Chapter 1533
Chapter 1533: Section 1534 Hydra's Serpent Eye Chapter 1533: Section 1534 Hydra's Serpent Eye Spiwey flipped in the air, evading a dense thicket of thorns.
As he landed, his shoulders heaved continuously, he gasped for air deeply. His palms were drenched with sweat, and his well-fitted clothes now bore several sword marks, looking somewhat tattered.
The Joker mask was still on his face, but at this moment, the mask's crimson smile seemed no longer to mock Dominico but to ridicule his own disgraced self.
Dominico didn't give Spiwey much chance to catch his breath; he casually pulled out the rose vine stuck in the ground, and with a flicker of Phantom Shadows, the vine turned back into a rose Rapier.
With a flick of the rapier, he held it vertically. Positioned perfectly between his eyes, the blade's reflective shine outlined his deep-set facial features.
Dominico stood elegantly with his sword amidst the falling rose petal rain, resembling the most devout Knight of the Nobility.
After the silence, came intense motion.
With the surge of energy, Dominico commenced a true Spring Waltz!
The tip of the sword moved like a graceful waltz; with each swing, not only petals fell, but a sheer amount of thorny vines grew rapidly from the ground.
These vines, under the cover of the Velvet Thistle Plains, began to wildly claw out.
Taking advantage of the terrain, Dominico pressed closer step by step.
Spiwey didn't fight back but was forced to retreat. When his strength was fully drained, Dominico seized the moment, swinging his sword down.
Like a beam of light, it struck Spiwey's face.
A cracking sound resonated.
The Joker mask split down the middle, and with a flicker of black mist, the eerie mask broke into two.
Although Spiwey quickly covered his face with the floating black mist, all the audience still saw his true face.
Dominico laughed exaggeratedly, “Behind the mystery often lies something that matches its enigmatic essence. I thought you had to have a handsome face to hide behind a mask, but it seems you were just pretending to be mysterious.”
“If you had even one-tenth, oh no, one percent of my looks, I could understand your wearing a mask to hide. But now it seems, mask or no mask, you are still a Joker.”
Dominico's words were highly exaggerated, and in fact, the reality was blown out of proportion.
Was Spiwey ugly? Not at all.
Knowing Dominico as the audience did, it's likely that he was just saying that to highlight his own attractiveness.
“Relying on a few deceitful tricks, did you think you could mingle in the Novice Tournament?” Dominico's sword tip pointed at Spiwey's throat, “It seems my opening words were not wrong. This is a drama with a foreseen ending, with you as the destined loser. Surrender, or else…”
With a slight thrust of the sword tip, a droplet of blood appeared on Spiwey's throat, thick with the threat.
Spiwey's eyes were somber, his hands trembling inside his sleeves–not out of fear, but from suppression and… restraint.
“Looks like you're still stubborn. This is my final warning; in most common dramas, the stubborn ones are either the protagonist or… the dead!”
While saying this, Dominico swung his sword high–a brilliant and beautiful rose carried a cold murderous intent.
In Spiwey's Mind Space, a familiar Trick model that couldn't be more familiar had already taken shape. Once he used it, he could certainly turn the tide quickly.
But if he used it, perhaps Klemoine would catch on.
Spiwey struggled internally with whether to use it or not.
As Dominico's rapier was about to come chopping down, Spiwey sighed, lowered his head, and dispelled the surrounding black mist, revealing his thin body: “I surrender.”
As the words fell, Dominico's descending sword transformed into a cascade of scattered roses.
“That's more like it.” Dominico lightly picked a rose, elegantly sniffing it at the tip of his nose, before casually handing it over to Spiwey, “This rose represents hope given by the victor to the defeated. Of course, it could also mean despair.”
With a laugh, Dominico turned and walked towards the opening door.
The Light Screen also displayed the results of the first match.
Spring Waltz, victory!
This match hadn't been as intense as the officials had imagined. Thankfully, Spring Waltz fully exhibited the aesthetics of combat during the fight, petals scattered about as if they cost nothing, eliciting continuous screams from the admirers present.
At least, in terms of visual effect, this match could barely qualify as an opener for the Novice Tournament.
“This Deceiver has astounding combat awareness and relatively rich combat experience. However, his methods were too weak, ultimately leading to his defeat.” Falina turned her head to Angel, “You were right, the victor is Spring Waltz.”
Angel's gaze, however, was on something in the distance; Klemoine and Hydra were whispering something to each other.
Falina: “What are you looking at?”
Angel turned, smiling faintly, “I just think that Klemoine is probably the most dedicated of all the special judges.”
Falina paused, then nodded with a smile, “Indeed, he has been earnest since the beginning of the match. I even think we could suggest to Rosen that Klemoine could be directly added to the Permanent Observation panel.”
With that, Falina stood up, “Since the match has ended, why not go over and take a look?”
Angel nodded; he also wanted to hear what exactly Klemene was discussing, and whether he had noticed anything amiss.
Although they were still in mid-air, it was no different for them than being on solid ground.
As they approached Klemene, his conversation with Hydra also came to a halt. Farina didn't catch everything, but the few key phrases she heard seemed to be about the competition, which piqued her curiosity, “Are you discussing this competition?”
Klemene nodded, “Yes, I always feel like The Deceiver seems to have a deliberate intent to conceal his skill. So, I wanted to consult with the Observer.”
Conceal his skill? Farina hadn't really paid close attention to the competition; she only watched the beginning and the end, spending the rest of the time pondering alchemy problems and didn't notice if there was an issue of concealing ability.
Farina asked, “What does Observer His Excellency think then?”
Hydra's middle head of the three turned towards Angel.
Angel was wondering why Hydra was looking at him when Hydra's usually closed eyes began to slowly open.
Hydra's pupils were vertical, cold as if they were the eyes of a viper.
And they matched his serpent scales.
His vertical pupils seemed to have the ability to see through the truth, and when Hydra gazed at him with those eyes, Angel felt as if all of his secrets were nakedly exposed before him.
Angel frowned, a flicker of green light in his right eye as a strange green pattern immediately circled around him.
Green Pattern: Domain Field!
With the power of the Domain Field, he concealed all the aura leaking from his body.
Only then did that feeling of being spied upon disappear.
Angel stared coldly at Hydra, “Observer His Excellency, what are you implying?”
Hydra looked at Angel, surprised at the faintly emerging green pattern that had managed to block his Gifted Vision for the first time.
What kind of spell technique was this green pattern, and why had he never seen it before?
Hydra spoke, “Apologies, my eyes are beyond my control; when shut, they can conceal the power of insight.”
Although Angel didn't know what ability Hydra's eyes possessed, he could tell Hydra wasn't lying. However, since they were uncontrollable, why not keep them closed? Why suddenly open them?
Hydra continued, “As to the question of the Water Pattern Witch, I cannot answer for the moment, but the serpent in the tree opening its eyes tells me that the person before me knows the answer.”
Like the River of Fate, Wheel of Time, and Strings of the World, the serpent in the tree is also a branch of the belief related to Prophecy, not mainstream but a special and minority faction.
Angel asked, “The person before you, are you referring to me?”
Hydra nodded, “Yes.”
The reason given was far-fetched, but he was not lying. And Angel wasn't truly offended, so he eventually chose not to bring it up again.
“Does the Observer think that Wizard Pat knows?” Perhaps due to the slightly awkward atmosphere, Farina casually took over the conversation, easing the tense mood.
Hydra nodded, “Whether there was a concealment of skill, Wizard Pat would surely know.”
Hydra emphasized his words with a long pause before continuing, “After all, The Deceiver is from Barbarian Cave.”
Angel could sense that Hydra's first statement had an implication, and that the latter, more likely than not, was not his true thought.
A notion flashed through Angel's mind; perhaps Klemene hadn't realized, but had this Hydra already discerned something?
After hearing Hydra's words, Klemene looked curiously at Angel with a somewhat eager tone, “Wizard Pat, what do you think?”
“Whether or not there was skill concealment shouldn't matter, right? The outcome is already determined.” Angel looked away, “Even if there truly was skill concealment, it wouldn't matter much. After all, in certain situations, isn't concealing one's skills also a tactic?”
Klemene nodded, “That may be true, yet it still feels incongruous. The Deceiver having such advanced combat awareness and rich combat experience yet lacking corresponding strength to match, that clearly doesn't add up.”
Suddenly, Farina said, “Maybe there is an unspeakable difficulty?”
All eyes gathered on Farina, awaiting her next words.
After a moment of contemplation, Farina proposed an unexpected answer, “Perhaps he's actually a fan of Spring Waltz? Couldn't bear to harm her?”
Angel: “…”
Klemene forced a dry laugh, “Maybe?”
Farina queried, “No matter the answer, why is the old witch wizard so concerned with The Deceiver?”
Angel pricked up his ears.
Klemene said, “I'm not particularly concerned with him, actually, this is an evaluation Miss Melisa asked me to carry out… Speaking of which, Miss Melisa also wanted me to ask for your opinions, since you are here, why not share your thoughts?”
Melisa? Our opinions?
Angel glanced at Farina beside him with puzzled eyes, and Farina shrugged, indicating she was also uninformed.
“Melisa should be in the judging room. How about this, let's go straight there and ask?” Farina suggested.