Night had begun to fall.
The stars shimmered faintly over the sanctuary's spires, casting soft light across the now-silent orchards. The last crates of divine peaches had been sealed and stored, and the villagers were already returning to their homes. Clark, however, wasn't resting.
He stood inside the Chamber of his palace, staring at the glowing interface projected above the central crystal table. The room was quiet, save for the occasional flicker of divine energy pulsing from his gear.
He opened the Military Trade Area, bypassing ordinary sections, his gaze sharp.
[Advanced Troop Development Menu – Combat Evolution Stones]
— D-Rank to C-Rank Advancement Stones: 1000 Divine Crystals each
— C-Rank to B-Rank Advancement Stones: 5000 Divine Crystals each
Inventory: 438,900 Divine Crystals
"All fifteen Crusaders have hit their level limit," he muttered.
According to the system, Level 20 was the soft cap for their current rank. Without advancement stones or divine-class baptismal events, they would stagnate — unable to grow further despite their battle-hardened progress.
He didn't hesitate.
[Purchase Confirmed]
– 10x D→C Advancement Stones (10,000 Divine Crystals)
– 5x C→B Advancement Stones (25,000 Divine Crystals)
Total Spent: 35,000 Divine Crystals
He still had over 400,000 remaining. More than enough.
The stones shimmered into existence inside his storage panel — small, palm-sized fragments shaped like crystallized feathers, humming with divine combat energy.
He turned his attention next to his Territory Status Window.
[TERRITORY STATUS – VERDANT DOMAIN]
Territory Name: Verdant Sanctuary
Territory Level: Rank 1
Territory Size: 10 km radius
God Rank: Rank 1 – High Tier
Divinity: 34,600
Faith Generation:
– Seraphiel (SSS-Rank Hero): 500 Faith/day
– Lilith (SS-Rank Hero): 400 Faith/day
– 300 B-Rank Villagers (Loyalty 85+): 450/day
– 15 Crusaders (Loyalty 87): 300/day
– Temple Amplification +10%
Total Adjusted Faith Income: 1,650/day
Conversion Ratio: 1000 Faith = 1 Divinity
Resource Stockpiles:
– Divine Crystals: 403,900
– Wood: 938,900
– Stone: 938,900
– Monster Cores: 3050
– Sacred Water (S-Rank): 10 units
– Tender Meat: 500,000
– Roasted Wolf Meat: 11120
His army was small, but elite. His economy outpaced the majority of gods in his sector. His people were loyal.
Yet he could feel it — a subtle shift in the air.
Something stirring.
His Crusaders would need that evolution. Soon.
Clark closed the window and turned his gaze toward the balcony. Mist drifted lazily just beyond the borders of the holy town, curling along the ground like fingers searching for a way in.
Out there, hidden within the fog, was the pressure.
He could feel it.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, Clark had the distinct impression that something... unexpected was already watching him.
The Chamber dimmed as Clark dismissed the Territory Status panel. Before him, atop the obsidian altar embedded in the floor, the fifteen Advancement Stones shimmered faintly. The divine runes etched along their cores pulsed in sync, resonating with the latent auras of the fifteen Crusaders now assembled below the temple.
Seraphiel stood at the center of the gathered troops, her golden armor gleaming even in the torchlight. She had summoned the unit with only a word.
Now they stood shoulder to shoulder — a disciplined wall of loyal warriors, each having proven themselves countless times in the wolf raids and domain defenses. They had reached the limits of D-Rank; the system itself had barred them from leveling further.
Until now.
Clark stepped into the open sanctum built beside the inner garden, where the ritual circle had already been inscribed with divine chalk and watered with a single drop of S-Rank Sacred Water.
Lilith flanked his left, silent but watchful. Seraphiel stood to his right.
The Crusaders dropped to one knee in unison.
Clark raised his right hand. The stones began to float, circling him slowly — ten glowing white with the power to lift D-Ranks into the next stage, five crackling with golden-orange energy for those already elite.
[Advancement Ceremony Initiated]
He called the first ten forward — all still D-Rank — and distributed the lesser stones. The warriors each stepped into a point on the ritual array, holding their stone with both hands.
As the command left his lips, the stones activated.
The sky above the sanctuary shimmered.
Pillars of radiant blue light shot upward from the circle, enveloping the chosen Crusaders. Their armor quaked. Their weapons vibrated in midair. The ritual circle flared with divine sigils — and the very system seemed to pause for a breath.
[10 Crusaders have Advanced: D → C Rank]
Attributes increased. Rank limitations lifted.
New growth paths unlocked: Elemental Specialization, Domain Infusion
A low hum swept across the temple grounds. The ten warriors fell briefly to their knees, sweat pouring, but each radiated newfound strength.
Clark turned his gaze to the remaining five.
These were the elite. The ones who had pushed far past expectations—shield leaders, spear captains, storm callers.
He handed each of them a golden-orange Advancement Stone.
Unlike the others, these stones didn't glow with serene purity. They cracked with force, emitting ripples that sent chills into the surrounding stone.
The five warriors entered the circle. The moment Clark activated the stones, the divine array shattered. Not in failure — but in overwhelming force.
Golden-red light surged upward. Five columns of fire and storm clashed with the misted sky. Divine energy whipped through the temple grounds like a gale. Even Lilith instinctively summoned a barrier, while Seraphiel stepped forward protectively.
Clark's eyes didn't waver.
[5 Crusaders have Advanced: C → B Rank]
Paths unlocked: Blood-Faith Synergy, Elemental Rebirth, Divine Aura Blade (Dormant)
Loyalty locked at 100. Combat Efficiency increased. Battle Art slots increased to 3.
When the light faded, the five B-Rank Crusaders stood taller, their armor now faintly outlined in personal aura. One of them — a heavy-blade knight named Garas — took a step forward and knelt.
"We live to serve you, my Lord."
Clark gave a slow nod.
The Crusaders stood. Stronger. Sharper. Their presence alone was enough to distort the divine field surrounding the temple.
And just as Clark turned to dismiss the circle, Lilith's gaze snapped toward the distant trees beyond the fog.
A moment later, Seraphiel's wings flexed outward.
Clark stilled.
They all felt it.
A pulse.
Something had entered the edge of the domain — not physically, but spiritually. A ripple of pressure passed through the earth, faint but undeniable.
"Was that—?" Lilith began.
"No..." Clark murmured, eyes narrowing. "It's not the Divine Pressure, There still 3 days..."
But it was something Suppressive...
And it wasn't random.
He walked to the very edge of his domain, where the sacred barrier shimmered like a membrane of soft starlight. The mists beyond were unnaturally calm, coiling in unnatural patterns as though trying to veil something invisible.
The wind at the edge of the Verdant Sanctuary grew still.
Clark stood alone, boots planted just beyond the final divine lantern. The orchard behind him had fallen silent, but his senses flared with subtle warning.
It wasn't physical.
It was spiritual — a sliver of awareness threading through the veil.
He activated Divine Eye.
Gold symbols rippled across his vision, peeling away layers of mist and illusion until the fog itself revealed its hidden stowaway.
[Entity Detected – Analysis Complete]
Name: Night Sentinel Soul
Rank: ???
Classification: Spy-Class Soul Construct
Affiliation: Ancient God of War
Skills: Hidden
Detection Immunity: Standard Divine Will Scanning – Bypassed
Status: Passive Surveillance
A soul spy. Silent. Hidden. Undetectable to most gods.
A creature that shouldn't have been able to exist this deep in a protected domain.
But the God of War had found a way. .
This wasn't the first time he'd interfered.
Clark's jaw tensed, but he said nothing. No words. No warnings.
He simply summoned the Verdant Sword.
It slid into his hand as if drawn by instinct, humming with a silent pulse that made the air tremble. The blade gleamed with green-black light — not the color of foliage, but the hue of judgment.
Its surface shimmered faintly, and a small rune at the hilt pulsed once.
[Adonis Kratus — Available (Cooldown: Ready)]
Consumes 500 Divinity – Delivers a soul-severing arc infused with divine will.
Clark raised the blade.
Even at 5% activation, the artifact still sang with ancient law.
He didn't need to chant. Didn't need to aim.
He simply slashed.
The arc erupted the moment the blade moved — a half-moon of compressed will and death, green-black and nearly silent as it flew. It passed through the fog like a whisper.
The moment it touched the Sentinel, there was no explosion.
No scream.
Just disintegration.
The entire soul construct unraveled in perfect silence, as though history had decided it had never existed. Threads of divine espionage — gone.
The fog recoiled. Trees nearby shuddered. Even the air held its breath.
Clark lowered the sword slowly, its edge still glowing faintly.
The blade hadn't just cut an enemy.
It had delivered a message — one no god could mistake.
He sheathed the sword, turned his back to the fog, and walked away.
From somewhere far beyond the horizon, across blood-colored plains and broken battlefields where an ancient god brooded…
A single eye opened.
And narrowed.