Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

As soon as the words "cultivation resources" were spoken, every elder's mind shifted to Dark Source Crystals and the Alpha-level crystal core Orion carried. Then, each of them glanced up at the shining Arrow Towers standing tall upon the city walls, and they felt their blood boil with renewed passion, their fighting spirit rising.

Delilah secretly nodded, satisfied with the little trick she had just used. Illusions don't always have to be aimed at the enemy—sometimes they can be great for motivating your own people.

However, that collective passion and fighting will can't hold up forever. For half a month straight, the Dark Creatures outside continued to gather in greater numbers, showing no sign of launching an attack.

In contrast, the Spider Queen's little spiders, sent out time and again, had mostly failed to return and died out there in the field. Even before the real battle had started, they were suffering losses—that was not a good omen.

On the city walls, Delilah and the other elders had been eating and sleeping out here the entire time, not daring to leave for even a moment.

"This can't go on," said Onyx, who sat cross-legged on the ground. He gazed into the darkness beyond the walls, voice low.

"The more time drags on, the more everyone's patience wears thin, and the more agitated our people become. On a battlefield, restlessness leads to poor decisions. Morale takes a hit, and emotions can spiral out of control."

"Delilah, we have to find a way to make this fight start sooner rather than later."

Delilah nodded in agreement. She too wished the battle would just begin already. The enemy's game plan was obvious: they wanted to stall until they held the advantage. The longer things drag out, the more likely the Dark Creatures' approach will dictate the pace of battle.

"Let's go on the offensive," Lilith suggested. Her words drew the notice of every elder present, especially since Orion had given orders to focus on defense.

"Orion told us not to leave the city because he wants the fighting to happen beneath these walls—which is a huge advantage for us. But with the enemy just hanging around, our Bloodline Warriors are burning off their motivation and morale by the day. That's bad news. We can try baiting these Dark Creatures closer, lure them right under our walls."

Lilith cast her gaze around at the group, then spoke calmly and decisively. "Even if we fail to lure them in, at least we can share some positive battle reports with our people—boost morale and keep the fighting spirit high."

Lilith's suggestion made Delilah, Onyx, and Slagor all perk up. They exchanged glances, silently swapping opinions.

"I'm in favor of Lilith's plan."

"Me too. But I'd like to point out that whomever we send outside to draw them in ought to be highly mobile."

Delilah nodded. After a brief pause, she added with firm seriousness, "I'm on board as well. But who's the best fit for this mission?"

Her question brought about a hush among the elders. As they fell into thought, Thundar stood up.

"Leave that to our cavalry corps. No one's got better mobility than we do."

Delilah studied Thundar for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Thundar, be careful out there. Fall back through the Arrow Towers' firing range when you come back. That'll make covering you a lot easier."

Thundar nodded, accepting her advice. "Then I'll head off to make final preparations. You all get ready for a real fight."

Half an hour later, three thousand cavalry-bloodline warriors rode out of the city astride their Snow Wolves, forming neat ranks and retaining solid momentum. Mixed in with the wolf pack were a few Cave Spiders, a Bone Python here and there, and even a single Deep Abyss Dragon.

"Pass on the word to the archers, crossbowmen, and spear-throwers—tell them to get ready for combat!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Outside the city, among the cavalry, Thundar was surrounded by Dace, Otho, Beyn, and Torba. Since Orion was away from the Horde, anyone serving as a knight was naturally part of this cavalry party carrying out the task of luring the enemy. At Thundar's side loomed a Hero-level Abyss Dragon.

"Dace, Otho, Beyn, Torba, your Frost Wolves pack more power than the others', which makes them the alphas. Guide the rest of the group and keep an eye on everyone's safety.

"Fergus," Thundar continued, "you'll lead our cavalry's javelin-throwers, and you get at most three volleys. Whether we manage to bait them or not, we pull back after that—is that clear?"

Fergus nodded. He tightened his grip on his trident, bearing strong fighting intent in his eyes.

As a child, Fergus had trained with the warhammer; to him, the brute strength of warriors swinging giant warhammers or spiked clubs was true power.

But once Orion became the strongest Bloodline Warrior of the Horde, Fergus had changed course—he switched to a trident and trained with it unrelentingly.

He had once had it in mind to challenge Orion one day, to become the mightiest fighter in the Horde. That was his private ambition and driving force. But when Orion shot up to Legendary level, Fergus had to let that plan go.

He wasn't delusional; he knew Orion could squash him in a single blow.

So Fergus set a different goal—amass enough battle honors to push his way to the peak of Hero level and hopefully break into Alpha-level sooner rather than later.

Orion embodied the Horde's glory, the Giant King, lord of the Black Forest. Fergus wanted to bathe in that glory and become stronger, standing among the best of the giants. He had no choice but to push himself to the limit if he wanted more of the Horde's attention.

Fortunately, Fergus had done enough to gain the trust—and the partnership—of a small Abyss Dragon.

"Ready—!"

"Fire!"
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A lethal glint flashed in Fergus's eyes alongside a surge of killing intent. At his roar, the front ranks of Bloodline Warriors launched their spears or fired bolts from their crossbows.

Thud, thud, thud!

In the darkness, the sounds of tearing flesh could be heard, and the wounded howls of Dark Creatures rang out.

"Second round—aim… fire!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Amid the whistling storm of arrows, Fergus caught sight of a tide of Dark Creatures charging from the darkness.

"Switch directions—retreat along our planned route!"

Awooo!

With low snarls, the wolves spun around. The Dark Creatures followed on their heels like a menacing tide, rolling in with unstoppable momentum.