Chapter 132: Beast Emperor

"Welcome, Estoa, the Beast Emperor, to the future kingdom of Salean."

A man with a deep voice stood at the center of the room, a golden crown resting upon his head as he extended both arms in greeting. Estoa looked at him with doubtful eyes, remaining silent for a moment before giving a slight nod.

His gaze then wandered across the room, observing the numerous individuals from different races seated upon chairs scattered around the large chamber. His eyes suddenly stopped upon a particular man wearing a straw hat, standing beside the king, though his attention wasn’t actually inside the room.

Instead, the man was staring through a nearby window toward the outside world.

"Thousand Petal..." Estoa muttered, recognizing one of the most powerful beings in the world. His gaze moved again, searching through the room before he frowned slightly.

"Where is the Magic Swordsman?"

He completely ignored the King of Salean standing directly in front of him.

The king noticed the disrespect but said nothing, merely forcing an awkward smile before clearing his throat. "Then, let us discuss the agenda for today’s meeting."

The atmosphere inside the chamber gradually became heavier. The king raised one hand, signaling toward one of the representatives, who immediately stood and walked toward the center of the room.

The representative cleared his throat before speaking. "While our miners were excavating the Great Mountains, deep within one of the deepest caves, their metallic pickaxes suddenly struck something incredibly hard. At first, they were overjoyed, believing they had discovered an entirely new type of mineral."

He paused, his expression becoming more serious. "But then they tried striking it harder."

The representative looked toward Estoa.

"They even brought Body Warriors to attempt to destroy it, but their attacks only caused the entire cave to shake. The suspected new material itself did not even budge."

"Eventually, they decided to dig around the area, attempting to remove the object from the surrounding stone."

His eyes narrowed. "That was when they discovered that the suspected mineral wasn’t a metal at all."

The room fell silent.

"It’s part of a massive scale."

Estoa’s eye twitched. "A scale?"

His expression immediately became more serious. "How large?"

"We brought several scholars from the institute to investigate the discovery," the representative explained. "According to their measurements, the single scale is roughly the size of an entire house."

Estoa’s eyes widened.

"Then... how large is the creature?"

The representative hesitated before answering.

"This may sound absurd, but based on the scale’s proportions and the surrounding evidence, its estimated size is roughly three times larger than an adult Beast King."

Estoa’s muscles tightened.

For the first time since entering the room, his expression became genuinely serious.

"You are right..." he muttered. "This is extremely important information."

"That isn’t all."

The representative continued, his voice becoming more cautious.

"We suspect the creature is a serpent. However, we have no way of determining its exact measurements, because we have only discovered a single portion of its body."

"If this creature were to move beneath the mountains, the consequences could be catastrophic," the representative continued. "Its movements alone could cause enormous tremors, potentially destroying settlements and damaging the surrounding regions."

Estoa stared at the representatives for several seconds before finally speaking.

"This information is certainly valuable."

He leaned back slightly. "But what does it have to do with me?"

The entire room became silent.

Every gaze slowly shifted toward Estoa.

The representative standing before him swallowed before finally revealing the reason for the meeting.

"We want you to try and tame this creature."

Estoa’s eyes widened. "...Tame it?"

His expression immediately changed. "Tame it?!"

He suddenly stood from his seat, his voice echoing throughout the chamber.

"What do you think I am?! A portable pet tamer?!"

BOOM!

A tremendous aura erupted from his body, spreading across the entire chamber like an invisible wave. Several representatives immediately struggled to breathe as the pressure descended upon them, while weaker individuals were forced to grip their chairs just to remain standing.

Even the atmosphere itself seemed to tremble.

Across the room, the man wearing the straw hat finally moved.

His eyes shifted away from the window.

The Thousand Petal’s hand slowly moved toward the sword at his side, his fingers tightening around its hilt as he felt the overwhelming aura pressing against him.

---

Night soon fell over the land, painting the sky in shades of deep blue as Estoa lay atop the massive head of one of the Zillagods. His head rested against his palm, his eyes half-closed as the enormous beast slowly traveled beneath him, carrying him through the quiet wilderness.

Then, without warning, a deep voice echoed from every direction. Estoa’s relaxed expression immediately vanished, his eyes widening as he recognized the voice.

"Estoa."

He immediately rose before kneeling upon the head of the Zillagod, lowering his head in respect. "Supreme Dragon King... this mortal greets his god."

Silence followed for a moment, leaving only the sounds of the Zillagod’s footsteps echoing through the wilderness. Then the voice finally returned, calm yet carrying an authority that seemed to reach every corner of the land.

"Tell the world that the World Serpent is no enemy."

Estoa remained kneeling, listening carefully as the voice continued. "It will only awaken and move when a threat greater than itself arrives."

"Do not treat it as a catastrophe waiting to happen, but as a guardian sleeping beneath the world. It has no desire to destroy your kingdoms, nor does it seek the blood of your people."

Estoa slowly raised his head, his expression becoming serious. The voice continued, its tone becoming softer as though reassuring him.

"Let the people understand this. The World Serpent does not exist to end the world."

"It exists to protect it from something that may one day come."

The voice gradually faded into the night, leaving Estoa alone with the Zillagod beneath him. He remained silent for several moments before lowering his head once more.

"Understood, Supreme Dragon King."

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