Erwin naturally wasn't going to simply believe that the assassin had been sent by Duchess Silon just because Theresa said so. However, his instincts told him that Theresa wasn't lying, and in addition to that, there were no other suitable suspects.

As a result, a sense of wariness toward Duchess Silon welled up in his heart, and at the same time, he could sense that there was some complicated history between Theresa and Duchess Silon. Despite the fact that they were relatives, the tone of Theresa's voice suggested that they weren't on very good terms. Furthermore, the fact that Theresa was so wary of Duchess Silon meant that the latter was definitely going to be quite troublesome to deal with.

"Are you trying to scare me with these baseless statements?" Erwin asked with a smile.

"If you want a battle, then a battle is what you'll get. I'm not some coward who fears death." Theresa knew that Erwin had already been convinced by her and was only putting up a front. "Did you think that I came here to beg you to retreat?"

"Well, I led my army all the way here, I can't just go back empty-handed simply based on what you've said," Erwin mused.

This was the businessman in Erwin speaking. Even if Duchess Silon really were lurking in the shadows, Erwin still wasn't willing to accept a completely fruitless trip.

"I have a proposal," Theresa said with a smile.

Erwin made an inviting gesture, indicating for her to continue.

"I want to fight her one-on-one," Theresa said as she cast her gaze toward Onean. "If I win, then you retreat your army, how does that sound?"

"What if you lose?" Erwin asked as he looked at Theresa with an intrigued expression. This was quite a crafty tactic employed by Theresa. She knew that she would have no chance against both Onean and Erwin, which was why she was proposing a one-on-one battle instead. However, at the same time, he was rather surprised. It was clear that Onean was a far superior magician to him, so why had she chosen Onean over him?

"You can kill me or capture me as you please," Theresa replied in an indifferent voice.

"Look at the state of you, is there really any point in killing you?" Onean scoffed with a cold smile.

She was insulting Theresa for the fact that she was just a body of matter energy, so it was difficult to say whether she even qualified as a human or not.

"Then what do you want?" Theresa asked as she turned to Onean with a cold expression.

"How about this? Even in your current state, you'll still be able to sign slave contracts. If you lose, then you become his slave, what do you think?" Onean asked with a provocative smile.

Erwin immediately choked on his own saliva and erupted into a coughing fit upon hearing this. Never did he think that Onean would raise such a glorious proposal.

"You're going too far, you foul wench!" Theresa said as she glowered at Onean with a furious expression.

Instead of being enraged by Theresa's insult, Onean chuckled, "You've already burned all your bridges, haven't you? Surely becoming a slave to him is no big deal."

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa asked with tightly furrowed brows.

"Regardless of whether you win or lose against me, there's no way you'll be able to make your escape," Onean said as she cast her gaze toward Theresa through narrowed eyes. "I'm sure you're more aware of that than anyone, isn't that right?"

Only upon hearing this did Erwin realize that this was indeed the case. In a battle between Onean and Theresa, both sides were bound to expend a large amount of magic power. Hence, regardless of the outcome, as long as Erwin didn't want to allow Theresa to escape, her fate would be sealed. However, there was one thing that he didn't understand. Judging from what Onean had said, it sounded like Theresa's plan from the very beginning was to surrender herself for capture.

"Seeing as you're so eager to surrender yourself to him, surely you wouldn't be opposed to becoming a servant of his," Onean jibed.

"What a load of nonsense!" Theresa objected, but her voice was rather feeble and unconvincing. A faint blush had appeared on her face upon hearing Onean talk about how she was so eager to surrender herself to Erwin. Thankfully, her face was obscured beneath a veil, so her embarrassment wasn't exposed for everyone to see.

After hearing what Onean had to say, Erwin became even more perplexed about Theresa's objectives, and he also didn't understand why Onean seemed to be so determined to make Theresa become his slave. However, he knew that there had to be a reason behind this other than due to a petty squabble between women, so he didn't say anything.

If he had been aware of the psychological warfare taking place between the two women, he would've most definitely been extremely impressed with both of them.

The reason why he had failed to realize the reasons behind Theresa's decision to approach them alone was because he was too fixated on taking down Newfando. In addition to that, whenever he was in the presence of a beautiful woman, a good chunk of his intelligence would always suddenly go missing for no apparent reason.

After hearing what Theresa had to say, Onean immediately realized that there had to be some bad blood between Duchess Silon and Theresa, and that Duchess Silon had to be quite a sinister character. Otherwise, Theresa wouldn't have been so concerned about suffering losses to her troops that she would propose a one-on-one battle like this. However, Onean knew that Erwin had led his army to Newfando, absolutely determined to take down the city. Given his personality, there was no way that he would be willing to go back empty-handed. Hence, there was only one way to satisfy Erwin without risking playing into Duchess Silon's hands, and that was to control Theresa so that they would be able to seize control over Newfando by extension.

Theresa was essentially surrendering herself over to them, so it was quite apparent that she had also identified that this was the only path that could be taken. Theresa wasn't willing to engage in a final showdown with Erwin here as she knew that no matter who would ultimately emerge victorious, heavy losses would've most definitely been suffered by both sides. Thus, that would play directly into the hands of her aunt. She had also anticipated that there was no way that Erwin and Onean would've been willing to let her go, so she knew that she was surrendering herself for capture.

Everything seemed to be progressing according to Theresa's plan, but unfortunately for her, Onean was far too sharp to have the wool pulled over her eyes and had seen right through her plan.

Theresa's intention was to surrender herself to Erwin, thereby preserving the armies of both sides, and at the same time, she could also sway Erwin to her side in the future and perhaps use him as a means to kill Sanfesa.

However, Onean had seen right through her ploy, down to the very last layer. Given Erwin's reluctance to owe other people favors, if he were to capture Newfando in such a fashion, he would've definitely felt guilty toward Newfando, thereby making it easier for her to sway him into doing her bidding, and even this point had been identified by Onean.

Hence, she decided to go along with Theresa's plan. If Theresa were to become Erwin's slave, even if she were to develop any sinister intentions toward Erwin in the future, she would be entirely under his control and unable to stir up much trouble.

As for why Theresa insisted on facing Onean in a battle, this was a proposal that arose from her own selfish desires. Even if she were going to submit herself to Erwin, she wanted to become his most powerful ally. Given how prideful she was, there was no way that she would've been willing to join Erwin without fighting Onean to establish a pecking order between the two. In addition to that, she was still holding a grudge toward Onean for what had happened during the battle on the Canston Plain, and this was a perfect opportunity for revenge.

In contrast, it didn't matter to her whether she won or lost in a battle against Erwin.

Onean could see that Theresa was hesitating, so she decided to exert some pressure on her. "If you feel like it's too shameful to become Erwin's slave, then go back and raise your army, and we'll have a fight to the death."

Theresa's vendetta against her aunt was her main motive for continuing to live in this world, so she had no choice but to swallow her pride and think about the bigger picture. Furthermore, she had no objections to submitting to Erwin, so she said, "Fine, we'll do as you say then. You make it sound like you'll definitely be able to defeat me."

"Don't make this a battle to the death. I don't want either of you getting hurt," Erwin said in a concerned voice.

To his surprise, both of the women asked in perfect synchronicity, "Why? Do you feel bad for her?"

Erwin initially faltered slightly upon hearing this, then burst into laughter.

Both of the women rolled their eyes at him, to which he made a hand gesture, indicating for them to do as they pleased.

However, when it came to the battle between the two women, Erwin was clearly more optimistic about Onean's chances. Not only was she a superior magician, her powers would also undoubtedly have been greatly enhanced by her Everlife Chinaberry Staff. In addition to that, Theresa was here on her own, so she couldn't use the bodily modification magic that she was most adept at. Unlike during the previous battle, there were no demonic puppets for her to control here.

After the two of them had taken up positions across from one another, Erwin cast an inquisitive glance toward the two women one by one to see if they were ready. After receiving confirmation in the form of nods from both of them, he raised his index finger to the heavens, and a cloud of black mist exploded.

While making this gesture, Erwin couldn't help but reminisce about the Pillow Sword Tournament. The tournament had taken place last autumn, and a year had passed by since then in the blink of an eye. So many things had happened during this year, and everything had taken place at such a breakneck pace that he didn't even get a chance to look back on everything that had happened.

While Erwin was reminiscing about the past, the battle between Onean and Theresa had already commenced.

A fierce look appeared on Theresa's face as she let loose a delicate cry.

Onean didn't know what Theresa was going to do, so she quickly raised her Everlife Chinaberry staff before sending a string of instant-release spells hurtling directly toward Theresa.

Erwin was quite stunned as he watched from the side. The power of Onean's instant-release spells was so fearsome that they felt almost inexplicable to him. Theoretically speaking, for a grand magic mentor like Onean, progression in magic power should've slowed down at least somewhat. However, in contrast with the time when she had last displayed her prowess on the way back from Tellier, Erwin could clearly sense that her magic power had reached a new level.

The string of instant-release spells was led by a tornado of fire, followed by a swirling sandstorm, then a flurry of spears of lightning, not allowing Theresa any respite.

However, the scene that unfolded next had Erwin completely astonished.

Somehow, Theresa was able to split her own body into two, dodging to the left and the right before the spells could strike her.

Onean's powerful instant-release spells sent a massive cloud of dust rising up from the ground, and Erwin took a closer look to ensure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, upon which he discovered that there really were two Theresas in his field of view!

This wasn't some crude illusion, it really was a pair of living and breathing Theresas!

Their features and expressions were completely identical, and even more importantly, Erwin could clearly sense that the two Theresas possessed identical levels of magic power as well.

This completely went beyond Erwin's understanding of magic.

Instead of bringing an entire Demonic Puppet Legion with her, Theresa had only brought one other person on this occasion, and it was a perfect replica of herself.

This second Theresa was far more fearsome than her Demonic Puppet Legion.