"I know a way to get the full updates," Handsome Tree, Allstar’s disciple, said. He breathed heavily, his round body heaving. "You guys... can you not stand up here like normal people? Why do you have to summon me while standing on top of the defensive walls?"

"So, how do we get the full updates?" Caelus asked, ignoring the complaint.

"One way is through the Divine Trials," Handsome Tree said once he caught his breath. "The other way... well, you will find your answer at the Land of Magic."

"Most of the people there are mages. The Emperor himself possesses the prestigious Arch-Mage talent."

"How do I get to this Land of Magic?" Caelus’s eyes widened in surprise and excitement.

He wanted to acquire the Mage talent from Sebastian. Now he was learning there was an entire continent dedicated to magic? It was the perfect place to get more Hex Papers and spells.

"It is extremely far away. You will not be able to reach it through normal means. You would need the travel speed of a Gold rank just to cross such a massive distance."

Handsome Tree shook his head.

"They are also highly secluded people. Among the Endless Expanse kingdoms, they sit at the very top. But they do have the means to get you the remaining system updates related to your towns."

"Updates like this wall. It currently lacks a level-up function, doesn’t it?"

Caelus nodded.

"Nor is there a Resource-Based Simulator in this expanse yet," Handsome Tree continued. "With that simulator, you can take a blueprint, find the base materials, and mass-spawn the structures everywhere using your Resource Points. That is why they are very important."

"Is there no other way to get them?" Caelus asked.

"Yes. Random encounters. You could try your luck in the Land of Snow. It is close to the area where the Divine Regions were once located."

"What about the Chaos Awakening Stone? Can you get us that?" Caelus inquired.

"Probably not. Only my master can do that," Handsome Tree sighed. "I am not that powerful."

"But you can always try your luck in the Ancient Domains back in your real world. They are very good for finding such rare things."

Caelus nodded in agreement. That was his initial plan anyway.

"Do you need anything else?" Handsome Tree asked.

"No," Caelus shook his head.

Handsome Tree spoke a few more parting words before his figure vanished from the wall.

Just as quickly, a loud shout echoed from afar.

Caelus squinted his eyes. He saw a massive army of players marching toward his town. A quick glance at their system tags revealed exactly where they came from: Region Cluster 403.

"Player 555! We are here to take over your Region Cluster and eliminate you!"

Andrew, the man leading the entire army from 403, roared. His voice dripped with chilling killing intent.

"If you obediently transfer your Lordship to us, we will leave your corpses intact!"

The mob of players had come with a single purpose. Force Player 555 to surrender, or burn everything to the ground.

"Today is just the first day since the newbie phase ended. Do not make me kill you on day one," Andrew sneered.

"And who might you be?" Caelus asked calmly from atop the wall.

He looked down at Andrew and his army. A faint, dark miasma leaked from their bodies. He was very familiar with that aura. It was the exact same energy found when Null Players unleashed their power.

’They can’t all be Null Players, right?’ Caelus frowned.

It was no surprise that Null Players existed in the Origin Domain. They actively hunted down and killed normal players for the sake of their devilish rituals.

Andrew wore a cold, twisted grin.

’Player 555. He is the most sought-after being in the entire Null Organization. If I land the killing blow on him, my status will skyrocket. I will gain massive power from sacrificing him. He is one of the very few beings to initiate a quest from our System this early!’

Andrew’s goal was absolute elimination. He would not leave without Caelus’s head. By sacrificing countless innocent people in his own town, Andrew had managed to artificially inflate his stats, reaching a Bronze II Combat Score while only being Bronze I. He was overly confident in his combat prowess.

"Do not hesitate, Caelus."

Suddenly, glowing white feathers fell from the sky. Mia descended next to Caelus on the wall. A massive, holy Angel Fighting Spirit hovered behind her.

"They are Null Players," Mia confirmed coldly.

"I was right then," Caelus said, his eyes turning entirely void of emotion. "It is a good thing you arrived in time, Mia. I would have actually hesitated to wipe out a normal army."

Caelus then turned to Sylvia. She was staring down at the army with pure, unadulterated killing intent. She looked like she was one second away from tearing across the battlefield to slaughter them all.

Caelus fully expected this outcome. Threaten Sylvia with death, and she would act like nothing happened. Threaten Caelus, and she would immediately rush in for the kill.

She was fiercely protective of him.

"Leave them to me," Sylvia demanded.

Fwoosh!

Her Crimson Sovereign erupted and forcefully merged with her body. She flapped her massive vampiric wings and shot straight toward the army, fully unleashing her powers. Her Mythical Halo flared to life, casting a dark-golden glow over the battlefield.

"I will help too," Mia declared.

She merged with her Angel and tore through the sky, arriving directly in front of the enemy army alongside Sylvia.

Andrew looked at the two women with pure mockery.

"What a pity. You both are very pretty. But since you have decided to go against me, I have no choice but to sacrifice you beautiful ladies as well!"

Andrew’s expression twisted into a maniacal grin as dark purple fire ignited around his body.

"Huh? Hollow Flames?" Caelus was pleasantly surprised for a split second before he coldly snorted.

PROJECTION FRAME!

BOOM!

Caelus’s figure shattered the sound barrier. He tore through the sky and arrived right in the middle of the Null army, moving even faster than the girls.

INFERNO POINT!

"ARGGGH!"

The nearby Null Players immediately began to melt. Their agonizing screams echoed out into the void as the chaotic heat disintegrated their flesh.

All of this happened in less than a second. Andrew was still charging his Hollow Flames to crush Sylvia and Mia when his arrogant face suddenly twisted in pure terror.

SHADOW HAND!

A massive, golden-black hand erupted from Caelus’s shadow. It shot forward and steadily locked its massive fingers entirely around Andrew’s figure. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Andrew became pale with fright. He realized he could not move a single muscle.

Before he could even speak another word....

CRUNCH!

The shadow hand violently crushed him into paste.

Seeing this, Sylvia halted in the air and pouted. "I told you to leave them to me, right?"

"I had to take action. This guy had Hollow Flames," Caelus shook his head. "It is very hard to deal with."

As someone who actively used Hollow Flames, he understood just how corrosive and deadly they were. He could not risk Sylvia getting hit by them.

Ding!

[You have taken down the Region Lord of 403.]

Ding!

[Town Population: 141,023 -> 201,293]

It was initially 103,534 after he eliminated Sebastian. Then he merged with A2 and unified all of the Region 513 clusters, making it reach 141,023. Now, by absorbing 403, it had surged to 201,293.

In essence, there were not actually that many real players. Most of the non-players (NPCs) had defaulted to his town. This number was already incredibly high. And those who had decided to settle down in his town were currently safely undergoing their Ascension quests.

However, just as quickly, Caelus felt a massive disturbance coming from the opposite side of the region.

He looked over. It was another army. They were from Region Cluster 634.

Seeing this, Caelus just let out a tired sigh.

"Let’s get to work, Chaos Drakes."

ROOOOAR!

The sky around the 634 army instantly darkened. Gigantic monsters stomped out from the town’s Barracks. They were massive Chaos Drakes. Their scales were pitch-black obsidian, coursing with glowing golden lines of Chaos Axiom Energy.

The Chaos Drakes opened their massive jaws.

DRAGON BREATH!

Their signature skill unleashed a torrent of destructive energy. Powered by the Chaos faction alignment, the breath attacks dealt +1 Base Damage and applied the deadly "Chaos Erosion" debuff, dealing terrifying continuous damage.

FWOOSH! BOOM!

The defenses of the 634 army was instantly vaporized in the golden-black flames.

Seeing the sheer apocalyptic firepower of the bronze-ranked drakes, the rest of the invading players took a sharp U-turn, screaming in terror as they desperately rushed to escape.