Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1452 Grazing Grounds

"Ascetic Cyrion has made his way back to the Divine Kingdom. The entire Port Caelwyn diocese lies in ruins. The culprits point to the notorious Hellscream group."

The face of the shadow remained devoid of emotion, his tone even and impersonal, like reciting the day's forecast.

"For capturing these heretics, we demand complete support from the Guardian Knights across the affected dioceses," the shadow went on. "Their numbers are overwhelming. Not a single one can escape capture and scatter into neighboring territories."

At last, the shadow revealed his intent. While the Inquisition wielded power to pursue heretics, they acted as a blunt force; to weave a tight snare, the aid of local Guardian Knights was essential.

"Those insurgents..." Maelric's words carried a chill. "Are these true heretics? Outlaws? Invaders? Or perhaps the blameless?"

Maelric understood the reality. Much of the Hellscream faction was formed by individuals driven to desperation through the insatiable avarice of the Holy Order—much of the graft linked straight to Inquisition members.

"The faithful do not occupy my thoughts. That's your responsibility," the shadow shot back, interrupting sharply. "Heresy alone draws my focus. No heretic may breathe freely under the Holy Light's glow."

Duty collided with moral qualms here. Maelric's features stayed locked in a grim frown, yet he uttered no reply.

Silence, to the shadow, meant agreement. It granted consent.

The shadow pivoted, ready to dissolve into the gloom once more.

"Just one additional note," the shadow mentioned, halting at the doorway. "Based on the Inquisition's examination, Hellscream might have forged ties with a Dark Deity. Maelric... our territories are under surveillance."

Delivering that ominous revelation, the shadow disappeared, abandoning Cardinal Maelric to solitude.

Maelric gazed upward at the stunning fresco gracing the primary wall. It portrayed the Goddess's Descent, the legendary founding tale of the Holy Order.

This served as Maelric's core of faith. He devoted himself wholly to the Goddess. In Her likeness, his sole desire was to redeem the world.

Yet the sarcasm stung deeply. As he labored to rescue the world, a rival branch of the Holy Order actively subjugated it.

Deep bewilderment often gripped Maelric. How could compassion and cruelty forever entwine?

The South, Westreach Trench.

Chaos gripped the sea. Natural tidal patterns shattered, raging waves crashing ferociously over shorelines. Far below, a colossal tsunami gathered force.

Seabed disturbances warped the surrounding waters with powerful ripples.

Titanic behemoths clashed fiercely. Each impact unleashed enormous water blasts exploding from the depths.

The baiting scheme devised by Orion, Leonidas, and Kraken had worked flawlessly. They successfully lured Thalryssa, the Siren Archlord lurking in the trench's profound abysses.

Yet a minor hitch arose.

Archlord Thalryssa arrived accompanied, perched upon an enormous sea serpent of Archlord rank.

Right then, Kraken—transformed into his vast octopus shape—entwined his tentacles firmly around the serpent, limiting its maneuvers. However, from her perch on the serpent's crown, Thalryssa sensed the anomaly.

"You're no dumb primordial monster!" she exclaimed. "Intelligence guides you. You're a foreigner!"

The depths teemed with bizarre terrors. Certain primordial beings held vast might yet preferred slumber, utterly lacking cunning. Upon awakening, they feasted until sated, then rested anew. Thalryssa believed the assaults on her kind stemmed from one such creature.

Never did she anticipate peering into the colossal octopus's gaze and spotting that clear spark of thrill—the gaze of a predator securing its quarry.

"Foreigner! Reveal yourself! Who are you? From whence do you hail?"

Thalryssa seized her dual-tined harpoon, a gem-encrusted tool doubling as scepter and edge. Her lips pressed together, those striking, enormous eyes fixed upon Kraken.

Abruptly, a gill-shaped vent near her throat expanded, twisting into a whirlpool form.

"Foreigner... reveal... who are you... from whence..."

Another voice emerged from the swirl, laced with enchanting sorcery. This auditory assault proved so intense that Kraken, despite his Archlord status, experienced a momentary mental daze.

Capitalizing on the distraction, the sea serpent thrashed wildly, attempting to escape Kraken's grasp. Sadly for it, Kraken's limbs featured coiled sucker pads. Once latched, release proved impossible.

"Fascinating," a calm voice remarked. "That sound assault bears hints of a Divine Art. And her features? Utterly divine perfection."

"Bro, should I handle her, or do you?" Leonidas inquired, his manner aloof.

"She's mine," Orion's deep voice echoed. "She piques my curiosity a bit."

As Orion uttered the words, the Abyssal Dreadfin's manifestation appeared right over Archlord Thalryssa.

An immense silhouette plunged down, ushering in boundless obscurity.

That marked the final sensation for Thalryssa.

Upon regaining consciousness, she discovered herself confined in an organic emptiness—the digestive chamber within Orion's belly.

"Yield, or perish."

The voice resounded coldly and without emotion, reverberating throughout. Thalryssa comprehended her total restraint. Her Transcendent Power stood sealed. The Body of Faith inside her faced domination by an awe-inspiring, overwhelming pressure.

This pressure felt familiar; she had encountered it previously.

Demigod essence defined it.

Despair overwhelmed her thoughts: It's finished. She surveyed the viscous, throbbing barriers of the chamber. Owning a comparable inner realm, she fully grasped the fate awaiting here.

Externally, having engulfed Thalryssa entirely, the Abyssal Dreadfin redirected its assault. Fangs sank straight into the sea serpent's throat.

Through tortured convulsions, the serpent got ripped asunder and consumed, chunk after chunk, by the Abyssal Dreadfin and Kraken. Zero remnants, not even shards of bone, survived.

"Squiddy, you drew the raw deal," Leonidas shouted, leaping from the crystal craft onto a Kraken tentacle. "You handled the bulk of the struggle and claimed half the flesh, yet the Big Guy gulped down the Body of Faith. That's the prime prize."

"Demand a favor from him to even it out!" Leonidas pressed, fanning the flames.

"Boss," Kraken muttered, "I craved it myself, but digestion isn't possible for me!"

In theory, Kraken could assimilate an Archlord's Body of Faith, though it demanded secluded seclusion for gradual processing across months. Amid their territorial conflict, such leisure escaped him.

Orion differed entirely. Housing the Demigod specter, he effortlessly processed the creature's Body of Faith.

"Well, brother," Leonidas queried, winking theatrically at Orion. "What's your strategy for the Siren? Incorporating her into our ranks? Or alternative purposes?"

"Should wisdom prevail for her, she'll oversee the seas in the Divine Kingdom," Orion answered. "Otherwise..."

The statement trailed off, yet its meaning hung heavy. Thalryssa languished in his digestive realm, shackled by Divine Power. Refusal to yield meant inevitable dissolution.

"Exercise caution, brother," Leonidas cautioned, his voice sobering. "That Siren could bear a Divine Pact. Echoes of a Divine Art lingered in her abilities."

"Have no doubts," Orion assured, assurance pulsing through the currents. "Pact or otherwise... should a Demigod's manifestation protect her, it departs lifeless."

Such a daring assertion rang true to Leonidas, not mere bravado. His sibling possessed the might to enforce it.

"Very well, onward with the scheme."

Leonidas gestured for Kraken to retreat to their sanctuary. Kraken flailed his appendages, surging his enormous frame swiftly onward.

Shortly after, the trio of plotters melted into the trench's shadowy crevice, poised for the subsequent disturbance in the depths.