Thinking of this, he looked up and gazed in a certain direction.

Considering the time, the other party should have arrived.

Sure enough, his eyes suddenly lit up as he saw a furry dwarf goblin leading someone over from that direction. However, the other person was so short that their figure was obscured in the crowd.

However, soon enough, the dwarf goblin parted the crowd and walked out.

It stepped aside, allowing a dwarf to step before everyone. It was none other than the chairman of the Golande Artisan's General Guild, Phales.

"You are all having a lively discussion here," Phales glanced at everyone and said calmly, "Have you forgotten about this guest?"

Everyone was slightly stunned, looking at this chairman from the Golande Artisan's General Guild.

Subconsciously, they naturally saw him as aligned with the Prime Minister's faction. Or even if not directly aligned, he was at least serving the new king as well.

Even Count Roniel, upon seeing him, respectfully bowed to him first.

After all, within the power core of Colin Ishurian, the secular force represented by the Prime Minister was certainly formidable, but close behind were the Court Mage and the Artisan Association.

They also had the power to influence the decisions of the Royal Household.

But Phales showed no interest in these matters and simply said, "Allowing politics to affect the fair duel of alchemists is disgraceful and contemptible."

He glanced over everyone and simply answered, "This competition involves not only Elfendo but also concerns the Alchemy Realm of Colin Ishurian, so I think I should have the right to participate in a vote. What do you all think?"

Everyone was momentarily at a loss.

Although the alchemist community of Colin Ishurian was divided into north and south, the opposition between them was not as distinct as among the nobility. Given Phales' status, if he insisted on participating in this decision, they really had no grounds for objection publicly.

At least, no one felt they had the face to speak up.

Even Pudra only moved his lips, wisely swallowing his words, unwilling to become an outcast in the alchemy circle.

Only Count Roniel couldn't help but say, "Mr. Phales, this is the will of the Royal Household..."

"Rest assured," Phales glanced at him, "I have no interest in your matters. I only hope the competition can have a beginning and an end."

He then looked at Rolin and Fang Hong, his gaze lingering on them for a moment before continuing, "I cast this vote to allow the competition to proceed, since both sides were previously tied—"

He paused again before speaking, "Then why not have another match?"

Seeing that Count Roniel was about to speak, Phales interrupted him, "After the competition is over, once the winner receives the promised reward, I will no longer interfere in the remaining matters."

Upon hearing this, Count Roniel immediately closed his mouth. As long as it didn't hinder him from fulfilling the orders from the Prime Minister, he couldn't care less about the affairs among alchemists.

Furthermore, this was the chairman of the Golande Artisan's General Guild, someone who nominally oversees the entire Colin Ishurian alchemy realm. Was he someone Count Roniel could afford to offend?

Upon hearing this, Pudra's expression changed, and he was about to speak out against it, but Phales merely gave him a look, which silenced him.

The Old Speaker remained silent for a moment before he could ask:

"Who will choose the topic for the third match?"

"Let me," Phales said without hesitation, "This final additional match is uncommon in artisan competitions. But given how outstanding both competitors are, it doesn't make sense to declare one as losing."

"So, considering fairness, I, as the chief judge, will set the topic for this match."

His words were reasonable, and upon hearing them, no one could find any fault.

Although Ande felt somewhat suspicious, he still nodded.

Phales pondered for a moment, then looked at everyone before saying:

"The pinnacle of artisan artifacts is the Dragon Knight—"

"And beneath that pinnacle is a type of construct, not much inferior by comparison."

"So, for this match, that is your topic."

The dwarf spoke each word, and the arena was already in an uproar.

Beneath the Dragon Knight, people naturally already had the answer in mind, though that answer was so unbelievable.

As a result, amid the crowd's exclamations, Phales' final words were almost drowned out:

"The last topic—"

"Pseudo Dragon Knight."

...

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