CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER296-MILLA’S INTELLIGENCE

The moment the awakeners who had arrived in the Divine Realm took in the scene before their eyes, they were utterly stunned.

The ease with which these prisoners dispatched angels over level 200 was almost incomprehensible. Just how overwhelmingly powerful did these prisoners have to be to achieve such a feat?

It was at that moment that one of the awakeners, a man adept at investigative techniques, lowered his head slightly and spoke with a grim tone.

"These are all demigod-level beings. Their levels are all above 450."

At his words, the expressions on the surrounding awakeners shifted to disbelief.

None of them had ever imagined that these prisoners possessed such absurd strength.

What was even more shocking was the fact that these same demigod-level entities were addressing Daniel as their boss.

For beings of such a tier—creatures that could very well dominate the world on their own—to willingly acknowledge someone else as their leader... just what kind of terrifying power did Daniel possess? And in the Divine Realm, what in the world had he done to earn such loyalty?

Among the awakeners present was Mejir. Hearing the prisoners’ words, he instinctively shrank his neck slightly, as if to make himself smaller.

The Daniel before him now... his strength had grown to a point that Mejir could no longer even begin to comprehend.

Level 450? Demigod? These were concepts utterly alien to Mejir. He had never even heard of them before. It was painfully obvious that this level of power lay far, far beyond his range of understanding.

Meanwhile, Milla appeared before Daniel.

The first thing that caught her attention, upon arrival, was not the gathered awakeners or the powerful prisoners—it was the two towering structures: the Void Tower and the Tower of Reshaping.

Her eyes lingered on them with undisguised curiosity, for both were unmistakably creations of a god.

Structures of this magnitude were in the same class as the Sea of Resurrection owned by the angelic race—wonders whose very existence could alter the balance of the world.

And this wasn’t even all. In the northern frontier of the human territories, there were still numerous resurrection points scattered about—sites that were already considered near-mythical by most mortal races.

Milla could also hear the conversations of the various beings around them.

Most of the discussion revolved around Daniel, and much of it was so exaggerated it bordered on the ridiculous.

Even as a god devotee herself, Milla couldn’t help but feel shaken.

She suddenly realized something—that Daniel might actually be far stronger than even she had previously imagined.

"I honestly didn’t expect it... your territory has grown into something this powerful."

Daniel smiled faintly in response.

"Not at all. It’s nothing more than a barren stretch of land."

Milla’s lips twitched slightly at his reply.

Barren land? In a territory that contained not one, but two god-forged creations? Was this extreme modesty... or did he genuinely believe that?

Still, she chose not to linger on the point. Instead, she shifted the conversation forward with a direct tone.

"I truly didn’t expect this world to have changed so much. It’s been a very long time since I last set foot here. Ever since the Luck Goddess became a true god four thousand years ago, we left this place to carry out missions on other continents."

"I just finished going through the history of your human race. I honestly never imagined so many events had taken place during these years."

Her expression shifted again, this time to one of pure curiosity, even excitement.

"But more importantly—Daniel, I didn’t expect that you only completed your Awakening Ceremony the day before yesterday! If that’s the case, then you are far more incredible than I thought."

Naturally, if Milla had read through human history, she could hardly avoid learning of Daniel’s deeds.

As the greatest genius to ever emerge among humankind since its very inception, Daniel’s name was etched into history in a way no one could overlook.

Milla scratched her head lightly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Daniel, the more I learn, the more I realize I can’t quite see through your identity anymore."

Daniel gave a small, almost dismissive shrug.

"It’s nothing worth overthinking. What I’d like is for you to tell me more about this continent. I think that would be quite useful for our next course of action. At least for the moment, we are in a cooperative relationship, aren’t we?"

He had no intention of letting Milla continue speaking unchecked—who knew how far she might wander off-topic if left to her own devices? So, he deliberately steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.

At this, Milla nodded decisively.

"Not just for the moment—we will be long-term partners."

"Unfortunately, I don’t actually know a great deal about this continent. After all, I wasn’t born here."

"The things I do know aren’t exactly top-secret, either. But while reviewing your human history, I did notice one particular error."

"According to your records, the first awakener appeared five thousand years ago. And your people believe that the Awakening Ceremony began at that time."

"However... based on what I know, the Awakening Ceremony has existed far longer than your history suggests."

"In fact, this continent once suffered a mass extinction event—one so devastating it may be the reason the Awakening Ceremony was lost to time."

At those words, Daniel’s brow furrowed slightly.

A mass extinction?

He had never heard of such a thing before.

Seeing the question in his eyes, Milla elaborated.

"Yes. Long, long ago, every living creature on this continent was completely wiped out by a certain disaster. No one knows what the disaster was, nor what exactly happened to the living beings of that era."

"After that mass extinction, it took an incredibly long time before the land began to teem with life once more."

"But because the knowledge of the Awakening Ceremony had been buried, the new generations of life that emerged afterward never succeeded in completing it—and thus, they never awakened their innate talents."

Daniel found this explanation easy enough to understand.

It was like handing a modern smartphone to someone from ancient times—they would have no idea how to use it, much less how to create one themselves.

In the myriad races of the continent, the Awakening Ceremony was a deeply intricate process. Without a chain of inherited knowledge, it would be nearly impossible to rediscover it by chance.

Milla went on.

"According to your human records, five thousand years ago your people still lived in primitive conditions. No creature in this world possessed supernatural powers."

Daniel gave a slight nod—he had read those accounts countless times before. The history books all agreed on that point.

"Then, one day, you happened to rediscover the Awakening Ceremony. After it was performed, the first awakener was born. That day was later recorded in your annals as the dawn of the Awakening Era."

Daniel was, of course, intimately familiar with this part of history.

Yet he couldn’t help but ask the question that had been on his mind for some time.

"If that’s the case, then why does the thousand-year Apocalypse still happen?"

If the Awakening Era had truly begun by accident, then why did humanity—and indeed all the races of the continent—still face the Apocalypse every millennium?

Milla slowly shook her head.

"That’s not a question you should be asking me... because I don’t know either."

"Don’t forget, I’m still just a demigod. Back when your Awakening Era began, I was nothing more than a lowly demigod. How could I possibly know the answers to questions of that scale?"