He saw quite a lot of ancient warriors, as most of them were at least peak eternal gods or half-step transcendent. Though he didn't see any transcendent-level ancient warriors, he was sure they would come when the time was right. So for now everything was calm and everybody minded their own business.

As Apollo's group arrived, they naturally drew attention. Several gazes turned toward them, assessing, measuring.

But the interest quickly faded.

When the others sensed their auras, they lost interest almost immediately. None of them radiated even the presence of a half-step transcendent, making the group appear unworthy of concern.

It didn't bother him. In fact it didn't matter to him how many half-step transcendents gather here.

After stepping into the Transcendent realm, his perspective had completely changed. Even Second- or Third-Order Transcendents no longer held his interest.

Only those at the supreme level… and above were worthy of his attention.

As they made their way, they found a place to settle for some time. And not long after, someone approached them.

He was clearly a human who appeared to be middle-aged, quite strong and had a deep aura of a half-step transcendent realm. He was just a step away from becoming a true transcendent realm ancestor, but that single step seems to stop numerous geniuses.

But still he was an extraordinary person with a strong foundation and wasn't like most transcendent here who didn't have hope of breakthrough.

He came to Apollo directly, although his aura was calm and was difficult to see through, but the serene aura made him feel he was the one who led the group.

His youthful appearance did not deceive the man. At a glance, he had already identified who truly held authority.

"Hello, friend. Could we talk?" He approached Apollo and asked with a smile.

Apollo glanced at him for a moment, which seemed to jolt the man's soul as everything about him was seen through. His expression changed for a moment, but he quickly calmed down.

Apollo nodded, as it seemed his mind was quite firm. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Yes. Let's talk."

He, too, was interested in understanding the situation here. If this man could provide useful information, then there was no reason to refuse.

"Hm. First, my name is Herold, and I am from the Southern continent." He quickly introduced himself.

Apollo felt interested hearing he was from the southern continent of Rion, as he had never ventured there. From what he remembered, it was primarily the domain of the Elven Empire—though humans and other races also resided there.

"As you can see, almost everyone from Rion gathered here due to changes in the God Ruins, and although many achieved breakthroughs and became stronger, it is still meaningless in front of ancient powers within the ruins."

Herold continued with grave expression.

"So, most of the warriors from Rion have formed alliances. Those of the same race have banded together—the beast races have united, the monster clans have formed their own groups… and likewise, we humans have established a human alliance."

He paused briefly before looking directly at Apollo.

"And I would like to invite you to join the Human Alliance."

"Oh, an alliance." Apollo kind of guessed it, as in the current situation the only thing they can do is to join hands, but sadly they didn't seem to understand that in front of transcendents even hundreds of half-step transcendents mean nothing unless they have some kind of extraordinary trump card.

Though knowing this, he still didn't tell them the bitter truth.

Seeing Apollo wasn't saying anything, Herold spoke again.

"Warriors from the western, southern, and even northern continents have already joined. There are also extraordinary individuals from hidden sects and ancient clans—beings whose lineages stretch back across eras."

"With them, we believe we have enough strength. Even if we encounter ancient transcendents, we should be able to face them… and leave the God Ruins safely."

Apollo nodded and felt there were few guys with very hidden energy; even he felt mysterious power whose true origin was difficult to guess for him.

They were definitely not ordinary people, but still, to him, at best, they could just pique his interest and nothing else.

For now, joining the alliance was the most reasonable choice. He had no desire to stand out as a lone figure—not yet.

After all…

No one knew what kind of monsters would emerge when the ruins fully opened.

"You are right, we humans need to join together to survive." He looked at Herold and quickly agreed.

Herold's expression eased slightly.

And beside Apollo, Lucifer and others from the sacred Light empire also nodded in agreement.

They understood Apollo's strength better than anyone. An alliance meant little to him, but since he had agreed, they followed without hesitation.

Herold then led them to the area where people from the Human alliance had gathered.

There weren't many, only a few hundred, but the weakest were true gods, as most of the void gods that came were either dead or broke through to the true god realm and above.

Except Herold, there were eight more people who seemed to have reached the half-step transcendent realm.

Their aura wasn't weak; each one had a deep aura and strong foundation. Out of eight, three had the deepest and best-hidden aura, which piqued his interest.

One was an old man who was most well hidden and appeared to be the weakest of the nine half-step transcendents from outside. But the truth was completely opposite.

His aura was deep, and even he felt like the old man self-severed his realm, and his true realm before might be transcendent or even possibly supreme.

Not only him, but the other two, one man and a woman, weren't also ordinary. Although their real should be a half-step transcendent realm, both have mysterious power sealed within them.

The sealed power within them felt quite extraordinary, and he cannot be sure which level they would reach upon their release.

As Apollo observed them, a small group approached from the distance. They walked with purpose, their eyes fixed ahead.

Soon, they stopped right in front of Lucifer and the others from the Sacred Light Empire.