Chapter 967: Hypnotic Eye

“Dorothy, what do you think of Rose’s performance?”

Euphelia naturally noticed the subtle exchanges between her student and her own daughter, and she too sent a mental whisper.

Hmm, although Rose’s teaching ethics are a bit questionable, her instruction is actually solid—this duel was a textbook example of an aggressive rush strategy. Long Ma also wanted to see if her daughter had picked up anything.

Although she knew her daughter’s insight was extraordinary, and she trusted that the famed Forest Witch could certainly understand the match, she still considered her daughter was only in her teens—still young. Even with vast knowledge and exceptional intelligence, combat was not like academic research.

In research, one is one, two is two; if you learn it, you learn it—it relies mostly on insight and knowledge.

But combat depends far more on experience. No matter how well you practice your techniques or how elegant your patterns, when faced with real combat, you’ll still go blind, your mind blank, unsure when or how to use anything.

Euphelia felt she had little left to teach this genius daughter in magic; after all, the Forest Witch was far more authoritative than she was. She figured what she could pass on were merely her own experiences.

Dorothy, hearing her mother’s question, naturally nodded.

“My teacher’s performance was excellent—true combat should be this way: from the moment you recognize your opponent, you must immediately enter combat readiness. Miss Alannis was far too lax.”

The Home Witch replied.

Some might think Spider Teacher acted dishonorably—how could she start moving before the countdown began, pre-setting webs? That’s against the rules.

But Dorothy wouldn’t be fooled by such naivety.

Dueling is a simulation of life-or-death combat. Though modern dueling tournaments have grown increasingly entertainment-focused, with many treating them as performances, no amount of commercialization changes the core truth: dueling is a clash of violence and strength.

No one would be so foolish as to seek fairness in a dueling match.

If not for the high level of magical civilization in the Witch World—where dueling arrays have been developed to make duels safe and convenient without real injury—duels would truly be fatal.

Would you expect your opponent in a life-or-death struggle to play fair?

Dueling is meant to win by any means necessary—because defeat means losing your life.

So if it’s a friendly sparring match where second place is fine and friendship comes first, then shouting “fair play” is acceptable. But in a world-class tournament vying for supremacy, any contestant clinging to such infantile demands for absolute fairness and “honor” should just go back where they came from.

The Witch World isn’t gentle enough to coddle idiots.

Still, Spider Teacher’s technique was truly impressive—no ordinary person could replicate it.

“Tch, my teacher is truly a master of architecture. The very process of reshaping the dueling array is itself an act of construction—and she managed to interfere even with that.”

The Home Witch couldn’t help but marvel.

Her teacher had taught her another lesson: there are no useless magics, only useless casters. Who could have imagined architecture magic could be used this way in dueling?

Spider Teacher had clearly mastered architecture magic.

Hearing her daughter’s response, Long Ma smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Now I’m reassured. In a few days, you’ll be heading to the frontlines. I hope Dorothy, you’ll always remember: give your all in every battle. Never let your guard down.”

Euphelia said this with serious earnestness.

Then, mother and daughter jointly rendered their verdict.

Naturally, they ruled Noerose the winner.

Not just they—every other judge had also ruled in favor of the Spider Witch.

Clearly, the judging panel accepted Noerose’s methods and did not deem her victory dishonorable or rule-breaking.

But the audience was left sighing in dissatisfaction—such a one-sided knockout lacked spectacle, and it didn’t justify their ticket prices.

Fortunately, there were many more matches today.

With Noerose’s exit, the arena reset, and the next match was about to begin.

Today’s second match: Inanna vs. Matild.

Dorothy immediately perked up—she’d come today primarily to watch Miss Brutality. After all, she was Brutality’s spell coach, had been paid, and naturally cared about her patron’s performance.

But she wasn’t very familiar with Matild, Inanna’s opponent—luckily, as a judge, she had the authority to review the contestant’s basic data.

Dorothy quickly scanned the file, then her expression turned strange.

“Damn, a rising star from the Mentalism school? Perfect counter to Inanna’s brute force—I’ve nailed the question for her. Inanna, I’ve earned every penny you paid me.”

The Home Witch thought to herself with quiet pride.

And as she anticipated, the two contestants entered the arena below.

First, of course, was the old friend—Brutality. No introduction needed. The dragon loli had already donned her crimson battle robe; though small in stature, her aura loomed like a giant’s.

Modeled after the Blazing Slash Dragon, she had now shed her tail, transforming it into a colossal sword taller than her own body.

The contrast between the petite girl and the monstrous weapon was stark, but as the young mistress of the Dragon Roar Arena, Inanna was far too famous in dueling circles for anyone to underestimate this rapidly rising star.

Dorothy focused more on Miss Matild.

Unlike Inanna, who maintained her loli form, Matild was the type of mature woman the Home Witch adored—slender, graceful, elegant. Beneath her softly curled black hair lay a delicate, pitifully beautiful face, radiating harmless charm.

She hadn’t even worn a battle robe—still dressed in a soft magical gown, looking weakly defended, offering little sense of security.

But the Home Witch, having read her file, knew all this was merely Matild’s disguise. Anyone who believed her truly frail was already on the brink of defeat.

“Lady Inanna, please be gentle next—my tiny frame can’t withstand your destruction. If you must destroy someone, please choose another battlefield—I’d be delighted if you went all out.”

The countdown began. Inanna remained her usual cool, battle-ready demeanor, but Matild showed no tension—instead, she giggled teasingly at the petite dragon loli across from her.

Yet Inanna simply closed her eyes, refusing to look at her.

As a fellow dueling witch, Brutality knew Matild too well—they’d fought many times before. She understood just how dangerous this opponent was.

Mentalism witches—among the top three schools, Mentalism was a rare profession with high entry barriers.

So how could a witch who had not only joined Mentalism but reached its pinnacle be some innocent, pure-hearted white lotus?

She was clearly a monster who devoured people without spitting out bones.

Matild’s suggestive teasing, her pitiful appearance, her lack of battle armor, even her current posture—all were meticulously crafted traps. Believe any one of them, and you’d already planted a mental weakness. By the time the countdown ended, you might die without even knowing how.

“These Mentalism old bastards are truly disgusting.”

Inanna cursed inwardly.

She loved the thrill of combat, preferring opponents who fought head-on, brute force against brute force—but unfortunately, this match had paired her with her worst possible adversary.

She’d fought Matild several times before—her win rate was four to six: she won four, Matild won six. There was no help for it—Matild naturally countered her.

Seeing Inanna close her eyes and ignore her, the mature witch across from her smiled happily.

“Hehe, Lady Inanna, still so shy? How will you ever win over Bellagala? Want me to teach you a few tricks?”

She continued teasing, acting like a mischievous older sister fond of playing with children.

Inanna, of course, remained unmoved.

She wouldn’t fall for this trash-talk trap. She silently pulled a vial of potion from her pocket and brought it to her lips, ready to gulp it down the instant the countdown ended.

It was, of course, a mental-resistance potion crafted personally by her best friend, Bellagala.

If she could successfully drink it, she’d be temporarily immune to this annoying nuisance—and then she’d show her what cruelty truly meant.

Ha. Lady Inanna had never heard of tender mercy.

The five-second countdown vanished in an instant. The moment the health bar appeared, Brutality’s body was already wrapped in a magical shield.

She didn’t intend to strike first—she only wanted to endure the opponent’s opening assault to buy time to drink the potion.

Sigh. The potion-drinking strategy was powerful, but its fatal flaw was the time required to consume it.

But—

“Hehe, you always love drinking potions, especially Bellagala’s lovingly made ones. Your bond is so touching—I’m envious. But Inanna, you timid thing, you haven’t even tasted Bellagala’s flavor yet, have you? Shall I tell you what she tastes like? You know, few can resist my methods.”

That hateful laughter echoed in Inanna’s mind, and those cruel words struck her deepest nerve.

“You slut, you’re asking for death.”

Her closed eyes snapped open, blazing with fury.

Inanna knew this was merely psychological provocation, meant to anger her—but that didn’t stop her from truly being enraged.

Yet the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Matild—already standing right before her. The witch’s exquisite face filled her vision, her magical winds stirring her bangs to reveal a third eye on her forehead.

Hypnotic Eye.

Matild was a demon witch, and her evolution template was the Eye Demon.

This demon race was rare in its ability to develop magical eyes post-birth, specializing in combat using various magical eyes.

The Hypnotic Eye was Matild’s strongest eye, ranked at Gold Tier.

Her earlier taunt wasn’t empty boasting—she truly excelled at seduction. Few could remain Qingxing under her magical eyes.

The evil of the Hypnotic Eye? Those who understand, understand.

But Matild’s intended prey was never Bellagala—it was Inanna.

“Inanna, spit it out! Don’t drink! I gave you the wrong potion—it’s poisoned!”

The demon witch’s forehead eye, swirling like a kaleidoscope, rotated—and then she spoke in a tone of urgent alarm to the opponent who had already swallowed the potion.

Yes, that voice wasn’t her own—it was the voice of the Nine-Headed Dragon Witch, Bellagala.

The hypnotized Inanna froze. Her warrior instinct screamed something was wrong—but out of unconditional trust in Bellagala, she instinctively spat out the potion.

Then, her consciousness cleared.

The Hypnotic Eye was powerful, but not invincible. Its hypnotic effect came in two forms: rapid hypnosis and complete hypnosis.

The former activated quickly but lasted briefly; the latter could be permanent, but required prolonged casting.

In this duel, Matild naturally used rapid hypnosis.

Inanna, being a strong witch herself, possessed greater magical power and no inferior mental attributes—so the rapid hypnosis effect had already worn off.

But the Eye Witch’s goal had already been achieved.

“Hehe, I love fighting with you pure-love types—you’re so easy to fool.”

She taunted triumphantly.

Having fought Inanna many times before, she knew this match was already won—past duels had followed nearly the same pattern.

If Inanna drank the potion, she lost. But if she didn’t, this brute was her toy.

Now that the potion had been spat out, she wouldn’t give Inanna another chance to drink.

“The outcome is decided, you little fool for love.”

She smiled triumphantly.

But at this moment, Inanna also smiled.

A terrifying, grotesque smile.

Fire burned in her eyes; a dreadful killing aura surged straight to the heavens.

The “Cruel Killing Mind Spell” activated.

Thus, the Eye Demon Witch’s smile gradually froze.

What power is this? When did Inanna learn this new spell?

But what answered her confusion was the rampaging Roulin of the Pure Love War God.

Pure Love massacre in progress.

Tomorrow, the Monkey God will be activated—I can’t wait.