Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1487: Dominion Claimed

If Orion possessed the strength to fully claim this realm, it meant they could launch incursions into other worlds without hesitation. This victory laid the strategic bedrock for Leonidas, Arthas, Alexander, Edward, and Kraken to ascend to new heights of power.

"This world is ours."

Orion stood suspended in the Void, looking down upon the fertile expanse of the continent beneath him.

It was a pristine land, purged of rival species and apex beasts by the Agaman Temple over years of crusades. All Orion needed to do was populate this territory with immigrants and let them multiply; the resulting civilization would be a perpetual engine for harvesting faith energy.

Of course, in seizing this territory, he had roused a slumbering, ancient power. But that was the price of conquest. To invade another’s domain was to invite new enemies.

The grounds surrounding the Agaman Temple were a charnel house.

Cultists of the Holy Order had been consumed by the Rite. Countless guardian knights and believers had simply collapsed mid-combat, their life force severed.

The Coalition forces, never ones to show mercy, advanced to deliver the killing blow—only to find there was no one left to kill.

The battlefield was silent. There wasn’t a single living enemy left standing.

"That’s unnatural," someone muttered.

"Is this some new, wide-area Divine Art developed by Leo and Orion?"

Even for Demon Makareth, the sudden, total extinction of the enemy was unsettling. Demons possessed abilities that dealt massive collateral damage, but a spell of this magnitude was unheard of.

"The War of Gods must have shifted," a soldier whispered. "Didn’t you notice? After that flash of holy light, the divine pressure just... vanished."

Kraken stared into the distance, unsurprised.

The total silence confirmed it: Orion and Leonidas had won. They had earned the right to coil around this world.

With the war for the continent concluded, only the oceans remained. And the oceans... at least a third of that vast blue expanse would be ceded to him.

For an Archlord, dominion over a third of a world’s waters meant a deluge of faith and resources. It was the fuel he needed to accelerate his ascension to Demigod status.

The thought made Kraken restless.

"I need to see this for myself."

With that, Kraken abandoned his human guise, exploding into his massive octopus form. With a thunderous thrash of his tentacles, he surged toward the core of the Agaman Temple.

On the front lines, Caesar sprawled amidst the corpses, savoring the eerie, fleeting peace that follows a massacre.

Beside him, Tangere, Scarecrow, and Aurora were scattered about—standing, sitting, or lying in the dirt. Even for Lords, the intensity of the campaign had pushed them to their limits.

It had been a brutal slog since leaving the Andor Diocese. They had faced constant interception by guardian legions from other districts, fighting day and night until they hit the meat grinder at Agaman. The Holy Order had summoned Templars that had stalled the Coalition’s advance, locking even the Archlords in a stalemate until the sudden end.

"Tangere, since when do octopuses fly?" Caesar asked, watching the dark shape recede into the sky.

"To the truly powerful, gravity is merely a suggestion. Traversing the void is child’s play," Tangere replied. He watched Kraken leave, a nagging sense of familiarity tugging at his memory. He had met that entity somewhere before, but the memory refused to surface.

"I suspect these soldiers were struck by a mass curse," Scarecrow said. He stood over a fallen Holy Order knight, inspecting the desiccated flesh. To Scarecrow, death this sudden and absolute reeked of vile sorcery. "It’s strange. They are so drained that even my plague viruses refuse to take root in the carrion."

"Stay put. Don’t wander off," Tangere commanded, the only one among them still standing guard. "Wait for word from the Coalition command. The war is over; orders will come soon."

"The outside world is too dangerous. Aurora is never leaving home again," the tomboy muttered.

This was Aurora’s first true taste of war, and the sheer cruelty and strangeness of it had rattled her. She couldn’t help but wonder—if that invisible death had fallen on her, would she have died without even a whimper?

Momma...

Deep inside, a terrified little girl clutching a beast-hide satchel was crying out for her mother.

Right... the Big Boss said... when in danger, find the biggest badass in the room and stay glued to him.

Tangere is the strongest here... should I?

Aurora’s eyes went wide as she stared at Tangere, unblinking.

He not exactly hateful... but not handsome either. And definitely not tall and imposing.

Aurora... should you... maybe confess your love to Uncle Tangere? Just to close the distance?

She ran the calculations in her head, applying the survival logic Kraken had taught her. But no matter how she did the math, she couldn’t make her limbs move.

Maybe I’ll just wait. The war is over. Surely the danger is passed.

Titanion Realm, Blackstone City.

The ramparts of Blackstone City were usually restricted to the public during specific hours. Unless one held high status, the view from the walls was forbidden.

But Dirtclaw and Gustalon were different. They were the Wardens of this city—responsible for its safety.

Or rather, Grand Wardens now.

"Brother Gustalon, I told you. You were destined to be the Commander of the Third Legion."

The Horde had just released the official commission. Gustalon had formally taken the mantle of Commander, confirming his status as an Archlord.

Dirtclaw could feel it—the scent of Authority radiating from his friend.

Within Orion’s Divine Kingdom, Gustalon had received the Divine Calling of the Wind. Unlike Dirtclaw, Gustalon and Lumi were elemental lifeforms. They didn’t need to transmute their bloodlines to synchronize with the Divine Kingdom; they were already part of its elemental fabric. In that sense, Gustalon had the advantage—he was a natural-born spirit of the realm.

"It is all by the grace of My Lord," Gustalon said. His tone had smoothed; friendship with Dirtclaw had taught him diplomacy. "My Lord has tasked us with a new objective. We must locate the hidden Wormhole Realm. Somewhere in the central continent, Insectoids of Archlord rank are concealing themselves."