The hall fell silent. The moment Crassus had shielded her from the heatwave had completely stunned everyone. This white-haired, white-bearded mage in a white robe didn't seem like someone to be trifled with.
The young men from the Mage Tower all wore expressions of fear. Neither Amy's final, terrifying fireball nor Crassus's current icy demeanor were things they could easily confront.
Albert swallowed hard. The thing he least wanted to happen had happened. He glanced at Hank, who was panicking and trying to get away, hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and stood in front of Hank, looking at Crassus with a serious expression:
"Lord Crassus, what happened just now was indeed Hank's fault. He violated the rules by using a forbidden sealing spell during the competition. Our Mage Tower concedes defeat in this challenge. I will report this matter truthfully to the Mage Tower Elders upon my return, and they will decide on his punishment. Such behavior is despicable and cannot be tolerated, whether in a challenge or a magic duel."
"Are you trying to intimidate me with the Mage Tower?" Crassus asked Albert with a hint of mockery, his steps unwavering.
"I wouldn't dare. The Mage Tower was established under your leadership, and it has grown and flourished under your guidance for decades. The people of the Mage Tower have nothing but respect for you." Albert lowered his head, avoiding Crassus's gaze, but still didn't back down.
He couldn't back down. Otherwise, he will be unable to face the elders when he returns, and thus will be unable to remain in the Mage Tower.
Although Crassus was still an honorary elder of the Mage Tower, but the irreconcilable conflict between him and the elders was known to the older members of the Mage Tower. While he remained in the Mage Tower, no one dared to show it much, but if he truly settled in the Chaos City, his influence within the Mage Tower would gradually disappear.
"Do you still remember the third rule I set when I founded the Mage Tower?" Crassus stopped and asked Albert.
"A mage should uphold honesty, integrity, and kindness. Those whose morals are flawed will be expelled from the Mage Tower." Albert said in a deep voice after a moment of silence.
"I'm Brent's apprentice, you can't expel me, you have no right to expel me…" Hank panicked, shaking his head at Crassus, trying to get up by pushing himself up with his hands on the ground.
"If I wanted to stay in the Mage Tower, I would have expelled that fat Little Brent as well. Kid, even Richard wouldn't dare mention the word 'right' to me. What are you anyway?" Crassus said, curling his lip at Hank.
Hank was shrouded in fear, but he still gritted his teeth and looked at Crassus, saying, "You are no longer an elder of the Mage Tower, and you have no position there. You have no right to expel me. You are the one who should be expelled by the elders. I will tell my master when I get back..."
"Hank, shut up!" Albert shouted at Hank. Even Brent wouldn't dare say such things to Crassus's face, this guy was simply courting death.
Albert turned to Crassus and said sincerely, "Lord Crassus, I will definitely report this matter to the elders truthfully, and I will propose to them that he be expelled from the Mage Tower. I am ashamed to be associated with a mage who uses underhanded tactics and violates the rules during a duel, and the Mage Tower will absolutely not tolerate it. I hope..."
"I am not here today to clean house, because from today onwards, the Mage Tower and I have nothing to do with each other. I am ashamed to be associated with you all." Crassus shook his head, then his gaze fell on Hank, and he sneered, "Now, I am here to seek justice for my disciple. I once said that if young people are not properly disciplined and do not understand the rules, the outside world will teach them a lesson."
"It is his honor." Albert looked at Crassus, hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside to let Hank out from behind him, and said nothing more.
The young men of the Mage Tower watched this scene, their lips pressed together, not daring to utter a sound.
"You can't lay a hand on me! I'm Brent's apprentice, a member of the Mage Tower. You said you're no longer a member of the Mage Tower! If you touch me, you'll face the wrath of the Mage Tower!" Hank panicked completely as he watched Crassus slowly approach. He staggered backward, crawling on his hands and feet, and turned to Albert, pleading, "Master Uncle Albert, save me! Please save me!"
"Some things, you should think about the consequences before you do them. As a man and a mage, taking responsibility for your actions is fundamental." Albert said indifferently. As a mage, he felt deeply ashamed of Hank's previous behavior.
Since Crassus had made up his mind, persuasion was pointless, and the Mage Tower was no longer a bargaining chip to sway him. No one could stop Crassus from doing what he wanted today.
"Principal, should we stop him? So many children are watching." Greenton asked Norvan quietly.
"I really liked the rules Crassus set for the Mage Tower back then. They had the clean and efficient spirit of a knight, as well as the integrity and freedom of a mage. They could even serve as a code of conduct for mages across the entire continent. Later, Richard changed these rules again and again, making a complete mess of them. When even the word 'integrity' was discarded, mages no longer deserved to be called mages." Norvan looked at Crassus, a hint of nostalgia and a smile on his face, and said with a slight smile, "What a vivid lesson! Children should see how important integrity is in being a person. Even if someone is a genius, they still need to be an honest and law-abiding person. Isn't that exactly what our Chaos Academy and Chaos City advocate?"
Greenton nodded thoughtfully, glancing at the children intently watching the stage, and said nothing more.
"The mage exam should also include an assessment of understanding the mage's code of conduct." Mai Ge sat down again, thinking to himself. He was relieved that Amy was alright, and as for what Crassus was planning, he could roughly guess.
"Don't kill me... I won't do it again, I won't do it again. I was just doing what my master told me to do. He told me to teach her a lesson and make you lose face, otherwise he told me not to go back. I can't beat her, I didn't know what to do, so I sneakily attacked her... Please don't kill me, I'm a genius, I'm only sixteen years old, may be I can become a great mage in the future..." Hank's face turned pale instantly. Looking at Crassus, he was already somewhat incoherent. For the first time, he realized that this old man, whom his master had belittled, was not someone he could afford to offend.
"I won't kill you, but you're not worthy of magic." Crassus walked over slowly and placed his hand on Hank's head, who was terrified and trying to dodge, but whose body suddenly stiffened and he couldn't move. A flash of red light, and Hank shuddered, collapsing to the ground, his eyes lifeless, filled with despair.
His brain was damaged, so he could no longer practice magic and became a cripple.
"Tell Brent that I'm giving him ten days to explain this to me in the Chaos City. If I don't see him in ten days, I'll go to Luo Du and bury him and the Mage Tower together." Crassus withdrew his hand and looked at Albert with a serious expression. "You can all make your moves on me, but if anyone makes a move on Amy, I'll kill their entire family. If you think I'm not enough, you can add Yulian and think it over."