While Erwin was contemplating all of this, the battle taking place up above was gradually beginning to wind down.

The bursts of arcane energy unleashed by the black wyrm were becoming more and more fearsome, and Onean and her white dragon were struggling to keep up.

In contrast, Lana was standing on the back of the black wyrm, looking down at her prey with a pleased expression, as if the more Onean struggled, the more pleasure she would derive from seeing her struggle.

In the end, magic power was turning out to be the key that was going to decide this battle.

Onean still hadn't recovered from the effects of the magic drugs she had been afflicted by, so her magic power wasn't at its normal level, thereby placing her at an inherent disadvantage in a battle of attrition like this.

However, there was no panic or urgency in his eyes at all.

She continued to calmly ward off the black wyrm's attacks one after another, paying no heed to the derisive look on Lana's face.

"Judging from how calm Onean is, it seems like she's planning something," Aglea said as she looked up at Onean with slightly furrowed brows, and her words immediately snapped Erwin out of his train of thought.

Lana could see that Onean was running out of steam, and she decided that it was time to put an end to this battle.

However, right as she was planning to inject more magic power into her black wyrm, an astonishing scene suddenly unfolded.

Onean abandoned her white dragon and flew directly toward Lana.

Amid all of the snow in the sky, she was moving so quickly that it was impossible to track her with the naked eye.

This was a tactic that one would expect a martial artist to employ in battle, not a magician like Onean.

Aglea and Sword God Buu were both quite intrigued to see this.

Before Lana had a chance to react, Onean was already no more than five feet away from her.

Looking at the azure dagger in Onean's hand, which was clearly enchanted with powerful magic, Lana didn't attempt to evade it at all.

At the speed that Onean was moving, it would've taken her only a split second longer to slash open Lana's throat with her dagger.

Given Lana's abilities, she was definitely capable of putting up resistance, yet it seemed that she had voluntarily placed herself in such a perilous situation.

What was she waiting for? As it turned out, she had been waiting for this exact moment, the moment when Onean made her final roll of the dice.

What would Erwin think if Onean were to take her life in the heat of battle?

Looking at the smile that had crept onto Lana's face, Onean instantly understood her intentions.

As it turned out, before the battle had even commenced, Lana had already made up her mind. Erwin had implored her to spare Onean's life, so she naturally had no intention of killing Onean going into the battle.

Seeing as she couldn't fight freely and beat Onean in a battle on equal footing, she had to turn to another plan.

If she wanted to secure a unique and irreplaceable position in Erwin's heart, then she had to do something drastic, something extreme.

If I die, then I'll be the only one that he thinks of, right? qhweoitqheithqehtoiewhtewqtheowtqOne could commend Lana for her courage and willingness to put her life on the line, but one could also just as easily denounce her for throwing her life away for no real reason.

Onean had already seen through Lana's plan, so she naturally wasn't going to follow the script that Lana had set out.

Thus, she withdrew her dagger in a clean and swift motion before passing right by Lana. As a result, the two had their backs facing one another.

Onean heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling very glad that she had managed to retain her sense of reason even in the heat of battle. She was well aware of Lana's position in Erwin's heart, and if she had taken Lana's life here, Erwin would've most likely blamed her for the rest of his life. Onean harbored a great deal of resentment toward Lana, but she wasn't going to let her emotions get the better of her and kill Lana just for a moment of instantaneous gratification.

Lana pursed her lips as she burst into sarcastic applause. "How impressive. I admit my defeat."

Sword God Buu shook his head upon seeing this as he sighed, "Women really are impossible to understand..."

After that, he vanished into the imperial palace.

"Those two little lovers of yours really are a pair of extraordinary young ladies. Onean was willing to bid her time for the entire battle, just so she could turn the times in the final moment, whereas Lana was trying to set a trap for her even with her life in such severe peril. What's even more remarkable was that Onean managed to hold back in the end! What a truly impressive pair of young women," Aglea chuckled as she patted Erwin's shoulder in encouragement. "You really should be learning from those two."

Erwin put on a forced smile as he nodded half-heartedly in response. His heart was still yet to return to his chest after leaping into his throat, and he was terrified that one or both of them would suffer a terrible fate during the battle.

Thus, the battle concluded with Lana's forfeiture.

However, Onean didn't seem to be pleased with her victory at all as she made her way down from the competition platform.

"Looks like that red-haired witch has some tricks up her sleeve, after all," Onean said in a neutral voice as she passed by Erwin.

Erwin knew that the fact that Onean was so unhappy indicated that Lana had to have posed a sufficiently significant threat to her during the battle.

...

Given Onean's current condition, she was naturally no longer fit to continue in the match.

Thus, it was up to Theresa to fight in the final battle for the Boll Dukedom, and her opponent from the Fano Dukedom was a man by the name of Ewen, someone who hadn't made an appearance during this tournament yet.

Looking at Ewen's sharp and menacing eyes, Erwin could tell that he was going to be a formidable foe. In order to be able to step onto this competition platform, he had to have secured the approval of Aglea and Lana. With that in mind, he made his way over to Theresa's side before cautioning her to be careful and prioritize her own safety over securing victory.

"Have you finally thought of me now that the two women you actually care about are safe?" Theresa asked with a displeased pout. "I don't need your fake concern! Get out of my way!"

"Alright alright, just pretend like I didn't say anything," Erwin said in an exasperated manner.

In reality, Theresa was still quite pleased to see that he was concerned for her.

As soon as she stepped onto the competition platform, she immediately adopted a serious expression.

Ewen was also taking this battle very seriously, despite the fact that his opponent was a beautiful woman.

This guy is definitely the type of person to hit women without any hesitation, Erwin remarked to himself.

Sure enough, as soon as Gower indicated for the battle to begin, Ewen immediately launched a ferocious assault, dodging the barrage of spells fired at him by Theresa while drawing his bow.

Purple energy was gathering at his right shoulder, presenting a rather bizarre sight to behold.

A wave unleashed by Theresa came crashing down from the heavens, and she had accurately anticipated the next spot where Ewen was going to land.

Ewen immediately stopped cold in his tracks, then swiveled around to face the heavens. At this point, he had already drawn his bow back to its fullest extent.

A sharp whistling sound rang out as a streak of purple light shot out of Ewen's bow before flying into the sky.

Theresa reflexively dodged her head to the side, and she was extremely alarmed by the fact that the arrow only ended up missing her face by mere centimeters.

A hole had been punched through her golden hair by the arrow.

Before she had a chance to settle her nerves, a second arrow had already arrived.

Thankfully, Theresa reacted extremely quickly, transforming into a cloud of water vapor that allowed the arrow to pass through without any impediment.

This time, it was Ewen's turn to be shocked.

Clearly, Theresa's unique bodily constitution was completely unfathomable to him.

Before he had a chance to recover from his shock, Theresa's magic had already surrounded him from all directions.

Waves were crashing toward him from all sides like a pack of starving wolves, sending countless bursts of magic energy surging into his body.

Ewen was caught in the turbulent sea of magic, and he almost passed out from the assault.

However, he gritted his teeth tightly and refused to fall no matter what.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show off his powers in front of the likes of the emperor, Prince Xar, and Prime Minister Henry, and he was determined to make it count.

Never had he seen anyone of such a lofty status, and he was determined to show them what he was capable of.

He was doing this for himself, and it had nothing to do with this battle or the outcome of the match for the Fano Dukedom.

Even though he was just a nobody who was completely insignificant in the face of these powerful figures, he still greatly cherished his moment under the limelight, and he wasn't ready to relinquish it just yet.

He knew more than anyone else that golden opportunities like these couldn't be squandered.

He knew that his talent was far below that of Lana and all of the other monsters here, but that didn't mean that he deserved to have people trample all over him like an insect for the rest of his life.

Amid the violent waves, a figure rose up with unrivaled determination.

Erwin stared blankly at the man on the competition platform, feeling as if he were seeing his past self during his battle against Shaun during the Pillow Sword Tournament.

At times, the difference between falling down or persevering really was just a matter of pure willpower. Some people possessed inferior talent, but they made up for it with a will of iron that refused to let them accept defeat, thereby giving rise to the adage that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

This applied to both Erwin from back then and Ewen at this very moment.

However, Theresa wasn't just going to stand by and watch as her opponent got up again, so she injected even more magic power into her turbulent waves.

Ewen was forced to grit his teeth tightly as he slowly squatted down amid the violent waves. If he didn't lower his own center of gravity, then he was going to be swept away in an instant.

At this point, the suit of leather armor that he was wearing had already been mostly stripped off his body by the waves, and a series of horrific gashes had been inflicted upon his exposed skin. It was no exaggeration to say that his entire body was riddled with wounds at this point, but he still refused to give in.

He raised his right arm, which was covered in runes, before slamming his fist deep into the competition platform, using that as an anchor to stabilize himself so that he didn't get swept away by the turbulent waves.

He then raised his bow with his left hand and used his teeth to draw the bowstring.

His lips were bleeding profusely as they clamped onto the fletching of the arrow, and the image of his fierce and determined expression left a lasting impression in Erwin's mind as he watched the battle from afar.

He couldn't help but be impressed with Ewen's ferocious resolve.

On the other side of the competition platform, Aglea and Lana were also discussing Ewen.

"His resolve and desire for victory are truly impressive. No wonder you decided to spare his life," Aglea said as she took a glance at Lana. "But I'd advise you to be careful keeping people like him by your side."

"Erwin's going to need troops very soon, and only people like Ewen can help him," Lana said in an indifferent voice.

"You really do think about him all the time, don't you?" Aglea jibed. "When did I ever say that we would go with them? Could it be that you've already forgotten your identity?"

Aglea poked the bone claw bracelet around Lana's neck with her finger as she spoke.

"You don't need to remind me of that," Lana said in a cold voice. "Don't you want to know the secrets of his time and space magic?"

"Not at all," Aglea replied with a completely disinterested expression.

Lana turned to her with a resentful expression, yet before she could say anything else, Aglea continued with a stern expression, "If you beg me nicely, perhaps I could consider allowing a reunion between you and your little lover, but if you try to play any tricks or mind games with me, you're never seeing him again."