The first duel, Dox won. After the match, the reactions of both parties were different.
After the Gray Merchant saved the Wicked Woman, she still hadn’t regained her senses and remained in a violent state of combat. To Angel and the others, the conventional method to return her to normal was to achieve the Wicked Woman’s goal—to kill Dox. But that was clearly unrealistic; the duel was over, and persisting was unwise.
But if the Wicked Woman’s condition wasn’t addressed, the duel couldn’t proceed. The Gray Merchant was up next, and if he left, none of the remaining apprentices would be able to restrain the rampaging Wicked Woman.
In this dilemma, Angel was curious about what the Gray Merchant would do.
The Gray Merchant’s approach was simple: he forcibly grabbed one of the Wicked Woman’s tentacles, wrapped it around his wrist, and tied it into a bow.
As everyone puzzled over his confusing actions, the Wicked Woman surprisingly stopped bellowing. Her bloodline seemed stimulated halfway, reversing, and the ferocious gaze subsided while her vast body began to shrink.
Soon, the Wicked Woman returned to a "human" form, but from the appearance, she couldn’t yet be called human.
Because the half of her body previously bound by bandages was now fully exposed. There was no imagined beauty, but withered flesh, yellowed bones, and shriveled organs.
She looked nearly indistinguishable from a half-dead person.
The Wicked Woman’s half-face was also ruined, yet she seemed unconcerned. She glared viciously at Dox and then, somewhat ashamed, said to the Gray Merchant, "I lost."
A very straightforward admission of the truth, without claiming Dox won by external forces, nor offering any excuses.
The Gray Merchant: "No matter, not dying is already lucky. This also exposed your weakness; striving for both cunning tricks and boundless brute strength is unrealistic. No matter how powerful the strength, without corresponding intelligence to control it, it can only become a child’s swinging hammer."
The Wicked Woman’s weakness was not only seen by the Gray Merchant; anyone present with intact eyes could basically discern it.
Early in the fight, her abilities were quirky and mysterious, but later, as her bloodline fully activated, her strength became so great that even a punch caused shockwaves. But the "mystique" disappeared, replaced by "awkwardness."
The more awkward it became, the more defects appeared.
Of course, now it’s judging the Wicked Woman’s shortcomings based on the outcome. If Dox had been thwarted by the curse initially and hadn’t received help from the Sunlight Sanctuary, leading to her victory, then it would be a different scenario now. Even if the Gray Merchant spotted the Wicked Woman’s weaknesses, he wouldn’t point them out because sometimes you only recognize your deficiencies after experiencing and self-reflecting on them. Otherwise, well-intentioned reminders could be merely annoying to the overly confident.
Indeed, the Wicked Woman lost and didn’t resist the Gray Merchant’s advice. However much she heeds, whether she will change and how, that’s her own concern.
"Hmph, the previous you wouldn’t have said such things." The Wicked Woman snorted and turned her head aside.
The Gray Merchant wasn’t bothered. After confirming the Wicked Woman had regained her senses, he did something that shocked everyone.
He directly broke off the arm tied with the Wicked Woman’s hair from the shoulder and tore it away.
Then, he tossed the severed hand lightly to the Wicked Woman.
Though the Gray Merchant said nothing, the Wicked Woman seemed to understand, accepting the hand, her eyes immediately flaring with crimson bloodstains. Amidst everyone’s eyes, she crazily bit into the severed hand like it was food.
As the Wicked Woman devoured it, the withered half of her body gained a bit more vitality. No longer could one see the bones and organs at a glance.
But that was as far as it went. Complete recovery still required a long time.
On Angel’s side, Vay watched the Wicked Woman consume the Gray Merchant’s hand, scrunching up his expression and clicking his tongue, "Resorting to such desperation? Eating a companion’s flesh... If energy was needed, why wasn’t there prior preparation?"
Vay’s voice was soft, but the Gray Merchant across still heard it.
The Gray Merchant turned his head towards Vay, warmly saying, "You misunderstood."
As for what was misunderstood, the Gray Merchant didn’t say, but the Black Earl beside him supplemented, "That severed arm was originally the Wicked Woman’s, merely attached to the Gray Merchant at first."
Otherwise, how could the Gray Merchant use just a hand to restore the Wicked Woman from her stupor? That was clearly impossible.
The only answer is the Wicked Woman anticipated losing control and prepared in advance. The innovation lineage is best at dismantling their bodies; dismantling her own hand and grafting it to the Gray Merchant is perfectly normal.
And as a Bloodline Wizard himself, the Gray Merchant could control his bodily changes anytime, grafting an external hand wasn’t difficult.
So, the Wicked Woman was simply consuming her own hand.
It was only her meat that she could so quickly digest, allowing her swift recovery from a critical state.
The Black Earl’s explanation drew appreciation from the Gray Merchant, his friendly intentions evident.
But the Black Earl was indifferent; concerning himself over a minor wizard’s goodwill would undermine his renowned stature.
In contrast to the Wicked Woman, the other party involved in the duel—Dox—didn’t reflect on his shortcomings at all.
In his view, the biggest flaw was not recovering his inspiration talent. Had he had inspiration talent, he wouldn’t have suffered from the curse, and thus no subsequent issues would’ve arisen.
Besides, even if there truly were flaws, Dox had no intent to self-reflect now.
At this moment, his focus was solely on selling merchandise.
The merchandise, naturally, was the Sunlight Sanctuary’s tickets.
He tirelessly praised how wonderful the Sunlight Sanctuary was; indeed, everyone showed longing, some even excitement, yet no one responded to Dox.
When Dox felt puzzled, Vay finally couldn’t bear it and told him, "Everyone knows it’s good, but its duration, lasting effects, and whether it could affect beliefs mentally or spiritually all require clear answers. These questions you can’t answer..."
So, they’re waiting for Angel to provide clear answers. It has nothing to do with Dox’s boasting sales pitch.
And Vay’s explanation had covered most of everyone’s doubts.
But one doubt that Vay didn’t consider was—
"The Mysterious Parchment, it can’t possibly be all positive effects, can it? What’s its negative effect?" The Black Earl voiced the biggest doubt.
Mysterious Objects were something almost every wizard had heard of, but few truly understood and classified them, especially in the Southern Domain. They mostly just knew Mysterious Objects were indeed useful, but conversely, they came with side effects.
The Black Earl shared this understanding.
It’s not their fault; most research results on Mysterious Objects are in the Origin World. The Southern Domain has been out of touch with the Origin World for many years, and little related information is transmitted here.
But in fact, this is a misunderstanding. Many controllable mysterious objects basically have no side effects. Just like the Endless Corridor of Sky Mechanical City; if there were side effects, would anyone dare to challenge it?