"Investigating traces of a god?" Muria's expression turned even stranger. For someone like him, who had used secret techniques to infiltrate this world, the existence of gods was the greatest potential threat.
In this world, epic beings like himself posed the highest risk as foreign entities. If a god discovered an epic being, their attack would be empowered by the world's force.
In such a scenario, a god's threat to an epic being would skyrocket, even to the point of fatal danger. Therefore, epic beings like him would always prioritize finding traces of gods and avoid conflict with them until they had developed sufficient strength.
Muria had searched for evidence of gods after arriving in this world but found nothing. Based on the world's history, he concluded that gods most likely didn't exist here.
This world had once been dominated by martial arts. During that era, martial artists prided themselves on self-reliance, making them unlikely to worship others. This lack of spiritual soil prevented gods from being born.
However, the catastrophic meteor shower that almost destroyed the martial arts system seemed to have changed everything. It created an opportunity for gods to emerge.
Muria had suspected the Starry Church, one of humanity's three dominant powers, of harboring a god. However, after gathering information, he dismissed the idea.
The appearance of a true god would inevitably leave divine traces, and they would grant power to their followers. Muria found no evidence of such phenomena within the Starry Church.
But now, his father had delivered unexpected news. His mother had found traces of godly worship and was investigating it.
What kind of being was his mother? A primordial gold dragon who had achieved epic status—though relatively new to the epic realm, she was still capable of rivaling gods.
If both his mother and father believed they had found traces of a god, then there was indeed either an existing god or one about to ascend.
"You don't need to worry. The divine faith we discovered in the Starry Church's domain is highly unusual. Either the god is gravely injured and has lost control over their divine power, or they lack sentience altogether. In any case, your mother won't be in danger."
"I'm not worried about her safety," Muria retorted, watching his father's stoic face. He sensed that his usually composed father was slightly irritated. No, not irritated—jealous.
"Hah!" His father let out a short, meaningful sound.
"My mom's a spellcaster, and even if the two of us were to perish, she'd still be alive and kicking," Muria quipped, trying to explain as he observed his father, who seemed to be sulking.
"Indeed." The broad-shouldered man with long black hair responded flatly, then changed the subject. "So, you're stationed here for now?"
"Yes, I'm in charge of guarding this line."
"I've been temporarily appointed as a Grand Marshal by the Empire. In a month, I'll lead a high-mobility unit to support the most dangerous battlefronts as needed."
"Grand Marshal?" Muria raised an eyebrow. He understood the significance of this title in the Shimmering Silver Empire, a centralized monarchy. It was second only to the Emperor and carried immense authority.
"Temporary."
"I bet the Federation's leadership is losing their minds," Muria thought with a smirk. The Empire's intentions were clear—they were openly attempting to poach his father.
If his father agreed, the temporary appointment could immediately become permanent, turning him into one of the Empire's military leaders.
Though Muria knew his father wouldn't be swayed by such things, the Federation surely thought otherwise. The Empire had offered his father the best position short of the throne.
To counter this, the Federation would need to present something even more enticing. But what could they offer that surpassed a Grand Marshal role?
Nothing. Not even the Federation's titular head of state, a largely symbolic position with limited power, could compare.
Muria guessed that the Federation's leadership was currently cursing the Empire while scrambling to find a solution. But he doubted they could come up with anything better.
"I heard the Empire offered you a similar position. Why didn't you accept?"
"I couldn't." Muria rubbed his chin. Truth be told, he had been tempted by the Empire's proposal. Fighting and defeating enemies was his specialty.
However, the Douglas family head had spent an entire night pleading with him not to accept. If not for the screen between them, Muria suspected the family head might have knelt before him.
"You've been here for how long, and how many battles have you fought? Do you think you can slack off just because you've reached the epic realm?" Ansel frowned deeply.
After reincarnating into this world, Ansel had spent all his time battling once his body matured. That was the appeal of the secret reincarnation technique: the chance to experience new strengths and fight new opponents.
"These battles don't interest me," Muria shrugged. With a Titan's combat prowess, even with equal strength, he could easily outclass and overwhelm opponents.
"Confident, are you? Seems like I need to teach you some humility," Ansel said, his golden martial aura flaring up like a blazing torch.
"Dad, stop pretending. I know you just want an excuse to fight me," Muria replied with a grin. A pure white martial aura emanated from him, forming a vast, cloud-like sea.
Meteoric Fist!
Ansel's response was a low growl, followed by hundreds of golden fist strikes hurtling toward Muria like meteors.
"Ha! The Celestial Star Path's signature technique? I know it too!"
Recognizing the move, Muria countered with his own Meteoric Fist. Of course, neither was using the original technique. Both had heavily modified it to suit their styles.
Boom!
Golden and white fist forces collided, nullifying each other and producing shockwaves that rippled through the air. Explosions rang out in rapid succession.
Despite their precise control, ensuring no stray energy harmed the surroundings, the sheer intensity of their battle terrified the soldiers below.
Panic-stricken, the soldiers donned their Star Armor and fled the fortress en masse, like animals sensing an impending earthquake.
Even officers joined the exodus, their faces pale as they hurriedly reported the situation: "The two Martial Lords from the Federation are fighting each other!"
The report traveled up the chain of command in mere minutes, reaching the Imperial Command Center.
"What? The Martial Lord Ain and Martial Lord Gerlos are fighting?" The news caused chaos within the command center. Even the unflappable Commander-in-Chief was momentarily stunned.
"Transmit live footage from the front. I want to see the extent of their battle!"
Following the commander's orders, the battle between Muria and Ansel was projected in the command center, leaving everyone slack-jawed.
"What kind of grudge do they have to fight so ferociously? I've never heard of any animosity between them."
"Now's not the time to speculate! We need to send someone to stop them!"
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