Chapter 270: Chapter270-Starlit Gala, Dawn Pirates

Mosi had, in fact, been hiding in the shadows the entire time.

He had never truly been lured away by the fake Daniel. He had merely pretended to give chase, while in reality remaining concealed within this stretch of the void all along.

He knew that fellow James would not be smug for long.

Sure enough, Daniel and James had ended up fighting each other.

Meanwhile, Mosi had remained hidden, lying patiently in wait for the perfect opportunity to make his move.

Unfortunately, what irritated him greatly was that Daniel always seemed capable of sensing his presence through some mysterious instinct.

Those eyes of his were as though they could pierce through the void itself. No matter how deeply Mosi concealed himself, he could never truly hide from Daniel’s gaze.

Mosi’s hand had already settled upon the hilt of his blade.

"Oh?" Daniel asked softly. "You still wish to fight?"

Before his words had even faded, ninety-nine clones surged out like a tide, surrounding Mosi from every direction.

"Fight."

Mosi coldly spat out a single word.

One minute later...

Mosi stood there with a bruised and swollen face, his voice hoarse and strained.

"I surrender."

Even in such a miserable state, however, his face remained utterly devoid of expression.

Only then did Daniel withdraw his Divine Domain and dismiss his clones. Smiling, he asked, "Convinced now?"

The dispirited James and the battered Mosi looked at one another, both at a loss for words.

"I have always been a man who convinces others through reason. I never force people to do things against their will."

"What I love most in this world is having a calm and reasonable discussion."

Daniel spoke with a beaming smile.

"I’m convinced!"

The instant James noticed that Daniel seemed inclined to start another "discussion," he hurriedly lowered his head and admitted defeat.

"Convinced."

Mosi likewise helplessly squeezed out a single word.

...

The sky looked as though it had been ripped open by an invisible giant hand.

One figure after another streaked through the cloud layer, the trails of light behind them carving brief arcs across the darkened sky before vanishing in an instant.

On the ground below, the players craned their necks upward, watching those flying figures with envy and admiration in their eyes.

Those were the supreme experts they had long looked up to from afar.

"That person who just flew past... was Skylight!"

Someone suddenly cried out in shock.

"That’s right! He’s the super expert who has held second place on the rankings for years!"

"Sunborn is here too! He’s always ranked steadily in third place!"

"Why are so many peak-level experts all flying in the same direction? Could some terrifying ancient beast have appeared over there?"

The ordinary players were abuzz with speculation.

To them, any one of those figures soaring through the sky was an existence they could only dream of approaching.

Yet now, so many of the strongest players in the entire world had appeared at once.

Something extraordinary was clearly about to happen.

...

A massive starship hung steadily in the void.

Its cabin doors slid open without a sound.

Carodion stood expressionlessly at the entrance, carefully identifying every player who entered.

These were all individuals who normally commanded the winds and summoned the rain on the rankings, renowned powerhouses whose names were familiar to almost every player in the world.

Yet at this moment, each of them was suppressing the excitement in his or her chest as they filed obediently into the starship.

When the final player stepped through the cabin entrance, Carodion finally turned around and walked farther into the vessel, soon arriving before Camille.

"My lord, everyone has arrived."

"Depart."

Camille nodded slightly, his voice deep and solemn.

Rumble! Rumble!

The gigantic vessel’s energy systems activated in an instant.

Dark blue flames erupted from its engines.

The entire battleship trembled violently, like an ancient beast that had slumbered for countless ages finally breaking free of its chains.

In the next moment, it shot out of the plane at astonishing speed, charging toward the boundless starry skies beyond the world.

Not long ago, Daniel had issued an order.

The top fifty players on the world’s level rankings were to assemble and board a massive starship, traveling to a certain destination to participate in a grand gathering among the stars.

Every one of these players was around Level 300.

They belonged to the very small group of people standing at the absolute summit of this world.

When they had first received the news, they had been so stunned that they could not speak for a long while.

They were going to experience the Starlit Gala!

How unbelievable was that?

All this time, the Endless Starsea had existed only in their wildest fantasies.

It was a boundless place beyond their world, a mysterious expanse filled with unknown civilizations, foreign races, terrifying experts, and opportunities beyond imagination.

Now, they were finally about to enter it personally.

"Do you think every living creature we encounter from now on counts as an alien?"

"Tsk, tsk... Aliens! Mom, your son has finally made something of himself!"

"What level of power does Legendary-Grade count as in the Endless Starsea?"

"The Starlit Gala... Damn, I’m getting excited just thinking about it!"

"Who cares how strong we are out there? At least we’ll be among the first players ever to set foot in the stars!"

The players were unusually excited, their hearts surging like violent waves.

They crowded around the transparent portholes, staring outside with burning curiosity.

However, all that remained in their field of vision was endless darkness.

That was the color produced when space itself was folded and traversed at tremendous speed.

The starship was already carrying them toward a world far beyond anything they had ever known.

...

On the abandoned planet, Daniel had used his iron fists to make both James and Mosi acknowledge his position as their boss.

Relying on his absurdly thick skin, James successfully seized the second-highest position in their little organization.

Mosi, unable to do anything about it, could only resign himself to becoming the third brother.

With two brand-new rookies of the pirate world now following behind him, Daniel formally embarked on his journey.

In only a short period of time, the three powerful experts used their overwhelming strength to conquer pirate crew after pirate crew.

Anyone who dared resist was promptly beaten into submission.

Anyone with a little more sense immediately surrendered before the beating even began.

At present, Daniel’s forces already controlled five Star Islands.

Under his command were three Low-Grade Sages, five Demi-Sages, more than a thousand Supreme-Grade experts, and countless God-Grade subordinates!

After giving the matter some simple thought, Daniel casually settled upon a name for his newly established force.

The Dawn Pirates.

Before long, the name of the Dawn Pirates began spreading throughout this region of the starry river.

At first, the surrounding pirate crews had only heard scattered rumors.

A mysterious new pirate faction had appeared out of nowhere.

Its leader was terrifyingly powerful.

The two monsters following him were nearly as unreasonable.

Wherever the three of them went, established pirate crews were crushed one after another and forcibly absorbed into their ranks.

Soon, those rumors became impossible to ignore.

The Dawn Pirates were no longer merely an unknown group of newcomers.

They had become a rapidly rising force whose name was beginning to carry real weight throughout the surrounding starry skies.

Just then, a massive starship slowly descended upon one of the Star Islands.

The hatch opened.

Several dozen peak-level players filed out in succession.

The instant they saw the familiar figure waiting ahead of them, their faces lit up with excitement.

"It’s the Guildmaster!"

"Boss Guildmaster!"

"Guildmaster Boss, I finally get to see you again! You’re still as handsome as ever!"

"Guildmaster, you actually became a pirate before us? That’s way too unfair!"

Voices rang out one after another.

Daniel smiled and nodded in greeting.

They were all familiar faces. Everyone here had known one another for a long time already, so there was no need for unnecessary ceremony.

"Welcome to your first arrival in the Endless Starsea."

Daniel’s voice was not loud, but it clearly entered the ears of every player present.

"For the time being, you will remain here as trainee pirates. Once you have spent some time in this place, you will naturally understand what the starry skies are truly like."

The moment these words left his mouth, all the players froze.

"Pirates? Trainees?"

"The Guildmaster really knows how to have fun... Why do I suddenly feel like something isn’t quite right?"

"Hold on, do trainee pirates get experience points and wages?"

"More importantly, is there any danger allowance?"

"Can we rob other pirates? Or are we the ones getting robbed?"

"Judging from the Guildmaster’s expression, I have a feeling we’re about to be assigned a ridiculous amount of work..."

The players immediately began whispering among themselves.

A moment ago, they had still been fantasizing about exploring the glorious mysteries of the Endless Starsea.

Now, without warning, they had apparently become pirate interns.

Their grand interstellar adventure had taken an unexpectedly strange turn.

Daniel ignored their complaints after arranging everything.

His purpose in bringing these players here was to allow them to adapt to the Endless Starsea in advance.

Their identity as pirates was only temporary.

Once they had become sufficiently accustomed to the environment and dangers of the starry skies, he would gradually expand the scale of this operation and allow more players to take part.

With several Sages overseeing the situation, their safety could barely be considered acceptable.

Besides, even if the players died, they could still revive. The only inconvenience was that they would be sent back to their bound revival points.

At present, the players’ rate of growth was still far too slow.

Daniel hoped that by entering the Endless Starsea, they would be able to temper themselves more thoroughly and obtain more opportunities.

After all, opportunities within the stars were as countless as the stars themselves.

Danger existed everywhere.

But so did fortune.

...

An unknown amount of time later.

Greatflow World.

At a certain location in the void, space suddenly began to distort.

It looked as though an invisible giant hand had seized hold of the fabric of space and was slowly twisting it.

Gradually, a deep and mysterious vortex took shape.

It was a teleportation gate capable of crossing entire starfields.

Then, that vast and majestic voice rang out once more.

"The tournament is about to begin. All participants are to pass through the teleportation gate immediately and proceed to the Budelica Starfield!"

The venue of the Starlight Tournament was none other than the Budelica Starfield.

This was not some minor contest confined to a corner of the Canaan Starfield.

It was a magnificent event jointly organized by eight great starfields!

A supreme competition involving the finest young prodigies across the entire universe!

Daniel, James, and Mosi walked out of Westmoor Manor side by side.

In the distant sky, numerous figures were already rising into the air, shooting toward the enormous vortex like streaks of light.

"The Starlight Tournament is finally about to begin."

James had put away his usual frivolous and playful attitude. For once, a trace of solemnity appeared upon his face.

He knew exactly what this tournament represented.

The opponents they had encountered up until now, no matter how talented or powerful, were merely geniuses from a limited region.

But the individuals gathering in the Budelica Starfield were different.

They were monsters selected from eight entire starfields.

Every one of them would be an extraordinary prodigy standing above countless others.

"Looking forward to it."

Mosi unusually forced two words out of his throat.

Although his face remained as expressionless as ever, the faint battle intent radiating from his body was impossible to conceal.

Daniel glanced toward the enormous teleportation vortex in the sky.

His eyes shone with anticipation.

"Let’s go."

He took a single step into the void.

In the next instant, his figure disappeared into the distance.

"Let us meet the greatest prodigies this universe has to offer."

Two figures immediately followed behind him, shooting forward like meteors chasing the moon.

Together, the three of them flew straight toward the teleportation gate.

Toward the Budelica Starfield.

Toward the gathering storm of geniuses.

Toward the true stage of the universe.

...