Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1558: The Swarms Descend

As former comrades, the brothers knew exactly what kind of person Clown was.

Leonidas: "Heh... If you ask me, he’s coming straight for us. Little brother is just his entry point."

Clown had eaten a massive loss in the Silverwood Realm. The ocean clans there had unleashed the Sea of the Dead, ensuring the Cult of Four didn’t get a single drop of the spoils. Taking a hit like that, there was no way Clown would just sit back and do nothing. That was the consensus everyone silently shared.

Arthas: "Trouble follows that bastard wherever he goes."

Arthas: "Hmph. The way I see it, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He thinks he’s making a mess for us, but he’s actually just exposing his own tracks."

Arthas: "The second he shows his face, we drop a net on him and end it."

Arthas’s tone was cold and ruthless. As Orion’s mentor, Clown gunning for his protégé meant Clown was gunning for him.

Alexander: "This time, I suggest we all stay in the shadows. Remaining unseen is the greatest deterrent against Clown and the Cult of Four."

The three brothers traded thoughts, every word laced with unwavering support for Orion.

Edward: "Hulk, with your current strength, you are more than capable of handling any sudden escalations."

Edward: "But if you need backup, just say the word."

The Deputy Commander knew Orion’s true power. In a one-on-one fight, even a standard Fourth-Stage Demigod wouldn’t be able to do much to him. But if he was swarmed by enough Demigod-level threats, Orion would undeniably need reinforcements. Orion wasn’t omnipotent, nor could he split off an infinite number of phantom wills. At the Demigod level, the more phantom wills one manifested, the more diluted their core strength became, making them incredibly vulnerable to being targeted, defeated, or outright killed.

Makareth: "Orion, need a hand? Completely off the books, no strings attached."

Hearing that Demigod heavyweights like the Deputy Commander weren’t planning to step into the light just yet, Makareth’s mind immediately went to work. Demigods had political constraints and reservations; an Archlord like him had none. Having a powerhouse like Orion owe him a favor was an opportunity that money couldn’t buy.

Kraken: "A merger of two worlds means a lot of new, uncharted oceans, right?"

Kraken: "Barring Demigods, I can hold the line against anything you throw at me!"

Kraken eagerly chimed in. Orion had just saved his life from a literal falling star; he had been agonizing over how to repay the debt.

Hulk: "The board is still too chaotic. I don’t need you guys to deploy just yet. Let me watch how this plays out first."

Orion didn’t reject his comrades’ goodwill, but he needed to bide his time before making a definitive move.

Leonidas: "Killer, haven’t you been tracking Clown this whole time? Any progress on your end?"

Alexander: "It wasn’t his main body. What’s the point of killing a puppet? It would only spook the snake in the grass."

The atmosphere in the chat grew a bit heavy after Alexander’s revelation.

Edward: "Regardless, the moment Clown shows himself, we will inflict crippling damage on him and the faction backing him."

Edward: "We will make him bleed. We will make him fear us. We will make him actively avoid crossing our path."

The Deputy Commander’s decree laid down the law. It was the unified, ironclad will of the Champions Alliance.

Edward: "Alexander, you’ve nearly finished refining your Asura Avatar. Pull it out of the forge soon and use it to shatter Clown’s arrogance."

The Asura Avatar had been seized directly from Clown. Having Alexander hunt Clown down using his own stolen weapon was the ultimate psychological and physical blow.

Alexander: "Hulk, give me a little more time. Once I break out of seclusion, I’ll come find you. We’ll map out a proper strategy then."

Hulk: "Understood."

The group spent a while longer hammering out the tactical specifics before pivoting the conversation.

Makareth: "By the way, Deputy Commander, when are we dropping into the Verdant Cloud Realm?"

The Verdant Cloud Realm was the world the Platinum Authority was preparing to invade. It was the exact same world Pallas was currently scouting—the primary target designated to the Platinum Authority by the Commander.

Edward: "The containment wards are nearing completion. I will notify you when the time comes."

Edward: "And there’s no need for any of you to steal the spotlight this time. The Platinum Authority are the main characters."

Edward: "Our job is simply to provide a deterrent."

Orion had a cursory understanding of the Verdant Cloud Realm. If he wanted to, he could hijack Pallas’s senses and monitor the situation directly. But there was no need. He had sent the kid out there to forge his own path through trial by fire. Sometimes, being a spectator was the best play.

Kraken: "The Commander is leading the charge on this one. Makareth, let’s just sit back and get carried to victory!"

Makareth: "..."

A long while later, Orion logged off the Survivor’s Platform.

Titanion Realm. City of Stoneheart.

When Orion re-emerged on the balcony, the last lingering traces of dread had completely vanished from his eyes. Seraphina couldn’t help but notice the sudden shift in his demeanor.

"Thought of a solid countermeasure?" she asked.

Orion reached out, pulling Seraphina in by the waist. He nodded, then slowly shook his head.

"Let the demons dance. All we need to do is stand as immovable as a mountain." Orion spoke with absolute, unshakable resolve. "No matter who the enemy is, the Titan Continent is my domain. And the Silvercurrent Sea will remain yours."

As the two worlds merged, the overall landmass would exponentially increase, meaning the Titan Continent and the Silvercurrent Sea would expand with it. To conquer and hold that newly forged territory, war was an unavoidable certainty.

"Orion, I feel uneasy," Seraphina confessed. As a Demigod, her primal sense of danger was constantly spiking, especially now that their boundary wards were completely annihilated.

Furthermore, based on what Orion had told her, they weren’t just bracing for a head-on collision with the descending insectoid swarms; they had to guard against predatory Demigod factions from entirely different realms. The geopolitical landscape was about to become infinitely more treacherous. Even for a Demigod, the impending threat was suffocating.

Rumble! Rumble!

Just as the two of them gazed into the distant, pitch-black horizon, the earth violently convulsed. The sky seemed to shatter, and the seas roared in apocalyptic fury as the very foundations of the world violently shook. Every living creature inhabiting the continent—whether insectoid or magical beast—screamed in sheer, unadulterated terror.

In the suffocating darkness, countless terrified beings scrambled blindly for their lives.

"Is it starting?"

The defensive wards of the City of Stoneheart flared to life. With Orion physically anchoring the territory, no matter how violently the continent convulsed, the major cities of the Stoneheart Horde stood as steady and immovable as mountains.

Orion tilted his head back. Though the firmament above was nothing but a lightless void, his senses screamed that something was rapidly approaching.

At the exact same moment, out in the untamed wilderness beyond the city walls, countless silhouettes of varying sizes were silently dropping onto the continent under the perfect cover of darkness.

It wasn’t just happening on the Titan Continent. The same silent invasion was occurring across the other two continents, and even deep within the expanding oceans.

In that singular moment, the entirety of the Titanion Realm was plunged into the terrifying shadow of the insectoid swarms.

"The enemy has descended!"

"Where are they?"