Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1667: The Infernal King’s Defiance

As the mist parted, it revealed a towering figure. He had crimson hair, skin black as pitch, and a terrifying array of beastly fangs and bone horns. He wielded a massive, jagged cleaver, and a necklace of twelve rattling human skulls hung around his throat—an Infernal King of the Underworld.

The moment he manifested, the king ignored the Four-Faced Beast entirely. Instead, he snapped his gaze directly toward the Titanion Realm, locking dead onto the tavern where Commander Thresh and Kaidric stood.

"It is you!"

As the Infernal King spoke, the twelve skulls around his neck wailed in agony, amplifying every syllable. By the time his words reached Thresh and Kaidric, they had warped into a maddening, demonic choir designed to shatter souls and enthrall the mind.

"This bastard... he brought his true body!" The demonic whispers rolled harmlessly off Kaidric. What actually shocked him was the absolute madness of the Infernal King crossing the veil in the flesh. Kaidric had half a mind to yell at the sky: Aren’t you afraid of getting slaughtered out here?

"The Infernal King of the Underworld, Twelve-Skulls," Thresh muttered. "One of the High Archdukes of Hell."

"He—and that blade of his—are exceptional."

Commander Thresh broke the silence.

He named the newcomer and his origin, clearly recognizing the Infernal King of the Hell, Twelve-Skulls.

"A friend of yours?" Kaidric’s eyes lit up. Anyone daring to cross the veil in their true body possessed absolute confidence in their strength. Having an ally like the Infernal King of the Hell in the future would be invaluable.

"Friend? Hardly," Thresh scoffed. "If we were friends, he wouldn’t be siding with the other continents."

The Commander’s tone carried a strange edge. Kaidric glanced at him, sensing the unspoken history.

"A blademaster. A former rival?" Kaidric grinned, an amused, knowing smile spreading across his face.

"We crossed blades once." Thresh nodded. It wasn’t a secret.

"He must be good to have survived your blade." Kaidric’s interest in this unknown Infernal King of the Hell grew. Strength always commanded respect.

"That’s why I said he has a good blade." Thresh nodded toward the battlefield, gesturing for Kaidric to watch. The Infernal King of the Hell was facing off against the Four-Faced Beast.

To the four gods, an Abyssal Demon was a heretic, but the Infernal King of the Hell was a pagan. Both had to be eradicated.

"The Gods decree: Purge all evil!"

"The Gods decree: Your True Name shall be erased, your soul rendered to ash. You are denied Hell; there is no pardon!"

Facing the exact same treatment as Decay, the Infernal King of the Hell, Twelve-Skulls, was instantly subjected to the gods’ judgment. The four ethereal structures descended, paralyzing him. Both his physical body and his soul began to burn under the laws of divine power.

Yet, the Infernal King of the Hell didn’t even flinch.

"Is this the power of the four gods? A strength that truly surpasses the limits." He seemed to revel in it. Compared to the wounds the Commander had once inflicted, this pain was nothing.

"I come from Hell. Scriptures flow through my blood and bones. With the scorching blade of Hell in hand, I shall absolve every departed soul, letting them chant within my Divine Kingdom."

"Gods are but souls, too! I am Hell. I bear the karmic flames, and I will burn it all!"

Chants poured from his lips, echoed by the Twelve-Skulls around his neck. A will of total annihilation erupted from the Infernal King of the Hell, piercing through the Four-Faced Beast’s icy prison of judgment like rays of light.

Gradually, his hand twitched. He raised his arm and drew his flaming blade. With a single slash, he shattered the judgment.

"His blade is terrifying." Inside the tavern, Kaidric frowned. For the first time in years, a blademaster other than the Commander made him feel genuine pressure.

"This is just the beginning," Thresh said. "The blade I praised isn’t the flaming sword in his hand."

As a fellow blademaster, the Commander could sense the intense battle lust radiating from the Infernal King of the Hell. The Four-Faced Beast hadn’t forced him into his peak combat state yet. Their brief clash wasn’t brutal or bloody enough.

Kaidric fell silent, his eyes glued to the battlefield. He knew the Commander never exaggerated about things like this.

"Now, let me show you the truth of ’good’ and ’evil’!" the king roared. "Evil... Heresy... These are nothing but the prophecies written by the victors!"

"And prophecies can be rewritten! Today, I forge my body into a blade. I use my bloodline as scripture to absolve you false gods!"

On the battlefield, the wargod-like Infernal King of the Hell tossed aside his longsword. It dissolved into flames, searing itself into his flesh as a mass of burning demonic runes.

He took a step forward. Endless blade aura erupted from him. His body grew blindingly bright, honed to a razor’s edge.

One step, two steps, three steps... By the seventh step, the Infernal King of the Hell had vanished from the battlefield. In his place was only a solitary flash of blade light.

"I am Hell! I cross all cycles of reincarnation to reap the souls of the living!" Amidst the overlapping chants, the sharp ring of a drawn blade exploded.

In the distance, the Four-Faced Beast raised its God-Slaying Ballista. The black hole in its other hand condensed directly into a complete arrow.

The God-Slaying Ballista aimed straight at the incoming blade light. It was a head-on collision.

To the Commander and Kaidric, the clash was utterly silent. There was no earth-shattering explosion, no fracturing of space and time. There was only the arrow and the blade light, devouring each other.

"Who wins?" Kaidric’s eyes were wide, terrified to miss a single detail.

"Stop guessing," Thresh ordered. "Move out. The Infernal King of the Hell can’t kill the Four-Faced Beast. This is our perfect window to strike!"

Kaidric turned to look at the Commander, hesitating. But all he saw was a burst of blade light far more dazzling than that of the Infernal King of the Hell.

Before Kaidric could react, the Commander, now a streak of pure blade light, had already launched himself forward.

"You bastard! Striking when they’re down... Stabbing them in the back... Ganging up on them... What an opportunist..." Kaidric chuckled. "Hehehe... I love it. I’m exactly the same! Hahaha!"

Amidst his maniacal laughter, Kaidric dissolved into a mass of shadows. The shadows writhed, rapidly transforming into a vicious, pitch-black spear. Tearing through the void and leaving a trail of dark rifts in its wake, the spear shot out right behind the Commander.

On the battlefield, the sudden ambush from the Commander and Kaidric instantly forced the Four-Faced Beast onto the defensive.

"Blasphemers must be judged!"