Natasha’s Scheme  

Gianluigi used his class skills and unleashed the full form of the unrelenting Hunt while Natasha used Valkyrie's Guard along with the full power of her Yin Physique. Both of them opened two Doors at once and used large-scale destruction attacks without even worrying about energy expenditure. Which was why in ten minutes, the battle had been over and the group was showered by the mystical glow of experience.

"When we become Nation Lords, we will have so much experience we might even be able to reach level 105 instantly!" said Lydia with excitement. The Experience from the World Boss and Dungeon Boss was so intoxicating Lydia actually felt a bit bloated, but in a blissful manner of course.

"It could be more. Don't forget, we still have the main boss of the entire Dungeon waiting for us by the Dragon's Cave, and I'm willing to bet my last penny that Michael Bellingham is there waiting for us as well." Said Palmer with a thoughtful expression.

Although Natasha and Gianluigi were impressive, they still fell short of Ulysses in terms of shock factor, hence despite not having been in many battles against World Bosses, Spectralians were a bit numb to such displays of power and rather expected the duo to be able to unleash this much.

Mercedes was also quite powerful when she used her divinities as well. Hence Natasha and Gianluigi, although still monstrously powerful, were not enough to fully intimidate Palmer and Lydia

The Crescent Moon Twins were far more excited as they rarely got the chance to see Gianluigi's full Unrelenting Hunt. Gianluigi, as the Crown Prince, had a much purer bloodline and had access to better resources. Hence his Unrelenting Hunt was on a completely different level, approaching a divine blessing from Remus himself.

Gianluigi ignored the conversations around him and walked up to Natasha, who had her eyes on the loot the Dragonling had left behind, "I think I have an idea that could explain what happened up there. But I need you to confirm something for me as well for this idea to work."

Natasha was curious as to what Gianluigi was thinking about and nodded, signalling for him to go ahead and talk.

"Looking purely based on abilities, If Peerless Dao master was female and in your sect, what would his status be?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes in understanding as she already got to the gist of Gianluigi's inquiry.

'He thinks Peerless made an appearance outside the dungeon and assisted his own men'

It wasn't just Natasha who came to this conclusion, as everyone there had good ears. This idea made a lot of sense as the man had defeated Mercedes, Ulysses and Gianluigi, even though they had many restrictions on them.

"I'm not sure how much Peerless was holding back in the tournament. Because there is a good chance that his backers also informed him to not use his full power. But at the very least, he would share the same status as me."

Natasha's words were exactly what Gianluigi and the others expected because only such a character could defeat Ulysses Rijkaard, even if the latter was restricted. What stunned them however was that she said at the very least, which meant that in her opinion, Peerless could be stronger than her.

Gianluigi found that hard to believe as Natasha was the lowest key of all the Savant level characters. She was the most mysterious and least understood, and this was by her design. Her IQ was also acknowledged to be top-tier as well, which was why Mercedes had been more than willing to appoint her as the temporary leader of this trip.

She did value her words and rarely spoke, hence whenever she did, people paid attention. Peerless assisting his underlings in the battle with the world boss was becoming more and more plausible as his movements were known only to himself and Odysseus who was responsible for logistics. Hence he could appear whenever he wanted.

"There were also those four maidens as well. Their statuses are only just below Francis, but when they combine and work together they can exhibit combat power equal to what you and I just unleashed. I'm sure you are aware of Great Valkyrie's Blade? Together, the four of them can cast it perfectly. I would need to be at full power with my 6th Door open at the very least to stop that spell."

The Veritas and Frozen Asgard had been enemies for many millennia. Hence they were familiar with each other's token skills. Great Valkyrie's Blade was indeed a spell Gianluigi was familiar with.

'You normally need to be well above level 100 to cast that perfectly. If they are factored in, then Peerless must have definitely helped. That's the only way to explain. Either that or…'

As Gianluigi was lost in his thoughts, Natasha went and collected the loot on the ground and placed it in her storage ring. Before putting away anything, she first shared the details of the drops to avoid any misunderstandings, as was the common courtesy of collective dungeon hunting from different groups.

As Natasha picked up the loot, a different seed of thought started to take root in the depths of her subconscious.

'That swordsman. Something about him is off.'

Natasha was not very experienced with Solitary Sword Sovereigns, but she was sure they were rarely locals from a branded dungeon. Locals from branded dungeons were created from souls that had already entered the cycle of reincarnation. Some carried their past memories in bits and pieces, some carried on their spiritual abilities, and others were actually created from pieces of a deity floating through space and time.

Natasha doubted that a Solitary Sword Sovereign could be raised under such circumstances as the manual required an extremely good teacher to impart it. It was an unorthodox manual, but it was extremely specific in its requirements, putting even greater requirements on the teacher's ability to impart it.

Of course, some heaven-defying geniuses could comprehend the skills without much hands-on guidance, but finding such a being in a Branded Dungeon as a local was a pipe dream. Hence, in Peerless' camp, Natasha was sure that there was an elder educating Solitary in the ways of the SSS manual.

Narcissus' application of 1 in 10000 was another example of a skill that ordinary locals should not possess. Lyra's Call of the Forest and Achilles' Macedonian Charge could be chalked off as class-related skills but they were still abnormally top-tier.

Normally, a faction with such strong lieutenants would be well known already. Just what is the superpower behind Peerless? Could he truly be under the All Father's banner?'

Natasha was under the impression that Peerless Dao Master was under a faction that had something to do with Odin due to Peerless using Odin's Armaments in his battles. Peerless had not only used Odin's Divine power, but he had also used Thor's divine power as well, firmly rooting his image in the Norse camp in the eyes of the observers.

There were already rumours flying around that Zeus was plotting something but Natasha was not interested in such. Instead, she was more interested in knowing what planet he was from.

Natasha's hatred for males was much lesser than her Frozen Asgard counterparts. She was more logical in her approach and only cared about benefits.

'He is from a developing world according to Hercules. There is a good chance that his planet has many dungeons that have not been excavated.'

Natasha was already thinking about planetary conquest, and who could blame her? She had already conquered a couple of developing worlds before thanks to her sect's backing. She did not mind befriending Peerless temporarily so she could understand his background better, then when the time was right, she would strip him of whatever resources and knowledge she could!

While Natasha was dealing with the loot, Palmer had started drawing a teleportation circle that would link him to Mercedes' location. When he was finished with his engraving, however, an odd expression appeared on his usually calm face.

"Guys, get here quickly!" he exclaimed as he placed a hand on his chin to observe the circle.

"What's wrong?" enquired Natasha. The others quickly gathered around the circle and sent inquiring expressions as well.

"I intended to link this teleportation circle with a circle I had placed outside the miasma, but midway, I discovered that it was also linked to another teleportation circle."

Palmer's explanation was met with looks of confusion. Gianluigi tilted his head and said, "Are you saying someone hacked into your spatial transfer network?"

Palmer shook his head in response, his response sending waves of shock to the rest of the crew, "No, I'm saying someone has managed to fix the incomplete circle I left by the riverbank!"