Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"With an equal contract, both sides hold half the rope. Now that your subordinate has reached Legendary level, she's gained the power to tug at the contract you signed with her."

"But since your strength outclasses hers—or maybe she doesn't want to challenge you—she's let go of the tug-of-war over the contract."

"Hulk, think about it. Have you ever seen me, Leonidas, or Alexander enslave an Arch Lord?"

Reading this, Orion's expression darkened slightly.

"Under normal circumstances, enslaving someone a rank below you is almost foolproof."

"Even if you're injured or something unexpected happens, it's rare for a slave to rebel and turn on their master."

"But enslaving someone of the same rank? That's a huge risk."

"So, Hulk, until you hit Arch Lord yourself, keep the number of Legendary-level fighters under you to five or fewer."

"And that's assuming they're all lower-tier Legendary."

Orion took a deep breath. In front of Arthas, his grasp of contracts felt like a rookie's.

"Imagine if all your Legendary-level subordinates teamed up and pulled on the contract at once. Could you handle that?"

Arthas's final question left Orion speechless.

"That said, there's a flip side. Legendary-level fighters provide a hefty amount of faith energy."

"Haven't you noticed a change in your faith energy stats?"

Orion quickly checked his data panel.

Sure enough, besides the new [Battle Will Surge], his faith energy had spiked from the mid-500,000s to over a million.

Orion surged his transcendent power, shifting into Titan form. The power drained fast, but with faith energy converting into it, his recovery rate was more than double what it used to be.

"This…"

The change meant Orion's combat endurance had gotten a serious boost.

"Maybe this is one of the gaps between a regular Legendary and an Arch Lord!"

Orion mused, his understanding of Arch Lords growing clearer.

"Thanks for the heads-up—I wouldn't have noticed otherwise!"

Dropping his Titan form, Orion returned to normal size and thanked Arthas.

"Hahaha… no big deal. You'd figure it out the moment you fought or burned through a ton of transcendent power."

"Oh, one more tip: don't try condensing a body of faith until your faith energy breaks ten million."

"If you fail, all that faith energy goes down the drain."

Arthas went on, sharing more insights that left Orion richer for it.

The night flew by. The next day, Orion led his crew northeast toward Moonveil Plains.

…

Blackstone City.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the Horde Hall, the air was crisp and cool. Lilith sat in the main seat of the meeting room, flanked by Rendall, surrounded by Stoneheart Horde's hero-level elder candidates.

Lilith gazed toward the hall's entrance, echoing Orion's past words to the group.

"Everyone, can you feel it?"

"The air's turning cold—breathing it makes you shiver."

"Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, once night falls, the sun won't rise again."

She paused, her eyes sweeping over the horde's elders.

"The dark beast tides are coming. Are you ready?"

Lilith's voice tightened, her tone brimming with authority and an icy edge, like a gust of wind slicing through the room.

"We're ready!"

"Yeah, we're always prepared!"

"May the glory of the Titan God bathe the Stoneheart Horde, and may Lord Orion's light pierce the darkness…"

Lilith nodded. Orders rolled out one after another.

Once the commands were given, bloodline warriors and small spiders emerged from Moonshadow Valley and underground fissures.

From that moment, the Stoneheart Horde shifted into round-the-clock battle readiness.

Bottomless Abyss, Underworld.

Clymene had been swamped lately, and no one else was getting a break either.

Aside from Clymene, the others were undead creatures, so physical exhaustion wasn't usually an issue. If they felt tired, it was soul-deep or from the wear of death energy.

Ever since the cross-realm teleportation array started acting up, Clymene had been stationed there.

Most of her time was spent staring at it.

"Clymene, with 500,000 little spiders crawling down from the passage to back us up, even if a Legendary-level lord steps through that array, we can wear them down to nothing."

That was Grendel, second only to Clymene in strength but the brashest of the bunch.

"Grendel, shut it!"

"You think we can just grind down a Legendary-level fighter because we say so?"

"Any being or race capable of using a cross-realm teleportation array isn't something we can trash-talk lightly."

"Stay sharp. If a fight breaks out, we go all in."

Clymene's tone was dead serious. She rarely scolded her guards—or rather, her guardian knights.

Reprimanded, Grendel clamped his mouth shut, swallowing his reckless bravado.

Lorelia had thrown major support their way, sending 500,000 small spiders to the underworld. Add in the tens of thousands of skeleton warriors and death spiders already there, and the underworld's total forces swelled to a staggering 600,000.

That sheer number left Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, and Grendel—folks who'd died young, never seen the world, or fought in a real war—awestruck, then cocky.

"Clymene's right!"

"Grendel, get real. A Legendary-level fighter's terror isn't something we can just overwhelm with numbers."

"Facing an unknown enemy, the smart move is to take it seriously and give it everything we've got."

Desdemona chimed in, backing Clymene up.

Unlike Clymene, Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, and Grendel, the succubus Desdemona hadn't died during the southern invasion.

She'd fallen when Orion stormed the Godforsaken Land.

Compared to Clymene, Desdemona had seen real action—undead armies numbering over a million, Legendary-level powerhouses clashing in the sky. She'd witnessed it all.

"Killing us would be a breeze for a Legendary-level fighter."

"If they wanted to slip past our blockade, it'd be even easier."

Desdemona directed her words at Clymene, hoping she'd approach this invasion with the utmost respect and battle-ready resolve.

Sometimes, Desdemona wondered if Orion weren't backing them, whether she'd hesitate even a second before climbing out of the underworld and fleeing this territory at the mere hint of a Legendary-level invader.

"Desdemona, don't worry—I know what you're getting at."

"I'm well aware of why I died out there, far from home."

"I won't underestimate any enemy we face!"

Clymene's words seemed aimed at the succubus Desdemona, but her gaze was fixed on the guards who'd died alongside her.

"You haven't forgotten how we fell, have you?"

"Back then, we underestimated Reynard—and paid for it with our lives."

"Do you want our living kin to laugh at us all over again?"

Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, and Grendel fell silent, heads bowed.

Dying far from home, their heads lopped off and hung on city walls—even as Skeletal Knights now, that shame clung to them like a stain they couldn't scrub off.

"Clymene, we're with you. You call the shots, we follow."

Clymene nodded wordlessly, turning back to stare at the cross-realm teleportation array.

…

Valkorath Realm, Moonveil Plains

Despite its lovely name, this place was a wasteland. The only upside? Flat terrain.

Wherever Orion looked, there was no grass, no trees.

What stretched before him was a dull, lifeless expanse of gray.

"This land was first overrun by slime mold layers, sucking the soil dry of nutrients."

"Then my master tainted it with death energy, turning it into a total dead zone."

"Restoring life here after the war's done? That'll be a challenge."

Lich Vexis stood beside Orion, her eyes tracing his gaze. She could guess what he was thinking.

Orion pulled his attention back, glancing at the hundreds of thousands of skeleton warriors building the city walls, a few things clicking into place.

"I was wondering why your master insisted I bring extra building materials."

"Turns out, there's nothing here—not even the stones, which are corroded and fragile as butter."

Lich Vexis didn't dare comment much, staying quiet.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Orion's feet shifted, then shook violently.

Moments later, a massive black scorpion burst through the soil, emerging from below.

And it didn't stop there—one, two… ten giant black scorpions broke through, standing before Orion. After a chorus of rustling sounds, they froze in place.

"These are the black scorpions I just hatched. All Alpha-level. With them helping out, construction's bound to speed up."

Soraya stepped forward, draped in thin red gauze that fluttered in the wind, lending her a sensual, mysterious air.

Then, like grains of sand, she vanished from atop the lead scorpion, reappearing beside Orion.

The power of sand—transcendent power!

Soraya hooked her arm around Orion's, smiling as she pressed her chest against him.

"Not bad, huh? With them pitching in, moving those big stones just got a lot easier—no need for cranes."

Orion eyed the ten giant black scorpions, their hooked tails raised high, a glint in his eyes.

"What do you think of these black scorpions?"

Soraya beamed, her smile playful like a kid fishing for praise.

Orion turned to Lich Vexis.

"These big guys are great for building—and they'll be weapons on the battlefield."

"Lord Orion, with them around, the Stoneheart Horde's bloodline warriors will take fewer losses."

"But, a heads-up, Lady Soraya—we need cannon fodder. Tons of it, endlessly."

Soraya nodded. She'd already gotten the gist of the situation from Orion.

Luckily, the scorpion tribe's breeding ability was solid. Soraya didn't need to reproduce herself—each female scorpion under her could churn out 40 to 80 small scorpions per batch.

With the tens of thousands of small scorpions they already had, plus ample supplies and life essence, the scorpion tribe would multiply fast.

"Lady Vexis, don't worry. My main nest is set up, and the first batch of small scorpions is already in the works."

"It won't be long before the battlefield's crawling with them."

That was Soraya's confidence—and her tribe's strength.

Other things aside, if bloodline potential wasn't a factor and it was just about churning out cannon-fodder-grade small scorpions, Soraya could produce as many as resources allowed—practically an endless supply.

"I'm planning to name this city Soraya City. Any thoughts?"

With Soraya's lordship secured and the scorpion tribe on track, Orion was in high spirits.

Orion had built cities named after Lilith, Delilah, and Lysinthia—a fact that had long since reached Soraya's ears.

Having followed Orion to this foreign land, she couldn't be left out.

"Soraya City?"

"Yep!"

Soraya's face lit up, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"I want a building of my own here. Can I?"

She tilted her head, squinting playfully at Orion.

"Of course! Soraya City's named after you—this'll be your domain someday."

Mwah!

Soraya planted a kiss on him, pressing herself even closer.

In the distance, atop the city walls, Onyx took up his old role as overseer once again.

"It's hard to believe our first city in this strange world is one we're building ourselves."

Watching the bustling construction site, Onyx felt a wave of emotion.

"No kidding. This takes me back to when we built Blackstone City."

"Back then, I was still in the cannon fodder troops, working under you as an overseer!"

Earthshaker hopped over from the nearby wall, slotting a massive stone into the inner layer.

"And Dirtclaw was hauling rocks in the cannon fodder troops too!"

Standing beside Onyx, Dirtclaw's eyes glazed over for a moment at Earthshaker's words, lost in memory.

He remembered it clear as day: captured at first, then following Orion to invade Thunderhawk City, Half-Moon Lake, and Stormrage City.

Later, he returned with Orion to the black forest, hauling stones to build walls, rising through the ranks to manage the cannon fodder troops.

Eventually, his gnoll tribe(clan) got special care and privileges.

Through it all, Dirtclaw fought tooth and nail, clawing his way up from piles of bodies, awakening his bloodline to become one of the Stoneheart Horde's most inspiring figures.

And, of course, the greatest gnoll in his tribe's history—an idol to countless others.

"Oh… praise Orion!"

"Praise my master!"

"Everything I am today is thanks to the Stoneheart Horde looking out for me, guiding me forward!"

Dirtclaw's fervent, prayer-like devotion sent Onyx, Earthshaker, Gronthar, Drakthul, and the others nearby into fits of laughter.