Supreme Lord: I can extract everything! Chapter 1116: Rise of a New Era VIII

Over the subsequent months, the expansion of the Silverfang territory proceeded without incident. The process was more seamless than anyone had anticipated, and it came as a shock to the people that no neighboring forces moved to obstruct their growth. Although several Lords governed the surrounding lands, not a single one had reached out to establish contact.

On the contrary, these neighbors seemed to go out of their way to avoid Caesus and the Silverfang Tigerfolk. While this behavior should have served as a clear red flag, the excitement within the Silverfang ranks was too overwhelming for them to notice the danger.

By the time they grasped the reality of their situation, it was already too late to retreat.

The peace was shattered one day when violent tremors erupted from the depths of the massive ocean gulf. These quakes were powerful enough to rattle the foundations of buildings, causing some to buckle and collapse. The destruction immediately forced everyone into a state of high alert.

"Hostile entities detected from the sea! Sea monsters are swarming out of the gulf and the surrounding waters!" a Champion bellowed at the top of his lungs as he sprinted past the Orb of Hostility.

"What are their numbers?" Caesus demanded urgently, even as his own senses began to register the scale of the threat.

"Hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more!" another voice shouted back. Caesus, however, had already fixed his gaze on the gulf. A colossal presence was stirring beneath the waves—something so formidable that it made the hair on his neck stand up.

Biting his lower lip in concentration, Caesus vanished through the Runic Gate for a fleeting moment. He reappeared in Tiagro, grabbed a red crystal, and shattered it instantly. Returning to the Origin Expanse just as quickly, he witnessed the gargantuan head of a legendary beast rising from the depths.

Although only the head was visible, Caesus recognized the creature immediately. The suffocating pressure radiating through the air confirmed the terrifying nature of the foe he was about to face.

"I cannot stay to shield you. Deal with the sea monsters yourselves... and survive," Caesus commanded, injecting as much resolve into his voice as he could muster. In the next heartbeat, he shifted into a streak of white light. He activated his Soullife Arts, Foundation Break, and the Soul Technique, Children of a God, all at once, pushing his Soultrait and physical form to their absolute limits.

Qi surged through his meridians as he propelled himself through the sky. Reaching the gulf, he collided with the emerging head of the Ocean Dragon, whose massive body occupied the entire bay, and dug his fingers deep into its scales.

While Caesus lacked the sheer mass of the Ocean Dragon, his strength was sufficient to haul the beast through the air while it was still groggy. The fact that the Ocean Dragon had not fully awakened was Caesus's primary advantage. He dragged the titan out of the gulf and deep into the open sea, where their confrontation could cause unlimited destruction without harming his people.

The Ocean Dragon, though sluggish, was infuriated by the forced relocation. It was even more enraged that an Awakened had used raw strength to crush its scales. It let out a thunderous roar, calling more sea monsters to wakefulness. Yet, its summons were hindered. The Titan Whales stood guard over the bay, doing everything in their power to block the maritime monsters from following the Dragon’s command. It was their way of repaying Caesus for the protection he had provided them.

"This fight is between the two of us. Just you and me!" Caesus bellowed. His hands shifted into sharp claws before he plunged them deep into the Ocean Dragon’s eyes. The Dragon screamed in agony and retaliation. It released a terrifying pressure and distorted energy that slammed into Caesus with the force of a mountain.

He was sent tumbling through the air, feeling as though his internal organs were being pulverized, yet Caesus refused to fall. He remained alive, fueled by a grim determination to battle the Ocean Dragon until one of them drew their final breath.

"If you do not leave my people alone, I will kill you today!" he roared. The Ocean Dragon answered with a cry of its own, this time infused with its potent Draconic Essence. It had no intention of letting this fight end in a stalemate.

How could it? These mortals had disturbed a hibernation that had lasted centuries! They all deserved a painful death.

***

A tide of crab monsters, serpents, and humanoid sea dwellers poured from the depths. Driven by the fear instilled by the Ocean Dragon’s awakening, they scrambled toward the shore. Unlike the more fortunate creatures that escaped back into the deep, many were thrust onto the sandy beaches by the Dragon’s fury, where they flopped around helplessly. While some elemental beings used their innate powers to survive the dry land, many others were left to perish.

However, no one had the luxury of pitying them. The Silverfangs were occupied with urgent defensive preparations. The fishing villages had been evacuated, with the inhabitants ordered back to the primary settlements. They arrived just in time, transported by three Behemoth Goats. Caesus had tamed these beasts through mundane skill rather than supernatural power, utilizing decades of animal handling experience and the assistance of specialized Beast Trainers. This was a rare profession among the Silverfang Summons; Caesus had rarely encountered others with such a role during his time serving Michael.

Since settling in this new land, the Beast Trainers had successfully domesticated various monsters, though mostly for livestock. The lack of combat-ready mounts was a significant disadvantage that would have made the current situation much simpler.

Without mounts, the Silverfang Tigerfolk were forced to rely on their own feet and blades. Their Lord was currently occupied in a desperate struggle against a Divine Beast—a fully-grown Dragon that had likely been sleeping for ages to reach godhood or wait for a specific era.

Swarms of Elemental Crabs, armored Metal Crabs, and tens of thousands of serpents—representing dozens of mutated and evolved nests—surged forward.

They leveled the docks, smashed the ships, and tore through the coastal villages as they marched toward the heart of the territory. While many of these monsters had no natural desire to move inland, the strongest among them were bound by the Ocean Dragon’s direct command.

They were tasked with erasing everything in their path to restore the silence the Ocean Dragon demanded for its domain.

Driven by the Dragon’s will, the maritime horde bore down on the main settlement.

For the first time since the founding of the Silverfang territory, their very existence hung in the balance.

They were forced to fight with everything they had, knowing that failure meant total annihilation.