DND Realms: The Rise of the Titan-Dragon Prodigy

"So weak..." Muria looked down at the mist giants below, his first thought upon seeing these giants who appeared tattered, many missing limbs, and in a sorry state.

Crucially, their strength was even weaker than the cloud giants on the island, who averaged only at the first tier of gold. Most of these mist giants were at the silver level, with only a few at the first tier of gold.

"How did you come to Taiji Island?" Muria suddenly asked, looking down at the mist giants.

"We spent most of our tribe's savings to commission a large ship from humans, and braved the seas to come here..." The scarred mist giant chief became somewhat emotional as he recounted their perilous journey to Muria.

The mist giants, lacking the cloud giants' talents and unable to fly until reaching the gold tier, had to use tools and pay a price for the help of other beings.

The mist giant tribe had asked their cloud giant kin to join them on the ship, but that was far from sufficient. A group of low-tier gold beings was nowhere near enough for a sea voyage, so they had to pay "tolls" to sea tribes they encountered to avoid attacks.

This was the better outcome, exchanging resources for safety; though their money was gone, their lives were spared.

What truly terrified the mist giants were the powerful sea monsters they sometimes encountered. Some of these beasts, although strong, had the intellect of wild animals and couldn't be reasoned with. They attacked the mist giants on sight, leading to heavy losses for the tribe every time.

"Compared to when you left, how many mist giants does your tribe have left?" Muria felt a twinge in his heart hearing about the hardships faced by the mist giants, suddenly understanding the significance of Titans to giants.

"Only half of our tribe's adults have survived..." The muscular giant chief's eyes moistened. "But their sacrifice was worth it. We've succeeded in meeting you, the great child of the Titan and Dragon."

"I accept your allegiance. From today, settle on Taiji Island, and I will instruct the cloud giants to build homes for you," Muria said after a moment of silence.

As Muria spoke, a storm giant stepped forward, ready to guide these beleaguered mist giants away to make room for other giants waiting to meet Muria.

"Wait, our tribe has something to present to Lord Muria." Seeing the storm giant's gesture to lead them away, the mist giant chief hastily removed a tiny ring from around his neck.

To giants, the ring was laughably small. If not for Muria's keen eyesight, he wouldn't have seen what the mist giant chief had taken from his neck.

"Such a small space ring must be human-made, right?" A storm giant next to the mist giant chief observed the ring and loudly voiced his assessment.

"All we have left is this space ring. We've given away everything else," the mist giant chief said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

For giants, apart from powerful humans, the rest were deemed insignificant. Their attitude towards humans was generally one of disdain and contempt, and using human-made items was considered shameful for giants.

"Are you planning to offer this space ring to Lord Muria?" A powerful tide giant in the hall asked with a hint of amusement. The group of mist giants, many barely clothed, were so destitute that the space ring was probably their most valuable possession.

Laughter broke out in the hall, and even Muria couldn't help but smile.

"No, no, after seeing Lord Muria's castle, how could we dare to offer such a humble human-made ring." Embarrassed by the laughter, the mist giant chief then activated the space ring and took out a piece of metal.

The laughter in the hall ceased instantly as everyone's attention was drawn to the metal in the mist giant chief's hands. It was a three-meter-long, irregularly shaped black metal with sparkling starlight, resembling a clear night sky full of stars.

"Legendary metal, Void Star Gold!" The storm giant beside the mist giant chief announced the name of the metal in an almost singing tone.

"You plan to offer me such a large piece of Void Star Gold?" Muria asked from his throne. "Do you know the value of this legendary metal?"

"Yes. That's why we want to offer it to you."

"You could have used this Void Star Gold to hire a legendary being for protection, sparing many lives in your tribe," Muria said in a low voice.

The mist giant chief remained silent, head bowed.

"I accept your offering," Muria said, not making a fuss over accepting the legendary metal, understanding its value.

After meeting all the new giants on Taiji Island, including those who presented treasures to Muria, none offered anything as valuable as the Void Star Gold from the mist giant chief.

Notably, the eight new storm giants, advised by their kin, requested to join Muria's royal guard during their homage, and Muria immediately agreed, leaving other giants in envy.

But no one could complain, given the storm giants' strength. Muria wanted only the strongest giants for his royal guard, and in a world where strength is revered, this was uncontestable.

In fact, the two cloud giant leaders reported to Muria under pressure from these eight storm giants, who had been causing a stir on Taiji Island since their arrival.

After some delay by some cloud giant leaders, unable to withstand the pressure, they chose to inform Muria. There were not just eight storm giants on the island but ninety-seven more.

"The fifth matter," Muria began after all giants had paid their respects, "I plan to start building a city centered around the Baiyu Divine Palace. This task will be designed by the cloud giants, with materials provided by the mountain giants. I want to see a city of giants, a city of white jade."

"Lord Muria, do you have any specific requirements for the giant city? How long should the construction take?" Cloud giant leader Albert asked from below, sensing Muria's dissatisfaction with the cloud giants but unaware of the reason, as he was one of the three cloud giant leaders who followed Muria into the Five-colored Dragon Castle.

"The city's architecture must be orderly and neat, without chaos. My city does not need walls, and there must be room for expansion. As for the construction time, there is no limit. Just ensure quality and then speed up the construction," Muria stated his requirements.

"As you command, Lord Muria."

"And the last and most important matter," Muria looked down, "inform all tide giants and any sea races willing to obey me to prioritize aiding any giants coming to Taiji Island while searching for treasures at sea. This is the highest priority. Treasure hunting can be postponed."

"Lord Muria is merciful!" This time, it was the mountain giants who led the shout. Among all giants on the island, they felt the most aggrieved, having their powers of earth rendered almost useless at sea. They understood the hardships of crossing the sea better than anyone.

"Lord Muria is merciful!" All giants joined in praising Muria's decision.

Following Muria's commands, Taiji Island, which had been somewhat chaotic, began to get on the right track. At the first meeting of the month held by Muria, sea tribes requested to ally themselves and sought permission to attend meetings in the Baiyu Divine Palace.

After considering for three seconds

, Muria agreed to the allegiance of the naga and mermaid tribes, allowing their leaders into the Baiyu Divine Palace. After all, these sea races had done much for him, deserving recognition for their efforts.

Thus, on the first day of each month, Muria would first meet new giants, then listen to reports from cloud giant leaders, giant representatives, and sea race leaders about significant events of the past month.

The cloud giants reported on the construction progress of the giant city, the tide giants and sea races reported on the number of giants they had rescued and treasures collected, and the mountain giants reported on the quantity of white jade bricks produced.

Speaking of the mountain giants, Muria thought their abilities were best suited for infrastructure projects and considered establishing a construction corps just for them. However, the mountain giants were true barbarians, lacking the knowledge to construct even slightly complex buildings without the cloud giants' assistance.

This situation was improving, with some mountain giants beginning to actively learn architecture. Their barbarism was due to lack of opportunity to learn, not stupidity.

As for the storm giants, even the new arrivals, Muria recruited each into his royal guard, making them the core force of his rule over Taiji Island.

The storm giants, now part of the royal guard, were utterly loyal to Muria, faithfully executing every command he issued.

With the strongest giants of Taiji Island as his support, Muria over the next five months ordered the exile of six cloud giant leaders and their followers. He banished them to six other islands around Taiji Island to start anew.

Regular updates at noon.