CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER388-THE POWER OF HUMANITY

At the entrance of the abyss,

an enraged dragon was unleashing torrents of scorching dragon breath.

Countless abyssal creatures, before they even had the chance to set eyes upon the surface world, were reduced to piles of smoldering charcoal under its fiery assault.

Towering Hill Giants stood like mountains.

Every time one lifted its foot and stomped down, entire swathes of abyssal creatures were crushed into the ground, their lives extinguished in an instant.

And it wasn’t just dragons and giants.

On the battlefield soared the divine-winged tigers, abominations of Dika, colossal beasts of destruction...

Everywhere Malkar looked, he saw only overwhelming might, each monster radiating a presence so fearsome that it shook him to the core.

He understood only one thing:

this was not a battle at all.

It was a massacre.

Malkar never imagined he would one day witness such a horrifying scene.

Majestic Gold-rank beasts marched alongside humanity, tearing into abyssal creatures as though they were nothing more than fragile insects.

Although Malkar knew these abyssal beings were irrational lunatics, deprived of all reason...

in the end, they were still his kin.

His people.

Could he truly just stand by and watch as they were slaughtered so mercilessly?

A knot of discomfort twisted inside him.

They were his subjects, weren’t they?

How could he just watch and do nothing?

But then he caught himself.

Wait.

He wasn’t the Emperor of the abyss anymore.

That throne now belonged to Daniel.

As for himself, he was nothing more than a vassal of the human race.

The thought brought him a strange sense of relief, easing the heaviness in his chest.

Even so, watching the battlefield unfold before him, he still found the scene unbearably cruel.

But of course, that was all he could do—watch.

Intervention? That was out of the question.

Don’t be ridiculous.

With his current strength, stripped of the abyssal Emperor’s blessing, Malkar was no longer even at Demigod Rank.

Against these Gold-rank beasts, he didn’t stand a chance.

Each one radiated dominance, their forms brimming with danger.

They were not to be provoked.

And Malkar had no intention of committing suicide.

What truly stunned him, however, was the realization that these terrifying monsters...

were nothing more than pets.

Yes—pets carried by awakeners.

Human awakeners had entered a fast track of growth.

All they needed to do was summon their companions, and carnage followed in their wake.

The beasts fought, slaughtered, and destroyed without restraint.

The awakeners themselves?

They only needed to walk behind them, calmly collecting the dropped equipment and the enormous piles of Exp Drop scattered across the ground.

There was a rule: pets could never outlevel their masters.

It was meant to be a safeguard, a balance to ensure beasts did not outpace those who summoned them.

But here was the problem—these human awakeners had more experience points than they could possibly use.

The ground was blanketed with glowing Exp Drops.

It was a feast with no end.

And so, the balance collapsed.

The battlefield shifted into something bizarre, almost grotesque.

Gold-rank pets that should have required years of growth were maturing at absurd speeds.

As their masters leveled up relentlessly, the ceiling of their growth rose with them.

And with every Exp Drop consumed, the beasts not only gained levels at frightening speed but also grew in size, their bodies swelling into more terrifying, mature forms.

Watching this, Malkar shuddered.

A chill ran through his vines.

He finally understood.

The strength of humanity had far surpassed his expectations.

Every time he encountered Daniel, he raised his estimation of the human race.

And yet, reality still broke his assumptions again and again.

And the most terrifying discovery?

These Gold-rank pets were not exclusive to elites.

They weren’t limited to a select few powerhouses.

No.

They were everywhere.

It seemed every awakener had one.

Malkar was dumbfounded.

Such a rare and precious creature, a companion of Gold rank...

Even in his prime, as the Emperor of the abyss, he had never possessed one.

In truth, he had never even dared to dream of possessing one.

Yet here, before his eyes, the humans had made them as common as household tools.

Every awakener had a Gold-rank beast at their side.

Terrifying.

Utterly terrifying.

The human race was too terrifying.

Malkar felt his heart crack.

His pride shattered, leaving him feeling like a fool, a clown standing before the power of humanity.

And just when he thought he had seen the peak of madness, something even more absurd appeared.

"Wait... what is that?"

Malkar rubbed his eyes with his vines, desperate to confirm.

But the scene didn’t change.

It was real.

His face twisted into disbelief.

He wanted to scream.

Someone explain this to me—

why does a single awakener have five pets?

And not just any pets... all of them Gold-rank!

Where did the humans get these creatures?

Did Gold-rank pets fall from the sky for them?

How could they achieve this level of abundance?

And then, a thought struck him.

He narrowed his eyes.

Why keep calling them the humans?

Wasn’t that too distant, too detached?

No.

He should say our people.

Our humans.

Because now, he too was one of them.

Malkar swayed his vines, and for the first time, a dangerous sense of pride welled up inside him.

Maybe being human wasn’t so bad after all.

Damn it.

Was that pride he was feeling?

The thought left him both shaken and strangely comforted.

Curiosity burned stronger within him.

He stretched his senses wide, extending his mind power across the battlefield and beyond, probing into the depths of the human race.

And what he discovered left him even more astounded.

It wasn’t just these awakeners.

Humanity’s ranks were brimming with Demigod-level powerhouses.

Everywhere.

Their numbers were staggering.

Even the infants—their newborn children who had not yet gone through the Awakening Ceremony—

their attribute values were higher than his own.

It was madness.

The world had gone mad.

Or perhaps he had.

Humanity’s strength could no longer be denied.

Seeing it with his own eyes, he understood that Daniel had never lied to him.

If anything, Daniel’s earlier words had been humble.

In this moment, Malkar felt a strange sense of honor.

Giving up the throne of the abyss was not a loss.

It was his fortune, his blessing.

He had been lucky enough to become a vassal of humanity.

Gratitude surged through him.

Gratitude not to the abyss, but to the Infinite Divine Temple, and above all, to Emperor Daniel himself.

With trembling vines, he lowered his head and prayed.

"Glory to the great Crossbridge Majesty.

Glory to His Majesty Daniel..."

And as the prayer left his lips, a figure materialized beside him.

Daniel stood there, smiling faintly.

He looked at Malkar with calm eyes and spoke.

"Malkar, when I first told you about humanity, I may have exaggerated a little.

At that time, humanity wasn’t actually as strong as I made it sound.

You don’t need to take it too much to heart."

"Yes, yes, of course!" Malkar replied quickly, nodding with all his strength.

"Your Majesty Daniel, there’s no need for explanation.

I truly have nothing left to doubt!"

He smiled, his vines swaying eagerly.

"In fact, I only hope our people—our human race—continue to grow ever stronger."