absurdity. A "Bloodless" cornered by three great geniuses in a desperate situation still had the leisure to stroke his familiar's feathers?

  Gwendolyn looked at Pierce with a strange expression. Has he given up resistance? Is that why he's acting so indifferent?

  Silas snorted coldly, a trace of impatience flashing in his eyes. "Pierce, this is your last chance. If you don't want me to break your limbs and throw you into a pile of barbarians, hand over the Myriad Flower Fey and all your points."

  Gwendolyn and Ingram were stunned for a moment, then cursed his shamelessness inwardly.

  No wonder Silas agreed so readily to give up the Myriad Flower Fey earlier. His true target was those 6500 points! Once this huge sum fell into Silas's hands, his total score would break the 10000 mark, completely locking in the position of first place in the trial.

  Cunning bastard.

  Gwendolyn frowned tightly. Competing for the Myriad Flower Fey was part of the trial and understandable as a game within the rules. But to completely strip the opponent of their points while seizing the treasure was tantamount to cutting off their future—a feud that would never end until death.

  Silas's method is too ruthless.

  Ignoring the gazes of others, Silas looked down at Pierce condescendingly, his eyes filled with the cruelty and mockery of a cat playing with a mouse. In his view, this waste abandoned by the family was already trapped with no way out.

  Behind them, Clement and Waylon looked at Pierce with pity.

  Capturing the Myriad Flower Fey was indeed incredible luck, but without the strength to guard that luck, this so-called fortune would only become a death warrant.

  However, contrary to everyone's expectations, facing Silas's aggressive pressure, Pierce remained calm. He even had the leisure to adjust his wind-blown cuffs before looking up at Silas with a faint smile:

  "Has anyone ever told you that you really talk too much nonsense?"

  "If you want to take it, just do it. In the world of truth, the tongue is the most useless organ."

  As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present became extremely colorful.

  Gwendolyn's beautiful eyes widened. This guy... is actually this tough? It's one thing to refuse to hand over points, but to openly provoke Silas, who possesses a Blood Fey?

  Silas's face turned gloomy as water in an instant, the killing intent in his eyes no longer concealable.

  "Overconfident wretch. Since you seek death, then I will—"

  "I said, you talk too much nonsense!"

  Pierce interrupted him without warning, raising his hand to unleash an instant spell.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  Sizzle!

  A ball of dark green acid the size of a basketball whistled out like a cannonball, moving so fast it left an afterimage in the air.

  So fast!

  Silas was startled and rolled awkwardly to the side to dodge, simultaneously issuing a kill order to the Blood Fey in mid-air without hesitation.

  "Kill him!"

  Woo woo—!!

  The bloody humanoid figure suddenly let out a shriek, its body stretching and deforming in the air into two giant claws made of fresh blood, grabbing at Pierce's head with a nauseating stench.

  But before it could get close, a black bolt of lightning struck from the side, slamming hard into the Blood Fey.

  It was Mistfeather.

  Watching this, Gwendolyn shook her head secretly.

  The Blood Fey's greatest characteristic was blood manipulation, possessing absolute restraint against creatures of flesh and blood. Ordinary familiars would avoid it like the plague, yet this crow actively engaged in close combat? What was this if not seeking death?

  However, the scene that followed made everyone's jaw drop.

  Bang!

  With a muffled sound, the Blood Fey, capable of instantly killing a Rank 2 apprentice, was knocked flying directly, emitting a shrill wail as it crashed to the ground.

  In contrast, although the crow had a huge wound torn by the blood claws, no blood flowed from it. Instead, a mass of rolling black mist appeared. The wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if the heavy injury just now was merely an illusion.

  "Semi-Incorporeal trait?!"

  Gwendolyn's eyes widened in surprise.

  This crow didn't awaken some ordinary summoning ability, but an extremely rare high-tier phantom talent!

  Silas was also stunned, then snorted coldly. So what if it has some weird resistances? Without the protection of the familiar, Pierce himself is still a sitting duck.

  Ignoring the struggle between the familiars, he waved his wand and began to focus on dealing with Pierce.

  Although the means of a Wizard Apprentice were limited, in his cognition, relying on his profound magic reserves and the family's secret casting techniques, crushing a wild "Bloodless" was more than enough.

  Mage Hand! Acid Splash! Ray of Fatigue!

  A series of spells poured out like a rainstorm.

  However, reality gave him a loud slap in the face.

  After truly engaging, Silas discovered in horror that whether it was casting speed, spell power, or control of the battlefield, Pierce was suppressing him in all aspects!

  Sizzle!

  Silas awkwardly dodged an acid ball that flew past his scalp. The acid hit an ancient tree behind him, instantly corroding a large smoking hole in it.

  Damn it! How can this guy's spell intensity be so high?!

  In less than 10 breaths, Silas had gone from active offense to wretched fleeing.

  Clement and the others watching from the side were dumbfounded. They couldn't have imagined even in their wildest dreams that the usually arrogant Silas would be beaten into a state of helplessness by this former nobody.

  Gwendolyn and Ingram also looked grave.

  "This casting rhythm..." Gwendolyn stared at the magical aura on Pierce's fingertips that almost never ceased, her voice trembling slightly. "It seems like... Segmented Casting!"

  "How is that possible?" Ingram exclaimed in disbelief. "That's a high-tier technique only Rank 3 apprentices can master! Has Pierce already broken through?"

  Just then, Silas, who had been suppressed, finally exploded.

  "Enough!"

  He roared, a flash of light in his palm revealing a wand made entirely of ice crystal. As he guided the incantation, a beam of azure extreme cold gathered at the tip of the wand.

  Ray of Frost!

  Gwendolyn was stunned. That's a Rank 1 spell! Even a modified weakened version has power far exceeding a Rank 0 cantrip, reaching an energy level of at least 6 degrees!

  Pierce's protective force field is on the verge of collapse. This hit... he can't tank it!

  A ferocious smile appeared on Silas's face. "Die, wretch!"

  The azure ray sliced through the air like the scythe of the Reaper, pointing straight at Pierce's heart.

  However, facing this sure-kill strike, Pierce just smiled faintly.

  He did not dodge but softly called out a name hidden for a long time:

  "A.I. (Little Ai)."

  Hum!

  A slight tremor came from the air.

  A triangular silver-white metal shield appeared out of thin air in front of Pierce. It did not stand still like an ordinary magic shield but spun at high speed in the air, releasing layers of pale golden diamond-shaped force fields, protecting Pierce tightly behind it.

  Silas's ferocious smile froze instantly.