"I can send three legendary white dragons and a fully organized white dragon legion to assist you," Claudia said. "Recently, quite a few white dragons have come to join me."
"Thank you," Muria accepted without hesitation. This was no time for modesty; the more high-end forces, the better. Even the weakest white dragon was still a dragon.
"Summon those three ancient dragons."
At Claudia's command, three ancient white dragons, pathetically small in Muria's eyes, flew over and entered the Ice King's Palace. Although the three dragons together were not even as long as Muria's dragon body, they genuinely radiated legendary power. Considering their age, they possessed such power that, compared to other ancient dragons, they truly lived up to the shameful reputation of their species.
Although size isn't everything, white dragons, as chromatic dragons, mainly rely on close combat. For them, size directly correlates with combat strength.
"Fine, they'll do for now. Having them is better than not having them at all. After all, they're still legendary dragons," Muria tried to console himself. He felt that all three dragons together weren't even worth one of his punches. Their purpose was merely to boost the numbers.
"They will follow you, Muria. Feel free to command them without hesitation. As for me, I can't help you at the moment. I still need to manage some affairs in my territory," Claudia said.
"I understand." Muria nodded. No matter how thick-skinned Claudia was, she wouldn't dare appear before Mikaela now. No one could calmly fight alongside someone who had just beaten them.
"Then I'll be off."
"Mm."
...
"Mikaela, I'm truly sorry! I overestimated the character of my human subordinates. The number of people who meet the requirements for angelic reincarnation is far fewer than expected."
On the vast Cloud City, Muria looked apologetically at the seraphim girl beside him. Before them was a medium-sized angelic reincarnation pool, where less than eight hundred light cocoons floated in the holy, milky white water. Most embarrassingly for Muria, more than half of the angels reincarnated directly obeyed him rather than Mikaela. These were the researchers under his command.
Fewer than three hundred angels were assigned to Mikaela's forces. Most of Muria's human subordinates were labor criminals composed of robbers, bandits, and villains, followed by the families of various alchemists who were mostly ordinary people without the noble character required for angelic reincarnation. Mikaela insisted on quality over quantity.
An ordinary person might commit some misdeeds intentionally or unintentionally but also do many good deeds. They were not the black-and-white characters seen in novels but lived mostly in shades of gray, capable of both good and evil.
Therefore, Muria had to ask Claudia to search within her territory. However, for some unspeakable reason, he hadn't asked yet.
Instead, he turned to Queen Remilia of the Lockman Kingdom on the Nocchiautz continent, hoping she could find people who met the angelic reincarnation requirements — individuals known for their lifelong goodness or high moral character. This wasn't something that could be accomplished quickly.
"It's fine, I was prepared for this. Forming a legion takes time. We can take it slow," Mikaela responded indifferently.
"I hope you can go to battle as the marshal of an angelic legion, not just as a frontline general," Muria expressed his thoughts.
"But right now, I'd rather fight on the front lines," Mikaela replied.
"Alright, I respect your choice," Muria smiled helplessly.
...
The desolate yet melodious sound of a horn echoed in the somewhat primitive and rugged city of frost giants. From three barracks within the city came the synchronized sound of marching feet, causing the entire city to tremble slightly with the rhythm.
Although living in one city, the three frost giant tribes hadn't fully merged and still harbored some resentment. Thus, the training of the three frost giant legions was intermixed. Adult giants from the three tribes were mixed together to subtly change them through training.
"Is this all we have to show after five years of training?" Muria said disappointedly, watching the barely aligned frost giants below. This was far from the army he remembered, only satisfactory in formation, not in individual strength.
Despite this, the frost giants were much better than the chaotic state they started in. At least they understood discipline, the importance of following orders, and basic military formations.
"Your Highness, there's nothing more we can do. These giants can only be trained to this extent. Their thinking is set, and they are not suited for coordinated military operations," Tyren, the storm giant commander, sighed from the highest point of the frost giant city.
"Then we'll have to train their next generation from infancy. I refuse to believe we can't train a strong army of frost giants," Muria said firmly.
"That will take a long time."
"Half a century at most. I can wait," Muria said calmly, looking at the three ten-thousand-strong frost giant legions gathering below. These were the forces ready to march with him. "For now, they'll have to do. They will be the foundation of the frost giant civilization's rise. Their names will be etched into the civilization's monument."
While Muria was assembling the frost giant legions, the large frost giant tribes around them, which Muria had chosen as targets for this war, felt a sense of foreboding. The tribe leaders and their deities quickly identified the source of this feeling because Muria had never concealed his actions.
Occasional scheming was enough. Compared to sinister plots, Muria preferred to crush his enemies with overwhelming force, leaving them to rely solely on their strength to resist. This time, Muria anticipated that he might not be able to subdue the frost giant tribes by defeating their leaders as he had before. Their gods and leaders would certainly devise countermeasures.
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