#399 - Wonder Woman title duel and due date

Before the crowd could recover from Circe's statement, more Lost Amazons emerged from the forest in droves, gradually enabling Circe and Troy's side to rival Diana's.

An Amazon in ornate armor stood beside Circe, surrounded by others who showed her deference, indicating she was the leader of the Lost Amazons.

"Nephthys, why are you standing with the enemies of the Amazons?" Antiope asked, stepping through the wall of warriors to confront the Amazon in ornate armor.

"I should be asking you that, Antiope," Nephthys retorted, haughtily raising her head. "Why did you harm our Lost Amazon tribe's princess?"

Nephthys' words surprised not only Diana and the Amazons but even Troy, who couldn't help but look back at Circe, her nominal mother.

Circe simply gestured for her to remain calm, and Troy, seeing this, could only suppress her curiosity and stand silently, awaiting her mother's instructions.

"What do you mean by that, Nephthys?"

"Exactly what I said," Nephthys replied, gesturing to Troy beside her. "This Troy is our tribe's princess."

"Nonsense!" Diana exclaimed, taking a few steps forward to confront Nephthys, only to be blocked by warriors from the Lost Tribe. Reluctant to escalate the situation, Diana stopped.

"Troy was created by the witch Circe from my mother's remains; she has nothing to do with your tribe."

"That's just your side of the story," Nephthys countered with a wave of her hand. "Troy grew up before the eyes of everyone in our tribe; these memories outweigh your single claim."

Diana was frantic, immediately thinking of Yang Le and wanting to use the Clock King's ability to reveal the truth. However, when she turned to look for Yang Le, she remembered that he had left due to urgent matters.

Yang Le hadn't specified what those matters were, only that to safely reach Paradise Island, he chose to transform into a blue, insect-like form, and then, seemingly fine, he announced he had to leave urgently.

Although Yang Le's appearance was somewhat strange at the time, Diana, preoccupied with numerous issues and unable to decipher the insect's facial expressions, didn't delve into it, bidding him farewell before heading to Paradise Island with Circe and Troy.

She also didn't see Yang Le's hurried departure.

Now, Diana couldn't help but feel guilty, but burdened with many responsibilities, she truly had no energy to spare. With things becoming more complicated, she wished she could properly apologize to Yang Le.

While Diana was lost in thought, the two tribes' queens had already reached a conclusion.

Antiope asked, "What exactly do you want, Nephthys?"

She knew that Nephthys wouldn't bring her subordinates out in force just to start a war; she must have a purpose, which Antiope had already guessed.

"What else could it be for?" Nephthys pulled Troy closer. "Of course, it's to support our tribe's princess in vying for the title of Wonder Woman. Antiope, you must know that although our tribe hasn't participated in the Wonder Woman title competition for a long time, we still have that right."

'Just as I thought,' Antiope frowned. In her opinion, the Lost Tribe must have reached some agreement with the witch Circe. Circe promised the Lost Tribe some benefits in exchange for their full support of Troy.

This was a good move, Antiope had to admit. With the Lost Tribe's endorsement, Troy's Amazonian identity would be solidified, and even if Diana could provide evidence, the Lost Tribe could stubbornly deny it or, at worst, grant Troy honorary Amazonian status.

An honorary Amazonian was a special status granted by the Amazons to outside women, granting them the same rights as normal Amazons, naturally including participation in events like the Wonder Woman title competition.

Antiope sighed inwardly. Arguing about Troy's identity was now pointless. The battle between Diana and Troy was almost unavoidable. The only way to avoid it was for one of them to abstain.

But that was impossible. Judging by Troy's demeanor, she would never abstain, and if Diana did, her Wonder Woman title would become meaningless. If the current Wonder Woman avoided battle under equal conditions, it would generally be considered a direct concession, and the title would naturally be revoked.

Diana could never do that. The poor child couldn't escape fighting her own mother.

All eyes turned to Diana, the pride of Paradise Island, beloved by the gods and the center of attention. In the public eye, she nodded.

"I accept your challenge."

The words were resolute but carried a hint of sorrow.

...

Surrounded by the two tribes, Diana and Troy arrived at an arena, a place where the Amazons usually trained or sought entertainment. For them, competition was always the best game, so it was also one of the most sacred places on Paradise Island.

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At this moment, Diana and Troy had removed their divine weapons and armor, wearing only ordinary Amazonian armor, and their bracelets had been replaced with ordinary ones.

As for weapons, they were placed around the arena, all standard Amazonian weapons, sharp but certainly not comparable to their respective equipment.

This was an old tradition. After the Wonder Woman's succession, even without treasures bestowed by the gods, the Amazons would gift her the artifacts they had accumulated, so the equipment of each Wonder Woman was stronger than that of ordinary Amazons.

If the Wonder Woman fought with these weapons, it would certainly be unfair to ordinary people, so whenever challenged, the Wonder Woman had to use ordinary equipment. This was a rule passed down from ancient times.

Although Diana and Troy both had artifacts, no one could guarantee that their weapons were absolutely equal, so they naturally had to abide by this rule.

Looking at the enemy in front of them, Diana and Troy had two completely different reactions.

Diana's hesitation contrasted sharply with Troy's eagerness. Although Diana tried her best to calm down, she was still confused. She increasingly felt the need to confide in someone, but that person had temporarily left due to urgent matters.

If Diana knew that the person she was thinking of was currently foraging for food to give birth to a baby, she didn't know what she would think.