Muria stood on the flagship, leading a fleet that blotted out the sky in the eyes of the locust men. With each city they passed, a cloud giant would break away from the formation to subdue the locust cities that were thrown into chaos and panic.
The average strength of the cloud giant warriors was above the gold level, and with their battle pets, a single giant could subdue an entire city. They only subdued, not slaughtered, killing only those who resisted.
Seeing the fleet and the seemingly endless giant army that obscured the sun, few dared to resist. Intelligent beings naturally felt fear.
As Muria approached the world's center, more and more locust men dared to resist and even attack his fleet. But their numbers were meaningless; they were crushed in mid-air, too weak to even draw Muria's gaze.
This was merely a small world that had become a colony of the locust civilization. The locust army stationed here was less than one-tenth or even one-twentieth of the locust civilization's total strength, incapable of hindering Muria's progress.
"We're almost at the world's center." Muria's gaze lowered slightly, seeing a locust army of over a hundred thousand led by a locust barely at the Soul Intent level, charging at the void fleet.
A civilization capable of colonizing other worlds must have its merits. Among the cowardly and timid, there were always warriors willing to sacrifice.
But such a charge was pointless. Not Muria, nor even the six legends behind him, had any desire to act. Only a cloud giant commander, who had recently advanced to Soul Intent due to Muria's influence, led his thousand cloud giants in a counter-charge.
The black chitinous locust warriors fell like rain, while the cloud giants remained unscathed. The locust leader was smashed into bone fragments by the giant commander's flail the moment they clashed.
Muria shifted his gaze from the predetermined outcome of this battle to the front, where three more auras had joined the Black Radiance God's, just as he had anticipated. The locust reinforcements had arrived.
...
"I am the Black Radiance God. What are you? Where do you come from?" The Black Radiance God, shrouded in black flames, looked at the steel fleet before him. The shock in his compound eyes was indescribable. The three locust gods he had summoned shared a similar reaction.
"Only four of them. Not bad." Standing on the flagship, Muria looked at the four locust legends, not bothering to respond. They were doomed, so there was no point in learning more about them.
"Buzz!" A visible spatial ripple emanated from the flagship, sweeping across the area.
"Commander, the spatial blockade field has been established!" A mechanical female voice sounded in Muria's mind. Smiling, he pointed to the four locust legends and the million-strong locust army surrounding them.
"I'll handle the locust shrouded in black flames. The rest are yours to distribute as you see fit," Muria commanded. The task distribution was simple. Given the overwhelming disparity in strength, they could easily overpower their foes.
Honestly, Muria would rather not engage. He preferred to leave it to his followers and subordinates, which was why he had built his forces. If he had to do everything himself, there was no point in all his efforts with Synapsis.
As Muria issued his order, the locust legends grew increasingly uneasy. The steel warships and the giants, each averaging fifteen meters in height, were immensely intimidating to the two-meter-tall locusts.
"The spatial rift has been forcibly closed. Our connection to the mother world is severed. Black Radiance, what enemy have you provoked?"
"How is this my fault?" The Black Radiance God's face darkened, his mental waves tinged with anger. He knew the fleet had already overrun his cities, yet he had to feign politeness, hoping to communicate with the gigantic beings commanding the steel ships.
Through their conquests, the locusts had learned that their world was not unique. Beyond the dark void lay other worlds. They regarded these worlds with both anticipation and greed, and a hint of fear.
"The Prophet God's prophecy came true. If we can conquer weaker worlds, then stronger worlds can conquer us. These monsters must come from such a world."
"Prepare for battle. These beings came to conquer us, just as we once conquered this world. Instead of useless discussions, let's focus on surviving this attack and reestablishing contact with the mother world."
"Black Radiance, watch out!" Three voices shouted in alarm as a golden streak struck the Black Radiance God, sending him flying into the sky.
"Chirp!" The Black Radiance God screeched in anger as a metal-armored hand grasped his triangular head. He struggled desperately, his six limbs wreathed in dead black flames, but they merely caused minor discomfort to the hand's owner.
Boom!
The ten-meter-tall Muria hurled the Black Radiance God into the sky with enough force to shatter mountains and reverse rivers. The friction with the atmosphere ignited flames, creating a massive conical vacuum tunnel.
"With such weak strength, how dare you call yourself a god? Where did you get the gall?" Muria's soul voice resounded as the locust's futile attack barely tickled him.
"What are you? Where do you come from? Why are you attacking us?" The Black Radiance God, his chitin blackened and partially vaporized from the atmospheric friction, asked fearfully, staring at Muria's Titan form.
"Why are you here in this world?" Muria's soul voice was calm, devoid of emotion. "For the same reasons, I am here too."
For the advancement of his race,
To acquire more resources,
To become stronger!
The Black Radiance God understood. Then his black flames surged, reaching hundreds of meters high. The flames, filled with deathly resentment, revealed countless heads, primarily those of the white moth people.
"Using bound souls as your path to legend." Muria lowered his gaze. "If you figured this out on your own, I must commend you. Now, give me your all. This is the only chance my mercy affords you."
Boom!
High in the sky, black flames blossomed with the desperate will of a civilization's top warrior, visible even in the central battlefield where the battle was one-sided.
"Black Radiance, hold on!" A locust legend covered in sharp edges looked up in despair, only to be torn apart by an ancient green dragon and a legendary pit fiend.
It was a completely one-sided war, a massacre. Locust corpses rained down, their yellow-green fluids staining the cities below, while few giants fell. The heavily armored dragons remained intact.
...
"It seems the world despises these locusts too!" Muria returned to the flagship, holding a complete locust carcass. Gazing at the battlefield turned wasteland after a day and night of fighting, he felt the world's rejection of him lessen slightly.
"That's normal, Your Highness. No mother would favor those enslaving her children. If you kill enough locusts and sacrifice them to the world's will, you might earn its favor."
"What use is the favor of such a small world?" Muria shook his head. "Now, the favor of Erathia's world will would be different. But to earn that, I'd need to sacrifice a being of epic-level strength."
"Your Highness, after conquering this world, what's your next move? Continue the offensive?"
"No, I'll wait for the Dragon Princess to arrive." Muria shook his head. After defeating the Black Radiance God, he had glimpsed his soul memory, discovering that the locust civilization was more profound than he had thought. He confirmed that they had over twenty legends and high-tier legends.
In this situation, Muria would not continue the offensive. That would be foolish. Due to the Nine Shepherds God, he arrived a year before the Dragon Princess. He would wait for her to share the burden. He wasn't confident in conquering the Solos world within a year alone, and continuing the attack now would mean the Dragon Princess reaping the benefits.
However, Muria wouldn't be idle during this year. He glanced at a black-haired, gold-eyed girl who resembled him. Indira, with her ability to consume the world's crystal wall and perfectly transform into the target creature.
Thus, Muria had a bold idea. If it succeeded, he wouldn't need to pay any more price to achieve victory, possess eight worlds, repay his debt, and become wealthy overnight.
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