Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Nico's nose twitched sharply—he was sensitive like that, especially for a merchant.

A city's most appealing features invariably come down to two points: clean sanitation and a secure environment.

As for other goods, as long as there are people and land, they can conjure them out of thin air.

This was the conclusion drawn by Nico and Kadir, and they believed in it wholeheartedly.

Kadir stayed silent while Nico spoke to himself. In Kadir's hand were three types of coins—large, medium, and small—minted by the Stoneheart Horde, known as Blackstone coins.

At this moment, each coin was spinning around a different fingertip like three obedient pets.

Kadir gazed at these spinning Blackstone coins as though he were staring at his lover.

His eyes shone with ardor, and also with greed.

"Incredible!"

"Savage, violent, bloodthirsty, and insane giants actually managed to issue their own currency and their own Code."

"Nico, do you know what that means?"

Although Kadir was also very plump, he was still comparatively slimmer than Nico.

Plus, his robe did a decent job of hiding his figure. If you ignored his face, he wasn't that big when compared to the giants in Stoneheart City.

"It means opportunity—limitless wealth waiting to be seized!"

Nico turned his head and cast a glance at Kadir, whose forehead bore a scar. He answered Kadir's question in an excited tone while also looking off into the distance at a group of lovely blood elves passing by.

"Oh yeah… those blood elves perfectly blend beauty and sex appeal! If I could marry one, I'd definitely have sex with her every single day!"

Kadir lifted his head and followed Nico's gaze toward the departing blood elves.

Unlike Nico, who saw only beauty and sensuality, Kadir noticed a blending and exchange of civilizations.

"Young master, is it worth it?"

"Selling off all your possessions just to come here, seeking that slim chance for the family to rise again?"

The speaker was the old steward riding alongside the carriage. He was sworn to Nico by a master-servant contract.

"Losing the family's territory and its title means losing any hope for survival."

"If we don't leave and keep staying in the kingdom, those nobles would squeeze out the last of our fortune."

"Wealth, without something else to back it up, is just another cake waiting to be devoured."

When Kadir shifted his gaze away from the blood elves and heard the mention of his family, a trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes.

In the human kingdom, with territories shrinking across the board, many lesser nobles had lost their lands and titles in a recent reshuffling, reduced to commoners.

Kadir's family was among them. One by one, his relatives had perished along the way for various reasons, leaving only him.

In order to protect the family's final remnants of wealth and bloodline, he chose to leave his homeland.

After enduring countless hardships, Kadir had finally arrived in Stoneheart City.

Meanwhile, also outside the city walls, someone else had already stepped into the Mysterious Tavern.

Delilah ran this Mysterious Tavern, which had no official name. Whenever people in Stoneheart City talked about "the tavern," they usually meant this place.

At the moment, Torin, Mike, and Wyatt were seated at a single table, sampling a few plates of snacks and beast meat. The master and his two attendants were casually sipping their drinks and sizing up Stoneheart City.

"Master, I can't believe how fast this place is growing. How are they doing it?"

Mike, an experienced mercenary, had traveled extensively. He was certain that, aside from the human capital cities, there was no place more prosperous than here.

Keep in mind, Stoneheart City was established less than two years ago.

Mike remembered clearly that when they visited last year, the outer city was a complete mess, with countless ramshackle huts for the poor.

"It's not just here. I've heard they also built four other cities in different regions, linking all of the Stoneheart Horde's territory together."

Wyatt seemed just as intrigued by the Stoneheart Horde's development, eagerly sharing what he had learned.

"Linked them together?"

"Yes. They cleared a wide road and reinforced the soil so it's solid."

"Really?"

"It's true. Apparently, every month they send out guards to patrol the territory. In addition to monitoring the subordinate races, they also check and repair any damaged roads along the way."

"What exactly are these non-humans trying to do?"

Mike and Wyatt, discussing possible plans of the Stoneheart Horde, couldn't guess at the bigger picture.

But Torin, an Earth survivor, caught on right away.

The Stoneheart Horde was aiming for growth. They wanted to connect their entire territory, sealing off and fortifying the land they occupied.

Precisely because Torin could see this so clearly, he felt all the more miserable.

It reminded him of his own Soaring Bird City. If Soaring Bird City were still in his hands, he too would be actively building roads to every corner.

Torin knew that if you want to develop a city, you have to build roads first. That principle never changes.

Torin had been in Stoneheart City for several days already. You could say he was among the first to arrive here.

He had sent a letter requesting an audience at the castle, but there had been no response whatsoever, like a stone dropped into the sea.

In desperation, Torin sought out the Mysterious Tavern based on rumors and tried bribing its enigmatic proprietress.

Unfortunately, the only result Torin got was more waiting.

"We can't just wait around like this. I have to attract the Giant King's attention."

"How do I do that?"

"Bring him a rare tribute?"

"…"

Around midday in the castle, Orion was getting dressed with Sylvana's help.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe you were blind."

It was true—a blind person dressing Orion perfectly without a single slip was downright astonishing.

"Once you're used to emptiness, you learn to orient yourself within it."

"I call it a sixth sense."

Sylvana handed Orion a cup of tea, which he accepted and gulped down in one go.

"Your eyes aren't blind in the absolute sense. I'll figure something out for you."

Sylvana's face lit up with a smile. Orion's concern made her happy, and it also calmed her heart.

"Thank you."

In truth, Sylvana held no great hope for her eyes. She took Orion's concern more as a comforting gesture.

Orion merely shook his head, offering no further explanation.

Sylvana's blindness came from her attempt to peer into the future of a powerful being, which caused a backlash and robbed her sight.

That type of blindness was connected to the power of fate. Fixing it would require the same strength of fate in return.

Fate itself was too mysterious for Orion to grasp.

However, Orion did know one potential way: making sacrifices of faith to a god in return for the power to undo such a backlash.

But faith was far too valuable to Orion in his current situation.