Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1615 Crucible of Thirteen

Makareth gave up struggling, going limp like a dead fish against Leonidas. Disgusted, Leonidas shoved him off.

"I'm not screwing around, Makareth," Leonidas said, his tone dropping into a rare deadpan. "A million is just the quota for phase one. If you want to reach the demigod tier, you need an unlimited supply of war slaves from the Abyss. Any race will do. Once Orion punches a hole through to The Primordial Continent, that's your ticket to ascension."

The Primordial Continent was a vast, unclaimed expanse. If Makareth had the sheer power to back it up, he could achieve demigod status in record time. He had already comprehended the Lord's Stone on his own; all he lacked was territory and faith energy.

"Seriously?" Makareth instantly snapped out of his funk. He darted up to the Death-Soul Fiend avatar, waiting for Orion's confirmation.

"This is an Ascendant Plane," Orion nodded. "The Primordial Continent is constantly evolving. The landmass and resource pools are expanding. As long as you have the strength to withstand the siege of the other three factions, ascending to godhood on the spot isn't impossible."

Orion looked at Makareth and Isabella. Both were formidable Arch Lords. As long as no demigods intervened, they could lead the coalition forces to sweep the board. Makareth, in particular, was a force of nature; the Demon Race was universally feared for its sheer combat prowess.

"Hahaha! The era of Makareth has finally arrived!" he roared. He had survived the Abyss by the skin of his teeth, where every step was a lethal gamble. Bleeding in the Abyss or bleeding in the Titanion Realm made no difference to him. If anything, fighting here offered a safety net—this was Orion's turf. With his brothers from the Champions Alliance trickling in, Makareth's confidence was peaking.

"I want a territory on the Titan Continent. I'm crowning myself an independent queen," Isabella demanded. Unlike Makareth's manic joy, she carried an air of gunpowder the moment she set foot in the realm.

For an Arch Lord like her, the most logical places to stake a claim were the neutral oceans or The Primordial Continent. Yet, she was stubbornly insisting Orion carve out a slice of his home continent just for her.

Orion looked at Isabella, a sudden, ambiguous smirk playing on his lips. "Every inch of land on the Titan Continent belongs to me—including the women on it. Are you sure you want a piece of that?"

Isabella froze. Beside her, Leonidas and Makareth choked back their laughter until they finally broke, howling with amusement.

"The hell are you laughing at?" Isabella snapped, her regal queen facade instantly giving way to a fiery street brawler. She glared at Orion. "Hulk, if you have the balls to offer it, I have the balls to take it!"

Orion didn't take the bait. Pushing it further would only damage her pride, and a queen needed her dignity.

"Your primary enemy is the Swarm," Orion pivoted smoothly. "They are one of the Four Great Scourges. I shouldn't need to explain how terrifying they are. The Swarm occupying the two landmasses adjacent to the Titan Continent are relatively easier to handle. Their individual units are weaker, making it the perfect hunting ground for you to rack up Glory Points."

He pointed toward the horizon, outlining the tactical situation. "Don't let your guard down. The Swarm produces highly specialized mutations. Underestimate them, and you'll end up dead. Furthermore, the second a broodmother or an Insect King hits the battlefield, prioritize taking them out."

He wasn't nagging. The presence of a broodmother or an Insect King completely overhauled the Swarm's combat efficiency. A hive with a leader was an entirely different beast than a leaderless horde.

"Enough talk, Orion. Isabella and I are heading to the front lines to see for ourselves," Makareth grinned wickedly. A pair of demonic wings ripped from his back, and a suffocating, deathly black mist rolled off his body.

Orion could see it—the moment Makareth transformed, he grew cold and bloodthirsty. This was his true nature.

"I will drown every inch of this dirt in blood..." Makareth whispered, his voice distorted and manic. "This is the fertile soil that will nourish my soul... slaughter... rot..."

Orion couldn't tell if Makareth was just being painfully edgy or if this was simply how Demons operated. Either way, the aura radiating off him was genuinely terrifying.

Is this the aura of a Trueborn Demon? Orion wondered as he watched Makareth take off.

On top of The Bastion Wall, Isabella ran a hand through her hair, flashing Orion a look before turning away. A sleek, draconic-style golden knight's armor materialized over her body.

"I'm going to see exactly what kind of monsters we're dealing with," she declared. Her golden visor snapped shut. Isabella leaped from The Bastion Wall. A massive golden dragon breached the clouds, catching her mid-air. Knight and dragon soared directly into the sun.

"The girl's got the killing intent down," Leonidas observed, stroking his chin as he watched them shrink into the horizon.

"Alexander wouldn't have picked her if she didn't have claws," Orion replied.

The two men stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the wind, projecting a towering presence that seemed to dwarf the world around them.

"How's Squiddy doing?" Leonidas asked. As Kraken's mentor, he naturally cared about the man's impending push to the demigod tier.

"He's aggressively claiming the adjacent oceanic territories. Once Kraken secures his foothold, I'll allow the allied aquatic factions to move in," Orion said. "My Dreadfin avatar is keeping an eye on him. As long as he doesn't dive too deep into the neutral waters, he'll be fine." Orion paused, his gaze shifting. "However, there's movement on the far end of The Bastion Wall. I need to check it out."

The Bastion of the West. The Blightlands.

The Blightlands were a neutral zone bordering the Titan Continent. Ever since The Lifeless Dreadgod unleashed his black rain, the region had festered into a barren wasteland. In the wake of the storm, vile entities from The Lifeless Expanse had begun manifesting with alarming frequency.

The Titan Continent couldn't ignore the incursions. A vanguard of Arch Lords, spearheaded by the Gnoll Dirtclaw, launched a preemptive strike.

Alexander held nothing back against the encroaching forces, deploying the entirety of the Blade Hall's The Twelve Zodiac Lords into the war zone. Led by Sever and Flay, the phantom-like assassins—the Lord of Severing, Lord of Flaying, Lord of Bisection, Lord of Heartrending, Lord of the Severed Tongue, Lord of a Thousand Cuts, Lord of the Noose, Lord of the Gallows, Lord of Amputation, Lord of the Rack, Lord of the Iron Maiden,and Lord of Castration—haunted the battlefield, striking from the shadows.

Today, however, the main character on the battlefield wasn't Dirtclaw or The Twelve Zodiac Lords.

The undisputed focal point, carving a path of absolute destruction, was Caelus—the legendary Giant Prince of the Stoneheart Horde.

Currently, Caelus was trapped within a sinister barrier formed by thirteen Demonic Pillars. Atop each pillar sat a high-stage Arch Lord, weaving complex hand seals to maintain the array.

Without a doubt, this was the most grueling, exhilarating battle of Caelus's entire life.