Ansol stared expressionlessly at the massive serpent before him, its last head destroyed. The giant creature, stretching for miles, lay in the now mostly dried swamp, writhing in pain. Despite all of its heads being blown off, it hadn't died. Compared to the start of the battle, its life force had only slightly diminished and still pulsed vibrantly, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Ansol could see the severed necks of the serpent still twitching, with flesh and bone fragments writhing as they attempted to regenerate its heads. However, with all eight heads destroyed, the regeneration process had slowed to a crawl, leaving the serpent in a vulnerable, helpless state.
For now, Ansol didn't need to worry about the serpent. It had lost the ability to fight. His attention turned to the weapon that had destroyed the creature's final head—a golden spear crackling with lightning and fire. It emitted an aura that was all too familiar to him.
The mighty Titan standing in the desolate, dried-up swamp raised his head and looked toward the direction from which the spear had fallen. He saw a black hole forming in the sky, expanding rapidly. He knew that this phenomenon was caused by a powerful being tearing through the world's barriers from the outside in order to enter. The black hole was growing at an unprecedented speed, and under Ansol's watchful eye, one metal warship after another emerged, quickly positioning themselves around the entrance.
Then, a massive warship appeared from the fully expanded black hole. Ansol immediately recognized the familiar aura emanating from it—there were two distinct presences he knew very well.
…
"Why are you here?" Ansol, fresh from a tough battle only to have the final kill snatched by his son, looked calmly at the golden-haired girl and the black-haired boy before him. He hadn't expected his partner to return so quickly after leaving, let alone bringing their son along.
"I heard from Mother that your war in this world was becoming a bit troublesome, so I came to help," Muria awkwardly explained, having just stolen his father's kill.
He had witnessed the battle from outside the world, and in his haste, had shot down the serpent's eighth head. At that point, the serpent was already on its last legs, nearly defeated. Thankfully, killing the serpent didn't offer any special rewards or honors.
Ansol didn't say anything, nor did he seem particularly upset. Muria, feeling slightly embarrassed, quickly pulled out his Nebula Chains and skillfully bound the serpent, which was still trying to regenerate its heads.
Once the serpent, now reduced to a ball of tightly bound flesh, was restrained, its healing process slowed even further, nearly coming to a halt.
Muria knew the general process for how Titans conquered worlds—subjugation was preferred over outright slaughter. If a creature could be subdued, it was better not to kill it, as there was always the potential to turn it into an ally.
"No need. The war here is progressing smoothly," Ansol said, glancing at the Golden Dragoness. "I don't need your help. I can handle it on my own."
"Oh? You really don't need Muria's help? That means you must have some extra capacity to spare," the Golden Dragoness teased with a smile.
"I don't need help," Ansol repeated firmly, nodding in affirmation.
"Well then, if you don't need help, maybe you could assist Muria instead. He's facing significant difficulties in the world he's trying to conquer. There's a huge gap in resources, and he needs to subjugate a few small worlds to make up for it. Since you have everything under control here, you could help him conquer those worlds," she suggested.
"Hm?" Hearing this, Ansol turned his attention fully to Muria, only now realizing something was off. "Unleash your full aura. Don't hold back."
"Okay." Rubbing his nose, Muria obeyed his father's command, releasing his full power. He watched with satisfaction as his father's typically stoic face registered a rare flash of surprise—a sight Muria hadn't seen in a century.
"You've already reached Legendary Tier 4? How did you advance so quickly?" Ansol's expression returned to its usual calm, though a hint of shock had briefly crossed his face. As a warrior, maintaining emotional composure was key to maximizing combat effectiveness.
"Thanks to a fortunate set of circumstances. My rapid breakthrough is mostly due to the godly essence that my grandfather gave me. Without it, I'd probably still be stuck at the barrier of the Legendary rank," Muria explained, crediting his advancement to the godly essence granted to him by his grandfather, Archimonde, the Lord of the Wilds. This was a reasonable explanation, and Ansol accepted it.
"So, you've started conquering worlds as well?"
"Yeah." Keeping his face expressionless to match his father's, Muria nodded.
"How's the conquest going?"
"Not bad."
"Stop imitating your father. What's with that blank expression? Who are you trying to impress? Smiling would be much better." Before Muria could continue, the Golden Dragoness smacked the back of his head, her tone full of dissatisfaction. She couldn't stand Ansol's emotionless demeanor and hated seeing the same look on her son.
"Oh." Muria's mouth twitched, and he let out a helpless smile.
"And besides, he's your father! If you're facing difficulties, just tell him. What's the point of hiding it? Do you really think he wouldn't help you?" She rolled her eyes at Muria before turning to Ansol. "You need to help him, Ansol. He's facing some serious problems."
"No," Ansol immediately rejected the idea. "Conquering worlds is something he needs to handle on his own. It's a rare opportunity for growth."
"Enough with that. Do you even know what kind of world your son was assigned to? The local natives have already unified the entire world! If I hadn't helped him, he'd still be stuck in some remote corner, barely making any progress until he reaches the high stages of Legendary rank."
"A unified world?" Ansol frowned slightly upon hearing Muria's situation. "I can provide him with resource support, but I won't directly intervene. He has to conquer the world on his own."
"No need for you to fight for him. Just help Muria conquer a few smaller worlds that can supply resources," the Golden Dragoness clarified.
"Alright." After thinking for a moment, Ansol agreed. "But you'll have to wait for a while."
"Why wait?" the Golden Dragoness asked, puzzled.
"Follow me, and you'll see." With that, Ansol called for the obedient Force Dragon sitting nearby and stepped onto its back.
"Tsk!" Seeing his father use the Force Dragon as a mount, Muria clicked his tongue, then obediently followed, dragging the bound serpent behind him.
The fleet Muria had brought with him also followed closely, casting enormous shadows over the land and sending the native creatures of the world scattering in terror.
Soon, Ansol led Muria and the Golden Dragoness to his lair. After Muria had his fleet park nearby, Ansol guided them through a winding path deep into the mountain, eventually reaching a vast underground chamber.
"What is this?" Muria's jaw dropped as he gazed at the scene before him—thousands of massive eggs packed together so densely they could induce a fear of crowds in anyone who saw them.
"This is my army. They're currently incubating and will hatch soon, so I need to wait for them," Ansol explained, his gaze fixed on the vast plain filled with eggs, a rare flicker of emotion in his eyes.
"Where did you get all these eggs?" The Golden Dragoness was just as surprised as she stared at the thousands of ten-meter-tall, scale-covered white eggs.
"My father gave them to me before I came to this world."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't ask."
"These eggs... the aura feels familiar," Muria muttered, paying no attention to his parents' conversation as he focused on the eggs. They exuded a recognizable energy.
"Do you remember the war beasts we saw when we first entered your grandfather's demi-plane? Some of these eggs belong to those creatures."
Muria immediately recalled the vicious, scythe-tailed beasts with powerful hind legs and sharp claws, born solely for slaughter.
"And the rest?"
"They're eggs from other war beasts under your grandfather's command."
"Got it."
…
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