"Mother? What are you doing here?" Muria looked at the golden-haired girl standing on his shoulder with surprise.
"I'm here to help you. What? Are you not happy to see me?" The golden dragoness, in her human-sized form, playfully tapped Muria's armored neck, producing a metallic *clang*.
"Of course not," Muria quickly replied. He was feeling overwhelmed by the lack of support, so his mother's arrival from the distant world of Erathia was a blessing. The difficulty of starting out in this world was high, and the feeling of being alone was truly miserable, even if the world itself had been somewhat kind to him.
"Well, Little Muria, you've done well to reach the Fourth Rank of Legend already. At this rate, it won't be long before you catch up to me and your father."
"Haha, what's my father's strength now? He must have been assigned a mid-sized world by now too, right?" Muria's face lit up with interest at the mention of his father.
"Your father is close to breaking through to the Sixth Rank of Legend. Don't think he's slow—unlike you, he didn't consume all sorts of random things. He earned his power with his own fists, one punch at a time.
As for the world assigned to him for building his army, he received it decades ago. I even helped him secure his position there. After that, I returned to Erathia, and then I heard about you. I heard you broke through as well and were assigned a mid-sized world, so I came to check on you.
What's the situation in the world you were assigned? You've been here for a while now. Tell me what you've found out, and I'll help you figure out the best way to conquer it."
Hearing his mother's question, Muria couldn't help but show a bitter smile. He told her everything he had learned, including his analysis of the world's power structure and his assessment of its combat capabilities.
"Little Muria, you're really unlucky, aren't you? You got assigned to a world that's already unified. Did you offend the spirit of the World Dominion Hall?"
"I didn't offend him," Muria replied, a touch of frustration crossing his face. The world he was assigned was highly advanced, with at least a dozen Legends, and because a Titan had once ruled here, the inhabitants were extraordinarily powerful. Their combat techniques were very similar to those in Erathia, meaning they were far from primitive. Simply put, every Yinhuang here was an expert in fighting.
"You're really unlucky! Your father, Ansoor, didn't have such trouble in his assigned world. His world was still in a state of division.
Powerful beings ruled their own territories, occasionally skirmishing with each other. When your father entered, he immediately defeated one of these so-called kings, establishing his position. After defeating a few more, he became well-known and respected.
But in your world, every action triggers a chain reaction. If you make a move, the Nine Phoenix Dynasty could send a group of Legends to surround you the very next day."
The golden dragoness analyzed the situation with a serious expression. She didn't expect her son to conquer the world with sheer force alone; that was impossible without the strongest power. Without it, aiming for the highest position was suicidal!
"That's exactly why I've been so cautious. But ultimately, it comes down to my lack of power. If I had reached the peak of Legend—no, even if I were just at the Seventh Rank—I could sweep through everything."
"The Titan race didn't assign you to this world just to solve problems with muscle alone. You need to learn to use your brain, to use strategy and tactics. Sometimes, victory doesn't come solely from brute strength."
Hearing Muria's words, the golden dragoness couldn't help but rub her forehead. As a naturally born mage, she disliked solving problems purely with muscle, but her husband loved doing just that, and now her son was showing signs of following in his footsteps.
"For example, I have a way for you to expand aggressively without worrying about the Nine Phoenix Dynasty attacking you. And you don't need overwhelming power to do it."
"What way is there to let me expand without worrying about the Nine Phoenix Dynasty?" Muria asked curiously. The only method he could think of was to hide in the world's remote areas, quietly gathering the Yinhuang people, slowly developing and strengthening his forces, until he eventually advanced to high-rank Legend. Only then would he lead his army to sweep through the entire world.
"Little Muria, think carefully. What have you learned that can help you defeat stronger opponents, that can even let you fight beyond your rank?"
Atris felt the need to guide Muria, to show him the joy of overcoming strong enemies with wisdom rather than always relying on brute strength. There's a limit to what can be achieved with physical power, but wisdom knows no bounds.
"Uh…" Muria scratched his head. There were several factors that allowed him to fight beyond his rank. For example, his bloodline allowed him to easily battle beyond his level, even across significant rank differences.
Then there were the Titan combat techniques and Dragon secret arts he had inherited, which also allowed him to surpass his rank in battle. But Muria knew that his mother wasn't referring to these, as they were all combat-related and wouldn't help against Yinhuang who might have peak Legend strength.
"Formation magic! Little Muria, have you forgotten everything I taught you when you were a child? Now that you're about to grow up, are you returning all of it to me?" Seeing Muria still deep in thought, the golden dragoness chided him with some frustration.
"Only formation magic can give mortals the power to challenge gods, creating miracles that are almost mythical."
"Formation magic can allow mortals to challenge gods?" Muria asked in surprise. The gap between mortals and gods was so vast that it defied words, like beings from different dimensions. "Has that ever happened? I don't remember hearing about it."
"Ahem!" The golden dragoness cleared her throat awkwardly. "In theory, it's possible, but it hasn't actually happened yet."
"Oh." Hearing this, Muria's expression became somewhat dismissive.
"Don't underestimate this. Formation magic is the only field that, in theory, can allow mortals to kill gods. No other discipline offers that possibility."
"Mother, if formation magic allows mortals to wield god-slaying power, how many resources would it take to build such a formation? And I must ask, what mortal possesses those kinds of resources and knowledge?"
Muria pointed out the flaw in this hypothetical scenario. "If someone has the knowledge to set up a god-slaying formation and the resources to do so, they are definitely not a mortal. Only a Legendary mage would have that capability. In that case, it's the mage, not the mortal, who would actually slay the god. So the idea of mortals slaying gods is a baseless theory."
"..." The golden dragoness stared at Muria, speechless for a long time. Finally, after Muria started feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, she smacked his neck hard, producing a loud metallic clang that sent shockwaves rippling through the air. "Why do you have to be so difficult? I already said it was a hypothetical scenario!"
"Ow!" Muria rubbed his neck where his mother had hit him, feeling a bit of pain. He tried to change the subject to divert her attention. "Mother, how do you plan to use formation magic to prevent the Nine Phoenix Dynasty from interfering with my expansion?"
"It's simple. We just need to raise a wall within this world, dividing it in half," the golden dragoness explained with excitement, her idea sounding nothing short of insane.
"Mother, are you saying you want to create an iron curtain across the entire Yinhuang World using a formation?" After discussing it further with his mother, Muria was stunned by her audacious plan. He had never even dreamed of doing something like that.
"Of course!"
"But to achieve that, how massive must the formation be? Can a formation that spans half a world really be set up?"
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't," Atris replied, giving Muria another hard pat on the neck that made him wince. The golden dragoness had quite a strong grip.
"But, Mother, won't such a world-scale formation require the cooperation of the terrain? Does the geography of Yinhuang World even support your plan?"
"Of course it does. This world was ruled by two Titans, and they would have left behind many interesting things during their reign. So setting up the formation shouldn't be a problem, but I'll need to explore the world first to confirm.
Oh, by the way, I brought the fleet you wanted. You should use your certificate to baptize them," she said before preparing to explore the world to assess the terrain.
"An iron curtain across the world… What a crazy idea!" Muria couldn't help but feel admiration as he watched his mother leave. The notion had never even crossed his mind. Such creativity, talent, and imagination—truly worthy of the world-renowned Golden Dragon.
I'm not sure if there will be a fourth chapter today. There might be, or there might not be. If there is, it'll be released before four o'clock.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]