Chapter 83: The Lord of the Wilds

"Muria, I'm taking you to meet my father!" Just as Muria was intently observing the elves handling the legendary "fertilizers" from the abyss, he heard the long-awaited invitation from his father.

"Okay!" Muria responded with an excitement he didn't bother to hide.

"Black Armor!" Ansol called out to his spirit upon seeing his son's eager look.

"Understood, master." The heavily armored Titan-like spirit responded softly. He needed no specific instructions from his master to understand Ansol's intent.

As Muria watched curiously, magical beams began to form a complex three-dimensional teleportation array around him. The intricate patterns were so complex that Muria felt dizzy after just a glance, the designs far beyond his understanding.

...

A powerful hum vibrated as the teleportation array activated, bringing on an intense dizziness Muria had never experienced before. The discomfort was brief, vanishing almost instantly.

"Squeals," "Roars," "Howls"… The sounds of various beasts filled Muria's ears even before the teleportation light faded. It was incredibly noisy. As Muria opened his eyes, he was greeted by the most awe-inspiring sight he had ever witnessed.

In the sky above, a gigantic fireball hung high, showering endless light below. However, despite standing directly underneath, Muria felt neither light nor heat because the sky was obscured by an almost infinite number of eagles.

Muria was utterly astounded by the number of eagles that blocked out the sun. It wasn't just their number that shocked him but the order in which they flew. Unlike the chaotic gatherings of beasts he had seen before, these white-feathered, golden-eyed eagles flew in tight, orderly formations over his head.

Such order in a group of fierce birds was unexpected, making it clear to Muria that these were no ordinary wild beasts but a well-organized aerial legion, a flying army made up of raptors.

"This is…" As Muria began to speak, he suddenly looked down at the ground. The low-growing shrubs beneath him were shaking slightly.

"Rumble, rumble!" The ground shook and trembled. Muria turned his head and saw a "black tide" rolling towards him in the distance. As the tide's components became clear, Muria's face paled, and he instinctively thought to dodge.

But he quickly looked to his father, seeking guidance.

Noting Muria's gaze, Ansol glanced at the approaching "black tide" with a calm expression, unaffected: "Your grandfather is preparing for an expedition again. He's gathering his vassal legions. Stay put and don't move."

Hearing his father's command, Muria, who had already spread his dragon wings, obediently folded them back and stood still, resisting the urge to fly away from the black tide.

"Thump, thump!" As the black tide approached, Muria could see more clearly the creatures composing it.

These creatures resembled the Tyrannosaurus rex of Muria's past life but were even more fierce in appearance. These T-rex-like monsters were covered with hard, metallic black scales. A blade-like horn protruded from the center of their foreheads for ramming.

Unlike the small, mysterious claws of a T-rex, these dinosaur-like creatures had powerful forelimbs with sharp claws. Their tails were covered with sharp bony spikes, ending in a spiked bone mace.

They were creatures designed for slaughter from head to tail, and not just one or two but a vast horde.

Like the eagles above, these horned T-rexes marched in neat rows, moving in sync towards Muria's location.

Facing such a regimented charge of horned T-rexes, akin to a well-trained cavalry brigade, was truly intimidating.

"…" Muria watched stiff-faced as the horned T-rexes approached and then veered around him, sensing his presence and altering their path.

The orderly "black tide" was disrupted by the presence of Ansol and Muria, causing it to flow around them like water parting around stones.

Muria was shocked as these bipedal dinosaur-like creatures, nearly as tall as him, passed by one after another. He noted that all of them exuded an aura of the golden level.

After what seemed like an eternity, Muria, full of questions, finally saw the end of the "black tide." Unable to contain his curiosity, he approached his father to ask his burning questions.

"Father, what is this place? Why does it feel so strange here? And what about these creatures?"

"Since you sense something odd, try to feel what is different here compared to our homeland."

Encouraged by his father, Muria looked around, absorbing the vast, seemingly boundless land around him. With his excellent vision, he noticed in the distance on the ground and in the sky, several neatly organized legions of monsters moving in the same direction, and these weren't limited to the types he had just seen.

Each legion was composed of a different kind of monster, and the presence of numerous types indicated many unknown creatures to Muria.

"This place feels very cramped," Muria commented, perplexed by the vast land that paradoxically gave him a sense of confinement, as if moving from an open area to a cramped space.

"And the sun here feels very unreal, as if…" Muria looked up at the sky, now cleared of the eagle legion, allowing him to see the fiery orb directly. "It's fake."

After sharing his strange sensations, Muria looked tentatively at his father, hoping for answers. He didn't think his senses were wrong; if there was an issue, it lay with this world itself.

"Your feelings are correct." Ansol looked at his son with approval and provided an astonishing answer, "The sun here is indeed fake, merely a projection of the real sun."

"Projection?" Muria was stunned, looking around again in disbelief. "If the sun is fake, then this place is..."

"A semi-plane with imperfect rules," Ansol explained calmly. "This is a realm created by my father, your grandfather, Akhmond Iapetos, the Lord of the Wilds, using his epic power to cultivate his kin."

"Created…" Muria was speechless, struggling to comprehend how such a vast land could be crafted from nothing by a sentient being.

This made him think of the Pangu legends from his past life, though his grandfather was far from reaching that level of creation—after all, even the sun here was artificial. Not to mention other aspects, this semi-plane was far from perfect compared to the real world.

"Those creatures just now?" Muria asked after calming his emotions, still shocked by the disciplined formations.

"Those are your grandfather's kin!"

"Why don't I recognize any of these creatures?" Muria asked, puzzled. His draconic heritage had unlocked knowledge of many golden-level monsters, but none matched what he had just seen.

"A large part of the creatures here were brought from other worlds by your father, and only a small part comes from Erathia. Moreover, after years of cultivation by your father, these creatures have undergone many changes, so it's normal that you don't recognize them."

"Phenotypic plasticity!" Realizing this, Muria remembered his time in the Five-Color Dragon Fortress, where the influence of his bloodline caused

 the local creatures to undergo gigantism and dragon-like transformations.

If he, a mere golden-level being, could affect thousands of ferocious animals in the fortress, then how strong and extensive could the influence of an epic Titan be if he did not restrain his power?

Just witnessing the numerous monster legions in the short time he had been here was telling. Muria now understood why Titans didn't need giant allegiances; any Titan, if powerful enough, could simply gather any group of monsters, let their bloodline influence them over time, and gain a formidable following.

"Click!" While Muria was deep in thought, the space in front of him began to distort. A small black spot appeared and quickly expanded into a massive black spatial tunnel, from which a thunder-wreathed giant wolf stepped forward.

This imposing wolf-like creature, covered in hard armor and snowy white fur under the belly and along the back, looked like a cross between a wolf and a dragon. It had large, forward-extending horns on its head and a sharp, triangular protrusion on its lower jaw, making it look formidable and powerful.

After acknowledging Ansol with a nod—a greeting—the majestic wolf-like creature glanced at Muria, then turned and walked back through the spatial tunnel.

"Follow." With a calm command, Ansol stepped into the black spatial tunnel without minding the creature's demeanor.

Seeing the large creature swing its massive tail towards him as it moved away, Muria twitched his mouth into a smile and followed his father into the spatial tunnel.