Chapter 0004: The Guardians of the Castle

Through the expression of the head maid and her understanding of the habits of the Titans and dragons, Muria felt he had guessed what had happened at that time. After seeing the Gundam, Muria, filled with thoughts, continued to explore the Crystal Castle with Sophia.

 

"Master Muria. Maid Sophia."

 

"Master Muria. Maid Sophia."

 

...

 

Following Sophia to explore the castle, they occasionally encountered some dragonborn servants with golden scales on their faces. When they saw Muria and Sophia passing by, they would respectfully stand aside and greet them with a bow after a moment of surprise.

 

"Sophia, how many dragonborn servants are there in the castle?" Muria asked curiously.

 

"There are a total of 1,856 dragonborn servants," Sophia replied without hesitation.

 

"So many?" Muria was amazed.

 

"The castle is too big, it needs so many hands," Sophia explained.

 

"Do your dragonborn serve for anything else? Like guarding or fighting?" Muria inquired.

 

"We dragonborn are only responsible for managing the castle. Other creatures are responsible for guarding the castle," Sophia replied.

 

"What creatures?"

 

"Please follow me, Master Muria. You'll see when we get there," Sophia said, pointing to a staircase leading upwards.

 

"When we get there, will I be able to see the creatures guarding this castle?" Muria asked the golden-haired dragonborn girl.

 

"Of course."

 

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Muria, filled with anticipation, ascended the stairs. The magnificent Crystal Castle, radiant and magnificent, loomed before him. Muria wondered what kind of creatures guarded this splendid castle.

 

The brilliant sunlight scattered, causing Muria to squint as he stepped onto a huge platform. A gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of vegetation and a faint salty sea breeze.

 

Looking into the distance, Muria saw the vast blue ocean stretching endlessly until it merged with the blue sky and white clouds, indistinguishable from each other.

 

Amidst the sea and sky, various seabirds soared freely, occasionally diving into the sea and emerging with fresh fish in their beaks. Beneath the surface, massive sea creatures swam, casting ominous shadows.

 

As spectacular as the seascape was, it only briefly caught Muria's attention. His focus was on something more captivating by his side.

 

Muria was now on a platform of the Crystal Castle built by his mother. The castle was situated on a large island, surrounded by mountains. However, the mountains did not obstruct Muria's view, as their height was far below his current position.

 

Standing tall and seeing far, Muria spotted more islands, among which the one chosen by the golden dragon lady to build the castle was just one of many. However, the choice of location was somewhat peculiar; instead of being in the middle of the archipelago, it was on the edge.

 

However, Muria's attention was not on the island. Although it was large and surrounded by handsome, majestic circular mountains, it couldn't distract Muria's gaze.

 

All his attention was focused on the creatures Sophia mentioned, guarding the Crystal Castle.

 

For example, beside Muria at the moment stood a huge humanoid creature.

 

It was a cloud giant with skin ranging from milky white to sky blue, silver-white hair, bright blue eyes, wearing a set of white armor with exquisite patterns, holding a massive scepter, and standing about 12 meters tall. For Muria at this moment, the cloud giant's size was quite impressive.

 

Of course, as someone with Titan blood, Muria was confident that he would soon surpass and even crush the cloud giant in size.

 

"Hmm?" As Muria looked up at the cloud giant, the intelligent creature also noticed Muria. The creature, not inferior to humans in intelligence, was first stunned, then its gaze focused on the golden dragon wings behind Muria.

 

Thus, through these golden wings and the faint pressure emanating from Muria's body, the cloud giant vaguely guessed his identity but was still somewhat uncertain, its face showing some astonishment and suspicion.

 

Then it noticed Sophia standing silently behind Muria, the dragonborn leader of the castle. Apart from the legendary golden dragon Athrysis, there was only one other dignified presence qualified to have the dragonborn leader stand behind them in this castle.

 

Therefore, the cloud giant confirmed Muria's identity, its expression changing again, now filled with undisguised excitement and admiration.

 

As Muria looked at the cloud giant, which changed its expression several times in just a short moment, he couldn't help but smile.

 

But his smile quickly turned into astonishment because the cloud giant, as if moving mountains and overturning seas, put down its scepter, knelt on one knee, and lowered its head with a white helmet, allowing Muria to see the back of its head.

 

"I pay my respects to His Highness Muria Iapetos Alonsus!"

 

The thunderous voice resounded from the kneeling cloud giant, full of fanaticism, with infinite reverence and admiration.

 

The huge voice alarmed all the cloud giants patrolling the castle. They all looked towards Muria's direction on the castle. Muria Iapetos Alonsus, the owner of this name, they had been anticipating for five full years, and today, their wish was finally fulfilled.

 

Muria felt completely stunned by the sight before him. He hadn't expected his appearance to cause such a stir.

 

Seeking help, Muria looked at Sophia. At this moment, he didn't know what to do.

 

"Master Muria, please stand over there. They have been eagerly awaiting to see you for a long time. Please accept their worship!" Sophia did not disappoint Muria's expectations and once again pointed to a location.

 

Muria followed the direction indicated by the dragonborn leader's finger, and his eyes fell on a huge observatory in the middle of the castle. It was the highest point of the castle and also its highest position.

 

Muria's mouth twitched slightly. At this moment, it seemed that there was no room for him to hesitate. He gritted his teeth and walked towards the highest observatory.

 

Outside the castle, on the circular mountains, the slightly sloping plains beyond the mountains, the beaches by the sea, and the surrounding sea areas of the islands, were densely packed with various kinds of creatures, encompassing land, sea, and air.

 

Cloud giants, storm giants, mountain giants, tidal giants, bipedal dragons, griffins, fierce eagles, fierce lions, fierce tigers... all kinds of ferocious beasts, nagas, mermaids...

 

Under the expectant gaze of numerous creatures, a somewhat chubby humanoid figure appeared at the highest point of the castle, in the eyes of many extraordinary creatures. He bore a pair of golden dragon wings on his back, had a pair of barely noticeable tiny horns on his head, and a long dragon tail swaying anxiously behind him.

 

Then, from outside the Crystal Castle, a huge cheer erupted. From the castle to the surrounding sea areas of the islands, all the creatures were cheering. The initial sounds were somewhat chaotic, but then they became organized. They were all shouting one name.

 

"Muria Iapetos Alonsus!"

 

"Muria Iapetos Alonsus!"

 

...

 

On the castle's observatory, the small figure was not towering, and many creatures present were larger than him.

 

In the eyes of many creatures who could see him clearly, the figure did not possess a majestic appearance; rather, he had a chubby, baby-like body with no dignity.

 

But even with such an appearance, it made many creatures cheer because the figure's appearance represented that he perfectly inherited the noble bloodlines of Titans and dragons. Just as they had hoped.

 

Because the five-meter-tall giant baby's body, compared to real Titan infants of the same age group, was not inferior at all. It could be foreseen that in the future, this figure would possess a physique and strength not inferior to pure-blooded Titans. His body would be extremely tall.

 

When he reached adulthood, inheriting the strongest golden dragon bloodline among metal dragons, he would also possess unmatched majesty.

 

These were the reasons why the creatures guarding the castle cheered from the bottom of their hearts.

 

At this moment, Muria was completely shocked. His heart was filled with immense satisfaction. But at the same time, a huge question arose in his mind...