Waldo felt a sense of luck. At the same time, he received a multitude of system notifications in his mind:

"[Survivor Waldo has left the underwater world and is now settling rewards.]"

"[Killed 78,000 regular giants, gaining 780,000 experience points and 7,800 evolution points!]"

"[Killed 14 Red Sun-class underwater giants, gaining 280,000 experience points and 14,000 evolution points.]"

"[Killed 5 demigods, gaining 500,000 experience points and 50,000 evolution points!]" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Seeing the system notifications and the rapidly increasing numbers on his personal attribute panel, Waldo couldn’t help but break into a smile. The system had indeed rewarded him.

Meanwhile, the people from Dawn City had been waiting inside the Dawn Ark, knowing that Waldo would return. Just at that moment, a thunderous roar filled the air, startling everyone. All eyes turned to the sky, where they saw a figure.

Amid the flashing thunderbolts that seemed to avoid the figure, a sense of awe emanated. To their astonishment, the person in the sky was none other than their Lord Waldo.

"It’s the Lord! The Lord has returned!"

"Haha, that’s great! The Lord has been in the sea for half a month, and we were really worried. Thankfully, he’s safely back!"

"I told you, the Lord couldn’t possibly be in trouble!"

"Having the Lord back is fantastic. There have been too many rumors and even some foolish provocations lately. With the Lord’s return, he can put everything in order. Let’s see who dares to speak out, and the first one to do so will be taken care of!"

The soldiers stationed in Dawn City, who had been guarding the area, displayed joyful expressions. They had been stationed there all this time, staying informed about the outside world.

For some reason, news of Waldo entering the underwater world had spread. As time passed and Waldo didn’t return, various rumors and speculations had emerged.

There were even rumors that Waldo had died in the underwater world. While they were angry, there was nothing they could do because Waldo hadn’t appeared for a long time, and they were genuinely worried.

Just two days ago, a city lord from another city had threatened that Waldo had died in the underwater world and even planned to instigate other city lords to attack Dawn City and occupy it.

Of course, these were just rumors, and the exact situation wasn’t clear yet. However, one thing was certain: the rumors were all about Waldo or Dawn City.

"Dawn City’s people are still stationed here?" Waldo was slightly taken aback.

Soon, he joined these people and questioned them about the situation. He also learned about recent rumors.

"All right, this is good!" Why didn’t Alanna and the others tell me about these things? Were they afraid I would worry?

Waldo hadn’t received this information from the two women. It seemed they didn’t tell him because they were concerned about his feelings, even though Dawn City might face a crisis soon.

Slowly, a sense of determination began to surge within him. No one knew he was back. To face the supreme deity and to prevent Alanna, Helen, and the others from worrying, he had turned off the live broadcast. "All right, you guys just wait!"

Then, Waldo inquired about which cities were causing trouble and decided he needed to pay them a visit. He wanted to issue warnings and let the whole world know that he was back.

However, before doing that, he decided to make a quick visit to Dawn City to confirm the authenticity of the information.

Waldo flew directly to Dawn City, his speed exceeding 600 kilometers per hour. He didn’t inform Alanna or Helen. On one hand, he didn’t want to alert too many people, and on the other hand, he wanted to give the two women a surprise.

These past few days, Alanna and Helen must have been exhausted, both worrying about his safety and dealing with the rising threats and unrest at different levels.

Thinking about those so-called city lords who, during his absence in the underwater world, had been scheming against Dawn City, ignited anger within Waldo. He thought, "Such people must be eliminated.

Whether it’s one or a group, not a single one should be spared. Also, my actions must be kept absolutely confidential.

How was my entry into the underwater world leaked? How do others know whether I’ve returned? It seems there are traitors in Dawn City.

There must be infiltrators among those who joined Dawn City later on! After all, with so many people, such situations can’t be avoided."

In fact, although the world held him in high regard and nearly every city submitted to him when he was present, not everyone was truly loyal to him.

Most people primarily feared his power and didn’t dare to oppose him openly. So when they heard of his disappearance, those who held grudges against him felt emboldened to challenge his rule.

"Very well, this is an opportunity. It won’t be long before the underwater world invades. I can use this chance to eliminate some of the disloyal factions, consolidate the world’s powers, and collectively confront the impending crisis," Waldo thought.

The main deity of the underwater world was expected to act soon and discover the passage between the surface and underwater worlds.

After all, being a deity, they possessed immense power and could command millions of giants throughout the world, including those who had undergone genetic modifications and were in hibernation.

With such numbers, finding the passage was not a difficult task. It could take a longer time, maybe a month or two, or as short as half a month.

When that happened, three main deities would lead millions or tens of millions of giant troops to invade the surface world, creating a catastrophe for all survivors. It should be noted that the giants were far more powerful as a collective force than the survivors.

The best way to deal with the crisis from the underwater world is for Waldo to take the lead in uniting all survivors and fostering unity. Removing those with ulterior motives is imperative; otherwise, things could get messy down the line.

Soon, Waldo arrived in Dawn City. He flew at a high altitude, and with heavy snowfall in the sky, visibility was quite low. As a result, nobody noticed his presence.

In the sky, Waldo took a look around. He saw Dawn City, vast and grand, extending as far as the eye could see.

The entire city was bustling with activity, with people bustling about, shoulder to shoulder. In the time he had been away on his journey to the underwater world, Dawn City had already welcomed over 100,000 survivors, and the total population now exceeded 300,000.

Compared to the initial few thousand residents, Dawn City had grown more than a hundredfold. However, perhaps due to the news of Waldo’s disappearance and the grim outlook, there was a sense of solemnity on people’s faces.

They had been hearing rumors recently, suggesting that Waldo had met an unfortunate end and couldn’t return. It was said that a massive army would soon besiege the city. These rumors left people uneasy.

"Very well! Now, Dawn City has become the largest city in the world! But that alone might not be enough. Dawn City will have to expand further to prepare for the impending invasion from the underwater world," Waldo thought.