Domain? Divine Power?
So basically… this was a version cap.
In other words, this current "world map" couldn't sustain beings stronger than demigods.
That was actually good news for Hel. At least now she knew — those old schemers hiding in the shadows, no matter how ancient, could only be half-god level at best. No immortal monsters secretly sitting around after a few epochs of "strategic retirement."
But then another problem arose:
Where was she supposed to get divine power?
Hel had no clue — at least, not yet.
Then, suddenly, inspiration struck. Her gaze fell on one of the old, dusty traits buried deep in her inventory:
Corruption Erosion (Black) — the trait she'd stripped from the holy sword Durandal, one that contained corrupted divine power.
Maybe… just maybe… she could use that to push the synthesis through.
Unfortunately, when she tried to add it to the fusion process, the system promptly rejected her attempt:
[Synthesis failed. Current divine power attribute incompatible.]
"Figures," Hel muttered. "So no loopholes allowed."
It seemed she'd have to wait until she herself stepped into demigod rank before she could obtain proper divine power for high-tier synthesis. For now, it was better not to get ahead of herself.
Since she couldn't peek beyond the pink tier's horizon yet, Hel decided to distribute the pink traits she had already forged.
Aside from keeping the Life–Death Attribute Affinity trait for herself, the four newly made Death Elves each received a pink-grade talent and bloodline trait.
Then came their combat skills — she standardized all of them with pink-tier archery traits, since both caster-type and knight-type Death Elves could benefit from precision shooting.
Their magic, however, remained a problem. Even though the half-blood goblins among them were natural element mages, their transformation into Death Elves hadn't altered their elemental affinity to Life–Death magic. So unless Hel later acquired a new batch of spell traits, she'd have to teach them herself how to channel their mana properly.
Still, Hel had also managed to synthesize four pink-tier magic traits. After merging one with her own pink trait — and getting the same "domain limit" error —she handed one to Niv, letting her replace her old gold-tier magic trait.
"All right," Hel said with satisfaction. "That should boost our overall power quite a bit."
As she surveyed the now-empty hall, she couldn't help but sigh in genuine contentment. "Maybe once I reach the sixth tier, I'll be able to rebuild their souls — and help them step fully into the saint rank. The only problem is how to keep that breakthrough hidden from others."
"Perhaps the answer lies in the Goblin Empire," Niv replied, her eyes flickering with streams of data as she scanned through the archives. "In the capital, there's a place called Heaven-Shrouding Platform (Zhe Tian Tai). According to the records, it possesses methods capable of concealing the anomalies caused by breakthroughs."
"The Goblin Empire, huh…" Hel grimaced.
If she wanted a safe breakthrough, she'd have to go there —but to conquer the Goblin capital, she'd first need saint-tier combat power.
A perfect deadlock.
Unless one day she got lucky enough to stumble upon a saint's corpse lying around, there was no easy way to break that loop.
But saint-tier corpses weren't exactly something you could find just lying on the roadside.
"Forget it," she sighed. "That's a problem for future me."
"Come on — let's go meet those elves."
Now that she commanded six half-saint-level subordinates, her overall might had more than doubled. Hel didn't believe for a second that the imprisoned elves beyond the wall could cause any serious trouble now.
The two of them left the energy station and rode a hovering platform to the towering fortified wall nearby.
But the moment they stepped onto it, a cold arrow whistled through the air toward them.
Before it could reach the wall, a golem sentinel stationed above raised an arm —and with a booming crack, the arrow exploded into fragments.
[Name]: Hurricane Raiders
[Rank]: Tier 5
[Description]: Elite ranged golems of the goblin war machine.
They were humanoid automatons wielding massive longbows, their slender bodies built for speed, and two pairs of folded mechanical wings extended from their backs — clearly agility-based snipers.
"Flame Adjudicators, Stone Guardians, and now Hurricane Raiders," Hel mused aloud. "Let me guess — there's also a water-type one somewhere?"
Niv, completely serious, nodded. "Of course. There's the Tidal Devastator, an alchemy golem specialized in elemental spellcasting. However, that model only exists in the Goblin capital. Here in the Bio-City, we only have these two combat series."
Hel blinked. "…So there really is one."
She chuckled softly. "Guess goblin naming conventions are exactly as random as they sound."
"Anyway," she asked, "what's the situation on the other side? Do we know how many there are?"
Niv consulted the records."Estimated around two thousand individuals, at most three thousand. For the Elven Mother Tree to breed new elves, she requires external nutrients in addition to natural growth. But since they've been cut off from outside resources for three millennia, rapid reproduction is impossible."
"I see…" Hel murmured.
"Also, their highest possible power lies with two sixth-tier individuals," Niv added. "Unless they sacrifice their entire population, there's no way they could produce a third one."
"Then we've got nothing to worry about," Hel decided. "If you can't subdue them through authority, we'll just have to convince them the old-fashioned way — through physics."
Meaning: by force.
She raised a hand.
Behind her, shadows rippled — nine dark figures emerged silently. The Death Elves standing guard at her back drew their gleaming auric longbows in unison.
"Then let's begin," Hel commanded softly. "All forces — attack."
Thirteen figures surged forward,and one after another, immense spiritual pressures crashed down upon the elven settlement below.
But just then, a gentle wave of soul energy rippled outward from afar, forming a shimmering spiritual veil that shielded the elves below from the crushing force.
Hel's eyes narrowed. The aura was faint — so faint that without her Death Godhood, she might not have sensed it at all.
"What's that?"
Her gaze followed the source of the energy —to one of the towering trees in the settlement's heart.
And in the next instant, the system window appeared before her eyes:
[Name]: Elven Mother Tree (Snow Elf)
[Rank]: Demigod
[Traits]: Snow Elf Genesis (Pink), Annihilation Rebirth (Pink), Snow Elf Bloodline (Pink)
[Description]: One of the thirteen original Elven Mother Trees born at the dawn of the world. Possesses the power to nurture new elves and rebirth through death.