mories from his previous life surged back like a tide.
Daniel suddenly recalled that at the very start of the ga, a group of players would be chosen by the system and spawned directly into a hidden pocket-world realm.
Everything there existed as a self-contained system, completely cut off from the main world.
Once those players completed the first wave of prerequisite quests for the Undead Cataclysm, they would descend into the main world.
And imdiately afterward, the Undead Cataclysm would officially begin.
In his previous lives, after those players from the hidden worlds arrived, a large number of top-ranked experts were pushed off the leaderboards.
Among them, the most dazzling was a player from World Zone No. 1213—Quin!
In the early stages of the ga in his previous lives, Quin had been hailed as the number one player in the world, unmatched by anyone!
But in this life, everything would be completely different!
Because Daniel was here!
The title of world number one was destined to belong to him!
Daniel opened the World Rankings.
Sure enough, Quin’s na was right there on the list.
"So they’ve co out after all."
Daniel’s gaze shifted slightly. "If that’s the case, then those experts from World Zone No. 616 should have appeared as well."
With mories from his previous lives, these nas were far from unfamiliar to him.
But the impression they had left on him was anything but good.
This group of players caused trouble in the main world every other day, making the players of World Zone No. 616 waste away in several waves of pointless internal conflict.
"Whatever. But if they dare stand in my way, then not even God will be able to save them."
Daniel shook his head, and the smile on his lips turned several degrees colder.
Still, their appearance also ant that the Undead Cataclysm was about to begin!
[Server-wide Announcent!!!]
[The spatial passage between the Undead Realm and Aetheria has been opened! "Undead Cataclysm" is about to descend! Players of all major world zones, prepare yourselves! Countdown: 10 minutes!]
The announcent sounded three tis in succession.
After hearing it, Daniel’s expression remained calm as ever.
"As expected. What should co has co."
[Server-wide Announcent: The spatial passage between the Undead Realm and Aetheria has reconnected! "Undead Cataclysm" is about to descend! Players of all major world zones, prepare yourselves—Countdown: 10 minutes!]
[Server-wide Announcent: The calamity quest "Undead Cataclysm" has been forcibly issued to every player! Please check your quest log for details!]
The blood-red announcents exploded three tis in a row, like three funeral bells hamring against the heart of every player.
The mont the final words fell, heaven and earth changed abruptly.
The sky, which had been clear and bright only monts before, was swallowed in an instant by boundless darkness.
The sunlight was blotted out by black clouds that surged in from nowhere, the layers of cloud roiling like ink.
The earth sank into a strange, dim yellow gloom. All things lost their original colors, leaving behind only gray-white and dark ochre.
Birds dropped from the sky. Livestock raised by farrs shrieked wildly inside their pens. Even the wind itself seed to stop breathing.
When the heavens display such ominous signs, disaster or tribulation is sure to follow.
At the sa ti, the empires of the other world zones fell into unprecedented panic, like anthills thrown into boiling oil.
Countless citizens poured out of their hos and fell to their knees in the streets, between the ridges of farmland, and before the city gates, clasping their hands together and praying toward the sky that had been devoured by darkness.
So sobbed quietly. So wailed in despair. Others trembled all over as they recited ancient prayers long since lost to ti.
The nas of the gods were called again and again in every corner of the world, yet not a single response ca.
So even collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at that black canopy overhead, their faces filled with hopelessness.
They had seen such a sky before—
In the oral tales passed down from their ancestors, and in the yellowed remnants of ancient history books.
Whenever such a sky appeared, it ant that a tide of death and destruction would sweep across the land!
...
The Imperial Capital, Temple of the Gods.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—
Dozens of golden figures shot into the sky, hovering above the Temple of the Gods.
They stared blankly at the pitch-dark world before them, and the color drained from their faces inch by inch.
"Such dense death energy..."
A white-haired elder muttered hoarsely, his voice like sandpaper scraping across stone. "The scale of this invasion is likely far beyond any before it."
"Ever since the earliest records, the undead race has broken open the spatial passage once every three thousand years to invade Aetheria."
Another middle-aged powerhouse clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Every single ti they ca, the continent was left littered with corpses and drowned in rivers of blood."
"If not for the countless legendary-grade experts who charged forward wave after wave, there would have been no way to stop the iron hooves of the undead army at all..."
He paused, his voice trembling slightly.
"Especially this ti... First we had the allied invasion of the non-human races, then the unsealing of the shadowkin, and now the undead are invading as well. The Empire’s strength has already been weakened considerably."
A transcendent powerhouse let out a long sigh toward the heavens, his eyes filled with indignation and unwillingness.
"Aetheria was only ever a low-tier world to begin with. Its spatial barriers are unbearably fragile. And the divine race forbids us from participating in Heavenscar, making it impossible to solve the problem at its root. Of course this world is plagued by endless calamities!"
"Silence!"
The elder beside him barked sharply, his face turning livid.
"You must not slander the gods! These repeated disasters are trials bestowed upon humanity by the divine race. We have survived every one of them before—at most... it simply costs a few more sacrifices."
The transcendent powerhouse said nothing more, but the hand hanging at his side clenched so tightly that his joints crackled, and the unwillingness in his eyes was so thick it seed ready to spill over.
...
The Imperial Capital, the Imperial Palace.
Supported by several ministers, the Emperor trembled as he stepped out of the palace hall and looked up at the sky swallowed by darkness.
His body suddenly swayed, and fortunately the ministers were quick enough to catch him in ti.
"First ca the invasion of the allied non-human races, then the shadowkin breaking free from their seal..."
The Emperor’s voice was hoarse and exhausted, his eyes heavy with despair. "And now the Undead Cataclysm has arrived as well... Why must our human race suffer so many disasters?"
"Your Majesty, please take care of your sacred health!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! Hundreds of millions of imperial citizens are still depending on you to command the overall situation!"
The old Emperor waved a hand listlessly, as though he had aged another ten years in a single instant.
"I am old... I fear I may not survive this trial."
He looked toward the minister at his side, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.
"Go to the Temple of the Gods and discuss counterasures with the legendary-grade experts... Co up with a concrete plan as quickly as possible."
He turned around and shuffled back into the hall, his steps slow and unsteady, still muttering under his breath.
"The Empire... truly cannot endure too many more hardships..."
...
Pyrehaven.
At the portal, white light flashed again and again as dozens of figures stepped out of the radiance.
They stood where they were, their eyes sweeping curiously over everything around them.
Broad stone-paved streets. A towering clock tower. Taverns along the roadside drifting with the scent of ale. In the distance ca the rhythmic clang-clang of a blacksmith’s forge.
"So this is the main world..."
One player took a deep breath, as if wanting to carve the sll of the city into his lungs.
"We’ve finally arrived."
"Holy shit, now this feels like a proper ga world. I never even got to enter the Starter Village—I was thrown straight into a hidden world instead."
Another player shook his head with a wry smile. "To be honest, I kind of regret that I don’t even know what the village chief of the Starter Village looks like."
"The main world really is better. That hidden world didn’t even have a decent tavern. Boring as hell."
"George, what do we do next?"
"Yeah, George. You’re the strongest among us. Whatever we do from here on, we’ll follow your lead."
Dozens of gazes turned in unison toward the figure standing at the very front of the group!
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