Dane's seat was in the VIP section, and beside him was Menalippe, the deputy general who had stood by Hippolyta yesterday.
She followed Antiope's orders to keep a close eye on Dane, but Dane saw several times that her gaze drifted towards the battlefield, as if a magic force was drawing her there.
He chuckled, "If you want to watch, just watch openly, right? Don't worry, given my relationship with Diana, I won't do anything detrimental to Paradise Island."
But Menalippe didn't believe him. She had also participated in the Earth's defense and had personally witnessed Asteria's sacrifice in the human World.
After the Golden Age, humans betrayed the Amazons, forcing them to flee to this sanctuary established for them by Zeus.
And Asteria stayed behind alone to cover their retreat, ultimately sacrificing herself in the human World.
After seeing her distrustful expression, Dane bothered no longer with her and refocused his gaze on the arena.
When he saw that Hippolyta could single-handedly send Diana flying, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Suddenly, a magic force condensed in his eyes. He activated his Demonic Eye with magic and saw the anomaly on Hippolyta.
She had a faint, thin divine power on her, very subtle, but it was genuine divine power.
This piqued Dane's interest.
"Interesting. Who gave her this power?"
He could tell that the power on Hippolyta was dwindling with use, likely only enough to sustain this one battle, so it must have been temporarily borrowed from some god.
Even so, during the period of its effect, it could help Hippolyta equalize the ability gap between her and Diana.
In terms of strength, speed, endurance, and even defense, she would temporarily stand on the same level as Diana.
This way, their battle would truly be about skill, awareness, and tactical wisdom, making it a fair and evenly matched fight.
Antiope immediately understood what Hippolyta had done, but this was within the rules, so she said nothing.
Thus, all the Amazons present were fortunate enough to witness two demigods competing in the arena.
Each of their attacks almost destroyed the field, shaking its foundations.
Diana quickly adapted to Hippolyta's combat rhythm. She had just been caught off guard for a moment, allowing her opponent to gain the upper hand, but now that she had adapted, it was her turn to counterattack!
"You seem to have gained power equal to mine. This is even better!"
Diana said, then leaped and brought her sword down with force.
Hippolyta reacted swiftly, raising her shield to block, but she forgot how terrifying a demigod's power could be; she hadn't yet adapted from a normal person's mindset.
So when Diana's sword struck the shield, Hippolyta immediately realized she had made a huge mistake!
Knowing that Hippolyta possessed the power to contend with her, Diana held nothing back this time!
With one downward strike, the ordinary round shield was instantly cleaved in half by her immense strength, and she continued downwards, wounding Hippolyta's arm.
Hippolyta immediately retreated quickly, but Diana pursued relentlessly!
Left with no choice, Hippolyta could only continue to parry Diana's attacks with a single hand while rapidly using magic to heal the wound on her arm.
The stands erupted in an uproar, especially seeing their Queen, who had always been high and unattainable, being chased and beaten by her daughter. This shook the beliefs of many.
The Amazons were a martial race, so the strong were naturally highly respected here.
Especially since the person gaining the upper hand was not an outsider, but Diana.
Many people here had watched her grow up, so Diana defeating Hippolyta would not cause their displeasure. Therefore, all the Amazons cheered for her!
Antiope stood at the edge of the field, somewhat anxious.
As Hippolyta's sister, she naturally hoped her sister would win, not for the throne, but because she also agreed more with Hippolyta's ideas.
The Amazons could not afford further losses, and they had already done their utmost for this World and for humanity. There was no reason to die for people they didn't even know.
But her anxiety was useless; this battle ultimately had to be fought by Hippolyta herself.
Within these few minutes, Hippolyta, relying on her exquisite combat skills, finally bought herself enough time.
Her injured arm had recovered completely. Although some divine power was lost, it was still within a controllable range.
Hippolyta began to wield her sword with both hands and resumed fighting Diana, returning to an evenly matched situation.
Actually, with Hippolyta's current usage, as long as Diana could persevere, she could easily win once the opponent's divine power was exhausted.
But Dane knew that with Diana's pride, she would never do that.
Indeed, after Hippolyta recovered from her injury, Diana not only did not change her fighting style but actually accelerated the pace of her offense.
Under the Rainstorm-like attacks, Hippolyta could only desperately use her sword to protect herself. Without a round shield, she was indeed at a disadvantage in parrying.
But she was very patient. She knew Diana's weakness, and she was waiting for an opportunity.
And that opportunity soon appeared.
Seeing that her prolonged assault was ineffective, Diana simply discarded her round shield. It was useless anyway, and she chose to focus on offense.
However, this act of discarding the round shield gave Hippolyta a perfect counterattack opportunity!
Taking advantage of the moment Diana threw away her round shield, she struck with her sword at Diana's waist, as if determined to cut her in two.
This resolve made Diana unable to ignore it, so she released the hand holding the round shield and fully committed to defense, and the round shield fell between the two of them.
In Diana's blind spot, Hippolyta reached out and grabbed the shield she had discarded, then pushed it forward.
The round shield directly struck Diana's face, pushing her back again.
This time, Hippolyta would not make another mistake. She gripped the round shield firmly, using it to continue obstructing Diana's vision.
Her other hand held her sword, poised to strike, waiting for Diana to land to unleash a Rainstorm of attacks, just as Diana had done to her earlier.
But this was also the opportunity Diana was waiting for. She was not anxious about the shield changing hands, nor about Hippolyta regaining the initiative. Even when her opponent deliberately blocked her vision, she remained completely calm.
The moment she hit the ground, Diana shattered the ground with one hand. The immense force propelled her airborne body back, which surprised Hippolyta, rendering her perfectly calculated lead useless.
And Hippolyta didn't realize that while she was blocking Diana's vision with the shield, her own vision was also obstructed.
So, she didn't realize Diana's target was her feet!
Therefore, Diana slashed her sword against the round shield, but at the same time, she bent down and kicked Hippolyta's calf, instantly causing her to lose her balance.
The immense force of the kick even made Hippolyta's entire body rotate ninety degrees. As she began to protect her body with the round shield again, Diana thrust her sword into the shield.
She forcefully twisted the round shield, trapping Hippolyta's opportunistic stab within it as well.
Then, with another burst of strength, she pulled the round shield from Hippolyta's hand and tossed it aside.
Immediately, she punched Hippolyta, sending her flying through the air.
Hippolyta bounced a few times on the ground and then tried to get up, but by then Diana had already pounced on her.
She used the grappling techniques she had learned in the Human world to lock Hippolyta's joints. Under the immense strength, even Hippolyta, who had received blessings, felt unable to move.
So, she struggled a few times and then gave up.
Wrestling with an opponent in the center of the arena was truly undignified, both for her and for Diana.
Doing so under the watchful eyes of everyone would be an act that damaged their honor, so Hippolyta, having no choice, had to concede.
When Diana released her, she was quite exasperated: "Where did you learn such undignified techniques?!"
At this point, how could she not know that Diana had taken advantage of her, exploiting her need to always maintain decorum in front of the people?
Otherwise, this battle still had a long way to go.
Diana, however, said triumphantly: "Because I know that if we fought in the Amazon way, you would rather fight to the death than surrender, but the divine power within you cannot sustain you until then."
Once Hippolyta lost the blessing of divine power, Diana's punch, imbued with demigod strength, would truly split Hippolyta's head open on the spot, and Diana herself might not be able to react!
At this moment, she felt that Dane's words were truly correct; when it was time to use tactics, one should not hesitate, but use them decisively. This was called wisdom!
Dane, standing in the stands, almost burst out laughing at the scene before him.
Diana had become a bit sly now, and he wondered who she had learned it from.
"Winning this way is not honorable at all!"
Next to Dane, Menalippe was also furious. With her discerning eye, she naturally saw the problem.
But clearly, Diana had the ability to win more gracefully!
"I think, if it weren't for this, you would probably have to lose a King today."
Given Hippolyta's personality, she would probably prefer to die on the battlefield, clearing the last obstacle for Diana's ascension to the throne.
A new King ascends, but the old King is still alive. What kind of talk is that?
It would make it seem as if Hippolyta still had the ability to seize power in the future, and she wasn't in Atlanna's situation.
Hippolyta had committed no errors during her reign, so at that time, many elders would likely still be willing to follow her command, sidelining Diana.
But for Diana, inheriting the throne was never what she wanted; she had only ever wanted one thing.
"Mother, now that I have won, please immediately issue a King's command to gather all the Amazon Army. We are going to fight a war with humanity and Atlantis."
"For Justice!"
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