The remaining members would be Overlords of high-rank species, but those were not weak by any measure.
Far from it.
High-rank species Overlords they had brought had powerful classes, high-rank Talents, high-level Physiques, and well-developed Elemental abilities. Many of them carried artifacts that were better than what most Lords would see in their life.
With all of that combined, they could fight an average Apex species Overlord on equal footing.
And the Apex Overlords of these Lords?
They were stronger than the High-rank species’ Overlords, had better equipment, better talents, and more refined power.
Avery was strong, yes.
But she was still just one.
The blue-haired woman beside Isaac was an unknown factor. The Emperor might have taken notice of her, but even then, the Lords weren’t overly concerned.
In the end, only Avery and that woman—Eleanor—stood out as threats.
For Isaac’s side to win, Eleanor would need to be as strong as Avery, and that simply didn’t make sense.
Avery was a mythical Elemental Spirit. If someone truly stood on the same level as her, the Lords in this room would have known long ago. Strength like that didn’t stay hidden.
In short, there was no real chance for Isaac to win.
At least, that was how they saw it.
As for Isaac having another powerful member on his side?
That was even less likely.
Averon was strong, yes, but not anywhere near the level of the subordinates that these Lords commanded. The same could be said for Alice. They had seen her fight against Crimson Sky Wyrm days ago, and could guess her strength level.
Emily was the only uncertain factor.
She was dangerous, that much was clear. But the Lords had already drawn their own conclusions.
Someone who could purify and tame spirits of corrupted Catastrophes had to have limitations. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Power like that always came with a cost. System made sure the balance was present.
Maybe she could only summon her strongest spirits for a short duration. Maybe it drained her heavily. Maybe there were strict conditions she needed to fulfill.
There had to be something.
And on top of that, she had completed her Lord Quest just yesterday. She must have gone all out to do so.
Naturally, she would be weakened today.
Even if she was strong, she wouldn’t be able to contribute much in the upcoming competition.
All of this led to a simple conclusion.
Isaac didn’t stand a chance.
"Are you sure about this, Lord Isaac?" Hass asked, his eyes fixed on him.
"I am," Isaac answered, smiling lightly.
He didn’t need to hear their thoughts to know what they were thinking.
It was written all over their faces.
Underestimation. Confidence. A bit of excitement.
Unfortunately for them, they were wrong on almost every point.
Alice had just received an insane boost after her Physique rank up recently. The Lords might have Apex rank subordinates, but not all Apex species were equal.
Alice was a Sun Dragon.
Even among Apex species, that placed her near the very top.
Her Physique upgrade amplified everything she already had. Her durability, her output, her control. The same upgrade on a regular Apex species wouldn’t even come close.
And then there was Emily.
Isaac almost laughed when he thought about it.
Emily was a nightmare for people like these Lords.
They were trying to guess her weaknesses, building theories around limitations that didn’t exist.
Emily didn’t have drawbacks on her summons.
If they knew she was the daughter of the Netherborn Empress, they wouldn’t be sitting this calmly. The entire tone of this room would have changed.
They would be cautious, and careful, and maybe even afraid.
But they didn’t know.
And that ignorance worked in Isaac’s favor.
Then there was Eleanor.
The Sword Empress had mentioned she had been training until recently. She didn’t explain much beyond that, but Isaac didn’t need details.
If she said she had improved, then she had.
He trusted her judgment more than his own estimation in this case.
Lastly, Averon. He had...
’Actually... yeah. Averon can’t do much here,’ Isaac thought.
Averon suddenly scratched his ear and frowned.
"...Why does it feel itchy all of a sudden?" he muttered under his breath, looking around.
In his tribe, itching ears meant someone was talking badly about you.
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, though he couldn’t figure out who it could be.
Isaac calmly looked away.
Hass, who had been observing Isaac, spoke again. "How will the offers we’ve written on those papers affect the bet? And what happens if Isaac wins? From what I hear, it sounds like he gets nothing. Why agree to this kind of bet?"
"Whoever wins will give Isaac what they wrote on the paper, along with their gifts. This way, none of you need to compete with each other by raising your offers endlessly. Additionally, if Isaac wins, he will take everything offered by all of you, along with the gifts, and he will not join any Lord’s City," Avery answered.
She added, "This way, Isaac can accept your gifts without feeling burdened, as he would have earned them through a bet."
Bella chuckled softly.
Fafnir let out a quiet snort.
The proposal was bold. Very bold.
Isaac would get everything they offered without giving anything in return?
On paper, it sounded ridiculous.
And yet...
They didn’t reject it.
Because when they thought about it carefully, it wasn’t as one-sided as one might think.
If they went the normal route, they would have to compete with each other directly. It would turn into an auction.
Each Lord would try to outbid the others to secure Isaac.
That would be costly.
On the other hand, with this setup, they only needed to write down an offer once. After that, everything depended on the competition.
If they won, they secured Isaac while paying only what they had already written.
If they lost, they paid nothing.
That alone made the deal appealing.
Of course, their pride wouldn’t allow them to write small offers, not here, not in front of each other.
They were the among the strongest Lords. They didn’t even allow weaker Lords to sit with them. Their offers had to reflect that status.
Still, even with that, this method saved them from an escalating bidding war.
In a strange way, it balanced itself out.
One by one, the Lords nodded to themselves.
Avery had come up with something clever.
Just like the Lords, Isaac was also praising Avery in his mind.
However, his reason was different.
’So we can win and get everything for free.’
’Additionally, we are using their forces to clear a good portion of the Great Dungeon.’
Avery was scamming these Lords, who thought Isaac had weak troops.
At the same time, she was making them work for Isaac by clearing his dungeon.
If that wasn’t enough, the Lords were praising Avery for scamming them.
’Wow, I used to think I’m a good scammer. Turns out I was just a beginner. Avery is the real professional scammer. I should learn from her.’
Avery, who could hear his thoughts, since they were still connected through telepathy felt proud at his praises.