Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1352 Golden Age

"A single mistake," Lilith remarked, her tone saturated with the grim weight of a dark prophecy. "And we are witnessing the total extinction of our kind."

She allowed the statement to linger in the air like a sharpened guillotine blade ready to fall. Her somber gaze shifted toward Orion, her face a mask of seriousness.

"According to the data analyzed by the [Strategic Council], a catastrophic global famine is projected to strike within three years."

Lilith gestured toward a map spread across the desk. "The insect plague represents a lethal threat to the agricultural heart of every major city. Borers, locusts, and root-eaters... their rate of reproduction is exponential. In this conflict, the first casualty won't be a soldier on the front lines; it will be the harvest itself."

"Unless the other factions begin stockpiling grain immediately, society will shatter the moment the crops fail. Hunger is the mother of anarchy. While armies starve, the peasantry will rise in mutiny."

She paused, a chilling light flickering in her eyes. She hadn't even begun to describe the secondary fallout.

"Yet, within such chaos, there is immense opportunity. The one who controls the grain controls the masses. Food is destined to become more precious than gold. By feeding them, we gain ownership over them. We shall harvest not just their loyalty, but their Faith."

Lilith gave Orion a knowing look. She understood the intricacies of this game. Even as the Titanion Realm burned, the Stoneheart Horde was positioned to flourish.

Their agricultural production was not tied to the soil of this world. Between the pocket dimension managed by Scarecrow and Aerin’s [Forest of Nature], their supply chains were both diversified and beyond the reach of enemies.

"But why would they go hungry?"

The innocent inquiry pierced through the oppressive atmosphere. Lorelia tilted her head, her confusion genuine.

"There are bugs everywhere," she noted, her large eyes blinking in bewilderment. "If they are so hungry, why don't they eat the insects? They have a nice crunch."

It was a question only Lorelia would think to ask. Her life had been a continuous feast of corpses provided by Orion, regardless of their origin or species. To her, all biomass was simply food.

Lilith reached out to stroke Lorelia’s hair, her expression softening. Rather than being annoyed, she felt a touch of envy.

"You and Soraya are different, little one. Regardless of how the laws of this world are twisted, you remain at the very apex of the food chain."

"This shift in the world's laws is a death sentence for the other races," Lilith explained with gentleness. "But for you? For your Tribes? This marks the beginning of a Golden Age."

"You are not the victims of this catastrophe. You are its beneficiaries."

A hint of longing colored Lilith’s voice. She was envious of their sheer biological adaptability. Soraya possessed a fragment of the [Desert's Authority], while Lorelia had naturally grasped the [Lord's Stone]. They were doing more than surviving; they were undergoing evolution.

"Furthermore," Lilith added, shifting back to the matter at hand, "the infestation is going to strip the environment completely bare."

"Grasslands, forests, and wetlands—entire ecosystems will be consumed and transformed into desolate wastelands. The native species of this world are facing total annihilation. And the destruction won't stop at the coast; the oceans are next."

It was a silent disaster, one that had been simmering for years, remaining invisible until it was too late to stop.

"And lastly, we must consider the pestilence."

"Slaughter and famine leave behind mountains of rotting corpses. Decay breeds sickness. Without proper sanitation, plagues will race across the territories like a wildfire."

Lilith said this with a casual shrug. To them, this was the least concerning issue.

Every city within the Stoneheart Horde was fortified with a [Plague Totem Pole]. For their people, a plague wasn't a danger; it was a power source. These Totems would harvest the pathogens and transmute them into pure Faith Energy to sustain the Horde.

"Lilith," Lorelia said, finally putting down the intelligence report. "If your words are true... I cannot even fathom the civilization level of the insect world that is invading us."

The scale of the threat finally dawned on her. This wasn't just a natural disaster. It was a complete rewrite of the planet's reality.

"Orion," Soraya asked, her voice losing its usual seductive lilt, replaced by the sharp concern of a warrior. "Is the Stoneheart Horde capable of surviving a collision on this scale?"

Both Lilith and Lorelia fell silent, their eyes fixed intently on their King.

Orion reclined in his chair, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat against the armrest. He looked like a man pondering his next meal rather than a leader facing an apocalypse.

"If this had occurred before my ascension to Demigod," Orion stated, his voice steady and calm, "we would currently be packing our belongings to flee into another dimension."

He ceased his tapping and met their gazes, a smirk of absolute confidence appearing on his lips.

"But now? We do not run. We prepare for war. And we shall bleed this conflict for every drop of profit it can provide."

His certainty was unshakable. He wasn't merely a Demigod; he was one with powerful connections. If his personal strength proved insufficient, he could call upon allies. He had the mermaid Demigod, Seraphina, at his side. If the situation turned truly dire, he could even summon the Commander.

Orion was so thoroughly prepared that he was almost eager for the invasion to commence.

The lingering tension in the room vanished. Lilith smiled, Soraya relaxed, and Lorelia giggled, relieved that her comfortable life of eating and sleeping was safe.

"You spoke of five stages," Lorelia chirped. "What are the final two?"

"Stage Four: Convergence Zones," Lilith replied, consulting the strategic outlines Orion had helped draft. "We anticipate that in regions with high insect density, the fabric of reality will grow thin. Wormholes and pocket dimensions—[Secret Realms]—will manifest. These will be significantly empowered by the insect-aligned laws."

"And Stage Five," Lilith concluded, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "The Breach. The Secret Realms shatter. The two worlds physically crash together and integrate. Total war begins."

"At that point, no race, no faction, and no god will be able to remain on the sidelines."

Lorelia and Soraya both frowned. They vividly recalled the struggles for the [Emerald Dream Realm] and the [Silverwood Realm].

They remembered the brutal meat-grinder of inter-dimensional combat. The Champions Alliance had funneled staggering resources into those wars—legions of Mages, Undead armies, and battalions of Beasts. It was a level of violence where individual power meant nothing.

In those conflicts, even the most powerful entities were merely dust in the wind. Millions of soldiers were ground into oblivion in a matter of hours.

"Master," Lorelia said, lifting a small, resolute fist. "I must expand the spider nurseries. I need to breed more. I need millions more."

She was driven by fear, or perhaps it was pure instinct.

Soraya nodded in agreement. In a war of attrition, sheer quantity possessed its own quality. Fortunately, with the [Sea of Sand] under her control, her Scorpion Tribe had seen an explosion in both numbers and strength over the past decade.

"Expansion is a requirement," Orion agreed, rising to his feet. "But before we do that..."