As a queen who has lost her kingdom, I can see the comments section.

Daphne stared blankly at Verna.

Why would Verna trust that person so much? Was he a trusted subordinate? No, he wasn't.

After watching for so long, Daphne had figured out what was going on. She noticed that the person named Dandelion and the person named Laurel were following behind the girl named Lily, with Lily clearly in charge.

This Lily is more like a business partner to Verna; there is no superior-subordinate relationship between them.

“Don’t overthink it, let’s go.” Verna said, then turned to Amelia and said, “Please, Miss Lily, and Dandelion too.”

Amelia nodded.

Verna, Daphne, Amelia, Eileen, and Nicole walked down the city wall and headed towards the two armies.

On the other side, Vincent also walked over, surrounded by four of his men.

When the two were ten meters apart, they stopped and looked each other up and down.

'I know Daphne, but who are the other three? They're wearing half-masks, which is weird. The redhead seems nervous, but doesn't look like a threat. As for the other two, I can't tell what's going on.'

After scanning the area, Vincent quickly made a judgment in his mind.

Amelia was also taking a close look at the guy who had stirred up such a storm in the city.

At Verna's suggestion, Daphne then set up the ceremony venue.

When Amelia and Verna signed the contract under the witness of God, they were very close to each other. However, if necessary, the two parties signing the contract do not need to be too close; it is sufficient to just make the venue larger.

Without a foundation of trust, Werner and Vincent naturally wouldn't get too close.

'We currently have two high-ranking apostles on our side. A sudden attack might be enough to deal with Vincent… but that's not advisable. If we do that, Vincent's side won't submit willingly.'

A thought flashed through Verna's mind.

The contract ceremony was quickly set up. Werner and Vincent stepped forward, ten meters apart, and stood in the area surrounded by candles.

Both sides watched the scene intently, ready to make a move at any moment.

“Vincent, it’s settled then. Whoever loses must admit defeat and have their men unconditionally submit to the other,” Verna said, staring at Vincent.

“That’s natural. Once we’ve signed the contract, we’ll give the instructions to everyone.” Vincent had no objections.

"Then let's sign the contract."

Verna immediately began to preside over the ceremony.

Vincent had already read the contents of the contract and felt there were no problems.

"You possess the vastness of the deep space, the mystery of the boundless ocean... Please answer my call, great book of mystery, we need your witness... The covenant is eternal!"

The process of signing the contract was not complicated, and Amelia and Vincent completed it in a short time.

With the contract completed, the two returned to their respective places.

Vincent, holding a megaphone, shouted: "My soldiers and generals, you have all seen the pact between me and Verna. Next, I will fight against the high-ranking apostles on Verna's side. The victor will gain everything. If I lose, you can still follow them without worry. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Countless soldiers shouted.

Verna said something similar, which made the nobles, generals and soldiers in Beard City very nervous, but they all responded in kind.

This is a battle that will determine the future.

Vincent handed the megaphone to someone else and looked over with lightning speed: "Then, the rest of you, get out of here. This is a one-on-one duel."

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed intently on Daphne.

Once Daphne is dealt with, all problems will be solved, and I will become the Grand Duke I've always dreamed of, beginning my own reign.

The rest of Vincent's group began to retreat.

On Verna's side, the extra people also retreated.

When Vincent saw Daphne also backing away, he paused for a moment, and his brows furrowed immediately.

His gaze fell on Eileen.

After everyone else left, Eileen remained in the arena. Doesn't that mean his opponent was Eileen?

'Who is this? I've never seen her before. Is she the one who sent Verna?'

Vincent felt a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

It was only then that he realized he had miscalculated. The contract he signed did not specify that Daphne should fight, so Verna could naturally have the other high-ranking apostles take action.

But why does the other side have a second superior apostle?

Vincent looked Eileen up and down, carefully studying this crucial opponent.

Her long, silvery-white hair danced in the wind, her face was partially masked so that her features were not clearly visible, she wore a fitted white dress, and held an alchemical weapon in her hand.

This is no longer Eileen's original weapon "North Wind," but a new weapon called "New Moon," with a silver-white blade that looks extremely sharp.

The reason for changing weapons was also because they were worried that Eileen's identity would be exposed because of the North Wind weapon, since the North Wind was originally the sword of the royal guard in the Kingdom of Steel.

After observing Eileen, Vincent made a judgment.

'Is he someone who believes in the Sword of the God of War? Then he must be a melee fighter. Since it's melee, that's advantageous to me.'

Thinking this, Vincent gripped his weapon tighter.

His weapon is a long-handled spiked club, which has an extremely heavy weight, but it feels light in Vincent's hands because he has a passive ability called "Strength Enhancement," which gives him immense natural strength.

When he dealt with Bennett before, he grabbed him and used sheer force to squeeze him in, severely injuring Bennett on the spot, who eventually died from his injuries.

“Since you’re going to be my opponent, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?” Vincent looked at Eileen, trying to learn more about her.

Eileen didn't waste any words; her red eyes were cold as she charged forward, sword in hand.

She never liked to say unnecessary things to her enemies; such communication was superfluous. Her only task was to kill the person in front of her.

That's all.

Seeing Eileen rush over so decisively, Vincent's expression also became serious.

The opponent before him was not Daphne, whom he knew well, but someone he knew nothing about. He had to be careful.

With this in mind, Vincent had no intention of revealing his abilities. He simply swung his long-handled spiked club forward, trying to probe his opponent's methods.

Seeing this, Eileen decided not to take the bait.

While watching the battle from the city wall, she could tell that Vincent was incredibly powerful, and that he clearly worshipped the Thunder Hammer, possessing abilities related to lightning and strength.

Sword energy!

Eileen swung her longsword, and streaks of silver-white sword energy shot out rapidly with her movements, like bolts of lightning, intertwining and slashing towards Vincent.

Upon seeing this, Vincent's pupils contracted, and he swung the spiked club in front of him with great force, quickly shattering the sword energy. Each collision produced a loud clang of metal striking metal, causing him to retreat continuously.

With numerous sword energies clearing a path, Eileen charged towards Vincent once again.

The two figures clashed fiercely in the open field, and countless people from both armies watched with wide eyes, concerned about the outcome of the battle.

"Who is that person representing our side in the battle? I thought it would be Lady Daphne."

"I also thought it was Lady Daphne who made the move. I've never seen this person before."

"But she's so strong-willed!"

There was a lot of discussion about it among the soldiers.

Amelia was also watching nervously.

She thought she wouldn't be nervous, but it wasn't until Eileen appeared and made her move under the spotlight that she realized she could be nervous too.

"Eileen, I believe in you. Win as soon as possible!"

Amelia thought to herself.

In fact, Eileen will never disappoint Amelia.

The battle didn't last long before Eileen had completely overwhelmed Vincent, her offensive was fierce and relentless, leaving Vincent with no choice but to defend hastily.

If things continue like this, defeat is only a matter of time.

Vincent knew this better than anyone else.

"Ahhh... Thunderous Dance!"

Vincent roared, and a strong aura emanated from his body. Then, streaks of deep blue lightning appeared, and as he swung his spiked club, the lightning bolts struck Eileen.

In an instant, Vincent's attack became even more ferocious and chaotic.

Eileen didn't care at all. She even took a step forward and let Vincent's attacks land on her, while her sword slashed towards Vincent's body.

"what?"

Vincent was taken aback by this exchange of blows; he never expected Eileen's actions to be so ruthless.

The battle has only just begun, and the opponent has even maintained the advantage. Under such circumstances, is it necessary to trade blows?

Because it was unexpected, Vincent was also unable to dodge Irene's sword.

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh being torn apart echoed from Vincent's body as Eileen's sword slashed open Vincent's chest, leaving a bloody wound.

At the same time, Vincent's spiked club landed directly on Eileen's shoulder. Even though Eileen twisted her shoulder to deflect the force, it still sent her flying.

After being thrown backward, Eileen tumbled a few times to regain her balance.

Under the gloomy sky, two figures stared at each other, exuding a murderous aura.

Behind the two, countless people stared wide-eyed at the duel, so tense that they seemed to forget to breathe.

'Ouch, that hurts. What a crazy woman. But her injuries should be more serious; my attacks aren't so easy to withstand.'

Vincent thought to himself.

But in fact, Eileen's injuries are healing rapidly.

She has an ability called blood activation, which allows her blood to have healing properties, enabling her to recover from injuries quickly.

That's why she deliberately took Vincent's blow head-on, just to leave him with a wound.

Trading injury for injury would only benefit Eileen.

"Whoosh!"