Chapter261-The Gnome Race
Northern Frontier of the Human Race, Winterhold Castle.
Large numbers of newly freed resurrected beings had gathered in clusters, trading news and seeking any scrap of understanding about the world they had returned to.
"Hey, brother! I heard you only just died recently—can you explain what's going on in this world now?"
"Yeah, seriously! Why has everything changed so much? It doesn't feel real to us at all!"
The young human who had perished only three days ago turned to them with a helpless, equally bewildered expression.
Even for him, the world now felt strangely unfamiliar.
He glanced around Winterhold Castle, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Wait a second... when did Winterhold Castle become this luxurious?"
In his memory, the castle was nothing but a barren ruin, a forgotten stronghold in the northern wilderness.
But now, the towering walls gleamed with polished stone, banners fluttered proudly in the cold wind, and enchanted lanterns bathed the castle in golden light.
He didn't even know the name Daniel, a name that now dominated the Survival Guide.
Everything he was seeing went far beyond anything he had imagined.
"Uh... well... actually..." He hesitated, then sighed.
"Alright, to tell the truth, I don't really know what's going on either.
I only died three days ago, and back then, Winterhold Castle didn't look anything like this."
"Honestly... I think we should go ask someone who has actually been alive this whole time."
Undead Lands.
One of Daniel's avatars was methodically performing Mass Resurrection, over and over.
His true body had already departed from the Undead Lands, leaving this split body to mechanically follow its pre-set instructions.
This avatar had only one task:
to continuously resurrect souls, again and again, without rest or deviation.
And so, within the designated zones, countless souls streamed into the light of life.
Any soul that still retained a flicker of consciousness inevitably longed to return to the realm of the living.
On the Myriad Races Continent, the number of resurrected beings skyrocketed at a terrifying pace, rejoining the living world.
Fortunately, the world itself was immense, vast enough to support the sudden resurgence of life.
If the continent had been any smaller, the sheer volume of resurrected beings might have triggered an ecological collapse.
Daniel only dared to cast Mass Resurrection so liberally because he understood the world's true scale.
Even counting every intelligent species in history, all life combined occupied less than 3% of the continent.
The remaining 97% of the land was wild, uncharted, and virtually untouched.
The Myriad Races Continent was simply too vast.
Even if every sentient race from history were resurrected, it would still feel empty.
At the periphery of each resurrection point, the emperors of the various races had even installed Anygates,
allowing the resurrected to instantly return to familiar territories and reunite with their kin.
Among the most notable of the newly resurrected were the gnomes,
many of whom immediately sought to return to Terra Fortress.
Even though they knew, deep down, that Terra Fortress no longer existed,
their hearts ached for home—
for the place where they had lived, worked, and dreamed.
That was their birthplace.
That was their homeland.
Yet not a single gnome gave in to despair.
After experiencing death itself, their perspective had shifted.
"As long as we're alive... everything is possible again."
If Terra Fortress was gone, then they would simply build a new fortress from the ground up.
They also carried a collective determination:
to strengthen themselves,
so that the tragedy of Terra Fortress would never be repeated.
Within the gnome ranks, an emotional conversation unfolded.
"Patriarch," said Pixis, bowing deeply,
"please forgive me. I have... already led the gnome race to submit to the humans,
becoming their vassal state."
"It is all my fault.
But... if I may explain, without the humans' protection, the remnants of our gnome race could not have survived."
"Also, Patriarch... you may not realize it, but the humans are no longer what they once were.
Their strength has become... unthinkable.
I beg you to take every matter related to them very seriously."
The gnome patriarch listened to Pixis' words in silence.
Then, instead of scolding him, he placed a firm hand on his shoulder and spoke with calm gravity:
"Pixis... you don't need to carry this guilt.
In those circumstances, ensuring the survival of the race was the only thing that mattered."
"Besides, we gnomes already owe the human race a great debt.
If not for Daniel, we would have vanished completely from the river of history."
"Even now, I believe you made the correct decision."
The patriarch of the gnomes was no fool.
The moment he resurrected, he read the Survival Guide,
and in an incredibly short span of time, he had assessed the world's new reality.
From his perspective, Pixis' choice had been flawless.
Even now, with the entire gnome race resurrected,
he saw no reason to sever ties with the humans.
Why?
Because in this new era,
humans offered opportunities the gnomes could never obtain alone.
The patriarch's keen eyes studied Pixis.
"Pixis... I can feel that you've grown much stronger.
I suspect... that even I could not defeat you anymore, could I?"
Indeed, ever since the gnomes had sworn fealty to the humans,
Pixis' level cap had risen to 250,
not to mention the buffs from the Infinite Divine Temple.
If he unleashed his full strength,
Pixis could easily defeat his patriarch—
though, of course, he would never dream of doing so.
"Patriarch," Pixis said respectfully,
"all of this power comes from the blessings of the Infinite Divine Temple.
His Majesty Crossbridge is a truly great god,
and it is only through his generosity and selflessness that we have received such immense power."
"And... there is something else you may not know:
Daniel is destined to become the heir of Lord Duheng."
The patriarch's eyes sharpened.
He nodded solemnly.
"In that case... tell me where this Infinite Divine Temple is located.
Our entire gnome race will go and offer our prayers."
Meanwhile, as countless souls regained New Life,
the Myriad Races Continent bloomed with vitality.
This was no longer a world of merely tens of thousands of races.
With the resurrection of every extinct species,
the number of intelligent races likely exceeded one hundred million.
After every Millennial Apocalypse, countless species had been wiped out—
and now, Daniel had restored them all.
These revived races had already begun searching for new homes.
Some roamed the wilds, scouting for territories.
Others immediately traveled north to the human frontier,
drawn by a single purpose:
to seek the Human Emperor and Daniel,
and swear vassalage to the human race.
After all, becoming a human vassal came with lenient terms and tremendous benefits.
Many of these races were pitifully weak by modern standards,
with level caps barely reaching 100.
In the current world,
a single angel descending from the heavens could wipe them out effortlessly.
For such fragile peoples,
pledging allegiance to the humans was not just wise—
it was their only path to survival.
And so, the northern frontier of the human race,
which had once been a desolate stretch of land,
instantly became a sea of life and motion,
teeming with races from across time itself.
The Myriad Races Continent had entered a new, unprecedented era.
Chapter262-Primordial Core Weapon
Human Emperor Odin could never have imagined that a day would come when so many different races would clamor to join the Human race.
They were not merely seeking to become allies or trade partners; they were actually willing to become vassals of humanity, to place themselves under the banner of the Human race, to accept the dispatches, commands, and orders from the Human Emperor himself.
The Human Emperor, to be honest, still wasn't used to it. The concept that the Human race had now risen to become the foremost race among billions of species in the vast Myriad Races Continent was something he was still struggling to process.
The gap between first place and second place was astronomical—an insurmountable chasm. This, of course, explained why an unending stream of races came flocking to pledge allegiance to the Human race.
Standing inside Winterhold Castle, staring at the dense, bustling masses of every kind of race—beastfolk, elves, dwarves, gnomes, aquatic folk, and species he couldn't even name—the Human Emperor felt his mind go blank. He was utterly stupefied.
He had, of course, been forewarned. Daniel had already told him in advance that he intended to resurrect all the dead races.
But even knowing this, the Human Emperor had never expected that Daniel would truly achieve it—and that he would revive them all, without exception!
He had initially assumed that Daniel's "resurrection" would be limited to a few particularly important individuals—legendary warriors or peak experts of the various clans. Back then, he had taken the statement lightly and had not been particularly shocked.
Yet now...
He realized he had been completely, utterly wrong.
From the moment Daniel had uttered those words to the present, barely two hours had passed.
And in those two hours, he had done the impossible.
How... how had this kid managed to pull this off? The Human Emperor felt as though his worldview had been shattered into pieces. It was absurd—outrageously, unbelievably absurd!
Meanwhile, across the Myriad Races Continent, outside thousands of resurrection points, many newly revived races were already volunteering to help hunt down the Frantic Ones—those creatures that had succumbed to madness.
Their reasoning was very simple: revenge.
Many of them had been killed by these very Frantic Ones during the apocalyptic chaos.
Now, at long last, a chance for vengeance had arrived. There was no way they would let it slip by!
As a result, the number of Frantic Ones still roaming near the resurrection points was dwindling rapidly.
The moment a Frantic One's silhouette appeared, it would be met with a deluge of attacks—magic, skills, elemental blasts, arrows—until nothing was left but dust.
Even if they were slain and their souls dispersed, they could not escape their fate.
For those who had fallen into madness, Daniel had already arranged for enforcers in the City of the Undead to capture their wandering souls.
The only thing that awaited them was endless darkness and torment.
Resurrection? Don't even think about it.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, the sky erupted with a deafening explosion.
Countless awakeners, startled, tilted their heads back instinctively, and they all saw it:
A gigantic fireball blooming in the heavens.
The residual shockwaves rolled across the world, stirring the clouds, and even the ground itself trembled faintly under the impact.
The gnomes, in particular, were terrified. Their bloodline remembered this fear all too well. They collapsed into crouching positions, covering their heads and shivering uncontrollably.
The terror of the Primordial Core Weapon... it had already been carved into their very souls.
At this moment, Pixis, one of the gnome leaders, spoke up to calm his people:
"Don't panic! There is no danger to us. The weapon you are witnessing—this destructive force that once annihilated our gnome civilization—is called the Primordial Core Weapon. But now, it has been seized and mastered by Daniel.
"He must be using it right now to repel the Angels."
Pixis shared everything he knew, successfully soothing the frightened hearts of his kin.
Yet, deep down, even he didn't know how many Primordial Core Weapons Daniel actually had.
Why... why did it feel like he would never run out?
The gnome chieftain, who had been paralyzed by terror moments ago, finally recovered enough to speak.
"So... the Primordial Core Weapon is now under Human control? Good... good. That puts my heart at ease."
He then took up a quill pen, leaned over the vassalage contract laid out before him, and signed his name with a firm stroke.
The moment his signature was complete, the gnome race officially became a vassal of the Human race.
Just then, a sudden cry rose from among the gnomes:
"Look! The Angels are retreating!"
Sure enough, in the skies above, a massive flock of lesser Angels of Gold and Silver was orderly withdrawing, flying toward their divine realm.
Only a few remained behind, hovering silently in the firmament.
The Human Emperor, watching this scene, couldn't quite figure out what the Angels of Gold and Silver were doing.
But he was absolutely certain of one thing:
Whatever they were up to, it definitely had something to do with Daniel.
"Daniel, that brat... you never cease to amaze me..."
The Human Emperor was just about to sigh aloud when, as if on cue, Daniel's figure materialized right in front of him.
The sudden appearance left the Human Emperor momentarily awkward.
"Ahem... uh... so... you came looking for me. I assume there's something you need?"
Daniel nodded lightly. Without ceremony, he reached into his spatial backpack and produced a list.
"Actually, yes. I do have a matter that requires your assistance. I need your help selecting certain races for me."
He handed the list over as he spoke. The Human Emperor, glancing down, instinctively scanned it and saw that it was filled with the names of rare materials.
By now, he was well-practiced in Daniel's requests. He knew exactly what this meant:
Whenever Daniel handed him a list, it always involved exotic, valuable materials—and sometimes, entire races whose abilities or resources were related to those materials.
"If you discover any races connected to these materials, make sure to inform me immediately," Daniel instructed.
"Oh, and there's one more thing," he added after a pause. "There's a race called the Fire Lotus Clan. I want you to grant them some special privileges if the opportunity arises."
The Human Emperor nodded and tucked the list away carefully.
To be honest, most of the materials on that list were things he had never even heard of.
Still, he agreed without hesitation.
Because at this point, Daniel wasn't just the hope of the Human race—he was the hope of all the billions of races.
"No problem," the Human Emperor said solemnly. "Leave this matter to me."
Then, as if a question had been burning in his chest, he blurted out:
"But tell me... those stellar bodies that suddenly appeared in the sky—what exactly are they?"
Daniel's gaze instinctively lifted to the heavens.
There, far above, the giant stellar entities were still locked in fierce combat with the Angels of Gold and Silver.
"They're not a big deal," Daniel said lightly. "I merely made... a certain deal with them."
In truth, those stellar lifeforms weren't overwhelmingly strong.
They couldn't even compare to the Moon, let alone the Sun, Apollo, or the terrifying Dark Star, Jarvan.
From Daniel's perspective, their strength was roughly equivalent to Level 300 combatants.
Decent, but not game-changing.
"Don't worry," he assured. "These stellar beings won't pose any threat to us."
After saying that, he tilted his head up again toward the colossal portal hanging in the sky.
According to the intelligence he had received from Charles, all of this was the handiwork of the Luck Goddess.
Even after his departure, she had kept her promise.
She was, without question, a god who honored her word.
As for the Goddess of Gold & Silver, Aurelia...
Ever since the day he stole her Revelation, their relationship had been fated for irreconcilable hostility.
Yet deep within his heart, Daniel had a vague, uneasy premonition:
Things were far more complicated than they appeared on the surface.
"Daniel," the Human Emperor asked gravely, "what are you planning to do next?
"The Angels of Gold and Silver seem to have retreated into their divine realm, but now that the realm is connected to our space, it means they can descend at any time."
Daniel's expression turned serious.
The Angels of Gold and Silver living just next door in their divine domain...
Yes, this would indeed be a troublesome problem.
Chapter263-Daniel's Decision
Daniel furrowed his brows, lost in deep thought for a long moment.
Then, raising his head to look at the Human Emperor standing before him, he spoke in a serious, unwavering tone:
"These Angels of Gold and Silver do not actually intend to retreat completely. They merely witnessed the destructive power of the Primordial Core Weapon, and so they decided to pull back some of their weaker angels first.
"After all, they also don't want to increase their own casualties unnecessarily."
Daniel then lifted a finger toward the sky.
"The angels that are still hovering above us now... are the elites of their race, the ones who truly matter.
"And because of the laws of this world, the stronger the entity, the greater the restrictions it faces when attempting to descend onto the mortal plane.
"But make no mistake: once they are properly prepared, these angels can and will descend to the ground in their true forms."
Hearing this explanation, the Human Emperor's expression immediately grew grave.
"If those remaining Angels of Gold and Silver are truly the high-level elites of their kind, then I fear we cannot handle them.
"Any existence above Level 250 is already difficult for any single race to face. Even uniting our entire world might not be enough."
The Human Emperor's concern was justified.
Right now, across all the myriad races, even the strongest peak experts barely reached Level 250.
Even with the immense buffs and amplifications provided by the Infinite Divine Temple, none of them could hope to contend with enemies around Level 300.
He knew clearly that if angels above Level 300 were to descend, the only beings capable of fighting them would be:
God's Devotees,New Life (the mysterious lifeform allied with Daniel),and the sovereigns of the various races.
As for the vast majority of awakeners?
If they joined such a battle, they would simply be throwing their lives away.
And if, by some cruel twist of fate, angels of Level 350 or higher were to descend...
Then the battlefield would be narrowed down to Daniel and New Life alone.
Even if the emperors and sovereigns of all races joined the fray, at best they would achieve mutual destruction, trading one life for one life.
For the majority of them, that would already be the upper limit of what they could achieve.
And yet... even if Daniel was incredibly strong, even if he could create countless miracles, he alone could not possibly kill billions upon billions of Angels of Gold and Silver.
The most terrifying part was this:
The lowest level among Angels of Gold and Silver was Level 200.Their numbers were astronomical, reaching into the hundreds of billions.And among them, it was almost certain that Level 400+ entities existed, perhaps even Level 500 apex monsters.
Daniel rubbed his temples, trying to process the numbers.
According to his calculations—even using the most conservative estimate—there were likely several thousand billion angels above Level 350.
And that was not even counting the Level 400 and 500 juggernauts among them.
Even with his current abilities, even if he used his avatar, he could not possibly annihilate them all.
If he wanted any chance of success, he would have to deploy a massive number of Spirits of Skills to augment his combat potential.
Finally, he exhaled slowly and spoke in a tone that allowed no doubt:
"There is no path left for us but to fight our way in."
The Human Emperor blinked, thinking he had misheard.
"Wait... what did you just say? Fight our way in?
"Our awakeners... they don't have that kind of strength!"
Daniel's plan was so audacious that the Human Emperor felt a chill down his spine.
He knew better than anyone how dire the situation was:
Even if the Human race, combined with all the awakened champions of the myriad races, gathered every ounce of power they possessed, they could barely scratch the Angels of Gold and Silver.
To counterattack into their Divine Realm—into the very heart of their home turf—was an almost suicidal endeavor.
After all, the current elite awakeners were already struggling just to fend off the weak angels that descended onto the mortal world.
If they entered the Divine Realm, where the angels had home advantage and unrestricted power, how could they possibly fight?
Daniel, however, merely nodded calmly, as though he had anticipated this objection.
"You don't need to send an army.
"All I need is for you to hold the line here on the ground.
"As for the offensive... I alone will be enough."
The Human Emperor froze. His face reflected pure shock and disbelief.
"Wait... what are you saying?
"You're going to go in alone?"
He immediately shook his head, his voice rising in alarm:
"No. Absolutely not!
"Daniel, I cannot allow this.
"You know as well as I do how terrifying the Angels of Gold and Silver are.
"If you enter their Divine Realm, that place is beyond dangerous—it's practically a death trap.
"I admit your power is extraordinary, but you still need time to grow.
"At the very least, you should complete your Star Upgrade Quest and reach Level 200 first. Only then would I feel more at ease."
The Human Emperor knew Daniel's current level: Level 100.
Yes, he had completed his Star Upgrade Quest, which meant his path to Level 200 was straightforward.
In fact, the Human Emperor had already resolved that once Daniel reached Level 200, he would abdicate the Human Emperor's throne to him without hesitation.
But for now...
He could not in good conscience let Daniel face Level 500 angels with only Level 100 strength.
Even if Daniel was a once-in-an-era prodigy, challenging a 500-level angel at his current stage was reckless in the extreme.
"Daniel, please...
"You must realize that the entire world now rests upon your shoulders.
"If anything were to happen to you, all hope would be lost."
Daniel looked at the Emperor, and for the first time in this conversation, he smiled helplessly.
"To tell you the truth... the reason I want to enter the Divine Realm is precisely to complete my Star Upgrade Quest.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
"I won't be gone for long. When we meet again, you can officially pass the Human Emperor's title to me without hesitation."
And with that, Daniel's body flickered and vanished, leaving only ripples of spatial energy in the air.
The Human Emperor stood in silence, staring at the spot where Daniel had been.
Finally, he whispered softly, almost like a prayer:
"I believe in you... but please, Daniel, stay alive."
Meanwhile, in the castle of the Blood Clan,
Charlotte had just completed her own Star Upgrade Quest, and her power had risen dramatically once more.
With this increase in strength, Daniel had also gained access to two of her innate skills:
[Fusion Summon]
Effect: You can merge your summoned creatures into a single entity. The fused summon will inherit all of their attributes, tripled (x3 attribute values).
[Split Summon]
Effect: You can divide your summon into 10,000 separate copies, each possessing 1% of the original's attribute values.
Friendly reminder: Fusion Summon and Split Summon cannot be used simultaneously.
As more and more resurrected individuals returned to the world,
the number of SSS-ranked awakeners began to increase as well.
Daniel was already considering that in the near future, he might even select a new Devotee to expand his power.
After closing Charlotte's skill window, Daniel opened his Quest List, and his gaze fell on the Tier-3 segment of his Star Upgrade Quest.
[Quest 1]: Obtain a God Rank Skill ranked within the top 50. (Completed)
[Quest 2]: Slay the sovereign of a high-ranking race.
His target for the second quest was clear:
The sovereign of the Angels of Gold and Silver.
Daniel had been stuck on Tier-3 of his Star Upgrade Quest for a long time.
Now, finally, the time had come to finish it once and for all.
He lifted his head to the sky.
Within the Divine Realm, countless angels had already gathered.
Even though Vinicius had been slain, his soul had returned to the Divine Realm, ready to be reborn.
Daniel couldn't help but acknowledge:
The Angels of Gold and Silver truly deserved their title as a high-ranking race.
Their strength was astonishing.
Chapter264-Aurelia's Barrier
In truth, Daniel had long since gathered extensive intelligence on the Angels of Gold and Silver through the Eye of Insight.
One of the primary reasons for the millennial Apocalypse was the chaos within the world's natural laws. The Angels of Gold and Silver only managed to descend upon the surface because they exploited this very chaos.
However, taking advantage of the gaps in the world's rules was far from a simple feat.
For lower-level Angels of Gold and Silver, the effects of this descent were negligible. But the stronger their power and the higher their rank, the greater the restrictions placed upon them.
This was why those high-ranking angels rarely descended to the ground. When they did, it required an immense investment of time and effort.
Yet the truly troublesome part lay elsewhere.
The angels were like creatures of the Abyss—they could never be completely eradicated. For every one that fell, a New Life would inevitably arise. Their numbers were endless.
But compared to Abyssal creatures, angels were far more terrifying.
Under normal circumstances, an Abyssal creature that died would reincarnate as an entirely new being, unrelated to its former self. The new entity would carry no memory, no experience—only a continuation of its kind.
The Angels of Gold and Silver, however, were fundamentally different.
Even upon resurrection, they retained all of their previous memories and combat experience, and their level almost never decreased.
At most, they might lose a few pieces of equipment or items during the process.
This was why, for the vast majority of Angels of Gold and Silver, their primary focus was on increasing their skill damage output. Their very existence as infinitely revivable enemies made them the most troublesome foes imaginable.
To truly deal with an enemy like this, one had to sever their resurrection authority completely.
Through the Eye of Insight, Daniel had already discovered the secret behind their revival.
Deep within the Divine Realm, there existed a sacred temple belonging to Aurelia, Goddess of Gold and Silver. At the heart of this Divine Temple stretched an enormous Sea of Divine Water, spanning tens of millions of square kilometers.
Only by destroying the Sea of Divine Water could the endless revival of the Angels of Gold and Silver be permanently cut off.
The Sea of Divine Water granted them infinite resurrection, but it also carried a hidden side effect: each revival lowered their level cap by one.
However, in the face of immortality, this drawback was almost meaningless.
It reduced only the maximum potential level, not the current level itself.
To illustrate, if an Angel of Gold and Silver was at level 500, no matter how many times it resurrected, its level would remain the same.
The only real change would be the slight decrease in its level ceiling—which meant nothing to a being that had already reached the pinnacle of 500.
Unless, one day, the Angel of Gold and Silver race ascended to become a godly race, expanding their level limits. Only then would the cumulative penalty finally manifest.
But such a development was an astronomically small probability, practically negligible.
For the overwhelming majority of their kind, simply reaching their current level cap was already an arduous feat—let alone unlocking new tiers of power.
Therefore, in practical terms, the "drawback" of their resurrection was of no consequence at all.
Daniel pondered this as he activated Flashback, instantly relocating himself to the periphery of the Divine Realm.
His ability to appear here in an instant was thanks to his previous explorations of the sky.
Back then, it had taken him a long flight to even approach the Divine Realm.
It was also because of this mastery over spatial movement that Daniel had been able to assassinate Vinicius so cleanly—arriving instantly with Flashback.
Just moments ago, he had fired the Primordial Core Weapon, obliterating Vinicius and several powerful angels in his vicinity.
Their revival would require some time yet.
The vast Divine Realm exuded an aura of sanctity in every direction.
The architecture of the Angels of Gold and Silver carried a beauty uniquely their own. It was immediately clear that this was the dwelling place of their race.
As Daniel advanced cautiously, a golden barrier suddenly manifested in his path.
It was precisely this barrier that prevented him from penetrating deeper into the inner sanctum.
Daniel did not hesitate. He immediately pulled out another Primordial Core Weapon.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted, sending ripples across the golden barrier.
Yet when the blast dissipated, the barrier's surface returned to its tranquil state, as though nothing had happened.
"Even the Primordial Core Weapon can't break through?"
Instinctively, Daniel invoked the Eye of Insight, focusing on the golden barrier before him.
[Gold-Silver Guardian]
Description: A protective ward empowered by Aurelia, Goddess of Gold and Silver.
Daniel's gaze shifted to the Primordial Core Weapon's description—its attack power was said to equal a god-tier enhanced strike.
The golden barrier before him was indeed created by Aurelia herself. If that were the case, it was plausible that even the Primordial Core Weapon might fail to breach it.
After all, this was a divine barrier; it was not meant to be broken by a single ordinary attack.
Since brute force wouldn't work, Daniel needed a different approach.
He activated the Gift of the Veiled Goddess!
His figure shimmered and transformed, gradually assuming the form of an angel.
More specifically, he transformed into the very angel who had just perished under the Primordial Core Weapon—Vinicius.
Once his appearance perfectly mirrored Vinicius, Daniel stepped forward—and passed effortlessly through the golden barrier.
...
Meanwhile, on the ground, countless mortals gazed up at the heavens, their faces filled with confusion.
"Why aren't those damned angels descending anymore?"
"What are we supposed to do next?"
As discussions rippled through the crowds, a sudden thunderous explosion resounded from the sky!
A stellar entity slammed into the golden barrier surrounding the Divine Realm—but to no effect.
Inside the barrier, the Angels of Gold and Silver watched the futile attack with expressionless faces, a subtle mockery glinting in their eyes.
At that moment, a white stellar noticed the angels inside the Divine Realm.
"Wait a second! Didn't I just blow that guy to pieces? Why is he standing there again?"
"Wasn't he completely obliterated?"
The angel, or rather, Daniel in Vinicius's form, seemed to notice the white stellar staring at him. A faintly mocking smile spread across his face, and he raised a hand—extending his middle finger in greeting.
Though the stellars had drifted in the sky for countless ages, their 4,000 years of freedom had taught them the cultures of myriad races.
And among all cultures, the middle finger had become the most universally understood gesture.
The white stellar, though handless, fully understood its meaning.
Its incandescent body flared with rage, and it hurled itself against the golden barrier in a reckless assault.
Even as its form cracked and crumbled, the golden barrier remained completely unshaken.
"Those damn Angels of Gold and Silver! They're infuriating!"
The current situation was clear: the Angels of Gold and Silver had fully withdrawn into the Divine Realm, ignoring the affairs of the outside world.
They were waiting.
Waiting for their strongest to descend, and waiting for their greatest reinforcement—
The Sun, Apollo, was about to rise.
Chapter265-Entering the Divine Realm
Once the sun rose, the entire situation would change dramatically.
When that moment arrived, all the Angels of Gold and Silver would be able to descend upon the land in full force, manifesting in their most dominant form to purify the continent.
And the ones marked for the first wave of purification were, of course, the lowly crawling creatures—especially the human race.
Yet at this very moment, some of the angels stationed as observers of the surface noticed something unusual.
"These creatures on the ground... they seem to have increased in number."
"Yes, it definitely wasn't like this before."
According to the Angels of Gold and Silver's observations, the myriad races of the world had originally inhabited only a very small fraction of the continent.
In fact, calling it a "drop in the ocean" would not have been an exaggeration.
The myriad races were pitifully few, and their strength was weak and fragile. When viewed in the context of the entire continent, living beings were scattered sparsely, barely even noticeable.
However, the current situation was clearly different.
There were far more creatures moving about the ground than before!
The angels soon noticed something truly alarming: areas of land that had previously been barren wastelands were now occupied by living beings.
"Wait, look over there! Isn't that the long-lost Fire Lotus Clan?"
"And over there—the Fishhead Tribe! That race was destroyed in our era. Why have they reappeared?"
The angels tasked with observing the land furrowed their brows in unison.
The world had undergone a drastic change, far beyond their original predictions.
Yet even as they took note of these anomalies, the Angels of Gold and Silver ultimately didn't place much importance on them.
After all, in their eyes, these were merely weak little insects. No matter how many of them there were, it didn't make any real difference.
To put it bluntly, for the low-tier races with level caps of merely 100, even the weakest novice angel could effortlessly annihilate their entire species.
Nevertheless, the observing angels maintained a certain degree of caution.
"Even if this doesn't seem too important, we still need to report it."
"Yes. Our plan cannot allow any errors."
"In that case, you should report to the Archangel immediately."
...
Soon after, the observation team reported the abnormal changes on the ground to their superiors.
They also mentioned witnessing the Primordial Core Weapon detonating against the golden barrier.
They had to admit, the sheer power of a god-tier standard attack was still terrifying.
Although the golden barrier withstood the Primordial Core Weapon, the sheer force of the blast had left the observing angels with lingering unease.
But once they confirmed that the barrier had successfully withstood the attack, their faces broke into smug smiles.
"I knew it! The protection granted to us by the great Aurelia, Goddess of Gold and Silver, could never be broken by any being."
When the residual shockwaves of the explosion dispersed, the angels resumed scanning the surroundings.
Yet they could no longer locate Daniel's presence.
"It seems he's finally given up."
"Yes, he must have retreated."
"I suppose he realized he's out of options. Under Aurelia's divine protection, any attack is meaningless."
"Our Angels of Gold and Silver are the invincible race!"
The angels were in their most self-satisfied moment when, the very next second, a blinding white light engulfed them!
Primordial Core Weapon X99!!
A chain of cataclysmic explosions tore through the Divine Realm's interior.
The Angels of Gold and Silver were struck dumb with shock.
Never in their wildest imagination did they expect a horrific assault like this to erupt inside the Divine Realm itself!
Elsewhere, Daniel's figure moved silently through the inner sanctum of the Divine Realm.
Around him, countless Spirits of Skills had already been summoned, flickering like spectral flames at his command.
The Divine Realm truly was a magnificent place—but its colors were far too monotonous.
Everything was gold and silver, a brilliance that radiated sanctity but gave Daniel nothing but discomfort.
Moreover, he quickly realized that the Primordial Core Weapon's power had been greatly reduced here.
This was, after all, the Angels of Gold and Silver's domain.
It was only natural that the Primordial Core Weapon would be suppressed.
Every race enjoyed a home-territory buff, and the angels were no exception.
As the echoes of the chained explosions faded, a four-winged angel appeared before Daniel.
The angel's body shimmered faintly with a halo of light.
Of course, this glow wasn't the blessing of Aurelia. It was merely a personal defensive shield.
"The Primordial Core Weapon truly is formidable," the angel remarked coldly.
"To think that you lowly crawling creatures were able to craft a weapon of this magnitude... I must admit, you have earned a sliver of pride."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than countless Angels of Gold and Silver surrounded Daniel in a tightening formation.
"Daniel, are you still so obstinately deluded?"
"Do you have any idea what kind of heinous sin you committed 4,000 years ago?"
Daniel swept his gaze across the encircling angels, his eyes gleaming with disdain.
"You feathered birds are always so fond of assigning guilt to others."
"Let me guess... this time, your descent to the mortal plane is to destroy us and take back the Revelation, isn't it?"
He looked directly at the archangel, his tone calm and steady.
In truth, Daniel had always wanted to know the real purpose behind this invasion.
After all, the grudge between the myriad races and Aurelia, Goddess of Gold and Silver, stemmed entirely from his actions.
What he could not discern was whether the enmity between himself and Aurelia was mere coincidence—or the inevitable pull of destiny.
If they were truly here just for vengeance, Daniel could admit that his actions had indeed provoked their wrath.
The Angels of Gold and Silver wanted to destroy the world because of him.
Yet even so, Daniel did not feel he had done anything wrong.
Obtaining the Revelation had always been to save the world from the coming cataclysm.
"You humans are not qualified to know the true purpose of our mission," the archangel replied coldly.
Daniel's eyes flickered with impatience.
"I will have an answer."
In that instant, a tremendous surge of mind power erupted from him.
Because of his mastery over the Mind Hunt skill, Daniel now had absolute control over his own mind power.
Even without actively invoking the skill, his spiritual pressure alone could affect all beings below the rank of gods.
The archangel froze, terrified by the overwhelming wave of psychic force.
In the pressure of Daniel's mind power, the archangel's senses distorted; in his eyes, Daniel had become a figure of absolute authority.
He could only tremble—and answer the question.
"To purify your kind is to pave the way for the coming of Our Lord."
"Our Lord will completely claim this world, remaking it into His perfect kingdom!!"
Chapter266-Abyssal Summonings
Upon hearing the archangel's response, Daniel instinctively furrowed his brow.
So, the Goddess of Gold & Silver Aurelia intended to descend upon the world not solely because of him.
He pondered this for a brief moment, then asked another question in a calm but probing tone:
"So, tell me—what use does Revelation hold for you angels?"
The archangel let out a disdainful chuckle, his expression carrying a trace of mockery.
"Revelation? That relic is a thing of the past. Neither the great gods nor we, the Angels of Gold and Silver, care about it anymore."
"Killing you is nothing more than pure revenge."
Hearing this, Daniel exhaled slowly and even relaxed enough to rub his chest.
"In that case, things become much simpler. I like your answer... it makes my conscience clear."
In truth, Daniel's thinking was straightforward.
No matter what the angels answered, it would not change what he intended to do next.
Even if guilt gnawed at his heart, he would press forward without hesitation.
But the reality was that the Angels of Gold and Silver would never allow him the luxury of guilt.
Their descent had nothing to do with Revelation.
They simply wished to claim this land as their own.
As flashes of radiant light streaked across the Divine Realm, more and more angels materialized around Daniel.
They hovered high above, their cold gazes locked upon him like countless spears poised to strike.
Daniel initially considered unleashing another Primordial Core Weapon, but his Eye of Insight revealed something new.
[Archangel]
Status: Has received a new blessing, granting immunity to all damage from the Primordial Core Weapon.
Blessing Source: Goddess of Gold & Silver Aurelia
Daniel's brow twitched. He extended his mind power in a sweeping wave, scanning the entire battlefield.
He quickly discovered that every angel present now carried the same blessing.
It was obvious—they were no longer afraid of the Primordial Core Weapon's destructive force.
"I see... so that's why you finally dared to appear in front of me."
One of the archangels sneered.
"Daniel, we do not know how you infiltrated the Divine Realm, but your trump card is now useless."
Daniel's expression remained tranquil. His body shimmered as he dismissed his disguise, returning to his true appearance.
Since they already recognized him, there was no longer any point in pretending to be Vinicius.
Besides, the real Vinicius was still in the process of resurrection, so the angels could easily detect that his previous form was a fake.
"Ah, so that's how it is."
His calm gaze swept over the sea of angels surrounding him.
There must have been hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions, encircling him in this radiant sky.
Could he destroy them alone?
The thought crossed Daniel's mind, and despite the danger, he felt a strange surge of excitement.
Meanwhile, the angels made the first move.
Blinding golden light burst around him, and waves of interwoven gold and silver flames spiraled down, sealing every path of escape.
Countless attacks rained from above, forming a downpour of divine radiance that converged on Daniel's position.
In the face of this apocalyptic assault, Daniel did not hesitate.
He activated [Sacrificial Summon].
In an instant, hundreds of thousands of abyssal creatures materialized before him.
As the abyssal monsters appeared, Daniel's body flickered and vanished, slipping out of the kill zone, narrowly evading the devastating bombardment.
But that was only the beginning.
The moment the abyssal creatures were annihilated, a giant sacrificial array ignited beneath their corpses.
Sacrificial Summon was not about mere summoning—it was about the first two words: Sacrificial.
When the summoned abyssal monsters were sacrificed, a second wave erupted.
From the glowing array emerged a number of Abyssal Summonings ten times greater than before.
And more terrifying still—their attributes were amplified tenfold.
In an instant, the space around Daniel was jammed full of bronze-rank Abyssal Summonings, their numbers overwhelming the eye.
But Daniel did not stop there.
[Fusion Summon]!
Millions of abyssal creatures began to merge, flesh and essence fusing into a single titanic form.
When the fusion completed, Daniel's eyes widened in momentary astonishment.
The resulting creature bore a striking resemblance to Malkar, Emperor of the Abyss, though this was merely a visual echo.
The strength of this summoning, however, far surpassed anything Malkar could hope to imitate.
The new Abyssal Summoning had reached platinum-rank.
And still, Daniel's ambition did not waver.
Without even pausing, he sacrificed the platinum-rank summoning.
From the ritual emerged an even more terrifying entity—a diamond-rank abyssal monster.
A faint smile of satisfaction finally graced Daniel's lips.
He did not waste time. He immediately activated Split Summon, a skill he had only recently mastered.
Normally, Split Summon would create 100,000 copies of a summoning at 1% of the original's stats.
But because Daniel had achieved full enhancements, the skill was perfected—
It now produced 100,000 copies, each with 100% of the original stats.
What did this mean?
It meant that in the span of a few heartbeats, 100,000 diamond-rank Abyssal Summonings filled the skies around him.
The surrounding angels froze in stunned silence.
They had never imagined that the man who had stood alone moments ago could summon an army of 100,000 monstrous allies in the blink of an eye.
And these were not ordinary creatures—every single one radiated a terrifying aura.
A diamond-rank summoning was formidable enough that even the Angels of Gold and Silver dreaded it.
Under normal circumstances, defeating one would require a high-ranking angel squad, and casualties were almost guaranteed.
But now...
There were 100,000 of them.
And their stats had been enhanced beyond measure, with numerous buffs amplifying their destructive potential.
To put it bluntly, each of these diamond-rank Abyssal Summonings could fight on par with a level 400 angel—
And level 400 angels were considered high-ranking elites.
Yet Daniel still wasn't finished.
To rapidly escalate his side's power, he summoned all of his clones, commanding each one to replicate his summoning method.
Moments later, the skies were no longer home to 100,000 diamond-rank monsters—
But millions, tens of millions, and soon hundreds of millions.
In a matter of seconds, the battlefield had transformed completely.
The once-holy Divine Realm was now a writhing, suffocating expanse of abyssal corruption.
The Abyssal Summonings, driven by instinctive hatred of these pure and radiant beings, surged toward the angels like a black tide.
Their first targets were any angels below level 300—
And those angels were instantly obliterated, leaving nothing but drifting feathers and fading light in their wake.
Chapter267-Angel Treasury
In the myriad races continent,
countless living beings raised their heads and stared up at the sky.
"What in the world is going on?"
"Why are there dark blotches appearing in the Divine Realm?"
The originally pure and immaculate Divine Realm now looked tainted, as though it had been contaminated.
"Is the Divine Realm malfunctioning somehow?"
Just then, a universal announcement appeared before the eyes of every single individual across the myriad races.
[Human Emperor Announcement: The great emperor of all races, Daniel, has now broken into the Divine Realm, single-handedly resisting the thousand-year Apocalypse.]
[At present, our strength is far too lacking, so all individuals are urged to rapidly increase their power.]
[In addition, the Cyclops Tribe, Frost Giant Tribe... and all other races that have received the notice, report immediately to the northern border of the Human Empire.]
Upon seeing the Human Emperor's declaration, another massive wave of discussion broke out on the communication network of the myriad races.
"Whoa, as expected of the great Lord Daniel! He charged in all by himself?"
"Solo infiltration? That's way too badass!"
"I knew it! Lord Daniel usually stays quiet, but when he does make a move, it's bound to shake the world! Just watch—this time, the Angel of Gold and Silver will definitely suffer devastating losses!"
"But aren't the Angel of Gold and Silver known to be ridiculously powerful? Can Lord Daniel really handle them on his own?"
"I have a bad feeling about this... It sounds way too dangerous this time."
Indeed, many of the awakeners were expressing concern over Daniel's operation. After all, the strength displayed by the Angel of Gold and Silver had left a deep impression on them during the recent battle.
The abilities those angels showcased had far exceeded the expectations of all races. Even certain stellar-level beings had been easily overwhelmed.
What made matters worse was that no one knew the full extent of the Angel of Gold and Silver's power. How many elite angels were hidden within their ranks? How many archangels?
"Damn it! Why is it that every single time an Apocalypse arises, it's always Lord Daniel holding the line for all of us? When will we finally be able to fight alongside him?"
"To hell with it! Even if it costs me my life, I'm going to boost my strength as fast as I possibly can!"
"Exactly! Only with power can we stand shoulder to shoulder with Lord Daniel!"
...
Inside the Divine Realm—
while Daniel's summoned army was nearing its operational limits, he had his clone and the Spirit of Skills unleash the spell [Meteor Arrow Rain] simultaneously.
In an instant, a barrage of flaming meteors rained down from the skies.
The weaker angels were instantly pierced through, their celestial bodies torn apart.
The battlefield plunged into utter chaos, both sides locked in a desperate melee.
Yet, amidst the fierce slaughter, Daniel's true body remained calm. He did not engage the enemy directly. Instead, he quietly extended his mind power to sense the surrounding environment.
He had stirred up such a commotion—
So why had the Angel Emperor still not shown up?
Why was he only being surrounded by a bunch of level-200 cannon fodder?
At that moment, Shulin casually dug out the heart of an Angel of Gold and Silver from a corpse.
It was a [Heart of Angel]—a crucial material for synthesizing a God Rank Skill.
Unfortunately, this particular heart was of inferior quality, unfit for synthesis.
With that in mind, Daniel shifted his attention toward a nearby archangel.
And just as his gaze locked onto the target, a horde of diamond-rank abyssal summoned creatures surged forth, launching a coordinated assault against the archangel.
Even for a figure as powerful as an archangel, it was impossible to withstand the onslaught of so many diamond-ranked monsters.
Within a few breaths, the archangel was shredded into pieces, and Daniel's hand now held a gleaming, golden angel heart.
[Golden Angel Heart]
[Description: A heart brimming with divine might. An extremely rare and precious material.]
Reading the item's description, Daniel nodded ever so slightly.
As expected, the golden angel heart was indeed exceedingly rare.
To obtain it, one had to slay an archangel or higher-tier celestial.
And to synthesize a God Rank Skill, he would need at least 500 of them.
The moment that thought settled in his mind, Daniel made his decision.
No matter what it took, he was going to collect five hundred golden angel hearts.
But the angels currently surrounding him were mere rookies—completely beneath his notice.
"If that's the case, then I'll just have to go on the offensive."
Daniel spoke softly, his body transforming as he finished speaking.
This time, he took on the appearance of an archangel and flew in the direction of the angelic dwellings—the residential district of the Angel of Gold and Silver.
Meanwhile, across the sky, angels continued to fall en masse.
But the man who had initiated the war, Daniel, was now leisurely strolling inside the Angel Treasury.
Because he had assumed the form of an archangel, the angelic security system didn't register him as a threat.
Which meant—he had free reign to plunder the vaults of the Angel of Gold and Silver.
And as he laid eyes on the astonishing materials stored inside, even Daniel couldn't help but marvel aloud.
"Truly worthy of being a high-ranking race... Their treasury is loaded with treasures."
"Rare gear, exclusive items—I won't even bother mentioning those. What really stands out is the sheer number of exotic crafting materials in here!"
Then Daniel discovered something particularly intriguing—a separate storage room dedicated solely to skill books.
This was the Angel Tribe's very own skill book archive.
Though there were no God Rank Skills within,
every book here, without exception, was of SSS-tier.
What did this mean?
It meant that Daniel could loot every one of their skill passives, their trait entries, their power-enhancing prefixes!
Even if he didn't yet know what skills were contained within these books,
the sheer rank alone was proof enough that they were all valuable assets.
Without hesitation, Daniel activated [Forceful Convergence] and swept the entire collection of skill books into his backpack storage.
At the same time, one of his clones activated [Flashback] and reappeared at the northern frontier of the Human Empire.
Daniel's logic was simple—
Although he personally had no use for most of the items and equipment he found,
for the awakeners of the human race, these treasures would be invaluable.
And since he was already here,
he might as well do a full sweep of the Angel of Gold and Silver's treasury.
"I borrowed a few items from the Angel of Gold and Silver. Use them as you see fit."
As this mind power message spread out, Daniel's clone opened his backpack and dumped all the equipment and relics he had taken from the treasury across the northern lands.
He was looting with one hand and redistributing with the other.
At this point, Daniel had essentially turned himself into a magical logistics hub.
The awakeners stationed in the northern region could only gape in stunned disbelief as they watched the cascade of treasure falling from the heavens.
Hold up—was Lord Daniel really treating top-tier loot like this??
My god... That's a level 300 orange-grade item with a unique trait!
If someone gave that to me, I'd preserve it in a shrine and pass it down to my grandchildren!
You bumpkins, open your eyes!
Can't you see? It's raining orange-tier gear from the sky!
Chapter268-Daniel Is Not Dead
In just a matter of seconds,
Daniel had completely looted the entirety of the Angel Tribe's treasure vault.
All the tools and materials that were useful to him were stored away,
and everything else—without exception—was scattered across the northern frontier of the Human Empire.
This act caused a frenzy among the awakeners stationed there.
One by one, their eyes turned red with envy and excitement.
These were top-tier pieces of equipment that they usually couldn't even lay eyes on,
and now, they were falling from the sky like rain.
The most unbelievable part?
They didn't even need to fight for it.
All they had to do was stretch out their hands, and equipment would fly directly into their grasp.
Or more accurately—
they didn't need to move at all.
Just standing still would result in high-grade gear drifting into their possession.
And all of this gear was at least of orange-tier quality.
While the equipment's levels were extremely high—
far beyond what most present awakeners could use directly—
was that really an issue?
Not at all.
Thanks to research left behind by the extinct Artist race,
scholars of the myriad races had discovered a method to override equipment level restrictions.
This method involved sealing certain stats,
and although it diminished the gear's power to some extent,
the special effects remained fully functional.
This was crucial because any piece of gear at purple-tier or above had a chance of carrying special effect attributes—
known as "affix lines."
These affixes varied in effect, but most were extremely useful.
In short—
the awakeners present could instantly power up simply by equipping these treasures.
As he watched the crowd burst into celebration,
Daniel only sighed helplessly and shook his head.
For someone like him, whose attribute values had already reached astronomical levels,
wearing even the finest gear wouldn't make much of a difference.
Even the best complete set bonuses would be no more than a mosquito bite of improvement.
This was precisely why Daniel had no interest in keeping the equipment for himself—
he'd rather let the awakeners of the human race benefit from them instead.
To those awakeners, however, Daniel's act was nothing short of selfless devotion.
It was as if he were pouring all his resources into their growth.
A sense of guilt swept over them.
Many of them lowered their heads in shame, deeply moved.
Lord Daniel had done so much for them—
bestowed upon them countless blessings—
yet they had given so little in return.
The rain of equipment he had just unleashed...
was no ordinary downpour.
There were billions of items falling from the sky.
While that number seemed overwhelming at first glance,
in the context of a world populated by billions of sentient races,
it was no more than a drop in the ocean.
Still, the silver lining was that most of the powerful awakeners could secure at least a few pieces for themselves.
Meanwhile, Daniel was far from finished.
He continued to fly toward another section of the angelic vaults.
Now that he had used the permissions of an archangel,
these vaults opened up without resistance before him.
Inside were vast stores of precious materials—
and Daniel collected them all with practiced ease, stuffing them into his spatial inventory.
It was then that a golden shard caught his eye.
"Soul Fragment of the Sun God Apollo."
Wait—what!?
This was no ordinary item.
Sun God Apollo was an overwhelmingly powerful being,
and his soul was nearly invincible.
Obtaining even a fragment of it was virtually impossible...
unless one killed him outright.
As fate would have it,
one of Daniel's God Rank Skills required such a solar fragment.
So this trip to the Angel Treasury had indeed paid off.
The rewards were greater than expected.
Having secured the materials he needed,
Daniel extended his mind power outward—
sensing the nearby battlefield.
On that battlefield,
despite having the advantage of terrain and origin,
the Angel Tribe was being absolutely crushed.
None of the angels currently present exceeded level 300.
Most hovered in the 200s.
Unfortunately for them,
that wasn't nearly enough.
The abyssal summoned creatures that Daniel had released were devastatingly strong.
These 200-level angels were no match and fell instantly upon contact.
Even the prestigious Angel of Gold and Silver race was no exception.
Low-tier angels were being slaughtered like cannon fodder,
erased in droves without the slightest resistance.
Daniel himself didn't bother to fight anymore.
He simply collected the corpses of several angels,
tossed them into his backpack space,
and vanished with a flash—
reappearing instantly over the northern frontier of the Human Empire.
In the blink of an eye,
his body appeared in midair above the north.
He then released all the angel corpses he had gathered,
letting them rain down from the heavens.
Angels—falling from the sky like a grotesque downpour.
This wasn't just a gesture.
It was a message.
A warning.
A declaration to the world:
The angels are not as invincible as you think.
Thousands upon thousands of angelic corpses were dumped from the sky.
Daniel, however, had already returned to the Divine Realm.
He approached one of the angelic teleportation gates.
Under normal circumstances,
lower-tier angels could only teleport when summoned by higher-ranking ones.
Without such summons,
they lacked even the qualifications to teleport.
So most angels relied on traditional teleportation portals for movement.
Although Daniel still wore the form of an archangel,
he deliberately chose to walk into one of these portals.
As for where he was going?
His eyes scanned the map.
Eventually, he locked his gaze on a single location: Dark Prison.
Daniel had not originally planned to head there.
But the moment he saw the name,
a strange urge tugged at his heart—
a strong, inexplicable compulsion to check it out.
It felt as though something within the Dark Prison was calling out to him.
Daniel had long learned to trust these instincts.
As his power increased,
he had noticed that his intuition had also grown sharper—almost prophetic.
Neither the Sea of Rebirth nor the Celestial Palace where the Angel Emperor resided
had given him this kind of pull.
But this Dark Prison?
It felt urgent—as if he had to go.
So, this time, Daniel decided to follow his intuition.
And let's not forget—
he had earlier used the four-leaf clover to increase his luck stat.
With such fortune on his side,
why not take a leap of faith?
And even if things went wrong—
he still had the Time Stream to fall back on.
That being the case,
Daniel had no fear.
The next moment—
his body pierced through countless layers of space...
...
Sea of Rebirth
A figure slowly emerged from the waters.
"Damn it! What's the deal with that Daniel? How the hell was he able to use the Primordial Core Weapon right in front of me!?"
Vinicius had been resurrected.
As he recalled the earlier confrontation,
he couldn't help but feel that Daniel was absolutely insane.
Was he not afraid of killing himself in the blast?
Or was it that he had intended to die together with me?
Vinicius couldn't wrap his head around it.
What was Daniel even thinking?
But before he could sort through the confusion,
a voice suddenly echoed beside him.
"You guessed wrong. Daniel... didn't die."
Chapter269-Dark Prison
"How is that even possible?"
Vinicius's face was filled with disbelief. No matter how he tried to reason it, he simply couldn't understand—
at such close range, how could Daniel possibly have survived the explosion from the Primordial Core Weapon?
However, the next scene unfolding before him left him utterly speechless.
Right before his eyes, a glowing light screen appeared, projecting a real-time view of the battlefield.
There, countless Abyssal Summoning creatures were slaughtering the low-level angels in a frenzied massacre!
These angels, after exhausting all their efforts just to take down a single Abyssal Summoning creature,
would find that within mere seconds, an even more powerful creature would respawn in the same spot.
Under such circumstances, the angels were utterly overwhelmed.
Their formations were crumbling, and they were being forced to retreat steadily—
backpedaling all the way to the outermost edge of their defensive perimeter.
Seeing this, Vinicius involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
He had never imagined the Abyssal Summoning creatures would be this terrifying.
"What are those things?"
"Where in the world did they come from?"
"Our Divine Realm is supposed to be a place of purity—how could it be polluted with such vile abominations!?"
"No! I can't just sit here—I'm going to take care of them right now!"
With that, Vinicius spread his wings, preparing to take off.
But at that moment, another figure blocked his path.
"Vinicius, calm yourself. You can't go there right now."
Hearing the command, Vinicius frowned immediately.
"Why not?"
As he raised his head to look at the one stopping him, he recognized the angel immediately—
a high-ranking angel, and his long-time rival.
"Vinicius, do you think I wouldn't love to see you rush off and get yourself killed?"
"But you need to understand—this is a direct order from His Majesty, the Celestial Sovereign.
Unless you think you're powerful enough to ignore even his commands?"
Vinicius stiffened.
He had never expected that the Sovereign himself would issue such a specific order.
"The Sovereign... does he have some kind of plan?"
"I don't know the full details," the other angel replied, "but the command was clear: Do not engage."
"Oh, and one more thing—those filthy, repugnant summoning creatures you were ranting about?
They were all summoned by Daniel."
That news made Vinicius's brows furrow even deeper.
"That's impossible. You're saying Daniel didn't die?"
"That's right. He's still alive—Daniel possesses a very strange spatial ability.
He can appear anywhere without any restrictions."
"Even the space angel, Mashala, couldn't figure out how Daniel is doing it."
"According to the divine revelation issued by Her Holiness, the Goddess of Gold & Silver Aurelia,
Daniel is now considered the greatest threat to our entire operation."
"Although he still seems weak in terms of raw power,
the Sovereign has warned us not to underestimate him."
"No matter what angle we look at it from,
Daniel is not someone we can afford to ignore."
Though Vinicius still harbored anger in his heart,
he gradually cooled down as he listened to the explanation.
"I apologize—I was too impulsive earlier.
From now on, I'll take Daniel seriously.
I'll treat him as the most formidable opponent I've ever faced."
"Besides that... has the Sovereign made any other arrangements?"
"In fact," the other angel replied with a calm nod,
"there's no longer a need for us to personally intervene."
As he spoke, he raised his hand—
and another glowing screen appeared before Vinicius.
"The Sovereign has decided... to invoke the power of the god itself—
and use it to completely annihilate Daniel."
Upon hearing this, Vinicius gasped again.
He had thought he already understood how seriously they regarded Daniel—
but clearly, he had underestimated their concern.
Even the Celestial Sovereign was taking Daniel more seriously than he had imagined—
to the point of calling upon the literal power of god to deal with him.
"Is it really... necessary to go that far?" Vinicius asked in a low voice.
"It absolutely is," the other angel replied without hesitation.
"We only get one chance to do this.
But the Sovereign believes—it's worth spending that chance on eliminating Daniel."
...
Dark Prison
Daniel, still bearing the appearance of an archangel, had arrived.
As he entered, a flurry of warning messages lit up before his eyes—
alerts from his [Mist] skill indicating that he was being scanned by powerful, unknown entities.
Something, or perhaps many things, were attempting to locate him.
Fortunately, the layers of dense mist he had summoned around himself rendered him nearly undetectable.
Even those powerful sensory attempts failed to identify him.
For now.
Still, Daniel felt a faint unease.
If he were to encounter an individual equipped with a God Rank Insight skill,
then the veil of mist might not be enough to protect him.
That would be a serious problem.
Fortunately, based on everything he had seen so far,
no member of the Angel of Gold and Silver had yet revealed such a skill.
And even if they had it, it wasn't the end of the world.
As long as the Goddess of Gold & Silver Aurelia herself didn't personally act—
no one else would likely be able to see through Daniel's true identity.
After all, Aurelia had tried to scan him four thousand years ago,
and she had gained absolutely nothing.
So Daniel's only real concern was if Aurelia were to appear here
and perform a scan using God-tier Insight.
That... would be very, very troublesome.
Shaking his head, Daniel dispelled the thought and focused on the present.
As soon as he stepped into the Dark Prison,
he immediately realized this was no ordinary location.
As the name implied, it was a prison—
but not just any prison.
This was a place where the Angel Tribe held their most dangerous captives.
Daniel was immediately struck by curiosity.
What kind of prisoners could possibly be locked up by a race as powerful as the Angel of Gold and Silver?
Then he saw them.
Rows upon rows of golden birdcages floated in the air, arranged in immaculate symmetry.
And within each cage... were beings of staggering variety.
Some were angels.
Others were clearly not.
Daniel's vision swept across the inscriptions glowing atop the cages:
[Fallen Angel, Lucifer]
[Dark Demon Dragon, Nidhogg]
[Pious Betrayer, Vini]
[Funeral Warden, Grave Soul]
...
Every one of the prisoners was above level 450!
And most astonishingly—
Daniel had never seen or even heard of any of these beings before.
But the surprises didn't stop there.
Each golden cage was labeled with the prisoner's origin—
names of places Daniel had never once come across:
"Dark Divine Realm"
"Fallen Dragon Domain"
"City of Chaos"
...
Reading these names, Daniel instinctively furrowed his brow.
None of this was familiar.
None of it existed in the history, maps, or legends of the myriad races.
From this, Daniel finally understood the truth:
His previous understanding of the world was far too narrow.
The Myriad Races Continent was only one tiny fragment of a much vaster realm.
There were many regions—perhaps even entire planes—that he had never encountered.
The world was far, far larger than he had ever imagined.
All he truly knew were:
The Myriad Races ContinentOden ContinentThe Primordial Plane, home of the stellar beingsThe Abyss, which could barely be classified as a dimensionThe Undead Lands, which were an entirely separate plane altogether
But even with all of that... it was still just the tip of the iceberg.
Looking out into the unknown, Daniel couldn't help but wonder:
What lies beyond the Endless Sea?
Chapter270-Warehouse No. 98
Daniel furrowed his brow slightly.
He could clearly feel it now—his understanding of this world was far from complete.
Not only did he know almost nothing about the god's dwelling place,
but this realization also implied that vast unexplored regions still awaited his discovery.
The unfamiliar beings before him had already opened his eyes to new possibilities.
But just then, one particular prisoner caught Daniel's attention.
Almost instinctively, he activated [Eye of Insight].
In the next instant, that prisoner's personal stats appeared before him:
[Milla the Lonely]
[Level: 500]
[Rank: Demigod]
[Description: Former third devotee of the Luck Goddess, currently undergoing the ascension ritual to Fake God.]
...
Daniel froze for a moment upon seeing this.
He never would have imagined that this old companion—
someone who had once fought side by side with him—
had ended up imprisoned by the Angel of Gold and Silver.
How had Milla been captured?
As the former devotee of the Luck Goddess, how could she possibly fall into enemy hands?
Daniel hesitated.
Should he attempt a rescue?
He knew he'd come to the Dark Prison purely based on intuition—
and perhaps, just perhaps, Milla had something to do with that instinctual pull.
It could very well be that Milla's presence was the subconscious trigger behind his decision to come here.
"Daniel! You're finally here!"
"I've been waiting for you for so long, you know?"
From within the golden birdcage, Milla waved enthusiastically at Daniel.
Even though he still wore the appearance of an archangel, she recognized him instantly.
Daniel wasn't surprised at all.
After all, the devotees of the Luck Goddess operated entirely based on intuition.
His Mist skill could block probing senses, but it couldn't prevent someone from making an accurate guess.
Like now—Daniel's disguise was flawless,
but Milla had just guessed randomly that it was him.
And guessed correctly.
What could he possibly do about that?
As soon as Milla called out to him, countless nearby angels turned their gazes toward Daniel.
The Dark Prison wasn't unguarded—
far from it.
It was crawling with patrolling angels, keeping watch over every corridor.
Clearly, escaping unnoticed at this point was out of the question.
Daniel sighed lightly.
Then, before any of the patrolling angels could react,
he vanished in a flash—reappearing right in front of Milla's cage.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"Cease immediately, or we will take action!"
The patrolling angels had already begun to surround him.
But Daniel snapped his fingers without a word—
activating [Time Stream].
In an instant, time rewound—taking him back to just after he had looted the treasury.
Without missing a beat, he used [Flashback] to return to Milla's location again.
But this time, the situation was very different.
Because he had now officially "arrived" here via teleportation,
the patrolling angels showed no surprise at all.
In their eyes, Daniel was the archangel—
and archangels had full clearance to move freely through restricted areas.
Surely, if the archangel had appeared here,
he must have been assigned a secret mission.
And only someone with such authority would be granted teleportation access within the Dark Prison.
This time, Milla merely offered him a gentle smile.
"Oh my, esteemed archangel," she said,
"weren't you scheduled to inspect Warehouse No. 98 today?
What brings you here to visit little old me?"
Daniel didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he used Eye of Insight to study the structure of Milla's cage.
The design was highly intricate, and its security was severe.
Unlocking the cage required the authorization of five archangels—
as well as a handwritten decree from the Emperor of Angels himself.
Clearly, a demigod-level prisoner like Milla
had to be secured in a truly impenetrable cell.
Hearing Milla's words, Daniel paused for a beat.
Her mention of "Warehouse No. 98" was clearly a hint.
As for where that was exactly?
Daniel combed through his mental map for a moment and realized:
Warehouse No. 98 was located in a rather unremarkable area.
"I see," he murmured under his breath.
The nearby patrolling angels had noticed the brief exchange between them,
but had yet to act.
After all, it was just a few words—hardly enough to warrant suspicion,
and certainly not enough to justify attacking an archangel.
Still, Daniel knew that his disguise wouldn't hold up for long.
The archangel he was impersonating had already been slain,
and word of that death was bound to spread soon.
But Daniel didn't care.
He immediately activated [Time Stream] once again,
returning to the moment just after he had raided the treasury.
This time, however, he didn't head to the Dark Prison—
he aimed directly for Warehouse No. 98.
Despite its name, Warehouse No. 98 wasn't merely a storage facility.
The area it occupied was enormous—large enough to be considered a city.
In fact, if you transplanted Warehouse No. 98 onto the Myriad Races Continent,
it would be the single largest urban area in the entire world.
But here in the Divine Realm,
this "city" was viewed more like a rural outpost.
It was a simple satellite town—built entirely to support the operations of Warehouse No. 98.
Upon arriving, Daniel immediately expanded his mind power,
covering the entire city with a sweep.
Within seconds, he locked onto the warehouse's precise location.
Then, stacking the effects of his mind power and Eye of Insight,
he began a deep scan.
Even though the warehouse had several powerful protective enchantments,
they were no match for Daniel's combined scanning power.
At that moment, something caught his attention.
A smile curled at the edge of his lips.
"Well, now... I didn't expect this."
Stored within Warehouse No. 98
were all the materials required to craft the [Universal Gauntlet].
The Universal Gauntlet's effect was simple and straightforward.
It wasn't even ranked particularly high on the God Rank Skill artifact list.
But its unique ability?
It could open any door.
Any.
The most critical piece for this gauntlet?
An invitation Daniel had already acquired long ago.
Now that he had both the invitation and the raw materials from Warehouse No. 98,
the Universal Gauntlet could finally be assembled.
But there was a problem.
Warehouse No. 98 wasn't unguarded—
it was defended by an extremely powerful force.
The defending force included over a hundred high-ranking angels—each a full-fledged archangel.
Every one of them was level 300 or above.
As for the lower-tier angels?
There were so many that they were practically uncountable.
But that wasn't all.
One of the Divine Realm's true Archangels was stationed here as well.
This was no ordinary defender.
Archangels were elite celestial warriors—each standing at a towering level 400.
Even Daniel wasn't entirely sure why such an overwhelming defense force was deployed here.
But he didn't need to know the reason.
Anyone could figure it out with just a bit of common sense:
This warehouse held something extremely important.
Why else would the Angel of Gold and Silver tribe deploy a force of this magnitude?
After a brief moment of consideration,
Daniel decided on his next move.
He changed his appearance once more.