Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Three days later, beneath a bewitching night sky, everything looked simply mesmerizing.

Under cover of the enchanting darkness, Orion drove forward his cannon fodder troops and cave spider squads, seizing the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Stormrage City.

Outside Stormrage City, the earth had been dyed crimson by blood. Bloodline warriors from every race were locked in a fierce, blazing battle.

Screeech!

Orion rode his thunderhawk in a high-altitude circle, gripping a trident in hand, appearing every bit like a primordial Titan god.

"Big Sis, what now?"

Ella glanced up, staring at the thunderhawk and Orion, her expression grim. As a harpy, the sky was supposed to be their domain—and their battlefield. But with Orion astride his thunderhawk, wielding that devastating trident-throwing skill, it felt like going up against a bomber: simply unstoppable.

Emma and Ella had both tried taking on Orion in the air for a few moments earlier. They lost miserably. If not for their quick reflexes and the desperation of their bodyguards, they'd have been killed then and there.

"He's way too strong. I've never seen an Alpha-level fighter with power like that!"

"Ella, don't rush in. We're no match for him," Emma said, eyes still locked on Orion. Earlier, she'd tried slaying the thunderhawk from above, thinking brute force would win the day. She was almost skewered on the spot by a thrown trident for her trouble.

"So what do we do now?" Ella asked. "They've started the siege, and there are Alpha-level foes out there who seem even stronger than us!"

Boom!

Just as Ella was talking, an explosion rocked Stormrage City. An abyss dragon spat out an Abyssal Flame Bomb that blasted a section of the city wall into rubble.

"Fight back!"

With a resolute cry, Emma raised her longsword. Behind her, countless harpies and Thunderstorm Bearmen surged forward, crashing into the Stoneheart Horde's cannon fodder troops and cave spiders head-on.

Chaos erupted. Orion narrowed his eyes, senses on high alert. He focused on Emma and Ella, briefly pondering before tightening his grip on the trident, an idea forming in his mind.

"Rayden, dive now. Target those two harpies on the wall!"

Thunderhawk Rayden cried out, a piercing scream that split the night. Orion's plan was straightforward: use Emma and Ella to see if Lord Ariel was really watching, perhaps even already here.

In the next instant, Thunderhawk Rayden went into a steep dive. Orion seized the moment and hurled a trident.

Szzzch!

Trailing a blinding tail, the trident streaked down from the sky like a meteor.

"Ella, watch out!"

Sensing death closing in, Emma kicked her sister aside, then shoved another clanmate into the projectile's path as a sacrificial shield.

Boom!

The trident's force was monstrous, obliterating the poor stand-in. It wasn't over yet—Orion had already drawn his trident Flame of Will, aiming to finish Emma off for good.

Rumble!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed from the sky, far more intense than the thunderhawk's own lightning. It descended like a divine judgment, slamming into Orion and the thunderhawk in one resounding crash.

Boom!

Screeech!

The thunderhawk let out a terrible cry as it was blasted backward. Orion and Thunderhawk Rayden plummeted together, struck down in midair.

Whump!

The thunderhawk hit the ground first. Its entire body was charred, feathers practically turned to ash. Its breathing was shallow, its life hanging by a thread. Orion fared little better—his bone armor and ice armor were blasted to bits, even his clothes were shredded.

"It's Lord Ariel!"

"Our mother has arrived!"

Outside the fallen city walls, Darkbolt and Silvershock—locked in combat with Slagor, Onyx, Thundar, and the abyss dragon—as well as Emma and Ella, all turned their gazes skyward in excitement. Standing in the sky was the harpy chieftain herself, ruler of Thunderwood Forest: Ariel.

Lord Ariel was wreathed in crackling lightning. She gazed down at Orion slowly picking himself up.

"Did you ever imagine a day like this, giant?"

Her voice was cold and imperious, laced with scorn. The memory of having two of her will projections destroyed by this giant made her burn with humiliation. But that hardly mattered—her prey was before her now, courtesy of Lord Gareth's designs.

"Wondering how I got here?" she asked. "Well, I hate to spill the secret, but this was Lord Gareth's plan all along. Surprised?"

The ones truly shocked were the defenders of Stormrage City—Darkbolt, Silvershock, Emma, Ella, and the rest. As for Lilith, Onyx, and Thundar, they had already suspected something like this. Still, to see it all unfold made their expressions grow dark.

The most clueless of the bunch was probably Slagor, who'd come from the Poison Dragon Swamp. His face was deathly pale—he was the only one who seemed to have no idea what was happening, and worse, it involved a Legendary-level being.

"Damn you, Orion. What the hell have you done?" Slagor muttered. "Now Lord Ariel has shown up at Stormrage City. What now… what do we do now…"

He was spinning in circles, torn between fleeing and fearing that any sudden move would draw Ariel's wrath and a swift death.

While Slagor stood there panicking, Lilith, Onyx, and Thundar focused on Orion. They pinned all their hopes on him. If Orion failed, it was sure death for them all. They'd realized that much the day they were chosen to leave Blackstone City.

But Orion wasn't about to let that happen. In his mind, he was still aiming to kill a Legendary-level lord and increase his own power. Initially, he had expected Lord Gareth, but it turned out to be Lord Ariel instead.

"So, this is transcendent power," Orion thought. "Definitely on a whole different level than any old bloodline strength."

He rose to his feet, ignoring the injured thunderhawk at his side. Naked from head to toe, his muscled body was covered in blood. On his chest, the Curse of a Hundred Blossoms emblem glowed with a strange, crystalline radiance, giving him a wild, violent aura touched by a faint sense of the divine.

"Praise the Titan gods. I offer up half of my own life energy, in exchange for the might of the ancient titan giants!"