Minos looked strangely at his surroundings as he realized someone was moving strangely in his and Starclaw's direction.
Activating his Bright Eyes, Minos quickly identified a hybrid approaching them.
'Level 84? This hybrid recognized us? But what would someone at that level want with me approaching like that?' He wondered, frowning as he looked at that tall, muscular being.
However, Minos was not patient enough to wait still. He decided to move before he even said anything to Starclaw.
"Uh?" Starclaw felt her master leaving her back and looked back, seeing part of Minos' body disappearing through a spatial crack.
Just then, Minos' body appeared near where that hybrid was standing.
Minos surprised not only his mount but that man who thought was approaching his target cautiously.
When Minos appeared behind such a being, he immediately activated his techniques and stopped that creature.
Chaotic Gravity!
That hybrid suddenly felt his body becoming much heavier and harder to move.
Because of this, he unwittingly lost control over his movements and fell to the ground sprawling.
Simultaneously, a black ring appeared around his body, absorbing his energies like a parasite trying to suck his blood.
"What?" He wondered as he noticed these two things happening simultaneously, just before he looked at Minos and understood what was happening.
'That's the Devouring Art and Chaotic Gravity!' He thought with a twinkle in his eye, feeling the magnificent powers of his ancestor's chosen one.
"You, identify yourself!" Minos shouted as he pressed that hybrid against the ground and floated a few feet above that muscular man.
Starclaw realized where her master was and quickly moved closer to Minos, transforming into her humanoid version in the blink of an eye.
'Minos, what is it?' She asked as she reached his side.
'This hybrid was approaching us. I want to know his motivations for doing so. We are unknown in this place, so he might be an enemy.' He said in his mental communication with that beast.
Meanwhile, that creature pressed against the ground was still silent, watching Minos intently.
This human was much stronger than his group had expected!
Given the rumors going around the Central Continent and in the Longus family, the people in his group knew how impressive Minos' abilities were. But none of them knew for sure how impressive Emperor Stuart was for his level.
But feeling the powers of Henricus Longus' Golden-grade techniques, that half-breed of humans and apes felt in his skin the difference in power these techniques had because of Emperor Stuart's innate ability.
'He's much stronger than we expected for someone at level 80!' He thought. 'If that's so when he has a higher level, even fewer enemies will be able to rise up against him!'
With that thought, this man smiled bitterly and said. "I am sorry for approaching you so scathingly, Your Majesty Minos Stuart. However, I wish you no harm. I am a member of a faction that wishes to assist you in fulfilling your destiny.
Some of my family may have lost their way along the way, but some will fulfill the mission left by their ancestor no matter how heavy the costs."
Minos and Starclaw looked at this man who spoke with great conviction in his voice, realizing that he was indeed a member of the Longus family.
Noticing this, Minos could not help but look strangely at this fellow and ask. "Are you a subordinate of the Longus family or a member of that lineage?"
That hairy, strong being continued to feel the effects of Chaotic Gravity but did not complain. He looked into Minos' brown eyes and explained. "Isn't it strange that you ask that... I am a family member, a distant relative of the ancestor Henricus Longus.
Unfortunately, the family has declined dramatically over the years, and we have had to move several times to try to stem our decline.
Among the measures my ancestors took to try to maintain the power of the family was to crossbreed with powerful species. My beast ancestor was a Red Titan with whom my human ancestor agreed to mate.
So don't be surprised to find several hybrids in the current generation of the Longus family. We are the majority these days."
'Red Titan?' Starclaw listened to this with interest, noting the powerful lineage of this beast race, which had great physical talents, and experts in brute strength.
This race had no limit, and if one of its descendants was lucky, they even had a chance to reach level 100!
This was a very powerful lineage!
Minos heard that and understood. 'So they agreed to mix their bloodline with others so as not to decay totally.'
That was a great sacrifice for this family!
It could seem like something extremely positive since the hybrids that were born from these lineage mixtures could go further in cultivation. However, for a family that knew of the existence of the Spatial Kingdom and the techniques left behind by Henricus Longus, doing this was the same as giving up several of these things.
First because artifacts made for humans would not work the same way with hybrids. Second, the many techniques left by Henricus Longus would be useless since these beings couldn't train these techniques. Finally, their cultivation paths would be different from those of their ancestor, so items left behind to help them cultivate faster would be useless.
By mixing their lineage with that of beasts, these Longus family members had given up most of the things that could benefit them once they allied themselves with their ancestor's chosen one!
So it was shocking for Minos to find out about this, and he wondered if this creature was not a subordinate of the Longus family.
"I see... But that doesn't seem to have worked out well." Minos commented in a low voice. "What is the current level of the Longus family leaders?"
"Level 91, that's the patriarch's cultivation." He said before adding. "If you took another decade to emerge, he might be at level 92 by then."
"That's really too low... How did you guys get so weak over the years?" Minos asked.
That being sighed and then said in a depressed tone. "Unfortunately, cultivating in seclusion for so long is not easy, Your Majesty.
Internal and external problems have hit us many times in the last million years. We didn't have much control over them and ended up in this situation.
If you want, I can explain everything to you. But please cease your techniques. I am not with the patriarch but with a group of people who wish to support you. I am not your enemy..."
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