Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1664: Clash of the Ancients

The Void Progenitor was merely a sixth-stage demigod, far from the absolute peak of power. With that level of strength, standing against the Four-Faced Beast—the avatar of the four gods—was impossible.

Their auras weren’t even in the same league.

"Does this mean the truly ancient bugs didn’t consider the Titanion Realm worth their full attention?" Kaidric mused. Though he was only seeing a fraction of the bigger picture, that fraction was still reality.

"Is the Abyss condensing another Divine Mantle?" The Commander’s thoughts drifted elsewhere. He wasn’t concerned with the swarm, but with the Abyss’s most guarded and taboo secret: the Divine Mantle.

"According to the elders’ calculations, it will take at least another thousand years," Kaidric admitted. A millennium was an eternity to mortals, but to peak demigods like them, it was little more than a long nap.

"Aren’t you going to fight for it?" The Commander turned to him.

Kaidric nodded, then shook his head. "Of course I am! As creatures of the Abyss, an Abyssal Divine Mantle is the perfect fit for us. But too many ancient entities are staring down into the dark. By the time it forms, peak experts won’t be a rare sight. I’m afraid they’ll beat my brains in."

As one of the Abyssal Lords, Kaidric wasn’t being falsely modest. The competition for the Divine Mantle was a bloodbath. Countless peak powerhouses lay dormant in the Abyss, waiting for that single, desperate chance at godhood.

"So the Titanion Realm is just your backup plan?" The Commander sneered. Without the courage to burn their boats and fight to the death, no one could claim the Divine Mantle.

"You know how it is. Even if we secure the Divine Mantle, it won’t go to me. The Chieftain is next in line!" Kaidric sighed. Every family had its problems. The Death-Soul Race was powerful as a collective, not as a single individual.

"I can tell you right now, you don’t have the destiny for the Abyssal Divine Mantle," the Commander mocked.

Kaidric ignored the jab. He was strong, and more importantly, he was smart. He already knew what the Commander saw—otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the Titanion Realm in person.

"The Void Progenitor is making a move. Let’s see it test the Four-Faced Beast. We’ll find out if the four gods are as formidable as the rumors say." The Commander interrupted Kaidric’s impending retort. The clash of titans had begun.

Hum!

It wasn’t a roar or the sound of rushing air. It was the tearing of space itself as the Void Progenitor beat its spatial wings.

The area containing the Four-Faced Beast violently warped. The avatar was twisted into a grotesque knot by sheer spatial force, unable to even cry out.

The distortion lasted only a split second. Then, as if time had reversed, the distorted space snapped back, returning the Four-Faced Beast to its original state. The only visible difference was that one of its four faces now bore a grimace of pain.

Seeing its attack fail, the Void Progenitor struck again before the beast could retaliate.

The insectoid’s massive form blurred. Instantly, dense swarms of glowing runes crawled across the Four-Faced Beast’s scales. The moment the runes appeared, the divine power and faith fueling the avatar were stripped away as easily as peeling wet paper. A continuous, tearing sound filled the void.

"Blasphemy! Die!" one of the beast’s faces roared.

The scream carried no offensive power, but the stripped faith and divine power snapped back into the avatar instantly, inhaled like smoke rings.

"Power stripping. That bug has some tricks," Kaidric noted from within the tavern. He could sense that the Void Progenitor’s ability to sever an enemy’s power source carried incredibly high priority.

The Four-Faced Beast was the avatar of the four gods, representing their peak strength before ascension. Yet, even their power had been forcibly peeled away, highlighting the sheer weight of the Void Progenitor’s ability.

"A solid move," the Commander analyzed. "It’s likely hiding something. It didn’t use the follow-up ability to complement the stripping. Sealing, isolating, devouring... or even absorbing it as its own. Entities at our level are fully aware of our abilities’ shortcomings."

The Void Progenitor’s power seemed straightforward, but its priority was absolute. That was the mark of true talent.

While they spoke, the Void Progenitor launched another assault.

A radiant light cascaded across its carapace, flowing like starlight or a miniature galaxy, sending ripples through the surrounding space-time.

As the ripples expanded, the void was subjected to parasitic grafting. The cosmos shifted colors.

Now, whether the Four-Faced Beast moved or stayed still, microscopic worms of law bored out of the very fabric of space, constantly gnawing at its massive body. The damage was minuscule, but it was relentless, slowly eroding the avatar over time.

"What is that? Have you seen it before?" Kaidric’s voice dropped, tinged with genuine concern.

"I saw it years ago. It’s called Void Parasitic Grafting," the Commander explained, his eyes narrowing as old memories surfaced. "They embed insect eggs or spores directly into the cosmic void. Once they hatch, they become an intrinsic part of the universe’s spatial laws."

"That’s a nasty trick," the Commander murmured. "Rumor has it these law-worms can condense law crystals. Swallow one, and an Arch Lord can immediately advance to demigod. I don’t know if that’s true, but I can confirm that with guidance, these worms can slowly rewrite laws."

Even a peak powerhouse like the Commander envied this parasitic capability.

"That means anything related to laws is fair game," Kaidric said, quickly connecting the dots. "If pushed further, these law-worms could devour others, steal memories, swap skills... The most terrifying part is that it happens at the law level. Silent, untraceable, absolute."

Kaidric looked at the Progenitor, then back at the Commander.

"Since it’s that incredible, how about we team up, enslave it, and split the law crystals fifty-fifty?"

His demeanor shifted entirely. The sleazy grin vanished, replaced by the calculating, utterly confident madness of a true Abyssal Lord. That was the real Kaidric.