"I wonder if any of my relatives have been reborn in this area?" The child who had crossed worlds murmured softly. He was deeply worried about the well-being of his relatives, especially concerned about the possibility of something undesirable happening.
After all, following reincarnation, his original consciousness would be sealed, leaving everything to the secondary personality of the reincarnated body. Without the memories of the original self, there was no telling what his relatives' reincarnated selves might do.
Awoooo—
As Muria pondered, the roar of a giant beast echoed. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a beast king atop a mountain peak more than ten kilometers away, howling in a show of dominance.
The fierce beast had sensed the overwhelming power of this uninvited guest. Feeling threatened by this force, the beast king roared to declare its sovereignty over the territory.
"Sharp instincts, but not sharp enough," Muria remarked with a slight smile as he looked at the wolf-like giant beast with a beautiful silver mane encircling its neck. He made no response; he had no intention of lowering himself to argue with a mere beast.
"Hmm, but this does remind me. Great worlds are far more tolerant of all beings than medium and small worlds. I wonder if this one can tolerate the presence of my subordinates."
Muria rubbed his chin, considering. "Well, there's only one way to find out: give it a try."
"No need to pick any other subordinate. I've made up my mind—it's you. Come forth, Sylvan!"
Without much deliberation, Muria chose Sylvan, the weakest of his legendary subordinates, an alchemically engineered beast, to test the great world's tolerance.
A being with crescent-shaped horns, steel wings on its back, and a thick, serpentine tail emerged—a man-made legendary creature descending upon the cluster of worlds, radiating the majesty of a legendary being.
In an instant, the beast king that had just been roaring at Muria, claiming dominion over its territory, felt this presence and tucked its tail, whimpering as it fled.
Boom!
But before Sylvan could fully descend into the great world, seventeen bolts of thunder suddenly appeared in the sky, striking Sylvan's body.
In the blink of an eye, Sylvan's intricately constructed body, which still possessed an alien beauty, was charred black. The nauseating smell of scorched flesh filled the air.
"Ugh!"
Seeing the thunder still brewing in the sky and preparing to strike again, Muria quickly recalled Sylvan, who was now clinging to life, into his demi-plane, thus sparing him from death.
"This world is so petty! It can't even tolerate a weak legendary being?" Muria muttered in disappointment at the failed test. This was not the result he had hoped for.
"If legends are out of the question, surely soul-bound beings will be acceptable!"
After some thought, Muria decided against further attempts. Legendary beings were exceptionally resilient; they could withstand a couple of strikes from the rejection laws of the world. However, a soul-bound being would not survive even a single hit.
"Forget it. I'll just create a new batch of subordinates myself. With the power of this body, while weak, it should suffice for now."
Mysterious, arcane chants echoed through the dense forest as Muria recited an incantation he had obtained from his student Jiuli and modified to suit his current power level. An invisible force spread outward from him.
Within a hundred-mile radius of the dense forest, countless insects, snakes, birds, and beasts became restless. This agitation reached its peak when Muria pricked his finger, letting a drop of what appeared to be burning blood fall into the forest.
Countless creatures affected by the spell surged toward Muria's location, forming a visible ring of black tides. At the center of this ring stood an ancient tree where Muria stood.
The burning, crimson-gold drop of blood fell from the sky. But before it could touch the ground, a massive forest lizard leaped from the branches and swallowed it whole.
Bang!
The lizard that had swallowed the dragon blood began to swell visibly, its body ballooning like an overinflated sphere. In the next moment, it burst, scattering flesh and bone in all directions.
This explosion signaled the start of a brutal contest. Countless bizarre creatures swarmed beneath the ancient tree, frantically vying for the crimson-gold dragon blood.
Some weaker creatures fought over the remains of the exploded lizard. After consuming the remnants, their bodies visibly changed, growing slightly larger and gaining greater strength and tougher exteriors.
Empowered, these creatures joined the frenzied battle for the dragon blood. The corpses of the defeated became food for the victors, allowing the strongest to grow even more powerful in a short time.
Blood and flesh flew, and the air was thick with the stench of blood. It was a horrific scene. Meanwhile, the one responsible for this chaos watched the carnage with an expression of curious detachment.
"This incantation is absurdly domineering. Such a ruthless method could create an overwhelmingly powerful insect king even from tens of thousands of bugs," Muria observed, his tone calm despite the gruesome spectacle below.
"Although it's a bit cruel, it's certainly an effective way to select subordinates. Still, I don't like it."
Despite his words, Muria made no move to stop the fighting below. He wanted to see what kind of creature his modified spell would ultimately produce.
...
Neighhh—
The warhorse beneath her let out an uneasy whinny, further unsettling the group that had already lost their way in the forest. The unease grew as they looked at the leader of their party—a golden-haired young woman—with growing dissatisfaction.
"My lady, there's something wrong with this area," a keen-eyed knight whispered, alerting his charge.
"What's wrong?" The girl, who had come in search of an otherworldly gate, turned her head and asked, feigning calm. As the leader, she could not afford to show any signs of panic.
"It's too quiet here. There are no birds, no insects, nothing."
The perceptive knight pulled out a dagger, using his extensive experience in the forest to locate an insect hole on a nearby tree. Seeing the fresh bite marks in the hole, his expression turned grave.
"What could cause this?" the lady asked, staring at the pristine insect hole.
"My lady, I suspect that something extraordinary has appeared here, attracting all the creatures in the area."
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