Chapter 48: Dragons and Titans!

Five years had passed, and Muria remained asleep within the golden cocoon, showing no signs of awakening. During these five years, the Dragon Castle underwent significant changes.

Within the castle, a large number of young dragons entered a period of hibernation and later emerged as juvenile dragons capable of basic survival throughout Erathia. The rest also entered a hibernation phase.

These agile juvenile dragons flew in and out of Dragon Castle, filling the fortress with vitality. However, this made Muria's previous commands appear meaningless. It wasn't that the giants were disobedient, but rather they lacked the capability to enforce these commands.

The five-colored dragons had a powerful ally, their magical mentor, the Dragon King Dimos. With Dimos' approval, these fierce dragons dared to disregard the giants within the castle and move freely, though they still refrained from acting too recklessly.

Initially, when a dragon attempted to fly out of the castle, the storm giants tried to stop them. However, the dragons would complain to Dimos, who then declared, "Dragons should fly in the vast, boundless sky, not be confined within a castle."

Thus, the juvenile dragons freely frolicked, though they kept in mind that their flight range was limited to Taiji Island; none ventured beyond.

Within the castle, a dragon, who had borrowed books from Muria's mother, Atreus, compiled data on the age and racial demographics of dragon slaughters in a report titled "An Analysis on the Age and Racial Slaughter of the Five-Colored Dragon Tribes."

This report detailed the accidental mortality rates of dragons at various life stages and the probabilities of each dragon race being slaughtered. The report was wildly circulated among the five-colored dragons, causing many to tremble with fear, as it showed that young dragons and hatchlings had the highest rates of accidental death, which decreased as dragons aged.

The report greatly motivated many red and white dragons to enhance their learning efforts. According to the report, white dragons suffered the highest number of deaths among the five-colored dragons, closely followed by red dragons.

For those in Erathia who sought fame through dragon-slaying, white dragons were the top choice. Red dragons had a high mortality rate due to their arrogance and greed, often seen in juvenile reds who plundered villages and cities, prompting nearby races to pool funds for dragon slayers.

The report also clarified to all five-colored dragons how beneficial their current situation was under Muria's protection, providing a completely safe environment that allowed them to grow without fears.

As such, no dragon wished to leave Taiji Island. Life on the island involved daily magical studies and no slacking, but it was far safer than the outside world.

The report also made its author, the white dragon Claudia, famous not only among the five-colored dragons but also among the giants who admired her intelligence.

"Renata, when will Muria wake up?" On the castle battlements, two red-haired, red-eyed girls sat together, looking at the golden cocoon firmly guarded by storm giants.

"I don't know." The dragon girl Renata tilted her head, looking puzzled at the cocoon, "But it should be soon; Muria has been asleep for five years."

"Yawn!" Cynthia, another dragon girl, yawned widely, appearing sleepy, "By the time he wakes up, we might enter hibernation again. If Muria wakes up later, we'll all become adolescent dragons."

"It won't be long now; I feel Muria will wake up soon! We should be able to see him before our hibernation." Renata pondered for a moment and then said.

"How do you know Muria is about to wake up?" Cynthia asked curiously.

"Didn't you see?" Renata's eyes sparkled, pointing to the cloud giants nearby who were clearing out discarded crystals, "The number of crystals they clean out each day is decreasing."

"How do you know it's decreasing every day?" Cynthia looked surprised.

"I'm here every day, of course, I know!" Renata said matter-of-factly.

"Why do you come here every day?" Cynthia was puzzled, "Muria is still asleep; he can't see you like this, what's the point?"

"I just want Muria to see me first thing when he wakes up." Dragon girl Renata lowered her head, slightly embarrassed.

"I can't stand you." Cynthia looked at Renata, her mouth twitching. She couldn't understand her sister's sentiment. Then, looking back at Muria's golden cocoon, she added, "But I'm really curious, what will Muria look like when he wakes up?"

"I'm curious too. This cocoon has been absorbing so many elemental crystals over five years, growing and enlarging. I really want to know how strong Muria will be when he wakes up."

At that moment, a whirlwind formed around the now twenty-five-meter-tall golden cocoon at its center. This massive suction force extended a thousand meters around the Dragon Castle. The elements of wind, fire, and lightning were drawn into the cocoon.

The devouring force also affected the piles of elemental crystals around the cocoon. Under the sudden surge of attraction, the elemental crystals, which covered a third of the cocoon, quickly turned into discarded crystals.

"What's happening?" The storm giants guarding the cocoon became alarmed, never having encountered such a phenomenon, "Quick, replenish the elemental crystals; His Highness is draining them rapidly."

Panicked cloud and storm giants hurriedly pulled out storage bags, dumping piles of elemental crystals around the cocoon.

"Don't panic." At that moment, a calm male voice reached the anxious giants.

"Grandfather!" The giants, seeing the unassuming figure who had appeared beside the cocoon, promptly saluted, their anxious hearts instantly calming.

"This is the sign that my grandson is about to awaken; his hibernation is over. No need to add more elemental crystals."

"Understood!"

Following Dimos's instruction, the giants stopped dumping the crystals and stood aside with their storage bags.

Just as Dimos said, this was the sign of Muria's awakening. The strong suction lasted only a short while before dissipating, and the phenomena that had persisted for five years above the cocoon also vanished, leaving behind the cocoon glowing with golden light.

"His Highness is really about to wake up." A storm giant murmured quietly.

"What's happening? What's happening?" The commotion on the platform also caught the attention of the surrounding five-colored dragons. One by one, they flew in from all directions, landing on the spacious platform, then seeing the now calm golden cocoon.

"Boom!" A sound like a massive heartbeat thundered, and with it, the faintly glowing golden cocoon shone brilliantly. As the sound ceased, the light dimmed.

"Boom!" A louder heartbeat echoed, and the brilliant golden glow brightened once more...

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" The heartbeats, steady and rhythmic, grew louder with each beat, and the light from the cocoon pulsed more intensely with each sound.

"Boom!" Finally, with a deafening heartbeat, the light from the cocoon reached its zenith, blinding many giants and dragons who squinted against the brilliance.

"Crash!" The cocoon burst open, and a long, agile figure soared into the sky.

"Roar!" Then

, an exhilarated dragon's roar filled the heavens, shaking the surroundings.

"Is that Muria?" A dragon on the platform, seeing the figure soaring in the sky, turned uncertainly to its companions.

"Probably!" The queried dragon also looked uncertainly at the jubilant figure circling above the castle.

"How could it be like this?" Unlike the dragons, the giants on the castle were not so calm; they were like a pot of boiling water, their agitation spreading among them.

Above the castle, circling in the air, was no longer the titan form of Muria with dragon wings, but a majestic golden dragon, utterly unlike any human form.

This was a dragon whose appearance and shape had never been recorded in any book. The giants had never seen a dragon like it, and even the five-colored dragons, racking their brains and scouring their inherited knowledge, could find no match for Muria's current form.

Now, Muria's forehead bore six systematically arranged dragon horns, extending backward at three different angles, resembling a crown.

Like his grandfather Dimos, he possessed a robust dragon body covered in golden bony scales, with finer golden dragon scales like armor in between.

"Roar!" Muria, his body sixty-four meters long from head to tail, spread his unique feather-like scaled wings, circling in the sky above Dragon Castle, releasing his excitement and feeling the surging power within his body.

Then, Muria slightly lowered his majestic dragon head, his glowing golden eyes spotting the panicked giants on the castle platform. After a moment, he realized what was happening.

"Did you think I lost my titan lineage just by seeing my current form as a dragon? Hmph, how disappointing."

Thus, the golden dragon dived down toward the castle platform, bursting forth with endless thunder and whirlwinds from his body...

"Boom!" The dragon crashed onto the platform, scattering white marble stones in a cloud of dust. From within the dust, a thirty-two-meter-tall young titan, wrapped in golden thunder and whirlwinds, strode forward.

"What are you panicking about?" The young titan's challenging voice echoed over Dragon Castle's platform.