"Me? Are you sure?" Thunderbird raised a hand and pointed to himself, glanced at Nundu beside him, then focused his gaze on Ashwinder.
"That's right, I'm sure you'd like to relive the experience of a practical assessment. I still remember how enthusiastic you used to be about hosting them. Didn't you enjoy communicating with new club members using spells? And this dueling hall—it's been a long time since you've shown your skills here, hasn't it? I vaguely recall that you used to be the practical combat instructor of our club."
Ashwinder seemed to genuinely be reminiscing, twirling his wrist casually in circles beside his head as he spoke, then spread his hands, presenting the hall to Thunderbird, as if the space itself was welcoming a king back to its presence.
After saying this to Thunderbird, Ashwinder leaned into Nundu's ear. "I know you dislike this bastard, and honestly, so do we. I've just secured a good opportunity for you to teach him a lesson. Don't worry, this guy in front of you who likes to show off is actually just an old man with high seniority but not much ability. Take this chance to show him what you're capable of!"
As a newcomer who had only joined the club two years ago, Nundu had not yet experienced Ashwinder's maliciousness, so he instinctively believed his words, then glared fiercely at the scoundrel who had previously ridiculed him.
"I was just thinking the same thing, but I wonder if this senior of the club dares to accept the task of presiding over my assessment." Nundu deliberately emphasized the word *senior* and provocatively glared at Thunderbird, secretly muttering to himself that this was a perfect opportunity to embarrass this arrogant idiot.
*Don't think I'm like the other new members in your club. You should know that before joining, I was already a battle-hardened Auror. Plus, I've now learned so many advanced spells. If he treats me like a common Short Spear, he'll be in for a nasty surprise.*
Seeing Ashwinder's actions, Thunderbird knew that this insidious fellow was up to no good again, and looking at the battle-ready Nundu beside him, he merely smiled coldly.
"Heh heh, although I don't like wasting time on trash, it might be interesting to relive some past passion. Alright, I'll reluctantly preside over this assessment."
"Heh heh, I knew you wouldn't disappoint everyone. I advise you to be careful; even though Nundu only has Level Two authorization currently, his strength is not to be underestimated." Ashwinder cast a teasing glance at Thunderbird and Nundu, then happily stood aside. He had been stationed at the headquarters for so long he was almost bored to death; he couldn't miss this good show.
It was a shame they were all wearing masks at the moment; otherwise, he would have set out drinks and popcorn and invited the other Silver Spears to share.
Seeing Ashwinder move aside, Nundu naturally took his stance on the side of the dueling hall's main entrance, quickly turning sideways and adopting a dueling posture, then slightly provocatively raised his chin at Thunderbird.
*Heh, truly ignorant of death, but only this kind of person would be sold out and still count the money for the seller,* Ashwinder thought, secretly mocking the battle-eager Nundu. He had long been dissatisfied with these newcomers brought in by Golden Knight. These guys, presuming their noble status and having been long designated as leaders, never really put other Silver Spears in their eyes. Each one was incredibly arrogant. Today was a good day to let them witness someone even more arrogant.
At this moment, Thunderbird was completely unfazed by Nundu's provocation. He merely strolled slowly to face Nundu, then slowly shook his head at his opponent.
"Have the young people of today forgotten what dueling etiquette is? Striking that foolish pose will only make you look like an idiot!" With that, Thunderbird drew his aspen wand and swung it heavily downward in front of him. "Bow properly before the duel, you fool!"
At that moment, Nundu, fully on guard, felt as if he were burdened by a thousand-pound weight on his back the instant Thunderbird swung his wand. The heavy burden instantly made his hair stand on end, and cold sweat permeated his entire body. Under this immense pressure, he was forced to bend at the waist, bowing awkwardly from the front. Only then did he feel the pressure on his body gradually recede.
After forcing his opponent to bow, Thunderbird very gentlemanly clasped his left hand behind his back, lightly raised his wand-holding right hand, and performed a standard dueling bow.
At this moment, Nundu was completely bewildered by Thunderbird's sudden move. The aura of power that had just erupted from him left him stunned on the spot. Then, with a horrified expression, he glanced through his mask at Ashwinder beside him. *Is this what you call an old man?*
Ashwinder, on the other hand, shrugged helplessly, secretly chuckling to himself. *And this guy really is an old man, I didn't lie.*
"Distracted during a duel? Focus—failing grade!" Thunderbird roared, having noticed his opponent's small movement. "Even if you're trash, you should at least have the self-awareness of being trash. Don't waste my time, pull yourself together!"
"Damn it! You bastard…" After being harshly mocked, Nundu had now forgotten the shock Thunderbird had just given him. A surge of anger ignited in his mind. *An unknown old geezer dares to dictate to me, the Department Head? Go to hell!*
"Reducto!" "Corrosion Curse!" "Blade Unsheathing!" "Fear Shudder!"
The exasperated Nundu attacked with full force from the start. His wand tapped repeatedly, instantly casting four spells simultaneously using the multi-casting technique. They sped toward Thunderbird at an extremely fast pace.
Among these four spells, besides Reducto, the others—the Corrosion Curse, Blade Unsheathing, and Fear Shudder—were all powerful spells he had newly learned from the club. The Corrosion Curse possessed extreme penetrative power and adhesiveness. A normal Shield Charm, when parrying, could easily become tainted by this spell, after which the magical armor would gradually corrode. That he could easily cast this spell using the multi-casting technique also showed that Nundu's strength was indeed extraordinary. One should know that Aseria found it quite strenuous to use the Corrosion Curse, but Nundu could wield it with ease.
The other spell, Blade Unsheathing, was an elemental magic that could condense an ice blade in the air to stab an opponent, attacking in both magical and physical states. Upon hitting the target, it could also unleash an extremely powerful chill to freeze the enemy, similar in effect to an enhanced Freezing Charm, but it was sharper, faster, and its attack was more concentrated.
As for Fear Shudder, this spell, like the Corrosion Curse, was developed by Phoenix and contributed to the club. Its effect was similar to a fear curse. However, a standard fear curse was a group fear effect, while Fear Shudder was a single-target attack. Of course, once hit by this spell, the effect was also more pronounced; most people hit by it would basically lose the ability to resist, and those with weak wills might even be scared to death on the spot.
However, although these spells were powerful and came quickly and fiercely, Thunderbird remained composed, even having the leisure to comment while facing them.
"Just a regular quad-cast. The casting wind-up is surprisingly sluggish, but the spell's projectile speed is barely adequate. The casting technique is passable. As for the spell's intensity…" Thunderbird paused slightly at this point in his commentary.
At the same time, while he was speaking, his spell-casting movements were also completed. The spell in Thunderbird's hand was like an afterimage, tapping four times in the air.
Then Nundu discovered that his opponent had also used multi-casting, and the spells used were identical to his: Reducto, the Corrosion Curse, Blade Unsheathing, and Fear Shudder. Each spell cast struck another identical spell one-on-one.
These spells collided in pairs in the air, instantly erupting in a violent magical surge between the two, even creating a strong wind in the previously sealed dueling hall that made the clothes of the three wizards present flap loudly.
However, after the brief collision, the four pairs of spells did not cancel each other out. The four spells cast by Thunderbird were clearly more powerful, actually shattering Nundu's four spells and then, at a slightly slower speed than their initial velocity, shot toward Nundu.
At this sight, Nundu immediately panicked. He hadn't expected that his full-power spells, when pitted against his opponent's spells, would crumble at a touch like a duck egg hitting an ostrich egg.
"Indeed, one cannot expect too much from trash. With this level of spell intensity, I can at most give a score of four," Thunderbird said with extreme disdain in a flat tone, as if the person in front of him was not another wizard, but a young child.
"Oh? Is that out of ten points?" Ashwinder, who was watching with great interest, interjected in an annoying manner.
"Of course it's out of a hundred points," Thunderbird replied dismissively, glancing at Ashwinder.
Indeed, Ashwinder secretly chuckled to himself. If he weren't standing opposite Thunderbird, watching this arrogant guy teach others a lesson would truly be a unique experience.
At this moment, Nundu was in no mood to respond to their taunts. Facing the four spells before him, he forced himself to calm down, then began to react quickly.
"Serpensortia!" Nundu quickly cast out a black python to meet the murky magical projectile representing the Corrosion Curse. The black python was instantly corroded by the curse, but it did halt the dark art's advance.