Chapter 1780: Demon Challenge, Malicious Intent

Xia Duo casually took out the invitation, and only then did he notice that the invitation, which had been crumpled by the gatekeeper's rough handling earlier, had now returned to a smooth state.

So I had misjudged it!

Xia Duo complained inwardly; when he had first received this invitation, he had noticed a faint Magic Aura on it, so he hadn't paid it much attention.

Looking at it now, it was somewhat of a slap in the face.

Xia Duo was actually interested in studying this peculiar, flexible, paper-like invitation that was suspected to be made of memory metal; he had already thought of many uses for such a material.

But since the Dwarf opposite him had already reached out a hand, he would just have to wait for another opportunity later.

After Xia Duo handed over the invitation, the Dwarf actually had his hand glow faintly, covering the invitation, and after a brief inspection, he said to Xia Duo:

"Guest, please follow me; I will take you to the viewing stand."

"Mm."

Xia Duo nodded and followed behind the other party into another passageway. During the walk, the Dwarf Mage continued to introduce things to Xia Duo—

"What is currently underway is the ultimate challenge of the Stone Axe Clan warrior Oscar; his opponent is a demon. The guest has arrived a bit late and has already missed the most exciting part of the battle; the fight is likely over by now."

"A demon? Your Jiaodouchang actually brings in demons for display?"

Xia Duo immediately frowned. Even if a demon is controlled, it still constantly radiates a Demon Aura that is difficult to clear. If the aura leaks and creates infected entities outside, it might lead to an Abyss descent later.

For the Jiaodouchang to do this is somewhat irresponsible. The Underdark has already been ravaged by demons once, and the lingering poison has yet to be cleared. Now, to bring a demon to the Surface—could it be—

It was hard for Xia Duo not to make conspiracy theories such as "casting trouble onto neighbors" or "sharing the suffering." This matter was simply too sensitive; he had to speculate about others with the greatest malice.

Only a thoroughly purified demon is a good demon; all other actions that delay purification are the common enemy of all Wisdom beings.

Regarding Xia Duo's questioning, the Dwarf Mage in front seemed somewhat displeased, but his service attitude remained sincere, "The guest has misunderstood. The opponent for the ultimate challenge was chosen by Oscar himself, and the demon was also brought by him; our Jiaodouchang merely provided a place for the battle."

"Additionally, please rest assured, guest. The Stone Axe Clan obtained the consent of King Baside and confirmed that it would not bring negative effects before they could bring the demon to the Surface."

It would have been better if the Dwarf Mage hadn't explained; once he did, Xia Duo's suspicions grew even heavier. If this matter were just a private act by the Jiaodouchang, perhaps it wouldn't be so serious, but if it could obtain the consent of King Baside, then the problem was severe.

Perhaps the Dwarves didn't pay much attention, feeling that since they could defeat so many demons in the Underdark, bringing just one for a duel was nothing, but Xia Duo, who had communicated with the Divine Envoy Taide in the Outer Planes not long ago, knew—

Demon Aura is not just transmitted through contact; even just glancing at it carries the risk of infection!

Not to mention in an environment like the Jiaodouchang, where emotions are high and it is extremely easy to be affected by external influences, watching a demon fight makes being infected by Demon Aura almost inevitable.

It's just that being infected doesn't necessarily mean one will become an infected entity, but there are many negative effects, and if one watches too much, that's not certain; who knows, they might even produce a thoroughly demonized Dwarf demon.

Thinking of the Danzo authorities' relaxed attitude toward demons, Xia Duo immediately had a bad premonition; I fear the situation over in the Underdark will be even worse.

Of course, it is also possible that the Dwarves know it themselves, but in order to "share the suffering" with the Surface, they are deliberately pretending not to know, which would be even more terrifying.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo no longer had the heart to ask this Dwarf Mage about what battles would follow.

……

Walking in silence, they soon reached the end of the passageway. After passing through a spiral staircase, Xia Duo appeared on the viewing stand of the Jiaodouchang.

Although it was an open-air stand, the position here was clearly more "Advanced." There were hollowed-out stone pillars on both sides blocking the view, and directly opposite, because the Jiaodouchang was not open to the public at this time, there was actually no one there.

The two sides were, of course, the same or even more Advanced stands, but apart from sound, nothing else could be perceived. Xia Duo noticed that the stone pillars on both sides were carved with fine, regular Fuwu, and faint Magic Aura was emanating from them.

This should be the effect of the Dwarf Magic that is usually very rare.

The stand where Xia Duo was located had a total of three seats, arranged in a triangle: one further back but at a higher elevation, and the other two parallel and slightly lower than the one behind.

The Dwarf Mage briefly introduced the facilities on the stand and, as a demonstration, controlled the stone ball beside the seat to transmit a bottle of wine up, saying to Xia Duo:

"This is Bingyanzhu from the Underdark, considered a welcome gift from the Jiaodouchang to every invited guest; the guest may dispose of it as they please."

The Dwarf Mage did not touch the bottle of wine but walked to the hollowed-out stone pillar to the side and finally said:

"If the guest has any needs, lightly Touch the stone ball beside the seat to give instructions; I will be able to hear at any time. I will not disturb you here."

After speaking, he bumped his body against it and directly merged into the stone pillar, disappearing from sight.

……

After the Dwarf Mage left, Xia Duo relaxed a little. He noticed that the Dwarf Mage responsible for "cleaning the floor" in the center of the Jiaodouchang had already begun to leave; perhaps the next duel was about to start.

But, what about the people from the Seven Towers?

The Seven Towers side indeed didn't seem to mention they would send anyone here, and there was Xierdalanna; this place should have been chosen by her, yet she wasn't the first to arrive, which made Xia Duo somewhat dissatisfied.

Turning around to see the three stone seats behind him—two in front and one behind, two low and one high—he walked straight to the higher one in the back and sat down.

After sitting down, the host had already begun to introduce the gladiators who were about to appear. Xia Duo thought for a moment and placed his hand on the stone ball beside the seat.

However, he didn't give any instructions but instead used Perception to sense the open Magic String of this set of Dwarf Magic facilities. Comparing it to the operating method introduced by the Mage receptionist earlier, he casually flicked it twice.

Subsequently, the stone seat Xia Duo was sitting on began to descend. At the same time, the two seats in front began to separate to the sides, and eventually, Xia Duo's seat moved to the front, becoming three side-by-side.

At this time, the host hadn't finished introducing the "great achievements" of the gladiator who was about to appear—

"Deep into the Bingyuan, hunting white dragons, fighting with frost giants, he is—"

It was just a pity that the only audience in the Jiaodouchang now were the invited "members," and there were no ordinary spectators in greater numbers to set the atmosphere. Although there were several cheers from suspected friends and family, it was clearly much worse than the previous ultimate challenge.

However, Xia Duo still knew the name of the gladiator who was about to appear before the host introduced him—%#￥@*#

Xia Duo couldn't understand Dwarven Language, but the host would announce it again in Elvish—

The warrior Kunting of the Stone Eye Clan!

Later, whether it was because they were temporarily notified that there was a human guest present, they introduced it again in broken Netherese, and then the warrior appeared—