Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Thunderwood Forest, somewhere deep in the southern region.

The Storm Vulture circled overhead before descending, and Arden dismounted, prostrating himself before Lord Gareth, who was seated on the Abyssal dragon.

"Milord, your orders have been delivered!"

Lord Gareth opened her eyes, and a golden light flickered within them.

"How many troops did they bring?"

Arden kept his head lowered, not daring to meet Lord Gareth's gaze. His manner was humble and deferential to the extreme.

"Slagor brought eighty thousand bloodline warriors and ten thousand swamp crocodiles.

"Soraya of the scorpion tribe came with the High Priestess and one giant scorpion warrior. I'm not sure exactly how many scorpions she brought, but it's quite a lot.

"The giant chieftain, Orion, led fifty thousand cave spiders, forty thousand bloodline warriors, and three Alpha-level powerhouses."

When Orion's name was mentioned, Lord Gareth's pupils contracted briefly.

"All right, that's enough. You may leave."

Lifting her eyes, Lord Gareth gazed toward Stormrage City. That place would be the epicenter of this latest invasion—and the site where Orion and the others would meet their end.

Prior to the first invasion, Gareth had held Orion in high regard and intended to cultivate him.

However, during that first invasion, Orion had offended her at the assembly point, and she had let it slide. But after her subordinate, Ridi, was killed and her will projection destroyed, Lord Gareth realized Orion truly felt no fear toward her.

A subordinate who doesn't fear you can do anything, can't he? So Orion had to die.

Moreover, Orion's death couldn't be pinned on Gareth; if she acted rashly, it would dishearten the other Alpha-level powerhouses, making them unwilling to follow her in the future.

But Lord Gareth wasn't the only person who wanted Orion dead. Lord Ariel did, too. Not long ago, Gareth and Ariel had conspired, and after a series of compromises and concessions, both saw their chance.

"Orion, I'm dying to see if you can really kill a Legendary-level fighter."
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Another reason Gareth didn't want to end Orion personally was that she didn't want to risk it. Orion once claimed he could take her down, and she'd never believed it—at least, not until her will projection had been destroyed. From that point on, she had no choice but to believe him.

…

A month flew by in the blink of an eye.

One day, Orion was riding his thunderhawk, soaring high above the battlefield, watching Onyx, Slagor, and the Abyssal dragon assault a city.

Thunderhawk City, a place Orion had once burned to the ground, had been rebuilt thoroughly over the course of more than a year.

"Orion, that harpy's trying to flee!"

Thunderhawk Rayden, who had yet to make a move, was keeping a close eye on the Alpha-level defender of Thunderhawk City—a harpy named Talora.

"Don't let her get away!"

"Got it!"

On the ground, the Abyssal dragon launched an Abyssal Flame Bomb, blasting the city walls of Thunderhawk City to rubble once again.

Onyx and Slagor immediately led their forces—one from the front, one from the rear—storming into the city.

Moments later, a figure took flight in a desperate attempt to escape south.

Boom!

Crackle!

A bolt of lightning shot forth, followed closely by a three-pronged spear. Harpy Talora didn't even last two rounds before she was annihilated.

With an Alpha-level fighter killed, the gnolls, satyrs, harpies and geckos in Thunderhawk City promptly surrendered and were absorbed into Orion's cannon fodder troops.

As for other resources, Lilith and Thundar had already led teams to loot the place.

Among them, Dirtclaw was the most enthusiastic; he was intimately familiar with Thunderhawk City, knowing exactly where the valuable items were stashed. He led a squad from the cannon fodder troops to ransack every last corner of the city.

The calmest of all was Onyx.

Once the city was taken, he returned to Orion's side. Orion didn't seem to mind. He knew what Onyx was worried about, but there was no need to speak of it.

"Lilith and Thundar are venturing out for the first time. Getting an initial victory like this, they're bound to give in to temptation," Orion murmured to himself. He sounded both regretful and as if he were trying to reassure himself.

"Chieftain, is our next target Stormrage City?"

"Yes."

"The Thunderstorm Bearmen in Stormrage City are pretty stubborn, and they've got Darkbolt and Silvershock—both Alpha-level. There's a chance more harpy reinforcements could show up."

"I know. As long as no Legendary-level combatant shows up, we'll be fine."

Orion was confident. Lord Gareth was keeping her distance, leaving Orion both cautious and a little freewheeling at the same time.

"Prophet, you think Thunderhawk City might surprise us somehow?" Onyx's question struck a somber note, and Orion deliberately changed the subject. Capturing Thunderhawk City was a victory, after all, something worth celebrating.

Onyx stayed silent. By now, no matter what spoils they found, it wouldn't change his mindset.

By late afternoon, the looting in Thunderhawk City finally ceased, along with the violence, burning, and pillaging.

Of course, the same was true for all the indulgent acts—those acts of raiding, raping, and plundering. Orion's cannon fodder troops and Slagor's forces had let themselves enjoy the moment. It was customary, after all, and Orion had no intention of putting a stop to it.

"Orion, our haul is huge!"

Night was falling as Lilith and Thundar finally emerged from Thunderhawk City, beaming with joy. Orion nodded, not paying it much heed.

After waiting a whole day, no one had delivered any truly shocking finds. It seemed that despite a year of rebuilding, Thunderhawk City's reserves still weren't all that impressive.

"Orion, when do we head to the next target?"

Before long, Slagor also strode out of Thunderhawk City, looking quite satisfied with himself. Orion shot him a glance; he had obviously been indulging in sex with the surrendering harpies and satyrs.

"You can have the geckos. Everything else belongs to me. Any objections?"

Slagor's eyes lit up at that. He nodded without the slightest complaint. He'd counted the geckos back in the city; there were at least thirty thousand of them if you included the elderly and children, which was a pretty substantial gain.

"We'll rest for two days, then head for our next mark—Stormrage City."

Having said that, Orion wrapped an arm around Lilith and walked back toward Thunderhawk City.

"Slagor," Onyx called out, "even though we've already taken Thunderhawk City, don't let your guard down. We must keep up patrols and stay alert."

Slagor, always afraid of dying, didn't need Onyx's words to remind him to stay vigilant. Still, he found something off about Orion's people. Some of them seemed anxious, while others were treading carefully.

"That's strange. Are they really that worried about heading south for this invasion? I don't get it."

Slagor genuinely didn't understand. As far as he was concerned, Orion was scary strong. With Lord Gareth keeping Lord Ariel busy, Slagor saw no reason why Orion shouldn't be raising hell without restraint.