"To my left is the tournament's most powerful warlock. A priest of the Yaluka Tribe, staunch followers of the All-Father. He is an ardent worshipper of Odin and even chose his set of skills to be like the All-Father himself. A master of runic mystic arts with incredible spear arts complimenting his magic, a practitioner well versed in utilizing the versatility of yuan. The most talented emperor in his home world, The Vicious Jarl of Conquest."

Standing opposite the gorgeous and alluring Mercedes was a brawny warlock, dressed in Norse mage robes and animal skins. He held a staff in one hand and had a long spear attached to his back. His face was ugly and menacing, and most of his skin was covered in tribal tattoos. He was clearly a hybrid of a warrior and a mage. A versatile Warlock capable of using both ways of battle.

Hercules finished his introductions and began his countdown. But the crowd couldn't care less. All they wanted was to see what Mercedes would do.

"…3, 2, 1, Begin!"

Hercules' giant form disappeared from the skies above as the match began in earnest. The Vicious Jarl of Conquest shook his head and focused, raising his staff to the sky. His movements were smooth and practised. It only took him a fraction of a second to perform all actions, and it would take even less time to cast his spell, or it was supposed to.

"Wait!"

It was a simple shout, devoid of any magical applications or rather it seemed ordinary. But her voice sounded quite melodious to most listeners. Pleasing to the ear, making one want more. Those who were not moved to such a degree would still feel some attachment to it despite having barely a connection to the listener.

'A voice with a concept. What a frightening skill.'

Concepts were aspects of a Dao that could be applied to almost anything if one was skilful enough. Will had attached the Sharpness Concept to his Suijin No Ikari, allowing it to reach a rank worthy of a C- minimum. Adelda still had not met a user capable of creating a custom skill on their first day, let alone infusing a concept. But here she was, observing a mortal attach a concept to something as intangible as sound.

'Aphrodite and Photos chose well.'

Adelda could not help but feel envious of the mortal. Even in the immortal realms, only the most talented could gain the favour of a deity. Having the favour of two meant that her affinity for divinity was extremely high.

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'But she isn't the only one favoured by gods.'

Will's visage appeared in her mind for a moment as she compared him to the princess. At the end of the day, Will still had a lot to stand on.

'And he is less arrogant. Wait a moment, why am I even comparing them?' As Adelda went through an entire journey of introspection, the match continued.

The warlock was stunned into silence as if he had received an irresistible commandment from the heavens. His skin flushed red as he visibly heated up. It was clear that something had happened to him, but the crowd could not tell what.

"It's happening again."

"No matter how you are, at level 99 you can't be faster than sound."

"Aphrodite's followers can target anyone with weak mental defences, she is skilled at applying her divinity to sound."

"Warlocks should have strong mental power shouldn't they?"

"It can't match up to mental power backed by a deity bro."

This was how she had been winning most of her matches, by using her voice to freeze her opponents temporarily. She would then attack with a light element spell. Making quick work of her opponents. This time however something was different.

"I want you to take that stick and stab yourself, don't hit any vital points though, I might need to use you later on." She said with a coy chuckle. Her opponent gulped and smiled with glee, stunning the observers.

"Yes, your highness!"

With an unusual zeal, the man went on to stab himself repeatedly. His legs, his chest, and even his back were not spared. As the man stabbed himself, Mercedes laughed. The fairies that often floated about her became even more tangible and glowed in response, celebrating their master.

The crowd was once again stunned into silence. She had used her voice before, but she was only able to affect her opponent for a moment. One moment was enough for a warrior to decide the outcome of a battle. For a mage, it only took a fraction of a moment.

The man had stabbed himself so much that he could not move anymore. He lay on the ground, his mouth panting as blood ceaselessly flowed from his wounds.

"I did what you asked for my queen. What else can I do to please you?" He asked while approaching the valley of the shadow of death. The life was visibly leaking out of him, but all he could think about was pleasing his enemy.

"You did well," Mercedes replied while walking toward him. She stopped a foot away from the puddle of blood and placed her hands on her hips, "I want you to denounce who you worship."

The observers of the battle, mortal and immortal, human and deity, were all stunned by her words. No one had expected such a show of arrogance.

"My beauty is the personification of nature itself, my light is nature itself. Even the mystical bend to my light."

She lifted her palm, and fairies of light manifested and danced around her wrist.

"Just releasing my intent passively causes these fairies to materialize. Fairies and Mankind were born to appreciate nature, thus they appreciate my light. So, worship my light and abandon that dirty old geezer you call an All-Father."

The crowd went into a massive uproar when they heard these words.

"Heavens, she insulted a deity in front of other deities!"

"You don't even need to go that far. Odinson's watching this, he did allow the boy to use his power. Most Norse deities are probably paying attention to this battle! And she just insulted their king!"

The hooded figure smiled wryly. 'That girl is going to be the death of me. Photos save her soul.' He said as he shook his head. Despite his words sounding like a complaint, there was only affection and pride in his eyes when he looked at her in the arena.

'I guess she took it from me. But this painful tongue, I did not teach. Did she have to go so far as to get Peerless' attention by insulting his guardian deity? We still have no clue if the two are even close. Still… it doesn't matter. She does have Photos behind her, and he loves these sort of theatrics. So then, All-Father, how will you respond, or maybe you don't care?'

The hooded figure smiled mischievously as he looked on at the proceedings. Curious to see what would happen.

"I hear by denounce Odin as my deity, and proclaim my eternal undying loyalty to you my queen, Mercedes Spectralia! You are my everything, and I will dedicate every fiber of my being to you, my lady."

Mercedes grinned deviously, her eyes showing how pleased she was with herself.