Chapter 2722 ‘Fairness’ <TOC> Chapter 2724 Shrew
Translator: SumTLMan
Regarding Angel’s choice, the Sovereign of Wisdom had no objections, nor did Gray Merchant.
What puzzled Gray Merchant, however, was that previously, the nose in the stone slab seemed to be the opponent’s leader. So why was it now a young man with red hair and golden eyes stepping forward?
Who exactly was this young man with red hair and golden eyes? Could he be that renowned illusionist wizard?
If their speculation was correct, and this group was indeed concealing themselves through illusions, then the opponent’s prowess in illusion magic was undoubtedly formidable.
However, none of the powerful illusionist wizards from the Southern Region that Gray Merchant knew matched the appearance of this young man.
It seemed apparent that the opponent was in disguise.
Generally speaking, disguises served either to avoid being recognized or to evade pursuit. Of course, some wizards simply enjoyed traveling in disguise, but considering such a scenario would open too many possibilities.
Based solely on these conditions, there were very few strong illusionist wizards in the Southern Region that Gray Merchant could consider. Personally, he felt the most likely candidate was the “Faceless One” from Phantom Island.
It was said that the Faceless One had offended a Demon God’s apostle in the Abyss and had been seen fleeing back to the Southern Region in embarrassment. Recently, he and Flora even cleaned up a stronghold of Demon God followers.
This perfectly aligned with the conditions: great strength, fear of being recognized by the Demon God followers, and being pursued by them.
It’s worth mentioning that aside from that talented alchemist, everyone on Phantom Island grew up while being hunted. Therefore, even if the Faceless One chose to disguise himself, it wasn’t necessarily due to pursuit by Demon God followers, it might just be a habitual practice.
But the Faceless One had already embarked upon the path of true knowledge.
Though the young man with red hair and golden eyes exuded a deep and concealed aura of considerable strength, he probably had not reached the true knowledge level.
But if not the Faceless One, then who could this be?
As Gray Merchant pondered deeply, Shrew floating behind him suddenly murmured softly: “Hmm?”
Gray Merchant followed her gaze and saw that the black-robed adjudicator suspended in mid-air had suddenly raised both hands, fingertips touching each other, generating a powerful surge of energy through the gaps between his palms.
This energy was so grand and formidable that it even affected the surrounding air, forming a cyclone. At the center of this cyclone, the adjudicator’s black robe flapped loudly in the wind.
In that instant, staring upward at the swirling darkness above, Gray Merchant experienced the peculiar illusion of a mountain hanging upside down above his head.
Previously, he had believed this black-robed adjudicator to merely be a subordinate of the Mirror Dweller, but now something seemed off. He had felt such an overpowering presence only once before, in the Abyss, when he briefly sensed the strength of Lord Mengke from afar.
Could this black-robed adjudicator actually be a peak third-level wizard?!
This realization complicated the emotions of Gray Merchant and his companions immensely.
Previously, when encountering the hidden Mirror Dweller, they had been astonished that such a powerful figure resided in the Underground Labyrinth. Even though Gray Merchant’s most crucial memories were sealed, he had already resolved to relay this information to the Bylron family once they left.
Although the Underground Labyrinth was effectively under Bylron family control, unstable elements like the hidden Mirror Dweller needed to be eliminated swiftly.
Yet now, before resolving the hidden Mirror Dweller situation, another formidable figure capable of standing atop the Southern Region’s power pyramid had emerged, the black-robed adjudicator.
At this point, Gray Merchant was no longer considering informing the family; rather, he was pondering how to convince the family to abandon the Underground Labyrinth altogether…
While Gray Merchant worried deeply, Pink Jasmine was even more anxious.
With Pink Jasmine’s insight, she couldn’t precisely judge the Sovereign of Wisdom’s strength. Yet seeing the frightened expressions of Gray Merchant and Shrew, she immediately realized she might have offended someone extraordinary.
Pink Jasmine nervously grasped the ears of her rabbit doll, her legs trembling slightly, lips quivering in fear.
She contemplated whether it was best to apologize immediately, perhaps the powerful figure might spare her life?
While Pink Jasmine trembled in fear, the energy within the Sovereign of Wisdom’s palms continued to swell. However, instead of releasing the energy outward, he compressed it, causing it to fuse and condense further.
As this energy condensed, magical runes spread across the surrounding columns, the ground beneath their feet, and the stone ceiling above, emitting faint glows indicating their activation.
At the moment all runes lit up, everyone suddenly felt as though the ground beneath them had turned into a muddy marsh.
It was as if countless hands had emerged from the ground, gripping their ankles and dragging them down into the soft underground.
“No need to resist, I’m merely providing you with an appropriate location for your duel,” the Sovereign of Wisdom’s voice resonated in everyone’s ears.
To those present, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s words were meaningless. No need to resist? They were utterly incapable of resisting! Although the force pulling them down appeared weak, their limbs felt entirely drained of strength, incapable of even slight struggles.
However, they misunderstood; the Sovereign of Wisdom’s remark was not addressed to them but specifically to Angel.
When activating the magic formation, the Sovereign of Wisdom had keenly noticed Angel swiftly retrieving an auxiliary magic formation disc, quickly gathering energy into a gap within the formation. If Angel wished, he could easily bring others into the safety zone.
The Sovereign of Wisdom was also slightly surprised at Angel’s swift identification of the formation’s sole vital point.
To prevent Angel from actually escaping the magic formation, the Sovereign of Wisdom thus spoke those words.
After speaking, the Sovereign of Wisdom communicated privately with Angel through a private mental connection: “Given we’ve established an oath, there’s no need for you to remain so guarded against me. Fortunately, ‘she’ has already reached the arena first; otherwise, she’d already be aware of one of your trump cards.”
Angel’s proficiency with magic formations was indeed a trump card. While the Sovereign of Wisdom didn’t think this surpassed the Goddess’ strength, it might buy crucial time in emergencies.
Angel didn’t reply immediately but calmly sank into the so-called “arena,” guided by the force of the magic formation.
Upon arriving at the arena, Angel immediately identified his location.
It was the alternate dimension space housing the Box of Cecia. Around them was pitch-black emptiness, where only the roller coaster-like suspended stairs vaguely emerged from darkness.
The arena itself was a gigantic circular platform suspended in this void.
Angel and his companions stood on the left side, while Gray Merchant stood on the right. Over five hundred meters separated the two sides, making each appear as tiny black specks in the distance.
This was merely the central arena, as there was another outer ring meant for spectators.
Upon stepping onto the arena, Angel immediately activated the Eye of Nalda.
Under its analysis, information about the materials comprising the arena flooded Angel’s mind.
He quickly confirmed that the arena was composed of the same extraordinarily durable materials as the suspended stairs in the void.
To the naked eye, the arena seemed pristine, but Angel noticed several spots repaired and replaced, indicating that numerous fierce battles had previously taken place here, enough to damage even such sturdy materials.
Clearly, those who fought here previously had been beings of at least true knowledge wizard-level or above.
But that wasn’t Angel’s main concern. Instead, he noticed something unusual…
“There’s no magic formation set up on this arena?” Angel questioned through the private connection with the Sovereign of Wisdom.
The Sovereign of Wisdom replied: “That’s correct. No magic formation is needed here.”
After a slight pause, nostalgia filled his tone: “In the past, this was a life-or-death stage. Whoever fell from the arena lost. Do you know why?”
Angel replied slowly: “…Yes, I know.”
Not just Angel, but all present now understood clearly the true significance of this arena.
Because at some unknown moment, countless enormous shadows had emerged around the platform, densely packed. These monstrous beings were creatures kept within this alternate dimension.
The void concealed their detailed shapes, but their immense forms and scarlet glowing eyes clearly confirmed their presence.
Imagine, the platform itself was already extraordinarily vast, yet many of these void beasts rivaled the platform’s size. They encircled the arena, eyeing the living beings on it hungrily, filled with ominous anticipation.
“I originally planned to build some suspense… but alas, these little darlings haven’t been fed for far too long, hence their excitement at your arrival.”
Angel couldn’t comprehend the Sovereign of Wisdom’s aesthetic taste. He actually called these creatures “little darlings”?
Setting other matters aside temporarily, Angel continued: “Having us duel here was your idea, correct?”
Determining the reason was straightforward. The Sovereign of Wisdom had previously mentioned that the being capable of manipulating the magic formations had opened a backdoor for Gray Merchant’s group to exit this alternate dimension through a safe passage embedded within the magic formation.
But since this arena lacked a magic formation entirely, it naturally fell outside her jurisdiction.
“Correct,” the Sovereign of Wisdom replied: “This arena has lain dormant for millennia. To witness its reopening is truly a memorable occasion!” Even as he waxed nostalgic, the monstrous void creatures surrounding the arena unleashed a deafening chorus of roars: “You see? These little darlings can hardly wait to enjoy your duel.”
Angel: …Was the Wise One certain these beasts were eager spectators, rather than just hungry?
“I can’t continue chatting privately,” the Sovereign of Wisdom said abruptly: “Someone seems to be secretly observing me, likely her. One final piece of advice: though she’s here primarily to uncover your hidden strengths, and ideally, you win without exposing them, if you must reveal your trump cards to succeed, do so without hesitation. Passing this trial outweighs the disadvantage of having her know your abilities.”
The Sovereign of Wisdom genuinely favored Angel’s side. With the Panic World demon present, their strength was remarkably formidable. But excluding the Panic World demon, victory was far from certain.
Though Angel’s illusion magic was powerful, facing a bloodline wizard whose reaction speed, physical prowess, and explosive force excelled in every way, it remained uncertain whether Angel could even successfully cast illusions in time.
Without successful illusion casting, a bloodline wizard would inevitably dominate the duel.
Moreover, despite appearing expansive, this arena ultimately restricted space.
The Sovereign of Wisdom had observed the Gray Merchant fight before. After activating his bloodline, Gray Merchant’s tremendous power concentrated in his legs, he could easily shatter hundreds of meters of terrain with a single stomp.
While the arena could likely withstand direct stomps, the shockwaves transmitted through the arena surface were unavoidable for Angel.
Even if Angel utilized a combination of space manipulation and illusions to slip into an interstitial space as before, how would he launch effective attacks from such an isolated position?
Hence, the Sovereign of Wisdom didn’t anticipate Angel winning in direct combat with Gray Merchant. Yet, if Angel employed his hidden trump cards, victory would still be achievable.
Therefore, he emphasized to Angel: achieving victory mattered more than preserving hidden abilities.
Angel certainly took these words to heart. He was a thorough pragmatist who wouldn’t impulsively cling to pride. If needed, he’d undoubtedly employ his full arsenal.
However, based on the Wise One’s tone, Angel felt slightly underestimated.
From the start, Angel hadn’t hidden Eremy and Speedling, they had been openly displayed. Those were plainly visible cards.
But what defined a hidden trump card? If it was openly shown, it couldn’t truly qualify.
…
“This is your dueling ground,” the Sovereign of Wisdom announced formally to all present: “In the distant past, it was known as the Evil Dragon Arena. This name originated from a particularly ferocious dragon that resided in the void, passionately fond of arena duels…”
The Sovereign of Wisdom launched into a verbose historical account, though few paid any real attention, most were utterly captivated by the surrounding monsters.
Angel, however, attentively absorbed every word.
After carefully listening, Angel couldn’t shake the feeling the Wise One was essentially spouting nonsense.
A dragon passionate about watching duels? To prevent it from slaughtering indiscriminately in the void, they had constructed this dedicated entertainment arena for it?
This explanation felt off, though Angel couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what felt wrong.
Yet, believing this explanation unquestioningly would truly be foolish.
Angel even suspected the Sovereign of Wisdom was deceiving them from the very first sentence. Perhaps the name wasn’t “Evil Dragon Arena” at all, but rather “Hungry Dragon Arena.”
The monsters around clearly weren’t spectators eager to watch duels, they were plainly eager to devour humans.
After delivering his questionable historical exposition, the Sovereign of Wisdom proceeded to clarify three critical arena rules: first, whoever fell off the platform lost; second, a vertical height restriction applied, exceeding this limit counted as defeat; and third, any damage inflicted upon the arena during combat would necessitate compensation.
Angel quickly understood the first two rules existed primarily due to the dangerous void creatures outside the platform. Leaving the safe boundary meant becoming immediate food for these monsters.
However, these two rules also severely constrained Angel’s maneuverability, greatly favoring bloodline wizards.
Much like the Sky Tower matches, bloodline apprentices dominated the rankings precisely because limited battle areas favored their straightforward, brute-force approach. Restrictive terrain disproportionately disadvantaged other wizard branches.
Perhaps the individual behind the mirror had agreed to the Sovereign of Wisdom’s selection precisely because this location limited Angel’s group, ensuring their hidden strengths would inevitably emerge during combat.
“For the first duel, ground color determines which side begins,” the Sovereign of Wisdom declared: “If the floor turns white, the left side begins; if black, the right side begins.”
Floor color? Wasn’t the floor yellowish-brown stone?
Just as confusion stirred among everyone, the stone tiles on the platform suddenly alternated between black and white rapidly. Only now did everyone grasp what the Wise One meant by black and white.
After precisely three seconds, the shifting colors halted. All floor tiles settled uniformly to pure white.
“White means Gray Merchant’s side,” the Sovereign of Wisdom stated: “thus your side will dispatch the first combatant.”