"I really hope the intelligence about the Zerg awakening is false."
Peter thought silently.
But as he looked at the increasingly sparse secret realms, a trace of worry appeared on his face.
Peter's concern was not unfounded.
Months ago, the sequence Archangel guarding the Mist Realm region—namely the venerable in charge of Heaven Mountain—had already sensed something.
It was precisely because of the order from this venerable being that Peter, the Archangel under him, arrived at the Mist Realm today.
This time, Peter brought not only the portion of Heaven Mountain from his divine domain but also billions of Heaven Army troops, along with countless angels possessing diverse abilities and functions.
Even if the sequence Archangels themselves came, eliminating Peter would take considerable time.
So, in terms of sheer strength, Peter entering the Mist Realm to deal with the Zerg seemed almost certain to succeed.
Yet, internally, he remained uneasy.
It didn't match the power he possessed.
"Damn it, why me!"
The more he thought, the angrier he became. His exquisitely perfect face even twisted slightly with emotion.
"The longer you live, the closer you get to the pinnacle of this world, the more terrified you become!"
Peter murmured to himself.
In truth, Peter's position in Chu Hao's world was among the absolute upper echelon.
To give a comparison:
Bai Chen, president of Tianding University, as the first reserve of the sequence Archangel [Star God], had a position not much lower than Peter's.
Due to the uniqueness of Heaven Mountain, without a main Archangel reserve, Peter's actual status slightly surpassed Bai Chen's.
According to external sequence Archangel replacement rules, Peter, known as the Punishment Angel, was effectively the third reserve of Heaven Mountain.
But because the venerable of Heaven Mountain was stronger than the Star God, Peter's status was even higher.
In terms of absolute strength, however, Bai Chen would utterly crush Peter without Heaven Mountain's support.
In short, Peter was undeniably among the high-ranking elite of Chu Hao's world.
Like any high-ranking entity in any world, he knew many secrets that couldn't be casually revealed.
The Zerg emerging from the secret realm void was an essential part of these secrets.
"At the end and start of each era, these secret realms will unleash all sorts of disasters!"
"Whether it's the Zerg in this realm, the ruins of the End Era in the deeper secret realms, or... all of it represents the real threats we Archangels face!"
Peter looked toward the void far off in the secret realm.
"The weak Archangels don't understand that our survival, our safe passage through these lawless days, is thanks to the venerables!"
"These venerables sacrificed their desires, expanding their divine domains to sweep and suppress the threats born in the void!"
"If not for these strongest ones, our world would have long been devoured by the monsters born in these secret realms!"
"Of course, besides the venerables, we proactive Archangels are also indispensable!"
Though Peter hated his current mission and resented the order, he took pride in his role as a savior.
It was common among angels. Stripped of part of their emotions by the venerables, their mental seas had already changed slightly.
"Without our efforts, this world would have already ceased to exist!"
Peter turned toward the outer edge of the secret realm. Beyond it lay the real world.
Watching the busy mortals, his expression conveyed not arrogance, but a divinity that exceeded arrogance, as if he wished to trample all unconverted beings beneath him.
To him, the weak Archangels were no different from the mortal masses in his divine domain.
---
Meanwhile, in the Endless Abyss:
"Woohoo!"
Demon Prince Fa Bu Ti happily drew dozens of complete souls through the narrow cracks of the figure-eight-shaped world's crystal wall!
The Zerg souls immediately sensed despair when they saw his violent, twisted face.
Yet the real despair was still to come. Fa Bu Ti, using his forked tongue, coldly licked their souls, tasting the essence of their despair, before tossing them into the black mist behind him.
Amidst their screams and wails, Fa Bu Ti felt the abyssal aura he controlled accelerating the world's corruption once again.
"Hahaha, this kid named Mufeng has given me so many surprises..."
His gaze focused through the tiny hole on Mufeng in this world.
Mufeng had already left the primitive tribe he once relied on, carrying his sister.
It wasn't quite accurate to say "left the tribe." Rather, having received the World Mother's favor and grown far stronger than the tribal elders, the small tribe no longer mattered to him.
He was heading for a broader world.
He aimed to hunt even more powerful creatures.
He believed that by continuously sacrificing, he would eventually ascend to the pinnacle of this world.
And this was no vain fantasy—it was the promise the World Mother herself whispered to him in the darkness.
Thinking of this, Mufeng's crimson eyes reflected a desire he could not contain.
Yet just as he indulged in this thought, the World Mother's call pulled him back into the darkness once more.
This time, she gave him a new requirement.
"Establish an organization that operates within darkness."
"Expand and perfect its followers and rituals."
"And a part of my consciousness will immediately descend into them!"