Chapter 132: Twelve Years (Part 4)

Thunder roared and hurricanes howled as Muria, transformed into his Titan form, drew a longbow nearly as large as his forty-meter stature. A golden arrow, formed by the furious infusion of his Titan and Dragon King powers, solidified from an ethereal state to a tangible lethal projectile.

From hearing Auston's cry for help and spotting the sudden appearance of the Barlowe demon, to transforming into his Titan form, contacting Cassio, fetching the longbow, and forming the arrow, only a brief ten breaths had passed.

Muria's response was swift and practiced. Ever since he had brought his dragon brood to the abyssal training grounds for combat and training, he had been prepared for such emergencies. He could not tolerate losing any of the chromatic dragons he had painstakingly raised in this harsh environment.

With a mighty gust, a dazzling arc of light shot towards the Barlowe demon that had captured Auston. Muria released the arrow, channeling his Titan strength and the power of the Dragon King into the projectile.

The arrow split the dark skies, its incredible speed creating sonic booms and visible white shockwaves around it, flipping several nearby dragons with its force.

The Barlowe demon, sensing the lethal threat of the incoming light arrow, roared in anger and desperation, using Auston, who was missing a wing, as a shield.

"Naive," muttered Auston, lifting his head to meet the gaze of the ugly, fearsome Barlowe demon using him as a shield. His molten-gold dragon eyes narrowed, his contempt unmasked.

"What is that look?" Seeing the mocking expression in Auston's eyes, the Barlowe demon felt a foreboding sensation but had no time to react further, as Muria's arrow had already reached it.

To the demon's horror, the large golden arc fragmented into over twenty smaller streaks, each tracing a beautiful curve around Auston and striking the demon's head.

With a loud "boom," red, white, and black debris—flesh and bone—sprayed in all directions as the Barlowe demon's head exploded under the impact of Muria's shot.

"Ha ha, that's what you get for ambushing me!" Auston laughed wildly, throwing the headless demon corpse to the ground and savagely tearing at it, venting his anger and the fear he had faced staring down death.

"Big brother, your wing." The two red dragons who had been distracting the Barlowe demon flew to Auston's side. One of them picked up the wing that the Barlowe demon had torn off and tossed aside, handing it back to Auston.

"Andrei, Albert, be careful," Auston instructed his brothers seriously after regaining some composure and accepting his wing. "If you see a soul-intent level demon, don't hesitate; run towards Muria. He'll protect us. He doesn't want us to die."

"We know," the two red dragons nodded, clearly aware of their own limits as evidenced by Auston's ordeal. They fully understood the gap between themselves and a soul-intent level demon—battle across ranks wasn't for everyone.

A radiant teleportation circle formed under Auston, and with a flash of light, the severely injured dragon disappeared along with his wing.

"Brother has been teleported back by Cassio."

"Right, let's keep killing demons, but be careful. This is Titan's training ground, and it's too tough for us."

"Understood, dragon lives matter the most, that's what Muria said."

...

"Good!" Muria sighed in relief as he watched Auston being teleported away by Cassio. Although these red dragons had been quite unruly at birth due to their lineage, after over forty years of "careful guidance," they had become very "obedient."

Muria couldn't bear to lose any of the dragons he had nurtured. Not just because of the resources he had invested in them, but also because of the time and effort spent in twisting their natures to fit his needs—these dragons were his future "capital."

Survival was Muria's basic principle. As long as they didn't die, they could be pushed to their limits—this was his rule. Muria needed a group of well-rounded elite dragons, not a bunch of slackers who lived off their innate talents.

Auston's injuries looked terrible—his wing was torn off, and there were several gashes dripping blood across his body. However, for a gold-tier dragon, such injuries were regenerative, even capable of regrowing lost limbs.

Muria, still holding his longbow amidst the stormy winds, had a serene smile as he absorbed the awe and fear from many dragons. Unseen by them, fine cracks appeared across the true body of Muria's Titan form, leaking faint golden blood.

These tiny wounds appeared briefly before healing rapidly due to Muria's robust constitution. If not for the few drops of pale golden blood remaining on his skin, it would have been hard to believe he had just been injured.

Muria's face remained calm, but his grip on the bow tightened, the knuckles whitening. The bow, forged from a blend of high-grade metals, slightly twisted under the immense force he exerted. 

Every action has its price. Muria, at the pinnacle of gold-tier strength, had fired an arrow within ten breaths that annihilated a soul-intent level Barlowe demon. The display was formidable, but it came at a cost.

In those brief moments, the power Muria channeled exceeded the tolerance of his physical body. The violent energy had wreaked havoc internally, causing even his skin to crack.

Moreover, this Barlowe demon was significantly more powerful and higher-ranked than the ram-horned demon Muria had previously dispatched. A step further, and it would have been one of the top-tier demons of the abyss, the Balrog. Such a formidable being was obliterated by Muria's single arrow.

"Well done." Just then, a voice of praise rang out. "Muria, you truly live up to the legacy of the epic Titan and Dragon King bloodlines. If we were of the same rank, I surely wouldn't stand a chance against you."

"Atreyan." Muria turned to see a spear-wielding Titan, holding a demon's head dripping with lava-like hot blood. "You've already killed that Balrog."

"If you've killed two soul-intent demons, I had to finish off this Balrog quickly, or else you'd make fun of me."

Muria's strategy and execution on the battlefield reflected not just his personal strength but also his leadership and tactical acumen. He managed the dynamics of a battlefield with multiple powerful entities, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of his forces while dealing decisive blows to formidable enemies.

This balance of power and prudence, the calculated risks and the sheer force of will, exemplified why Muria was not just a warrior but a commander of dragons. His decisions on the battlefield ensured that even in the direst situations, he retained control and safeguarded the future of his dragon brood.

The dragons, trained and toughened under Muria's regimen, continued to grow in strength and experience. Their skirmishes in the abyss were not mere fights for survival but lessons in the harsh realities of their existence, crafted by Muria to forge them into elite warriors capable of facing any threat.

Muria's approach, while harsh and sometimes brutal, aimed at extracting the maximum potential from each dragon, preparing them for realities far beyond the training grounds. His vision extended beyond the immediate battles to a future where these dragons could stand sovereign against any foe, a testament to his training and strategic foresight.