Igora was puzzled.
After asking him a question that could not have been more idiotic, Ash Heath suddenly fell into deep thought.
But of course Ash wasn't an idiot. Igora wasn't going to admit he had been defeated by an idiot.
"Have you already guessed the reason why Valkas challenged you?"
Ash came back to his senses and asked tentatively, "Is it because of that child?"
Igora nodded.
"I thought so too."
"Valkas has been content with keeping to himself in prison for five years. He almost never challenges others. Just harvesting contribution points from those who dislike him is enough for him to live comfortably.
"This time, he suddenly stood up. There is no reason aside from that child. Back then, he risked losing his reputation and going to jail to raise that child. This is enough to prove how much he values that child.
"That child has long been sent to a foster home and educated there. There are many people who can come into contact with that child, but there's only one 'key person' who will link that child and Valkas to you.
"That person is Silin Dore."
As he met Igora's confident gaze, Ash vaguely sensed that it was a name he should know.
But he just didn't know it.
"Who is Silin?"
Igora stared into Ash's eyes. He said suddenly, "Stay still."
He jabbed a finger into Ash's face. "Ask that again."
"Who is Silin?"
Igora was stunned for a moment. He sighed and withdrew his hand.
"Silin Dore is a history professor at Kaimon General University, and also the president of the Elven Racial Rights Association. He has many other titles, but none of them have anything to do with you. The one which is most relevant to you is his role as the advisor of Kaimon General University's Ancient Artifacts Research Society."
Ancient Artifacts Research Society?
Ash blinked, realizing a possibility.
"I was once a member of the Ancient Artifacts Research Society?"
"To be more precise, you're still the president of the Ancient Artifacts Research Society. Even though I don't have any evidence, your relationship with Silin probably surpasses a relation of interest between normal teachers and students."
Four Pillar Deities Cult!
Was it possible that Heath had single-handedly bewitched so many heretics, and used his charisma and leadership to establish the Four Pillar Deities Cult, a criminal gang with a triad nature?
It was indeed possible, but it was more likely that Heath had accepted the gift and help of others!
Silin Dore was very likely one of the supporters behind Heath!
"I've already expressed my sincerity. Are you willing to answer my question? Though, I've already guessed the answer."
Igora interrupted Ash's thoughts.
"If you already guessed it, why are you still asking me… Just ask."
"How on earth did you deceive me with your inner voice? Last night in the ring, I could only predict the direction of your attack by listening to your inner voice. This move has almost never failed because no one can deceive themselves."
Ash was slightly startled.
"What? You can hear my inner voice?"
"Only in the arena can I hear the whispers of your soul through your surging emotions," Igora explained. Normally, he would not say things that exposed his weakness as such. He would even hope that others would suspect and fear him because of it.
However, for some reason, he felt that bluffing was useless against Ash, so he didn't bother with pretenses.
"I didn't use my inner voice to deceive you." Ash scratched his head. "I only found out now that you can actually cheat like this. No wonder I couldn't even land a punch on you before."
"Then how did you manage to say 'you're quite pretty' in your heart while punching my face?"
"Saying that you're good-looking is not contradictory to wanting to beat you up!"
Igora had more to say.. "Generally speaking, I can hear the truest desire in people's hearts, so those superficial false thoughts can't deceive me. If you want to hit me, I can definitely hear the thought 'I want to hit your face' instead of the praise 'you're quite pretty'."
"Oh, I think I more or less understand what you mean."
Ash cocked his head.
"I guess I was distracted then."
"Distracted?"
"Yes, when I get distracted, I would let my imagination run wild. I wanted to find sexy pictures as eye candy, so I sincerely thought that you looked good."
"Then why did you suddenly hit me?"
"Because I perked up after I've finished being distracted. Naturally, I quickly got into work mode." Ash shrugged. "Sexy pictures will only affect my work efficiency."
It all sounded very reasonable. As Ash was distracted, Igora heard the wrong inner voice—as if he'd believe it!
A cult leader of the Four Pillar Deities Cult, a genius martial artist who could grow rapidly in battle—how could such a person get distracted in battle?
In addition, when they were talking about Silin Dore earlier, Ash acted as if he really didn't know this person. Igora was more willing to believe that Ash had mastered the skill to perfectly disguise himself!
"That's impossible. Even if you're distracted, I can definitely hear your true thoughts!"
"Don't be so sure. Maybe your abilities are limited…"
"Since that's the case, allow me to test it!"
Igora reached out and touched Ash's face. "I can tell if you're lying through the change in the temperature of your face. Just tell me a truth or a lie! If my ability is limited, I definitely won't be able to tell whether your words are true or false!"
Ash blinked.
"I'm lying."
Igora froze.
Wait a minute, was what he said true? If what he said was true, but he said that he was lying, then it was a lie; if it was false, then it meant the opposite, and that sentence was true…
The infinite reasoning messed up Igora's thoughts. He sat in the audience stands in a daze like a broken doll, muttering about truth and lies.
Ash spread out his hands. He had encountered many such brain teasers during his interviews. It seemed like the children of this world had never seen such a brain teaser problem.
At that moment, there was a commotion outside the Deathmatch Society.
"Oh, isn't this our Lord Elf?"
"Lord Ur, this lowly orc offers you his most precious regards. Do you need me to lick your shoes for you?"
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, don't dirty Master Elf's clothes. Inferior races like yourselves don't deserve to be within five steps of the elves!"
Although the chip did not allow criminals to direct malicious words towards others, it was limited to 'malicious words'. The chip was not intelligent enough to distinguish "sarcasm".
Ash was rather surprised that this group of people could work together so well to ostracize a certain target.
It was not that he had high hopes for the IQ and morals of criminals on the death row, but they could not have any physical conflict or verbal bullying here. They could not even hurt a single hair on the other party's head. A few sarcastic sentences were already the limit.
However, in the adult world, this level of bullying was similar to a girlfriend lightly whacking you in the chest. It was both shabby and meaningless. Normal people would get tired of it very quickly.
Since they were not tired of it, it could only mean…
"Thank you for your concern." Valkas bowed slightly and made a very proper gesture of courtesy. "Since all of you speak so pleasantly, you must have wiped your mouth properly before leaving the bathroom, right?"
"Are you calling us sh*t eaters, Valkas?"
"No, I just wanted to praise those people who would wipe their mouths after eating feces. Why did you jump out yourself? Could it be that you also eat feces?"
"Valkas!"
"I'm here. Your breath is a little bad. There's a smell of urine. Looks like you have a rather varied diet."
"Valkas!"
"Hey, why are you so agitated? It's not like I'm insulting you. Speaking of which, I just remembered a joke. In the past, I accidentally hit a dog when throwing rubbish downstairs. The dog would definitely start barking, right? So, if you hear a dog barking when you're throwing rubbish, it must have hit a dog."
"Valkas—!"
"I didn't expect there to be so many people wiping their mouths after going to the toilet. I even heard rumors that the prisoners in Shattered Lake Prison will eat feces and poop food. In the future, I will definitely clarify for you that it is not a rumor."
Igora couldn't help but smile.
"Such an interesting battle of insults can only be seen in the Shattered Lake Prison."
Ash nodded. He fully understood why Valkas could repress a dozen people on the other side by himself—because you couldn't curse. Once you tried to curse, the chip would automatically block your throat and leave all your vulgarities simmering in your stomach. It was the equivalent of an instant gag.
Therefore, those people were rendered speechless after shouting Valkas' name.
Then, Valkas turned around and insulted whoever had spoken. It almost looked like they were actively volunteering to be insulted.
In order to avoid the restrictions of the chip, how to insult people without using profanities, and how to insult people to the point where they lost their rationality and were silenced by the chip were two essential factors in a battle of insults in the prison.
It was obvious that Valkas had a vicious tongue, and the other prisoners on the death row were no match for him. They were insulted to the point that they lost their rationality and were immediately banned from speaking.
There were also people who wanted to attack him physically, but the chip took over their jurisdiction, causing their bodies to stiffen and fall to the ground with a thud.
"No need for formalities. You may leave."
Valkas raised his chin and walked past them gracefully. The people who had lost the war of insults all glared at Valkas with rage in their eyes. However, they could neither curse nor fight. It was a live demonstration of what impotent rage meant.
It was no wonder these prisoners did not get tired of sarcasm. With a sharp-tongued expert like Valkas around, the interactions they received were too intense. They would probably be thinking about how to insult him back even while they were lying in bed tonight.
"Ash Heath?"
"Valkas Ur?"
Valkas looked at Ash from afar. His lean face regained its indifference.
He pointed to the arena. "If there's no issue, let's just get started."
All eyes of the Deathmatch Society gathered on them. Some expectant, some teasing, some curious, some insane.
Igora glanced at Ash.
Now that Ash knew Valkas had something to do with Professor Silin, there must be something wrong with this deathmatch. If he were Ash, he would have refused this deathmatch—he never participated in a battle he wasn't sure he could win.
"Sword Maiden?"
Igora was slightly startled. He heard Ash call out a name softly. But there was no one here called the Sword Maiden, and Ash's gaze was not directed at anyone.
"It's a little lonely…"
Ash murmured softly and turned to Valkas.
For some reason, Igora couldn't help but say, "Valkas is much stronger than me. He's not an opponent that you can defeat with your little cleverness. Also, the destructive power of the sword is much stronger. It's possible that the winner will be determined in one strike."
"Thank you." Ash smiled. "I'm not going to use my little cleverness this time."
"Then what are you going to use?"
"My life. I gamble with my life that he won't be able to kill me with his first strike."
As he watched Valkas step toward the arena, Ash stood as well.
"As long as he doesn't kill me with the first strike, the second strike will be my chance."