Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1567 The Fall of Dawnbreak

Far, far away, on a continent distinct from the one housing the Stoneheart Horde, a vast geographical expansion had also reshaped the land where the human kingdom resided. A raging war between humanity and the insectoid swarm burned with ferocity. Yet, the human kingdom's military strength was meager when contrasted with the Stoneheart Horde's might. Numerous cities had already succumbed to the swarm's suffocating siege. Countless humans—be they commoners or nobles, males or females, young or old—were devoured, leaving behind only desolate ruins.

"Your Majesty, it concludes. It is all finished!" Grand Duke William's voice was fractured with despair, completely shattered. "Every single city has fallen, with the exception of Dawnbreak! No one survived. Not a single person!"

Upon hearing such devastating tidings, William's hand trembled, unable to hold his sword steady. The majority of his kin resided beyond the royal capital; they had all perished in the devastating event.

"William, my dear companion. How many years have passed since our first meeting?" King Harold, in stark contrast to the Grand Duke, maintained a chilling composure. No trace of sorrow marred his countenance. "I recall we were merely six or seven. I visited your family's estate, and we engaged in practice bouts with wooden swords. Neither of us was prepared to concede defeat."

Harold assisted his old friend to rise, retrieved the sword that had fallen onto the stone floor, and firmly placed it back into William's unsteady hands.

"Do you recall the pledge we uttered then?" Harold inquired gently. "Regardless of the number of obstacles or hardships that lay on the path ahead, we vowed to be valiant. To support one another. To shed blood together and mature together."

"To jointly preserve the kingdom's glory, and uphold the status of the three great houses..." Echoing King Harold's sentiments, William instinctively began to recite the vows they had exchanged as children. Gradually, the overwhelming despair in the Grand Duke's eyes started to fade, supplanted by a hardening resolve.

"I urged you to bring your family to the capital so we could shield them collectively," Harold stated, his voice descending into a somber tone. "But you demurred. You could not detach yourself from the outdated customs of the nobility. Always seeking to preserve an option for the family, always dispersing your nearest relatives like seeds upon the wind as a safeguard. Old friend, the times have transformed. You and I must adapt. The imperial structures and the unwritten codes of the aristocracy all necessitate dismantling and rebuilding."

This was the harsh reality Harold had grasped after their retreat from the Titan Continent. He had earnestly desired to reform his realm, but the hour had passed. Setting aside the fact that Demigod Evander and Saint Noel exerted their influence from positions above him, effectively stifling the throne, the empire was also encompassed by a multitude of voracious, ambitious neighboring territories. Harold had longed for a revolution, but the precarious internal and geopolitical circumstances precluded him from inciting any domestic turmoil.

And now, confronting the cataclysmic might of the insectoid swarm, he and his kingdom were no more than a flickering candle in a tempest, moments from eternal extinction.

"Harold... I harbor regrets," William offered a ghastly, vacant smile, the stark sorrow in his eyes clashing with his newfound fortitude. "But it is too late."

"We still possess hope," Harold declared, gripping William's shoulder firmly. "As long as our Forefathers stand their ground, Dawnbreak shall not falter." The King uttered these words with conviction, though it remained uncertain whether he intended to console the Grand Duke or deceive himself.

"At this juncture, our sole directive is to annihilate the adversaries desecrating our homeland!" King Harold channeled his immense sorrow and animosity into unbridled fury. Donning his crown and wielding his sacred blade, his gaze turned exceptionally frigid. Infused by his old friend's determination, the lethal intent radiating from William's expression intensified into palpable pressure.

BOOM!

However, the instant a sky-rending explosion ripped through the heavens above Dawnbreak, their anguish and homicidal intent were immediately annihilated, replaced by pure, paralyzing dread.

High in the celestial expanse, Saint Noel was hemorrhaging into the vastness. Besieged by three Archlord-class Void-Fanged Insectoids, his existence hung precariously by a slender thread.

The Saint's impending defeat served as a catastrophic trigger. Far in the distance, from the summits of Mount Demigod at the heart of the human kingdom, two incandescent columns of light erupted, illuminating the sky and the entire continent. Silhouetted against the blinding radiance, two titanic figures were locked in a savage, life-or-death struggle, utilizing the very heavens as their grand arena.

Yet, the terrifying, world-rending insectoid shrieks echoing across the sky forced Harold and William to accept a horrifying reality: their faith, their ultimate spiritual pillar, was collapsing right before their eyes. Faced with the swarm's Demigod powerhouse, the Human Demigod, Evander, was being pushed to the absolute brink.

Pitter, patter.

Suddenly, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky. King Harold tilted his head up. A single droplet landed squarely in his eye, staining his vision crimson. It was blood.

'Fore... father...'

'No!' Harold screamed, his voice cracking in absolute madness. In the time it took him to look toward Mount Demigod, Saint Noel had been violently ripped apart by the Void-Fanged Insectoids. The Saint's gruesome death triggered a torrential rain of divine blood across the realm.

'It's over.' This time, it wasn't William who said it. It was Harold.

With the Human Saint slaughtered in battle and their Demigod pinned down, the human kingdom was truly, unequivocally finished.

For the next fifteen minutes, Harold and William abandoned all reason. They charged forward with raised swords, fulfilling their childhood oath to face the thorns and their enemies together.

Half a day later, the grand defensive wards shielding Dawnbreak violently shattered. Grand Duke William threw himself into the swarm and died in combat. Not even a scrap of his corpse remained.

King Harold plummeted from the sky, slamming brutally into the earth. Clinging to his final, ragged breath, he cast one last look toward the direction of the Titan Continent. Then, Harold's vision went black. His era, and his world, took its final bow.

A short distance away, several mite-like insectoids scuttled forward at terrifying speed. In a matter of seconds, they stripped King Harold's corpse clean, leaving nothing behind.

...

'Liars! Liars! You're all damn liars!'

At Mount Demigod, the battlefield was a catastrophic nightmare. The Human Demigod, Evander, was completely locked down by the swarm's Demigod powerhouse, rendering him physically incapable of rescuing his faithful subjects.

What suffocated Evander the most was that his opponent was a Second-Stage Demigod. Facing an entity possessing vastly superior raw power, Evander didn't have a single opening to deploy his usual schemes or political machinations.

But his furious, despairing roar stemmed from another reason entirely: his reinforcements never came.

According to the ironclad pact he had forged with Orion, Seraphina, the Siren Demigod Kairon, and the Dragon Demigod Pyraxis Bloodflame, if any of their factions fell under attack, the others were sworn to deploy immediate aid. Yet, here he was, getting beaten within an inch of his life, and the horizon remained completely empty.

'Hehehe... Are you waiting for your little friends to come save you?' The voice was laced with sadistic mockery. 'Stop dreaming. The rest of them are currently drowning in their own blood.'

'Hahaha! Anyone who stands against the God-Devouring Insectoid Race will die!'

Horath's laughter was manic and dripping with contempt. As one of the strongest Insect Kings serving directly under Insect Queen Moriphara, he found the human Demigod before him pathetically weak. He was simply indulging in a game of cat-and-mouse.

'Remember this as you burn: the one who ended you was the great Insect King Horath!'

The Human Demigod Evander had already been brutally crippled. Flashing a savage, predatory grin, Horath raised both his hands. Countless insectoid runes bled out from the deepest trenches of the void, rapidly condensing between his palms for the killing blow.