Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1647 Pact of the Scourge

Orion glanced at Cameron bringing up the rear. He was a newly ascended Arch Lord within the Scourge Wardens. Orion knew him; he had noted the warrior's potential when he first subjugated the Wardens. He was no upstart.

"Greetings, My lord," they chanted in unison. "May your glory illuminate every inch of the Abyss!"

Orion gave a curt nod, gesturing for them to sit and wait.

Moments later, the Blood Fiend Standard-bearer Vex and the Fel-Zombie Phorzak entered the hall. Both were now true Arch Lords. Down in the fortress, the teleportation circle flared. Delilah and Xalathar stepped through the portal and quickly ascended the tower.

"My great master! I have missed you!" Xalathar bellowed. "I am ready to bleed for the Horde! Send me back to the Titanion Realm to crush those invaders!"

Orion shot the bald Xalathar a flat look. The creature had taken the form of a towering brute, sporting a massive abyssal dragon tattoo across his chest. Tattooing one's own true form on a humanoid body was certainly a choice. Bound as Orion's contracted mount, Xalathar immediately sensed his master's disdain.

Xalathar chuckled nervously. To cover his embarrassment, he shifted back into his hulking Tyrant Dragon Beast form. He lumbered behind the throne and hoisted both it and Orion onto his massive head, elevating his master far above the gathered commanders.

"Orion, I thought you'd forgotten all about me." Delilah blurred to his side, perching on the edge of the throne and leaning her weight against him.

Orion glanced down, ignoring her blatant advances. He was currently inhabiting his Death-Soul avatar—a body lacking the necessary biology for such activities. Even if he wanted to, engaging with Delilah in this state was impossible.

"Issue the command," Orion said, his voice echoing through the hall. "Set the territory to active patrol. Execute any intruders on sight."

It was a declaration of war. The abyssal Conquest Legion only mobilized fully for bloodshed.

"My homeworld has evolved into an Ascendant Plane. I need reinforcements. Aside from the necessary garrison, I will deploy a portion of you to the Titanion Realm."

Delilah didn't react. With her intelligence network, she already knew.

But for the recently awakened Scourge Wardens, the revelation was staggering. The average creature couldn't grasp the true value of an Ascendant Plane, but the Wardens carried inherited genetic memories. They knew exactly what it meant. Historically, both the Scourge Wardens and the Doomguard were born from such an event. They were apex predators that evolved specifically when the primordial Abyssal World first evolved into an Ascendant Plane.

Hearing that Orion now controlled a newborn Ascendant Plane felt like witnessing a myth come to life.

"My lord, are we to be deployed to the Titanion Realm as well?" Eparus asked hesitantly. "I fear the Scourge Wardens cannot make that journey."

Eparus wasn't rebelling or questioning orders. As favored children of the Abyss, migrating to a foreign world would sever their connection to their power source. It would strip them of their racial advantages, effectively clipping their wings.

"We Scourge Wardens are intrinsically bound to the Abyss," Eparus explained. "We cannot survive apart from it."

In the past, Orion might have misunderstood the refusal. Now, holding the Authority of an Ascendant Plane, he perfectly understood their symbiotic link with the Abyssal World. It was no different from the Stoneheart Titans spawned within his own Divine Kingdom. Without the ambient energy of the Stoneheart Temple, their growth would stagnate.

"What if I use a contract to summon you for short-term combat deployments?" Orion countered, quickly adapting. The Scourge Wardens were among the deadliest shock troops he possessed. He refused to leave that firepower benched.

Eparus's eyes lit up. "That would work! However, a contract summon requires a massive amount of sacrificial offerings, or incredibly pure faith. Without that fuel, we cannot manifest our full strength."

The solution was perfect. It would allow the Wardens to bathe in the bloodshed of war while experiencing realms beyond the Abyss.

"Furthermore, My lord, if the battlefield environment mirrors the Abyssal World, our combat effectiveness will actually increase."

Orion nodded, finalizing his strategy. "Then it's settled. The Scourge Wardens will garrison the Citadel. I need Arch Lord combatants stationed here to crush any local threats. Additionally, mobilize all war supplies within the territory. I will have a massive need for them very soon."

Meanwhile, on the Titan Continent, beyond The Bastion Wall.

In the contested zone, a dense fog of curses suffocated the battlefield, corroding everything it touched. On the ground, vast stretches of Mycelial vegetation swallowed any enemy foolish enough to tread on it.

It was a horrific war of attrition. The black curse fog constantly ate away at the verdant Mycelial vegetation, sapping its life and turning it ash-white to fuel the curse. Simultaneously, the sprawling Mycelial vegetation endlessly absorbed the curse fog, steadily draining its volume and weakening its potency.

"Your Highness, we cannot rely on the Mycelial creatures to hold the line any longer," Dirtclaw said, stepping up behind Caelus. "They haven't been deployed long enough to establish adequate living biomass reserves. Pushing the Mycelial Nexus at maximum capacity will cripple our future tactical options."

Having the Mycelial swarm as an ally was a massive tactical advantage—provided there were enough resources to feed them. Currently, the raw materials of the Titan Continent remained largely unexploited. The Horde lacked the stockpiles required to resupply the Mycelial Nexus. The swarm was rapidly burning through the emergency reserves they had brought upon their descent.

"I'm almost fully prepared on my end. It's time to finish this."

Caelus, who had been resting his eyes, opened them. His gaze was entirely devoid of emotion.

"Watch your back, Uncle Dog!"

Caelus glanced back at Dirtclaw. He had originally called him Uncle Claw, but for some inexplicable reason, Dirtclaw preferred Uncle Dog.

"Now, it's time for some target practice."

Caelus wielded two blades, one long and one short. The longer blade, Sunblade, was built for vicious, aggressive strikes. The shorter blade, Shadowblade, was meant for dark, ruthless precision. These weapons were gifts from the Commander, and Caelus rarely drew them outside of serious combat.