Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 168 - 167: Battle of Wits

Chapter 168: Chapter 167: Battle of Wits

As Tassera transformed into the Blue Dragon, Leon decisively retreated to the corner of the room, leaving the battlefield open.

Even though they had known each other for many years and had recently developed an extremely intimate relationship, it didn’t hinder Leon from knowing that Tassera, as a Storage Dragon, wasn’t particularly strong. Even if she was a bit stronger than an Efreeti, it wasn’t by much... He had seen Tassera fight and even sparred with her a few times, but she had never gone all out.

As a dragon, Tassera was undoubtedly at the top of the food chain, but the Sphinxes were no worse than dragons. The challenge level of a male-faced Sphinx was comparable to an adult Red Dragon, while the female-faced Sphinx wasn’t as strong as the male but was likely a bit more formidable than a normal young Blue Dragon.

It seemed that today he might finally get to see how powerful Tassera truly was.

"Are you sure you want to duel with me?"

The female-faced Sphinx watched the Blue Dragon who stepped forward.

If the Red Dragon and Blue Dragon attacked together, she honestly didn’t have much confidence, and her only option would be to grit her teeth and go for it. If things went south, she’d use Otherworldly Transmission to escape, then find a way to enlist powerful adventurers for help—since the Impermanence Card couldn’t be stored in any Dimension Bag—to steal the Impermanence Card from the Red Dragon’s lair.

Because of the Comet Card, the Blue Dragon actually wanted to duel her one-on-one... It was laughable for a mere young Blue Dragon to think it could defeat a female-faced Sphinx, especially since this was her territory.

The female-faced Sphinx was confident she could defeat the Blue Dragon, incapacitating it. After that, the Red Dragon wouldn’t sit idly by, but a lone young Red Dragon wasn’t a threat to her.

"I’m sure."

"Haven’t even started yet, and you’re a bit too happy, aren’t you?"

In the past, Tassera had no confidence in defeating a female-faced Sphinx, but after years of Dual Cultivation with Leon, she had gained a lot, including increased spell-casting speed.

"I know you Blue Dragons are adept at creating illusions, often deceiving enemies into running in circles with just one illusion," said the female-faced Sphinx. "Sorry to say, we Sphinxes possess True Vision; no illusion can fool us. Not you, not anyone."

"I know Sphinxes have True Vision. I’m not foolish enough to play with illusions in front of a Sphinx," said Tassera. "But I’m not limited to illusions."

"You have sharp teeth and claws, but do you think I don’t?" The female-faced Sphinx, being a large beast, was about the same size as Tassera. She raised her front claws, which gleamed like curved blades reflecting cold light.

"Tell me all your tricks," said the female-faced Sphinx. "If that’s all you have, you’re not yet my match."

"Have you heard of a Storage Dragon?" Tassera proudly lifted her head.

"Storage Dragon?" The female-faced Sphinx scrutinized Tassera. "Are you a Storage Dragon?"

"As you can see," Tassera smiled, revealing rows of sharp white teeth that might scare anyone unfamiliar with dragons.

"I know about Storage Dragons," said the female-faced Sphinx. "A type of dragon obsessive about treasure, redirecting that desire toward seeking mysterious knowledge and new spells. Immersed in this mysterious knowledge, they become living Magic Books, supposedly storing spells by engraving them onto their scales..."

"How peculiar," the female-faced Sphinx circled the Blue Dragon once, "your scales clearly lack runes and arcane symbols, no spell storage."

"Nothing strange about it... I prefer direct spell-casting over storing spells in my scales," Tassera boasted, "if I can use spells, do you think you could win?"

"You can cast spells, do you think I can’t?" said the female-faced Sphinx. "You can’t defeat me in melee, and even less with spells."

The female Sphinx suddenly laughed, saying, "You claim to be a Storage Dragon, but to me, you’re not pure at all... I’m curious, have you even mastered twenty spells by now?"

"Twenty spells... you’re underestimating me?" Tassera raised a claw, "I hope you can still smile after being hit by my Dissociation Technique."

"Blurting out the Dissociation Technique makes it seem like that’s the highest spell you’ve mastered," the female-faced Sphinx nodded self-satisfactorily.

"The Dissociation Technique is just the spell I think suits you best," said Tassera. "I can cast even higher-level spells."

The female Sphinx could see Tassera’s uncertainty, saying, "You’re lying. Surely you don’t know any spells higher than the Dissociation Technique."

The female Sphinx’s mocking and derisive expression made Tassera angrily say, "If you’re so eager to die, I wouldn’t mind showing you."

"Death Finger, Rainbow Light Spray, Flame Storm..." said the female-faced Sphinx. "Feel free to use any one of those spells. I’ll stand right here and let you try."

Years of research had left her without confidence in casting spells higher than the Dissociation Technique. Maybe she could, but even if she cast it, it might not kill the female Sphinx. If her casting failed, she’d become a laughingstock.

Hesitating for only a moment, Tassera wasn’t about to back down. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You’re the one who said it, don’t move."

Tassera began to cast a spell, and just as she opened her mouth, the female Sphinx interrupted, saying, "Enough."

Hearing the female Sphinx, Tassera stopped conveniently and laughed, "You’re scared."

"I’m not scared; you’re wrong," said the female Sphinx. "I interrupted you because I don’t want to see you make more mistakes, leading to an uncontrollable magical explosion."

"You know magic?" Tassera couldn’t help but laugh. "It’s rare to see a Sphinx as a Mage."

"I’m not a Mage; my spellcasting relies on perception, not study," the female Sphinx wasn’t angry. "I could tell your casting had issues... You’ve heard that female Sphinxes are walking libraries of knowledge and academia, right?"

"Not only that," the female Sphinx continued, "the creator of this Underground City was a powerful Mage, and I happened to learn a lot of magical knowledge from him."

"Really?" Tassera said, "In that case, I’ll test you."

"Go ahead," the female Sphinx didn’t care.

Tassera thought for a moment and said, "Explain the spell model of the Fireball Technique."

"You’re testing me with such a simple question?" The female Sphinx effortlessly described the spell model of the Fireball Technique.

After listening, Tassera found no errors in the female Sphinx’s explanation. She had enough dignity to not be unreasonable in the face of a correct answer, saying, "It seems you do have some skill."

"Now it’s my turn to test you," said the female Sphinx, who loved testing others. "You Blue Dragons are best known for creating illusions. I won’t test you on anything else, just your understanding of the Mirage spell."

Leon stood in the corner, anticipating the battle between Tassera and the female Sphinx. Not knowing why, both sides had yet to make a move after exchanging a ton of seemingly pointless dialogue, and they began testing each other’s magical knowledge, which eventually extended to subjects like astronomy and geography...

The female Sphinx was a living library, and Tassera was no slouch either; they were neck and neck, leaving Leon with a bit of a headache, yet he hesitated to intervene since Tassera had just drawn the Impermanence Card and the Comet Card, meaning she had to defeat any upcoming enemies by herself.

After listening for quite some time, Leon finally grew tired of it and decided to take out a novel to read. He quickly became absorbed in it, and by the time he snapped back to reality, he saw Tassera in human form standing in front of him.

Leon scanned Tassera up and down, finding her completely unharmed. He turned to look at the female Sphinx, who now lay listless on the ground, equally unblemished.

"Why’d you stop fighting?" Leon asked.

"It’s over already," Tassera replied.

A bit puzzled, Leon said, "When did it finish? Neither of you is injured..."

"A fight doesn’t have to end in bloodshed," Tassera said. "An academic debate is also a battle, as is a war of words."

"Alright," Leon said, a bit confused. "Who won?"

"I won, of course I won." Tassera suddenly hugged Leon, kissing him hard on the face. "I owe it to you; otherwise, I would’ve lost for sure. She’s really knowledgeable."

"Thanks to me?" Leon was somewhat confused. "I didn’t do anything, did I?"

"Didn’t you once ask me a question?" Tassera said, "When integer n > 2, the equation x^n + y^n = z^n has no positive integer solutions."

Leon remembered. He had brought up Fermat’s Last Theorem to test her when she was boasting about her vast knowledge.

"I couldn’t solve that math problem, so I presented it, and the female Sphinx couldn’t solve it either," Tassera said. "So I won."

"Fortunately, I won. Although she was formidable, I still won," Tassera said excitedly. "If I had lost, I’d probably lose my appetite for a week; now, I feel energetic and like the air is fresh."

"Moreover," Tassera grasped Leon’s arm, "I have to tell you, I suddenly understood the spell I couldn’t figure out before—Mirage, I’ve grasped it."

Leon understood the effect of the Comet Card; it had somehow taken effect, advancing Tassera from a 12th-level Spellcaster to a 13th-level Spellcaster, and she could now use the 7th-level Mirage spell.

And so, Tassera and the female Sphinx had been evenly matched opponents, where a grand battle should’ve ensued, but it didn’t, leaving him still unsure of Tassera’s true combat strength... But it didn’t matter anymore; judging by today’s performance, he shouldn’t view Tassera as a combatant but rather research talent.