Chapter 2746: Chapter 2747: Laying the Groundwork

Vay, who had lost his way, stumbled and wandered to the edge of the arena.

Although there were still more than ten meters from the edge, it was already very close to the outside void.

The Wizard’s eyes brightened; in previous duels between two Official Wizards, the final victory was achieved by forcing the opponent out of the arena. Now, he seemed to be able to try this method too?

The Wizard was tempted, but his rationality told him to wait a bit longer. As long as he waited until Vay’s potion was fully consumed, he would definitely win.

But is it really possible to wait until the opponent’s potion is completely consumed? Will there be unexpected events during the consumption process?

After all, the opponent is a descendant of the Noah Clan. His potions and Magic Rune Scrolls must be substantial; maybe he could really experiment with a method to overcome the fungal barrier?

At this moment, it was as if there were two different voices in Wizard’s mind, one named "Cautious Approach," the other named "Take a Risk." They had contrasting thought orientations and value orientations, advocating for themselves through constant arguments.

Cautious Approach adheres to the dogma of self, with ’absolute rationality’ as the core, using tight calculations and chess moves as arguments, explaining its viewpoint.

Take a Risk is of the newborn radical ideology, under the name of ’follow your heart,’ interpreting its views through stories of decisiveness and chaos.

For now, neither could convince the other.

However, in this state where neither could convince the other, "Cautious Approach" actually held the advantage, because if it couldn’t convince the opponent, then do nothing, which fits the concept of being cautious.

If there are no unexpected events, the Wizard’s inclination likely will not change.

But unexpected events often occur at the time when you think they won’t.

Vay, regardless of whether it was due to sheer bad luck or something else, began to walk straight towards the edge of the arena.

Earlier, he was only walking within a range of ten meters from the edge, now he was heading directly towards the void.

The Wizard’s heart skipped a beat, and the idea of pushing him forward rose again.

However, the value concept of "Cautious Approach" remained the Wizard’s fundamental dogma; he believed that being cautious could save his life, so even though the devil’s temptation was already whispering around his ears, he still restrained his impulse.

The Wizard kept on repeating to himself: the opponent has a scheme, deliberately luring him over, must not be fooled.

Yet after chanting this, the Wizard unconsciously questioned: the fact that the opponent lost direction is undeniable. Because Vay entering the mist was part of the Wizard’s setup. Subsequently, causing him to lose direction, naturally expanding the fungal barrier range through the mother attracting the child trait was also within the Wizard’s calculations.

Therefore, he should not be acting now.

Thus, his movement towards the edge might not be a trap?

Maybe he should give it a try?

At this, the Wizard’s heart started to itch, but his extensive experience clearing Magic Monsters in underground aqueducts made him more restrained than apprentices of the same rank. This habit of endurance was deeply ingrained in his bones. Before completely eliminating doubts, he chose to be cautious.

Until Vay seemed to realize he was walking towards the edge and began to retreat, the Wizard finally couldn’t hold back.

Vay didn’t continue forward but chose to retreat, indicating his previous action was indeed due to losing direction, not intentionally walking to the edge as a lure.

Having established this fact, combined with Vay’s endless potion consumption that made the Wizard’s heart churn with jealousy, the Wizard finally decided to act.

However, even though he decided to act, the Wizard didn’t choose to rush forward immediately.

He wanted to conduct one last test.

He summoned a shadow based on his true form, slowly rising from the ground’s shadow. Then, this shadow silently walked towards the direction where Vay was located.

It walked until it was about fifty meters away from Vay before stopping.

Vay didn’t notice the pair of eyes staring at him in the mist; he continued to retreat, avoiding stepping out of the arena.

As he retreated, Vay’s expression was still cast fiercely towards the direction of the edge. Though he remained silent, the Wizard could infer his emotions from the direction Vay was looking.

Probably feeling scared, while cursing the dome produced by that black-robed referee.

It’s understandable, without this dome, Vay could judge his distance from the edge by the howls of the Magic Monsters in the void.

Now, unable to hear outside sounds and stuck in the mist, he nearly lost his footing, falling out of bounds.

Observing Vay’s fiercely expressed face and cautious examination of the surroundings, the Wizard’s doubts were completely erased.

He created a shadow resembling his form to check if Vay had any schemes. But even at a distance of fifty meters, the other party hadn’t discovered the shadow, indicating his perception was still suppressed by the fungal barrier.

And fifty meters was an optimal distance for the Wizard. His attack strength wouldn’t diminish within fifty meters, so if the shadow wasn’t detected, he himself probably wouldn’t be either.

After multiple tests, the Wizard finally felt assured.

His body gradually emerged from the shadow, soon standing firmly within the mist.

He watched Vay stagger in the distance, oblivious to the impending danger, gently removed his mask, revealing the corners of his lips slightly curled up.

"It’s over." Silent declaration, expressing Wizard’s immense confidence.

Yet, it was at this moment the plot twist unfolded.

From afar, Vay suddenly staggered, falling to the ground. Meanwhile, a massive Earth Spike rose from several meters behind the Wizard, piercing through the Wizard’s body with lightning speed.

The Wizard didn’t even react before the Earth Spike lifted him into the air.

His current body was his True Body. Blood and flesh were instantly punctured, resembling a torn doll pinned on the sharp spike.

From the distance, Vay stood up, turned to look at the Wizard.

"Yes, it’s over."

...

The entire battle process was very inexplicable; even Angel, after reviewing the stored scenes, couldn’t discern when Vay deceived the Wizard.

Dox previously mentioned that when he went adventuring outside with Vay, he was responsible for combat while Vay handled the strategy.

Could it be that Vay had already laid out the strategy from the beginning?

Angel carefully thought back and still found it unlikely. Vay’s actions were traceable; what he did, the significance of these actions, and the resulting consequences were all clear.

Angel really couldn’t find any signs of strategy within them.

However, the final counterattack was definitely calculated. Perhaps the strategy wasn’t laid out from the start? But rather, halfway through, the plan was adjusted accordingly?

Angel followed this train of thought, looking for the underlying logic.

There are two obvious points here that seem problematic. First, the phantom first tested with shadows, even getting as close as fifty meters, yet Vay didn’t react; second, just as the phantom’s body rose from the shadow, Vay locked onto its position and executed a massive piercing attack.

From these points, it’s clear that Vay could distinguish the phantom’s true form from the false. Moreover, from the preparation of the earth spikes, it was evident that Vay had even identified the phantom’s hiding place ahead of time. It was only because the phantom lingered in the shadow that Vay couldn’t act until it materialized, at which point Vay promptly released the earth spikes.

How did Vay achieve this?

Angel recalled Vay’s various actions and coupled with his own understanding, an answer slowly surfaced in his mind.

...

"What’s happening? I can’t understand it," Kaier looked bewildered at the situation on the field.

A second ago, Kaier was still worried about Vay’s condition, and the next, the battle was over? The Wise Sovereign directly announced the result?

The situation reminded Kaier of when he was taken by his mentor Esos to the Majestic Plane to study space knowledge at the Empire’s College of Finance to learn mathematics, which in essence is a type of arithmancy. When Kaier was first exposed, often the basic one plus one was being taught, but if he took a brief nap or even yawned, upon reopening his eyes, the blackboard was filled with incomprehensible formulas.

How similar the classroom’s situation was to now?

In this case, Kaier wasn’t even yawning or napping, just blinking, and the battle changed dramatically.

How many steps are omitted in this process? How did it suddenly jump to the conclusion?

Kaier glanced around before finally looking at Dox: "Sir..."

Dox naturally understood what Kaier wanted to ask, but at that moment, he didn’t have a definite answer either. Moreover, he had always shown that Vay’s chances of winning were low, if he made another incorrect statement now, wouldn’t his face be slapped repeatedly?

Dox pondered for a moment, didn’t answer Kaier, but spoke to Angel: "Seems like you were right earlier."

Pause for a moment, Dox continued: "Did you see the strategy from the start?"

Angel chuckled lightly, not speaking. Besides, he didn’t know what to say.

Dox assumed Angel was agreeing silently, praised him, then turned to Kaier: "Since he detected the strategy early, you’d better ask him... I only noticed some clues in the end."

Dox smoothly transferred Kaier’s query to Angel.

However, Kaier, being baffled at the moment, didn’t notice Dox’s topic switch and instead found it reasonable. Knowing Chaowei perceived the hidden aspects early, having him explain made more sense.

Facing Kaier’s hopeful gaze, Angel didn’t immediately deliver an answer, instead bluntly exposed Dox’s awkwardness: "Your topic switch is quite crude... So, do you not know why Vay triumphed?"

Dox awkwardly smiled: "How could I not? I understand Vay better and deeper than you all."

Angel shrugged: "Then go ahead."

Dox pursed his lips, wanting to find a topic to divert, but with Kaier already casting skeptical looks, switching topics would confirm his ignorance?

Moreover, with Vay about to step down, given his personality, catching a flaw once, he will hold onto it for decades.

It’s best to resolve this issue before Vay steps down, lest he brings it up later.

But Dox wasn’t entirely certain how Vay achieved victory. He had a few alternative answers, which one could it be?

As Dox’s thoughts wandered, he noticed Angel staring at him with a curious look.

"Vay understands you, I know this. But now it seems, you don’t understand Vay at all..." Angel spoke while shifting his gaze to the stage.

Vay noticed Angel’s gaze, perked up, and placed a hand on his chest, giving Angel a "mission accomplished" gesture.

When Dox saw Angel’s sly expression, he knew Angel absolutely intended to cause trouble.

Angel was undoubtedly contemplating using venomous words to slander him, to drive a wedge between him and Vay!

No doubt, Angel likely prepared his words already, awaiting the dome’s withdrawal to whisper in Vay’s ear within the Mind Ribbon.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Dox blurted out, regardless of correctness: "The nose!"

Angel squinted.

Dox continued: "Vay managed to defeat the phantom because he had pre-determined the phantom’s position, evident from the arrangement of earth spikes, this wasn’t set up recently, it must have been done ahead of time."

"How he determined the phantom’s position and differentiated between real and fake relied on Vay’s talent for smell."

The more Dox spoke, the clearer it became, places he had not understood suddenly seemed apparent: "Indeed, Vay hadn’t battled for years, his practical experience waned substantially. However, throughout these years, he didn’t idly waste time; running a divination shop meant using the Death Sense daily, honed over many years, making his perception extremely keen."

"Previously, Vay entered the fungal barrier, repeatedly attacked by the phantom. But he, in the process, captured the phantom’s scent."

"Regrettably, Vay was continuously attacked, coupled with fungal invasion, rendering him incapable of leveraging the captured scent of the phantom effectively."

"Hence, he simply acted as if unaware of the phantom’s whereabouts, allowing himself to be ambushed, awaiting the turn."

"The turning point emerged when the phantom ceased attacking Vay. He began medicating, recovering, and using his sense to pinpoint the phantom’s location... leading to his eventual comeback."

"One could say the phantom’s hesitation enabled Vay’s victory. Of course, Vay’s acting was quite commendable."

"It’s worth mentioning that Vay seemingly devised a winning strategy quite early on."

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