After a deep deliberation, most talents decided to stay and protect the outer area.
Although they could stay in the stronghold, it would also cut off their progress.
After experiencing over a hundred thousand years of fighting the Dark Beasts, the timidity they once had was long gone.
The only thing on their minds now was how to grow stronger with the least effort and in the fastest time.
With the decision to stay in the outer area, Liam began to drive the Skjǫldrún Stronghold, containing hundreds of Absolutes and some of the Masters of the Ocean of Law.
Confident in their strength, their goal was to earn bigger merits deeper in the Dark Domain.
Escorted by the Absolutes, the stronghold began to travel unimpeded.
No matter how many Dark Beasts were in their way, they could be wiped out with a single wave.
Seeing such a thoughtless massacre, the talents remaining in the base were amazed.
The Absolutes seemed to possess the power to suppress the world.
The Dark Beasts they had difficulty killing were easily wiped out like the wind clearing the fog.
Amazed by their strength, they felt more motivated to become stronger.
A few years later, the Skjǫldrún Stronghold officially entered the middle area of the Dark Void Domain.
Looking at the endless number of Dark Beasts charging toward the stronghold, even the easy-going Absolutes turned more serious.
"Their strength has reached at least a predatory-level Dark Beast."
(Feral, Predatory, Apex, Primal)
"Can you handle it?" Marcus asked Maximus.
Due to their overwhelming numbers, the tier 11 Dark Beasts had become much stronger.
However, as Absolutes, they were still confident in their strength.
What they worried about was whether Maximus could keep the stronghold intact.
The more powerful the Dark Beasts became, the larger the energy consumption Maximus would require.
Although he had unlimited energy, they knew his control had its limits.
"Don't worry about me. As long as no Primal Beast attacks the base, I can keep it safe for thousands of years," Maximus said confidently.
Among the Dark Beasts, the only ones he feared were the Primal Dark Beasts.
A Primal Dark Beast, comparable to an Absolute and enhanced by the crowd, was an unimaginable threat.
"If that's the case, then we can rest assured!" Marcus laughed in confidence.
Reassured about the safety of the base, the Absolutes began to prepare for the hunt.
Their target was the Apex Dark Beasts.
In the absence of a Primal Dark Beast, these Apex Dark Beasts were the most dangerous.
Once their numbers reached a certain level, they could even bring down an Absolute.
Furthermore, hunting an Apex Dark Beast was highly profitable.
Each one could produce tier 12 ultimate materials.
Looking out into the void, the Absolutes began to pick their targets.
As they ventured out of the stronghold, Marcus noticed Atreus opening a map projection.
"It's the map projection. Don't you know?"
"I know what it is, but where did you get it? Did your monitoring technology have a breakthrough?"
"Hahaha, this was produced by Maximus. How is it? Amazing, right?" Atreus bragged, pointing at the precise position of the dark beasts on the map.
Marcus hadn't expected that brat to have such advanced technology.
With this map projection, he wouldn't need to scour the area looking for targets.
By going directly to the target, his efficiency would skyrocket!
"Just get it from Liam. They were distributing them to the Absolutes earlier!"
Too preoccupied with the Dark Beasts, Marcus hadn't even noticed the large commotion in the stronghold.
Without another word, Marcus locked onto Liam and teleported.
"Give me that map projection."
"Hmm." Liam nodded, handing Marcus the map projection device.
"Don't I need to pay anything?" Marcus paused, seeing Liam didn't say any condition.
Looking around, he noticed various Absolutes discussing the 10% cut the Shadowcrest family was taking from those using the map projection.
"It's free. As a friend and ally of the Shadowcrest family, you don't need to pay anything," Liam said, shaking his head with a smile.
What a joke—charging the strongest Absolute? They still wanted to live.
Although Marcus might not mind, it was better not to take risks.
Furthermore, considering Marcus had supported his father in the Dimensional War over a million years ago, such a favor was nothing.
"Then, thank your father for me," Marcus nodded, quickly opening the map projection.
Filtering the map, he didn't find any Primal Dark Beasts.
"There's no Primal Dark Beast? What a pity…"
Although he hadn't sensed any aura of a Primal Beast, confirming that there was nothing still disappointed him.
Sighing, he turned the filter to the Apex Dark Beasts.
Looking at the tens of thousands of red dots representing Apex Dark Beasts, Marcus finally smiled.
"This is also good for a warm-up…"
Meanwhile, inside the Shadowcrest laboratory, Maximus met with Zar.
"Can you increase the power of the energy-loading device?" Zar asked.
With the arrival of the Absolutes, Zar had become the weakest again.
Although he could amplify his strength a billion times, it would only last a minute.
Compared to those long-lasting Absolutes, Zar was embarrassed to show off his power.
"Sure, I can increase the duration of your amplification."
"Really?! You can increase it?"
"Of course. However, I'll need a few more ultimate materials."
"How much do you need?!" Zar asked excitedly.
"A hundred. For each hundred tier 12 ultimate materials, I can increase the duration of your amplification by a minute."
"What? Are you serious?"
The energy-loading device was only made up of barely a thousand ultimate materials.
Needing a hundred of them just to increase his amplification time by a minute, Zar felt cheated.
"This is all I can do," Maximus said, shaking his head, unwilling to bargain.
Although he was scamming Zar for ultimate materials, Maximus thought he was already generous.
Maintaining Zar's amplification costs a lot of energy.
If factored in over a long time, Zar could even earn a profit.
"That's it! Then wait for me!" Gritting his teeth, Zar reluctantly agreed.
"Good luck. I'll wait for you to collect millions of ultimate materials and beat the overlords with a punch."
"I will!" Feeling inspired, Zar left with fiery eyes.