System Nemesis

From Io"s back, they could see everyone tirelessly working, making it look like a beehive.

After hovering for a while, they landed and Derrick showed her around the city and told her about its development. This was a business trip for the elf, so he had to make sure that Brigand obtained every piece of information that would be useful. Of course, that didn"t include his military capabilities and his research on teleportation. That subject was too sensitive to be revealed to anyone outside of his inner circle.

"How have you done this?"

The elf was simply shocked that a city could appear in such a remote and hostile place.

"Long story short, I gave them a little "push""

The elf was perplexed by the answer but figured it was pointless to probe any further.

With the installations inspected, it was time to show her the market that would accommodate their goods for the time being. He obviously had plans to expand it in the near future.

When they arrived at the site, she was once again impressed. The s.p.a.ce was large enough to let in troves of customers and its materials weren"t bad. They were far from being on par with those in Terra, but for its first edition, it was plenty acceptable.

"What do you think?"

"I think my Master will invest a lot here. It"s definitely an opportunity he has been looking for. Any particular goods you"d liked to be prioritized?"

After a second, he answered.

"Perhaps clothes, but I don"t want to heavily index on that, which is why I asked to be as diversified as possible"

"Understood. When are we leaving?"

The visit had taken most of the day and night was already well on its way.

"We"ll be leaving tomorrow morning. I"ll arrange a place for you to rest"

***

Moira was gearing up while eyeing her teammates from head to toe. They were all muscular and pretty tall, with a slightly oppressing aura. These were apparently the best soldiers the Akata army had to offer. With no regards concerning her status, she advanced and met with the group of three. She wanted to break the ice and get rid of the awkward mood.

"My name"s Moira. Who are you three?"

The three men were surprised by her straightforwardness, and they looked at each other before presenting themselves one by one. The first to do so had sleek features, brown hair, hazelnut eyes and a neatly shaven beard.

"My Lady, you can call me Terry"

The next one was the shortest of the three, and his features were rounder, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a mustache.

"My Lady, you can call me Henry"

Finally, the last one spoke. His features were rough, and he had a long scar going from his left eyebrow to the lower part of his cheek. His gray eyes were striking, and they seemed to contain a wealth of wisdom. He was cleanly shaven and his build was the most imposing of the three.

"My Lady, my name is John"

After their presentations, they bowed in unison, to the dismay of Moira. As a fellow soldier, she hated to be treated like that by her peers. She reached forward and grabbed their shoulders to straighten them up.

"Please don"t bow to me. We are equals on the battlefield, so honorifics are pointless"

However, she didn"t expect that they would stubbornly refuse.

"My Lady, that would be disrespectful to you, but also to his Highness. We cannot acquiesce to your request"

Moira was secretly cursing Derrick. This man had power even when he wasn"t there! She sighed and thought about giving up, but an idea crossed her mind.

"Fight me"

The three men were shocked when they heard the request of their lady. What the h.e.l.l was she saying?!

"My Lady…?"

"You heard me correctly. You"ll fight me. If I win, you"ll do as I say, if not, I"ll maintain the hierarchy"

Terry was horrified by the clarification. This meant they would have to injure their lady, and if it came to the attention of Derrick, they would surely land in big trouble, if not death.

"My Lady, this is an unreasonable request. If we were to injure you, we wouldn"t be able to live with ourselves"

Moira was shrewd, and she already knew this would happen.

"If one of you doesn"t fight me, I"ll tell Derrick you failed your duties"

Henry and Terry"s faces paled, and they s.h.i.+vered simultaneously. They had barely seen the necromancer"s power, but it was already terrifying enough to make them swear allegiance and pledge their lives. Only John remained calm in this situation.

"My Lady, if it is what you desire, I will be your opponent"

He realized she was bluffing, but he respected her resolve. It was clear that the woman in front of him was a warrior, and he was secretly looking forward to the fight.

The other two soldiers blessed John in their hearts and made way.

"How should we proceed?"

Moira thought for a second before answering.

"Swords and armors. Only when someone"s clearly defeated will we stop fighting. You better not hold back because I won"t"

She had a c.o.c.ky smile and John couldn"t help but feel a little annoyed. Did this woman truly think he was a pushover? It was true of his past self, but since training under his new General, his fighting prowess soared to new heights.

They geared up and wore two finely crafted steel armors and took out identical swords. The only thing that would make a difference in this fight would be their skills.

Without waiting any further, she launched towards him and slashed at his knees. Her speed surprised John, who darted backwards and tried stabilizing himself. It seemed he was right to expect something exciting.

Right after touching the ground, it was his turn to leap forward. Moira hadn"t chased, and she was in a defensive stance, ready to receive his strike. However, instead of slas.h.i.+ng, John charged towards her and kept his sword at the ready, defending and threatening her weak spots.

Without stopping, he rammed into her with his shoulder, blasting her backwards where she fell on her a.s.s, unable to breathe and surrounded by a cloud of dust. 

Terry and Henry were appalled that their teammate didn"t hold back, and they dreaded the possibility of an accident so much that they were already advancing to stop the fight.

"IF YOU TWO TAKE ON MORE STEP, I"LL BEAT YOU AS WELL!"

The shout came from Moira, who finally got air back into her lungs. She was enraged at her pathetic display and hurriedly got up. She had been arrogant and it badly backfired. If she were to lose here, the hard work she did would be for naught.

"My Lady, you"re injured…"

"Who"s injured?!"

The fury in her voice almost made the two soldiers shriek, and they immediately got back to their positions. Of course, if she was truly in danger, they would intervene no matter what she said as they ultimately served Derrick.

"Can you continue?"

John"s voice reached her ears, and she detected a trace of smugness. He was paying her back, and she couldn"t reply. She definitely underestimated his abilities.

"Of course"

She rushed forward once again, but this time with her full concentration.

John felt the change in her att.i.tude and immediately grew serious. The fight coming his way would be entirely different this time around.