(Moku’s POV)

As Moku reflected on his role, one inescapable conclusion took shape in his mind: he was not a good leader.

He lacked competent managerial skills, his war strategies were often flawed and doubt frequently clouded his ability to make critical decisions.

In the beginning, he had succeeded in rallying the near-extinct orcs into a formidable clan known as the Dawnmist Tribe. But managing a dozen orcs was vastly different from leading hundreds of thousands of monsters now unified under the banner of the Wilwatikta Kingdom.

Over time, as his followers multiplied, Moku increasingly felt the inadequacy of his leadership. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Yet, every time he walked through his kingdom, he saw something that weighed heavily on his heart. In the eyes of every monster, he could see hope, admiration, and pride radiating brightly.

They were no longer the monsters humans dismissed as vermin.

They no longer lived like rats, perpetually fleeing from predators. Now, they were proud beings, citizens of a great nation: The Great Wilwatikta Kingdom.

All their hopes, dreams, and futures now rested upon this kingdom—and as their king, they also rested upon Moku’s shoulders. This burden was not one he could share with anyone. Every decision he made carried the potential for either prosperity or total ruin for them all.

Moku still remembered his original goal:

Why had he united the orcs under his leadership? Why had he gathered the various monster races to form a kingdom?

A shield.

At first, it had all been nothing but a shield for himself. Weak as he was, he needed protection. He understood a simple principle: the weak must gather in groups, while the strong soar alone. Like ducks flying in flocks and eagles ruling the skies on their own.

Moku had founded the Dawnmist Tribe and built the Wilwatikta Kingdom as a temporary safeguard. When he grew strong, he planned to leave it all behind and walk alone, relying on no one.

But reality turned out differently.

Time and again, he was forced to fight enemies far stronger than himself to protect what he had initially regarded as mere shields. The Wilwatikta Kingdom, which was supposed to be his tool for protection, had now bound him with invisible chains.

He could no longer run.

If this kingdom fell, he knew he would fall with it.

Ironic

The kingdom he had built to shield himself now served as the foundation of his survival.

Because of this, Moku began to reassess himself. He realized that beyond his abilities to fight and train, he knew very little.

Conspiracies, manipulation, even the indoctrination of society through religion—such things might be straightforward for someone from his previous world. But they weren’t enough to prove him worthy as a leader.

Moku acknowledged his shortcomings. So, he chose to remain more silent and to listen. His trusted people—Ez, Boku, and Mige—had grown. They no longer needed his help to think.

In the past, Moku’s ideas may have seemed like flashes of brilliance—unexpected, out-of-the-box approaches. But to someone who had undergone nine years of formal education in Moku’s previous world, such thinking was merely ordinary.

It only seemed extraordinary to Ez, Boku, and Mige because they had never received such an education.

But now, everything had changed. Those people had developed. They no longer clung to Moku. Instead, they now stood on equal footing with him, and in some ways, had even surpassed him.

With the continuous influx of new knowledge and information, problems that once demanded Moku’s prolonged deliberation were now solved by his subordinates before he even had the chance to ask the right questions.

For this reason, Moku no longer felt the need to worry about the governance of the Wilwatikta Kingdom. He realized that his ill-timed interventions could risk exacerbating situations rather than improving them. Now, all he needed to do was sit back and watch his kingdom flourish.

Yet, behind this sense of gratitude, Moku was haunted by an inevitable question: how long could the truth of his shortcomings as a king remain hidden?

He knew the day would come when his subordinates would recognize these flaws. When that day arrived, he could only hope his successor would be someone stronger and wiser, someone capable of leading the Wilwatikta Kingdom to even greater glory.

While Moku could delegate administrative responsibilities to his trusted aides, there was one task he could never relinquish: being the strongest shield to protect his kingdom.

For Moku, strength was his essence. Training and becoming stronger weren’t obligations—they were his nature.

This time, however, his pursuit of strength wasn’t solely for himself but for all the monsters who now depended on him.

Moku knew the fate that awaited the weak at the hands of the strong. He had seen the cruelty of a world where even death was often a luxury denied to the powerless. Because of this, he swore never to allow his people to be enslaved by anyone.

And for that, he had to be the strongest.

The question now was: should he continue this fight, risking the Human Alliance’s attention, or retreat and let the golden opportunity to subdue and consume an adamantite-grade mutated animal slip away?

The answer was simple.

There was no path of retreat.

The only choice for a king like him was...

Advance.

Advance.

ADVANCE!

The dragon prana within Moku surged wildly. His energy roared, propelling his body forward at incredible speed toward the location where the strongest mana aura emanated.

Time was limited.

This battle had to end before any human mages arrived to investigate.

When he arrived, his eyes immediately locked onto Cryonix. The massive creature was covered in wounds and appeared exhausted. Moku didn’t waste a second.

He unleashed his most devastating attack.

"GIANT BRAJADENTA RAIN!"

Moku’s fists tore through the air, generating searing friction that transformed into a rain of blazing red Kala heads.

The barrage struck Cryonix with destructive force.

The massive monster looked stunned by Moku’s sudden appearance—perhaps it had believed its earlier attack had reduced Moku to ashes. But it was gravely mistaken.

The resilience of Moku, an asura, far exceeded its expectations.

Cryonix tried to shield itself with its wings, but the unrelenting downpour of Kala heads punched through, riddling them with holes.

The creature was sent flying backward. In an instant, Moku surged forward, closing the gap between them. Now only a few steps away, he brandished the Dawnshadow Blade.

"Weapon Path: Dance of Fang!"

The trusted blade extended, vibrating at incredible speed, producing a hum like dragonfly wings slicing through the air.

Moku moved like a dancer, each swing of his sword carving fresh wounds into Cryonix’s massive frame. The beast attempted to fight back, but Moku’s strikes were too fast and too precise.

This wasn’t just a fight to claim victory. This was a declaration of power.

And Moku, the monster king, made certain that no one doubted who the true ruler was.

Cryonix’s maw glowed brilliantly—a clear sign the ice laser was about to be unleashed once more. But Moku did not retreat.

For him, retreat had long been an impossible path.

The laser blast struck his body with devastating force. His flesh felt as though it were freezing solid, his bones on the verge of shattering, his skin peeling away under the merciless cold.

Yet he stood firm.

The biofield energy roaring around his body absorbed much of the impact, while the dragon prana within him churned violently, accelerating his regeneration. The gaping wounds in his muscles began to close, though the searing pain lingered.

Still, Moku didn’t falter.

His deadly dance continued. The Dawnshadow Blade in his grasp relentlessly tore through Cryonix’s flesh, carving deep, gruesome wounds. Blood poured freely from the lord of ice and sky.

"ROAARRR!"

Cryonix roared in agony, but Moku pressed on.

The blade in his hand moved like a divine scalpel, cutting through Cryonix’s hardened body with surgical precision.

The ice laser’s counterattacks left deep gashes on Moku’s own body, his blood spilling onto the battlefield. Yet his gaze remained locked and unwavering.

He knew that if he stopped now, the reserves of dragon prana within him would deplete entirely, leaving him vulnerable—and leading to his death.

Cryonix began to beat its perforated wings, attempting to take to the skies once more. If it succeeded, all of Moku’s efforts would be for nothing.

He couldn’t let that happen.

"Body Forging: PARTIAL TITAN!"

Moku let out a thunderous roar, his voice reverberating like a challenge hurled at the heavens.

The dragon prana within him surged once more, coursing wildly into his one remaining arm.

His cells hungrily consumed the energy, fortifying his muscles and bones until his arm transformed into a colossal appendage brimming with destructive power.

Though he lacked the strength to enlarge his entire body, this was more than enough to carry on the fight.

Leaping into the air, Moku lunged toward Cryonix’s wide-open maw.

His massive fist crashed down with devastating force, shattering rows of sharp, stalactite-like ice teeth.

Pain shot through his hand as the dragon’s fangs tore into his flesh, fresh blood streaming from the wounds—but Moku didn’t care.

Before Cryonix could react, Moku seized the enormous creature with all his might and slammed it into the ground.

"BOOM!"

The deafening impact shattered the stillness, shaking the remnants of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The ground beneath them cracked, shards of ice flew in all directions, and a cloud of dust filled the air. Cryonix lay sprawled and motionless, its eyes rolling back momentarily.

But Moku wasn’t about to let the dragon catch its breath.

Gripping Cryonix’s maw with his massive hand, he began pounding the creature’s head into the ground repeatedly, each slam more brutal than the last.

The earth trembled with every collision, the echoes of destruction rippling outward. The remnants of Mount Kilimanjaro began to crumble, heralding its inevitable collapse.

Blood gushed from Cryonix’s mouth, mingling with Moku’s own, which flowed freely from the wounds inflicted by the dragon’s jagged teeth.

"HAAAA!!"

Moku roared, his voice filled with fury and resolve. Lifting Cryonix’s head one final time, he slammed it down onto a jagged rock with all his might.

The sharp stone pierced through the dragon’s icy eye, shattering it into shards.

Cryonix bellowed in agony, its thrashing growing more frantic. Moku’s grip finally slipped, but not before he yanked the dragon’s tongue with such force that it tore free.

"ROOOAAARR!!"

The dragon’s anguished howl echoed across the battlefield, blood spraying from its gaping mouth.

Its one remaining eye burned with seething hatred, yet within that hatred, Moku discerned something else—fear.

From Cryonix’s throat, a cold mist began to rise, enveloping the surrounding air.

For a brief moment, the temperature spiked, only to be drawn into the dragon’s two crystalline horns, now shimmering with a blinding light.

Moku knew exactly what was coming. This was Cryonix’s ultimate attack—a total freezing explosion. If unleashed, it wouldn’t merely encase his body in ice; it would obliterate every cell in his being.

But for Moku, retreat had never been an option.

His muscles pulsed with deadly strength, dragon prana flooding into his remaining arm, compressing into an intense, focused energy.

"TITAN BRAJADENTA RAIN!"

With a battle cry that shook the heavens, Moku unleashed his fist with all his might. The sheer force of the punch ignited the air, sparks crackling like fiery embers. Just as Cryonix opened its mouth to release its final, devastating ice attack, Moku’s fist slammed through, piercing the concentrated mana explosion.

"BOOOOMMM!!!"

A colossal detonation rocked the entire region, tearing through the sky in a dazzling burst of energy.

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Words Count: 1932