Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1675: A God’s Perspective

Sacrificing Witch, an Awakened, to the four gods. Baiting them. Studying them. Perhaps even seizing their Divine Mantles. As the thought took root in the minds of Deputy Commander Edward, Leonidas, Alexander, Arthas, and Orion, a visceral thrill—laced with pure dread—coursed through them.

"Witch thinks I can salvage a sliver of her soul from the gods," Commander Thresh said, his gaze sweeping over the group. He offered a rare moment of candor. "Truth is, I wouldn’t bet on it."

"A demigod is just a demigod. To a true god, even the absolute strongest mortals are nothing but slightly larger ants." He paused. "Just like how a first stage demigod is nothing but a bug to Hulk and me. We could crush them without a second thought."

It was a brutal, despair-inducing truth. Leonidas and Arthas were currently at that exact first stage. The Commander’s words were a slap to the face, violently stripping away their pride.

"Dammit. How did I end up at the bottom of the food chain?" Leonidas muttered, bristling. But the frustration faded when he remembered the World Dragonavatar currently gorging on World Essence within the Titanion Realm. He wouldn’t be an ant for long. His breakthrough was imminent. Just a temporary setback.

Arthas shifted uncomfortably. He had been Orion’s mentor, yet now he was an insect in Orion’s eyes. It stung. But the irritation was fleeting. Once he finished absorbing the Ever-Burning Volcano, he would catapult to the demigod fourth stage. Then, first stage demigods would be ants to him, too.

"What about Clown?" Alexander’s voice cut through the heavy silence, directed straight at the Commander.

"His aura is gone," Thresh replied. "The soul mark he hid on the Continent of the Pantheon was obliterated." The Commander paused, finally voicing what he had kept buried. "Honestly, I’ve monitored Clown and Witch’s every move."

"I didn’t kill them myself for two reasons. First, I was dormant. Forcing my hand would have drawn the attention of far worse entities—like that Abyssal Demon we saw, or the Infernal King of the Hell."

Orion understood this best. Grasping the true depth of the Commander’s power was terrifying. Even now, wielding his Demigod Artifact spear, Orion felt practically invincible on his home turf in the Titanion Realm. Yet Thresh was leagues above.

"Second, I left Clown and Witch as grinding stones for the rest of you. Enemies of their caliber forge the best weapons." Thresh’s gaze swept across Deputy Commander Edward, Leonidas, Alexander, and Arthas. When the traitors first defected, they had all been equals. Clown had arguably been the strongest due to his unique nature.

"And finally... I won’t deny I pitied them," Thresh said, his tone flat, tinged with disappointment. "They were once part of the Champions Alliance. Betrayal doesn’t erase the blood they shed for us."

"Letting them run with the Cult of Four yielded valuable intel. Scavenging trash, really. Pity is a personal failing; treason is treason. I was never going to grant them clemency."

Orion stared at the Commander. For a second, Thresh looked like a deity peering down from the heavens—pitying mortals, but refusing to save them. Mortal lives were just smoke, their entire existence flashing by in a blink. It was a state of absolute detachment. Cold indifference to all creation.

Thresh glanced at Orion, a half-smile touching his lips as if admiring a decent painting. "Making contact with the gods without airtight preparations... I believe Clown is utterly obliterated. Not just his soul. Everything that made him exist, swallowed and erased." The Commander’s eyes darkened. "When it comes to the divine, let me be clear: do not harbor any Hope."

Age breeds power. Power breeds isolation. If someone as mighty as the Commander viewed the masses with such chilling apathy, what about the ancient gods? Orion suppressed a shudder. The thought was too grim to entertain.

"I say this to remind you," Thresh continued, "that next to immortality, vengeance is just a meal. Eventually, the plate is empty. The Queen is gone. Clown and Witch have met their fates. They were merely obstacles on your path. Do not let them derail your journey."

Thresh’s words carried weight. In his eyes, Edward, Leonidas, Alexander, and Arthas had stalled their own progression by clinging to old grudges. If Orion hadn’t arrived to push the pace, Leonidas, Alexander, and Arthas might still be struggling to even glimpse the threshold of a demigod.

"Had you let go of your hatred for Clown and Witch sooner, your power would far exceed its current state. It’s time to drop it." Thresh exhaled, the divine detachment fading from his eyes. He tossed a few dry branches into the campfire and fell silent.

"Your call." Leonidas finally broke the silence, tossing the heavy burden of choice to Alexander. The fallen Queen had been closest to Alexander; he alone held the right to decide her retribution.

Alexander looked up at the Commander, then down at Witch. After a long, agonizing pause, he spoke, his voice hoarse and fractured. "Commander... can I watch this wretch be sacrificed?"

Thresh held Alexander’s gaze. He weighed the request for several seconds before replying with absolute gravity.

"You must be strong enough. You need to possess power rivaling a Demigod Artifact. Ask Orion. In front of the Four-Faced Beast, a Demigod Artifact and a sixth stage combatant mean absolutely nothing. And the Four-Faced Beast doesn’t hold a candle to a true god. If the ritual goes wrong, and you’re too weak, I won’t be able to protect you."

Too weak to even qualify for the sacrifice.

That was the Commander’s blunt message to Alexander and the rest: right now, they were nothing but dead weight.

Alexander stared down at Witch, buried in thought. The heavy silence dragged on.

Deputy Commander Edward sensed the stifling mood. After a quick glance at the Commander—who gave a slight shake of his head—Edward spoke up to break the tension.

"Since the Commander has finished, let’s move on to the Emerald Dream Realm."

The plan was for Orion to drag the Emerald Dream Realm into the Titanion Realm and fuse its main landmass with the continent of Titan. Because Orion’s true body was locked within the Titanion Realm, Deputy Commander Edward had spearheaded the operation in the outside world. Bringing it up now meant they finally had progress.

"Are preparations complete?" Arthas asked. Like Orion, his primary focus remained elsewhere.

"The anchoring array in The Dusklands is primed," the Deputy Commander said, exuding his usual strict confidence. "We can activate it at a moment’s notice to draw in the World Tree roots from the Titanion Realm and assist the pull."

"There are two wildcards, however. The first is Thessiber, the demigod who fused with The Weave of Reality. The second is the Great Dragon King of Light Mondusath, who remains in hiding and is highly likely to unify the dragonbroods."

At the mention of the Dragon King, Edward frowned. Mondusath was a supreme entity whose power rivaled a Demigod Artifact. If his dragon egg hadn’t been stolen, he would have undoubtedly broken through to the sixth stage.

"Especially Mondusath," Edward continued. "We stole his World Dragon. The blood feud runs deep. He won’t just stand by while we dismantle the Emerald Dream Realm. We need a strategy to keep them from interfering with the world-pull."

Edward looked between Leonidas, Alexander, Arthas, and Orion. The Commander wouldn’t stoop to handle such logistical hurdles. If he intervened, the problem would vanish instantly, but it wouldn’t forge their strength.