The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Therefore, there is still a very crucial "unknown factor" in this incident.

　This "unknown factor" could even be the "mastermind behind it all." This is based on a comprehensive review of all past and present information.

　Darke deduced that this "unknown factor" was King Austin!

　Although this assumption is just a hypothesis, the basis of the reasoning is originally "boldly hypothesize, carefully verify".

　We've only just entered the verification phase.

　If he could be alone with Charles, Dak would have a way to get this information.

　After giving Laura a few pointers about the existence of "unknown factors" and "behind-the-scenes manipulators," Dak finally put down his work.

　He still had many things to do and needed to speed things up. Because he had been involved in the entire ritual inside the Dark Crystal Cave, he hadn't had time to eat and was now quite hungry, so eating was a priority.

　While eating, he needed to replenish the magic cards' mana.

　After finishing his meal to replenish his mana, he brushed his teeth and washed his face, and then immediately went to sleep! There were only a few hours left until dawn, and he had to fall asleep as soon as possible to recover the energy, stamina, and mana he had consumed that day.

　If it weren't for his extraordinary energy, physical strength, and magical abilities, he would have collapsed long ago.

　Stopping his thoughts and clearing his mind of all distractions, Dak fell asleep immediately. This time, he didn't wake up on his own; his biological clock seemed to have malfunctioned, revealing his body's insatiable thirst for sleep and rest.

　"Dong dong dong."

　I was woken up by the maid at 7:30 in the morning, with only half an hour left before the start of the main tournament at 8:00 in the morning.

　Dak almost stood up straight and then mechanically walked to the washroom.

　When he entered the washroom, the maid had already prepared his clothes. While he brushed his teeth, the maid styled his hair. When he finished brushing his teeth and came out of the washroom, his hair from the neck up was completely styled.

　He picked up his wallet and headed out the door.

　He reached the room door, already dressed. He sat down at the dining table and quickly began to eat.

　After he finished his breakfast in a few bites, his trousers and shoes were already changed. In the blink of an eye, Dark was sitting in the carriage heading to the Alliance Duel Arena.

　Only then did his mind slowly become active again, and memories of yesterday flooded back into his mind.

　Perhaps it was due to the influence of the ritual that combined the three elements.

　He discovered that the two magic cards, "Demon King Aleister" and "Demon King Aldrich," had undergone rather subtle changes.

　First, they changed from regular magic cards to fusion material cards. This means that [Demon Lord Aleister] and [Demon Lord Aldrich] now have the potential for fusion evolution.

　However, [Demon King Aleister] himself has a special move called "Fusion Magic", which can absorb any race of demons and fuse with them to transform into a terrifying monster with corresponding power.

　This means that [Demon King Aleister] was able to absorb [Demon King Aldrich] and merge with him from the very beginning.

　In this process, even "Fusion" cards are not needed. However, the characteristics of obtaining Fusion Material Cards are different from this kind of "Fusion Magic".

　Dark had a feeling that if "Demon King No. 3" were also made into a magic card, it would also have the characteristic of fusing materials.

　In other words, there is a very high probability that these three "Demon King" magic cards, like the three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons," will eventually fuse into a brand new and even more powerful magical spirit!

　Furthermore, due to the existence of "Fusion Magic" or "Fusion Codex", this kind of fusion may not require a special "Fusion" card.

　[Demon Lord Aleister] and [Demon Lord Eldridge] are already Tier 5, 12-star magic cards. If they were to fuse, just how powerful would they become?

　"This is really exciting!"

　Dak opened the car window, enjoying the morning breeze—a truly refreshing experience for both body and mind.

　April 18th, Sunday, Easter.

　The City of Liberty is brightly decorated, with Easter symbols displayed everywhere. The local church in the City of Liberty organized a procession and performance early on to proclaim the resurrection of the Holy One.

　Visitors, local residents, and countless pedestrians walk and weave through the streets.

　People talked about Easter, the World Cup, Slovakia and the Holy See…

　The stalls, big and small, were filled with Easter eggs. You could buy them as souvenirs or smash them on the spot to win a prize.

　Adults and children gather in small groups to play games with colored eggs. They roll the eggs on the ground or on a slope, and the one that breaks last wins and gets all the eggs from the other players.

　People believed that the rolling of the Easter egg on the ground could make the demon tremble and suffer endless torment.

　From a distance, the Alliance Duel Arena looked like a giant Easter egg, seemingly ready to be smashed at the start of the match.

　They were completely unaffected by last night's ceremony.

　It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Chapter 1592 Professor Jones is truly comprehensive (1)

　Alliance Duel Arena.

　It's not even 8 o'clock yet, and the venue is already packed.

　After a full day of rest, the audience's energy and stamina were fully restored. Just sitting in the stadium, their spirits were naturally high, and everyone was incredibly excited.

　Today is the last day of the World Cup, and also the crucial day to determine the "King of Duels" rankings.

　Who will win the championship among the sixteen "Duel Kings" and who will come in second? Those contestants who were not well-known before have become famous and well-known after several days of auditions and preliminary rounds, and have countless fans.

　Even "Lich" Sloan has a large following. The audience members, carrying various merchandise and support items they bought before entering the venue, are all eagerly waiting for the match to begin.

　It's exactly eight o'clock.

　Suddenly, thunder roared in the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot out like a dragon, crashing violently into the giant Easter egg that enveloped the Duel Arena.

　"Boom!"

　The Easter egg burst open, releasing a burst of white light, from which countless projections of magical spirits flew out and circled endlessly around the venue.

　Those magical spirits are the signature magical spirits of the sixteen "Duel Kings".

　Blue eyes, a white dragon that seems to be the embodiment of destruction, a fossil pterosaur exuding a vast ancient aura, a celestial white dragon shrouded in holy light...

　Powerful and beautiful magical spirits danced in the air, attracting all passersby to look towards the duel arena.

　"The match is about to begin!"

　"Hurry up!"

　“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

　Some people rushed into various shops, while others simply picked up small stools and sat in the open-air area to wait.

　Before long, the entire city was in "movie-watching" mode. The combined atmosphere of Easter and the game day elevated the mood to another level.

　Inside the venue, the outdoor projection was slightly reduced to fit inside, creating a grand opening ceremony that blended with the cheers of the audience.

　Leaders from various countries made appearances, including the old king who had interrogated Charles all night, who sat in the front row with an unperturbed expression.

　During the World Cup, leaders from all countries gather together, and disputes between nations are temporarily set aside, so naturally no one mentions Charles.

　But once the World Cup ends and the leaders of various countries return to their respective countries, a barrage of media campaigns will begin.

　Charles's actions are an indelible stain on the kingdom, and will inevitably become a key point of criticism in the future.

　No matter how the king handles this matter, he can only mitigate some of the negative impacts.

　It cannot be treated as if nothing happened.

　Fortunately, the trigger for this incident was "Demon King No. 3," which was created because of the Holy Church's actions. The Holy Church was extremely wary of this and dared not take the opportunity to cause trouble.

　Within the kingdom, both the royal family and the Holy Church will become targets of attack and annihilation after this incident, so they can band together for mutual support.

　The Holy Church was already in turmoil, and now it's even busier. But on the bright side, at least internal strife has been avoided – the players' lounge.

　The contestants gathered together.

　Although Dak arrived late, he was not the last.

　He briefly mentioned what happened last night to his senior, Pandora, which aroused her concern.

　Yesterday, most players rested and analyzed their opponents' information in order to get into peak condition.

　But instead of resting, Dak participated in such a dangerous activity, resulting in severe sleep deprivation. It's hard not to worry about his condition.

　However, Dark smiled slightly and said, "My condition is better than ever before."

　This is not a word of comfort, but a statement of fact.

　He is undoubtedly stronger today than he was yesterday. The only thing he lacks is a slightly insufficient analysis of the opponent's intelligence and preparation of countermeasures, but that's all.

　It's exactly eight o'clock.

　Dark glanced at the door to the players' lounge and said, "It looks like Sloan won't be able to come."

　"Lich" Sloan.

　Although it's unclear why he insisted on participating in the World Cup, it's clear he underestimated the Holy Church.

　Now that Sloan has been defeated and fled back to the underworld, he won't be able to come out anytime soon.

　He was naturally unable to participate in the World Cup as a regular starter.

　The contestants were all paying attention to the battle between Sloan and the Holy Church.

　Seeing that Sloan hadn't appeared yet, everyone knew what was going on; some relaxed, some were disappointed. In any case, only fifteen of the sixteen players remained. The competition had entered the main draw stage; there was no longer any option for a bye, and having fewer players meant a bye. Luck was also a form of skill.

　—If there are fewer than sixteen spots for the "Gift of God," it means there will be one less highly competitive opponent.

　In short, this is not a bad thing for the players present, and most of them accepted it gladly.

　And Sloan was a lich rejected by the world. Even if he had supporters, he couldn't make a splash.

　After the leaders made their appearance, it was the contestants' turn to enter.

　The remaining fifteen contestants, arranged in order of qualification, entered the arena in an orderly fashion and then took a lift to the host's platform.

　Ms. Marilyn had clearly anticipated Sloan's absence and showed no surprise. She briefly explained the situation to the audience before making the decision: if Sloan was not present by the time his turn to duel was, he would be declared absent and automatically forfeit. A slight commotion arose from the audience, but it had little impact. Ms. Marilyn then began interviewing the remaining fifteen fighters one by one.

　Starting with Pandora Doragon and ending with Bruce Wheeler, each of the fifteen contestants had two to three minutes for interviews. The interviews were simple, consisting of harmless questions.

　During the interviews, the projector continuously played contestant profiles and highlights from the competition, while also displaying a popularity ranking of all the contestants.

　The interviews with the contestants didn't end until almost nine o'clock.

　Finally, Principal Arte took the stage to deliver a speech, which quickly ignited the enthusiasm of the entire audience and announced the official opening of the third stage of the World Cup Duel Challenge.

　Principal Arte left the stage amidst applause.

　The competition has entered the stage of finalizing the schedule.

　Ms. Marilyn drew the classic race schedule in the air, with a row of squares at the bottom.

　She will draw the name tags of the sixteen contestants one by one from a box filled with wooden name tags, and then place them in a grid in order to determine the competition schedule. To demonstrate the fairness of the competition, the side of the box facing the audience is completely transparent, allowing the host to see the entire drawing process.

　The players had already returned to the rest area.

　To allow the athletes to prepare fully, the organizers provided each athlete with a private lounge today, complete with a staff member who is on hand to provide service and also serves as a monitor.

　The main draw has much stricter requirements for players. Separating players under the guise of providing a better environment is precisely to ensure absolute fairness in the competition.

　Dak didn't seem to have much of an opinion on this. After waving goodbye to his seniors and professors, he happily went into his room and looked at the podium through the floor-to-ceiling window.

　The brand-name draw is about to begin.

　After attracting the audience's attention with her opening remarks, Ms. Marilyn suddenly reached into the box and pulled out a designer brand.

　The scene inside the box was also magnified and projected into the air.

　The slender, fair hand rummaged through the box, finally grabbing a name tag before suddenly letting go and picking up another one next to it, immediately causing dissatisfaction and uproar among the audience.

　But Ms. Marilyn simply smiled and pulled out the second name tag. On that name tag was written the name—"Sloan"! "Sloan, the 'Lich of the Underworld'..."

　Ms. Marilyn looked surprised when she saw the name on the name tag. "I'm very sorry to have drawn Sloan right at the start. However, that's the rule. If Sloan hasn't appeared by the time the schedule is finalized, we'll have to assume he's lost in the first round."

　The rules for the main tournament are slightly different from those for the preliminary tournament.

　This time, the entire schedule will be finalized first, and then the duels will be held one by one in order.

　After drawing "Sloan", Ms. Marilyn immediately began drawing the next lucky winner.

　Who will be the lucky one this time?

　"Dark said casually."

　"Having a bye in the first match means you'll be promoted directly to the winners' bracket."

　"The winners have two lives; making it into the winners means you will never be eliminated in the next round."

　"If the fame craving for 'God's Gift' is limited to a maximum of one T/L per month, then it's equivalent to confirming that you've obtained 'God's Gift.'"