Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1660: The Birth of Sovereign City

The 247th layer of the Abyss lay choked in black mist.

"Brother, listen to me. Let’s head back to the last sanctuary. The rent there is the cheapest around. Once you advance to Arch Lord, we can talk about carving out a new safe zone."

A man and a whale traveled side-by-side through the fog. Orion remained silent, lost in thought, while the Soul-Devourer whale chattered endlessly, like it hadn’t spoken to a soul in ages.

In truth, it hadn’t.

It had been a long time since anyone new arrived in the Soul-Devourer’s designated reception area. The few who did were of low castes, entirely unworthy of its attention. Finally meeting Orion—a fellow high-caste who was actually willing to listen to its rambling—the Soul-Devourer clung to him, refusing to shut up.

"How much further to this place you mentioned?" Orion finally broke his silence. He had been trekking through the black mist for seven days and nights since leaving the last sanctuary, yet this so-called treasure land was still nowhere to be seen.

"Hahaha... Just up ahead!" The plump Soul-Devourer flapped a fleshy fin, pointing into the gloom.

"I ask you every day, and that’s always your answer." Orion stopped. If the Soul-Devourer weren’t guiding him for free just to make a friend, he would have suspected a trap.

"Well... this time it’s different. It’s right there!" The Soul-Devourer flicked its tail and darted through the mist, acting as if it were already home.

Orion picked up his pace, a blur of motion as he followed.

Moments later, a settlement emerged from the fog. It sat atop a low hill. Calling it a city was a stretch—it had walls, but its actual footprint was no larger than a small town.

The streets were ruined. Collapsed buildings lay in unrecognizable heaps, as if half-chewed by giant beasts.

Breathing in the scent of damp, rotting wood drifting from the ruins, Orion turned to the Soul-Devourer. "This is the city with a solid foundation you told me about?"

The whale didn’t look the least bit guilty. "Brother, you’re only a lord. Isn’t this place big enough? Are you sure the domain you project can even cover this whole city? Besides, I just brought you here to look around. If you want something better, wait until you reach Arch Lord."

The Soul-Devourer never actually believed Orion would establish a new sanctuary right now. Guiding him was just an excuse to build rapport. This abandoned town simply happened to be a convenient destination.

"Don’t let its size fool you. It might be small, but it has everything you need. Sure, it’s a bit run-down, but nothing a little patching up can’t fix!"

It was pure nonsense, meant both as a bluff and a warning.

"Look, I know you’re a lone wolf and want to strike out on your own, but the timing is wrong. Listen to me, let’s head back..."

The Soul-Devourer drifted closer, assuming the newcomer had given up and was ready to leave.

"This is the place." Ignoring the advice, Orion stepped directly into the ruined city.

"Hey... wait! Don’t joke around. Establishing a sanctuary isn’t a game. Out in the middle of nowhere, projecting a domain isn’t just about marking territory. It will attract the Lost Ones. They’ll attack you. They’ll devour you."

Seeing Orion didn’t look back, the Soul-Devourer spun in an anxious circle before chasing him into the ruins.

Inside the walls, time seemed to have stopped. It was dead silent. No insects chirped, no wind stirred the mist. There wasn’t a single sound.

Something was wrong. Orion glanced back at the approaching whale. "Is there something unusual about this place?"

The Soul-Devourer’s eyes widened. It swam two laps around him. "Tsk, tsk... As expected of a high-caste brother. You’re only at the Legendary level, yet your perception is this sharp."

"Brother, listen to me, we need to leave. A demigod cursed this place. The black mist swallowed the entire population, turning them all into Lost Ones."

The whale scanned the shadows, terrified a monster might crawl out from the rubble. "Those Lost Ones roam the surrounding areas. The moment you activate a domain here, they’ll swarm us. Let’s go. We have to head back to the sanctuary. It’s not safe."

It pleaded again. Even as an Arch Lord, the whale felt a creeping dread. It couldn’t fathom why Orion remained so unfazed.

"This is the place." Orion marched toward the center of the city.

The Soul-Devourer chased after him, shouting about dragging him back to safety. But when Orion planted a magical Black Tower squarely in the city center, the whale froze.

"You’re serious? You aren’t just sightseeing?"

Orion cracked a grin. It was his first time smiling at the Soul-Devourer, dropping a fraction of his guard. "Brother, if I successfully establish this sanctuary, there will always be a place for you here."

With that, Orion leaped into the air, landing atop the Black Tower. His deep, resonant voice pierced the black mist like beating dragon-bone war drums, carrying far into the distance.

"The world is driven by ambition and bound by greed."

"From this day forth, this place shall be known as Sovereign City. Sovereign City will not expand its borders, nor will it collect tithes. We exist solely to plunder other worlds and claim their riches."

"When the black mist swallows everything, when not a sliver of Hope remains, this place will be the final ember. I, Death-Soul Fiend·Orion, will open the gates to the Ascendant Plane Titanion Realm for all our kin!"

The Soul-Devourer went entirely numb, awestruck by the declaration. In its eyes, Orion was radiant.

A blinding burst of light erupted, banishing the black mist from the city. The radiant shockwave expanded outward from the ruins, pushing back the dark.

Ten times, twenty times... The safe zone finally stabilized only when it had grown to a hundred times the city’s original size.

"Is... is... is this... a demigod?"

Besides Orion, who stood with his eyes closed to focus on maintaining the domain, the trembling whale was the only living thing in the city.

The safe zone is a hundred times bigger than before, and he says we won’t expand?

Despite its violent shivering, the Soul-Devourer couldn’t help but complain internally as it measured the sheer scale of the new domain.