Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1697: A Broodmother’s Evolution

Within three days, Lorelia had completely abandoned her petty xenophobia.

Deep within the subterranean caverns, Lorelia slumped on her throne. Disbelief warped her small face. A magic mirror woven from spider silk floated before her, displaying the frontline battle in real-time.

How is this possible? Why is this happening?

Lorelia had no idea what had gone wrong. She had imagined facing countless terrifying foes, but she never expected her swarm to march against copy after copy of herself.

A legion of Lorelias stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the front lines. They commanded vastly superior dream spiders, slaughtering her brood with terrifying efficiency. Worse, the enemy was actively hijacking her psychic network, turning her own spiderlings against her.

Are they me? They have to be fake! But if they’re real... who am I?

Staring at the mirrored reflections of herself, a suffocating sense of powerlessness washed over her.

Who am I even fighting? Utterly lost, her tiny fists uncurled. She tried to clench them again but found she lacked the strength.

"Our enemy is fear."

Orion’s voice echoed in her ears. Before she could fully register his presence, he materialized within the hive, standing directly before her throne.

"Master! You’re awake!" She scrambled up. "Thank the gods. Look! Look at the front lines! There are so many of me. You aren’t going to replace me, are you?"

The trembling broodmother looked like a kicked puppy. Finding her anchor, she threw herself into Orion’s arms and wailed.

"Our enemy is fear," Orion repeated firmly. They were not fighting themselves.

The sheer panic radiating from Lorelia had snapped him out of his deep meditation through two separate channels. The first was their soul contract. The second routed through the throne beneath her feet, passing to the Wishing Tree, which then relayed the distress directly to him.

"Fear?" Lorelia sniffled as Orion gently pushed her back at arm’s length. Reluctantly, she followed his gaze back to the magic mirror.

"We are fighting in the Dream Realm. The Void. The enemy’s greatest weapons are illusion and psychic manipulation." Orion’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t see an army of Lorelias; he saw shifting masses of fog. "They manifest as whatever their prey fears most."

"You spawned the swarm. To them, you are absolute authority. Their greatest terror is your wrath." He tapped the frame. "Through their eyes, the enemy takes your shape."

Orion reached out. A strand of The Weave of Reality merged into the magic mirror. The chaotic, ground-level view of the terrified spiderlings vanished, replaced by an omniscient, top-down view of the battlefield.

"Oh..." Lorelia’s eyes widened, the fog of confusion clearing. "So I’m not fighting myself. Just these shadowy blobs?"

"’Shadowy blobs?’ Let’s call them Enigmas." Orion approved of the designation. The vanguard besieging Blackstone City consisted entirely of these formless entities—a sentient mist capable of mimicking the worst nightmares of any race they encountered.

"Master, what do I do now? Half the swarm has severed the psychic link!" Panic creeping back in, Lorelia frantically scratched at her scalp. It was a nervous tick she had picked up from Lilith.

"Simple. We have two options. First, project this visual feed directly into their minds, overriding their physical sight. Can you handle that?" Orion tapped the omniscient view in the magic mirror. It was the fastest, most direct fix.

"I can do that!" Lorelia cheered. She pressed her palms against the glass.

A psychic surge pulsed from the magic mirror, channeling through her body and broadcasting across the hive network. Within seconds, the severed links snapped back into place. The swarm reorganized and charged the Enigmas.

"Hehe! It worked! You’re a genius, Master!" Relief washed over her as the familiar hum of her children filled her mind once more.

"Wait, what’s the second option? Tell me! I need a backup plan!"

This was the ruthless efficiency Orion expected. He nodded, satisfied.

"The second option involves your spawning process. From now on, sever the emotional centers of every new batch. Excise their capacity for fear." He met her gaze. "We are in a planar war. We need mindless, obedient drones. Give the enemy absolutely nothing they can exploit."

Lorelia lowered her head, absorbing the lesson. Orion’s reprimand cut deep. Drowning in an endless supply of high-tier resources, she had grown complacent, losing the cold, calculating rationality required of a true broodmother.

A genuine broodmother constantly adapted to her environment, spawning specialized broods engineered for maximum lethality. Elite broodmothers pushed further, forcing targeted mutations and rapid evolution. In this regard, Moriphara outclassed Lorelia by miles.

Fortunately, she had only recently ascended to the demigod stage. Her core philosophy hadn’t fully calcified. Orion seized the opportunity to mold her.

"Is this what you meant when you said arrogance precedes ruin?" Lorelia looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"You’ve grown." He placed a hand on her head. "You are a demigod now. A fearsome broodmother commanding terror across the realms. You have to learn how to protect yourself, how to weaponize your swarm, and how to harvest faith to ascend further."

A wave of helplessness washed over him. She was an independent entity now. He couldn’t micromanage her evolution. He wasn’t a broodmother; his guidance could only be philosophical, not technical.

Moriphara would have made the perfect mentor. Since the day he met her, the Abyssal broodmother had operated with chilling logic, virtually immune to fatal miscalculations.

"This Ascendant Plane, the Mirage Void, is the perfect crucible for your growth. Keep pushing. You will become the greatest broodmother in the history of the Stoneheart Horde." Orion ruffled her hair, a gesture of absolute faith. Demoralizing his vanguard in the middle of a war was a fool’s tactic.

"You really think so?" Lorelia beamed, wiping away her tears. Her eyes sparkled with renewed ambition.

"Why wouldn’t I?" He smiled. "You were chosen by me, and blessed by the Will of the Realm of the Titanion Realm. Don’t you want Elara, Pallas, Lilith, and Dirtclaw to witness you conquering an entire dimension?"

The mere thought of it made her mouth water. Imagining the arrogant Elara and Pallas trailing behind her like awestruck groupies sent her into a fit of giggles.

And if Lilith boasted about her accomplishments at every royal banquet? Her grin widened.

As for Dirtclaw... well, he’s just a lackey. He should be worshipping the Queen Lorelia anyway...