"Your Highness, this man can't possibly be Peerless' equal!"

Lydia didn't say it outright, but she had greatly admired the display Will had put on as Peerless, but the man before her was not anything like his master.

The name Peerless Dao Master was already making waves in this section of the System. Will's victory over Ulysses had caused many to pay attention to him. As the most talented light element user in his generation, Ulysses had made quite a name for himself. Mercedes was well known for her beauty and talents in the divine, while Gianluigi was a core Veritas member destined for greatness. The fact that all three were students of Everlasting Willow also served to boost their reputations as the latter was a well-known user among higher circles. Yet an unknown Independent Lord had defeated all three in combat!

Peerless appearance reinvigorated many that came from weak backgrounds. The advantage of higher-tier worlds was almost impossible to surmount, but the presence of Peerless became a beacon of light to many on the road to cultivation. Lydia was one such person. She was adopted by Spectralia but she was a native from a Lower World that had been chosen by Everlasting Willow to be his favourite disciple's servant for life.

Many Middle Worlds adopted talents from lower-tier realms to bolster their numbers and in Mercedes' case, to strengthen the forces under their successors. Lydia was a strong believer of discipline and planning, thus Will's display as Peerless suited her tastes quite a bit. Were it not for the fact that her mistress had been beaten badly by Will, she would have become a dedicated fan that actively spoke about him. She wisely kept quiet about her thoughts and carried out her duties in silence, but today she came across an unforgivable scene.

The fact that her idol had such a weak and unskilled servant annoyed her to no end. While she had no intention of ever leaving Mercedes' side, she still envied being a subordinate that Peerless referred to as an equal. Lydia was not Mercedes' equal in any sense of the word and was only as strong as Ulysses in his sealed state at best. Thus she expected Solitary Sword Sovereign to be a paragon on the same tier as her mistress or at least close. Suffice it to say she had lost faith.

Mercedes felt a headache coming on and massaged her temple in frustration. She agreed with her servant, but she had no choice in the matter. She also disliked having a weakling being placed in the same tier as her. But rules were rules. Putting up with Will's theatrics was part of her current job description.

"I understand where you are coming from, but my hands are tied in this matter. Besides, with us here, there will be no need for him to act." Replied Mercedes. Ulysses grunted to show his approval of her words, but unlike his mistress, he carefully eyed Will like a hawk watching its prey.

'This guy is not resisting the adjustment at all.'

Ulysses' body sensitivity was a cut above everyone else. He could sense that Will's own body was not providing any sort of resistance at all to the Negative Feedback Adjustment. While he was puzzled by this action, it did not affect their plans negatively in any way thus he ignored the situation and kept silent. After all, as long as he was there, what could possibly go wrong?

"Your Highness, I understand your situation, but we could be facing perilous situations in the future that require us to have each other's backs. I would be doing you a dishonour if I did not state a simple fact; none of us can trust this man to have our backs in any way." She said with gritted teeth.

The others in the room kept silent, but expressions indicating support for Lydia's words littered the room. Mercedes agreed and tried to find a way around it, but before she could speak, Ulysses spoke for her, "I am here, there is no need to worry about your backs."

It was only a single sentence, but it was enough to quell any retorts Lydia and the others had. Ulysses was known for his no-nonsense behaviour. Any more arguing would be seen by him as disrespect toward Mercedes. The Spectralian contingent was especially aware of what kind of person Ulysses Rijkaard was and what he could do when angered. Lydia's fear of Ulysses far outweighed her dislike of Will. Mercedes was annoyed that Ulysses' infamy outweighed her own charisma, but she was grateful for his presence.

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'He is especially useful in times like this.'

She sent him a graceful glance and spoke, "When he recovers we will give him an opportunity to display his skills. There will be plenty of chances then. Even if you do not respect Solitary, I am sure you respect Peerless. I doubt he would select a weakling to be his representative in the matter. Besides, the others he brought have done surprisingly well."

By this time, Achilles and Lyra had already adjusted for the most part. They were still a bit unsteady, but their wits had returned about them and they were restoring themselves to prime fighting condition.

"I don't understand how residents from a small town could be this strong."

The quiet Natasha finally spoke up, causing everyone's attention to fall on the trio. Narcissus was already 'back to normal' while the others were almost back to full strength. Many had done research on Peerless' background, including the Nation under him. All they knew was that his Nation was a newly promoted Town. Even Mercedes' own troops required at least 3 hours to adjust during their first trip to a higher-tier world. The fact that Peerless' troops only needed a short time spoke volumes about the quality of his men.

Natasha was different from Lydia, she wasn't worried about having a weakling and in fact, was more interested in Will's stronger troops. Peerless was her enemy and she saw him through the lens of a blood feud. Solitary being weak was good news for her, but the show by his other subordinates was not. Narcissus in particular made her feel uncomfortable as he seemed to have been barely affected.

'Is this due to the blood evolution they received from Peerless? Or did they have fortuitous encounters of some sort?'

As she pondered on the source of the trio's strength, Gianluigi stepped in, "Mercedes has a point. Peerless wouldn't spew lies. Odds are Solitary has strengths we are not aware of. At least we can depend on his other troops."

Gianluigi walked up to Achilles and wrapped an arm around his neck, "You will be under my charge for the next few days. Once this skirmish is over we will have a spar so I can get to know what you are capable of."

Achilles very much appreciated Gianluigi's warm reception. They were both battle maniacs and were straightforward men thus they took to each other quite nicely.

Lyra looked enviously at Achilles, only to shift his attention to the frosty Natasha and her crew, 'Why am I the unlucky one.' Lyra sighed in resignation as he walked silently to Natasha's side. The Frozen Asgard Maidens were exuding an unwelcoming aura that caused many a man to feel uncomfortable. All the male mages still kept a bit of distance as the infamy of the sect was excessive.

"The skirmish isn't over. Miss Lydia didn't do her job right." Said the wobbling Will as he stumbled. Lydia's expression turned grim as the temperature in the room seemed to drop. She could not believe that this fool had questioned her work!

The forces outside were easily prevailing over the remaining Silver Sword Fiends and no longer needed her attention. So she wondered exactly what he meant. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as she released a minute amount of killing intent, "Can you educate me then Lord Solitary?"

"I'll o-only tweach you if you p-pay attention. See wh-wh-at I did there." Will stuttered as he attempted to reply. The others could barely comprehend the meaning of his words but that did not prevent the shocking nature of the statement. It was a provocation!