Chapter 395: Bumbling Brawls

"Grand Duke Muria, according to the current data collected, the number of contestants who have registered and qualified has already exceeded ten thousand humans, and the number is still rising."

A day after registration for the competition had started, the official responsible for tallying the number of registrants stood in the spacious hall, reporting to Muria, who was seated high on his throne, the data he had compiled from various regions.

"Continue to monitor and report to me daily on the number of qualified contestants during the registration period."

"As you command."

"Those who have registered to compete, no matter what they have done or whom they have offended before, are not to be harmed during the competition. Anyone who violates this will be considered my enemy."

Muria sternly reiterated the rules he had set before the competition to another group of ministers.

Young talents are usually proud and haughty, a disposition prone to offending others. A genius who stays quietly at home doing nothing is indeed a rare breed.

According to Muria's surveys, geniuses who don't cause trouble are nearly nonexistent. Among commoner talents, not counting noble ones, nearly every one of them has offended someone, and many are pursued by enemies.

Cultivation requires resources. Whether it's meditation or breathing techniques, one needs at least enough food to sustain the body's expenditure during practice. And to accelerate cultivation, even more resources are necessary.

How do talents born to commoners acquire resources for cultivation? Most can only fight, steal, or kill. Only a small fraction with secondary skills can sustain their cultivation through their own abilities. Thus, it's no surprise that nearly every commoner talent has a host of enemies and pursuers.

If Muria wants them to participate in the competition, he must ensure their safety, especially since some unfortunate talents are currently in dire straits without protection, daring not to show their faces.

"Grand Duke Muria, your orders have been announced to all nobles and lords, and they will certainly obey your command," a minister reported.

"Heh." Muria chuckled noncommittally, knowing well that the nobles, who controlled the largest share of the kingdom's cultivation resources, were the ones most offended by commoner talents and also the most likely to pursue them.

"I have dispatched all of my cloud giants and three hundred storm giants throughout the country.

Announce that all qualified contestants can seek protection from the cloud giants. I'd like to see which high-ranking noble dares to touch them."

Muria informed the group of nobles and ministers of the order he had issued the previous day. Now in the Rockman Kingdom, who didn't know that the cloud giants were an extension of the Grand Duke's will?

"This..." The nobles and ministers exchanged helpless looks, realizing that many times when they were summoned, it was merely to be informed, not to discuss or convey orders, which felt rather presumptuous.

"Boom!" Just then, a loud explosion rang out, followed by the continuous sound of collapsing buildings, leaving the nobles in the council hall dumbfounded. It was clearly the sound of battle, but why would there be a fight inside the palace?

"Two little troublemakers." Muria, rubbing his forehead at the noise, didn't give the obviously curious nobles and ministers a chance to ask questions, disappearing in an instant.

"Everyone, leave. Come back tomorrow to report on matters related to the competition," were the last words Muria left before exiting the council hall, leaving the many nobles no choice but to depart reluctantly.

Curious as they were, they didn't dare to wander around the palace now, searching for the source of the noise. Although the cloud giants had been dispatched, the even more powerful storm giants and some others remained stationed in the palace.

As the nobles and ministers left the palace, Muria appeared at the location of the explosion and building collapse, and saw the two lolis, Indira and Remilia, engaged in battle.

Remilia, wielding the Spear of Certainty, Gungnir, and Indira, fighting bare-handed, were in the midst of a fierce battle ten meters above the ground, their movements creating a series of spear glows and fist energies, showcasing their formidable physical strength.

Around them, about twenty storm giants looked on with trepidation, hesitant to intervene due to the girls' statuses.

"Another one destroyed!" Muria looked at a nearby coliseum, clearly damaged by violent force, and sighed in resignation.

Since that night, Indira and Remilia, after getting to know each other through brawling, had formed an "inseparable bond." They spent nearly every day together, playing in ways unimaginable to ordinary beings.

Fighting! This was the only activity the two lolis could do together after encountering each other in the palace. Without a word, they would clash, exerting all their might, using every method at their disposal to hurt the other, aiming to make the

 other cry first.

Muria, annoyed by the frequent fights, had designated a coliseum in the palace grounds for them to spar freely, as he was not worried about them.

Indira, a creature from the void with incredible vitality capable of withstanding legendary attacks, and Remilia, inheriting the fragmented bloodline of a true ancestor, also possessed remarkable healing abilities. At least until Indira used her mysterious devouring and transformation abilities, she could not harm Remilia.

Thus, Muria allowed the two lolis, both high in defense and resilience, to brawl freely. Of course, he forbade Indira from using her forbidden devouring and transformation abilities.

"Enough!" As Muria thought over his options, the two lolis tangled up again, collapsing another palace, darkening Muria's expression as he immediately called a halt.

To Muria, the lolis' brawling was just mindless pecking, devoid of any technique or skill, merely relying on their physical prowess, which he termed "playing."

But his command went unheeded by the two lolis. Thus, under the watchful eyes of many storm giants, Muria entered the now-ruined palace, grabbed a loli in each hand, and walked out, his voice faintly heard chastising them,

"Have you forgotten all the combat techniques I taught you? If you're going to fight, do it seriously; no more fooling around?"

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