Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

The Bottomless Abyss—a true burial ground.

Boom!

Clymene gripped her warhammer, her body shrouded in deathly energy. With a mighty swing, she crushed an Alpha-level beetle, finishing it off in one clean hit.

"Clymene, what should we do now?"

Giant Elder Grendel stepped forward, battle axe in hand. A large chunk of flesh had been torn off his arm, but no blood leaked from the wound. Rather, in the dense swirl of deathly energy surrounding them, the wound was slowly mending itself.

They were Skeletal Knights. This death energy was the source of their strength. You could say this place was paradise for beings like them.

"Let's find somewhere around here to set up a few tents," Clymene said. "We'll make this our starting point for a new journey."

She dug a crystal core out of the beast's carcass, dropping it into a leather pouch.

"Okay, little ones, it's all yours!"

Obeying her command, a group of Death Spiders skittered in from the surrounding area, crawling over each other to devour the beast.

"Once our temporary camp is set up and the next batch of hatchling spiders arrives, we'll send a few Death Spiders back up. We've been out of contact so long, Orion must be losing his mind waiting for news."

Clymene was already impressively built, and ever since entering the Bottomless Abyss, she had absorbed plenty of deathly energy. This energy formed a black cloak billowing behind her, moving even without wind, making her look every bit like a warrior goddess.

"This place suits us way better than the surface, Clymene!"

The other four Giant Elders—Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, and Balgor—walked over, clearly fired up. They'd just fought an Alpha-level beast together and found it exhilarating.

Through the heat of that battle, they finally understood what Orion had turned them into. As long as deathly energy was present, they were essentially undying.

"It sure does," Clymene agreed. "But we've still got a tough job ahead."

She lifted her gaze to the pitch-black opening above, looking solemn. The reason she chose to set up a temporary base here was to guard that dark gap. As long as the powerful subterranean creatures couldn't crawl up, the Stoneheart Horde—Clymene's loved ones, her fellow giants—would stay safe.

"This is the responsibility we carry."

Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, and Grendel also gazed upward. They all suddenly realized exactly what Clymene intended.

"Don't worry. With us and these little spiders standing guard, nothing gets through!"

"Yeah, and Orion will keep sending more spiders our way, so we're not fighting alone."

"For the Horde!"

"…"

————————

Blackstone City, South Gate Wall.

Ever since Orion left to head south, Rendall and Delilah had been alternating shifts to protect this place.

"You're telling me those fiend serpents just turned around for no reason and went back to the Abyssal Chasm?"

"That's correct, Arch Elder."

Rendall and Delilah were chatting. Some time ago, Lilith had tamed a swarm of broadskull ravens and handed them over to the Sentinel Corps.

Now that Delilah was in charge of the Sentinel Corps, she relied on these ravens to keep an eye on the entire Black Forest. Which meant she knew, practically to the hour, when Orion left the Black Forest. In other words, her surveillance of the forest was rock solid.

The fiend serpent horde, originally swarming south with overwhelming force toward Blackstone City, had inexplicably turned around halfway and returned to the Abyssal Chasm.

It was actually part of Lord Gareth's plan. Originally, she'd hoped Orion would be killed under the guise of "invading" Stormrage City. With that, the Black Forest under her rule would erupt in chaos, leading to Gareth "quelling" the unrest and then seizing Blackstone City. That had been Gareth's initial blueprint.

But once Orion slaughtered Ariel, everything had to change. Arden, riding the Storm Vulture, had rushed home ahead of everyone and driven the fiend serpents back, sparing Blackstone City from getting overrun by five hundred thousand of those monsters. Gareth had clearly been willing to throw massive resources at wiping out the remaining factions in Blackstone City.

"Doesn't matter why they turned back," Rendall said. "We need to stay alert, keep tabs on them, and be ready for a fight."

He wasn't dumb; when the survival of the Horde was at stake, he knew how to stay on his toes.

"I get it. We haven't eased off our surveillance at all," Delilah assured him, staring into the thick woods beyond the walls. Still, she felt a heavy weight on her chest. Without Orion around, she worried she might crack under the pressure at any moment.

"Any word from the chieftain?" she asked.

"Not yet," Rendall replied. "I've got a recon squad posted on the southern frontier. If there's news, it'll get back to us right away."

"Let's hope the chieftain triumphs," Delilah murmured.

"…"

————————

At that very moment, Orion was having sex in a secluded spot near Half-Moon Lake. Explore more at empire

In a makeshift tent, Lysinthia finally showed up before nightfall. The moment she entered, Orion scooped her up in his arms. After a frenzy of passion, Orion pulled her close and softly asked:

"I heard you ran into some of your clan?"

"Mm-hmm," she murmured.

"Anyone you recognize?" he pressed.

"No. They're from a different branch than I used to be."

Lysinthia's voice was timid, drained. She was exhausted from their intense lovemaking.

"So what's got you so tight with them?" he asked. "If you want more servants, I can have them all assigned to you."

Orion gave Lilith's firm backside a quick smack—she'd been teasing his balls with her hair, and the tickling sensation was getting to him.

Lysinthia didn't respond. She lay on his chest as if asleep. A while later, once she'd gathered her strength, she spoke in a soft, delicate voice.

"Master… I want to change them into Gorgons. Both they and I will need a little time."

Orion's eyes narrowed instantly. The more diverse the Horde's troop types, the better their adaptability in different battles and environments. Fielding multiple specialized units was definitely essential.

"You plan on transforming all of them?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you can pull that off?"

"Somewhat sure," she answered.

Orion fell silent, thinking for quite a while before pulling a few items from his storage ring and tossing them onto the ground.

"Here's a pair of crystals—one dark source crystal, one crystal core—both Alpha-level. Use the dark source crystal yourself to be safe, and give the crystal core to Twilight Viper. And that other box has four Blood Mushrooms. That's all the help I can offer."