The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 954

"Wooo!!! Amazing!"

A crowd of orcs erupted in a frenzy of excitement.

Among them, a uniquely built minotaur was furiously lifting a massive dumbbell, striking exaggerated poses to flaunt its massive physique.

“Incredible! I've never seen muscles so perfect before!” Great Chief Tsu exclaimed as he tore into a slab of meat with a face of immense satisfaction.

Even without saying a word, the sheer presence of the minotaur seemed to communicate volumes.

Most orcs in the tribe had already been captivated by the might of the constellation Taurus. Despite this, Tsu chuckled heartily, showing no hint of jealousy.

“Taurus! If you and I combined our strength, we could become the strongest duo in orc history!”

He handed over a massive mug of ale which Taurus accepted without hesitation. Despite having no visible mouth, it tilted its head back and downed the ale in one go. Watching this, Tsu grinned with satisfaction.

“Now, we can finally go meet that powerful foe in Heins Territory!”

At the mention of Heins, Taurus’s attention shifted.

“My son is currently studying at Heins Academy. Thanks to the support of the Emperor of the Lyndis Empire, I was able to give him the opportunity to learn.”

As soon as Taurus had heard the word “Heins,” the starlight shimmering across its body had continued growing even brighter.

“Oh man, brother. Does this spark your interest?”

Taurus gave a firm nod in response.

“Excellent! I’ve heard that there’s someone there with strength and muscles that could even rival our own!”

At this, its starlight intensified further, glowing fiercely.

“Will you come with me?!”

Taurus shot to his feet without hesitation.

“Good! I like you, brother! It’s been said that no one who hones their muscles is untrustworthy! From this day forward, you and I are closer than blood brothers! Let us swear the Muscly Oath of Brotherly Brawn! Boys, bring forth the ceremonial ale and blades—we shall forge our bond in the tradition of the orc tribe!”

At that heart-warming and tear-jerking moment—

Booom!!!

A massive explosion echoed in the distance, drawing the orcs’ attention to a lone intruder.

Kaina, a golden-scaled dragon with sleek, elegant curves, stood tall in a crater with a furrowed brow.

“D-Dragon?!”

“How is this possible? Dragons actually exist?!”

The orcs muttered in shock, their expressions frozen in disbelief by the dragon’s suffocating pressure. The younger orcs, guided by the female orcs of the tribe, quickly began to retreat. However, Great Chief Tsu and Taurus stood firm, their gazes fixed on the intruder.

[What are these grotesque muscle monsters supposed to be?]

Kaina was a full-fledged powerhouse of the gold dragons, affiliated with the fallen dragon faction.

[This is perfect—I’ve been meaning to test out a new spell. You two will make excellent test subjects.]

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As Kaina spoke, her shimmering golden scales began to glow brighter. She then soared into the sky with a swift beat of her wings.

But she lacked critical information—the land she had assumed to be nothing more than a typical orc territory housed a presence far beyond what a mere full-fledged dragon like her could handle.

Whoosh!!

[Huh?]

Kaina’s eyes widened in disbelief. The orc warrior and bizarre minotaur covered in starlight had risen high into the air to confront her.

“How dare you invade our tribe and spout nonsense about some petty magic?! This will not stand! Am I right, brother?”

Great Chief Tsu coalesced massive amounts of qi that crackled like lightning in his hands.

Tsu wasn’t just any typical orc fighter—he was a Fist Master. His strength, worthy of being the leader of an orc tribe, was far beyond what a full-fledged dragon could hope to overwhelm with such simple intimidation.

Sensing that something wasn’t right, Kaina flapped her wings furiously in an attempt to gain distance and unleash her dragon breath, but alas—Taurus and Tsu were faster. Like falling meteors, they slammed their muscular arms down on either side of her neck, choking her with a crushing grip.

[Gaa?! What is this?!]

The spells Kaina had prepared were distorted under the sheer physical force of the two muscular figures. Realizing her predicament, she shrieked in disbelief and began thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to break free.

“Filthy lizard! How dare you interfere with our muscle alliance?! You will pay dearly for this disrespect!!”

Tsu alone would’ve struggled to subdue a full-fledged dragon, but he wasn’t alone. On the other side was the constellation Taurus, a being powerful enough to shatter the neck of a constellation with sheer physical force.

There was no way a full-fledged dragon was going to be able to handle their combined strength.

As the two poured sweat and radiated an almost furnace-like heat, Kaina couldn’t help but scream. Unfortunately, her voice was all but drowned out by their manly shouts.

“Woooo!! Bench press!!!”

With a loud, furious cry, Tsu applied more force. Taurus followed with a silent roar of its own.

[No! Stop!]

Gripped by a terror she couldn’t comprehend, Kaina abandoned all sense of pride and polymorphed, transforming from her massive draconic body into a smaller human-like form.

Surprised by the extreme reduction in size, their hands were left grasping thin air. The two warriors blinked in confusion as they turned to see that the dragon had fallen to the ground, trembling with fear.

She was now a petite, golden-haired girl with a delicate and innocent appearance, quivering as she lay on the ground.

“Impressive physique! Even as a female, there’s no reason you can’t develop muscles just like us!” Tsu exclaimed enthusiastically.

Taurus stepped forward and shoved a dumbbell in front of the trembling Kaina. As it pushed the rounded end of the dumbbell toward her, silently urging her to start lifting, she burst into sobbing tears.

Reformists or not, if she had known how dangerous the Lyndis Empire could be, she would never have come to this place.

Though she was a full-fledged dragon powerhouse, it hadn't been long ago that she was but a young whelp born during the chaotic times of the civil war. Her only reason for coming here had been to follow her parents—she had no strong faith in dragon traditions.

“Come now, dragon! It’s absurd to possess such talent and not build your muscles! Grab the dumbbell!”

“No… No… I hate muscles!!!”

With a desperate, wailing cry, Kaina backed away as Tsu and Taurus stepped closer.

* * *

Out shot a massive surge of energy—dense and overwhelming, it was powerful enough to obliterate a mountain. Karrela’s breath carried the might of a dragon elder, two full-fledged dragons, and Davey’s mana.

Yet, before the authority of Predatory Assimilation, it proved utterly futile. Her breath was simply devoured into nothingness.

Ignoring the stunned expressions of the three dragons staring at him, Davey calmly confirmed that his Predatory Assimilation had completely consumed the breath.

Karrella’s dragontongue mana then began to merge with Davey’s power. Surprisingly, it synced seamlessly with the dragontongue mana he had devoured from Eclipse in the past, ultimately transforming into a form that suited him perfectly.

The surroundings fell silent.

“I believe I already told you that the noise you've been making has been getting complaints.”

Mad dragon Karrella, her breath having been forcibly nullified, tried to muster another attack.

But then, she froze.

As their eyes met, her enormous body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Do you even realize how many people in the territory you’ve kept awake tonight? The Tommie family has to start harvesting potatoes early in the morning, and the Balkneys are already anxious about their livestock slaughtering duties tomorrow,” he said in a chilling voice.

‘And you dare come here to cause a scene?’

Karrella quivered as she instinctively took a few steps back.

“F-Father… am I seeing this correctly?”

“No… you’re not mistaken… That mad dragon… is terrified.”

Ignoring the astonished murmurs of the other dragons, Davey approached Karrella. Once he reached out to her, she didn’t move an inch, only trembling in fear.

Once he touched her scales, he murmured quietly, “So, your body is just an artificial construct, eh?”

A body made of energy, not dense flesh, was the ideal type of form for him to devour.

An invisible, formless maw appeared in the air once he finished speaking.

Crunch!

The maw devoured her energy-formed body, along with her Dragon Heart, in one full gulp.

And just like that, she vanished.

* * *

Marin could only stare blankly as Karrella disappeared right before his eyes.

He had initially dismissed what he’d heard from World Tree Al, thinking she must have been exaggerating. But now, standing in what should have been a scene of draconic carnage, he realized she hadn’t been exaggerating at all. If anything, she had been understating the true power of the human before him.

It hadn’t just been overwhelming dominance; it was an unrelenting, one-sided domination.

The sheer aura Davey had exuded in that fleeting moment—despite being human—was enough to even petrify Marin with fear.

“Unbelievable… That wasn’t his full power before?!”

Sapphire was equally shaken.

“As expected, Karrella couldn’t even lift a finger against him…”

Rudel sighed deeply.

He had always found Davey’s confident actions to be bizarre for a mere human, but it had become clear that his capabilities were far beyond anything they could’ve imagined.

“Father…” Sapphire muttered with a blank face.

“Yes, my son?”

“That human… Could we just ask him for help?”

Marin didn’t respond immediately. Instead of wasting time questioning the bizarre reality of Davey’s absurd strength, he was also already thinking on how it could be used to aid the moderate faction.

They had come here to find and retrieve Rudel, but they had instead stumbled upon the perfect force for ensuring their victory.

Davey, meanwhile, casually descended with an intangible energy swirling around his hands. He dissolved it with ease.

“Is anyone injured?” he asked calmly.

“Who… just who are you?” Marin asked with all respect.

The man's power was far too vast to belong to any ordinary human. He was beyond comparison to any other being.

“Davey O’Rowane: human.”

“…”

“But seriously, they just keep showing up and causing trouble. Should I clean them up for good this time?” he mused aloud, voice indifferent.

Hearing this, Marin instinctively shouted, forgetting about his pride.

“Davey O’Rowane! As an elder of the dragon race, I formally invite you to the Dragon’s Nest!”

His mind raced, knowing he couldn’t let the opportunity slip away. He wanted to inform the other elders of Davey’s existence, no matter what.

Watching Marin’s urgency that was unbefitting his status, Rudel couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the dragons ever found out that the “mere human” Evangeline that he served was actually an ancient dragon. A Primordial Dragon, no less—worshiped as the progenitor of their race. Oh how utterly dumbfounded they’d no doubt be.

* * *

At the same time, deep within the heart of the Arrasis Continent, a massive black dragon slowly opened its eyes.

Its colossal form spanned over three hundred meters from head to tail. Its blazing eyes gleamed and began moving slowly.

[Who dares destroy my toy?]

With that single sentence, the dragons in its surroundings immediately knelt, pressing their faces to the ground.

“My Monarch,” they said in unison.

[I never imagined my plans would be disrupted—and not just once, but twice. Prepare yourselves. I will personally crush these cowards.]

“By your command, Monarch,” said one elder.

“There exists no being in this world who can oppose you,” said another elder.

The massive dragon unfurled their three pairs of enormous wings.

From the distant lands of the Arrasis Continent, across the eastern seas of the Tionis Continent, the remaining dragons began to stir.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Divine Tree's Land, World Tree Al smiled comfortably as Emilia gently massaged her shoulders.

“One of the nuisances that have been stirring up trouble in the continent is finally being taken care of.”

She didn’t specify which “nuisance” she was referring to.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

Taurus lookin’ more gnarly by the minute! I get that he's a genderless star cluster, but he's still my boi ;_; First he's blind, and now he doesn't even have a mouth 😭

Justice for my man Taurus pls, author. If he ends up being killed off, I'm gonna

1) Write a very strongly worded letter

2) Take the time to then type it up with a typewriter

2a) Notice the clearly expired ink slip in the ancient machine

2b) Look up a YouTube tutorial on how to replace the ink

2c) Find some library wizard to… Actually, reader, I must be honest with you. I myself work in a university library, so I already have all the supplies needed.

3) Fold my precious typed-out letter

4) Put it in my library’s branded envelope

5) Throw that toxic complaining shit STRAIGHT into the fires of hell where it belongs 🔥 👹 🔥

6) Get ahold of myself and go about my day like a normal person

All I can do is hope and pray for our best boi Taurus 🙏 🐂 ♉

On a very real note, the author actually did some really decent comedy work here. I'm impressed.