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After resting for a while, Linsel watched the situation on the stage and then retreated to a slightly farther seat in the audience to meet up with his two teammates.

At this moment, he felt the gazes of the two men directed at him, filled with admiration and anticipation, a stark contrast to before the start of the tournament.

"Captain, you've finally arrived! I couldn't go to the contestants' area from here, so I could only watch you win and couldn't congratulate you right away."

He clutched a bulging money bag in his hand: "This is the winnings from the betting, over a hundred silver coins. It's a pity the other spectators favored you, so the odds weren't very high, otherwise you could have won even more money."

"Hundreds of them? That many? I remember I only bet 20 silver coins."

Claire corrected her, "You've got Lindsay wrong. This isn't just yours; it includes mine and 'Broken Arrow's's too. You actually won 10 silver coins."

You won half of your bet? That's pretty good.

"Captain, the next match is starting soon. I just placed another 10 silver coins bet on Silver-level number fourteen to win. Why don't you place a bet on the next match too?"

"Brinan, besides me, are you willing to bet on anyone else? Are you confident you can win?"

"Broken Arrow" looked very confident: "I'm pretty confident about the next match. I hadn't placed any bets before, but I started betting a little after your match, Captain."

Number 13 is bronze-level, and number 14 is silver-level; it's a conservative bet.

Lindsay turned to look at Claire, who shrugged.

"Lince, you're really strong. You helped me win back all the losses I had before, and even made a little profit."

"I don't bet on other people because I'm not sure, but actually I'm more concerned about the matches on the 17th and 18th right now."

Lindsay shared with the two of them the story of the strange contestants he had encountered while queuing.

"Captain, is that so? We have to watch closely."

Lindsay also pointed out the waiting location of the seventeenth short adventurer.

Claire seemed to remember something after hearing this: "Linsey, I just happened to see this contestant number eighteen. He's a male adventurer from the Silver Bureau, but he looks rather ordinary."

The short guy you mentioned, number seventeen, is a Bronze-level player. It's a Silver vs. Bronze matchup. Is that why he wanted to switch places with you?

"Who knows? I just find it suspicious. Anyway, it's his turn to play soon, so let's wait and see."

During this period, Linsel received back the bets and winnings from "Broken Arrow," which amounted to 30 silver coins, bringing his total to 76 silver coins.

When the match between numbers seventeen and eighteen, which interested him, began, they, along with other spectators, stared at the stage and noticed something was amiss.

The short adventurer, sword and shield in hand, began to tremble as soon as he stepped onto the platform, and could barely stand.

Even with the limitations of soundproofing, anyone who sees him trembling like this can understand his fear.

Although his opponent was somewhat overweight, he moved steadily and used a short sword. After the "Wind Spirit" referee announced the start of the match, he kept closing in on his opponent.

Claire nudged Lindsay: "Something's off with number eighteen. His build is different from what I saw when we were queuing."

"What do you mean? Could it be that contestant number eighteen isn't the real person, and they've been replaced?"

The female wanderer squinted carefully: "No, it's the real person, but the body shape doesn't match. It seems to have gotten a bit wider than when the draw was done."

"let me see."

"Broken Arrow" stared wide-eyed; it was the first time Linsset had ever seen him act like that.

"Captain, something seems wrong. His body seems to be getting wider and fatter, little by little."

Linsel couldn't discern the subtle change, but he noticed the sharp look in "Broken Arrow's" eyes.

It's certain that "Broken Arrow" has eyesight beyond that of ordinary people, because the three of them are currently about twenty meters away from the platform, and most people wouldn't be able to see such a subtle change.

At the same time, Lindsay also saw the female knight Karina leave the referee's seat and walk to the edge of the platform at the moment "Broken Arrow" spoke.

Claire tugged at Lindsay's sleeve: "Lindsay, there's definitely something wrong. If it's a combat technique, it's too bizarre. It's more like some kind of unknown magic, or something inexplicable."

He's probably cheating. Should we report him?

"Will there be a reward for reporting contestants for cheating?" Lindsay asked.

"It seems not, and the process is rather complicated."

After answering Lindsay, Claire seemed to realize something and immediately added her own thoughts.

"You should still report it. Otherwise, it's very unfair to the other participants if this cheater wins the competition, and you might also be affected as the team captain."

Is it affected? It seems there will indeed be some minor impact, but that should be after the preliminary rounds, since the fourth match of the tournament preliminaries is a battle against monsters.

Since there's no reward for reporting, it's better to avoid trouble. Anyway, my third match is already over, so this matter has nothing to do with me anymore.

"Claire, ignore him. Let's just pretend we don't know anything."

After Lindsay rejected her suggestion, the female wanderer became slightly anxious: "But, is this really a good idea...?"

But before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a loud explosion.

The sound originated from the platform.

At this moment, white smoke billowed out from the stage, instantly enveloping the entire dueling platform and enveloping the female knight Karina, the "Wind Spirit" adventurer, and the two contestants.

Screams erupted from the audience below and around the stage, and most people stood up and rushed frantically toward the exit.

This is an unexpected situation!

The surrounding noise momentarily drowned out all other sounds, and suddenly, a high-pitched shriek emanated from the stage and spread outwards.

Linsel's ears rang, and all other sounds disappeared, as if a mute button had been pressed. At this moment, he could only see "Broken Arrow" with its mouth open, shouting something.

The strange smoke on the stage was gradually spreading to the audience below. Linsel thought that the smoke was very similar to the fog he had encountered when he was fighting the cultist Shalin.

Could it be the remnants of those Dakul cultists causing trouble?

"Linsey, let's move away from the platform!"

Claire's voice came back into his ears, and Lindsay's hearing returned. He immediately retreated with his two teammates away from the platform.

As the audience evacuated the training camp, a group of guards entered the camp and began to slowly surround the dueling arena.

The smoke gradually thinned, allowing Lindsay to see what was inside again.