The duel was scheduled for the following morning at a Dueling Ground in the Lower District.

In the eyes of many, dueling was something only bored idiots or green-as-grass rookies would do. If you really had a grudge against someone, why not just handle it in private? Whether it was a sneak attack or hiring someone else to do the dirty work, the goal was to get your enemy dead. Why the hell would you arrange a duel?

The officials of The Dead City clearly didn’t care much for the practice, but they couldn’t just do away with such venues entirely.

So, they just went through the motions, found a desolate spot, roped off an area, and called it a Dueling Ground. A small hut would be symbolically built nearby to serve as an emergency treatment station.

When Paige Summers arrived, she could hear a CREAK... CREAK... from a distance. A closer look revealed the source: the doorframe of the first-aid hut, which had been left to the elements for so long that it was now swaying precariously in the wind.

She spared it a single glance before walking directly into the adjacent Dueling Ground.

The place was so remote that almost no one ever passed by, so the two men and one woman standing inside were especially conspicuous.

’Leanne Walsh, and that Charles guy, and one I don’t recognize...’

’Hmm, they don’t look too tough. I was prepared to face a Fifth-rank Superpower User. Is this all they’ve got?’

Meanwhile, the trio on the other side watched her approach alone, trading bewildered looks.

Joel Warren couldn’t hide his suspicion. "Maybe her backup hasn’t shown up yet?"

"Ha! My guess is she couldn’t find anyone to come with her at all!" Charles Sheridan let out a callous laugh.

Leanne Walsh concealed her inner excitement and glee, putting on an expression of pity. "Actually, Paige is rather introverted and has very few friends. We could have been like sisters, but..."

Joel Warren interrupted her. "Leanne, she’s the one who challenged you to this duel. You can’t go soft now."

Leanne Walsh bit her lip hard. "I understand. Thank you, Joel."

Hearing his name spoken in such a sweet, melodious tone made Joel Warren, a man in his early forties, feel a little flutter. He savored it with a smile and said no more. ’This is why every Hunting Party needs a delicate, fair-skinned young woman like her! Just looking at her is more comforting than my tough, coarse-skinned wife back home!’

As he was lost in thought, his head suddenly felt heavy, and his vision went black.

A moment later, he pitched forward and collapsed, unconscious.

The two people next to him felt the same drowsy sensation. Charles Sheridan, being sturdier, collapsed a few seconds later, murmuring worriedly, "Lea... Leanne..."

As the one with the highest Superpower Level of the three, Leanne Walsh’s resistance was naturally not weak. Most importantly, she was ruthless enough to harm herself. The moment she felt something was wrong, she whipped out a dagger and stabbed her own hand.

Blood trickled down slowly, but she did feel much more clear-headed.

She glared viciously at Paige Summers in the distance. "Despicable! You used drugs!"

Paige Summers raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Isn’t a duel all about using whatever means you have? Is there a rule against using drugs?"

Leanne Walsh was speechless. There really wasn’t one.

She had no time to argue further. With a wave of her hand, she smashed two spheres of water onto the heads of the two men on the ground. To her surprise, they didn’t react at all.

’Could it be poison?’

Her expression changed in an instant.

Paige Summers gave a slight smile. ’As if Levi Young’s knockout drug could be countered that easily. What an underestimation! The only reason Leanne Walsh is still awake is because I specifically chose my angle. The wind carried the least amount of the powder in her direction!’

’You’d better not waste all my hard work!’

"Now that the riffraff is gone, it’s time we settled our score!"

Paige Summers drew her Short Sword and charged forward.

Before Paige could get close, Leanne Walsh threw up a curtain of water.

’As expected of a Fourth-rank Water Ability User. She does have some real skill.’

The wide water curtain was like a colossal wave from the sea. It surged upward violently before crashing down on her. But this was different from a normal wave; clusters of white arrows seemed to coalesce at its crest, shooting forward at high speed!

It seemed Paige Summers hadn’t expected such a refined technique, and she was thrown into a panicked scramble.

Despite being a Speed Superpower User, her evasion was utterly graceless; she practically had to tumble and crawl to barely dodge the edge of the water curtain.

Even so, she was still defiant, cursing, "You hypocritical woman! You think killing me to silence me will keep anyone from finding out about the disgusting things you’ve done? You’re the one who left Hugo Perry’s corpse to rot in the wilderness! His ghost will never let you go!"

Leanne Walsh waved her hand, and several more Water Arrows shot out, giving Paige Summers no chance to get close.

She felt no strange sensations in her body. It seemed the drug had been completely expelled as she used her superpower. With that, Leanne Walsh was finally relieved.

Seeing her opponent reduced to empty boasts while being forced to run around in circles, she couldn’t help but feel the superiority of a cat toying with a mouse. Even the frustration from the recent troubles during her hunt began to fade.