"Wohoho! We already reached here within minutes," Vyrion gasped. "It took us twenty-eight days to reach Forlorn City from here."

"Vyrion, which city is this?" I asked as we moved outside the forest.

"Sir, this is the city where I used to work as a watchman," Vyrion stated. "The name of this city is Dreadspire. It's also called the First City, as this is the place from where the Abandoned Land starts. Five hundred miles ahead of this city is the border of the Main Land."

Vyrion's words brought a faint smile to my face, giving me a sense of reaching one step closer to my aim.

"Main Land… I will come soon—"

Smack!

"Brat, how dare ya throw these mischievous kids at me!" Jambavan growled, hitting my head.

"Ouch! I thought you must be getting bored eating and sleeping all day, so I brought some toys for you to play with," I replied, rubbing my head while giving him an assuring smile that didn't look sincere at all.

"T-toys!" Vyrion's squad muttered, obviously offended by my remark. Meanwhile, Jambavan was even more pissed.

"Ya are sayin' that Ay eat and sleep all day?"

His fist came for another punch, but Ume stepped in and coaxed, "Jambavan, aren't you curious to see how the Vyoman of this era looks? Isn't it your first time outside the city like this?"

His focus shifted from me, and he began scanning his surroundings.

"Haha, yer right, Yer Majesty, it's indeed mah first time outside like this," Jambavan said, completely forgetting about me.

"Thanks, my lady," I whispered in Ume's ear.

"Don't trick him again. I won't help you next time," Ume hissed, pulling my ear.

"Aow-aow, I got it—I got it," I begged, tapping out.

"Wh-what in the world is going on here!" Vyrion gasped. "Is he really the fearsome Lucifer who killed a thousand Awakeners with a single swing of his sword?"

"Yeah, I can't believe he's the same person we fought in the war," Armin added.

While those two were in shock at seeing the sudden change in my behaviour, Feralin and Gajendra were utterly flabbergasted.

"Wh-what did you just call the master, mya?" Feralin asked Ume, her lips shivering.

"So you weren't the only one who heard it wrong, hrmm," Gajendra added.

"Oh no! They must have heard you calling him Jambavan," I whispered to Ume.

"Well, we never intended to hide our identities in the first place," Ume stated before turning to Jambavan. "Do you wish to hide it?"

"Ay only took the alias name similar to the children in the underground city to let 'em have a familiar sense with me," Jambavan added.

"M-master, are you truly him?" Gajendra asked, breathing heavily as if he would faint at any time.

"Oy kids, since yer gonna be my disciple, remember my name," Jambavan said before announcing in a loud, clear voice, "Mah real name is Jambavan!"

The moment Feralin and Gajendra heard his name, the two dropped to their knees in awe, their eyes brimming with tears.

"H-how could we be so ignorant? The beast with bear ears, as tall as a mountain, carrying absolute authority in his very presence," Gajendra murmured, his voice laced with pure awe.

"I-it all makes sense now. The sudden appearance of a lost array of ancient times. The overwhelming defeat of the strongest force of the Abandoned Land within a day after being attacked. It's… it's something only a god could do."

The two hit their heads on the ground with a loud thud and declared, "Please forgive these foolish mortals for not recognising Yours Truly sooner."

Their voices began cracking as they continued, heads low, "Welcome back, Yours Truly—God of Strength, Lord Jambavan. The beasts of Vyoman have been waiting for your return for the past thousand years!"

"G-god!" Vyrion and Armin exclaimed in shock.

In an instant, Gajendra's trunk elongated, grabbed the two by their necks, and forced them into the ground.

"Show some respect!" Gajendra growled.

"Ay don't mind yer bow, but yer showin' disrespect to Her Majesty by bowin' before me in her presence."

"Th-the lady whom even Yours Truly calls by a respectful title…" Feralin murmured, trembling under the absolute pressure.

"Th-there is only one being who can command such reverence," Gajendra added.

Fur sprouted on the bodies of the two beasts, their forms twisting and transforming into their beast state.

Feralin turned into a large white cat, while Gajendra transformed into an elephant with tusks half the size of my body.

"Y-you are really doing it?" Vyrion asked in shock.

"Is this lady actually her, that you decided to transform?" Armin mumbled in utter disbelief.

Without replying to Vyrion or Armin, the two sat on the ground, all four limbs placed flat, their chins touching the earth.

"O Lady of the Sacred Throne, Bearer of the Divine Light, and Goddess of all Beasts—The Almighty Gumiho, these servants congratulate Yours Almighty on her divine return."

"Th-that was one hell of a welcome," I exclaimed inwardly, literally getting goosebumps.

Ume's eyes and hair glowed with ethereal pink, her feet lifted from the ground, and she rose dozens of feet into the air. Three tails uncoiled behind her, and an overpowering Soulforce emerged from her body.

However, instead of the suffocating pressure I should have felt from such intense Soulforce, the sensation was strangely soothing.

I had never felt this kind of pressure from her before. The dry ground beneath us sprouted with healthy grass, and in an instant, the whole land filled with blooming flowers. The trees behind us grew taller, and even the wind itself turned pure and calm. It was as if her Soulforce breathed life into everything it touched.

Jambavan, who stood beside her, instantly knelt, his head down and eyes closed in reverence.

In a slow, graceful movement, her tail moved toward Feralin and Gajendra and lightly brushed their heads.

The moment her tail touched them, their Soulforce surged, and the two instantly made a breakthrough.

"You may rise…" Ume's divine voice echoed, sending shivers down my spine.

"So this is the true power of her divine Soulforce," I murmured inwardly. "And here I was, foolishly thinking the gap between us wasn't that wide."

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