"I'm too weak," Mikaela gave an answer that completely surprised Muria. "If I go with you now, I'd just be dragging you down, unable to help at all. You go ahead. Once I break through to the legend rank, I'll bring my Cloud City to find you. It won't take long."
"How long will it take for you to break through to legend?" Muria couldn't help but ask. For beings of their level, without external assistance, it would take at least two hundred years to break through. Such a long time was unbearable for Muria, who hadn't even lived a full century yet.
"You used divinity to break through; I plan to follow your example," Mikaela replied. She was unwilling to fall too far behind Muria. As for the risks of an early breakthrough, she intended to eliminate them through combat.
"In that case, it shouldn't take too long?" Muria's expression relaxed. He didn't doubt Mikaela's ability to obtain divinity. For someone of her status, things countless beings coveted were easily accessible.
As his father had said, breaking through to legend before the age of one hundred was nothing to be proud of. If the titans of the epic level were willing, they could easily push their descendants to this level by investing resources, but there was no need. The benefits of an early breakthrough were far outweighed by the drawbacks, and the situation was similar for the seraphim.
"You go ahead. Once I break through to legend, I'll come to you immediately," Mikaela gently placed her hand on Muria's chest, her voice soft. "Then, I'll help you take revenge."
"Alright." Muria grasped Mikaela's hand, suddenly feeling a gaze full of hostility fall upon him. He looked up to see his brother-in-law, accompanied by a graceful-looking female eight-winged seraphim, flying towards them, giving him a "friendly" look.
If it weren't for the beautiful female seraphim holding him back, Muria had no doubt that Ilvester would have charged at him. The seraphim's wings behind him had already turned into flaming wings, his seraphic fire burning intensely.
"Die-hard sister complex!" Muria muttered under his breath. Then he looked at Mikaela, a bold idea forming in his mind. "Mika, we'll be apart for a while. Let me leave a mark on you!"
"Hmm?" Mikaela looked at Muria, confused. After all, they would reunite in just a few years, right?
Muria responded to Mikaela's confusion with action. He leaned forward slightly, tilting his head, and under Mikaela's dazed and bewildered gaze, he gently kissed her on the lips.
"Muria!" A furious roar echoed, like an enraged beast. Ilvester had lost his rationality completely. Accepting a half-blood titan pursuing his sister was already difficult, but Muria, using his strength, had barely gained Ilvester's acceptance. Now, with such blatant affection, Ilvester couldn't tolerate it. As her brother, he couldn't accept any of this. Meanwhile, Seraphim Aludiba watched Muria intently. He had promised not to interfere in Muria's pursuit of Mikaela.
"Emperor!" Muria only gave a light kiss, without any extra actions, then stepped back slightly and called out to the epic emperor.
"Ah, youth!" A voice filled with the weight of years sighed beside Muria. Then a great force enveloped him, moving him just in time to avoid a nearly space-tearing sword beam.
"Emperor, if you were any slower, I would have been hit by my brother-in-law," Muria said helplessly, looking at the emperor who held him. "Let's be a bit more cautious. This is too thrilling."
"What are you afraid of? You have quite the nerve to kiss someone's sister in such a situation. If you dare to do that, be prepared for her brother's wrath. Besides, that attack wouldn't hurt you," the emperor, who had broken through the celestial boundary to the void, said with a smile.
"With you here, Emperor, I don't have to worry about such consequences!" Muria cleverly flattered the emperor. Although it was their first meeting, Emperor Oswald had taken good care of him, possibly due to their shared mixed-blood heritage.
"Hehe, Muria, that compensation request earlier was all calculated, wasn't it? If you asked for benefits for yourself, you wouldn't get much. Samuel might give you one Cloud City at best. But when you said it was for the seraphim, Aludiba immediately backed you up. Yet, in the end, those Cloud Cities will end up in your hands. You're quite the schemer."
"Emperor, you overthink. I merely wanted to gift Mika twelve satellite cities," Muria said, rubbing his nose and laughing dryly. "I had no other intentions."
"Is that so? But I just heard you invite that girl to return to the material plane with you."
"I did it for Mika's growth. She craves and enjoys combat. Erathia is more suited to her than the celestial realm," Muria replied, maintaining his composure.
"Oh," the emperor said noncommittally. "Where do you want to go?"
"Just take me back to where you brought me from," Muria said, planning to continue his unfinished business of retrieving his dragons.
"Don't cause too much trouble. I don't want to clash with that narcissist Orlando for now!" Oswald, seemingly knowing Muria's intentions, reminded him.
"I understand." Muria assured, understanding that the epic of the Orlando Empire named the empire after himself, being a face-loving epic.
...
Time reversed in a mere moment, and Muria found himself on a devastated land. He was immediately surrounded by insects, clearly sensing the presence of a legendary creature.
"Lord of the Insects!" Muria looked at the fleeing insects and the falling insect corpses due to his sudden appearance. He immediately understood what kind of creature the legendary being was.
It was a scorpion-like creature. Unlike a scorpion, it had an additional pair of pincers extending from its soft chest and abdomen. Dragonfly-like wings gracefully stretched from its back, allowing it to fly.
Around it swarmed countless insects of various kinds. If there were a god of stinging beetles, scorpions, or other deadly insects, it would undoubtedly be the Lord of the Insects.
Upon encountering Muria, the Lord of the Insects froze for a moment, then instinctively tried to flee, driven by the primal urge to avoid creatures capable of causing instant fatal harm.
"Move one more time, and I'll kill you," Muria said calmly. Naturally, the Lord of the Insects froze mid-air, not daring to move its wings, utterly intimidated.
"Are you eating dirt here?" Muria stood in a pit, eyeing the Lord of the Insects strangely. The land was still ravaged, full of pits and hollows.
These weren't caused by battle or rather the battle marks had been completely erased. The hollows were clearly bite marks.
Muria could see the construction of the terrifying pincers on the insect lord's mouth, still with some soil residue.
"A dirt-eating Lord of the Insects?" Muria observed the legendary insect with a peculiar look, then walked over, pinching the soil residue from its pincers, sensing for a moment, and immediately understood.
"You have ambition!" Muria knocked on its shell, ignoring its shiny black scorpion tail. This creature was indeed eating dirt but soil tainted with blood.
In his battle with Ilvester, Muria had spilled quite a bit of blood, now all cleaned up by this insect, making it one of the beneficiaries of the battle. However, it was now in Muria's grasp.
"Squeak! Squeak!" The legendary insect made submissive and flattering sounds, clearly and completely subdued.
"Very sensible."
Squeak! Squeak! Suddenly, the Lord of the Insects fell to the ground, writhing in pain, emitting anguished spiritual waves. Its abdomen became transparent, revealing a white-hot flame with a faint red tip burning inside, the source of its agony.
"To gain something you've never had, you must pay the price," Muria said calmly, watching the struggling and pleading insect. "This is the path you've chosen. If you survive, I'll allow you to follow me."
Muria saw continuous black mist rising from the insect, corroding the space with sizzling sounds. It was its body's poison, all expelled by the seraphic fire.
"Muria," a delighted voice called out as space fluctuated before him. A black-haired, golden-eyed princess appeared.
As expected, this half-plane was controlled by the seventh princess. It was strange not to notice a powerful presence like Muria's.
"Mm!" Seeing Gladys, Muria remained calm but was surprised when he saw the blue-haired girl accompanying her. "Why are you still here?" As he spoke, he reached out to the dragon princess.
...
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