The third round quickly proceeded.


    The youngsters from other regions believed that Siegfried and Ian must''ve been two of the strongest duelists of the Valenzians.


    Hence, they grew confident in challenging the Valenzians, as the fear of being defeated by an underdog slowly departed from their hearts.


    No one wanted to suffer the same fate as Kenji Ashton of Krebori and udius Lothain of Yon Augenn, after all.


    The third Valenzian who fought was Luna, who faced a challenger from the 6th-ranked Hakk''Shatta Region—a twenty-eight-year-old male warrior named Theodore Windsen.


    Bothbatants were shielders, but their gear was notably different.


    Luna wielded arge tower shield, while Theodore opted for a medium-sized round shield.


    As for weapons, Luna selected a blunted shortsword, contrasting with Theodore''s choice of a blunted falchion.


    It was clear that one emphasized defense, while the other leaned more towards offense.


    Right from the start of the match, it was obvious who had the superior strength attribute, as Luna was repeatedly driven back, sliding about half a meter with each sh.


    This drew smiles from the youths of other regions, confident that their earlier assumptions had been right—that Siegfried and Ian were indeed the strongest on Valenzia''s roster.


    They then immediately looked at the Valenzian table, picking their targets to challenge.


    Most of them believed doing so would be a free win.


    Still, some instinctively avoided the ever-calm Kiin Wujin, sensing he was just aspetitive as the first two.


    The elitists were right—Kiin was indeed another strong duelist.


    However, their decision to target the other six for an easy win was questionable.


    After all, had they chosen the Kreborians, their wins would''ve been easily guaranteed.


    Unfortunately, despite Ian and Siegfried''s dominance in their sparring matches, some of the elitists'' deep-seated disdain for Valenzia clouded their judgment.


    The smarter ones amongst those who merely wanted free wins had long chosen the Kreborians as their target.


    …For a while, thebat situation between Luna and Theodore didn''t change, even when the two started using skills to try and defeat the other.


    The former ultimately ended up being continuously pushed back by thetter for more than fifteen minutes.


    After that, however, the situation suddenly began to subtly change.


    Theodore''s movements grew slower, and his reactions became increasingly dyed as minutes passed.


    In contrast, Luna showed no signs of fatigue, her mental and physical state unchanged, as if she wasn''t tired at all.


    Seeing this, Shye smiled.


    Before the match, he had used appraisal on both fighters and offered Luna some advice.


    While Theodore was faster and stronger, his stamina was unusually poor for a shielder, giving Luna the upper hand in a prolonged battle.


    Nheless, one''s mental state is vital inbat.


    Without Shye''s assurance that she would definitely win in a drawn-out match, the repeated small defeats during their minor shes would have gradually worn down Luna''s mental fortitude, making her anxious and causing her stamina to drain much faster than it should.


    She was the oldest among the Valenzian representatives, which made it rather obvious that she was the least talented among them.


    However, she had always been the most diligent, resilient, and patient among them.


    As a result, she was able to keep up with Shirley and the others, though she rarely took breaks, even during their quests.


    By continuously pushing her body to its limits, she trained relentlessly, significantly boosting her stamina and vitality.


    Unfortunately, despite all her hard work, her offensive physical and mental attributes remained only slightly above averagepared to her peers.


    Still, this was only true when facing exceptionally talented youngsters.


    She was far ahead in every aspectpared to most people her age.


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    However, unfortunately, her natural talent alone wasn''t enough to put her at the very top without pushing herself to the brink through relentless training.


    Moreover, she didn''te from a prominent n. She had achieved everything through her hard work.


    …A few more minutester, it was Theodore who was on the retreat, struggling to block Luna''s chain of fierce and swift attacks.


    The blows weren''t particrly powerful, but they were more than enough to stagger someone exhausted.


    Before long, after taking another strike empowered by [Power sh], the young man from the Hakk''Shatta Region lost his bnce and fell onto his back.@@novelbin@@


    He quickly attempted to rise, but a forceful kick from Luna, hitting his shield, sent him rolling backward.


    Theodore struggled desperately to regain his footing.


    Unfortunately, as he looked up, a blunted shortsword was already pointed at his face.


    "Surrender," Lunamanded, her expression stone-cold. "I win."


    The young Hakk''Shattan gnashed his teeth in frustration, but he knew there was nothing he could do.


    He lost.


    Theodore knew that even if he tried toe up with excuses for a second chance against his Valenzian opponent, the oue would be the same—especially now that he waspletely drained of energy.


    Meanwhile, Belford watched the conclusion of the match with a gaping mouth.


    Their current youth representative was one he considered to merely be "filling in the numbers".


    He hadn''t expected Luna to win at all, especially after seeing her struggle to survive the first few minutes of the sparring match.


    ''T-That''s it? The three wins I was praying for were achieved just like this?'' was the thought that popped up in the old director''s mind.


    Belford would have been satisfied with just three wins against Krebori, but he never imagined one of those victories would be a stunning triumph over a Yon Augennian, along with a hard-fought win against a respected Hakk''Shattan.


    What made it hard for him to believe was the fact that they had actually managed to steal the top spot from Yon Augenn in the Inter-Regional Sparring Matches of the Heroes'' Banquet.


    While Belford wasn''t certain if they could maintain this position until the end, it was enough to make his old heart race with childlike excitement.


    "And with yet another splendid, hard-fought victory from Miss Luna Gonzales, Valenzia—the neers of the Heroes'' Banquet—seizes the top spot!!"


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