Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Thunderwood Forest, Stormrage City.

Darkbolt and Silvershock led a squad of their tribe members to the central plaza, where they met a harpy unit that had arrived to reinforce Stormrage City.

"Greetings, Princess Emma, Princess Ella!" Darkbolt and Silvershock both lowered their heads in salute. Standing before them were two Alpha-level powerhouses—Lord Ariel's daughters.

"Brave Darkbolt and mighty Silvershock, our mother sent us to help defend your city. We've also brought a large contingent of harpy warriors," Emma said.

Darkbolt and Silvershock exchanged a glance, each seeing surprise in the other's eyes. They had expected Lord Ariel to send ordinary reinforcements, but they never imagined she'd send both of her daughters—along with ten thousand flying harpies. In a single stroke, Stormrage City's defenses had shot up dramatically.

"Your Highnesses, please come with us. We've prepared a welcome feast in your honor," Darkbolt offered.

Emma nodded and led her sister, Ella, plus a few personal guards off toward the banquet.

"Hey, Sis," Ella whispered, "why are you being so polite to these two bear-men? Shouldn't we just take over and assume command?"

"Did you forget what Mother told us before we left?" Emma shot Ella an icy, stern look.

Ella shrank back at her sister's glare and quickly fell silent.

Out in front, Darkbolt and Silvershock guided the way, exchanging uneasy looks. It wasn't easy to decide on their next move.

A short while later, halfway through the feast, Darkbolt—speaking on behalf of Stormrage City—rose to proclaim his loyalty.

"Princess Emma, my brother and I are only good at fighting. We're not cut out to manage a city, and we can't keep the big picture under control.

"We hope you'll take charge and help us protect Stormrage City. We Thunderstorm Bearmen will follow your orders and defend these walls—and you and your sister—with our lives."

Emma was a bit taken aback that Darkbolt and Silvershock would willingly hand over command so quickly. After a moment's thought, though, she realized it made sense. Given her status, she supposed it wasn't that surprising.

"Chieftains, I'm here under my mother's orders to assist this city. The command is only yours to lend; once the fighting is over, whatever belongs to you still belongs to you."

With that one line, Emma managed to win over Darkbolt and Silvershock. And for their part, the two brothers were quite satisfied with this arrangement. Stormrage City might not be much to harpies, but to the Thunderstorm Bearmen, it was home.

"Your Highness, we've got scouts reporting that the northern invaders will likely reach Stormrage City in three days at most," Darkbolt said. The feast had been going for over an hour, the transfer of command was settled, and he clearly didn't want to waste time on pointless talk.

Directness was a trait of the Thunderstorm Bearmen, and Darkbolt and Silvershock were no exception.

"Both of you, please stay calm," Emma replied. "Before I arrived at Stormrage City, I already sent some of our people to scout. I'm sure we'll get solid intel back soon."

Darkbolt and Silvershock traded a quick look, each now holding Emma in higher regard.

"All right then, Princess—we'll leave everything up to your plans," Silvershock said with a nod.

"Good!" Emma answered.

…

Thunderwood Forest, somewhere in the depths of the woods.

"Orion, we'll likely reach Stormrage City in three days. How are we planning to breach their defenses this time?"

Slagor still felt some apprehension about Stormrage City. Last time he and Orion attacked it together, they'd failed to take it, proof enough of how formidable the Thunderstorm Bearmen were.

"If they have no reinforcements, you, Onyx, Thundar, and the Abyssal dragon will just gang up on Darkbolt and Silvershock—simple as that," Orion said.

"And if reinforcements do show?"

"Then we each hold them off until I can step in."

In truth, launching an invasion can be pretty risky, especially when the enemy chooses to defend from behind solid walls. The attacker often has no choice but to bite the bullet and charge. Orion glanced at Slagor, knowing the man was nervous and a bit cowardly.

"And besides," Orion went on, "if the fight goes south, we can always retreat. Nobody told you to throw your life away. Why so paranoid?"

Slagor gave an awkward chuckle. Faced with any powerful enemy, he always made sure to plan an escape route. This time was no different.

Just then, a shrill hawk cry echoed across the sky. Orion looked up, his expression turning cold.

Moments later, Thunderhawk Rayden swooped back, dropping off a battered, near-unconscious harpy at Orion's feet.

"Master," Rayden said, "this shady thing was circling around our area for a while. Thought something wasn't right."

Orion tossed a few Pet Pills to Thunderhawk Rayden as a reward. Rayden's eagerness was mostly driven by the desire to snag those treats.

"A harpy scout. Care to tell me what brought you here?" Orion asked, stepping closer.

Unfortunately, the harpy wasn't cooperative. She refused to speak a single word.

"Lilith, she's all yours," Orion ordered.

Lilith nodded, hauled the harpy into a makeshift tent, and emerged a short while later, with the prisoner nowhere to be found.

"Any big revelations?" Orion asked.

"Yes," Lilith answered.

Onyx, Thundar, and Slagor immediately drew nearer, eager to hear more.

"Lord Ariel dispatched two Alpha-level harpy powerhouses to help defend Stormrage City—apparently with ten thousand harpy bloodline warriors in tow. And those two Alpha-level fighters have a special status.

"They're Lord Ariel's daughters, named Emma and Ella."

Lilith's intel plunged the group into deep thought—even Orion fell silent, a furrow etched into his brow.

"So, Lord Ariel sent her own kids to help. Not worried I might kill them all?" Orion muttered. "Wait, I've already destroyed two of Lord Ariel's will projections, so she definitely knows my capability.

"She wouldn't send her daughters to die unless…"

"Unless, in her calculations, this is a guaranteed win. She's betting that you're as good as dead," Lilith said quietly, picking up on Orion's line of thought.

"Which means… Lord Ariel is highly likely to show up in person," Orion concluded.

He was no stranger to battle, and experience told him a few uncomfortable truths.

"If that's really how it is," he continued, "then what's Lord Gareth up to? Isn't Lord Ariel supposed to be her enemy?

Or maybe this is all a trap… aimed at me."

Realizing that possibility, a faint tremor ran through Orion's body. He hid it quickly enough that no one seemed to notice.

"In that light, it makes sense why Lord Gareth never appeared at the Gathering Grounds," he mused.

Now it was clear: the southern invasion was just a pretext. The real plan was to lure Orion in and eliminate him. And Soraya from the Desert Oasis, plus Slagor from the Poison Dragon Swamp, were simply pawns in this scheme—expendable extras dragged along for the ride.