Seeing someone with Extremity-level strength beside the lord of such a small place as Rosalin genuinely surprised Brando.{Chinese in.} Although that person's strength had not fully reached the Plain of Extremes and seemed to be lingering in the final stage of the Law Peak—rather like Grey Sword Saint Mephisto at the Ring of Trade Winds—they could be said to have only one foot in Extremity. Even so, that one foot was enough to prove that they were a true Extremity-level powerhouse.
Brando had also seen the knights beside Rosalin's lord. Their individual strength was fairly formidable, and their average level was quite high—far higher than the great lords of Eluin, Anlek, and Xifah. Even so, they were only barely on par with the Empire's elite.
Yet a place like Rosalin was probably equivalent to remote regions such as Anzeruta within the Empire. The people there were equally hardy, and their strength was similarly unevenly distributed. Ordinary people's strength was about the same as in most parts of Eluin, but the knights and adventurers were clearly a level stronger.
Even in a place like Anzeruta, however, he had never heard of a lord having an Extremity-level powerhouse serving under him. Not even a half-Extremity-level powerhouse.
First of all, what virtue or ability did the local lords possess to make Extremity-level powerhouses serve them? The entire Empire had only a handful of Extremity-level beings. Even counting those who lived in seclusion, there could not be more than twenty. And how many lords did the Empire have? Leaving aside the knights who drew stipends from a few knight territories, there were at least hundreds or thousands.
Secondly, most people could not afford to support an Extremity-level powerhouse. To continue down that path, an Extremity-level powerhouse needed to consume boundless resources. Take Brando himself: