Prince Dorek had been granted another private audience with the Eternal Emperor at such a critical moment.

He had even been allowed to attend the imperial court assembly.

The other princes were already red-eyed with jealousy.

Some of them were practically going mad with rage.

It was precisely because of this that Daniel had been forced to consider the risks to Dorek’s safety and persuade him to hand over the mission.

This arrangement allowed Dorek to remain within the Imperial City, at the heart of imperial power, while also ensuring that the mission would be completed.

Naturally, the majority of the resulting merit would be credited to Daniel.

Of course, Dorek would still receive recognition for recommending him.

Daniel, meanwhile, could use this opportunity to obtain an official position and formally enter the Holy See.

The Holy See would probably not be stingy with its appointment.

He might receive a relatively high-ranking position from the very beginning.

That would not only grant him a fixed monthly supply of Realm-Crosser Points, but also bestow a corresponding racial talent upon humanity.

Daniel and Dorek had coordinated this entire performance with exceptional precision.

Only through such cooperation could they achieve the ideal result.

Now that Daniel had eliminated two groups of mysterious experts sent to assassinate him, his most important task was to fulfill his responsibility as Supreme Commander—

Suppress every Tribulation-Ash Monster within the Heavenly River Starfield.

...

Within the Uma Plane of the Heavenly River Starfield—

It was the great world closest to the Tribulation-Ash Monsters that had not yet completely fallen.

The officials responsible for governing the entire starfield had just received word that the Holy See had dispatched a Supreme Commander.

He would soon descend upon their plane and help them resolve the Tribulation-Ash disaster.

"Are they serious?"

"They didn’t send a single soldier. What use is there in sending only a Supreme Commander?"

"Exactly. They might as well have sent an Oracle-grade combat squad."

"I heard that the Supreme Commander is only Divine-grade."

"A cultivator of that Rank is completely useless against a situation that has already deteriorated this badly."

"The outbreak in the Kafu Plane is still relatively small in scale."

"The Tribulation-Ash Monsters there aren’t particularly powerful. A few T7 high-stage Oracle-grade experts should be enough to eliminate them all."

"Yet the Oracle Hall has chosen to stand by and do nothing."

"Even now, they have sent only a single Divine-grade expert. I truly don’t understand what they are thinking."

"It is probably because the struggle for the imperial throne has become too intense recently."

"The situation within the Holy See is extremely complicated. They cannot casually deploy Oracle-grade combat forces."

The moment the imperial succession struggle was mentioned, everyone immediately fell silent.

None of them dared continue discussing it.

The waters surrounding that matter were simply too deep.

"The Supreme Commander should arrive soon."

"Tch. What difference will his arrival make?"

"In the end, we’ll probably still have to take action ourselves, gather local experts, and suppress the spread of tribulation-ash corruption."

"The corruption is spreading everywhere."

"It will probably reach the Uma Plane soon."

"If that Supreme Commander travels quickly enough, perhaps he can at least arrive before our plane falls completely."

It was common knowledge that Tribulation-Ash Monsters were bizarre creatures controlled by newly born Divine Souls after powerful beings were corrupted by tribulation ash.

They could no longer be considered human.

They knew only destruction and slaughter.

Yet they retained all the strength and cultivation Ranks they had possessed while alive.

That was what made them truly terrifying.

The beings capable of surviving long enough to be transformed into Tribulation-Ash Monsters were almost always Divine-grade or above.

When countless Divine-grade experts were transformed simultaneously, the initial outbreak was often extraordinarily violent.

Only an Oracle-grade squad dispatched by the Eternal Empire could suppress them.

Large-scale Tribulation-Ash disasters frequently erupted throughout the Eternal Empire.

Some outbreaks had even produced Oracle-grade monsters.

Tribulation-Ash Monsters above T7 were no weaker than ordinary T7 Oracle-grade experts.

Only a coordinated Oracle-grade squad could suppress such existences.

Although the outbreak in the Heavenly River Starfield was considered small in scale, it still could not be underestimated.

Its strongest monster was a T7 Tribulation-Ash Monster.

There were also several T6 Tribulation-Ash Monsters.

That was already an extremely serious disaster.

Yet the Holy See had dispatched only a single Supreme Commander.

It seemed the Holy See had never seriously considered how the mission was supposed to be completed.

Once the entire Heavenly River Starfield fell, they would probably place all the blame upon Dorek.

After all, the person selected to carry out the mission belonged to his faction.

Naturally, he would be held fully responsible.

...

At this moment, Daniel’s Emperor-class sacred vessel had just entered the Heavenly River Starfield.

He had arrived even faster than many local experts had predicted.

"I’ve finally reached the Heavenly River Starfield."

"The Tribulation-Ash Monsters should not have reached the Uma Plane yet."

"I’ll head there first and assess the situation."

Daniel gazed upon the magnificent starry sky and quickly made his decision.

The Uma Plane occupied an extremely important position within the Heavenly River Starfield.

Through various information channels, Daniel had already learned that the starfield’s governing authorities had gathered there.

He needed to visit the plane and assume command over all local forces.

Before long, the outline of the Uma Plane appeared ahead of the sacred vessel.

Daniel did not slow down.

He piloted the ship directly into the plane and eventually docked at a nearby harbor.

Once the vessel came to a stop, he put it away and flew alone toward the official city below.

The moment he approached, a soldier guarding the city gate stopped him.

"Halt!"

"Tribulation-Ash Monsters are currently causing chaos throughout the region."

"As part of our routine inspection, open your storage space."

Daniel frowned slightly upon hearing those words.

No matter how severe the Tribulation-Ash outbreak became, there was no reason to inspect someone’s storage space.

Tribulation-Ash Monsters could not hide inside a storage artifact.

The soldier claimed that this was an official inspection, but he was most likely attempting to use the opportunity to extort several valuables from Daniel.

The Uma World was extremely far from the Eternal Empire’s central territories.

It seemed corruption had already spread from the upper levels of government all the way down to its roots.

These people relied upon their official status and showed no respect toward the remaining experts in the region.

They extorted whatever they could without caring whether Divine-grade cultivators lived or died.

A mere gate guard dared order a Divine-grade expert to expose his private storage space.

His intentions were obvious.

Daniel sneered.

"My hearing isn’t very good."

"What did you just say?"

"I didn’t hear you clearly."

The gate guard sensed the terrifying pressure emanating from Daniel.

Daniel had not yet revealed his cultivation aura, but the invisible oppression alone was enough to make the soldier feel greatly threatened.

The guard instinctively stepped backward in fear before shouting sternly,

"What do you mean by that?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"I am merely carrying out my official duties!"

The corners of Daniel’s mouth rose slightly.

"Official duties?"

"Is this how you carry them out?"

"You dare attempt to extort a bribe from me?"

"You must be tired of living."

The moment those words fell, light suddenly erupted from Daniel’s body.

The Holy Spirit Stone appeared without warning.

It instantly transformed into a streak of light and pierced straight through the gate guard’s head.

The surrounding civilians and nearby soldiers stared at the scene in stunned horror.

Someone had actually killed one of the city’s gate guards in broad daylight!