Chapter 372: The Wind Spirit King
A swift river cascaded down from above, plunging into a lake rippling with light, stirring up sprays of water and a mist that filled the air. On the lake's shore, there stood a stone house built from piled rocks, which looked quite refined.
At the entrance of this thoughtfully constructed stone house, a slightly more robust local Cloud Giant watched nervously as over thirty individuals, claiming to be Cloud Giants, surrounded him from all sides.
These giants, each standing over fifteen meters tall and clad in heavy armor with finely crafted weapons, were indeed well-armed to the teeth. This made the local Cloud Giant quite envious.
"We indeed are Cloud Giants." Seeing the disbelief of the local giant, Albert, the Cloud Giant leader who had arrived, stepped forward from the parting crowd of Cloud Giant guards to explain.
"We have transformed into what we are now because we followed His Highness Muria, who possesses Titan blood. His great power broke our shackles, granting us our current form and strength. So, there is no need for you to be nervous."
"Titans?" Before the local male Cloud Giant could respond, two excited youthful shouts came from the stone house, blocked by him.
A young boy and girl, two juvenile Cloud Giants, then burst out from behind their father, looking around excitedly. However, upon seeing the giants—much taller and fully armed, continuing to arrive—they quickly hid behind their father again.
"Are these your children?" Albert asked, a smile appearing on his face as he saw the two young giants who had eagerly run out upon hearing about Titans. "If they could live near His Highness's residence, they would surely achieve far greater things than you."
The blatant temptation struck a chord with the local Cloud Giant, who had already begun to believe that these giants were indeed his kin. Their appearance and demeanor towards him had clarified many things.
"You just mentioned His Highness Muria—is he a great Titan?" The local male Cloud Giant, having thought everything through and grasped the implications in Albert's words, asked curiously. He knew that great Titans did not accept giants as followers.
"One could say he is, and also not," Albert hesitated. "His Highness Muria's father is a true Titan, while his mother is a legendary ancient Gold Dragon."
"So, you're saying His Highness Muria is a half-blood Titan with the bloodline of an ancient Gold Dragon?"
"That's one way to understand it."
For giants, Titans are the epitome of beings to follow, and an ancient Gold Dragon represents the ultimate allegiance. Learning about Muria's existence, the local Cloud Giant was instantly intrigued, considering his family's future.
"What brings so many giants here? Is it by command of His Highness Muria?"
Before anything further could happen, the local male Cloud Giant was ready to uproot his family and join this powerful Cloud Giant under Muria's command.
"By His Highness Muria's orders, we are to investigate all Cloud Islands to detect any powerful beings that might threaten the kingdom's security," Albert replied solemnly.
"You want to investigate all Cloud Islands?" The local Cloud Giant's expression changed upon hearing Albert's answer, showing extreme reverence. "Do not do so; all Cloud Islands belong to the Wind Spirit King's territory. If you provoke it, your entire force could be annihilated."
"The Wind Spirit King?" Hearing this new title from the local Cloud Giant, Albert turned to look at his companions, slightly confused. He had never heard of such a title, and from the local giant's demeanor, it was clear that the Wind Spirit King was a being beyond legend.
"What is this Wind Spirit King? An elemental lord of the wind domain? Or an elemental king?" Albert asked with a frown. "But no, an elemental king wouldn't descend to the material realm."
"The Wind Spirit King is just our name for it. That great being has no ties to the elemental realms. When it awakens, boundless fierce winds always accompany it, which is why we call it so."
"I see." Albert nodded, understanding, then remembered something and asked again, "Have you ever seen this Wind Spirit King? Can you describe it?"
"I've only seen the Wind Spirit King appear once in my life, but there was so much wind swirling around it that most of its body was obscured. I couldn't make out what it actually looked like."
"Do you know anyone who has seen the Wind Spirit King's true form?" Albert pressed on, clearly intrigued by this ultimate being of the Cloud Islands.
However, the local was clear that this being wasn't an elemental creature from the elemental realms; the title of Wind Spirit King was just that—a title, merely proving its tremendous control over wind. Beyond that, there were no clues.
The formation of the wind barrier might also be a result of the Wind Spirit King's leaking power. From what they could infer, its strength was terrifyingly potent, perhaps truly capable
of annihilating the giant investigation corps with a single breath.
"I know."
"Take me there," Albert urged immediately. Clarifying the identity, race, and power of this "Wind Spirit King" would essentially mean completing the task set by Muria.
---
While Albert was bustling around the Cloud Islands investigating the identity of the Wind Spirit King, Muria was contemplating a matter. He planned to amend several laws in the Lockman Kingdom, which he found absurdly unreasonable. However, any amendments would touch on the interests of the nobility, potentially provoking backlash.
"Besides adhering to the basic laws of the kingdom, nobles are free to do as they please, including altering laws within their domains and arbitrarily adjusting taxes. They can even decide the life and death of any subject within their territories."
"Ridiculously extreme," Muria frowned, aware of the centralization of power. He could hardly tolerate the extensive rights possessed by the feudal lords.
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT