Chapter 368: The Moving Cloud Island

"Have all the foreign tribes been dealt with?" In a large palace that housed an advanced magical airship harbor, Beladian, the former king who had abdicated and relinquished all responsibilities, asked Muria with a relaxed expression.

"Yes, it's all taken care of," Muria began to explain his "friendly" negotiation process but was interrupted by the weary former king placing a hand in front of Muria's face, "I don't want to hear it. These matters no longer concern me; I just want to spend my remaining days with my daughter."

"You really don't want to know?" Muria eyed the fully equipped airship fleet, including guards, servants, and chefs, noticing the subtle look on Beladian's face. This fleet wasn't prepared in a day or two; it seemed that from the day Muria appeared, the king had begun his preparations, ready to depart as soon as the transfer of power was complete.

"I don't want to know. I don't have many days left, why should I care so much?" Beladian turned and boarded the luxurious airship behind him, pausing after a few steps to look back at Muria with an indifferent tone, "With ten ancient dragons at your side, what loss could you possibly suffer?"

Muria was speechless, watching as the airship's array patterns began to glow and listening to the faint humming sound of the magical array activating.

Just as Beladian was boarding the ship and speaking with Muria, inside a tower of the palace, the unique brilliance of a teleportation circle sparkled. A knight riding a white-bellied blue-feathered great bird flew out, his weary eyes scanning the soldiers guarding the tower.

"Where is His Majesty? I have important military information to report."

"Follow me." The guard, noting the emblem on the knight's breastplate, straightened his expression and spoke briefly with a Cloud Giant standing beside the tower before quickly leading the knight towards the palace's council hall.

Soon, the soldier brought the knight, whose face was filled with shock at the sight of the many Cloud Giants, to Muria: "Grand Duke Muria, this is a scout knight from the Isman Fortress with important military information for you."

"I need to see King Beladian, not some Grand Duke."

"What's the matter, soldier?" Standing on the airship, which was slowly departing from the dock, Beladian, who looked like a middle-aged merchant, leaned on the rail and asked with a smile.

"If you're here to report military matters, you should speak to your regent Grand Duke there; I've already abdicated."

"How can this be?" The scout knight, stunned and incredulous, seemed behind on the news and clearly still held Beladian in high regard within the military.

"You didn't know?" Muria looked at the knight, whose face showed a mix of fear, panic, and extreme fatigue, somewhat puzzled, "The ceremony for my governance of the Lockman Kingdom was held today, broadcast nationwide via magical images, even visible within military camps. Didn't you see it?"

"I just returned from a reconnaissance mission at sea. Upon detecting an anomaly, I immediately reported to the general, who thought the matter critical and teleported me here to report to the king."

Muria smirked wryly, taking a deep breath, feeling a bit crestfallen. Of the four regions of the Lockman Kingdom, only the western seas had been without issues, but now it seemed even this last stable frontier was troubled.

"Report to the regent Grand Duke!" Beladian, lying on the rail, pointed at Muria with a chuckle, then turned and walked into the cabin. He almost knew that there was also a problem in the western seas now, but he did not want to know the specifics.

Why should he, a dying man, bother so much? He could leave it all to the golden dragon Grand Duke, with ten ancient dragons securing the nation; what could possibly go wrong?

"Tell me, what's happening in the seas?" Muria, rubbing his temples in frustration, was starting to realize that this continent was different from any he had experienced before, apparently entering a very special period.

Geniuses emerging, disasters erupting! He had not forgotten that Beladian's son was crushed by a demonic hand reaching out from a sudden spatial rift.

And the largest ore source of the Dwarf Principality had also revealed a rift leading to the abyss. He had only been on this continent for a short time and already knew of two rifts.

This frequency was alarming, but Muria couldn't believe these were the only two rifts; certainly, there were more.

But here was the problem, Erathia was not some decrepit small world but one of the highest material realms; it was unreasonable for it to frequently have rifts connecting to the abyss.

"A massive area of Cloud Islands is drifting from the sea towards the kingdom's skies," the

 somewhat bewildered knight replied after realizing whom he now served.

"Cloud Islands?" Muria's furrowed brow relaxed slightly. He had anticipated trouble from the sea-dwelling races of the western regions, but this unexpected development from the sky posed less danger if it involved Cloud Islands.

Cloud Islands, or floating islands, are islands that float in the sky, accompanying the clouds. They appear due to the world's rules, varying in size, much like the islands in the ocean.

The creatures inhabiting these islands, such as Cloud Giants and Storm Giants, are typically very peaceful and non-aggressive. Unless provoked, they generally ignore others.

However, Cloud Islands usually remain fixed in one place and seldom drift. But according to this knight's report, a large group of these islands, all substantial in size, was moving towards the Lockman Kingdom.

"Explain in detail what's happening," Muria's youthful face bore a serious expression, his golden eyes exerting a powerful presence that made one overlook his human appearance.

"Grand Duke, please look, this is what I recorded with a reflection crystal," the knight, recovering from the shock of the king's abdication, pulled out a crystal and handed it to Muria.

"This is really..." Muria tugged at his mouth, at a loss for words, Erathia's mastery of magical technology far surpassed Earth's in many aspects but had not been widely distributed, leaving the common folk without access to the conveniences of advanced magical technology.

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