"Here’s the thing. Back in the Empire, not only am I completely unknown, but the territory I received is also the worst piece of land in the entire Empire."

Phield let out a long sigh and admitted it helplessly.

No one believed him.

Instead, the way they looked at him became even more guarded.

"Believe it or not."

Phield picked up the Divine Artifact left behind by the black-robed Divine Chosen.

Divine Artifact: Axe of the Dead (Tier 3)

Origin: Goddess of Necromancy

Effect: Any creature killed by this battle axe will be transformed into a ghoul.

Special Effect: Usable only by Necromancy Divine Chosen.

"Pretty useless. I’ll just keep it so Rosalia can absorb its Divine Power later."

Phield stored the battle axe away before glancing around with a smile.

"Anyone else planning to donate me another Divine Artifact?"

Seeing that no one responded, an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"Mr. Riemann, would you mind lending me your Divine Artifact? If I’m not mistaken, you got something that increases luck, didn’t you? Bring it out so we can all get rich together."

"Absolutely not! You greedy bastard!"

Riemann flew into a rage.

"Unless you give me a Tier Three Divine Artifact, then I’ll lend it to you."

"Don’t be so stingy."

Wearing an exaggeratedly innocent expression, Phield continued tempting him.

"I can help you deal with the Twilight Knights. You’ll end up gaining even more."

"Impossible. Don’t think your smooth talking is enough to make me surrender."

Riemann rejected him without the slightest hesitation.

A treasure that increased one’s luck would benefit him for the rest of his life.

There was no way he would ever let someone else have it.

"I hope you pull nothing but trash. I hope you get a completely useless artifact."

Shelley stuck out her tongue from the side.

"Exactly. You shameless man."

Marianne made a face at him as well.

"When did everyone suddenly start targeting me? Is it because I’ve become a threat?"

Phield shrugged indifferently.

"But whatever."

After quickly organizing his thoughts...

"I have my own way of increasing my luck."

Phield rubbed his hands together and traced a cross over his chest.

"God, please let me hit the jackpot."

With that, he placed his hand directly on the treasure chest.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him as the chest slowly opened, releasing brilliant rainbow-colored radiance.

"Wow... a golden legend."

A dreamlike translucent fragment slowly floated into the air.

Looking closely, one could even see a tiny corner of the world reflected within it.

Divine Artifact: World Tree Fragment, Divine Skill Enhancement (No Rank, Legendary, One-Time Consumable)

Origin: Goddess of Rules

Exclusive: Usable only by Lords.

Effect: After use, the Lord may permanently evolve one skill belonging to any contracted Divine Chosen. The evolved result is influenced by the state of the territory, battle experience, and the Divine Chosen’s talent. The fragment disappears after a single use.

The moment Phield received the fragment, he froze.

He wanted to laugh, but didn’t dare.

His heart pounded wildly, yet not a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

According to everything he knew, Divine Chosen only had a chance to enhance one of their skills when advancing to the next rank, and even then, they had to choose from several possible options.

Yet this Divine Artifact had simply handed him a guaranteed enhancement.

Isn’t this basically giving someone an extra level?

Phield was overjoyed.

He immediately decided to use it before anyone could steal it.

A gentle warmth flowed into his body, transforming into a stream of Divine Power.

The next instant, the familiar enhancement interface appeared before him.

It was exactly the same panel that only appeared when Divine Chosen advanced.

The only difference was that there was just a single option.

Evolve Existing Skill.

Every Divine Chosen within his territory was eligible.

Every one of their skills possessed the potential to evolve.

Who should I choose?

Phield was tempted to give it to Firomina.

As a Destruction Divine Chosen, her combat potential was already terrifying, and her future strength was practically guaranteed.

He also considered using it on one of the logistics staff back home.

Once a territory reached a certain scale, individual strength became less important.

Overall military and logistical power would determine everything.

Unfortunately, their current levels were still too low.

More importantly, none of them could solve the crisis they were facing right now.

Only Rosalia could.

The remaining treasure chests... every single one of them belongs to me.

I was going to enhance Rosalia’s skill sooner or later anyway.

I’ll do it now.

Phield immediately selected Rosalia’s portrait and chose Endless Severance.

A mysterious divine seal descended from above and merged seamlessly into Rosalia’s Corruption Goddess Mark.

Rosalia suddenly relaxed.

An enormous amount of crimson runes gathered around her greatsword like a swirling vortex.

The heavens themselves changed color.

Blood-red patterns spread elegantly across the blade as though they had been forged from condensed blood itself.

The overwhelming killing intent caused Farlo’s pupils to tremble violently.

"T-That’s impossible..."

he muttered.

"That’s... the aura of calamity."

The Divine Skill evolution was complete.

Tier Three Legendary Divine Skill: Lotus Endless Severance

Description: An evolved large-scale Divine Skill that unleashes an overwhelming crimson sword slash capable of inflicting world-shattering destruction upon all enemies within its range.

Legendary Effect: After activating Lotus Endless Severance, the user’s attack power is greatly increased for thirty minutes while a Divine Power cloak forms around them, providing both intimidation and defensive protection.

Rosalia was completely dumbfounded after receiving the enhancement.

Her eyes widened as she blinked repeatedly at Phield in disbelief.

How did I suddenly gain a skill enhancement?

I didn’t even level up.

Phield silently gave her a thumbs-up.

"I’m invincible."

Rosalia placed both hands on her hips, wearing the smug expression of someone convinced she was the greatest genius alive.

"The Divine Artifacts from these treasure chests are becoming more and more valuable."

Cold sweat rolled down Phield’s back.

It wasn’t just the tier of the rewards that had increased.

Even their rarity had risen dramatically.

He was willing to bet that even the Imperial Treasury might not possess something this precious.

The next treasure chest belongs to me.

The one after that belongs to me too.

And the one after that is still mine.

No one is taking a single one of my rewards.

Before that, however...

One last time.

Suppressing the greed raging inside him, Phield smiled calmly.

"Let’s move on. Time for the next floor."

"Huh?"

Riemann stared at Phield’s strange expression curiously.

"Didn’t you get anything good? What exactly was in that chest? I clearly saw your Divine Chosen’s aura increase dramatically."

"He’s right."

Contily couldn’t help speaking up, her voice trembling slightly.

"It was terrifying. It felt as though even the air had become heavier."

"It was just something that increases vitality."

Phield scratched his nose.

"It boosts life force. Nothing special. Better than nothing, I suppose."

"Hehe. That’s what happens when you don’t know how to read the situation. The Goddess doesn’t bless people like that."

Marianne laughed gleefully at his apparent misfortune.

Watching Phield’s group make no further moves, Farlo secretly sighed in relief.

Thank goodness.

We absolutely cannot let them open another treasure chest.

Those people are definitely servants of demons.

No... they’re calamities themselves.

The group entered the next level.

Large numbers of extraordinary demons immediately appeared.

Fortunately, Riemann and Farlo fought with everything they had.

After sacrificing more than forty sailors and six mounted knights, they finally managed to wipe out every last demon.

"This time..."

Riemann could no longer contain himself.

Ignoring the sailors who were collapsing from exhaustion, he sprinted straight toward the stone platform.

"From this moment onward, this place shall be known as Phield’s Treasure Grounds."

"Everything here belongs to me alone!"