In the world of Erathia, all factions with void colonization capabilities are exceptionally cautious when conquering other worlds through war. They avoid using large-scale destructive calamity weapons and refrain from deploying irreversible biochemical weapons, keeping the slaughter to a minimum.
This caution stems from the fact that excessive damage to a world can cause it to develop a will, which would emit a wail and cry for help that only beings of epic stature could hear.
Once a world's wail is heard in the world cluster where Erathia resides, the invading army responsible for the damage is essentially doomed, as epic beings will respond to the world's cry for help.
Thus, using force to conquer other worlds is a last resort. For instance, the locust civilization was deemed an uncooperative and valueless predatory civilization.
Some civilizations are inherently antagonistic toward others and cannot coexist. Confronting such civilizations leaves no option but the use of force.
"Terrence, how many giants can we muster to fight for me?" Muria asked.
"All the storm giants, tide giants, mountain giants, cloud giants, and fog giants under my command—275,958 adult giants—can fight for you."
"275,000, much more than I expected," Muria stroked his chin. This number was surprising, as he recalled that on the Titan Islands, the total number of giants of all types and ages under his command barely exceeded 100,000.
Now, just the adult giants under his command numbered 275,000. This was an astounding figure, considering that an adult cloud giant was of gold rank strength, especially as these giants had been enhanced by Muria's bloodline radiation.
However, the nearly ten thousand cloud giants who had been with Muria the longest had undergone some mutations due to prolonged exposure to his bloodline aura. These changes included discoloration of hair and scales growing on their bodies, making them no longer normal giants.
Despite these minor mutations, the benefits of breaking through their bloodline limitations far outweighed the negatives. The only real issue was that the fertility rate among female giants was decreasing yearly. Besides that, everything was perfect.
"Summon 200,000 giants. In a year, we will head to the void," Muria ordered. "No minors or elderly giants are to participate. All must remain in Synapse. You will decide the list, Terrence, within three days."
"As you wish," the storm giant commander responded, preparing to gather the other giant leaders and delegate tasks.
"Cynthia!" Muria turned to the red dragon who styled herself as the leader of the punitive legion. "Tell me, how many chromatic dragons do you currently oversee?"
"Counting myself, there are 393, including 24 wizard chromatic dragons."
"Mhm," Muria nodded. So far, he had traveled through five continents. The red dragon Renata stayed on the Osnilo subcontinent, and on the Deproson subcontinent, the six white dragons led by Claudia did not return to Synapse but stayed to develop locally. This was agreed upon with the scholarly dragon.
As for the other 300-plus dragons under Cynthia, they had been slowly adopted by these wizard dragons after Muria set an example on the Ionia subcontinent. These dragons enjoyed being dragon mages, especially passing on the suffering Muria inflicted on them to their fellow dragon juniors, which they found deeply gratifying.
"How many dragons are of gold rank and above?"
"125. The rest are immature hatchlings and juvenile dragons," Cynthia replied. In Synapse, the food was exceptional, especially with the fair system of distributing resources based on ability and contribution, allowing even young dragons to occasionally taste legendary flesh.
"All these dragons will participate in this war," Muria declared. He didn't need to ask if they were willing; given their nature, he doubted they could refuse the lure of plundering a world's resources.
"By the way, I retrieved your sister," Muria remembered, opening his demi-plane and releasing six pig-like dragons from within.
As Jessica, along with five other pig-like dragons, wobbled out, the leaders of Synapse were stunned. What kind of special dragon species were these?
"Are these dragons?" Cynthia looked at her own slender, gracefully fierce dragon body, then at the six "pigs" with dragon horns and wings.
"Second sister, it's me!" Jessica called out to her sister, flapping wings that could no longer support her body, relying on magic to fly.
While the two red dragon sisters chatted, Muria turned his attention to the ancient green dragon Fiona. "Prepare the expedition supplies and accelerate the production of iron golems, but stop selling them."
"Also, send for Troy and Indira from the Kingdom of Rockman. I need them for this war."
Muria issued commands, causing all of Synapse to become increasingly busy...
...
"I envy your father. He doesn't need to apply and gets to participate in void wars," a green dragon lying in the magically twisted tree crowns on one of Synapse's cloud islands said, looking at a somewhat dejected young cloud giant. Beside him were two gryphon-dragons, the cloud giant's pets.
"What's there to envy? My mother told me the void is full of dangers, with threats everywhere. My father could die in the void! I don't want to lose him," the young cloud giant said sadly.
"What are you thinking?" The green dragon, exuding a magical aura far beyond its age and race, patted the cloud giant on the shoulder. "The void isn't as dangerous as you think. I've applied to join the void war three times with Cynthia's approval, but I've been rejected every time."
"War can lead to death..."
"Those human scholars were right. The next generation of Synapse lives too comfortably. You're afraid of war."
"I'm not afraid of war. I just think this war is unnecessary..."
"Are you stupid?" The young green dragon looked at his companion oddly. "What do you mean by unnecessary war? Where do you think Synapse's development resources come from if not war? Trading with human merchants will never complete Synapse's final form. Right now, Synapse is less than ten percent complete.
You were born at a great time and place, never experiencing the constant threat of death."
"Have you experienced it?"
"Of course, I hatched from an abandoned dragon egg. You can't imagine how hard it was to survive. The best food I ate were bugs and rats. Sometimes, when I couldn't find food, I gnawed on tree roots and ate dirt. If Fiona hadn't found me in the forest and brought me here, I would have died long ago.
Moreover, when I first arrived, the Dragon Lord was sleeping. Every day there were enemies attacking Synapse. Giant warriors fell every day. You were born after the Dragon Lord woke up, so you never experienced the pain of being weak."
"I asked my father if he could avoid the war. He said participating in the void war is his duty. Muria has accepted and protected the cloud giants, so the cloud giants are obliged to fight for him."
"Your father understands. Nothing in this world is free. You can't just enjoy benefits without giving something in return." The green dragon grumbled, looking resentful. "I want to fulfill my duty and join the void war. I'm strong enough. Why won't they let me join?"
As time passed, following Muria's war mobilization order, giant legions were assembled. With 200,000 giants and their trained war pets, their numbers exceeded Muria's expectations, surpassing one million.
"Still not enough. Even if we doubled this number, my void fleet could accommodate them," Muria sighed, looking at the neatly arranged fleet of over 500 ships hovering beside Synapse.
"Lord Muria, you're amazing. You went out and acquired so many void warships," the blonde dragon maid looked at Muria with admiration, watching the giants board the ships.
"It's nothing. Most are scout and destroyer ships. There are few main battleships," Muria waved his hand nonchalantly, though inwardly he was in pain. He was now five billion in debt. If he lost, he didn't dare imagine the consequences. Selling himself might just cover the debt.
...
"Hmm? What's this fluctuation?" A being wandering between stars and worlds turned his head in surprise. Thirteen halos rotated behind him, emitting a power that distorted space-time.
He looked into the infinite distance, where three fleets were migrating. A mixed-blood Titan on the central fleet, with a look of anticipation on his face, caught his attention.
"How odd. Such a young one venturing into the void. It's too early! What recklessness!"
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