It was supposed to be a rotational mission, with a new replacement every thousand years.

But Angus was already into his third millennium, and still no one had arrived to take over.

’Three millennia.’

Never mind the fact that he had never fully controlled the dozen or so worlds he’d been awarded; so many years had passed now.

While the envoys stationed in those worlds would send reports and resource lists every now and then...

...who knew how much was being skimmed off the top, never appearing on those lists at all.

It was a lie to say Angus didn’t regret it.

He had only himself to blame.

After all, before he competed for the Ancient Divine Source Blood to ascend to the Authority Level, Angus had been nothing more than an Ascetic who only knew how to train relentlessly and fight in one war after another, all in the hopes of quickly growing strong.

He didn’t understand the intricate politics of the Titan Race at all.

He hadn’t even realized that by seizing the Source Blood, he had offended the direct lineages of the four great Ancient Gods.

And now look where that got him.

He had fallen right into a trap set by the direct lineages of the four great Ancient Gods.

As for bowing his head, admitting his mistake, and becoming a Vassal to those old Authority Level geezers from the four great Ancient Gods’ lines?

Angus had never even considered it.

’What a joke!!!’

Why had his weaker self trained so hard, fought in endless wars across civilized worlds, and ignored worldly affairs?

It was all so he could become strong as quickly as possible and gain the Power to control his own destiny.

Now, he had finally become an Authority Level being, with absolute status and the Power to control his fate.

And you want him to go be a ’dog’ for other Authority Level Titans?

Wouldn’t that make all his years of effort, even his very ascension to the Authority Level, completely worthless?

Besides, among the more than thirty Authority Level beings in the Titan Race, every single one of them was like a Governor ruling their own domain, second only to the Ancestral Gods.

They were all Clan Level Titans; their strength wasn’t that different.

In fact, the Law Angus himself controlled was by no means weak.

So how could he possibly take orders from any other Authority Level Titan of his race, aside from an Ancient God Titan!

Not even the Elder Council!

As for why Angus didn’t dare to just abandon his post...

...it was entirely because this mission to pursue and monitor the Dragon Race was the sole exception in all of the Titan Race.

It was also something the four great Ancient God Titans had been paying close attention to for a very long time.

Angus dared to offend the Elder Council.

But he would never dare to delay a matter concerning the Ancient God Titans.

He wouldn’t dare, no matter the reason.

Setting aside the Titan Race’s environment, where the strong were revered and might was king...

...the Ancient God Titans were the source of all Titans, their progenitors.

The majesty they had accumulated over countless eons, along with the oppressive pressure they exerted on his Bloodline and spirit, was the real reason Angus didn’t dare to harbor the slightest thought of resistance.

No one had come to relieve him in three thousand years.

’Could the Ancient God Titans possibly be unaware of this?’

Although it was painfully obvious to Angus that the old coots in the Elder Council were playing tricks, the situation had ultimately been approved by the Ancient Gods.

What could he, Angus, do about it?

It was said that Authority Level beings did not fear death.

But if he really died, or was even expelled from the race, the consequences were something he didn’t dare to imagine.

After all, very few of the Ancient God Titans were good-tempered.

Just like the Clan Titans, the Ancient God Titans themselves had clawed their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Not only were their ways of thinking archaic, but they also believed in the principle that the strong get everything.

Since Angus had accepted a mission that was under the direct watch of the Ancient Gods...

...he would absolutely not be allowed to abandon his post midway, for any reason.

After roughly understanding the crux of the matter, Tita Thelon, who had just been berated, was stunned.

’So there was this kind of backstory to it all?’

Then what was the point of him rushing here from a remote star system to pledge allegiance to a new Authority Level being?

At this moment, the Star God Titan Theron, who had been Angus’s subordinate for less than eight hundred years, felt as if ten thousand horses were stampeding across his head.

’Just what kind of person did I pledge myself to?’

It was clearly too late for regrets now.

So, Tita Thelon immediately began to think of a way to break the deadlock and spoke again.

"Then, Your Majesty, have you never thought of sending someone to seek an audience with the Ancestral Gods to state how unreasonable this is?"

When Tita Thelon mentioned this, Angus clearly grew even angrier.

"Do you think I’m an idiot?"

"Of course I tried to send people for an audience with the Ancestral Gods during the second millennium."

"But you know the result."

"Those old coots didn’t give my people any chance to get near the Ancestral Gods."

"Besides, do the Ancestral Gods really not know? Heh, you’re being far too naive."

"So, I’ve figured it out. The Ancestral Gods, whether intentionally or not, are always biased toward their own direct lineages!"

"If there’s anyone to blame, it’s ourselves, for not having an Ancestral God backing our lineage."

Saying this, Angus angrily gulped down the fresh Blood Wine a servant had just brought over.

"What about you yourself, Your Majesty?"

"You are an Authority Level being. With your Power, it shouldn’t be too difficult to contact the Ancestral Gods directly, right?"

This time, Angus controlled his temper a bit, glanced at Theron, and then said:

"Not difficult? What are you thinking?"

"We don’t even know how far we are from the Titan home world. Even for me, it would take multiple patrols through Subspace using my Authority Power just to get back."

"Setting aside the fact that I can’t leave this place at will, what if I left and you all were wiped out by the Dragon Race?"

"Then I’d be in deep shit whether I was at fault or not."

At this point, Angus spoke again, his frustration returning.

"Of course, I do have a more direct way to contact the Ancestral Gods, but I’m not allowed to use it lightly."

"As for why, you should all be well aware."

"Furthermore, what if I did meet the Ancestral Gods? It’s just as I said before. They must know about this. Since they haven’t objected, what can I do?"

"..."

This time, Theron fell completely silent.

’That’s right.’

’The Ancestral Gods definitely know about this.’

’After all, the Dragon Race is a great enemy that the Ancestral Gods personally pay attention to.’

To even allow the clan pursuing the Dragon Race to have the Power to monitor their movements from a safe distance at all times...

...one of the Ancestral Gods had blessed this Iron Giant Ship with their Super Vision Giant Power.

It was specifically for detecting the Dragon Race’s location and the state of the Star Sea around their world.

In short, no matter where the Dragon Race went, this giant ship could always be the first to find their trail.

As for why the Ancient God Titans didn’t monitor them personally?

Was there even a need to ask? Don’t the Ancient God Titans need to enhance their own strength?

So they spent most of their time in slumber, comprehending Laws and growing stronger.

Only when a major incident occurred with the Dragon Race did the Deities in charge of monitoring have the right to directly use their Power to contact them.

As for normal times?

According to the rules, during the pursuit, all Deities on rotation were only required to engage the Dragon Race in a probing battle every one or two hundred years. There were no other demands.

So, thinking about the current situation, Theron also felt helpless.

In a godforsaken place like this, these lofty Deities didn’t even have a place for recreation.

As for resources for cultivation?

Don’t even mention it.

Fortunately, Angus at least had fiefs. Even if a lot of the supplies were secretly skimmed by the direct lineages of the four Ancient Gods, there was still enough for his and his direct subordinates’ daily consumption.

But this life of roaming the Star Sea could hardly be called good.

How could they continue to cultivate and comprehend Laws without distraction when they had to monitor the Dragon Race at all times?

Thinking of this, Theron wanted to slap himself a couple of times.

He had rushed out of seclusion to pledge allegiance to a new Authority Level being without gathering information beforehand.

This was his own form of a disastrous investment.

The atmosphere in the Beast Fighting Arena was lively. These Vassal Deities and slave Deities of the Titan Race were all venting their emotions in their own ways.

Angus just watched quietly.

Until, suddenly, a figure instantly appeared beside Angus.

"Your Majesty Angus!"

"This is bad!!!"

"The Dragon Race... something has happened to the Dragon Race!!!"

’???’

Angus was slightly taken aback.

But hearing that something had happened to the Dragon Race, he wasn’t worried. Instead, he was delighted.

He couldn’t wait, immediately borrowing the Ancient God Titan’s Power on the giant ship and combining it with his own Authority Power to perform an over-the-horizon scan.

It would have been better if he hadn’t looked.

The moment he saw it, even the Titan Angus was stunned for a long time.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

"Now, although we can’t leave this godforsaken place for the time being, those old coots in the Elder Council won’t be having an easy time either!"

"The real war is about to begin! Haha!!!"