Chapter 282 : The Power of the Growth Law
Chapter 282: The Power of the Growth Law
“No———”
Before Richard-Eva could react, dozens of emerald green vines, far thicker than those wielded by the Thorn Flower Fairy, lunged toward him like pythons with gaping, bloodthirsty maws.
“Crack snap crack snap——”
The shadowy bats flew out again, but this time, the sheer number of vines was overwhelming. Before Richard-Eva’s bat spell could fully consume them, another wave of vines surged forward, transforming into a dense mass of vine whips that shredded the bat swarm into a mist of blood.
“No!”
Watching wave after wave of vines surge toward him, Richard-Eva, who had transformed into his bloodline true form, gradually sensed something was off.
While swiftly fleeing the encircling vines, an absurd yet eerily reasonable suspicion sprouted in Richard-Eva’s mind.
“Could it be... her second 【Law Fragment】?”
Shocked by the thought, Richard-Eva ignored the fact that he had already broken his “promise” once. Bloodlight swirled, and under the relentless assault of countless vines, he dissolved into a pool of blood and flowed through a narrow gap.
“Growth One.”
Like a dream demon’s echo, just as Richard-Eva reverted from his elemental form back to human shape, an ethereal voice rang out behind him.
“You actually wield two 【Law Fragments】!?”
Seeing the emerald vines lashing toward him once again, and the slender figure with butterfly wings hovering midair behind them, an inexplicable tangle of emotions welled up within Richard-Eva.
“Swish—”
As the vines neared to entrap him, Richard-Eva forced himself to burn mana again, morphing into elemental form to escape through the crevices and out of the entanglement.
His body then rapidly expanded—Richard-Eva transformed once more into a giant bat, launching a frenzied attack toward Janna.
“Richard, look at me.”
The ethereal voice echoed in Richard-Eva’s mind again.
Though his brain screamed danger, Richard-Eva’s blood-red eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to Janna’s exquisitely divine face.
“Swish—”
At the last possible second, driven by instinct, Richard-Eva turned into elemental form again and crashed to the ground.
Seeing this, Janna no longer pursued. She retracted her butterfly wings and also descended to the ground.
“Swish—”
The pool of blood gathered once more, reshaping into the human form of Richard-Eva, who now looked quite disheveled.
Meanwhile, Janna, standing not far away, remained as serene and elegant as ever—not even a single strand of hair out of place.
“I lost.”
Staring at the surrounding vine-forest-like landscape, Richard-Eva admitted defeat, though his expression carried a trace of bitterness.
“It should have been a draw. If you hadn’t let me take the first move, I probably would have lost.”
Hearing Janna’s consoling words, Richard-Eva merely shook his head.
“Lost is lost———I can only say I’m indeed the lesser one.”
Due to the difference in their wizard ranks, Richard-Eva had indeed been holding back at the start of the duel.
Even when using the power of the 【Blood Law Fragment】, he had only targeted Janna’s contracted creatures and hadn’t afflicted her with disease.
However, as the battle dragged on, Richard-Eva realized the tide of battle had completely slipped from his grasp.
When Janna wielded the power of the 【Purification Law Fragment】 to block his disease pollution, he knew that if he didn’t resort to a third-level wizard apprentice’s techniques, the fight would certainly end in Janna’s victory.
So, to save face, Richard-Eva disregarded the “pre-match promise” and activated his bloodline true form.
Yet when Janna unleashed a second 【Law Fragment】, Richard-Eva was utterly stunned.
But the overwhelming mass of vines gave him no time to think.
When he responded with elemental form, Janna’s third move completely locked Richard-Eva’s mind in a state of mechanical inertia.
If he hadn’t instinctively transformed into elemental form, Richard-Eva would likely already be under the full control of Janna’s 【Mind Allure】 spell.
“Can you tell me what powers your other two 【Law Fragments】 represent, aside from the 【Purification Law Fragment】?”
From the thick green vines twining around them, Richard-Eva could somewhat guess that Janna’s second 【Law Fragment】 must be related to her 【Plant Affinity】 talent.
However, he was uncertain exactly what domain of plants her 【Law Fragment】 governed.
“It’s the 【Growth Law】 and the 【Law of Beauty】.”
Hearing her answer, Richard-Eva couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
After a moment, he asked with a slight tremble:
“The 【Growth Law】 you speak of... could it be a 【Sub-Law】 under the 【Law of Nature and Life】?”
“Yes.”
Seeing Janna nod in confirmation, Richard-Eva seemed to recall something and quickly asked, excitedly:
“Then your 【Witch Talent】... It can’t still be B-rank 【Plant Affinity】, right?”
Hearing Richard-Eva hit the mark, this time, it was Janna’s turn to be surprised.
“Senior, do you know a lot about the 【Growth Law】?”
“Of course——not really. But I once read about the 【Law of Nature and Life】 in my family’s archive—.”
As one of the oldest families in Doring City, the Eva family’s archives were no less extensive than those of the public library at White Coral Academy.
In fact, in terms of quality, they might even be superior.
This was one of the key advantages apprentice witches from witch families had over those from common backgrounds.
Even someone as well-read as Janna might be less knowledgeable in certain areas than someone like Soro-Flame, who rarely even stepped foot into the library.
“My talent did indeed advance once before.”