Duke, while dodging, took out the Shadow Insect Bag and summoned a number of shadow insects from it.

These shadow insects spread out and were distributed sparsely around the area.

Bell frowned upon seeing these shadow insects. He couldn't use a Shadow Magic Ball to kill these insects, as it would be like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito.

The shadow insects were too scattered, and it was difficult for him to eliminate a group at once.

Without a good solution for the time being, Bell could only stay vigilant against these shadow insects.

The battle in the Gladiatorial Arena quickly turned into a long-term stalemate. Duke, with his agile body and skilled Water Shield Technique and Water Arrow Technique, both parried attacks and sought opportunities to strike back.

Bell gradually became a bit agitated. After entering this form, his spiritual power surged.

However, he couldn't control this power well yet and was also influenced by the bloodline power, causing his emotions to fluctuate unpredictably.

Bell's current form had a duration. He could only maintain it for about an hour, and if his magic power was overly consumed, it would end prematurely.

Unable to defeat Duke, Bell grew more irritable and furious, continuously accelerating his attack frequency.

Ten minutes later.

Bell still hadn't defeated Duke. He let out a loud shout, and with a flap of his bat wings, he flew into the air, out of Duke's attack range.

He raised his hands, gradually condensing a massive black magic ball, clearly preparing to take down Duke with a single strike.

As long as this Dark Magic Ball formed successfully, Duke's Water Shield Technique couldn't possibly defend against it, not even with the Rock Armor on his body.

However, as Bell was condensing the Dark Magic Ball, he suddenly felt something was wrong; his internal magic power was rapidly draining, and it wasn't flowing toward the magic ball in his hand but instead outward.

With a sweep of his spiritual power, he discovered that behind him, at some unknown point, many shadow insects were clustered, continuously siphoning his magic power.

The energy membrane covering his body was also being steadily devoured, the energy being absorbed away.

Bell immediately canceled the Dark Magic Ball he was forming, needing to redirect his internal magic power to deal with these troublesome insects.

As flames arose from his body, the smell of charring filled the air, and shadow insects fell in swathes, like rain.

Despite this, there were too many shadow insects surrounding him. As soon as he burned away one batch, another came.

While Bell was busy dealing with these insects, a whizzing sound came from below. A Water Arrow reached him, directly hitting Bell's groin and exploding on impact.

Bell immediately felt intense pain and wavered, beginning to fall.

"How is it possible, from such a distance…" Bell endured the pain, struggling to maintain his flight.

Just as he was about to fall, he barely managed to stabilize himself, only then noticing that Duke held a longbow.

Only then did Bell realize that Duke had used an ordinary longbow to shoot the Water Arrow as an arrow, thereby extending its range.

As someone from a Wizard Clan, he had never envisioned such a tactic.

Duke just saw Bell flying through the sky like a bird and decided to give it a try on a whim.

The Water Arrow he conjured had a physical form, not soft like ordinary water; otherwise, it couldn't be used as an arrow.

Seizing the opportunity, Duke immediately used Gravity Slowdown in the area, gritting his teeth and directly applying triple gravity.

He maintained the Gravity Slowdown for only two seconds, during which half of his magic power drained, even after using a potion to replenish it.

Bell, caught off guard, had never considered such a move, and his body was pulled straight to the ground.

At the same time, a spike emerged from the ground, piercing through the root of Bell's thigh.

Duke's intention was initially just to pierce the thigh, but Bell's quick reflexes allowed him to move even under triple gravity.

Unfortunately, this movement wasn't advantageous; instead, he suffered a more significant injury.

Bell's life was spared, but it seemed a certain part was injured; it was likely he had shattered one of his eggs.

This was apparent from Bell's intense screaming, hands covering his lower area, his expression twisted in extreme pain.

He couldn't even maintain his bloodline power form, reverting to his original appearance.

Duke glanced at the bald host, who immediately understood the signal and quickly announced: "I declare Duke the victor of this duel!"

He dared not let Bell die there, fearing Duke would take advantage of the victory to eliminate Bell, leading to significant trouble afterward.

The bald host understood these young people well, knowing that in the heat of the moment, they might disregard everything.

In reality, Duke wouldn't act that way. If he killed Bell outright, he'd have to face various assassination attempts from the Crawford Clan later.

Though Duke had already offended the Crawford Clan to some extent, at least the conflict wouldn't be as intense.

Essentially, they merely had a duel, with a defeat in a duel differing conceptually from being killed in one.

Duke only intended to teach Bell a lesson, not to bring more trouble upon himself.

Simply put, getting involved in trouble because of Bell wasn't worth it for Duke.

At most now, the Crawford Clan had lost some face but wouldn't directly send someone to take him out; any future encounters would just be met with unfriendly attitudes.

If he had killed him now, Duke could only stay hidden within Black Sail.

Unlike Merrick, who had a strong background and protection even outside, Duke relied only on himself.

Duke walked over to Bell and said, "You can't blame me; I only intended to wound your leg, but you shifted positions yourself."

He glanced at Bell's injury, which was already bleeding heavily. Without timely treatment, the man would probably end up with just one egg.

Bell's head throbbed with pain, and hearing Duke's words almost infuriated him to death on the spot.

But he couldn't speak, lacking the strength to respond to Duke.

Duke subsequently left the duel arena, while a wizard soon descended to take Bell away, clearly for treatment.

Bell's life wasn't in danger, but it remained uncertain whether the one egg could be saved.

Duke doubted it, as it had already been shattered by the rock spike; piecing it back together seemed impossible.

"Well done!" Merrick praised.

He had observed the entire battle and realized Duke truly had talent, able to wield both Earth and Water Element magic so proficiently, indicating high aptitude.

This aptitude referred not to spiritual power, but to the ability to learn and control magic.

Few second-class Wizard Apprentices could apply magic so adeptly in battle, as simply mastering these magics often required significant time for most apprentices.

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