Throne Challenge!
Dane was not unfamiliar with this term. In the movie Aquaman, Arthur Curry and Orm, the two brothers, once engaged in a Throne Duel.
At that time, Arthur challenged Orm's throne to determine the final ownership of the kingship.
It seemed that this mode of challenging the throne was a traditional custom of the Greek-system divine civilizations back then.
However, throne challenges mostly occurred between brothers and sisters; challenges for the throne initiated by father-son or mother-daughter pairs were truly rare.
Dane hadn't paid attention, and Diana had already issued the challenge. Now, asking her to retract her words was probably impossible.
Moreover, retracting it now would be helping Hippolyta suppress Diana's momentum and self-respect, wouldn't it?
As the man behind Diana, Dane certainly couldn't do such a thing, so he chose to support Diana's decision.
Antiope, standing aside, immediately stepped forward, wanting to grab Diana and try to dissuade her.
But before she could touch her, she was blocked by Dane.
"This is a matter between mother and daughter; outsiders have no right to interfere, and besides…"
Dane's smile was annoying in Antiope's eyes, "This is Diana's right, isn't it?"
That's right, as the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and Zeus, Diana had sufficient qualifications to challenge the position of "Queen" both in terms of identity and status.
Originally, if Diana hadn't left Themyscira, she should have inherited the throne long ago, instead of being a princess at several millennia old.
But not only Antiope, but also the elders who had lived alongside Hippolyta until now, were unwilling to see the Queen's reign end with a duel defeat.
Menalippe also wanted to step forward to remonstrate but was stopped by Hippolyta.
Although Hippolyta was not a man, she also had strong "matriarchal" ideas; she hoped her daughter could surpass her and become even more excellent, but at the same time, she did not want her daughter to challenge her authority.
And at this moment, Diana was challenging her authority. After nearly a millennium, this was the first time Hippolyta felt that Diana had truly grown up.
She was not afraid of battle as Diana had claimed, so she directly accepted Diana's challenge.
"Since you have issued the challenge, then I, Hippolyta, as the current Queen of the Amazons, respond to you. I hereby accept your challenge!"
Diana looked at her mother, who was still as youthful as ever, and strengthened her conviction.
"I will not take advantage of you. During the challenge, I will not use any artifacts; I will fight you fairly with the most ordinary Amazon combat equipment."
Hippolyta was not a descendant of a god; if Diana were to have an equipment advantage in a one-on-one situation, it wouldn't be a duel, it would be a crushing defeat.
So Diana decisively weakened herself, but she did not ask Hippolyta to do the same, thus implicitly allowing her to use the power of artifacts.
This demonstrated her strong inner confidence, and this kind of confidence was very attractive, especially in a martial society like Themyscira.
This temperament would give her a strong personal charisma, and in a monarchical society, a charismatic King was very important.
Hippolyta said nothing, merely reminding Diana, "Since that is the case, the King's Duel is set for tomorrow. Do you have any other questions?"
Diana shook her head, indicating she had none.
"Since there are no more, you two go prepare! Antiope, see them out!"
With that, Hippolyta turned her head, looking as if she no longer wished to see Diana.
Diana was equally resolute; she didn't even pick up her godfire sword, simply turned and walked away.
The meaning was clear: once she won, the entire Paradise Island would be hers, so taking it now was irrelevant.
Since the parties involved had already agreed, Antiope and Menalippe could not change the established fact and could only accept the outcome.
But from this moment on, Antiope's attitude towards Diana also changed.
Of course, she wouldn't go so far as to dislike Diana, but it was very likely that Diana would become the new Amazon Queen, so Antiope would evaluate her by the standards of a new Queen, no longer treating her as a child.
"Since the Queen has accepted your challenge, I will say no more. Prepare yourself; the duel will be in the arena tomorrow."
After speaking, Antiope glared fiercely at Dane: "Especially do not do anything that might consume your energy! This is a highly anticipated duel, and it must not be tainted by any blemish!"
Dane felt bewildered. Did she think he would play some two-person games with Diana at a time like this?
That's ridiculous! At the very least, they'd wait until she became Queen!
Diana, for some reason, could always accurately grasp Dane's inner thoughts at such moments, so she subtly pinched the flesh at Dane's waist with her fingers, reminding him not to have too many ideas.
Antiope completely ignored Diana's small gesture. Although she hadn't seen a man in a long time, she wasn't a naive blank slate and naturally saw the relationship between Dane and Diana.
It's just that while the Amazon culture was hostile towards men, if an Amazon did fall in love with a man, they wouldn't actually break them apart.
After all, men could be used for procreation, a function they had to acknowledge.
After Antiope left, Dane and Diana exchanged glances. He couldn't help but laugh, "So this is what a feminist society is like!"
It was a fresh perspective, like seeing a patriarchal society from a female viewpoint.
Dane knew that in the Dark Multiverse, there was a World designated "Earth-11," a matriarchal society ruled by Amazons, where the heroes were gender-bent versions of the main Universe's heroes.
In that World, men were responsible for being beautiful, while women were responsible for earning money and supporting the family.
The thought was amusing, and Dane wondered if he would ever have a chance to visit there.
"Are you really going to duel your mother?" Dane asked.
Diana countered, "What? Do you think I'll lose?"
Dane shook his head. "I just think her decision is understandable. After all, your Amazon population is hard to replenish, and even one casualty is a huge loss."
"And your tactics are already outdated."
Diana was almost amused to exasperation by him. "If that's the case, then why did you come with me?"
"I'm actually interested in the Amazon artifacts," Dane said truthfully. "In terms of weaponry and equipment, the Amazons should possess enough power to inflict effective damage on Universe invaders."
Darkseid was defeated by the Earth's allied forces using magic power back then; otherwise, it would be completely inexplicable.
Apokolips, a civilization primarily focused on technology, actually lost to an Earth whose civilization was still in a primitive state...
magic must have played a huge role.
"I'm not aware of this. I've lived on Paradise Island for so long, and I've only found one set of equipment in total."
Good heavens, only one set! That Versailles nearly broke Dane's back.
He had been planning for so long and still hadn't collected a complete set!
That evening, Hippolyta came to the temple alone.
Facing the murals carved with statues of the gods, she recited an ancient incantation.
As one of the ancient peoples, Atlantis knew magic; how could the Amazons not?
It's just that the Amazons favored pure martial prowess and rarely used magic like sorcerers.
But that didn't mean Hippolyta, as the Queen, couldn't. She knew that as a mortal, she was no match for a demigod like Diana in a normal fight, so she had to seek some external aid.
"Great Goddess Athena, please grant me the strength to defeat Diana..."
To receive blessings for combat, one must seek the deity in charge of War.
Ares was the most suitable candidate, but unfortunately, he had a grudge against the Amazons, so Hippolyta chose to seek help from Athena.
In fact, in divine history, Athena had defeated Ares more than once, so her power was very suitable for Hippolyta.
Perhaps knowing that Hippolyta was her father's mistress, Athena was very accommodating and directly granted her request, bestowing upon her greater power.
Feeling a surge of divine power within her, Hippolyta opened her eyes, and divine light flashed within them before gradually fading.
This power was not long-lasting, likely only enough for Hippolyta to use in one battle, but it was enough.
"Diana, watch closely, and see what a true Amazon is!"
The next day, when they arrived at the arena, the stands were already packed with people.
The perimeter of the arena was also surrounded by a group of fully armed Amazons, holding spears, standing ready in the center of the field.
And in the very middle of the arena, Hippolyta was already standing there.
What Diana didn't expect was that Hippolyta also didn't use any divine artifacts, but instead used the standard uniform weapons of the Amazons.
As she stood in the center of the field, facing Hippolyta, she heard her voice.
"What? Are you surprised?"
Facing Diana's astonished expression, Hippolyta's demeanor was calm. She drew the short sword from her waist and tightened the round shield on her left hand.
"Diana, you may believe your martial prowess is great because you possess demigod blood." As she spoke, Hippolyta slightly lowered her body, and a fierce fighting spirit began to emanate from her eyes.
"But you still haven't understood what the word Amazon means!"
With that, Hippolyta suddenly charged, her speed incredibly fast.
Diana instinctively raised her round shield, and with a "thud," the short sword struck her round shield, pushing her back.
This force not only pushed Diana back, but when she tried to stabilize her body by planting her feet on the ground, she found that the force pushed her even further.
Diana suddenly looked up. Such power already far exceeded that of an ordinary Amazon warrior.
The reason Hippolyta could become the Amazon Queen was precisely because she possessed the strongest combat skills among the Amazons!
She was the strongest Amazon!
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