Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Blightmire tried spewing some other useless intel, but eventually ran out of things to say. He collapsed in front of Orion and Rumbold, weeping.

"So, you're telling me you're not one of Lord Murktooth's subordinates?"

"Respected Lord, Blightmire is not under Murktooth. Murktooth is a Goblin from the central region."

A Goblin from the central region would be a subordinate of one of the arch lords. Unfortunately for him, that arch lord is too busy with their own problems and definitely isn't going to bother Orion.

So Orion waved at Thundar, signaling him to drag that Goblin away for bloodletting.

"Black-blooded Goblin Blightmire, sorry, but I don't plan to spare your life."

As soon as Orion spoke those words, Blightmire's sobs came to an abrupt halt. Lifting his head with a look of utter disbelief, he stared at Orion.

Orion shrugged, showing he had little choice.

Moments later, Blightmire's shrieks echoed through Fallen City.

"Orion, it's a good thing you didn't keep that Goblin, or your territory would be in deep trouble."

Orion was annoyed by Rumbold's smug hindsight. Rumbold often acted and spoke as though he were testing Orion, which got under Orion's skin.

"Mr. Rumbold, please enlighten me."

Though Orion was frustrated with him, he still held back and asked for more information.

"The races of the godforsaken land are all forsaken and cursed by the gods. If you sign a contract with them, there's a huge chance it'll catch some god's attention.

"In my master's territory, making contracts with these lowly races is prohibited.

"Besides, I can sense a whiff of evil on them."

Hearing "races forsaken and cursed by the gods," Orion immediately thought of himself—and of Lysinthia behind him. Orion, after all, was cursed by a god. Only, the curse wasn't very powerful and didn't seem to have merged with the titan blood running through his veins.

As for Lysinthia, she'd turned into a Gorgon—practically a traitor to her own people—though Orion wasn't sure if that meant she was "abandoned by the gods."

"Mr. Rumbold, thank you for the warning."

Orion was grateful for the new insight. Still, regardless of that gratitude, he found Rumbold's attitude irritating.

"Lord Orion, don't mention it. I'm just following my Master's orders to assist you."

Orion couldn't tell if Rumbold realized how arrogant he sounded, as if he stood on a higher rung and looked down on everyone else.

In the end, Orion only nodded without replying. He knew Rumbold was Arthas's subordinate, and Orion wouldn't create unnecessary friction with his ally's man.

Besides, Orion really did need Rumbold for this cleanup mission—he was a Legendary-level powerhouse, after all.

Deep down, Orion detested how his own lack of strength denied him the respect he craved. Another point that stung was the fact that, under Rumbold's gaze, Orion's subordinates all seemed to lose their luster.

––––––––

In the central region of the godforsaken land.

This was the territory of arch lord Gollum, the black-blooded Goblin King. The buildings here radiated a distinct aura of evil.

In the city that bore arch lord Gollum's name, countless Goblin warriors stood both in the streets and atop the walls.

Within the Goblin hierarchy, an arch lord is called a Goblin King, and a lord is referred to as a Goblin Prince—the highest tiers of their power structure. Following below them are Goblin Leaders, Goblin Guards, and Goblin Soldiers, lining up with Alpha-level, Heroic-level, and Elite-level, respectively.

Right now, all those Goblin warriors had their gazes fixed skyward.

Above them hovered a bone dragon and a Blood Lion with four wings sprouting from its back.

At that moment, Leonidas—who had been in the form of a scrawny yellow dog—had transformed into a Blood Lion three times bigger than the bone dragon. The sheer power rolling off him was astounding.

His eyes glowed a dark red, radiating a pressure so intense that the Goblin warriors of Gollum City couldn't budge.

"My friends from another realm—what do you want?"
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"I believe that any dispute over interests can be solved through negotiation!"

A raspy voice echoed from a castle deep within Gollum City. In the blink of an eye, the black-blooded Goblin King, Gollum, kicked off the ground and flew up, placing himself opposite the bone dragon and the towering Blood Lion.

"Boney McBoneface, that guy sure seems cunning. Why don't you handle him?"

Leonidas let out a ferocious roar to intimidate the enemy, then fell silent.

"Surrender your territory, or bow to us and become our enslaved subjects!"

From the moment Arthas opened his mouth, it was clear this wasn't going to be a fight solved by talking.

"I see you come bearing ill will. I don't understand…why would intruders be drawn to this land the gods abandoned?"

Still, Goblin King Gollum didn't back down just because of Arthas's overbearing words.

"The Lord's Stone…a resource. And it happens to belong to an arch lord."

"Keh-heh-heh…"

Arthas let loose a disturbing laugh and pulled the colossal sword off his back.

Boom…boom…boom!

Purple-black flames ignited along the blade, radiating a chill that could freeze a man's soul.

"This world deserves to be annihilated. Are you ready?"

Arthas wasn't taking no for an answer. Before he'd even finished speaking, he swung his sword.

These purple flames blazed fiercely across the sky, as if they would burn a hole in the very heavens, heralding doomsday.

"Damned invaders! The sun may be setting, but Goblins still have their pride!"

"Let our black blood smolder!"

Goblin King Gollum roared in rage, screaming at the top of his lungs.

On the ground below, strange buildings across Gollum City began to glow. One after another, Goblin warriors burst where they stood, their blood absorbed by these bizarre structures.

In the end, a pitch-black sun the size of a millstone rose above Gollum City. It ascended into the sky, shining bright until it finally exploded.

That black sun's detonation made no sound—there was only a flash of brilliant light.

A moment later, though the blast had faded, the black sun remained high in the sky. A fierce wind swept through, carrying away the dense veil of blood mist.

"Goblins are such a despicable race—cowardly, sneaky, and always switching sides."

Leonidas's voice echoed down from above. He was back to his tiny form, perched atop the bone dragon.

"The display of that black sun was pretty dramatic, but its actual power wasn't that impressive. Something's fishy here."

Arthas glanced in the direction Goblin King Gollum had fled, then turned his gaze toward the structure that had just created the black sun.

"Fishy my ass. That guy just put on a show and then ran while we were busy gawking!"

"Soon he'll join up with the other two arch lords, and then we'll have to deal with all of them."

Leonidas, still in a talkative mood, kept spouting complaints.

But then he caught sight of a few of those peculiar buildings on the ground, and his eyes sparkled.