Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"Chieftain, what should we do?"

"Yeah, chieftain, those two centipedes are heading back up again!"

Clymene looked up, gazing toward the upper reaches of the Bottomless Abyss, ignoring the questions from Vargrum and Mordak.

First, it was a black-armored salamander, and now two millipede centipedes. To be honest, Clymene was starting to worry about the Stoneheart Horde.

Still, she chose to trust Orion. She believed that Orion would handle everything.

"Forget about them. Let's keep exploring downward!"

"If we don't fully explore what lies below, we won't be able to face returning!"

Hearing Clymene's words, Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, and Grendel—the five giant elders—nodded in agreement. Returning empty-handed would not only leave them dissatisfied but also make them feel humiliated.

---

Black Forest, Southern Region.

Ridi was ecstatic. As he moved southward, away from the Blackstone City area, he encountered countless beasts from both the west and the south.

Under his Alpha-level aura and the deliberate herding of his serpent swarm, more and more beasts were chasing the enticing scent, stampeding toward Blackstone City.

"With so many beasts, plus my 200,000 fiend serpents, this will definitely form a massive beast tide!"

"Orion, I can't wait to see how your horde survives this wave of destruction. Hahaha…"

Ridi was confident that this beast tide would devastate the Stoneheart Horde.

In his eyes, the Black Forest had already suffered significant damage from the recent invasion.

Now, with a beast tide approaching, even if Orion's Stoneheart Horde wasn't wiped out, they would lose a significant number of bloodline warriors.

---

Blackstone City, Moonshadow Valley.

While the elders were busy preparing for battle, Orion, accompanied by Lilith and Elan, visited the cave where the captured broadskull ravens were being held.

Inside the cages, the broadskull ravens were all paralyzed by the venom of the cave spiders, unable to move.

"Can you establish a connection with them?"

Orion turned to Lilith. She was the only one who could communicate with the broadskull ravens without barriers—even Elan from the Skytalon Tribe couldn't do it.

"I can!"

"They're agitated, anxious, and scared."

"They're a bunch of bad-tempered little creatures—mischievous, petty, and full of resentment!"

Lilith squinted slightly. Ever since she had learned the taming skill, she felt like she had discovered a whole new world and was endlessly curious about all kinds of beasts.

"Agitated, scared, mischievous, petty, and resentful?"

"Exactly!"

After pacing around the cave, Orion suddenly turned back to Lilith and said:

"I think we should ignore them for now. Let's starve them for ten days or so!"

"Those that submit can be fed. Those that don't… we'll kill them and use them as food!"

"Not only will we withhold food, but we'll also deprive them of sleep. Don't let them close their eyes. Have the spiders take turns 'serving' them for half a month to wear down their wild nature."

"What do you think?"

Orion offered the suggestion after some thought.

Lilith's eyes widened as she looked at her giant husband.

"Darling Orion, that's a brilliant idea!"

"As you wish!"

Lilith kissed Orion on the cheek, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"It's just a suggestion. How you handle it is up to our taming master!"

Orion smiled as he helped Lilith to her feet and left the cave.

Throughout the entire exchange, Orion didn't ask for Elan's opinion.

After spending so much time observing and waiting, Orion had come to realize that the Skytalon Tribe's method of taming beasts was no better than servitude.

Their approach to taming flying beasts involved offering the best magical plants as tribute to the beasts.

If they encountered a kind and grateful flying beast, they might form a contract with the Skytalon Tribe.

But the chances of this happening were slim. Building an aerial army this way was nothing short of wishful thinking.

When it came to more prideful flying beasts, they wouldn't even acknowledge Elan and his people.

Take Orion's own mount, Thunderhawk Rayden, for example.

No matter how much Elan and Rowena tried to entice or beg it, Rayden refused to form a contract with them.

As a result, Orion had lost faith in the Skytalon Tribe and placed his hopes on Lilith instead.

The only reason he hadn't stopped the Skytalon Tribe from continuing their efforts to tame flying beasts was that having another option couldn't hurt. Who knew? They might get lucky someday.

Shortly after leaving the cave, Orion encountered Elder of Stewardship Delilah, who was approaching him.

Orion knew that if Delilah had come to find him personally, something significant must have happened.

"What's the situation?"

"Yes."

As they walked toward the chieftain's tent, Orion gestured for Delilah to explain slowly.

"Chieftain, scouts outside the city have reported that an uncountable number of beasts are stampeding toward Blackstone City from the south."

"The report also mentioned the presence of a large number of organized, disciplined, and powerful fiend serpents."

"Chieftain Orion, this beast tide might be one of those supermassive beast tides!"

Delilah's face was grim, her mood clearly sour.

Orion, however, remained expressionless. He wasn't particularly worried about the beast tide. No matter how massive it was, it couldn't withstand the relentless hunting of the Stoneheart Horde.

If not for the assistance of the cave spiders, Orion might have been concerned.

But ever since the cave spider population had grown to over 100,000, Orion had stopped worrying about the possibility of a siege.

"When is the beast tide expected to reach Blackstone City?" Continue reading stories on empiren/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"At the latest, by noon tomorrow. At the earliest, by dawn."

"Did the report describe the fiend serpents?"

"Yes. They're pitch black with a golden stripe down their backs. The serpent swarm includes a significant number of elite-level and hero-level beasts."

"Go and prepare. Check what supplies are still needed on each defensive line and make sure the warriors have everything they need."

"Understood!"

After the brief exchange, Orion's eyes narrowed.

"Tell Rendall and Onyx to take the hunting party and cannon fodder troops and restore the traps outside the city overnight!"

Before Delilah left, Orion quickly added the instruction.

Watching her retreating figure, Orion fell into deep thought.

"A fiend serpent swarm… could it be from the Abyssal Chasm?"

"Could it be that Gareth has set her sights on the Stoneheart Horde?"

Orion was no stranger to fiend serpents.

During the last southern invasion, Orion had discussed them in depth with Slagor.

According to Slagor's intelligence, Lord Gareth commanded a cannon fodder troop composed of fiend serpents.

Now, seeing this fiend serpent troop appear as part of the beast tide attacking Blackstone City was troubling news.

"Let's hope that's not the case. Otherwise…"