Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Asura stepped out of the luxury room and entered the training area created on the ship for Valkyrie and his wives to keep their bodies ready for battle. He stood in his training outfit facing Mu Xue, Xavida, and Vela, while standing on the other side fighting each other were Ignis and Amalia in an unarmed sparring contest.

"Are you prepared? Remember, if you lose against her, Asura may not grant you his time." Mu Xue's words carried a hint of a challenge as she motioned towards Amalia, who maintained a stoic expression.

Asura knew that Mu Xue was provoking the two so that Amalia would fight harder to keep Asura's attention and not lose the chance to spend time with him. However, Amalia's guard became weaker as Ignis lunged forward with a strong jab that connected with Amalia's chin, knocking her to the floor.

Asura glanced at Mu Xue, her expression subtle and smug. She smiled back at him, blowing a kiss, not even trying to hide the fact that she had just taken advantage of the situation to stop Asura and Amalia from growing closer.

"Hurry! Stand up, Amalia. My night of sex relies on you!"

Xavida could only cheer for Amalia because she liked to watch fights and bet her night with Asura with Mu Xue on her.

Ignis scowled and stepped forward to help Amalia up.

Mu Xue strode forward. "You might as well stop; you are fighting without magic and equipment. The difference in strength and skill is too big," she said condescendingly.

Amalia regained her feet, and a stubborn glare came over her eyes. "I can still fight! Captain Ignis, please!"

Ignis turned and gave Asura a searching look, her body ready for a signal from him to stop.

Asura shrugged indifferently.

Amalia would be foolish if she couldn't recognise the difference in strength. She knew Ignis spent countless years training at an equal level as she did for a decade., and, as Mu Xue said, the difference in ability and physical condition was overwhelming.

However, she refused to lose, her fists lifted and bouncing on her feet. Amalia wanted to win. Asura looked at her; although it seemed silly and childish to him, he understood why she was unwilling to lose.

"Fine, since you want to go, get up! Don't whine about your bruises tomorrow," Ignis replied as she assumed her fighting stance once more.

"Be careful," Xavida yelled in a loud voice.

Amalia replied, "Mhmm!" as she attacked Ignis again.

Asura's eyes focused on her. His vision zoomed in on her beautiful, youthful face and muscular body as she fought with all her might. In his eyes, it was just an undulating, beautiful rainbow, its radiant colours bringing warmth and light to his world.

Then the picture faded and turned red as drops of blood began falling like rain on the floor.

"Urgh!"

Her pain-filled, high-pitched cries tore through the air, stabbing into Asura's heart and soul like knives. Her smile and happiness were gone. Tears ran down her bloodied face as she clutched her side in agony, her right arm hanging without power after Ignis assaulted her with a violent series of strikes, almost breaking it.

Ignis stood by in shock, staring at the bloody, broken body of Amalia. "What the fuck is going on?"

Amalia's body was damaged badly enough to need time in the healing pod.

"I'll take care of her." Mu Xue was the first to act.

'I can't believe Ignis is so brutal...' Asura thought before he stepped forward, pushing Mu Xue away and standing above Amalia, whose nose bled heavily while she looked up like an abandoned cat. "Come here, Amalia."

Amalia looked up at Asura. Her tears stopped, but her defeat affected her feelings.

Asura gently extended his hand to help her stand up.

She seemed surprised and reached her hand forward timidly to grab him, her bloody palm touching his skin. He then lifted her into his arms; like a princess, he pulled her head close to his chest.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled under her breath, her hands shaking as they clutched Asura's clothing tightly.

Asura said nothing and walked with Amalia to the healing pod, which was brought from Lorem's room. He placed her in the pod and closed the glass lid. Then he clicked some buttons, and the healing fluid filled it.

However, the moment before it covered her face, he kissed her lips. A small reward. "You did your best. Keep trying."

Her eyes brightened for a moment as a sweet smile appeared on her bloody face, which was quickly covered by the white liquid inside the pod.

Asura returned to the living area, where Vela and Xavida had already come over and started eating dinner. Ignis was outside having a drink by herself. Mu Xue was cleaning the blood in the training area with a cheerful expression.

"Darling!" Xavida leapt into his arms, her food a mixture of ham and cheese. "Delicious!"

"Feeling guilty now? Mu Xue." He didn't mention the kiss or let Xavida go as he stared at Mu Xue, whose playful eyes stared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Come and have something to eat. You'll need the strength for tonight." She grinned at Asura before going back to clean the remaining bloodstains.

"Don't tease me, or I will not let you come tonight." Asura's tone was low and strong, intimidating to Xavida and Vela, who trembled a little in his arms.

"No way..."

"How long will it take until we reach the range of Romantica's land?" He then asked while playing with Vela's ears.

Vela replied in a daze, her eyes shining excitedly when Asura started giving her attention. "Approximately six days!"

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"We'll keep a 50% combat alert and leave the navigation to the others."

"In the meantime, I'll be training with you all from today till we arrive." Asura gave the women a look, his confident face making them turn hot with excitement.

"We'll wait eagerly for your teachings, darling!" Vela was the first to answer, while Xavida silently cheered.

'Oh... these girls think I'm going to take it easy on them.'

Asura knew they thought he would go easy on them, but Lorem and Lucia, who sat on the sofa opposite eating some snacks, knew his look. Both of them giggled while adjusting themselves, wearing training outfits and preparing for combat.

***

Two hours later, the dreadnaught sailed relentlessly across the ocean, ignoring the deadly maelstroms and violent monsters lingering in the deep sea. The other passengers completed their different tasks on board.

Ignis watched as a wave of attacks rained down on Mu Xue's body. Asura's body was like a mirage striking the front before he appeared behind her, and a punch went flying, smashing into Mu Xue's head and knocking her body forward onto the floor.

Mu Xue slowly tried to get up, her pride shaken, but she refused to give up. "Ha..." she let out a cold breath, her body falling towards the floor in exhaustion.

Asura ignored her and looked towards the next opponent, Vela. "Come, we cannot shoot mercy nor allow the enemy to win."

"Yes!"

Asura disappeared and reappeared next to Vela, who desperately tried to block his attacks as they rained down upon her.

It was difficult for her to use magic with her strong restrictions, but Asura had been trying to unlock those shackles. Sometimes, she would fight in a beautiful form, but her magic would slow her down.

He wanted to teach her how to use her magic naturally, thus forcing her to use it by instinct to survive.

The women didn't know, but each of his punches contained more healing force than destructive power; although the pain caused them to collapse or gasp, soon after, a warm and comfortable healing aura would repair their wounds. He loved his wives, after all.

"HAAAA!"

After an hour passed, the same scene appeared as her body collapsed. Mu Xue's head rested on her arms.

'They fought until exhausting their entire magic reserves. Good, this is what I wanted. Now, the hard ones... Lorem, Helliana, Verana and Valerie, their mana reserves are over ten times Xavida and Mu Xue...'

Asura moved on to the others. His combat style had many variations.

Sometimes, he would unleash his overwhelming power to take down the opponent quickly; other times, he would prolong the fight and release his restrictive aura on the person's magic core, forcing them to fight with nothing but their bodies.

"Hmph!" Lorem would not hold back.

She wanted to become stronger so that she could stand by his side as an equal. Her heart felt conflicted about how he could surpass her physically so soon, and even his magic felt denser than a normal Stage Six.

Asura unleashed a powerful fist that met her attack, causing the two fists to send an explosive wind outward, forcing Lorem to slide backwards. She stood up and tried to attack again.

"Haaaaaa!"

Her footsteps left behind an afterimage as she dashed towards him, unleashing a series of punches and kicks that looked like an overlapping constellation of flaming stars in the sky. Asura grinned, dodging her attacks and striking her shoulder and knees with a precise attack before a few more followed.

"Humph!"

He knocked down Lorem several times, but she did not stop. Instead, her punches became stronger and faster, like he was constantly grinding her body into becoming more efficient. She infused her muscles and bones with her flames, healing any damage instantly while empowering each blow with an explosive flame that packed a devastating force.

"Great! Let's continue!" Asura smiled happily, seeing her progress.

"All passengers, please prepare for combat."

"I repeat, all passengers, please prepare for combat with a Stage Six Monster swarm."

As she punched through the window, a communication window popped up between the two people, suddenly causing everyone to feel a moment of confusion.

"What is it?" Asura asked as he stopped his attacks on Lorem's body, turning to glance at Mu Xue.

"We'll take care of it." Mu Xue pulled herself together and replied confidently.

"Yes, we will!"

Lorem nodded at Asura. "Don't worry about us."

"Good! I'll leave it to you then."

He gave a wry smile before sitting down and taking a drink.

The window opened, showing a mass of strange monsters emerging from the ocean surface, with purple beams shooting towards the ships.

"Report! A mass of stage-six monsters has approached the ship. The defence team has deployed a spell that will automatically attack any enemy at the border of the barrier."

"According to the visual reports, the monsters are mutated fish, and they are attempting to surround and enter the ships to consume the crew and passengers."

"Go get 'em, girls." Asura smiled, watching them wear their tight-fitting swimsuits, Mu Xue standing nude, taking longer to wear it just to entice Asura further with a wink.