Chapter 542: Speculations on the Origins of Giants

"You raised me like a sister?" Claudia, in her white dragon form, lay her head on Muria's lap, one eye glancing up at him skeptically. "What about Cynthia, Jessica, and Renata, those three female red dragons? Did you raise them as sisters too?"

"Of course," Muria replied, his hand gently caressing Claudia's long neck. Her scales felt cool but not cold, akin to finely sculpted jade.

"Four sisters, huh!" Claudia muttered, her eyes betraying a complex mix of emotions. "So why not raise a few male dragons as brothers?"

"..." Muria frowned in thought for a moment before answering decisively, "I simply don't like it. I don't like having brothers."

"Male instincts."

"..." Muria fell silent, unwilling to engage further with this academically inclined dragon on such a topic.

"When do you plan to leave?" Claudia shifted to a more serious topic that concerned her deeply.

"Are you eager for me to leave?" Muria squeezed Claudia's elegant neck slightly, his tone hinting at displeasure.

"Whether I want you to or not, it's inevitable that you will leave, isn't it?" Claudia retorted. "This continent holds little for you, Muria. Compared to other continents, Depreson is too impoverished and backward, without even a proper kingdom. Of course, for me, it's a perfect place to expand and grow."

"That's true." Muria stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I can't say exactly when I'll leave this subcontinent. But I intend to unite more than half of the frost giants here, teach them the essential knowledge to build a civilization. At the very least, when I leave, and they lose external support, they should be able to continue developing, producing elites capable of driving their civilization forward."

"You just wanted to form an army, and now you want to help them develop a civilization!" Claudia was amazed at Muria's ambition and vision. "I understand your reasoning, though. A civilization provides a solid foundation for your frost giant army, ensuring it can be quickly rebuilt even if it suffers heavy losses. But have you ever considered a crucial question?"

"What question?"

"Is the frost giants' ignorance and backwardness purely due to external factors and divine influence? Doesn't their own bloodline play any role? Can they truly achieve your goals and develop a civilization?"

"What are you getting at?" Muria looked down at the white dragon resting on his lap.

"It's well known that the chromatic dragons were created by Tiamat, the mother of evil dragons, and the metallic dragons by Bahamut, the platinum dragon god," Claudia's gaze was intense as she looked up at Muria. "So, who created the giants?"

"Life doesn't always need to be created by gods or epics. Natural evolution can also produce a variety of vibrant life forms," Muria replied seriously, meeting Claudia's eyes.

"I know that. For example, the Titans are one of the most powerful races born from the world's natural evolution. But you can't attribute everything to natural evolution. You must acknowledge that many intelligent species in Erathia were created by powerful beings.

"Giants resemble Titans in form. Why can't we hypothesize that all giant species in Erathia were created by the Titans?"

"That's absurd!" Muria's brows furrowed deeply. "According to your logic, all races that resemble Titans in form were created by Titans. Does that mean humans were created by Titans too?"

"It's possible. I've found some obscure records in the books you gave me. During the dark era before the rise of humans, a human sage suddenly gained enlightenment and began crafting the first demon-hunting armors. This led to the most glorious demon-hunting era for humanity.

"But no matter how powerful the ninth-generation demon-hunting armor became, it all started with the first generation. So, here's the question: How was the first generation created? Going from nothing to something is much harder than improving upon an existing concept. Was the first demon-hunting armor truly developed independently by humans, or did some special existence inspire that human sage?"

"You're suggesting that Titans were behind it? That the rise of humanity was orchestrated by the Titans? Ridiculous! Why would the rise of humans benefit my Titan race?"

"In that era, who else but the Titans would help humans? And maybe the Titan who inspired that human sage did so unintentionally. After all, the first-generation armor wasn't particularly powerful. The Titan wouldn't have predicted that humans would soar because of it. It's like someone casually dropping crumbs for ants on the ground."

"Your imagination is too wild, Claudia. Humanity has proven their endless creativity. The first demon-hunting armor might have been born from a flash of genius," Muria shook his head, rejecting Claudia's hypothesis but making a mental note of it. It wasn't entirely impossible.

"Alright, let's set aside humans. Let's talk about the relationship between giants and Titans. Don't you think it's too exaggerated how these giants submit to you upon seeing you? If we hypothesize that their ancestors were created by Titans as vassals, then their behavior makes perfect sense."

"If these giants were indeed created by Titans as vassals, explain their current miserable state. Titans are not a heartless race," Muria countered. "Why would they be reduced to such a state?"

"Perhaps because the Epic Titan who created them has perished, leaving them uncared for as mere descendants?" Claudia suggested boldly. "After all, they are only the descendants of the Titans' vassals."

"Watch your words!" Muria pushed Claudia away, standing up from the icy throne, anger flashing across his face. "Each Epic Titan wields unique powers. According to your theory, each Epic Titan corresponds to a giant race, which implies that over ten Epic Titans have fallen. Do you realize how absurd that sounds?"

"Is it, though? The Titan race has existed for over a million years. On average, an Epic Titan would fall every hundred thousand years. Compared to the frequency of divine casualties, that's almost insignificant. Epic Titans are not immortal."

"Even if one Titan falls every hundred thousand years, it's still an incredibly low number compared to other beings." Muria's voice grew cold, clearly displeased with Claudia's speculation.

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