Fortunately, Lei Lin and the others were all second-rank Wizards, holding high positions of power. Even if the audience was dissatisfied, they didn't dare show it on their faces, instead directing their attention toward the matches taking place in the arena.
At that moment, Lei Lin's eyes lit up.
Following his gaze, on a platform in the southeastern corner, someone who piqued his interest had finally appeared.
"Arena Number 34, fifth selection match! Contestants Number 273 and Number 35, please enter!"
A peak first-rank Wizard, dressed in formal wizard attire with his hair impeccably groomed, announced in a booming voice.
Almost the instant his words fell, a streak of firelight flashed, and a stunningly curvaceous beauty stood at the center of the platform.
This female Wizard possessed a devastatingly voluptuous figure, and she wore a tight-fitting corset that strained to bursting against the fullness of her chest, yet her face appeared somewhat youthful, as if she had not yet come of age.
This combination of an angel's face and a devil's body clearly stirred up interest among the spectators in the stands.
"Oh! I remember now! She's the Fire Scorpion from the Western Region — I can't believe she came here too!" a Wizard blurted out, his voice filtered through multiple layers before reaching Lei Lin's ears.
"Fire Scorpion?!" Lei Lin was somewhat surprised by the nickname.
"Haha! Has Wizard Lei Lin also been to the Western Region?" On the same VIP platform, a second-rank Wizard who had overheard Lei Lin's voice asked with a smile.
He wore a white cloth wrapped around his head and had blue pupils — the typical style of the Dark Region's Western territories.
This Wizard was the leader of a major school from the Western Region.
Although the Central Region was the cream of the entire Dark Region, home to the highest concentration of advanced Wizards, it couldn't monopolize all the Judgment seats — a portion had to be allocated to Wizards from the other four regions.
"The Fire Scorpion is quite famous back in our region! They say she's incredibly ruthless — she even killed several of her own husbands, which is how she earned the nickname Fire Scorpion!"
Without waiting for Lei Lin's reply, the second-rank Wizard continued on his own: "Actually, if it weren't for the fact that she specializes in fire-element magic, we'd much rather call her the Black Widow!"
"No! I've only heard it mentioned in passing!" Lei Lin shook his head.
What he was focused on wasn't the Fire Scorpion, but the Wizard who was her opponent.
As the referee on the platform wore an increasingly impatient expression, another Wizard who had arrived fashionably late finally parted the crowd on both sides and stepped onto the field.
It was a young man wearing a green Wizard's robe, with a wicked, playful glint in his eyes.
"Hmm? This young man?"
Before Lei Lin could even open his mouth, the second-rank Wizard beside him sounded surprised once more.
"What is it? Does Your Excellency know him as well?" Lei Lin asked with a smile.
"Yes! This Wizard in the green robe is also a famous powerhouse from our Western Region — Green-Robed Gel! I can't believe they ran into each other in the very first round!"
The same second-rank Wizard from the Western Region let out a faint sigh, seemingly lamenting that these two genius Wizards were meeting each other so early in the tournament.
"Green-Robed Gel?" Lei Lin chuckled inwardly.
Second-rank Wizards were extremely sensitive to auras. No matter who they had encountered before, as long as they had left an impression or retained some trace of their presence, it was very difficult to hide from them upon a second meeting.
It was precisely because of this that this Wizard felt confident in his judgment.
But Lei Lin had already peered into their scheme through Osney, the insider.
Yes — this Green-Robed Gel was actually Lombarton in disguise.
Through the lingering soul fragment of the notebook in Osney's possession, Lei Lin had clearly witnessed the entire process of them ambushing and killing the real Green-Robed Gel, flaying his skin for storage, and then transferring it onto themselves through a special Wizard technique.
What was even more brilliant was that Osney himself had no idea he had inadvertently leaked the information. He remained completely devoted to serving the Dark Elves, and therefore would show absolutely no reaction to any mind-reading Wizard techniques or similar spells — ensuring this mole could persist indefinitely.
"Skin Mask Template fully analyzed and recorded into the Chip's first-rank Wizard model database!"
At that moment, the Chip's notification chimed sounded as well.
This Skin Mask technique was the Wizard spell Lombarton used to pull off his substitution. Although its rank was not high, it was remarkably eerie — capable of deceiving even a second-rank Wizard.
Moreover, this technique did not originate from the Dark Poles Domain but came from a secret lineage of the Dark Elves, so no Wizard would ever think to investigate it from that direction.
But unfortunately for them, Lei Lin had already known all of this in advance, rendering their meticulous preparations completely pointless.
In fact, even the template of this technique had been covertly intercepted by Lei Lin to a significant degree and then refined and perfected through the Chip's deductive capabilities.
If Lombarton knew this, he would probably spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
Lei Lin harbored a bit of dark amusement in his heart but forced himself to hold it back.
Sometimes, the fruits of victory tasted all the sweeter the longer you waited before savoring them.
"So which side do you think has the greater chance of winning?" His thoughts flashed by in an instant, but on the surface Lei Lin continued chatting casually with the second-rank Wizard.
"That's a good question." The second-rank Wizard pondered for a moment before offering his judgment. "Although Gel's Corrosion Spells are very famous, and he's carrying a mid-grade Magical Item, the Fire Scorpion is ten years his senior — that's an extra decade of accumulated experience. Furthermore, fire-type energy particles have a very significant suppressive effect against corrosive energy particles…"