Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 458

Chapter 458: Chapter 458: A Top-tier Power Comparable to the Hall of Valor
Sterl stood there, dumbfounded.

What had once been a wasteland, ravaged by the Frost Giant and reduced to a basin, had transformed into a Giant City.

The city stretched endlessly, its walls towering high into the clouds. As Sterl looked up, it felt as if the entire Heavenly Curtain was covered by this immense structure.

“The size of this city…”

Sterl’s eyes flickered as he strained to sense its magnitude, realizing that this Giant City occupied a full one-seventh of the continent. Its height seemed to directly press against the Crystal Barrier Galaxy’s membrane, linking with the fissures at the horizon.

Within those fissures, phantoms had once been cascading down, but now they were all “devoured” by the city.

“The size of this city might be close to the main body of the Hall of Valor.”

“No, wait! It should be roughly the same size as the Hall of Valor because it definitely has spatial folding formations within!”

Sterl was somewhat taken aback.

Unlike the Hall of Valor, which existed in a different dimension as a small world, this city, while similar in size, was directly suppressing the main world!

Indeed, suppression.

Earlier, Sterl had seen that black chess piece, which had a “suppression” effect. That piece utilized the immense energy generated during the fusion of the Giant City with the world, even breaking the Frost Giant’s invincibility.

That was something even radiant-level skills couldn’t achieve!

Now that the entire city had settled onto the ground, although it lacked the high energy from the world fusion, it produced a terrifying suppression effect that was still forming.

Sterl could discern that this suppression was potent enough to strip countless monsters in the vicinity of their autonomy, forcing them to become slaves to the Giant City.

Even players and NPCs would suffer from this suppression, finding it difficult to muster any rebellious spirit against the Giant City.

There was no doubt that the Giant City was akin to top-tier powers like the Hall of Valor, Ashen, and the Golden Kingdom, and it resembled the Hall of Valor in that this city itself seemed to be an extraordinarily powerful artifact!

The Giant City was audaciously positioned in the realm of reality, clearly unafraid of any external challengers or conspirators.

This spoke volumes about the arrogance and pride of this power, as well as its immense strength.

It was highly likely that this force was even stronger than Ashen, the ruling power of this continent!

“Yet, such formidable strength ultimately compelled them to flee to other worlds.”

“Faced with the distortion and collapse of the Crystal Barrier Galaxy…”

“No matter how strong a power is managed, it is futile if they don’t break through a critical threshold of their own strength; otherwise, they will be utterly defenseless against the changes of the world.”

Sterl couldn’t help but lament.

Although his mind was racing with thoughts, his actions were swift.

The Giant City, despite its grandeur, still appeared as a semi-transparent, inky black and had not yet fully formed.

Sterl immediately flew forward, diving into the city.

His expression was grim; although the city was merely an illusion, he took the opportunity to discern the intricate formations carved into the walls.

The artistry and complexity of these patterns revealed that they were all divine-level arrays!

The patterns were cleverly concealed, making it difficult for Sterl to easily read their functions or learn them by stealth.

Moreover, the walls were exceedingly high and wide, comprised of an unknown number of divine-level arrays woven together into a peculiar structure.

As a top-tier Array Master, Sterl found this exceedingly challenging! A sense of unease began to brew within him.

Fortunately, while the Giant City remained in a virtual state, the formations could not take effect; however, Sterl couldn’t shake off the rising alertness in his heart.

Upon further examination, he discerned that based on the patterns still in their illusory state, it could be inferred that the formations within the walls had numerous effects of suppression, sealing, and intimidation…

All of which were quite unpleasant!

Entering the city was easy now, but if he couldn’t escape before the Giant City fully manifested, he would struggle to flee in the face of so many formations…

However, Sterl felt a touch braver now.

In the past, he had never engaged in fights without considering resurrection abilities, but in recent times, he had relied on resurrection more frequently, thus pushing the boundaries of his mental resilience.

What had begun as a necessity to retreat unscathed had shifted to—

As long as he could ensure a safe resurrection after death, he considered it secure.

Additionally, with an abundance of resurrection items at his disposal, Sterl felt more liberated in his actions.

“All I’m merging with is a top-tier power similar to the Crystal Barrier Galaxy’s Alpha 8; it’s not guaranteed that there are souls within it capable of killing me at zero level.”

“It’s even uncertain whether anyone within this power can defeat me directly.”

“The likelihood of encountering individuals with even weak divine combat power is quite low.”

“After all, I only intend to seize the Frost Giant’s loot and have no plans to directly engage with the Giant City, so the risk should be minimal.”

“Moreover… I can’t give up the giant’s spoils.”

“The Giant City’s defensive breach was only achieved by leveraging the momentum of its descent and the high energy from the world fusion; under normal circumstances, no one in Alpha 8 could slay the giant.”

As Sterl’s thoughts raced, the scenery of the Giant City whizzed by.

He could see numerous spectacular skyscrapers adorned with a sacred luminescence, and in the air, there were massive artificial lakes alongside various sculptures.

The residents of the Giant City were of various races, predominantly humanoid.

Along the streets, there were layers of extraordinarily ornate palaces stacked like mountains. At the highest point, many figures cast their gazes toward Sterl, the intruder.

Though the phantoms were not yet fully formed, these beings were already conscious; they were clearly the rulers of the Giant City—gods!

“Approximately sixty or so gods?”

“In terms of foundation, they should be slightly weaker than the Hall of Valor but stronger than Ashen.”

Sterl analyzed.

In Alpha 8, the Hall of Valor was unique as a special artifact created by a once-great Divine Power, instinctively gathering strong individuals to fill its ranks.

Moreover, the Hall of Valor, as an artifact, imposed no harsh treaties, which led many freedom-loving powerful beings to prefer joining it.

Sterl had no clear idea of how many gods there were.

There were simply too many beings hiding in the nooks and crannies of the Hall of Valor.

In contrast, powers like Ashen and the Golden Kingdom were more typical of strong factions.

The number of gods displayed was theoretically less than the actual number, but the difference wasn’t significant.

However, Sterl felt that the gods he saw in this single encounter were likely not the entirety of the Giant City’s divine inhabitants.

Considering that Ashen had mobilized all its visible gods, which amounted to just over fifty, it was evident that the Giant City had hidden strong individuals, putting Ashen at a considerable disadvantage.

“It seems there’s a good show to watch.”

“Who knows, I might even have a chance to fish in troubled waters.”

Sterl mused.

Originally, a top-tier power in Alpha 8 could dominate several continents, and the continent beneath Sterl’s feet was precisely the headquarters of Ashen.

The entrance to the alternate space where Ashen resided was located within this very continent.

This land was Ashen’s territory, containing numerous subordinate institutions that facilitated the gathering and supply of resources for the gods and the cultivation of new talents for Ashen.

For Ashen, it was a strategic stronghold that could not be compromised.

The force Sterl belonged to also shared a similar situation; the continent housing the entrance to the Hall of Valor was firmly under its control, with even small places like the Principality of Florence allocating resources for its maintenance.

Likewise, since the Giant City had descended upon this continent, as a top-tier power, it would also require subordinate institutions and would need to occupy various transportation and teleportation nodes across the land.

A clash between the two great powers was inevitable, especially given Ashen’s evident weakness; the Giant City would undoubtedly take the initiative to strike!

Sterl’s heart raced with excitement.

This was yet another excellent opportunity to grind blood force!

He was almost looking forward to it. If the two great powers went to war over the ownership of this continent, even divine-level beings might have to join the fray…

Then, if he could participate and weave a legendary tale within it, wouldn’t that be a tremendous victory?

Sterl had perused some ancient texts, and he knew that if a legendary event ultimately exceeded its limits, the rewards upon ascending to legend would also surpass the norm.

However, that was only true before the world had been fragmented. Once the world split into countless Crystal Barrier Galaxies and the upper and lower realms, individual power caps emerged, and the benefits of the three great rites—legendary ascendance, demigod status, and ascension to godhood—also faced limitations.

But now the world had merged…

If he could get involved in a divine-level event…

“How much would my final rewards for ascendance be?!”

Sterl’s eyes were almost glowing red with excitement.

The more he thought about it, the more exhilarated he became.

Earlier, Sterl felt overwhelmed by the multitude of matters, causing his legendary ascendance to be delayed time and again. Now, however, he realized that the delay had been a blessing!

Initially, he would only receive the legendary ascendance rewards after being shot down by the heavens.

But now… the world had merged!!

What a win!!

As he reveled in his joy, he did not stop moving and continued to fly swiftly.

Yet, the terrifying expanse of the city made his journey lengthy, and it was only now that he had managed to draw near to the location of the Frost Giant.

At the same time, the surroundings transformed into a world of ice and snow.

This was the result of the Frost Giant’s actions!

Sterl noticed that not far away, at the center of countless Frost beings, a giant was roaring and bellowing madly!

It was wildly pounding on everything, causing distortions in space; the extreme icy power was freezing the very fabric of space.

The area within a thousand miles felt like a frigid purgatory.

Sterl observed the energy phantoms around the outskirts that had not been completely destroyed and concluded that this was likely a gathering place within the Giant City.

There were numerous tall buildings, and the structures inside were hidden villas crafted using spatial arrays.

The size of these villas was comparable to Sterl’s estate in the Hall of Valor.

However, these buildings were frozen by countless icy blasts, and the internal spatial structures shattered one by one, transforming into a desolate ice-blue wasteland.

Many glowing figures within the interiors had all vanished!