CHAPTER 285: CHAPTER 275: DEADLY POISON

Doubts flashed through Andrew’s mind.

But now was not the time to think too deeply, as the situation in the field changed dramatically. Andrew stared intently at Principal Charlie, who had fallen to the ground and remained motionless. It seemed that he had lost consciousness or was completely incapable of movement.

The Dragon Taming Lady had already advanced to the front, and Principal Charlie still did not move, appearing truly doomed.

Catherine, seated on the throne, gritted her teeth and stood up. She had just sent a message to Andrew, advising him not to act recklessly and be directly disqualified for rash intervention. But at this point, if no action was taken, Principal Charlie would be killed by the opponent.

"Madam, please remain calm." The king’s leisurely voice came through. Not long ago, the king had retreated half a step, then softened and relented, yet now stood unmoved, an invisible force blocking Catherine, who intended to intervene in the scene.

"Release me!" Catherine shouted angrily.

As soon as she spoke, the king’s invisible obstruction disappeared instantly.

But this delay made it too late.

Catherine’s face turned pale, watching as Principal Charlie was about to die at the hands of the Dragon Taming Lady!

"Get out of the way!" Susan took action.

Her energy had been intertwined with the Flame Turtle from the opposite side, yet just like Susan could not break through its defense, the Flame Turtle could not stop her speed.

Susan simultaneously launched "Crimson Sprint" and "Crimson Footprints," maintaining extremely fast body technique speed, alongside strong stability and control, instantly appearing in the field, blocking the way between the fallen Principal Charlie and the Dragon Taming Lady who seized the chance to kill.

The Dragon Taming Lady didn’t press hard, promptly retreating. After reopening the distance, she panted slightly, her eyes showing some regret, but soon couldn’t help but smile again, ceasing the attack, instead glancing towards the king on the throne.

The king nodded, and with a slight smile, announced: "A third party intervened in the contest, the outcome has been decided. The first negotiation contest, Warm Fire Commerce Association lost, the Magic Guild won. Congratulations."

Susan’s face looked grim, staring at the king: "Dedman, did you secretly make a move earlier?"

There seemed to be no other reason that could explain how Principal Charlie, initially having the upper hand, suddenly collapsed.

It could only have been some kind of secret plot from the king!

"Watch your words," the king said indifferently. "If I had really made a secret move, do you think you could have saved him?" He glanced at Principal Charlie on the field as he spoke.

Susan gritted her teeth, then looked towards Catherine beside the king.

Catherine frowned, her expression also filled with puzzlement. Catherine was very certain that the king hadn’t secretly made any moves, yet if that was the case, why did Principal Charlie suddenly collapse? What on earth was going on?

The atmosphere on the scene became somewhat eerie.

No one expected that the first negotiation contest would end in such a manner.

Barbara, Havier, and Sabye had all gathered around Andrew by this time.

Andrew was cautiously turning Principal Charlie, who was lying on the ground, onto his back.

"How is it?" Barbara asked in a low voice.

Andrew kept his calm, not hastily using the "Water Priestess Series" to heal Principal Charlie. Making rash moves without understanding the cause of the injury can often backfire.

Principal Charlie lay there with his eyes open, without having lost consciousness, but his lips trembled, seemingly trying to say something but unable to, his limbs occasionally twitching slightly, as if all his muscles had temporarily lost control.

During the battle earlier, Principal Charlie’s face had shown a strange purplish color amid the blue, and now it was turning completely gray, with the skin on his exposed head, neck, and hands appearing to rapidly lose moisture, becoming dry and cracked.

"So this is..." Andrew focused intently, and after a moment, realization flashed in his eyes, followed by greater confusion, "Poisoned? The Principal has been... poisoned?!"

And it appeared to be a very potent, aggressive Fire Poison!

It seemed as if a powerful sponge was wildly absorbing the moisture inside Principal Charlie, intending to suck him dry from the inside out, turning him into a mummy.

In comparison, the lung burns handled before in the Inner Sea Desert were nothing.

"But how could he be poisoned? There’s no reason for poisoning!"

Andrew still couldn’t understand, "The Hellfire Series, even if it carries some fire poison, shouldn’t be this aggressive. The key point is, the Hellfire Series magic from the Dragon Taming Lady earlier didn’t even actually hit Principal Charlie! So in which part did the poisoning happen?"

"Poisoned?" Barbara was visibly stunned upon hearing this, and after a moment, something clicked in her mind, as she turned to look at the stone slab exchanged during the ceremony confirming the negotiation terms, which had been handed to Principal Charlie.

Being more meticulous was indeed a trait of a girl.

At the same time, Susan, also hearing Andrew’s judgment, reacted quickly and looked towards the stone slab.

"Ha, you slow-witted fools, finally figured it out? Too late! You reacted too slowly!"

The cold sneer of the Dragon Taming Lady came through, "Indeed, there is an invisible but potent fire poison on that stone slab. Charlie’s strength has surpassed his mentor Falk, naturally exceeding mine. Among us old-timers, perhaps only Holigar is stronger than him... Yet, strength is useless, for from the moment he touched that stone slab and got tainted with poison, he already lost to me!!"

The Dragon Taming Lady’s voice carried an undeniable weakness, yet her pride was difficult to conceal.

Some time ago, outside the Royal Court, the conflict had seen the Magic Guild suffer a loss, with the plan to ambush and kill Andrew failing miserably. Instead, Yorkshire, who was responsible for the ambush, became a prisoner.

But one significant gain was achieved: the Dragon Taming Lady probed the power of Principal Charlie.

She very clearly understood one thing: Principal Charlie’s power had completely surpassed hers. In a fair one-on-one duel, unless Holigar took action, no Grand Mage within the Realm of Magic could defeat Principal Charlie.

However, with Holigar currently captured by the Crimson Battle Lance, how could he come to the Royal Court for negotiations?

Thus, the Dragon Taming Lady manipulated the stone slab, smearing it with poison.

Yet, it wasn’t actually her poison; Andrew knew that true to the Earth Fire Magic’s "Hellfire Series," it indeed did not carry strong toxicity.

The poison on the stone slab was actually the handiwork of one of the three Earth Fire Scholars of the Magic Guild.

Each of the three Earth Fire Scholars had their specialties: one excelled in divination, one in poisons. Currently, Gus, who was over in the "Dragon’s Nest," was most skilled in "Spirit Communication."

The one who applied Magic Fire Poison on the slab was the one among the three Earth Fire Scholars most adept in toxins.

Although called poison, it was still a form of expression of Earth Fire Magic.

That magic poison was named "Greed Dragon Poison," extremely potent and equally hidden.

If not for this, with Principal Charlie’s power and cautiousness, how could he fall for it so easily? Even though Principal Charlie hadn’t reached War God level, even at War God level, one could only defeat him; it would be impossible to poison him without him noticing!

The moment he touched the stone slab, Principal Charlie had already been poisoned.

Shortly after the battle commenced, he sensed something was amiss, which was why he rushed to attack, eager to end the battle before the poison fully erupted, to seize this initial negotiation contest victory.