CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER75-THE WISE KNOW WHEN TO YIELD

Hearing his grandfather Otto’s analysis, Aubi’s eyes suddenly lit with realization.

"I see now! The President intends to use this opportunity to establish authority—to unite the scattered hearts of our people!"

Beside him, the calm and composed Lupotin nodded in firm agreement, his eyes gleaming with the same determined light.

As fellow humans who had seen how cruelly their kin suffered in this world, how could they possibly remain indifferent?

"Still," Lupotin said gravely, "the power level of the Sakend world far surpasses ours. Here, god rank is the bare minimum to stand on your own. We’re still far too weak."

There was pressure in his voice, but also determination.

Otto took over, his tone filled with absolute confidence in Dalton’s future.

"Fortunately, resources within the city are boundless, and the environment far exceeds anything outside. As long as we devote ourselves to magic and cultivation, it’s only a matter of time before our strength rises to match theirs."

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the bustling outer city below.

In their hearts stirred both the responsibility to uplift humanity—and a fierce desire to grow stronger.

For Dalton Town to truly establish itself beneath these stars, to protect more of their people, what they needed was not just ideals—

but power.

At that very moment—

A terrible, ancient aura swept down from the heavens outside Dalton Town!

Scorching winds roared across the plains as several figures composed entirely of living fire approached the city.

Their bodies flickered with blazing light—beings of flame, known across Sakend as masters of fire: the Emberkin.

"Steward, this city... it feels like standing before a sleeping Divine Being of ancient times," one young emberkin said, trembling.

The elder at their head was wreathed in dark crimson fire, the mark of a True God rank. He nodded solemnly.

"Restrain your elemental flames. Within this city, there are presences that make even me shudder—and more than one."

The emberkin immediately subdued their flames. After paying the steep entry fee, they entered Dalton one by one.

Almost at the same time, another oppressive aura descended from the skies.

The air turned glacial, freezing winds sweeping across the land.

A figure wrapped entirely in frost floated above the city, overlooking Dalton from on high.

This was one of the Glacians—a race known for their mastery of ice and low temperatures.

But they also bore another identity—

they were vassals of the Void Zerg.

For all their ferocity, the Zerg had never thrived through brute devouring alone. In most worlds, they operated subtly, cultivating and subjugating other races to build power.

In the Sakend Universe, the Glacians were among those subordinate races.

Now, Mephisto, the Glacian patriarch, stood in the air, ready to demonstrate his race’s might.

A vast frost spell coalesced in his hand—

but the moment his mind power swept across Dalton Town, what he sensed within froze him in place.

The city’s protective formations were fathomless.

And the aura that drifted from within—cold, overwhelming, divine—

made even him, a god-ranked patriarch, feel like prey before a predator.

On the distant Aerial City, Aragis merely glanced down at him.

That one glance was like countless invisible blades piercing Mephisto’s soul.

The sheer terror of that unseen strength left him reeling.

What kind of joke is this?

This suddenly-emerged human settlement possessed powers stronger than him—a Glacian patriarch?!

Could it be some ancient human monster long hidden from the world?

His mind spun, but instinct prevailed. He immediately suppressed his aura and descended respectfully to the city gates, even forcing a polite smile.

"Esteemed one... are you the Lord of Dalton Town?" he asked carefully.

Reize didn’t even look at him.

"The Lord? I’m just the gatekeeper."

The gatekeeper—a lesser god rank powerhouse—watching the door?!

Mephisto’s heart nearly stopped. His face shifted instantly to a deferential warmth.

Without hesitation, he paid the entry fee and stepped inside, eager—almost desperate—to see more.

Once within, the dazzling magnificence of Dalton nearly made him forget to breathe.

The density of mana, the artistry of architecture, the harmony of technology and magic—everything here outshone anything he had ever seen.

But before he could marvel further, he felt it—

countless gazes, sharp and cold, filled with disdain, hatred, and the faintest flicker of restrained rage.

Many of those eyes belonged to humans who still bore scars from the war against the Void Zerg—

scars left by Mephisto’s former masters.

Under Dalton’s purifying atmosphere, the faint Zerg taint that clung to his soul stood out like a stain of darkness.

If not for the fact that he didn’t look like a Zerg, someone might already have struck him down.

A heartbeat later, the figures of Elizabeth, Walter, and other Dalton core leaders appeared before him.

Elizabeth studied him closely, brows furrowed.

"A remnant of the Void Zerg?"

"No... the scent is faint," she murmured.

Mephisto’s mind blanked.

He had come merely to observe this mysterious Dalton—

the human force that had somehow annihilated his former overlords.

But now that he’d seen the city, he understood this was no mere curiosity.

This was a power he dared not provoke.

"Wait! There’s a misunderstanding!" he cried quickly.

"I am Mephisto, Patriarch of the Glacians. I’ve come to congratulate Dalton Town on its arrival in this realm—and to thank you for purging the Zerg plague that tormented this universe!"

He bowed deeply, his tone sincere to the point of humility.

Elizabeth and Walter exchanged wary glances.

They weren’t the kind to trust words alone.

Especially Walter—Dalton’s "ears and eyes"—who preferred to connect with others on a deeper level...

Soul to soul, if necessary.

But Leo had already given clear instructions: the first encounters with Sakend’s native powers must be handled diplomatically.

And since this particular guest carried a special identity, Walter refrained from "probing" him—at least for now.

"Very well," Walter said finally. "You’ll come with me."

He led Mephisto toward the inner-city’s grand council hall.

Every step they took, Mephisto’s mind reeled.

The sheer luxury, the density of divine energy—

compared to this, even the treasures once bestowed by the Zerg Empress were trash.

Not even the air here could be compared.

Damn those Zerg... they poisoned everything they touched. Good riddance.

Mephisto’s expression shifted into one of reverence—almost devotion.

...

At the same time, outside Dalton’s gates, another presence descended—the Guardian of the Starborn Clan.

At his side stood Trisha, and beside her a middle-aged man with a face resembling hers, though marked with hesitation—

Oko, Trisha and Hathaway’s father... and Lilith’s grandfather.

Oko had only recently emerged from seclusion after a long period of magical study.

What he heard upon returning nearly made him faint.

His granddaughter Lilith had been branded a criminal by the Starborn elders.

Then his unseen son-in-law had marched into the Starborn’s sacred realm—

and killed the elder who issued the warrant.

And now, he was being ordered to accompany the Guardian to visit this so-called "human son-in-law"?

He had been reluctant at first.

But when his eyes fell upon Dalton Town—its towering spires, its radiant wards, its impossible grandeur—

his resentment melted into stunned admiration.

He even began to calculate how he might repair their broken family ties...

Only when thoughts of his estranged daughter Hathaway surfaced again did his heart sink once more.

He sighed inwardly.

The family drama of gods was never simple.