Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Then, Orion marked several important locations on the mountain range at the back of Red Moon Valley and on the stone peaks at its front.

"Arrow towers must be built at these locations. Have your small spiders transport the materials there."

Lorelia was unqualified to supervise the construction of defensive fortifications; Red Moon Valley still lacked a foreman.

Orion thought of Onyx. He prepared to make a trip back to Blackstone City to temporarily bring Onyx over as a construction supervisor.

After several trips back and forth to arrange tasks for Lorelia, Orion returned to the vicinity of the teleportation array.

Three days later, the first to return to Red Moon Valley was Lumi.

Sensing Lumi's aura, Orion proactively walked out of the cave and waited on the city wall for Lumi's arrival.

A surge of wind and snow moved, and Lumi appeared beside Orion. Although her body was ice-cold, it exuded a sense of beauty.

Orion very naturally pulled Lumi into his embrace, and together they gazed at the vast expanse of white snow outside the city.

"This snow cannot stop. It must continue to fall. It would be best if it covered the entire nearby region, blocking all roads leading to Red Moon Valley."

"Mm!"

Lumi rested her head against Orion's chest, asking nothing about the next steps, nor inquiring about any enemies, simply letting the wind and snow fall around them.

"I need to make a trip back to Blackstone City to bring Onyx over. The defensive construction here needs him."

"After I leave, you enter the cave. Do not leave the vicinity of the teleportation array; it can hide your aura there."

Lumi didn't speak, but Orion knew she was listening intently.

Lumi had never disappointed him.

Half a day later, the teleportation array within Red Moon Valley lit up, and Orion vanished within it.

...

Titanion Realm, Human Kingdom.

From the distant sky, a troop of griffins flew over, slowly landing on the flat ground outside Rose Manor.

Prince Theodore dismounted from his griffin, glanced at Garrett guarding the wall, nodded towards him, and then walked into Rose Manor.

In the hall deep within the manor, Prince Theodore saw Brom and James standing guard to the side.

Prince Theodore recognized Brom and James, as he had previously served as an envoy to Stoneheart City and had even challenged the Giant King in the Colosseum.

Brom and James bowed slightly. Prince Theodore nodded and walked inside.

In the living room, Princess Ava was currently teasing Kronos. Upon seeing a stranger walk in, Kronos let out a stream of babble.

"Are you hungry? I had the chef prepare a few dishes you love. Shall I have them brought up now?"

"I am a bit hungry!"

Prince Theodore sat down nearby. Just as he settled, Princess Ava handed Kronos over to him.

"Watch him for me; I'll go get you something to eat!"

Prince Theodore paused for a moment, stunned. By the time he reacted, his aunt Ava had already left.

Watching his aunt's figure, Prince Theodore sensed a subtle change.

In his aunt, Theodore detected a familiar quality, a quality he usually only felt from his own mother.

"Has she changed?"

"Even Aunt has matured!"

Prince Theodore muttered to himself, then looked down at Kronos in his hands.

This was truly a giant cub; his appearance was entirely unlike a human's.

However, meeting Kronos's eyes, Prince Theodore knew this was also the bloodline of the Leofric royalty.

Kronos's eye color was peculiar—heterochromia. His left eye was blue, his right eye reddish-black.

Blue was the mark of the human royal bloodline.

And reddish-black was the mark of the Blackstone giant bloodline.

"Kronos, do you know who I am?"

"I am Theodore, your cousin!"

"Come, say 'cousin' for me to hear."

"..."

Responding to Prince Theodore was a stream of babble from Kronos.

"He can't talk yet, can't even say mama!"

Ava returned carrying two plates of shortbread, placing them aside. One plate was for Prince Theodore, the other was supplementary food for Kronos.

Ava took Kronos back, broke off a piece of shortbread, and fed it bit by bit into Kronos's mouth.

"This little fellow has a great appetite, and his food intake is astonishing."

"If I hadn't seen those two giants feeding him jerky, I wouldn't have believed Kronos could accept supplementary food already."

Giant cubs and human infants were vastly different.

The giants' living environment was relatively harsh, and their cubs were hardier.

Many giant cubs were fed meat paste after reaching three months of age.

Those in poorer conditions might even be fed raw meat directly.

"Aunt, you've become more beautiful, more gentle than before!"

Gazing at his Aunt Ava, whose entire focus was on Kronos, Prince Theodore was quite certain: this was a mother, possessing the same quality as his own mother.

It was a kind of gentleness, and also a maternal radiance.

In this world, the things that change a person's character aren't limited to hardship and emotions.

There are also children!

Kronos's appearance had brought about a change in Ava's personality.

Currently, this change was positive.

Even the gentlest woman becomes strong after having a child.

Furthermore, for the sake of their child, in certain aspects, they can even break through themselves, break through their limits.

"Aunt..."

Looking at Ava, the words he had prepared beforehand, Prince Theodore surprisingly couldn't bring himself to say.

"Is something wrong?"

Ava continued to feed Kronos with her head lowered, not looking up at Prince Theodore.

"The dark beast tides are about to descend. My father and I hope you can return to the royal palace to recuperate."

Prince Theodore gathered his thoughts, but ultimately didn't mention Pallas, instead changing the subject to invite Ava back to the palace.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"I have the Rose Knight Regiment here, the guards you dispatched, and also a troop of giant Raptor cavalry."

"It's not as dangerous here as you think!"

Dangerous?

How could it be!

Prince Theodore had come to Rose Manor this time precisely to guard this region's Void Passage, and also for the convenience of taking care of Ava.

Of course, Ava wasn't wrong either. With Rose Manor's defensive strength, weathering the dark beast tides would certainly pose no problem.

"Don't just talk, the pastries taste better when they're hot!"

This time, Ava looked up, urging Prince Theodore to eat while it was warm.

Prince Theodore nodded, picked up a piece of pastry, and tossed it into his mouth.

In a glance, Theodore noticed that Kronos had already finished his own plate of shortbread.

At this moment, Kronos was staring wide-eyed, looking with intense longing at the pastry in Prince Theodore's hand.

"Don't give him any; he's already eaten too much!"

Just as Prince Theodore was about to offer the pastry in his hand, Ava spoke out, stopping him.

"You sit here for a while; I'll go put him to sleep!"

Ava picked up Kronos, who was kicking his arms and legs, and gave the little fellow's bottom a firm pat. Only then did he settle down.

Half an hour later, after Prince Theodore had finished the food brought up from the kitchen, Ava slowly walked into the living room.

"What you didn't say earlier—you can say it now!"