"Heaven, when assigning a great mission to someone, must first temper their mind, toil their muscles, starve their body, and make them experience hardship..." Out of nowhere, Muria recalled an article he memorized in his previous life. Then, he looked at his son with an increasingly gentle gaze.
"Son, don't blame me for being strict. Since you are destined to become an emperor, you must be a great one, a sage king with noble qualities. But to become such a ruler, given your current status, it will be a bit challenging."
"What are you planning?" Mikaela, standing nearby, sensed that Muria seemed to have some ill intentions. She stepped forward, intending to take their son from Muria's hands.
"I just want him to become a great emperor!"
"So?" Mikaela asked, eyeing Muria.
"I think neither the education of the Dragon race, the Seraphim, nor the Titans is suitable for Aeolus."
Muria began to explain his thoughts to Mikaela. He needed to convince her of his educational plan for their son; otherwise, he had no doubt his wife would challenge him.
"This is my plan." Muria detailed his vision for their eldest son's future as he glanced at the now well-fed and sleeping Aeolus.
"He's your son!" After hearing Muria's plan, Mikaela looked at him skeptically. If it weren't for the fact that Aeolus' aura was so similar to Muria's, she might have questioned if Aeolus was really his biological child. What kind of father treats their child this way? Neither in the Dragon nor the Titan race had she heard of such a thing.
"I know, and precisely because he's my son, I have such high expectations for him. For anyone else, I wouldn't bother investing so many resources."
Muria gazed at his sleeping son with a strange expression, much like a child who had just received a new toy.
Mikaela frowned. She hadn't expected her husband to come up with such an elaborate and crazy plan for their son. "Fine, but make sure nothing threatens his life."
"Training is training. He will face some dangers, but I will absolutely guarantee his life is not at risk," Muria swore to his wife.
"Agreed!" Mikaela nodded weakly. She knew that neither the traditional Titan nor Seraphim education was suited for someone destined to be an emperor. Following Muria's plan, though Aeolus' childhood would be harsh, his future would be bright.
...
Senaps Subcontinent, Demonbound Plains.
Under a gray sky, above an empty city, a spatial rift slowly formed from nothing. A tall, elderly dragonman with a ruddy complexion stepped through first. Behind him, a dozen dragonmen with horns on their heads followed.
"What a shame that such a good city has to sink," the old dragonman said with a hint of regret as he gazed down at the now-empty city.
It was a well-designed and meticulously planned city, with a city lord's mansion, residential areas, commercial zones, barracks, walls, and towers—everything a large city needed. Despite some damage, the city was mostly intact, and with a bit of repair, it could easily house 100,000 humans.
"It's such a waste to sink this city. What's the command department thinking?" another dragonman echoed the elder's sentiment, regret filling his eyes as he looked at the city.
"Stop the nonsense. This is an order from the command department. They never make mistakes. Since they issued the order, there must be a reason for it. We just need to follow it."
"What kind of thinking is that? Just because it's an order from the command department, it's automatically correct? The command department is composed of elites from various species, and they are still biological beings, which means they can make mistakes!"
"Yes, the command department can make mistakes, but only when there's insufficient information. When the information is complete, have you ever heard of them making an error? Even the lowest-ranked goblin there could outwit you."
"You..." The dragonman, insulted by the comparison to a goblin, grew furious.
"Do you want to get punished? Senaps has issued a clear directive: no discrimination against races with inherent flaws. Goblins may rarely produce powerful individuals, but they are natural-born intellects!"
"They're still a lower race..." one of the dragonmen muttered dismissively. To them, goblins were nothing more than expendable servants. However, in Senaps, some goblins had even reached management positions, outranking most dragons.
"Enough! Since we've accepted this mission, we must complete it properly." The elder dragonman, annoyed by the squabble over Senaps' policies, turned and scolded them.
"Get to work! If we fail, you might even get reprimanded by a goblin."
At the elder dragonman's command, the group of dragonmen mages obediently cast their spells. Mysterious incantations summoned supernatural forces, piercing through time and space, connecting to a subdimension derived from the world of Erathia.
One after another, space gates opened above the slightly damaged city, and various demonic creatures poured through. These monsters were herded by the dragon mages into the city.
Once the city was entirely occupied by creatures from the otherworld, the dragon mages spread out, forming a perfect circle around the city. Under their guidance, a massive sealing formation was created, isolating the entire city from the outside world.
"Now for the final step!" the elder dragonman said, satisfied as he looked at the city, now a monster-filled nest. He waved his staff, chanting spells that stirred the earth elements beneath.
The ground began to tremble, and a deep, perfectly circular crevice formed around the city, cutting it off from the surrounding land.
Amidst a rumble, the sealed city began sinking into the earth. Endless rocks and soil cascaded into the gap, completely burying the city.
"Mission accomplished!" the elder dragonman nodded in satisfaction, watching the now-hidden monster lair. He had many questions about this mission, such as why a perfectly good city had to be buried and why so many monsters were summoned to be sealed within. The sealing formation itself seemed unusual, with apparent flaws.
However, the elder dragonman knew it wasn't his place to question these things. The summoning spell and sealing formation were all provided with the mission, both orchestrated by the command department.
Some things were best left unexplored. Otherwise, if the intelligence division of Senaps came knocking, it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation.
"Let's go to the next location!" He checked his pocket watch, confirming that the task had been completed on time. Satisfied, he tore open a new spatial rift, leading his group of freshly graduated dragon mages to their next assignment.
Not long after the dragon mages left, another team of mages, surrounded by elemental light, arrived through a space tear. They exchanged glances as they surveyed the disturbed ground, then skillfully constructed a teleportation array and disappeared into it within minutes.
Meanwhile, deep underground, within the buried city now sealed with tens of thousands of monsters, this team of mages appeared. The moment they arrived, dozens of glowing beast eyes fixated on them, only for the monsters to scatter in fear.
"We've done this once before. It should go faster the second time. Quickly settle these monsters and divide their territories!" the lead mage ordered calmly from atop a rooftop.
Their mission was to enter the sealed city and categorize the summoned monsters, assigning them territories. Each type of monster had been carefully calculated beforehand.
From the lowest tier earth-eating rats to the highest tier flame-drakes, they would form a self-sustaining ecosystem over time.
The summoned creatures would naturally form an ecological chain through mutual slaughter. But it seemed Senaps didn't want to wait. They wanted a fully formed, ready-for-experimentation ecosystem immediately.
The mages would plant ferns that could grow in the dark, absorbing elemental energy, providing the basic food source for the city's lower-tier monsters.
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