Maximus arrived at the Sunburnt Plateau one month later, aboard a black flying boat.
The reason it’s called a plateau instead of an island is that it is a relatively high ground that the seawater cannot reach.
Almost all of the low-lying islands had either sunk with the sea or been swallowed by sea beasts during a beast tide.
The flying boat quickly reached Moonlight Kingdom, his territory.
Observing the high ground, Maximus noticed that the people lived in a specific pattern based on a blueprint he bought from the system.
This natural formation array structure caused the corrosive mana to gather in the Moonlight Kingdom, purifying it to some extent.
Even without the magic materials for finishing touches, it was already showing great promise.
Natural formation arrays are rarely used because they are tedious and require precise calculations to form without the need for array materials.
It’s like shaping a mountain in a specific pattern to achieve a specific task.
So naturally, no one bothered to study such a thing when they had an abundance of materials to create a normal array.
Except for the continental array as it was a combination of natural and artificial formation array.
As he arrived in Moonshadow City, the people were shocked to find a flying boat hovering above the city.
“What is that?” one person said.
“Could it be an invasion?” another citizen asked.
The soldiers quickly sprang into action, sending smoke signals to prepare for an enemy.
Observing the chaos below, Maximus was dumbfounded.
Then he remembered that he had snuck out when he used the flying boat to avoid arousing suspicion.
However, on the Arcane Continent, flying and mechanical vessel were too common that even ordinary people could afford one.
Maximus swiftly sent out his spiritual consciousness to appease the city.
“It’s me, your lord,” he said.
“So it’s the lord,” one of the citizens replied, patting his chest.
“Long live my lord!” Some people even started praising him.
Knowing it was a false alarm, the soldiers came back to their post.
Ignoring the commotion below, he quickly piloted the flying boat toward his castle.
Fortunately, there was a large open space in front of the gate to land.
As he descended in the flying boat, he saw his children and wives running towards him.
Apparently, the earlier commotion had alerted them.
“Daddy!” Lyla ran to him for a hug.
Since they were still far away from the flying boat, he flew towards them to reach them quickly.
He didn’t know what to say for a while, so he hugged the running Lyla tightly.
Seeing Lily and Lydia shyly standing in place, he walked over to them and also pulled them into his arms for a warm embrace.
“I missed you,” he expressed what he felt.
Looking at his wives and children, he truly missed them.
“I missed you too, Dad,” Lily sweetly said, her face blushing as she continued to bury herself in his chest during the hug.
“Me too, me too! I missed you so much, Daddy!” Lyla, the lively child, chimed in while in his arms.
“Me too,” the quiet Lydia softly spoke.
After quickly setting down the girls, he turned to the boys.
Liam shyly gave him a quick hug, unable to find the words to say.
Nathan, equally shy, followed his brother Liam’s lead and also gave their father a quick hug.
But Max was just like Lyla—an energetic child.𝞸𝓥xt.𝒪𝑚
He jumped up and hugged his father’s neck, exclaiming, “I missed you, Daddy! Where is my gift from your travels?”
Maximus was quickly dumbfounded as he had forgotten to bring them gifts, but then he remembered his system mall, realizing that this problem was easily solvable.
Thinking about what to buy, he considered giving them pets, but not just any pets but a magical beast creature.
“Of course, how could I forget gifts?” Maximus bluffed.
“Yay!” Max raised his hand in celebration, breaking the hug.
His other children were also delighted at the thought of receiving gifts.
Before giving the gifts to his children, Maximus went to his wives and embraced them, one by one.
“I missed you,” Maximus said once again.
His wives were also happy and gave him kisses and hugs in return.
Looking at his two youngest children, Sam and Luke, who were standing behind his wives.
He lowered his head and asked, “Do you miss Daddy?”
The two nodded and hugged him tightly.
Sam and Luke were barely a year old, but they could already stand, eat, and talk like children who were about two years old.
Their growth was thanks to the magical food solution they had been given as babies.
Unfortunately, Liam and Lily had missed out on that due to his poor circumstances back then, so their development had been delayed.
Fortunately, Maximus had made up their bodies to prevent them from suffering in comparison to their siblings.
So, even though Liam and Lily were only four years old, they already had the physique of seven-year-old children.
Meanwhile, Isabella stood in the corner of the gate, a little farther away, giving the family some space.
Isabella was somewhat jealous, but not because of Maximus; rather, she longed for a family of her own.
When she was just a child, her father died, and her mothers were indifferent, their focus solely on the property her father had left behind.
Fortunately, she was a talented mage, so she managed to cope well.
Maximus also noticed Isabella and simply smiled at her.
Maximus turned his attention back to his children and asked, “Are you ready for your gifts?”
“YES!” Max and Lyla exclaimed in unison.
The others quickly nodded their heads, their eyes shining with excitement.
“Let me get your gifts from the flying boat,” Maximus said as he walked toward the boat.
“Wow! Is that the thing that can fly?” Max exclaimed with excitement.
“Can we ride it?” Max continued, eager to experience flying.
“Of course! Let’s go. I’ll take you for a spin,” Maximus led his children and wives to the flying boat.
Once inside, his children ran around, exploring and clicking on whatever they could.
Fortunately, the boat had automatic controls and only responded to mana signatures, so there was no danger.
Maximus entered the control room and set the boat to cruise mode, allowing it to fly in circles over the Moonlight Kingdom.
Then he led them to the viewing deck, where they could feel the sensation. Because from the inside, the flying boat seemed just like a normal room.
The boat quickly took off, eliciting gasps of amazement from everyone.
Although his wives were either Tier 1 official mages or Tier 2 great knights, they had never experienced flying before, so it was a new and thrilling experience for them.
His wives, seeing the people their husband ruled working below in contentment also brought smiles to their faces.
“Look, the people down there look so small,” Layla exclaimed, drawing attention to her siblings.
“Wow, they’re so little, even smaller than us,” Max chimed in, nodding his head.
Liam and Lily just stood there, trying to appear mature, but secretly marveling at the scene.
However, Lydia buried her head in Maximus’s shoulder, trembling slightly. It seemed she had a fear of heights.
As for the two little children, Sam and Luke, they were happily cradled in their mothers’ arms, enjoying the warm breeze.
Observing this scene, Maximus smiled and quickly browsed through the system for the perfect pet to give to his children.
First, he thought of Liam. He looked for a lion-type creature that matched Liam’s personality of being calm and composed, like a born king.
[Dawnfire White Lion Cub: Born from a Tier 6 Dawnfire White Lion. They are born to rule with hope and fire. It has a hint of a Tier 9 bloodline of the Dawnfire Celestial White Lion. Price: 3 billion.]
Usually, when a cub was born from a Tier 6 beast, it would grow up to become a Tier 6 beast. Maximus would have preferred to buy a Tier 7 or higher beast cub, but he passed on it when he saw the price.
Starting from Tier 7 products, the prices would increase by hundreds of times. Moreover, for a Tier 9, the price would increase by thousands or even tens of thousands of times.
With only over 400 million low-grade crystals or 400 billion gold points, he needed to make the most of it.
He chose those with a hint of Tier 9 bloodline so that in the future when he had enough money, he could purify their bloodline.
After choosing a beast pet for Liam, he considered what would suit Lily best.
Lily had a natural beauty and a cold nature, commanding everyone’s respect, as if she were a queen. No one dared to oppose her words.
He quickly selected a beast pet that matched her characteristics.
[Nether Boa Snake Cub: Born from a Tier 6 Nether Boa Snake. They rule over the deathly nether, worshipped as the goddess of darkness. It has a hint of a Tier 9 Nether Seraphim Snake, which embodies both holiness and darkness. Price: 4 billion.]