Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"What do you want?"

That simple question meant they could sit down and talk things through, avoid fighting, and keep their relationship from turning sour.

"Poison Dragon Swamp, Slagor, the Half-Moon Lake area of Thunderwood Forest, plus a route to keep heading south afterward."

Orion's smile faded, replaced by a look of utter seriousness.

Lord Gareth regarded Orion carefully while the Abyssal dragon beneath her kept roaring and snarling.

"You're not asking for much."

Lord Gareth didn't say yes or no. She was probing Orion.

"With the Stoneheart Horde's current capabilities, that's all we can manage," he answered. "Besides, Lord Gareth, even if we have our differences, we should be closer to each other than to the other lords in these parts, shouldn't we?"

The point was clear—Orion was promising not to invade Gareth's territory further down the line. Instead, they could stand together and move south as allies. After all, they'd been on the same side before.

Lord Gareth frowned. Orion's words reminded her that Lord Jorik wasn't their only potential enemy around the Four Domains. Now that a sizeable chunk of Thunderwood Forest might become her territory, she'd have to deal with even more threats. That insight made her expression soften somewhat when she looked at Orion.

"Your demands are acceptable," she finally said, "but your current southern invasion has to stop. Right now."

That was Gareth's condition: letting Orion invade any farther would practically be an invasion of her own lands. Orion sighed, disappointed to lose the chance to grab the rest of Thunderwood Forest's goodies.

"Fine," he said, pretending to agree reluctantly. The crestfallen look on his face was obvious.

"I want you to swear on your honor that you will never invade my territory," Gareth continued, "and likewise, I'll swear not to invade yours. We'll mind our own business—no attacks on either side."

Orion gazed steadily at Lord Gareth. He didn't actually buy into the idea of a vow with no real safeguards—it could be broken anytime. Still, under Gareth's stare, he gave a slow nod, accepting her terms.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the two Abyssal dragons, Orion and Gareth pledged their oaths to each other.

"Stormrage City is part of my territory now," Gareth said coldly. "You need to clear out."

Orion studied Gareth for a moment. Then, in a forthright tone, he responded, "Very well."

He raised his right hand, signaling a retreat. Instantly, Slagor, Lilith, Onyx, Thundar, and the others on Stormrage City's walls breathed a collective sigh of relief. A brutal battle had just been averted.

Roar! Roar!

Following two piercing snarls from the Abyssal dragons, Orion and Gareth pulled away from each other.

"Pack your things. We're leaving Stormrage City and heading toward Half-Moon Lake," Orion ordered. Slagor, Onyx, and the rest didn't dare question him; they simply followed orders, organizing their people and withdrawing from the city.

---

Three days later, somewhere deep in Thunderwood Forest:

"Orion, the broadskull ravens we released came back with reports—no sign of Gareth's forces tracking us!" Lilith said excitedly, practically buzzing with energy. With Gareth's troops nowhere in sight, they were safe for the time being.

"Master, so Half-Moon Lake and Poison Dragon Swamp really are part of your territory now?" Slagor still hadn't quite come to terms with all this. In just a few days, his Poison Dragon Swamp had been used as a bargaining chip and changed hands. In Gareth's eyes, Slagor apparently held no value whatsoever.

"Not just that," Orion replied. "Gareth will also give us a route to head south. That's another reason I targeted the Half-Moon Lake region—moving south through that area will help us avoid friction with Lord Gareth."

All things considered, Orion hadn't demanded much compared to the size of Thunderwood Forest—but his hand was forced by circumstances.

The Stoneheart Horde didn't have the population yet to hold down a huge territory. Running Black Forest, Poison Dragon Swamp, and Half-Moon Lake together was already pushing it. Especially in Half-Moon Lake, they might only manage a half-baked system of control. Orion would likely have to leave it to the swamp tribes under Slagor, since the Black Forest troops wouldn't be a great fit for that environment.

"Chieftain, so we really are splitting the land with Gareth, each of us ruling our own realm?" Onyx asked in disbelief. He never imagined Orion would reach such a point so quickly—it was all surreal to him.

Honestly, Orion himself had plenty of mixed feelings about it. That day, brazenly bluffing in front of Gareth… he still wasn't sure where he'd found the nerve. Thinking it over now, the memory still made his heart pound. Continue your adventure at empire

"Chieftain, you're the greatest leader our giant race has ever had!" Thundar declared fervently. As a fellow giant, he saw Orion carving out this massive domain for their people—it was a source of incredible pride. Thundar's eyes blazed with passion; if he were a female giant, he would've thrown himself at Orion without hesitation.

"Let's pick up the pace!" Orion urged. "We'll hurry back to the Black Forest and put all the resources we seized to good use—that's what really matters."

He pulled a magical plant from his storage ring and ate it, relishing the flood of rich energy coursing through his body. Gradually, the tension he'd been carrying began to fade.

…

Meanwhile, at Thunderpeak Mountain in Thunderwood Forest, news of Lord Ariel's death had spread like wildfire. The harpy race was the first to feel the blow. Other tribes long oppressed by the harpies immediately lashed back, turning on them.

Even before Lord Gareth could reach Thunderpeak Mountain, chaos had broken out. Emma and Ella, taking some of the harpies' prized resources and loyal bloodline kin, didn't stick around; they flew directly south in escape. Flight was a natural advantage for the harpies, making their getaway quick and fortuitous, saving them from further losses.

Emma and Ella's abrupt departure was one of the reasons Thunderwood Forest finally erupted into total turmoil. The Fireraven Tribe was also in a pinch, and so was Rowena, who was trapped there.

The Fireraven Tribe served as the harpies' vassals, living right in the harpies' established territory, and they too were hammered by the onslaught from other races.

As the chaos wore on, Rowena changed rapidly. Plenty of men had slept with her; she had slept with plenty of them, too. By exploiting her body and vagin, she managed—thanks to help from those men—to form a contract with a hero-level thunderhawk.

Right now, Rowena kicked the Fireraven Tribe's young chieftain, Seth, out of her way, grabbed his personal stash, and fled south.

Rowena knew quite well that her brother was the one Orion had killed. And with Orion powerful enough to take down even Lord Ariel, she had no choice but to flee Thunderwood Forest—putting as much distance between them as possible.