<h4>Chapter 166: Core</h4>


    Sian approached the dragon. The dragon’s enormous head was on the ground and the ck smog was watching Sian.


    <Ugh... I didn’t imagine... one like you to exist...>


    Sian felt bad for the smog but he still couldn’t let them destroy the tree.


    <Dirty Lorvall dogs...>


    “I just have to have the barriers stay intact. I don’t want to do this, but you can’t destroy Ciculus. You should go back to your home.”


    <What are you talking about... we were the ones who lived here. We allowed those to live when they fled as their nations were destroyed and they drove us out instead.>


    “Huh?” Sian expressed his confusion and Karon then realized that this man didn’t know anything.


    <You... you are not with the Lorvalls.>


    “Yeah. Lorvall’s not the only one who’s strong.”


    Sian spoke as everyone seemed to think that strong ones were from Lorvall. Karon scoffed.


    <No way. All races have their limits. You’re only a human and no Lorvall will share their blood to those who are not rted.>


    “Huh? What do you mean?”


    <Dammit... If someone like you protects those humans... we will never be able to return to our homnd... I thought this was our best chance.>


    Karon seemed to have taken huge damage from the attack so he was barely keeping his form. He then disappeared and Sian looked at it bitterly before he jumped back to the tree.


    On the northeastern side of the continent, a giant mountain was located between the peninss.


    There was an enormous tree that had grown up the mountain. The dek at the Karltonheim Estate was huge, but this one was muchrger.


    It was where Duke Lorvall stayed. The tree was thus named <Lorvall>.


    A fierce fight was taking ce below the tree.


    Mysterious giants were charging at the Lorvall Ciculus tree. There weren’t that many of them, but it was much more threatening than an army of millions. Each of them was several feet tall with armor-like skin, and they had horns in the middle of their heads along with a weird open mouth and sharp teeth, proving that its temper wasn’t a gentle one.


    But they couldn’t approach the tree easily. Small beings were fighting against these giants.


    They were much smaller but they were eerie-looking monsters. Some had three arms while some had mouths on their backs. Some shot fire out from their mouths and some turned transparent.


    These weird monsters fearlessly charged at the giants.


    And there were figures looking down at the fight at about the middle of the huge tree. They were the Dukes. These were not new Dukes. Most of them had ovee one of the barriers. They all had one thing inmon.


    Weird drawings on their forehead.


    “These new ones are really powerful. The Murakans weren’t that powerful before.”


    “Yeah. To fight those giants like that. It might be hard even for us.”


    The Dukes spoke as they looked down on those monsters, or the Murakans. The giants weren’t just powerful. They were all those who had broken a barrier, or a Beta. The giants that came from the other side of the continent were very dangerous. Since there were a lot of Betas, they used the Swarms and Murakans to drive them out. The ones that crossed the penins were all very powerful so the Dukes could not bear to leave the post.


    This time, the Murakans were sessfully driving them out. They were bing even more stronger as they consumed the giants.


    Murakans began growing the giants’ armor-like skin on them and became bigger.


    “Now we have some room. I didn’t imagine such monsters toe right after we were finished with the Gerna.”


    The man sighed and remembered what happened three thousand years ago. When they drove out the Gerna three thousand years ago, things seemed to go well. The newly-acquired Swarms and Murakans also proved to be useful. They were an altered race so they could not be Betas but they obeyed and wererge in number.


    He thought it was matter of time for the human race to invade thends and rule. But they were then attacked by other races over the penins.


    “I never imagined they stayed back because of the Gerna...”


    The Gerna had a power that any race would fear. The humans managed to drive them out with careful nning, but they were powerful entities that had the power to rule over thend. That was why these races did note over the penins.


    As they noticed there were no more Gerna, they swam over the shallow sea and attacked. It had been three thousand years of siege and defense since then. There had been thousands of deaths. If the number of Dukes weren’t replenished by raising the human races, they would have been infiltrated a long time ago.


    But this was over now. If the Murakans were that strong, they had room. They only needed Murakans to defend against both fronts easily.


    “Let’s send Swarms to the north and wipe out the Gerna. Then we will have more Akra for Ciculus.”


    If it wasn’t for Conrad, it might have been a problem for them. It was good that Conrad even had forgotten magic with him. But it was all solved now.


    This was all due to the one who returned.


    Duke Lorvall looked proudly at the man next to him.


    “Lagaope, it’s amazing. Where did you get that blood to change those Murakans? It’s good that you’ve returned from the forbiddennd. To bring those who studied forgotten magic...”


    Lagaope smiled.


    “I was lucky. Lukras opened the way too.”


    “But that’s the most interesting thing. Did those insolent bastards let you pass?” Lorvall asked. He didn’t expect much when Lagaope was sent to the south as he didn’t think Lagaope could manage to go across those crazy bastards.


    “It wasn’t easy. But I got through.”


    “I guess they’ve calmed down.”


    At that moment, Lorvall turned to the sky and spoke to Lagaope.


    “The barrier has been reinstated.”


    “Wow, already?” Lagaope answered.


    “Yes. The man named Sian brought it. But... is it true? Third stage beta?”


    The Duke seemed like he couldn’t believe it. He had lived for years and even when the Divine Nation was at its peak, but he had never seen a human that had passed the first stage. Without his Divine Blood, even the first stage would not have been possible. But such a man was born from thend of the monkeys.


    “It should be correct if Conrad examined it. You should know it better.”


    “Haha, you are right,” Lorvallughed.


    “But aren’t you worried? That such a strong man appeared?” Lagaope asked.


    Lorvall scoffed. “Why? It’s a blessing that we have such strong being born among the human race. It’s our long lost goal.”


    Lorvall spoke as he reminisced about the past.


    “It’s all going well. We will clean out the inside and send the Swarms out to the north.”


    They needed to wipe out those pests. The quest to finish the border wasplete so they were now trapped within.


    The defense was now secure. It was time for expansion.


    Lorvall looked upon the various quest windows popping up, telling him what to do next and smiled.