"Alright, that's enough chit-chat, it's time to get some exercise," Aglea said in a cold voice, snapping out of her train of thought.

A serious look also appeared in Sword God Buu's eyes.

Light began to radiate from the tip of his Carefree sword, and the light seemed to be threatening to completely uncover the dark veil of the night. It was like a small flame that had rapidly grown to become a scintillating sun, and it was so bright that all onlookers were forced to cover their eyes.

Immediately thereafter, the sun began to move!

"Illumination!" Sword God Buu swept his sword directly toward Aglea's face, and in that instant, it was as if the entire world had been lit up by boundless radiance.

Even Aglea couldn't help but be momentarily stunned by the terrifying power imbued in Sword God Buu's attack, but thankfully, she was able to return to her senses in time to unleash a burst of serpentine sword energy in retaliation.

The azure serpent clashed with the dazzling white radiance, sending light erupting in all directions and causing all onlookers to shield their eyes.

Many of the soldiers who were still locked in battle on the battlefield had no choice but to stop what they were doing and protect their eyes from the scintillating light.

The serpent was trying to devour the white sun, while the white sun was trying to crash straight through the serpent's body.

Heaven and earth were trembling and swaying, and even the mountain beneath Fort Lungpierce was quivering violently.

It was as if a battle between a pair of gods was taking place, and the clash concluded with Aglea being blown back several dozen feet.

She then clasped a hand over her own mouth and erupted into a violent coughing fit, while Sword God Buu's complexion had become noticeably paler.

"That was impressive, you old far," Aglea said as she panted heavily, and her chest was heaving violently. "I didn't think you would've already reached this level."

In contrast with Aglea, Sword God Buu's aura was far more stable.

He cast his gaze toward his Carefree sword, which was trembling incessantly, and his brows furrowed slightly as he remarked, "I didn't think there would be someone in this world capable of withstanding an all-out attack from me."

"I borrow a flagon of wine from the heavens, so I can drown my sorrows with the moon.

As I fall into a drunken haze, in my mind the image of a woman is the only thing that remains."

Aglea suddenly began to recite a poem out of the blue.

A perplexed look appeared on Sword God Buu's face upon hearing this.

"This is the poem that your disciple recited right before his passing." Aglea didn't know why she had mentioned this, but she had felt compelled to do so in this moment.

"I'm far from well-versed in fine arts. All I've dabbled with my entire life are alcohol and the way of the sword," Sword God Buu said. "But if this is a poem made by that foolish disciple of mine, then aren't you the woman in the poem?"

Aglea didn't deny this. Having taken all of Perry's memories, she was naturally more aware than anyone else of who the woman in the poem was describing.

At this moment, Perry was standing atop the wall of Fort Lungpierce, looking up at the woman in the night sky. It was as if he had heard the poem, and that it had caused something to stir in his heart. This was the only poem he had ever made in his entire life, but he could no longer remember it. He was trying to think of the poem with all his might, and there were clearly some traces of memories about to emerge from the thin gaps and crevices between the heavy mountains weighing down on his memories, but those mountains proved to be too heavy and insurmountable in the end.

One night, many years ago, he had had an argument with her, and the two had parted ways in mutual rage and frustration.

Their families were the two most powerful families in the entire empire, and there were far too many circumstances that the two of them couldn't overcome.

He sat alone at the top of the Dreambind Pavilion, downing cup after cup of wine to try and drown his sorrows. He watched as she departed on her boat toward the north along the Fulnon River, and he didn't know how to bid farewell to her. His heart was torn and filled with sorrow, and it was in that moment that he had written that poem.

Hence, Aglea hadn't recited that poem for no reason. She was telling Sword God Buu that there was no right or wrong when it came to love.

No one could stand between their relationship, nor could they pass judgment on them.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say, but I apologize for what I said earlier. No one can or should interfere with your relationship," Sword God Buu sighed.

"I said that to try and enrage you and force you to go all-out against me, but it looks like I was too naive to think that that would work," Aglea said as she pursed her lips. "There shouldn't be so much personal animosity and hostility involved in our battle. One of us has to die here today, and I don't want him to be the factor that instigates our showdown. I'm sure even in the underworld, he wouldn't want to see that happen."

Sword God Buu faltered slightly upon hearing this, then nodded in response. "Indeed, it's time to let go of all of the grudges and resentment that we've held toward each other."

Sword God Buu raised his Carefree sword before gently flicking the blade of the sword with his finger, producing a faint ringing sound that resembled a farewell extended from Perry to his master.

Looking at the scene unfolding in the night sky up above, a pained look appeared on Perry's face. He cast his gaze toward Aglea, and a myriad of emotions surged through his heart. He felt as if there were a lump in his throat, making him unable to breathe, but there was no need for a skeleton to breathe.

Lana was standing not far away from him, and she seemed to have noticed his emotional turmoil.

"What's wrong?" Lana made her way over to him before gently shaking him.

However, Perry continued to stare up at the sky in silence, and it was impossible to tell what he was feeling behind his wooden mask.

Lana knew that even if she were to remove the mask, she would only be greeted by the sight of a skull anyway, but she really wanted to see what kind of expression was currently on Perry's face.

"Have you remembered something?" Lana asked.

Lana had always felt like there was something rather strange about Perry's identity. This suspicion was supported by the fact that Aglea would occasionally hide him back when they were in Finklan. Given that observation, Lana deduced that Perry had to be someone who was very important to Aglea. Otherwise, she wouldn't be constantly dragging along this piece of excess baggage.

Perry shook his head in response. "All I remember is how I met my master. I don't remember anything else."

After casting aside their emotional baggage, Aglea and Sword God Buu were able to focus wholeheartedly on their battle.

The dazzling blue Windage and the radiant silver Carefree seemed to be able to sense each other's emotions, and they were determined to display the most perfect version of themselves with each and every attack.

These were the two most powerful swordsmen in the world, so their battle was naturally one for the ages.

...

While everyone's attention was focused on the intense battle taking place between Aglea and Sword God Buu, a wraith-like figure had snuck onto the walls of Fort Lungpierce.

The figure was holding a pair of daggers that were giving off black flames, and he was extremely well concealed in the night.

"Look out!" Erwin exclaimed before unleashing his space split technique, then conjuring up a light shield to keep the two daggers at bay.

If he had reacted even a split second later than he did, the daggers would've torn through Onean's throat.

"Oh, those are some impressive reflexes!" a man in a suit of black leather armor said with a sinister grin as he stood outside of Erwin's light shield. "I didn't think there would be anyone here capable of dealing with a surprise attack from me. How intriguing."

As soon as the man's voice trailed off, he vanished into a cloud of black mist.

The sight of the expression on the man's face had cold sweat running down Erwin's back. The reason for this was because half of the man's face was completely expressionless, while the other half wore a sinister grin, and it was such a harrowing sight that anyone would feel disturbed looking at it.

"Why are you being so careless?!" Erwin asked as he turned to Onean with a stern glare.

Onean was still reeling from her close brush with death, and she could only turn her face to the side in silence, allowing Erwin to grab tightly onto her wrist.

Lana was looking on from the side with schadenfreude in her eyes, but she also received a stern glare from Erwin.

He then turned to Lana and Theresa before yelling, "Don't just stand there like idiots! Gather around me, that bastard is most likely still nearby!"

The two women didn't dare to rebuke him, and they both did as they were told.

Just now, while everyone's attention had been focused on the battle between the two god-like swordsmen in the night sky, Erwin was keeping a close eye on the surrounding area. He knew that Sanfesa would've taken measures to specifically target the three women around him, so he was keeping his guard up at all times.

It was clear that the assassin that they had just been attacked by was a very formidable martial artist, as evidenced by the fact that Onean was completely unable to detect his aura.

Due to the impact of Onean and Lana on the battlefield, the progress being made by the Delair Dukedom's forces was forcibly slowed, and whether they would be able to continue advancing would depend on whether Sword God Buu could successfully overcome his opponent. Hence, the soldiers that had been led onto the fortress walls by Kevin were completely isolated with no reinforcements to support them. If Onean and the others could do as they pleased, then the battle on the fortress walls would draw to a conclusion very quickly.

However, with that assassin muddying the waters, the outcome of the battle on the fortress walls was becoming rather murky again.

Speaking of Kevin the Fool, he was an extremely formidable warrior. Even with Sherry entering the fray, the trio of Sherry, Shiba, and Bracken were still unable to gain the upper hand over him.

As long as Kevin remained standing, the morale of the troops around him would remain high, and they would continue to put up stubborn resistance.

Kevin's glowing reputation in positional warfare certainly wasn't unjustified.

Thankfully, with Lanyon providing firepower support in the sky above, the situation was still under control. After seizing the Delair Dukedom's airships, Lanyon and the magicians were bombarding the troops of the Delair Dukedom on the fortress walls with barrages of spells.

Erwin inspected the situation on the fortress walls with tightly furrowed brows in silence. He knew that he couldn't afford to be complacent or impatient here. Only after taking that powerful assassin out of the picture could he allow Onean and the others to re-enter the fray.

The three women were stunned by how sharp Erwin's senses and reflexes were, but at the same time, they could tell that he was too tense and apprehensive about the prospect of harm befalling the three women from unexpected sources, to the point that he was a little psychotic.

"You need to relax. As a commander on a battlefield, being wound up so tightly is going to negatively impact your judgment and decision-making," Lana said.

"Shh!" Erwin put a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture. "I've found him!"

He then immediately unleashed a space split technique to chase down the assassin.

Looking into Erwin's eyes, which were wide with excitement, Lana shook her head with a resigned expression. She knew that her cautionary words had fallen upon deaf ears.

"You need to straighten him up. In his current state, he's like a bowstring that's been strung up too tight. It's very dangerous," Lana said as she turned to Onean.

For once, Onean didn't rebuke Lana. In reality, she was also very concerned about the exact same thing.

"Hasn't he always been really calm and steadfast? Why is it that he's been seeming less and less like himself recently?" Theresa asked with a perplexed expression.

"This war has given him far too much pressure," Onean replied, identifying the source of the problem.