Gerian held onto his bucket-thick waist as he gasped for air. The fat on his body rose and fell with dramatic gasps, and cold sweat broke out on his pale, chubby face. Although he was still staring at Old Merlin fiercely, everyone present knew that he was a spent arrow now.
Old Merlin was no better. He had to rely on Cromwell's support in order to stand firm on his feet when he landed.
But, for some reason, Old Merlin's pale face carried a hint of a smile.
Gerian had given up. Things were obvious—both were archmages, and both had exhausted their powers. No one could do anything to each other now, so how could he still smile with such confidence?
In fact, Gerian felt a tinge of joy as soon as the mana was exhausted on both sides. Neither had the strength of an archmage now, and he had dozens of people standing behind him. It would be a challenge the moment when they'd rush forward and surround the Merlins. Not to mention, he had a physical advantage. Just think, a two or three hundred pound man pouncing could easily crush him flat…
Hence, Gerian could not figure out just why Old Merlin was all smiles in victory when he had such a huge advantage over him.
The old fellow glared at Old Merlin. "You can still laugh after being beaten by me? Are you a damn ostrich?"
Old Merlin was barely able to steady himself with the help of Cromwell and still looked weak. He had heard Gerian's yell but chose to ignore it, clinging onto his chest as he broke out in a violent cough. Old Merlin looked like an old man with one foot in the grave, worn and weak, without the bearing of a great archmage.
However, regardless of how weak he was, Old Merlin's had a confident smile on his face all this while.
It made Gerian all the more unhappy to see it. He dragged his weak body and set forth towards Old Merlin. He would not let the mages in the guild lift a finger. He was going to crush that bastard Old Merlin all by himself.
But as Old Merlin's smile gradually expanded and his emaciated right hand reached into the pockets, Gerian's expression stiffened all of a sudden.
He saw Old Merlin pulling something out of his pockets.
It was a sky-blue crystal. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the sparkling crystal reflected a colorful halo.
That halo was gorgeous yet blurry, like the most beautiful of dreams.
A pure magical aura was emitted from the crystal. There were no traces of impurity in the aura at all. It was authentic and clean, gentle and soft, like a flowing river from the countryside, moistening the earth without a sound.
The confident smile of Old Merlin was even more unfathomable under the gleam of the crystal halo.
"If you had a Strong Energy Crystal, you'd probably be smiling like me now…" Though he was answering Gerian's questions, his eyes were fixed on the crystal on his hand. He was somewhat enchanted by the colorful halo, and also somewhat unwilling to shift his eyes away from it.
The whole Emerald Tower became silent as Old Merlin's voice spread throughout it.
Everyone's attention fell upon the halo; all kinds of emotions intertwined—confusion, shock, greed, and uncertainty—creating a strange atmosphere within the Emerald Tower.
The people present were mages of at least level-five and above. Other than a dabbler like Lin Li, who had never heard the great name of the Strong Energy Crystal, it was something that almost every mage yearned for. Its powerful calming effect prevented the bite of mana when unleashing spells. To a mage, the bite of mana was much more fearful than the opponent. In addition, the Strong Energy Crystal could amplify the effects of meditation. As long as one had the crystal by their side, the meditation's effects could be raised to a terrifying level.
But the real power of the Strong Energy Crystal was that it could completely restore mana.
For a mage, nothing was much more valuable than mana.
Full restoration of mana could change almost everything at the critical moment.
For example, the battle between two archmages right before their eyes. Being the most powerful mages of Jarrosus City, and having exhausted the last of their mana, with Old Merlin's condition worse than Gerian's as he could not even steady himself, it seemed to be over. But right at this crucial point, Old Merlin had taken out the Strong Energy Crystal…
Gerian's expression changed when the sky-blue crystal was taken out. His pale chubby face turned to a terrible color of bluish-white. It was nearly an expression of despair. It did not matter who, there would only be profound anguish for anyone in this situation.
Both had exhausted all their mana, but the enemy possessed the opportunity to restore all his mana at the most critical time. There was probably nothing else in this world that could feel more helpless than this…
Gerian stood glued to the ground. The gaze he had on Old Merlin was a lifeless one. He had never felt so powerless before. What had obviously been an evenly matched enemy became one that could throttle him to death in an instant as effortlessly as crushing an ant.
After the initial stupor, the mages in the Emerald Tower seemed to have realized all of a sudden what the Strong Energy Crystal meant. It meant that Old Merlin could kill Gerian anytime now, sending the Guild of Magic into depths of despair once and for all.
But as soon as realization hit them, almost all the mages had an expression of vivid fear on their faces. Everyone knew that the Guild of Magic actually belonged to Gerian alone. It was all because of Gerian that the guild was able to survive such a difficult time for 20 years and was able to stand against the number one mage family, the Merlins.
Once Gerian collapsed, it would be the end of the Guild of Magic…
Perhaps it was only a dabbler like Lin Li who had not understood the situation. He stared puzzled at Old Merlin, thinking about how despicable that old fellow's smile was. Could it be that he had a secret weapon with him? As it was a good habit to ask when one didn't know, he nudged Kevin with his elbow and asked humbly, "What is that thing that the old fellow has in his hands?"
"Strong Energy Crystal." Kevin was distracted. He was worried about the circumstances Gerian was in. But after the repeated questioning from Lin Li, he explained the origin of the Strong Energy Crystal in a simple way. "Other than the effects of calming the mind and strengthening meditation, it also has the power to restore mana. Although such power can only be used once, under this situation, I'm afraid Uncle Gerian…"
"Restore mana?" Lin Li was astounded. That old fellow Gerian looked to be a smart person and knew how to exploit his own surplus value usually. How could he see a broken crystal this day and be scared silly by it? Was it possible that the battle with Old Merlin had damaged his brain…?
Restore mana… Lin Li touched his nose. He felt like asking Gerian, "How many times do you wish to recover?"