The ground shook violently, and buildings were destroyed in large swathes by the aftermath of the battle. Massive cracks, hundreds to thousands of meters long, spread across the land, creating a shocking scene.
Even with the constraints imposed by the Earth Sovereign Turtle, the damage was still considerable. Without its suppression and reinforcement of the battlefield, the scale of destruction could have been tens or even hundreds of times greater.
"Should I step in and intervene?" The Earth Sovereign Turtle, quietly observing the battle in which Muria was slightly at a disadvantage, contemplated.
Though Muria had split into eight avatars, making it a nine-versus-three battle where he seemed to hold the numerical advantage, he was actually at a disadvantage.
There was no helping it—Muria was still too young. His bloodline potential had not fully manifested, and this avatar only possessed thirty percent of his full combat strength. Against enemies like the evil god's avatar, Muria could only play a restraining role.
However, despite being at a disadvantage, the evil god could not suppress Muria. Although the attacks from his eight avatars didn't deal significant damage, they were painful enough for the evil god to feel them. After all, Muria's avatars were wielding his specialized weapons.
"This is exactly the kind of battle I need!" Although he was on the losing side, Muria was extremely excited.
At his level, it was rare to find opponents who could fight him. Other than his fellow Titans, few could match him. Yet, when fighting his fellow Titans, he couldn't go all out. Many of his deadliest moves were held back out of consideration for his kin.
"Muria, you're hogging all the fun again!"
Just as Muria was exhilaratedly clashing with the evil god, a multicolored light streaked through the sky and struck near him. From the resplendent rainbow-like light stepped out a Titan, slightly taller than Muria, wielding a spear and riding a gigantic beast.
The beast resembled a horse but had a lion-like head. Its ribs sprouted enormous blue-gold wings, and its tail bore a long, blade-like appendage, clearly designed for combat.
This beast was one of the fierce creatures Muria's father, Ansol, had subdued in one of his medium-sized worlds. It was said to be one of the mightiest Beast Kings. However, due to its appearance and suitable body structure, Ansol had chosen it as his mount.
Muria had heard that after submitting to his father, the Beast King had been showered with resources and even brought to the world of Erathia, where it underwent rule-based refinement and enhancement. Now, it was the undisputed Beast King of the wilderness world it once ruled.
As soon as the Beast King carrying Ansol appeared, it neighed loudly, much like a horse, announcing its presence. Muria recalled that when he first encountered this creature, it hadn't made this sound. Instead, it had let out a savage roar.
However, after spending some time in Synapse, it saw the warhorses of the human inhabitants there. It then altered its form and snuck into one of the human stables, learning how to neigh in just a day to please its master, Ansol.
"Muria, you've been fighting long enough. It's time to step aside!" Seeing Muria engaged in fierce combat with the evil god, Ansol could barely contain his impatience. Right now, Synapse's subcontinent was filled with many eager Titans.
There were simply too many Titans wanting to battle the gods. In Ansol's view, each time an evil god's avatar appeared, more than a dozen Titans would scramble to fight it.
"Alright, our fight is over. My father is taking over. Put on a good show for him!" Hearing his father's impatient voice, Muria calmly addressed the evil god and then withdrew from the battle.
"You..." The evil god felt deeply insulted. What was this? One Titan finished fighting, and then another took over?
"Muria, give me an hour before you notify the others!" As Ansol began his battle with the evil god, he didn't forget to shout back at Muria.
"I can't keep it quiet for that long!" Muria sighed. The Titans who had come to the Synapse subcontinent were all eager for battle. Except for his father, nearly every Titan had rushed to the battlefield to seek out chances to fight evil gods.
The tremors from this battle wouldn't go unnoticed for long, and soon other Titans would sense it and come running. If they found the fight on their own, Muria wouldn't be able to charge them the hefty million-gold information fee.
While the legendary Titans continued battling the evil gods on Synapse, holding them at bay, a meeting hosted by several powerful deities was taking place in the Pantheon.
"The Titans have joined forces with the Seraphim and the Dragons again, fighting against a race that tracked them from beyond the void.
This race is formidable. It is said they possess a secret technique capable of altering a species' fate, and this technique has already been stolen by the new Dragon King of the Metallic Dragons, Arelasta. The secret technique has now been sold to the Titans and the Seraphim.
So, these three races are now firmly aligned against this foreign epic race. They've already started fighting at the edge of the world cluster."
"My investigation reveals that a major figure among these outsiders has threatened to destroy the world of Erathia in retaliation."
"So now, the Erathia world has been dragged into this mess because of these epics. Can't they behave for once? Why do they always bring trouble that affects the rest of us?"
"Ah, if only there were no epics in the world, things would be so much simpler."
"A fool! A great world can exist without gods, but it cannot exist without epics." The Dawnlord Lathander immediately rebuked such talk.
"Prepare yourselves. While the Titans and Seraphim are holding off the invaders at the world cluster's edge, there's a chance some foreign epics might break through. When that happens, it will be our turn to act. As gods, it is our duty to protect the world."
"Indeed, protecting the world is our responsibility as gods, no matter if we are good or evil," said the God of Justice, Tyr, just as the God of Murder, Cyric, voiced his agreement, to the surprise of many deities.
"If an evil god invades, I will be the first to strike them down!" declared the Fear Demon, adopting the stance of a world defender.
Such behavior didn't surprise the gods. Whether good or evil, chaotic or lawful, their nature was still that of deities. They were tied to the world.
The gods drew their power from the world, and their immortality was relative to the creatures inhabiting the world. If the world perished, so would they.
For any foreign evil god approaching the world of Erathia with ill intentions, all deities had a duty and obligation to destroy them. Moreover, they would be rewarded for doing so.
"This is pointless. The war has already begun. The battlefield is outside the world cluster, but there will surely be evil gods sneaking into our world. While you all sit here and argue, I'll be patrolling the outer worlds!"
The newly ascended powerful god, Hades, grew impatient with the ongoing debate in the Pantheon. His avatar dissipated from the temple, and at the same time, a slight tremor ran through the underworld, filled with endless spirits. Soon after, a mighty deity, clad in purple-black armor, holding a spear, rode a chariot pulled by four nightmares and thundered out of his divine realm.
"Heh, the new Lord of the Underworld is really diligent. Since that's the case, I'll take my leave as well." Seeing Hades patrolling the outer world, the Fear Demon also chuckled, withdrawing his avatar. His abyssal divine realm trembled as he led his demonic legion out into the world cluster to patrol.
...
"Titan, Seraphim, and Dragon! This world cluster is fascinating, birthing three races capable of producing epics. There must be valuable resources here. But since they've already crossed us Sky Demons, there's no need for their existence anymore."
At the edge of the Erathia world cluster, a faint, dust-like haze drifted in. The mist emitted no detectable energy and was hidden from all forms of observation.
"Since they've uncovered our secrets, they must be utterly destroyed as punishment. However, there's no need to confront them head-on.
Without a Sky Demon King leading the charge, it would be troublesome to wipe them all out. We Sky Demons would have to pay a hefty price.
Instead, I'll sneak into their world, destroy the home that nurtured them, and make them experience the utmost despair."
For any powerful epic race, having a world of sufficient scale was essential to producing excellent offspring. If an epic race lost its foothold in a large world, it would have no future.
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