Hero of Darkness

At this moment, everyone in the empire was clearly aware of how the whole duel was a setup in order to make Kahn lose. And the sanctity of this ancient tradition of the dwarven blacksmiths was now thrown out of the window to achieve that goal.

With this, the whole truth was revealed, many people had eyes full of disbelief and everyone became certain of one thing… 

The entire Blacksmithing Duel was compromised and the culprit was… The Dwarven Council. 

And the victim of this ploy aka Kahn Salvatore was actually the one who goaded and exposed it by himself. 

Kahn planned everything since the first round. 

He lost it on purpose to make the culprits think that he couldn't differentiate between poor materials and good ones… 

In 2nd, he won by a big margin as he leveled up his crafted weapon by a whole rank; evidently making them anxious and thus, he received another batch of trash materials. 

In the 3rd round, he used Mineral Transmutation to break down the scythe from the inside after he successfully forged it. 

At this point, Helsi had 2 wins already. And like greedy foxes who wanted to benefit the earliest… The conspirators sent another batch to confirm that Helsi won the fourth round. 

But in the fourth round, Kahn made a Quasi-Legendary rank weapon by using all of his trump cards and gifts. Making the score 2-2.

And because of this result, he subconsciously forced the council to send another set of trash materials for the final round. Because now, they had no choice due to Kahn's capabilities he already displayed and Tawerik, High Elders and Hector were simply afraid to see all their plans failing in the end. 

And finally, Kahn used those materials and previously gathered samples to expose them in front of the whole empire.

BOOM!! 

At this moment, the judges released their full saint pressure and spoke in an infuriated voice. 

"The most sacred rules of the blacksmithing duel that have been practiced since ancient times have been broken." said Ivaldi. 

"An unfavorable situation created for a particular challenger in the duel so that he'd lose... It's a great crime against the rules of the blacksmithing profession." spoke Druvagar with a look of disgust visible on his countenance. 

"This conduct during this duel has committed the great taboo against the laws of our ancestors and the dwarven race." said Fili as he was barely holding in his anger. 

Despite their differing personalities and set of beliefs, all the judges shared one thing in common. And that was respecting the laws and traditions of the blacksmithing craft that were passed on by their ancestors since the empire itself was founded. 

And now, all three of the judges were thoroughly infuriated after seeing how rules were broken and the whole duel was nothing but a sham. 

"As per the rules in case a duel has been tainted…" spoke Ivaldi and the rest of the judges joined together as their loud voices echoed in the entire empire through the projection screens. 

"The Blacksmithing Duel has been forfeited!" 

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An atmosphere of chaos formed over the empire and among the audience. Every class of citizens went into an uproar and many questions were raised by the spectators. 

But to many, it was already evident that the duel was nothing but a sham so nobody tried to go against this decision. 

As for the perpetrators… It was the Dwarven Council who was in charge of providing the crafting materials and also the High Elders just tried to shirk away the responsibility, saying that it happened only by mistake for the final round. 

Unlike the Judges, the high elders of the dwarven council weren't blacksmiths. They did not follow the creed of competing with skills. Thus, they sabotaged the whole thing to make Kahn lose miserably before the competition even began. 

Thud! 

Helsi dropped on his knees, his entire being completely shocked and his eyes wide open in disbelief. 

Because if the duel was rigged from the beginning… that also meant he didn't win those two rounds because of his skills but because Kahn's materials were of low quality, making his crafted weapons turning inferior to his. 

"No… I cannot accept this! I will not accept this! 

This can't end up as a draw! I didn't even win those two rounds with my own abilities. 

All of my achievements… they weren't because I was better but because Kahn was dealt with a disadvantage." said Helsi. 

His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear it clearly. 

His current state of denial showed Kahn that Helsi was a blacksmith with pride and had a moral code even as his competitor. 

But he was unaware of how his new mentor aka Bifur Tawerik was a devious person who would do anything to win even if it meant discarding their honor. 

Forget feeling angry… many felt pity for Helsi at this point. Because his name was also dragged into the mud because of the acts of the dwarven council. 

At this moment, even the Pope is also looking at the High Elders without hiding his scornful expression. 

Did Demiurges care about the competition being rigged? 

Hell no! 

But on the surface, the Church of Hetrax supported Throk and thus, he had to show this expression of disdain on his face. 

In his eyes, he cared only about their own image but since he was appearing on a live broadcast, he had to maintain his just and righteous persona. 

In another scenario, he might have as well joined the whole arrangement to deepen the ties between the church and council for the sake of mutual benefits. 

"I agree with the decision made by the three judges. The duel has been forfeited. 

As for the matters of rigging the duel… the Church and Imperial clan will soon set up an investigation committee. And we will find the true culprits and every single person involved. 

They will be severely punished by our laws. 

That I promise you in the name of our great god Hetrax!" declared the Pope in front of the audience and the people of the empire. 

On the surface, his face was oozing law and righteousness. But in reality, he had other plans. Because Kahn just now gave him the best tool… 

To control the Dwarven Council.