Aiden's army still hadn't arrived yet, but there was a large army arriving from the south. Erwin's vision was quite sharp, and even through the heavy rain, he was able to glean the identity of the army's leader from his vague outline. Isn't that the mayor of Windmetal Fort, Jayson Young? Why is he here?"

Jayson Young was someone that had left a deep impression on Erwin, particularly his complete disregard for young nobles. Erwin recalled that Larwood had mentioned to him that Jayson Young was known as the spear god of Burmen.

However, after emerging from the hellish battlefield that was the Marrod Plain, Erwin no longer cared about such trivial titles. After all, he had seen almighty magicians and martial artists capable of toppling mountains and draining seas, so he simply no longer had any interest in minor figures like Jayson. His magic power was far from recovered, so Jayson was most likely capable of killing him with just a single strike of his spear, but even so, Erwin was still completely indifferent and fearless toward him. After all, not everyone was capable of simultaneously rendering martial artists of the same caliber as Prince Lazaar, Aiden, and General Gilgen completely powerless with a single attack, yet Erwin was able to boast that feat.

"Jayson pays his respects to Young Mistress Lana." Jayson Young emerged from the army's ranks on horseback, then extended a slight bow toward Lana. The fact that he was only bowing toward Lana and not Onean indicated that news of the outcome of the battle on the Marrod Plain had already arrived at Windmetal Fort. Alternatively, perhaps in his mind, there was no way that Onean was going to be able to get away from this place alive anyway, so there was no need to pay any respects to her.

Lana took a glance at Jayson before giving him a slight nod.

Onean looked on at the soldiers of Burmen who were standing under the heavy rain, and for some reason, a faint sneer appeared on her face.

At this point, the rain had become far heavier than it had been back at Newen. As a result, Erwin was unable to clearly see how many enemy soldiers were present in total, but with a casual glance alone, he could tell that there were at least 4,000 to 5,000 of them.

Sherry and the others couldn't but gulp nervously at the sight of such a formidable enemy unit.

With the dozen or so people we have left, it would be impossible to get Onean away from this place alive, Erwin thought to himself. However, the situation isn't completely hopeless.

Having already traveled for some time since fleeing from Newen, he was able to catch his breath somewhat, and he had finally recovered sufficient magic power to unleash a few instant-release spells. Thus, he immediately unleashed a haphazard barrage of spells toward Jayson. Of course, he wasn't expecting these instant-release spells to be able to harm a martial artist of Jayson's caliber. Instead, he was trying to create an opportunity for himself to unleash his space split technique.

In the blink of an eye, Erwin appeared behind Lana, and his left hand formed a claw that was locked onto Lana's throat.

"Get back!" Erwin yelled as he glowered at Jayson with a threatening expression.

Even though Jayson had a tendency to look down on young nobles, he couldn't help but be rooted to the spot at the sight of the menacing look in Erwin's eyes, and he didn't dare to do anything rash. Never did he think that a spoiled young noble from Sarus would be capable of putting on an expression more vicious than even the fiercest of wolves could muster up. Most importantly, he had seen this type of expression before. It was the look of a man who had his back against a wall, who had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This expression was normally only seen on the faces of soldiers who were in dire situations on the battlefield.

Unbeknownst to Jayson, that was the exact situation that Erwin was in. He had been forced to the very brink of a figurative cliff, and if he didn't put everything on the line, everyone in his group would have to die here.

Thus, Jayson was rooted to the spot, unable to decide how to proceed. He was afraid that he would be punished if any harm were to befall Lana. He was one of Prince Lazaar's most trusted subordinates, but he knew just how important Lana was to Prince Lazaar. If something were to happen to her, there was no guarantee that Prince Lazaar wouldn't turn on him in a fit of fury. However, at the same time, he didn't dare to allow Onean to leave this place alive. It certainly didn't take a genius to envision the troubles that would follow if Onean were allowed to return to Sarus.

The soldiers of Windmetal Fort behind him were also at a loss for what to do, waiting for an order from their commander.

"Are you finally going to kill me now?" Lana asked as she took an indifferent glance at the claw that had closed itself around her throat.

Erwin didn't say anything in response.

Given Lana's powers, there was no way that Erwin would be able to abduct, particularly not in his current state. However, she had guessed that this was the plan that he was going to resort to, and she had been waiting for him to spring into action. In fact, she had envisioned this exact scenario from the moment she set off in pursuit of him and Onean. She had thought that Erwin would only resort to something like this once Aiden arrived, so she was a little surprised that he had turned to this tactic so quickly.

While Jayson was hesitating about how to proceed, Aiden and Sirius arrived with 6,000 troops, out of which 1,000 had been left to them by Lana. Jayson was finally able to heave an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this. The situation still hadn't been defused yet, but at the very least, he was able to hand over responsibility to Aiden.

A wary look appeared on Onean's face at the sight of Aiden's arrival, and she wanted to approach Erwin to protect him. However, he shook his head at her ever so slightly, then cast a subtle glance toward his own horse, indicating for her to get onto it.

At this point, there were a total of over 10,000 soldiers gathered to hunt down Onean and her group, and all of them were looking up at Erwin, who was hanging in mid-air with heavy rain falling upon him.

Erwin couldn't even be bothered to speak anymore. He took a glance at Aiden, then looked at the soldiers of Windmetal Fort, who were blocking the path, and what he wanted was very clear.

"You won't be able to do anything even if you return to Sarus," Lana said in a quiet voice.

"Then are we just supposed to give up and die here?" Erwin asked in a cold voice, and his left hand was still locked around Lana's throat.

"Let her go!" Aiden leaped up into the air, then pointed at Erwin with his halberd, and looking at the cold and implacable look on his face, it seemed that there was no room for negotiation at all.

However, Erwin refused to back down, and he suddenly tightened his grip around Lana's throat. As a result, her trachea was abruptly constricted, and she couldn't help but wince in pain.

"How dare you!" A furious look appeared on Aiden's face as he glowered at Erwin. He had thought that Erwin wouldn't be the type of person to lay his hands on a woman, but it appeared that he had been incorrect in that assessment.

All of the soldiers of Burmen present were also looking up at Erwin with enraged expressions. In their hearts, Lana was the pride and joy of both Prince Lazaar and the entire province of Burmen, yet she was being heartlessly tortured by Erwin right in front of their very eyes.

"Tell your troops to back down and let us through!" Erwin said in a cold voice, completely ignoring all of the pairs of furious eyes that were directed at him.

Aiden continued to glare at Erwin without complying with his wishes, and Erwin tightened his grip even further upon seeing this. "Hurry up! Don't make me repeat myself!"

Lana's face was beginning to turn bright red, and it was clear that she was having trouble breathing. Aiden's brows furrowed tightly upon seeing this, and after a moment of contemplation, he swept his halberd through the air.

Upon seeing this signal, Jayson immediately ordered his troops to part down the middle to open up the provincial road again.

Onean cast a hesitant glance toward Erwin, and Sherry and the others were also waiting for his instructions.

"You guys go on ahead," Erwin said in an implacable voice while pointing toward the south with his chin.

Onean didn't hesitate any longer as she led what remained of the Four Winds mercenary legion away toward the south, heading for Windmetal Fort while all of the soldiers of Burmen looked on with furious and indignant expressions.

Only after Onean and the others had disappeared from his field of view did Erwin release Lana.

"So? Did I put on a good performance?" Lana asked in a cold voice.

Just as Erwin had anticipated would happen, Lana was very cooperative throughout this entire process. Erwin was already completely drained of magic power, so if she wanted to resist, she could've easily forced him away with a few instant-release spells.

However, he knew that she was feeling guilty.

"I regret not listening to what you said that night," Erwin said in a weary voice. "Then again, I don't mind dying by your hands."

The conversation that they had shared the last time they had dinner together had resulted in sleepless nights for both of them, and to this day, the conversation still remained vivid in their minds.

Lana turned her face slightly to take a glance at him, and only then did he discover that Erwin's fierce facade had given way to an expression of resignation and exhaustion. In fact, the look in his eyes belonged to a man who no longer cared if he lived or died.

"I already told you that even if you return to Sarus, you won't be able to do anything," Lana sighed. "That's why I'm telling you not to throw your life away for something so futile. It's just not worth it."

"To be honest, I don't really care who seizes control over the kingdom. I'm just... a little tired, that's all," Erwin replied with a wry smile. "Of course, there's also the undeniable fact that your father and brother killed my father. Having said that, that's not your fault, and I haven't made up my mind as to whether I want to dedicate my entire life to the pursuit of vengeance. I feel like if the deceased really can see us from the other side, then my father wouldn't want to see me waste my time on revenge."

He inched his lips slightly closer to Lana's ear as he continued, "Before my father sent me away, he told me that my mother is actually still alive."

Lana could see that tears were beginning to well up in Erwin's eyes as he said this, but her tears were the first ones to fall. Thankfully, the heavy rain disguised the fact that she was crying.

"I've only known you for a short time, but you've made me cry more than anyone else in my life," Lana said with a tearful smile as she gently grabbed onto Erwin's left hand, which was still locked around her throat. "Let's go. You may be tired, but I know that you don't want to die yet."

A dumbstruck look appeared on Aiden's face as he stared at Lana. Only now was he realizing that Lana had only been putting on an act earlier. He was wary of Erwin's time and space magic, but he was unaware of just how drained Erwin's magic power reserves were. Little did he know that in Erwin's current state, Lana could've easily shaken him off at any moment.

Before Erwin had a chance to react, the two of them had already landed on the back of Lana's horse. At this point, the looks of indignation and rage on the faces of all of the Burmen soldiers had already given way to astonishment, and they looked on with flabbergasted expressions as Lana's horse sped into the distance.

"Should we give chase, Young Master Aiden?" Jayson asked as he cast his gaze toward Aiden.

Aiden gave a cold harrumph in response. He didn't want to complain about his own sister in front of all of these soldiers, so he could only heave an internal sigh. It's often said that women in love completely lose their wits and intelligence. Looks like that's certainly true for this poor little sister of mine.

Meanwhile, Lana's horse was galloping toward the south amid the heavy rain.

"I don't think that silver-haired vixen cares at all if you live or die," Lana said as she cast her gaze forward with an amused smile. "You went through so much to save her, but she didn't even pretend to wait for you."

She grabbed ahold of Erwin's right hand as she spoke, and looking at the gruesome wound beneath the layer of ice crystals, her heart throbbed with pain and remorse. However, she then thought of what Onean had said about her being jealous that Erwin had never saved her, and she was struck by the urge to chop his hand off.

Erwin offered no response. A short while ago, he had been riding on horseback with Onean in his arms, yet all of a sudden, Lana had taken Onean's place. This sudden change evoked within him a sense of absurdity that he was still struggling to come to terms with.

Lana's eyes narrowed slightly as she turned her face to look at him with a sly smile. "I see what's happening now. That silver-haired vixen was so quick to leave because she already knew that I was going to protect you, isn't that right?"

"I honestly don't know the answer to that. However, I can only assume that her top priority right now is to return to Sarus," Erwin replied in an indifferent voice.

"She must be thinking that if she were to wait for us along the way, she would have to see us being intimate with one another, and that would make her feel bad, so she decided not to wait at all," Lana mused, still absorbed in her own speculation.

At times like this, Erwin knew that it was wise not to say anything in case he said something wrong and incurred Lana's wrath.

"But even if she does get back to Sarus, what can she possibly do?" All of a sudden, Lana was feeling a little sympathetic toward Onean. "There are many things that she simply can't control."

This is already the third time that she's said that Onean won't be able to do anything even if she returns to Sarus, Erwin remarked to himself in a surprised manner.