Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent

Celestial Vault broke free from his restraints, his face pale, his features handsome, exuding a powerful aura, yet there was no trace of life within him.

With a flicker, he appeared above the ancient castle, his arms slightly outstretched. His cold voice reverberated throughout the entire Dark City: "Everyone, assemble!"

Whoosh...

Gray mist swirled as figures flashed, quickly gathering in front of the castle. They knelt on one knee, their faces full of fervor and worship.

Celestial Vault stood still above the castle, his expression calm, neither sorrowful nor joyful, as he watched everything below.

Soon, the surroundings were engulfed in darkness as nearly a million Black Magicians gathered, many of them powerful Dark Puppets.

Celestial Vault took a deep breath and slowly spoke, "My son was killed in Fire Phoenix City. Everyone, follow me to destroy the Endless Desert and flatten Fire Phoenix City!"

"Flatten Fire Phoenix City!"

"Revenge..."

The million-strong army instantly erupted in a frenzy, their roars shaking the sky.

Celestial Vault raised his hand slightly, and the noise abruptly ceased. He spoke softly, "This battle is to the death. No retreat, no surrender. Move out!"

At his command, the million-strong army surged forward, an overwhelming force that blotted out the sun, heading toward the Endless Desert.

...

Endless Desert, JohnWorld-in-Hand.

He slowly opened his eyes, still within the dark rift.

At this moment, the Dark Pearl had been refined by him, and this space had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Endless waves of dark power surged, all transforming into the power of dark laws, with signs of shifting toward the dark laws of Heaven.

The most powerful force was still the Dark Pearl, which had perfectly merged with this space, able to devour the dark power and integrate into the dark rift.

"No wonder that Black Raven could devour his dark laws of Heaven," he muttered softly, recalling the previous battle with the Black Raven.

The Dark Pearl, connected to the dark rift, could devour dark power, an almost endless resource.

However, this was not invincible. The Dark Pearl could only absorb dark attribute powers. While it could absorb other types of power, it could not refine them.

If the absorbed powers from other attributes were too strong, they could even destroy the dark rift.

"I wonder if this Dark Pearl can directly merge with World-in-Hand?" he mused, his gaze flickering.

His World-in-Hand power was formidable, capable of accommodating various attributes. If the Dark Pearl could merge with it, he could almost devour any attack, even the laws of Heaven.

The only unfortunate thing was that the Dark Pearl could only connect with the dark rift.

"Hm? The Celestial Vault forces are here... so many of them!" He furrowed his brow, clearly sensing a massive army, at least a million strong, from the direction of Dark City, invading the Endless Desert.

However, he didn't sense any Emperor-level experts, not even a peak Nine-Star expert.

"With this level of strength, they dare to go up against Emperor-level experts?" He furrowed his brows, confused.

The most powerful aspect of Celestial Vault's organization was the Demon's Sky Formation laid out by the Black Magicians and the self-destructive attacks of the Dark Puppets.

But in his World-in-Hand, these posed no threat at all; those people were as good as walking to their death.

His mind stirred, and suddenly, a fierce wind howled through the Endless Desert, with sandstorms swirling, obstructing the advance of Dark City's army.

The Endless Desert was a part of his World-in-Hand, and he could manipulate it at will.

Soon after, his figure flickered as he left the dark rift and appeared under the Tree of Life, where he awakened Gaka.

"Senior, the army of Dark City has entered the Endless Desert, but I haven't sensed any powerful auras. The strongest two are only at the mid-Nine-Star level. Could it be that Celestial Vault has sent these guys to their death?" John asked, puzzled.

Gaka, however, didn't take it lightly. "How many of them are there?"

John reached out with his senses and replied, "At least a million."

"A million?" Gaka's tone grew serious. "Be careful. Celestial Vault is definitely among them. No one can sense his aura. His goal is likely to set up the Demon's Sky Formation and consume your entire World-in-Hand."

"Consume my World-in-Hand? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?" John frowned. He had fully merged with World-in-Hand and was practically invincible. He didn't even regard those people as a threat.

But Gaka remained stern. "Don't forget what I told you about Celestial Vault's abilities. When combined with the massive Demon's Sky Formation laid by a million-strong army, as well as the self-destructive Dark Puppets, your World-in-Hand might not be able to withstand it."

Celestial Vault can absorb the power of experts and World-in-Hand?

John recalled what Gaka had said before. He had never encountered such a strange ability and asked curiously, "So what should we do now?"

Gaka pondered for a moment before answering, "Try to use the Endless Desert to entangle them. If you notice Celestial Vault absorbing the power of the Endless Desert, immediately bring it into World-in-Hand."

John nodded. Just then, he sensed two powerful auras entering the Endless Desert, along with a large number of experts, about a hundred thousand in total, most of them at the Nine-Star level.

These must be the experts from Fire Phoenix City.

Apart from Fire Phoenix City, none of the other Realm of the King forces had such a level of strength.

"Senior, I'll head out first." He said his farewells, and with a thought, he left World-in-Hand and appeared in the oasis of the Endless Desert.

At that moment, Sini and the others were busy rebuilding Gran City, which had been destroyed earlier.

The Endless Desert was now John's territory, but there were no cities around—it was rather desolate.

Fortunately, the basic infrastructure of Gran City still stood. A simple repair would suffice.

"Big brother, you're out so soon?" Spoorate exclaimed upon seeing him, setting down a large stone and rushing to greet him with a bright smile.

John nodded and affectionately ruffled the little girl's hair. He looked over at the busy group and said, "Just get the City Lord's Manor sorted out for now. We can take care of the other buildings later."

Compared to the manifested Endless Desert, he preferred staying in World-in-Hand. Even though he was developing his forces here, he didn't plan to remain here forever.

The group responded with acknowledgment and quickly tidied up the City Lord's Manor. Though there were still traces of damage, it was livable for now.

At that moment, a powerful aura surged from the distance—Nine Phoenix and the Chaos Emperor, along with others, had arrived.

John led the group out of the city to greet them.

"John, has there been any movement from Dark City?" Nine Phoenix asked, looking at him.

John spoke, "A large number of Dark City's experts have entered the Endless Desert, at least a million of them, but I've temporarily trapped them."

"A million?" Nine Phoenix and Chaos exchanged a glance, their expressions serious. They both had a sense of Dark City's intentions.

Chaos quickly asked, "Is Celestial Vault among them?"

John shook his head. "I don't know. Among the million, the two strongest are only at the mid-Nine-Star level."

Nine Phoenix furrowed her brows. "I can't sense Celestial Vault's aura. I suspect he's definitely among them."

She then turned to John and reminded him, "John, be careful. Celestial Vault's goal might be your World-in-Hand. If you sense anything unusual, immediately bring the Endless Desert back into it."

John nodded. It was clear that Nine Phoenix was well aware of Celestial Vault's capabilities.

She looked around and asked, "Has anyone else arrived?"

"No, they should be able to arrive by tomorrow at the earliest," John replied.

The other Realm of the King forces were far from the Endless Desert, and given the time needed to assemble their armies, they might not even make it by tomorrow.

"Endless Desert can't trap Celestial Vault for too long. Let's wait for one more day. Tomorrow night, regardless of whether they've arrived or not, we'll take action," Nine Phoenix said, understanding Celestial Vault's trickery and unwilling to let her guard down.

She ordered the army to set up camp outside the city and then followed John inside.

...

Within the Endless Desert, the million-strong army marched forward, struggling through the endless yellow sands, moving aimlessly like headless flies.

Celestial Vault, however, remained unfazed. He turned to a black-robed man beside him and asked indifferently, "How is it?"

The man bowed slightly before answering, "Master, we've figured it out. This should be the central area. The Endless Desert now is much smaller compared to before; the sea region seems to have disappeared. The million-strong army has formed the Demon's Sky Formation, which is enough to envelop this entire desert."

"Very good." Celestial Vault nodded in satisfaction. "Let's begin. This time, I'll take action personally. We will refine this Endless Desert."

"Yes!" The man respectfully acknowledged, then immediately turned toward the army, waving his hand repeatedly.

The soldiers understood and quickly scattered, the million-strong force divided into eighty-one separate teams. Under the command of their respective leaders, they spread out across the desert.

Celestial Vault remained still, calmly observing the scene.

In the distance, mirages occasionally appeared on the horizon, confusing the direction of the troops.

He looked at the illusion with disdain and coldly said, "These petty tricks think they can fool me. If I could leave Dark City, this Endless Desert would already be mine!"

He closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged, and quietly waited for news from the others.

The yellow sand swept through the sky, and the surroundings were desolate. In the distance, mirages continued to manifest, but the eighty-one teams seemed unaffected, swiftly traversing the desert and disappearing from sight.

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In the oasis, at the city.

John frowned. He could clearly sense the movements of those people.

"Why did they suddenly split into so many teams? Eighty-one?" He felt a sense of unease.

In a formation, the number nine represents the greatest power, and eighty-one is exactly a multiple of nine.

From the movements of these teams, it appeared they were attempting to surround the entire Endless Desert.

"Such grand ambitions," he thought, realizing their intentions.

"Wait, there's one person left behind." Then, he sensed that in the center of the Endless Desert, one individual remained in place.

He couldn't feel any aura from that person.

Could it be Celestial Vault?

A suspicion began to form in his mind.

"John, what's going on?" Nine Phoenix noticed his serious expression and asked with curiosity.