Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"Sister, is something happening in the underworld?"

Orion knew full well that Clymene wouldn't awaken him unless it was something critical or a matter of life and death.

"Orion, there's movement with the teleportation array. It started glowing, but no enemies have come through."

"It's been half a day since the anomaly began."

Orion's will projection fell silent for a long moment before responding in a low, deliberate tone.

"This situation means someone on the other side has activated the array."

"No enemies coming through suggests they're either hesitating or waiting for something."

"Sister, my guess is that the other side of this array is likely the Emerald Dream Realm."

"Because the Emerald Dream Realm and Titanion Realm are locked in a divine war, this teleportation array is probably a relic left by some arch lord."

Clymene didn't ask about the divine war or arch lords—she knew those were matters beyond her current reach.

"Orion, what should we do now?"

Clymene cut straight to her most pressing concern. What they needed was direction, not to remain passively in the dark.

Her question silenced Orion once again.

"Hold the line for now. I'll send word to Lorelia to dispatch a batch of small spiders to assist you."

"The dark beast tides are coming soon, and it's unlikely an arch lord would show up in the underworld. If it's just a Legendary-level figure, there's no need to panic."

Orion was confident. If it was merely an ordinary Legendary-level enemy, the strength of his will projection could still hold them in check.

As for an arch lord, they'd surely be tied up in the divine war—sneaking into Titanion Realm personally was out of the question.

Besides, if an arch lord appeared in Titanion Realm out of nowhere, the demigods would notice immediately.

Long ago, Arthas, an arch lord at his peak, had told Orion he couldn't descend to Titanion Realm without being detected by demigods.

So, the enemy this time was most likely a Legendary-level lord—possibly one tied to the cross-realm teleportation array.

Of course, there was a slim chance an arch lord was pulling strings from afar, but that was highly improbable.

If an arch lord did show up in person, even if Orion rushed back now, he'd struggle to face such a formidable foe.

"Orion, should we evacuate the clansmen from Blackstone City first?"

Clymene's worry was palpable—an unknown enemy left her uneasy.

"It's too late. With the dark beast tides approaching, the people of Blackstone City have nowhere to retreat."

As he spoke, Orion's mind drifted to the teleportation array beneath Moonshadow Valley.

But that array could only transport a hundred people at a time and required transcendent power and crystal cores to operate.

Evacuating all of Blackstone City's inhabitants was impractical—the cost would be astronomical, far beyond what the Stoneheart Horde could bear.

Besides, the enemy hadn't even appeared yet; things hadn't reached that point.

What Orion feared now was that during the dark beast tides, Blackstone City might face a pincer attack from both the surface and the underworld.

That pressure would fall squarely on Blackstone City—and on Spider Queen Lorelia.

"Don't worry, Sister. If the enemy turns out to be overwhelmingly strong, I'll return to Blackstone City ahead of schedule."

Hearing this, Clymene gave Orion a relieved smile. She opened her arms and embraced his form.

Soon after, she stepped out of the stone house, shared a rough outline of Orion's plan with the group, and reignited their morale and confidence.

If Orion was paying attention to this, it meant they had the strength to resist.

That belief took root among them, their momentum and enthusiasm steadily rising.

"Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, Grendel, Desdemona—split into two teams and take turns guarding the teleportation array."

"Remember: anything that steps out of that array, friend or foe, kill it on sight."

The six Alpha-level warriors—Vargrum, Mordak, and the rest—acknowledged the order and began organizing the Skeletal Knights and death spiders into position.

---

In Blackstone City, Horde Hall.

Lilith and Rendall wore grim expressions as they gathered in the meeting hall, their faces clouded with tension.

Moments ago, the message from Orion's will projection had left them restless and on edge.

"Lilith, should we summon Lysinthia, Twilight Viper, Rockwell, and Slagor back?"

Rendall's voice betrayed his nerves as he grappled with the looming threat from below.

Lilith shook her head firmly.

"No. If we do that, Thunderwood Forest and Lysinthia City will be left defenseless. Everything the Stoneheart Horde has built over these years will crumble in the dark beast tides."

"Besides, Orion didn't suggest that. He just told us to hold Blackstone City and fend off the surface invasion."

"Arch Elder, we can't lose our nerve. We just need to follow Orion's plan."

"We have to trust him—he's the King of Giants, the lord of the Stoneheart Horde, the strongest lord in the entire north."

The keywords—"Orion", "King of Giants", "Strongest Lord in the north"—gradually steadied Rendall's frayed nerves.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead!"

"You take command here. I'll personally lead a patrol around Blackstone City!"

In times like this, only walking the city and seeing the arrow towers lining the walls gave Rendall a sliver of reassurance.

Lilith nodded. Though she appeared calm on the surface, her heart was racing with unease.

The backbone of the Stoneheart Horde and most of its top fighters weren't in Blackstone City. To say Lilith wasn't rattled would be a lie.

"Lilith, you've got this. You can hold the fort for your husband—for the Stoneheart Horde!"

"…"

---

In Valkorath Realm, Cryptopolis City.

Orion opened his eyes atop his throne, a cold glint and killing intent flashing in his gaze.

After receiving Clymene's report, he'd pieced it together: someone in the Emerald Dream Realm was planning to sneak into Titanion Realm during the dark beast tides to plunder resources.

This move suggested the enemy's strength wasn't at the arch lord level—maybe not even mid-tier Legendary.

A foe like that didn't warrant Orion's return. It'd just waste two precious teleportation scrolls.

After all, Deputy Commander Edward carving those scrolls while holding off demigods was no small feat.

If the fungal creatures' demigods seized an opening, the fragile stability in Valkorath Realm could collapse entirely.