"What is that?"
When Muria revealed his avatar, the five alien generals were stunned. They had never seen such a technique displayed by a human.
Muria's avatar exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression: a vast sea of clouds, endless stars, divine beasts perched upon constellations, and above them all, an emperor ruling supreme.
Each aspect of this manifestation pressed heavily upon the generals, especially the emperor, whose aura crushed them completely.
"The land under heaven belongs to the sovereign!" Muria muttered softly. The twelve tassels of the emperor's crown behind him swayed without wind. Then, with his words, a vast domain began to take shape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As this domain materialized, blood mist erupted one after another, spreading across the sky. These were the elite soldiers accompanying the alien generals, unable to withstand the pressure released by Muria's avatar. Their bodies exploded outright.
"At the edges of the land, all are subjects of the king!"
Muria continued, reciting a second phrase. As these words fell, an immense pressure descended upon the aliens, forcing them to kneel in submission.
Though some aliens bent under the weight of this pressure, they stubbornly refused to kneel completely. These extraterrestrial beings had their own pride.
"Is this guy even human?"
The alien generals, facing a single opponent, found themselves crushed by his mere presence. This threw them into existential doubt.
"He's just strong in aura. That doesn't mean his combat skills are as impressive. Watch me kill him!"
Sensing the wavering morale of his comrades and the soldiers behind them, one general snorted coldly, gripping his long, thorn-covered weapon. He swung it ferociously, splitting apart the oppressive clouds, and charged toward Muria on his mount.
But before he could reach his target, a strange beast appeared before him—a three-headed creature with an eagle's head, a lion's body, and a serpent's tail. The beast had seemed illusory at first, almost decorative.
Roar!
As the alien general approached, thirteen stars beneath the beast shimmered brightly, and the creature's body solidified rapidly. In moments, it looked as real as any living creature and let out an earth-shaking roar.
The beast extended its claw, swiping at the fierce alien general. The general, slightly surprised by the beast's transformation, remained unfazed and raised his weapon to strike.
Bang!
Contrary to the alien's expectations, his weapon failed to destroy the beast. Instead, the creature's claw struck him, slamming him down to the ground, creating a massive crater enveloped in dust and smoke.
"Interesting!" Muria exclaimed, somewhat surprised. He had prepared to act but didn't expect the alien general to be knocked away by a minor part of his avatar's power.
This outcome puzzled Muria, as he hadn't directed any energy into the manifested divine beast.
Soon, he found an answer. The beast's strength came from the thirteen stars beneath it. These stars had been gifts from Muria to thirteen virtuous members of his family. Though separated and bestowed upon his kin, they remained inextricably linked to him.
The divine beast's power stemmed from these stars, which drew energy from the martial training of the family members Muria had gifted them to. Their collective strength had created this devastating blow.
However, while visually impressive, the strike didn't seriously injure the alien general. He had been caught off guard by the unexpected power of the beast.
From the dusty crater, the enraged alien general rode his mount back into the air, charging furiously at Muria once more.
"Hmm." Muria watched the approaching alien general with folded arms, unmoving. He noticed that his avatar seemed to act autonomously.
This new behavior intrigued Muria. His studies of the forbidden tome that formed the foundation of this technique had revealed its ability to grant power seeds to others and later reclaim their cultivated strength. However, it never mentioned such autonomous defensive capabilities.
Apparently, this trait had emerged after Muria integrated the tome's teachings into his martial training system, creating an unexpected synergy unique to this world's rules.
As the enraged general attempted to approach Muria again, the nearby divine beasts—mere phantom images moments before—began to solidify, drawing power from Muria's distant kin.
Bang! Boom! Crash!
Despite being more cautious this time, the alien general faced even more divine beasts. After a brief but intense struggle, he was struck by a serpent-like beast and sent crashing to the ground again.
"Join me. I can't defeat him alone," the alien general called to his comrades after ascending back into the sky. His eyes were grave, and his tone calm.
The first time he had been struck down was due to carelessness. The second time, his feigned anger had been a deliberate test of the beasts' capabilities.
No general tasked with such a critical invasion could be a reckless brute easily provoked.
"Let's see how far my avatar can go," Muria thought, observing the five alien generals and their elite troops charge toward him. He made no move, allowing his avatar to act independently.
Muria had discovered that his avatar's defenses didn't drain any of his own energy. Instead, it drew from the martial training of those to whom he had gifted power. Most of these individuals weren't in combat situations, so their energy wasn't significantly affected.
…
"Lord Jeros, I have come to assist you!"
Just as Muria watched his avatar fend off the alien generals and their troops, a family elder arrived. This elder had just finished communicating with the Empire to request reinforcements.
The elder, prepared for self-sacrifice, froze upon seeing the battlefield. The words he had prepared to shout stuck in his throat.
In his imagination, Muria—facing five alien generals alone—would surely be struggling and on the verge of death. The elder had planned to give his life to buy Muria time until reinforcements arrived.
But instead, he saw the so-called deadly invaders being thoroughly suppressed. The five fearsome alien generals were on the losing side, being mercilessly battered.
"What are you doing here?" Muria asked, noticing the elder's arrival.
In the Star Armor world, strength equaled status. To become a family elder, one typically needed to be a titled Star Armor warrior. However, exceptions existed for those who contributed significantly to the family in other fields.
This elder was one such exception. Sending a titled Star Armor warrior would have only caused unnecessary conflict with Muria.
"I came to…" The elder hesitated, suddenly unsure what to say. Should he admit he came because he doubted Muria's ability to handle the aliens?
Before the battle, such an explanation might have been reasonable. But now, given the situation, it would sound utterly foolish.
The aliens were the ones at a disadvantage, not Muria. There was no need for heroics.
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