The Rise of the Titan

After the large-scale purge against the two legendary dukes, the noble class of the Lockman Kingdom fell into complete silence. After several purges, the remaining nobles, now less than one-tenth of their number during the reign of Berardine, stayed trembling in their castles. They believed the tyrant who had left had returned, as evidenced by the cloud giant army patrolling the country—an army only Muria had at his disposal.

With all the nobles connected to the two dukes slaughtered, a significant void appeared in the Lockman Kingdom's noble class. Therefore, Queen Remilia once again held a large-scale enfeoffment ceremony. Over three hundred new nobles with fiefdoms emerged, most of them members of the demon-hunting groups who had made significant contributions during the demonic calamity. This was their well-deserved reward.

A small portion of the new nobility comprised metallic dragons, with the highest-ranked being the ancient gold dragon, Bast. He became the new legendary duke of the Lockman Kingdom, filling the gap in the kingdom's legendary combat power.

With everything settled, the cloud giant army began to return through the teleportation arrays to the kingdom, eventually retreating to Muria's demiplane. They had to return, as this was not their place to stay for long.

"I'm leaving now, Little Remilia," Muria said, standing on the teleportation array in the palace. This was a fixed two-way teleportation array, with one end here and the other on the Cloud Island, long since prepared.

"...Oh," Remilia hesitated for a moment but did not ask him to stay. She knew that even if Muria agreed to stay, he wouldn't remain for long.

"Interested in visiting my Cloud Island?" Muria extended his hand to Remilia, inviting her. "The Cloud Island has changed a lot since you last saw it."

"Mm-hmm." Without any hesitation, Queen Remilia's eyes lit up, and she immediately accepted Muria's invitation.

"Wow, the Cloud Island is so beautiful now! It's completely different from when we were in the capital," Remilia exclaimed in amazement as she appeared on the top layer of the Cloud Island, holding Muria's hand and looking down.

The 132 Cloud Islands had undergone tremendous changes since they set off from the capital, Scarlet. To meet Muria's requirement for "mobility," a six-year-long reconstruction project on the Cloud Islands had nearly destroyed all their natural landscapes. Mountains were leveled, lakes were filled, trees were uprooted—all to install the basic formations needed to make the islands mobile.

Thus, the Cloud Islands Muria left with were barren and rather ugly. But after leaving the Lockman Kingdom and spending two years at sea, everything had changed.

Following unique designs for each island, the drow elves, under Muria's stern instructions, replanted all previously uprooted trees whose roots had been preserved. Summoned hill giants reshaped the mountains and dug new rivers and lakes, creating a perfect water circulation system as calculated by Muria's human auxiliary elite professionals.

A large number of cloud giants, along with "volunteer" dwarves and dragonborn evolved from kobolds, began building houses and structures for daily life on the islands. Different creatures had different needs for their living environments, and it wasn't as simple as building a residential city like for humans.

In just over two years, with the cooperation of hundreds of thousands of extraordinary creatures and numerous humans, the Cloud Islands took on a new appearance, showcasing a blend of natural and man-made beauty.

"I wish I could live here with Brother Muria forever!" Admiring the transformed scenery of the Cloud Island, Remilia, standing high above, sighed.

Clear rivers cascaded from higher islands to lower ones, forming spectacular waterfalls. The mist, illuminated by sunlight, created brilliant rainbows, giving the islands a dreamlike sheen. Agile dragons soared between the islands, white cloud giants patrolled with griffins along familiar routes, and native birds and flying creatures moved about, creating a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

"You can come anytime through the teleportation array," Muria said, smiling as he patted Remilia's head. "It's not much different from living with me."

"Mm-hmm!" The young queen nodded excitedly and then eagerly pulled Muria to show her around the now somewhat unfamiliar Cloud Island.

Remilia noticed that the lower she went, the more creatures she saw, arranged by strength and status. Powerful creatures lived on the upper islands, while weaker ones crowded the lower ones. However, compared to the lives of ordinary Lockman Kingdom civilians, even the crowded lower islands offered a life akin to that of devout followers entering their gods' divine realms after death.

This arrangement was highly reasonable in the world of Erathia, where the concept of equality did not exist. Even the kindest deities wouldn't propose such an absurd theory. Dragons and giants couldn't live with ordinary beings, as it would be detrimental to everyone. Even drow elves, if surrounded by regular males, would weaken over time, becoming useless.

"Brother Muria, what are they doing?" Remilia curiously pointed to a cloud island near the sea, where some commotion was occurring.

"Hmm?" Muria followed her gaze and saw several blue-skinned tide giants rising from the sea, speaking to the stationed humans and cloud giants. Five floating ships then took off from the island.

A dozen cloud giants with their pets followed, and even a green dragon soaring between the islands turned and flew after them with an excited roar.

"Ahem," Muria coughed awkwardly, rubbing his chin. "They've probably found some prey."

"Prey?"

"Pirates, or other evil creatures."

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