Black Hearted Mage

Upon entering the arena, a middle-aged man with a beaming smile greeted them. He was slightly shorter than Caesars and a bit overweight. He wore an emerald green silk robe, the sleeves fluttering in the breeze. A delicate mustache quivered gently with his smile. His face was filled with a warm, radiant smile that seemed to melt the air around him.

"Lord Caesar, I am the manager of this Colosseum. I am honored to welcome you today. Please follow me. Your seat is at the front, and your family's seats are arranged in the stands behind you for your convenience." The middle-aged man said respectfully, and bowed slightly to show the way.

"Well, I'm done."

Caesars nodded calmly and responded. He then turned to look at the ogre, who was curiously looking around, his head moving like a rattle. With a slight smile on his face, he waved to him, urging him to follow. After all, for this ogre, who was entering such a magnificent place for the first time, everything before him was too new to him. His large, copper-bell-like eyes could barely take it all in.

The group slowly made their way along a straight, spacious passage, hearing the surrounding clamor. It wasn't long before Caesars and his group arrived at their designated location. This was a small, exquisite stand at the edge of the arena. Below the stand was Caesars's private resting area, with a flight of stairs leading directly to the arena.

The arena was vast, imposing, and expansive. It could easily accommodate tens of thousands of spectators. Some had already taken their seats, chatting quietly or eagerly anticipating the exciting bouts. Many others were still weaving through the bustling crowd, anxiously searching for their seats.

On the stands opposite the arena, there were hundreds of magicians sitting. It seemed that all the members of the magic guild had come out in full force.

There were several tables and chairs on the small stand, each with a large parasol next to it. A little maid stood by the table. On the table were some fruits and snacks, as well as freshly brewed tea.

"This chair is too small. It's going to collapse if I sit on it. Luckily I brought my own chair!"

Locke said as he took out a chair. Caesars didn't find it strange, but the people of the Cavill family were surprised. The ogre took out a piece of light red log, which was chopped into the rough shape of a chair.

"Locke, did you make this chair yourself?" Caesars asked.

"Brother Caesar, you are so smart. You saw through it at a glance!" said the ogre in surprise.

"This is the Fire Maple Tree, the one in the big square!"

"Yes, that's the tree. I saved a piece of it instead of burning it as firewood, and chopped it out of it with an axe to make a chair!"

The ogre laughed cheerfully, his face full of pride. Kaesus's eyelids twitched as he looked at the piece of fire maple wood. That fire maple tree must have been worth at least a thousand gold coins, yet the ogre had actually burned it for firewood.

"Kaisas, that woman in red looks familiar. I think I've seen her somewhere!"

Locke lowered his voice, trying to keep it as low as possible, but for a gigantic ogre, this volume was already considered a whisper. However, even so, Locke's self-proclaimed whispers were still clearly heard by the people in the small stands.

Joanna, the person standing nearby, couldn't help but feel a little amused and thought to herself: This ogre is really funny. He speaks so loudly but doesn't even realize it.

Kaisas said: "Locke, she is Joanna, the great magician from the Northland Tower!"

Hearing this, the ogre nodded as if suddenly enlightened, muttering to himself, "I see, why does it look so familiar? I've been to the North Tower before!" Then, he turned his head to look at Kaisas beside him and continued, "Brother Kaisas, I have something to tell you. I'm going back to the tribe today!"

Kaisas patted Locke's sturdy shoulders and encouraged him, "Well done, Locke. When you return to the tribe, you must practice your shaman skills diligently. When your shaman power becomes stronger, I will take you to kill the people of the Church of Saint Laurent. They are all "big fat sheep", and the gold coins you earn then will be much more than you can earn by setting up a stall here!"

Hearing that he could earn a lot of gold coins, the originally lazy Locke suddenly became energetic and nodded repeatedly in response: "Yeah, don't worry, Brother Caesars, I will definitely listen to your advice this time!"

The burly ogre, now displaying an air of humble, obedient readiness, sparked curiosity in Joanna, who was watching from the side. She had heard about Locke, the ogre—a glutton and a sleepyhead, whose last aversion was to practicing shamanic skills. Unexpectedly, the lure of gold alone had him determined to strive for excellence.

After a long while, the audience had all entered the arena. The elegant middle-aged man, dressed in a green silk robe, slowly and leisurely walked to the center of the vast arena. Holding a magic megaphone, he began to introduce the two teams that would soon participate in the fierce battle to the audience in a loud and clear voice.

He methodically announced the names of each participant, then described their occupations and current ranks in detail. As for the core interests behind the fight—the golden ginseng—the issue that most concerned everyone, the middle-aged man made no mention of it, simply stating that there was a conflict of interest between the two sides.

Everyone in the Colosseum listened intently to the middle-aged man's introduction. When Decaesars ascended to become a powerful great magician, the crowd erupted in deafening exclamations. These exclamations, like surging waves, echoed throughout the vast arena.

Meanwhile, many in the audience began to whisper among themselves, inquiring about the Cavill family. After all, before this, the family had been relatively unknown, and many had no memory of them. But now, a seemingly ordinary baronial mansion had unexpectedly nurtured two exceptional great magicians. This undoubtedly catapulted the Cavill family's status to a new height, drawing the close attention and deep fear of many nobles. Some discerning nobles even began secretly plotting how to establish connections with this suddenly rising family or perhaps even profit from it.

After all the participants were introduced, the middle-aged man then went on to elaborate on the specific rules of this spell duel. The Magic Guild had a clear rule: bringing pets into the battle was strictly prohibited.

In the end, Caesar's golden-eyed black magic snake had no choice but to be left outside the field and had no chance to participate in this thrilling duel.

Both teams were ready to take the stage. The first magic duel was between Caesars and three high-ranking magicians. Caesars was the first to emerge from the rest area, producing a full-metal Death Staff. The silver-gray staff looked unremarkable, though its shape was somewhat odd.

In the stands, old Roman stared intently at Caesar with his dim eyes. The magic robe he wore looked very familiar to him. It was an elven-style battle robe, intricately embroidered with magical patterns, and far superior to the spider silk robe he treasured.

On the highest stand of the arena, the Roland Empire's power triangle sat in the front row. Duke Solomon was pointing at the arena and introducing Caesar's affairs to the old emperor.

"Solomon, what title do you think is appropriate for him?" asked the old emperor in a golden robe.

"Title? Your Majesty, he has explicitly refused the title and fiefdom. When we were in Gravel Castle, I once tried to win him over with this condition. He said that he was a magician, and power and fiefdom were an invisible constraint on him!" Duke Solomon, who was wearing a black and gold robe, explained to the old emperor.

"Solomon, Carlos, how do we win him over?"

The old emperor was in a dilemma because he didn't want either a noble title or a fiefdom. The gold he desired was in the hands of the other party, and he was worried if he didn't win over the other party.

"Magic Crystal! Your Majesty, Caesar only wants Magic Crystal, he doesn't care about gold coins!" The spy chief, who was still wearing black leather armor and a black mask, spoke.

"Then give him the magic crystal. Building a good relationship is the most important thing!"

The old emperor waved his hand, and Duke Solomon and Carlos smiled at each other. Without the emperor's consent, it would be difficult for them to obtain a large quantity of magic crystals.

"Your Majesty, Caesars is a dark magician. You still have two veins of magic crystals that have not been mined. Now that Hawkeye's vein has been exhausted, why not give Carlos another vein of dark magic crystals? The funds should be used specifically for the purchase of golden ginseng and other high-quality herbs!"

Duke Solomon smiled slightly, and the old emperor stroked his beard and nodded slightly. Dark magic crystals were of little use and very cheap, and could only be used in some magic circles.

In the arena, the members of the Magic Guild finally appeared, and the first three to appear were senior magicians. They were old and frail, with white hair, forming a sharp contrast with the youth of Caesars.

"One beats three, beat up three old men!" There was a child of seven or eight years old in the audience, waving his arms and shouting.

The magician is high and mighty in Huofeng City. He is arrogant even when he sees a small noble. Today, the common people in Huofeng City are extremely excited to see the magician being beaten.

The three senior magicians of the Magic Guild were armed to the teeth. They wore six magic earrings, rarely seen on ordinary days. Each finger of their staff-holding hands was adorned with a magic ring. They wore ornate magic robes, necklaces adorned with magic gems, and their hair was meticulously combed, as if they were attending a banquet.

The two sides stood in the arena, more than forty meters apart.

"Kaisas, we will defeat you and prove that you, the great magician, are an imposter!"

Sandro, an old magician with white hair and defeated by Caesars, shouted loudly through the magic loudspeaker.

"A fake who came out of nowhere dared to challenge the Magic Guild!" Tru took Sandro's magic loudspeaker and shouted loudly.

"Defeat the impostor and crush him under your feet!" said the old magician Sig.

The three participants in the magic duel have all finished expressing their thoughts, and now it is Caesar's turn to say a few words.

"Today is a warning to certain people. You three may get hurt, but you won't die in the arena. After I leave the arena, if anyone still covets my things, even if you are powerful nobles, I will kill them without mercy!"

Caesar's voice was not very loud, but the weight of his words was enough, and he had made his attitude clear.

“That’s so arrogant!”

Duke Barton, sitting in the grand aristocratic stands, spoke angrily. The Duke's former brother-in-law, Sandro, who had attempted to snatch the Golden-Eyed Black Devil Snake, was standing on the stage. The former Duchess had died of illness over twenty years earlier.

"Your Excellency the Duke, Caesars is now qualified to be arrogant. He is now a great magician. Your old lover is sitting in the VIP seat. She looks even younger than me!"

The Duchess's face remained calm as she spoke a few words, her tone calm as if she didn't take the matter to heart. Meanwhile, Duke Barton tilted his head slightly and glanced out of the corner of his eye not far away. There stood a woman dressed in a fiery red magical robe—Joanna. She was gazing intently at the crowd in the arena, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around her.

Time flies, and before we know it, more than sixty years have already flown by. The Duke of Barton is now a frail, elderly man, yet, remarkably, Joanna still retains the youthful appearance of more than sixty years ago, untouched by the erosion of time.

At this moment, Duke Barton suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly said to the Duchess beside him, "Madam, I wasn't talking about Joanna just now, but that guy Caesars! Please don't digress!"

As he spoke, a barely perceptible blush appeared on the wrinkled old face of Duke Barton. He hurriedly changed the subject to try to hide the embarrassment.

The Duchess slowly turned her head, looking calmly at Duke Barton, and then responded unhurriedly, "Your Excellency, you should be aware that a Grand Mage possesses the same rights as a Grand Noble. If anyone dares to rob a Grand Mage of his belongings, it would be tantamount to a flagrant violation of the private property of a Grand Noble. Imperial law clearly stipulates that the property of a noble is sacred and inviolable. Killing someone in order to defend their property does not constitute any crime!"

The Duchess's words were simple, clear and straightforward. Not only did she clearly explain why Caesars dared to kill the nobles, but Duke Barton, who firmly believed that Caesars was too arrogant, was suddenly speechless.

At the edge of the arena, four referees stood in a safe area, and several magical image stones had been activated. The first magic duel began at the referee's command.