"Dean, we… um…"
"What are you two doing? Stop dawdling and follow me quickly." Muria turned back, eyeing the two dragons.
"Just the two of us? That doesn't seem appropriate," the golden dragon Ister quickly tried to back out.
"Yeah, yeah! We're not even fully grown dragons yet. It would be too embarrassing for you!" the red dragon added.
"So you want me to face Qing Shenlian alone?"
"Qing Shenlian?" The two young dragons were confused when they heard the name.
"You've heard of the World Beast legends, right? Qing Shenlian is one of them."
"That's a World Beast?" Both dragons stared in shock at the colossal figure of Qing Shenlian, now fully visible on the horizon.
"They're not one of the original six World Beasts. This is a descendant of Qing Shenlian," Muria explained briefly and waved for them to follow. "Hurry up and come with me."
"Dean, could you maybe pick some other dragons?"
"Out of all the dragons here, you two are the best. Who else would I choose?" Muria said with a surprised look, as if baffled by their reluctance.
"Uh..." Normally, if Muria had praised them as the best dragons, Ister would have been thrilled. But now it felt more like a trap, leaving them with no valid reason to refuse.
In the end, the two dragons reluctantly followed Muria as he approached Qing Shenlian. As they got closer to the mythical creature, Ister began to feel an intense life force seeping into his body. He could feel his muscles tearing and growing.
It wasn't just a sensation—his body was indeed growing, which was terrifying since he belonged to a species with an incredibly slow growth rate. If even he was undergoing such visible changes, shorter-lived species, like humans, would experience far more severe transformations if they were to approach Qing Shenlian. The overwhelming life force would be akin to poison for ordinary beings.
"Qing Shenlian, I am…" Muria began a brief conversation with the World Beast. Like the Sea Emperor Dragon, Qing Shenlian remained neutral toward him.
For now, it seemed unlikely that the Sea Emperor Dragon or Qing Shenlian would side with him, like the Wind King Eagle had, or sabotage his enemies. That they hadn't turned against him for starting this war of extermination was already fortunate.
Once Muria confirmed that these awakened World Beasts wouldn't interfere with his war, he officially launched the extermination campaign on the fourth day. After his giants and dragons wiped out most life within a 300-kilometer radius of the Senaps Subcontinent, he activated the teleportation portals, unveiling one of Senaps' most important functions: mass teleportation.
On this day, every portal on every floating city synchronized and opened. Legions from all continents marched through the portals in perfect formation. Even the seemingly most savage Wolfhead Giants maintained strict discipline. This was Muria's influence on them—order had become their instinct.
Through the massive star gates, the armored giants of Yinhuang crossed the portals in droves. After a brief acclimation period, they would be deployed in the subcontinent to wage war.
The conquest had begun, and as the scale and intensity of the conflict grew, news of the war spread rapidly, shaking the entire world.
As Muria had predicted from the start, the lawful and good factions on various continents began responding to his war effort. Countless wandering paladins, druids, and rangers rallied to the cause, preparing for the journey without waiting for an invitation or summons. This powerful new force was assembling on its own.
...
"A Titan and Dragon hybrid is leading his forces to invade the Senaps Subcontinent!" On a distant island, a tall young man with twin blades strapped to his waist and a headscarf tied around his head heard the report from one of his subordinates. His eyes narrowed, and his expression became serious.
"Boss, this is the hottest news in the world right now. They say this holy-born being had some setbacks on the Senaps Subcontinent when he was younger, and now that he's grown stronger, he's come back for revenge."
"Send out a summons to all pirates in our waters."
"Boss, where are you planning to go? We haven't found any prey worthy of your attention lately."
"We're going to Senaps to join the war!" The young man with twin blades spoke, his voice carrying a trace of excitement.
"What? Boss, you want to go up against that Titan-Dragon hybrid? That's not a good idea. I hear he's got thousands of dragons under his command. Our few thousand ships wouldn't stand a chance!"
"Who said I'm going against Lord Muria?" The young man, with a sharp air about him, glared at his subordinate. "I'm going to follow him and fight for him!"
"Follow him? But we're pirates!" A skeletal pirate, half-transparent, was stunned by the words of their leader. "Can we, as pirates, really fight for someone with golden dragon blood?"
"Lord Muria?" Another pirate noticed the title their captain used. "Boss, do you know this bigshot?"
"My swordsmanship was taught by him!" The young man, exuding an air of authority, touched the twin blades at his waist, a look of nostalgia crossing his face.
"What…"
"Without Lord Muria, I would never have achieved my current level of success," Sauron said firmly. He knew that if not for his fateful encounter with Muria in his youth, he would never have reached such heights.
But his current identity as a pirate had undoubtedly let Muria down. If Muria saw him now, disappointment would likely be written all over his face.
"Even so, I must go and assist Lord Muria. While I may not be able to fully repay him yet, I can at least provide some small help."
"Inform all pirates: those who want to follow me can come. Those who don't can leave the crew. They'll be given a severance package based on their merits."
"Boss, you're not coming back?"
"I won't be coming back," Sauron said as he gazed out over the sea—the sea he had conquered over the past hundred years. Here, he was the undisputed pirate king.
"But, Boss, you're just going to abandon all the territory we've taken over? Hand it over to our rivals?"
"Leave it all. Sell off whatever we can and convert it into usable resources as soon as possible." Sauron's voice was firm. He had already made up his mind to abandon everything he owned and take only what he could carry.
"But…" The pirate was about to argue when another skeletal figure kicked him hard.
"Are you stupid? You don't want to move up, but you're holding the boss back too?" the skeletal pirate growled.
"What do you mean?" The kicked pirate was confused. "We're already the biggest pirate crew in the Sunken Ship Sea. Boss is famous as the King of the Seven Seas. Why give that up?"
"Do you think being a pirate king is something to be proud of? You might be satisfied with where we are, but do you think Boss is content being a pirate? Now he has the chance to shed that identity and rise up, becoming a true noble!"
"A noble? But Boss always said he didn't want to become a land-dwelling noble!"
"That was then! Back when kingdoms offered Boss a duke's title to recruit him, they wanted him to bow to those worthless aristocrats, which he found laughable."
"But things are different now. Look at who this bigshot is! He's the boss's benefactor, someone who could one day establish the eleventh empire on the continent. If Boss follows him and earns some merit, he could become a duke in this future empire, which is far better than some kingdom's offer!"
After that speech, the room full of pirates fell silent, each contemplating the situation. Some eyes gleamed with the prospect of a bright future, while others remained lost in confusion, content with their current lives.
Unfortunately for those who wished to stay, they would be unable to maintain the vast pirate empire without Sauron. Once he left, everything would crumble.
But Sauron no longer cared about those who wanted to remain. He was determined to lead his crew to the Senaps Subcontinent. Thus, the Pirate King Sauron, ruler of the Aionian Subcontinent seas, vanished along with his fleet of over a thousand ships, leaving behind only the legend of a pirate king skilled in the art of the sword.
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