Originally it was just dark purple with no other marking. But now its entire skin was covered in engravings, engravings similar to the ones Will had covering his own body. Its majesty and might escalated as a result. With a simple roar, it had matched Aphrodite's phantom in terms of presence.

"I can't even tell what kind of beast that is."

"Of course you can't, that's what makes the Colossus Criterion Thesaurus so frightening!"

"That array is incredible, it allowed Peerless to summon two of Odin's armaments and it elevated that beast to match the Aphrodite phantom's aura. It's even oozing dragon's might."

Very few beasts could match up to deities in terms of stature. And it just so happened that dragons were at the top of that list. The dragon eyed the phantom of Aphrodite as if it was eyeing prey. It revealed its razor-sharp teeth and snarled at Mercedes' tiny figure below as it flapped its wings in the skies above the duo.

Hercules continued on with his speech, "If two masters at the peak of their powers clash, only one of two outcomes happen. Either they battle for eternity or the battle finishes in an instant! I'm not a prophet, but I am confident this battle will not last long. So do not bat an eye, do not blink, you might miss a showdown a level like this never shows."

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

The crowd started to stomp their feet and cheer in rhythmic unison, getting excited for the upcoming events of the battle. How could they not be excited, after all, this was a battle between two paragons of divine and summoning magic.

"Light vs. darkness, yin vs. yang, heat vs. cold, man vs. woman. A battle across multiple fronts, but who will come out on top?"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"We have to my left, the Princess who needs no introduction. She has conquered a thousand nations and has conquered even more hearts. From the stubborn and ever-persistent Ulysses to the violent and arrogant Gianluigi Remus. Heroes from all walks of life have been enamoured by her. But she isn't just beautiful. Be it in light magic affinity or skill in the mystic arts of summoning, she is the disciple closest to Everlasting Willow's own set of skills and will most likely inherit his legacy. The future ruler of Spectralia, Mercedes Spectralia!"

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Screams and shouts came in response and cheered her on. She was clearly the favourite in this battle. Most of the observers were meant to be scouts, but few resisted the urge to be entertained by the events, after all, none of them had expected such an incredible battle to come out of such a small corner of the sector.

Hercules was about to introduce Will, but little seemed interested in him. Odin's Armaments were impressive, and so were his other showings, but Mercedes was still Mercedes. Many powerful mages had used Wodin's Armaments, but few had the natural blessing of top-tier deities like Photos and Aphrodite.

Will could use Odin's Armaments, but many believed it was a temporary arrangement because Will was not showing signs of one permanently contracted to a deity.

Hela had also not supported Will in any way. Hela's Dominion was being supported solely by Will's own mana and divine energy from Odin's Armaments. Although his intent and skills were a sight, they still fell short of a chosen of the deities. In other words, Mercedes still had the crowd eating out of her hand.

Her resources, background, experience, skill and beauty captivated the audience. Few expected Will to last long in this battle.

"To my right, he is the abyssal stallion that has risen above the odds. He toppled Francis van der Merwe, bested Gianluigi Remus and managed to defeat Ulysses Rijkaard! Growing and evolving with each battle, he seems to come out with new tricks. A natural-born Sovereign born and raised outside the system, he only started cultivating half a decade ago but now he can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best Truthseekers on this side of the sector. Favoured by the Norse and inspired by Daoism, he is Peerless Dao Master!"

The crowd had little interest in Will, until this very moment. Hercules' words had struck them like thunder in a clear sky.

…

The hooded figure doubted his ears and mumbled to himself, "Did Hercules just say 5 years?"

Hercules was pleased to see the crowd quiet down. The stunning revelation that Will had only been cultivating for 5 years caused the crowd to pause in their tracks. No matter how alluring Mercedes was, no one had forgotten the reason they were there. To scout for talent!

"5 Years! Impossible!"

"Master, I have urgent news to report, we have to reassess Peerless, his name isn't just hubris, there is some merit to it!"

"A Natural Born Sovereign from a developing world managed to reach this state in just 5 years, as an Independent Lord no less! We need to recruit him~"

"It's pointless to try, Silverton Academy will probably snap him up before anyone else has the chance. The moment he defeated Rijkaard, he was virtually guaranteed a spot there."

Hercules, having achieved his objective, moved on to begin his countdown.

"Fighters ready yourselves. 20, 19, 18…"

As Hercules counted down, Mercedes' frown depended. In her lifetime. The only peer she had ever had in terms of talent was Ulysses. Even then he still had not entered her eyes. Her sights were set far beyond what mortal worlds had to offer. She saw herself ascending to immortality and had lofty goals. Savants like Ulysses were rare in the sector, but in a den of dragons and tigers like Silverton Academy, such savants could still be found in the hundreds.

She had already been approached by Silverton and would no doubt be accepted as a talent there. She only fell short of Ulysses' caliber slightly. But she had more deities behind her and she had more of Everlasting Willow's support as only she was fitting to fully inherit his legacy. Her ascension to the peak was guaranteed, until now that is.

'How did he reach such a level of power in such a short time?'

"12, 11, 10, 9,"

As Hercules countdown wound down, countless thoughts flitted through the arrogant Princess' mind. She could not help but compare herself to Will.

'Five years, no resources, and he was able to achieve so much.'

Mercedes tightened the grip around her staff. She despised anyone who could steal the limelight away from her. She could not help but ask herself, if she had, his background and minimal exposure to the cultivation world, would she have been able to achieve the same level of skill?

"5, 4, 3…"

Mercedes immediately shut down that line of thought, because she did not like the answer to that question.

"…2, 1, 0, Begin!"