Azeroth Monster Manual

Antonidas rose early. He donned a spotless white robe and began to comb his half-white hair.

This mooncloth robe possessed exceptionally soft lines and exquisite fabric.

The mooncloth robe wasn't a traditional mage robe, as it only provided a small bonus to spell damage.

However, this robe was not without its merits. The spirit bonus it provided reached an astonishing level.

As everyone knew, spirit represented faster recovery for spellcasters. Faster recovery meant more abundant mana, and abundant mana allowed spellcasters to cast more spells.

Antonidas chose this robe for a simple reason.

The Frostfire Rocket incident at the invention competition and the various pieces of information he had gathered revealed a certain truth.

Though he hated to admit it, he discovered that the young man's spell intensity was ridiculously high, and his control was even better than his own.

Although the elf had only just entered the legendary realm, Antonidas was certain that his spells focused more on destructive power.

While powerful destruction was every evocation mage's dream, it had to be said that every evocation mage with powerful destruction would deplete their mana pool faster than mages of other schools.

Antonidas primarily studied abjuration and conjuration spells. His spells weren't of the earth-shattering variety (relatively speaking), but his endurance and defense were astonishing.

So the Archmage cleverly devised a simple tactic: attrition.

He decided to use his deep mana pool to control the rhythm of the battle, exhausting Al until he ran out of mana and conceded.

Everyone knew that Antonidas had ascended to the throne of Archmage at the age of 38, but few knew that Antonidas was not only a remarkably gifted mage, but also a mooncloth tailor with superb skills.

Having put on the complete 【Wizard's Set】, which he had personally crafted in his early years, the Archmage stepped into the portal leading to the dueling arena.

Antonidas was greeted with a wave of applause as soon as he appeared. The Kirin Tor mages in the audience even stood up, cheering for their leader.

Antonidas surveyed the arena, which resembled a coliseum, and frowned almost imperceptibly.

The arena was personally designed by Al. It was located in the northeast of Al's Light headquarters. Al's mage tower and the arena were in a mutually supporting position, facing each other from afar, which also demonstrated his ambition.

The arena, like an ancient Greek or Roman coliseum, occupied an extremely large area. The empty arena had no roof and was completely exposed to the sunlight.

In the center was a wide open space for gladiators to fight.

The arena was built in the valley between several small mountains, with a long axis of 200 meters, a short axis of 170 meters, and a perimeter of 600 meters.

The stands rose at a 60° angle, with about 60 rows, divided into four sections: the commoner seats in the front, the knight seats in the middle, and the VIP seats in the back, accommodating 50,000 people. At the highest point was a circle of colonnades where people managing the awning could rest.

The arena area was oval, with a long axis of 86 meters and a short axis of 54 meters, with a height difference of more than 5 meters from the front edge of the commoner seats. After being filled with water, it could be used for naval battles. Animal cages and gladiators' waiting rooms were located underground in the performance area, where there were drainage pipes.

Supporting the stands were three layers of radially arranged barrel vaults and a vaulted roof circling the outer ring. The former had 80 in each layer, and correspondingly, three layers of archways were formed around the facade. The bottom layer of archways served as entrances and exits, with spectators entering according to their assigned numbers and ascending to their reserved seating areas via the stairs located within the radial arches. The gathering and dispersal of spectators in each area did not interfere with each other.

Each layer of the facade was decorated with columnar arches. The total height was 50 meters. The bottom layer used the Doric order, the second layer used the Ionic order, the third layer used the Corinthian order (see classical orders), and the fourth layer was a solid wall.

Statues of Dath'Remar and Emperor Thoradin stood in the archway entrances.

The uppermost cornice had hanging holes, and wooden poles were inserted into the sockets through the holes. Cables were tied to the upper ends of the wooden poles to hang the awning.

The facade was made of thick, grayish-white stones, and the main load-bearing parts of the structure were also made of these byproducts of thorium ore, followed by brick and hard stone.

"Incredible, those long-ears were able to accomplish this in just 10 days."

Antonidas marveled inwardly, but his face remained impassive.

He knew that the construction of this arena must have other deeper meanings.

Although the design of the entire arena came from Al, the construction was the work of Anasterian. Since deciding to fully win over Al, the Sun King had spared no effort. Building this arena was just a small matter. Al's mage tower, which was still under construction, was the real money pit.

Belovar had personally converted the value of his grandson's mage tower.

But when he saw the crooked seven-digit number on the draft paper, the well-informed Speaker of Silvermoon couldn't help but feel envious.

Antonidas sat in the lounge area, quietly surveying the VIP boxes at the highest point.

With the help of Eagle Eye, Antonidas could clearly see the group of high-ranking officials behind the transparent glass.

"Heh heh, what grand gestures. Anasterian, Belovar, plus the high-ranking officials of the Nine Nations (Ironforge and Gnomeregan) have all come. Since you want to use me as a stepping stone for your ambitions, you should have considered the consequences of failure…"

…

Time passed, and soon it was high noon.

Just then, a "hissing" sound of electricity came from the air. After a moment, a familiar male voice rang out throughout the arena.

This work is organized and uploaded by ~ ~

"Hello to all my friends in the back! I'm your old friend, Edman!"

"Oh!"

…

Edman's shout almost sent Al, who was meditating, away, but the audience seemed to appreciate this "brush" host, and the entire arena immediately became a frenzy.

Edman sat in a separate box in the stands, where he could observe the duel below very well. He was currently speaking into the microphone, introducing the upcoming 1v1 championship between Al and Antonidas in a hoarse voice.

Perhaps it was for the sake of his dreams, or perhaps he had endured enough of the Speaker's condescending attitude.

Al's small move of leaving a piece in idleness really dug Edman out of Antonidas's hands.

Edman had finally realized his dream of becoming the host of a vast arena, and… a gladiator.

…

"I know your little thoughts, Al Saronar, but this battle is meaningless."

Antonidas stood in front of the young man with a solemn expression, saying what he had always wanted to say.

The young man leisurely adjusted the Sunfire Robe he was wearing. It seemed he really liked this fiery red epic garment. He sighed silently and said firmly:

"There's no need to waste words. I've only ever had one goal, and that's to defeat you!"

"Very well, I hope you're prepared for defeat."

Antonidas silently took out his long-treasured legendary staff 【Yakus, Antonidas's Holy Staff】.

Sparks seemed to fly between the two, and a battle was about to break out.

ps: The depiction of the arena is based on the ancient Roman Colosseum. Some parts are taken from Baidu, but they have been polished and modified and do not affect the viewing experience.

Author Jun is standing upright and taking a beating, please be gentle.