Chapter 1073: Elemental Lord

Boom—...

Above the mountains, gale winds howl, endless black clouds constantly churn, brewing bolts of thunder and lightning that wander between sky and cloud layers; suddenly they flash, and the deafening thunder lights up the palace clusters atop the peaks.

On the platform of the Storm Temple, dozens of towering giants have gathered.

At the head stands the Titan Elder Suolim.

The giants have long been accustomed to the sky's spectacle; each giant looks up expectantly, awaiting any movement of the teleportation array.

Boom!

Suddenly, another massive roar comes from the heavens, louder than any lightning, its sound vast and far‑reaching, unlike the crack of lightning; it instantly catches the giants' attention, prompting them to look up at the sky.

Then the giants witness a scene they have never seen in their lives.

Amid the rolling black clouds, a colossal mass leaps out, shaped like a dagger magnified billions of times, its entire body silver‑gray, a steel fortress forged wholly of metal, larger even than the biggest furnace temple in the Storm Temple!

The clouds are pushed aside like seawater by the steel fortress; countless bolts of lightning strike it, forming a transparent force field that cannot be pierced.

"Annam, above!"

The giants all turn pale, shouting in shock, "What is that thing?"

Elder Suolim's expression also shifts slightly; he has been monitoring the Prime Material Plane, especially gathering information on Lei En, and periodically communicates with Axi Na, so he naturally knows of the Star Destroyer's existence, having heard of it countless times.

Even though he has heard of it many times and knows the Star Destroyer is immensely powerful, when Suolim finally sees it with his own eyes, he is still stunned!

The Star Destroyer bursts through the clouds, approaching the platform of the Storm Temple.

Its massive hull exerts a crushing pressure on the giants, making them feel minuscule, and a stir of unrest erupts.

A few giants flash fear in their eyes and instinctively draw their weapons.

"Steady!"

Suolim lightly hisses, "They are not enemies; they are honored guests of the Storm Temple, not here to let anyone see our jokes."

The Titan Elder commands god‑like prestige among the giants, and they quickly calm down.

The Star Destroyer draws nearer, like a towering wall crushing forward, blocking sky and sight. Up close, the steel fortress's runes and metallic sheen showcase ultra‑high‑level craftsmanship, filling the giants with awe as they are shocked.

The Star Destroyer hovers slowly beyond the platform; its side opens a gate, revealing an exit as wide as the gates of a bright palace.

A metal footplate descends, landing on the platform.

Bang bang bang—...

A regimented, heavy footfall sounds; the giants see squads of heavily‑armored Extreme Warriors stepping down from the metal footplate.

Storm Giants stand about five meters tall; these Extreme Warriors are only half that height, yet their aura makes the giants' hearts tremble.

Their heavy armor is also familiar to the Storm Giants.

Titan Blue Iron!

The Storm Giants are astonished; the armor of these hundreds of Extreme Warriors is forged entirely from Titan Blue Iron!

The tallest Extreme Warrior stands over three meters tall, hardly shorter than a Storm Giant; a faint aura leaking from him makes the giants' souls shiver—clearly he is a Saint Rank strongman, one of only a few in the entire Storm Temple.

Malius leads four hundred Extreme Warriors onto the platform, forming two rows; the whole group stands silent as statues, the atmosphere solemn and imposing, unsettling the giants.

Suolim is also greatly shocked.

If he were absent, these Extreme Warriors alone could sweep the entire Storm Temple; the giants would be no match.

Not to mention the Star Destroyer!

Back then, he saw Lei En's potential, deducing that Lei En would eventually ascend to the pinnacle of strength on the Prime Material Plane and seize control of the Oriense Empire, so he arranged for Axi Na to be betrothed to Lei En in exchange for a promise.

He did not expect Lei En's rise to be so swift.

In just a few dozen years—so brief to Suolim it seemed like a handful of days—Lei En has reached his current stature.

Whether it's Lei En's personal power, authority, his legion, or the Star Destroyer he invented, all far exceed expectations.

At first Suolim was delighted, proud of his keen insight and foresight.

Then he began to worry.

What he needs is a powerful yet appropriately sized enforcer, not an overwhelmingly strong ally who could crush the Storm Giants; if Lei En harbors other designs on the Storm Giants and turns the tables, Suolim would be inviting the wolf into his house.

Thus, Suolim delayed demanding Lei En fulfill the promise.

But the situation on the Storm Plane has changed, and he can no longer delay, forcing him to seek Lei En's aid.

On the Star Destroyer's footplate appear two figures, a man and a woman; the giants recognize the woman well—she wears Titan battle armor, carries a shield and longsword, her golden hair braided, a silver headband on her forehead, bright eyes, and a heroic bearing.

It is Axi Na, who has been away from the Storm Temple for years!

After years apart, Axi Na's appearance has changed little; she remains beautiful and heroic, her demeanor now more mature and steady.

A human man stands beside Axi Na.

He is tall and robust, clad in mithril light armor, a blood‑red cloak draped over his back, a golden crown woven from laurel leaves upon his head; his face is gentle, his gaze profound, and though he says nothing, his mere appearance instantly draws everyone's focus.

Majestic, noble, powerful!

The giants sense a swirl of emotions from this young human; the beautiful, valiant Axi Na stands beside him, merely a backdrop.

Oriense Emperor, Ryan Augustus!

Many giants have heard of the Prime Material Plane's situation from Elder Suolim, and some have met Lei En many times, yet they cannot believe that the young man who repeatedly visited the Storm Temple has become an emperor, one of the Prime Material Plane's overlords!

Only now do they finally believe.

The most shocked are Axi Na's family—her mother Medis and brother Boros—both standing amid the crowd, their minds a blank.

Lei En and Axi Na descend from the Star Destroyer.

With each step, they grow taller; when the two step onto the Storm Temple's platform, they have already reached ten meters in height, surpassing most giants.

"Elder." Lei En bows to Elder Suolim, and Axi Na also offers a greeting.

"Your Majesty."

Suolim nods slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Star Destroyer behind Lei En; the demigod's face breaks into a smile as he loudly declares, "Welcome, Your Majesty, to the Storm Temple."

"I still prefer the elder to call me Lei En," Lei En laughs, "I'm a regular at the Storm Temple; how could the elder be so formal and stage such a grand welcome, making me feel indebted."

Regarding a demigod, Lei En showed the proper respect.

"Very well."

Suo Lim gave Lei En a deep look, sensed the subtext, let his hanging heart ease a bit, turned and waved his hand, saying: "Disperse, all of you. Return home, or return to your posts, and don't give the enemy any opening."

"Yes, Elder." The Titan Giants scattered.

Mei Di Si came up and caught her daughter's hand, exclaiming joyfully: "A Xina!" Giant mage Bo Luo Si also called out: "Sister."

"Mother, brother." A Xina was very happy to see her family.

Lei En said to her: "A Xina, you go home first; after I talk with the Elder, I'll come find you."

"Alright."

A Xina left with her family.

"Lei En, please follow me." Suo Lim opened a portal, and Lei En entered with him, arriving at the magnificent and spacious Titan Furnace Temple. Beneath the clean, transparent floor, the massive Titan Furnace continued to operate as always, massive energy flowing through pipes to the Storm Temple everywhere, providing the giants with the necessities for daily cultivation and assurance.

Suo Lim's stature shrank to two meters tall, becoming a bronze‑skinned, platinum‑short‑haired, simple‑robed, dignified middle‑aged man.

The Furnace Temple already had stone tables and chairs set up, sized for human use.

"Please sit."

Lei En also regained his human form, sitting opposite the Titan Elder.

He saw many materials and components piled in a corner of the palace, as well as several Titan Engines, but their size was many times larger than the Titan Engines of powered armor. The All-Seeing Eye pierced the interior, discovering many flaws that prevented operation.

"How is the Elder's Titan Engine research progressing?" Lei En asked with a smile, a rhetorical question.

"Difficult!"

Suo Lim was hit at a sore spot and let out a helpless sigh, "Without your 'mechanical mind', I can't control the fine flow of energy; I can only shrink to this extent." He pointed to the few failed Titan Engines in the corner.

"This is already the best result, the limit of what I can achieve, yet still unusable."

"It runs at most three or four minutes before losing control."

Suo Lim wore a worried expression, which secretly pleased Lei En; he had come through the same way and finally solved the problem with split‑brain crystals.

Without crystals, even with blueprints one cannot forge a Titan Engine.

This was expected.

"However, I haven't come away empty‑handed," Elder Suo Lim said proudly, "Your approach to building Titan Engines gave me much inspiration; applied to the Titan Furnace, I made many improvements, saving a third of the source crystals each year."

Lei En looked down at his feet.

The Titan Furnace beneath the floor differed from before; the rune array was finer, and energy output was more precise and stable than before.

"The Elder's wisdom commands my respect," Lei En complimented.

In his eyes, the Storm Temple's Titan Furnace was still too crude, its energy usage overly primitive and wasteful.

His own Titan Furnace had been upgraded three times, capable of shrinking and expanding; the latest achievement was the "Super‑Giant Titan Furnace" installed on the Augustus, controlled jointly by thirty‑two split‑brain crystals, with a peak output over twenty times that of the Furnace Temple!

Moreover, the Super‑Giant Titan Furnace's energy conversion rate was extremely efficient, output stable, and very safe during operation.

The technological gap between them was as vast as that between an internal‑combustion engine and a nuclear reactor!

"Hehe…"

Suo Lim shook his head, "You needn't say such things to comfort me."

His gaze pierced the palace walls, landing on the distant Star Destroyer, "I heard about your Star Destroyer; it has a Titan Furnace installed, right?"

"Yes," Lei En nodded.

"A truly epoch‑making great creation!" Suo Lim exclaimed sincerely, "Even without you telling me, I could guess that the Titan Furnace on the Star Destroyer has been modified—better and stronger. Your mastery of Titan rune technology already surpasses mine!"

Lei En quoted a saying from a past life, humbly saying: "My achievements today are because I stand on the shoulders of giants."

Suo Lim was silent for a good while.

Lei En's words were both modest and indicated that the era of giants had truly ended.

"Enough of that," the Titan Elder cast aside sentiment and resignation, getting straight to the point, saying in a deep voice: "The Storm Temple faces a great threat, Lei En, I need your help."

"Elder, please speak."

Lei En's expression grew serious.

Something that threatens even a demigod and is presented so solemn cannot be a trivial matter.

"I'm not afraid you'll mock me, Lei En; I hadn't intended to have you fulfill the old promise," Suo Lim chuckled self‑deprecatingly, "You've sent many source crystals over the years; the temple is largely activated, energy abundant, and the nurturing temple has caused many female giants to become pregnant. The Storm Giant population has risen by dozens in the past ten years; in a hundred years it should recover to over a thousand."

At this point, the Titan Elder's expression brightened, a joy of racial revival.

Lei En guessed his thought.

With enough population, given the Storm Giants' strong innate talent, they reach adulthood in fifty years and quickly become combat‑ready.

Led by a demigod and several Titan Giants, there is a chance to retake the other Storm Temples.

Even if it takes a hundred or several hundred years, for giants with long lifespans it is worth waiting; there is no rush.

However, plans cannot keep up with change.

"Elder, has something happened?" Lei En asked.

"I told you back then, the Storm Plane originally had six temples; three were destroyed in the Second Era, leaving only three now," Suo Lim said slowly, "The one we are in is the Northern Temple, in the north of the Storm Plane."

"The other two temples are the 'Eastern Temple' in the east of the plane, and the 'Storm Temple' at the very center, the most important one."

"They have both been seized by enemies from other elemental planes."

"The enemies of the Eastern Temple come from the Thunder Element Plane, mainly a flock of Thunder‑feather Eagles, whose leader is also a demigod. The foes of the central Storm Temple are even stronger, from the Wind Element Plane, led by an Elemental Lord."

"These two forces fight endlessly, each seeking to defeat the other and fully dominate the Storm Plane."

"We Storm Giants are the third force, exploiting their conflict to balance both sides so neither can overcome the other."

"But last year, the wind‑element army of the central Storm Temple suddenly surged, its strength skyrocketed, and it crushed the Eastern Temple's forces in one blow. That demigod Thunder‑feather Eagle was slain; now the Elemental Lord has only one target left in the Storm Plane," Suo Lim said, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.

The Titan Elder looked at Lei En, "That target is us."

Two hours later… an afternoon trip back to the old home, if returning at night early there would still be a chapter.

(End of chapter)