The Rise of the Titan

Before the massive pirate king could utter another word, Muria grasped his Daemonbane Sword and delivered a slanted slash.

*Buzz!* Around the pirate king, dense sword energy materialized out of nowhere, slicing through his defenses almost effortlessly. Blue-tinged blood gushed from his wounds.

"Roar!" The pirate king, a giant in stature, bellowed in pain as the continuous onslaught of pale golden sword energy enveloped him, forming a sphere of cutting force. For three full breaths, the sword energy persisted before dissipating, revealing the pirate king's ravaged form, his flesh in tatters with no part left unscathed.

"Master of Synapse!" The pirate king gasped, blood still pouring from his countless wounds, each a testament to the relentless sword energy.

"Impressive, you're stronger than I expected," Muria remarked, his smile growing warmer. To him, this pirate king was a high-quality source of energy, one that could be exploited for a long time.

*Thud!* The golden arcs of lightning flickering within the sword wounds suppressed the pirate king's legendary vitality, preventing his injuries from healing. He took a heavy step forward, his blood staining the ground beneath him.

"Roar!" With a defiant shout, the pirate king mustered his remaining strength. Ignoring his grievous wounds, he swung his massive anchor weapon at Muria, the chain clinking ominously.

*Clang!* Instead of cutting the anchor with his sword, Muria raised his seemingly delicate hand and caught the anchor effortlessly, to the astonishment of the surrounding pirates.

*Boom!* The moment the anchor landed in Muria's hand, a violent shockwave radiated from his palm, forming a brief but intense storm. Tables, chairs, and food were blown away, and the surface of the shipwreck island was stripped bare, with some weaker pirates being flung into the air.

When the storm subsided, Muria stood unmovingly, holding the anchor. The pirate king's fierce attack had left him untouched. Around him, a circle of slightly decayed wooden planks remained intact, amplifying the fear in the eyes of the surviving pirates.

"You..." Already gravely wounded by Muria's sword, the pirate king's bloodied face twisted in rage and disbelief as he saw his powerful blow casually caught. He tugged at the chain, trying to reclaim his weapon.

*Thud!* The anchor seemed welded to Muria's hand. Despite the pirate king's efforts, he couldn't pull it back. His futile exertion only caused more blood to spray from his wounds, and he finally collapsed to one knee, shattering the wooden deck beneath him.

"It seems you can't withstand even one of my strikes," Muria said, looking at the defiant pirate king. Despite his weakened state, Muria admired his spirit. "You are now my prisoner. Order your men to surrender and avoid meaningless resistance."

"Heh! I have a hundred thousand men. You, alone, think you can make them all surrender?" The pirate king sneered, despite feeling his strength ebbing away. "Attack him! Kill him!"

"Who said I was alone?" With a thought, Muria opened a portal behind him. From it, the storm giants and cloud giants, who had been waiting in a demi-plane, surged out. "My three thousand giants are more than enough to wipe you all out."

As the cries of giant eagles and the roars of giants filled the air, Muria watched the pirate king's defiant gaze gradually dim. The pirate king realized resistance was futile against this overwhelming force.

"Lay down your weapons and kneel. As the master of Synapse, I assure your safety," Muria's voice echoed across the shipwreck island.

He had already determined the fate of these captives. Those above soul-level would be bound and used as living, renewable energy sources. The rest, especially those of gold rank, would become laborers in Synapse, living out their days as slaves. Killing them outright was too lenient a fate.

"Storm giants, assemble. We're heading to the next location." Once the cloud giants had dealt with the pirates and loaded them onto the floating ships, Muria tore open a spatial rift and, guided by Miles' coordinates, traversed to the next battlefield.

...

"A city of mermen!" Muria appeared above a shallow coastal area, his extraordinary vision allowing him to see the chaotic city below. "No need for captives here—too dirty, smelly, and ugly."

With a crackle of thunder, Muria reverted to his true Titan form. A towering hundred-meter giant, wreathed in lightning and howling winds, loomed over the sahuagin city below.

**Spear of the Sun!**

Wasting no time, Muria summoned the Spear of the Sun and hurled it with all his might at the city's heart.

*Boom!* The spear, transformed into a bolt of lightning, struck the center of the merman city. The immense impact displaced the surrounding seawater for nearly ten miles, creating a localized tsunami and grinding the mermen into a mix of bones, flesh, and debris, swept away with the rushing waters.

"Titan!" From the epicenter of the elemental explosion emerged an old merman, its scales shattered and body in tatters. This was a legendary-level creature, though its aura was peculiar.

"Your power doesn't match your aura. You must have lost your divine favor after your god's fall," Muria surmised, recognizing the merman's situation. Compared to priests entirely dependent on their gods, this one was indeed fortunate.

"I will kill you!" The ancient merman, its city destroyed by Muria's attack, roared in fury and desperation. It manipulated water elements to form a massive sea beast resembling an octopus and lunged at Muria.

"Foolish!" Muria drew his Seven Sins Blade and slashed downward. The blade's dazzling light cut through the giant sea beast like butter and carved a deep, bottomless trench into the city's ruins, from which molten lava began to gush.

"Boring!" Muria retracted the Spear of the Sun, and the dispersed seawater rushed back to cover the devastated area. What had been a bustling city was now a barren wasteland.

...

"The deep-sea Naga tribe, hmm, not bad. I'll take captives here." Muria appeared above an ocean trench, observing the thriving community below. Seeing the half-human, half-snake creatures and their beautiful faces, he decided not to annihilate them like the mermen. Their formidable combat skills would be valuable assets to his forces if they could be subdued.

...

While Muria waged his campaigns across the endless ocean, three massive fleets, seemingly laden with supplies, approached the Titan Islands.

After a brief period of preparation, three towering pillars of divine power descended, their grand and holy aura unmistakable.

Three figures, worshipped by countless beings across the world, appeared above the enormous fleets.

The one-eyed, one-armed god of justice, Torm.

The radiant god of dawn, Lathander.

And the god of the sun, Pelor, who held a portion of the sun's authority.

These three powerful deities manifested their strongest avatars outside the Titan Islands, drawing the attention of the five non-dormant Epic Titans.

"No need for you to come forth; they must be here for me. I'll handle this," said Osiris, the Machine Emperor, smiling as he looked up. On the Eternal Sky City, a hundred-meter-tall metallic avatar rapidly formed and flew out to meet them.

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