Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Moreover, the Abyss Dragon holds even greater potential, making it easier to reach Legendary level.

The reason is simple: the Abyss Dragon was hatched by Orion, and for the most part, it resides within Orion's Titan's Heart.

Since Orion is a Legendary-level powerhouse, and his Titan's Heart is brimming with blood that works like a massive boost for the Abyss Dragon.

More importantly, the Abyss Dragon shares a connection with Orion's mind. Through Orion's growth in power, the Abyss Dragon can draw on that experience and learn from it. That's precisely why the Abyss Dragon's potential is so immense and why Orion values it so much.

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Murktooth City takes its name from the Goblin King, Murktooth.

Honestly, Murktooth picked up this little trick of naming a city after himself from Gollum, the Goblin King before him.

Although Murktooth warned his subordinates about the incoming enemies, he himself went into hiding.

More accurately, Murktooth went to bring in reinforcements.

At the easternmost edge of the godforsaken land lies the territory of the night elf lord Jarod.

"Murktooth, Caleb, this is night elf territory. You two aren't welcome here!"

Jarod was furious that two foreign lords had barged into his territory. His face darkened with rage.

"Could it be that those filthy goblins have teamed up with those disgusting humans?"

"They want to attack our territory together?"
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That was Jarod's first thought, and it worried him a bit. However, in his own territory, he showed no fear.

"Heh... If it weren't for the apocalypse, I'd never show my face in your territory, you wretched night elf!"

This came from Murktooth. Goblins and night elves are natural enemies, and they loathe each other. There's a rumor that goblins and night elves share a common ancestry, but in reality, both races refuse to acknowledge any connection.

Night elves still maintain the attractive features of the elf race—handsome men, gorgeous women, quite the sight to behold. Ironically, that beauty has turned many night elves into captives of both goblins and humans, kept around purely for amusement.

Of course, among goblins, night elves are mostly used for breeding.

There's a running joke on the Perpetual Night Continent: night elf females carry a child for twelve months, but once they're forced to breed with a goblin, the pregnancy period magically shortens to three months.

Goblins capture night elves for breeding, while night elves kill goblins to wash away the shame of their tainted bloodline. Perhaps this is the real reason goblins and night elves hold such deep hatred for each other.

"Damn you, goblin! I'll spill your blood to cleanse the filth you've brought to my territory!"

Jarod was so enraged he immediately drew his bow and loosed an arrow infused with transcendent power.

The bolt blasted forward like a streak of black light, hurtling toward Goblin King Murktooth.

Clang!

A metallic ring echoed as Murktooth swung his bronze hammer and deflected Jarod's bolt.

"Jarod, you wretched creature. Your arrows are as soft as a night elf chick's tits, huh?"

Murktooth taunted while twirling his bronze hammer. Furious, Jarod drew again, this time releasing three arrows at once.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Black flashes zipped across the air, and Murktooth only managed to block two bolts. He remained unscathed, though. The third was parried by Caleb—the other corrupted human lord.

Caleb was a shield warrior; his gigantic shield seemed to have a magnetism that dragged Jarod's bolt right onto its surface.

"Jarod, Murktooth wasn't lying. The end of the Perpetual Night Continent is upon us."

"We have to join forces if we want any chance of surviving this crisis."

"My master, the great Arch Lord John, relayed a message through will projection, telling me that powerful beings from another world are intruding on their territory."

"They've started roaming this region, and I can sense the presence of two Legendary-level powerhouses. They're here."

Despite Caleb's words, Jarod didn't believe him for a second.

"Filthy human, your lies are pathetic!"

Jarod lifted his longbow once more and shot nine bolts at once—this time, he planned to fight for real.

Clang! Clang!

Caleb raised his shield, transcendent power surging around him. Working together with Murktooth, they blocked all nine bolts.

"Caleb's telling the truth. The Perpetual Night Continent is doomed!"

"Jarod, Caleb, Murktooth—join forces and take out those two lords. After that, head for the central region and support us!"

"This comes from me, Arch Lord John, and it's also the will of Night Elf Arch Lord Mia!"

A powerful will projection emerged from Caleb's body, addressing Jarod and laying out the situation. Confronted with John's will projection, Jarod finally lowered his bow.

"Caleb, I'm about to withdraw this fragment of will projection to prepare for the upcoming war. You'll have to handle whatever happens next on your own!"

Hearing this, the three lords—Murktooth, Caleb, and Jarod—each looked grim.

Caleb in particular wore a dark expression. That shred of will projection from Arch Lord John had always been his trump card, and he never expected it to be used up in such a way.

"Jarod, now do you believe us?"

"The three of us have to work together—three against two gives us better odds."

With his trump card gone, Caleb's sinister nature still shone through. His gaze toward both Murktooth and Jarod wasn't exactly friendly.

"So what do we do next?"

Night Elf Jarod ultimately trusted Arch Lord John's message.

"Bring your forces into my territory. Take out the invaders!"

"I've already lured them into my territory with my own people."

Just then, the voice of Goblin King Murktooth echoed—sounding both furious and hysterical. But there was also a heartless tone to it, a complete disregard for his own kind.

In the godforsaken land, though, that sort of behavior is basically par for the course. After all, their power doesn't rely on faith energy but on the mysterious, evil Black Sun.

…

Inside Murktooth City, the battle raged on.

Ever since the Abyss Dragon blasted a gaping hole in the city walls, bloodshed and death had run rampant. Swarms of undead poured into the city, sinking their teeth into any living thing they found, leaving a trail strewn with corpses. Then came the little spiders, which left nothing behind but black blood wherever they scuttled.

"Lord Orion, this city was built by a local lord, so I figure there's gotta be some decent loot around."

"Let's head in and check it out!"

Orion nodded, a hint of expectation showing on his face.

"I'm acting under orders from my master to assist you. All the spoils in the eastern region are yours—we won't touch a thing."

Skeleton General Rumbold gestured for Orion to go first, then offered a statement that made Orion pause just a moment. According to Rumbold, he'd been sent here by Arthas to help Orion clear out the eastern territory—no strings attached.

"Your master is a generous one."

Orion didn't mind throwing in a mild compliment, given the potential haul awaiting him. Of course, Arthas likely had zero interest in what Murktooth City held anyway, since there's no special building here. Special buildings are exceedingly rare.

From what Orion understands, there are only two ways to acquire one:

First, you can get a Lord's Stone and transform it into a territory core, then establish a base—like the Horde Hall in Blackstone City.

Second, you can use secret rituals combined with transcendent power over many years to nurture an existing building until it gradually evolves into a special structure.

In the Thunderwood Forest region, for instance, Lord Ariel painstakingly cultivated the mountaintop eyrie on Thunderpeak Mountain, turning it into a special building that gave the harpy race the ability to fly.

Even though Lord Ariel fell in battle, most of the harpies escaped, thanks to that eyrie. Now that Gareth occupies it, her faction will only grow stronger as time goes by.

While mulling all this over, Orion led Rumbold into Murktooth City. The place was in utter chaos—screams everywhere, black blood splattered across the streets, and a reek of death in the air.

"I honestly can't see how a dump like this would have anything valuable," Orion muttered as he climbed Murktooth City's walls. The city, built by goblins, wasn't even as solid as Blackstone City back when it was first raised.

"Lord Orion, the goblins' civilization is still pretty underdeveloped, but they've got an inherent knack for mining and underground construction. They may be pint-sized, but they're definitely not weak.

"I've traveled to other worlds and seen goblins who coexist with dwarves, humans, elves, and orcs—some even open up shops in those cities."

Rumbold was effortlessly flaunting his knowledge, speaking in that haughty voice of his.

"Lord Orion, I suspect any goblin treasure would be hidden underground. Maybe you should have your subordinates do a thorough search."

He raised his weapon, pointing toward the ground. Orion nodded. He could sense Rumbold's thinly veiled contempt for any loot found in the city.

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

Orion had grown used to Rumbold's style by now. Gazing at the bloodbath still unfolding in Murktooth City, Orion took out a pouch of bloodwine from his storage ring and handed it to Rumbold.

"Mr. Rumbold, as we celebrate the slaughter and flames here, have a drink on me."

Rumbold accepted the pouch, popped off the flexible wooden stopper, and inhaled deeply. It was an almost comical sight, a skeleton literally pausing to smell the bouquet.

"Thank you for this gift, Lord Orion!"

"While I can't actually smell the aroma, I can sense the tang of blood inside. There's blood from at least a hundred different beasts in here... I like it!"

With that, Rumbold tipped the pouch back, swallowing several heavy gulps before carefully storing it away.

Orion watched the bonfires in the distance and surveyed his own forces—Onyx, Thundar, Earthshaker, Slagor, and the others—as they fought on.

From when the cross-realm invasion began up to now, Orion had quietly gained two crucial insights.

The first was realizing that, since ascending to Legendary level, whenever citizens of his territory kill enemies, there's a small chance for a Survivor's Chest to drop.

Although the drop rate is low, Orion has gathered quite a few of these chests across the string of invasion battles.

He had glimpsed some clues the year before during the dark beast tides, but back then, he'd assumed that only thunderhawks and a few of his personal slaves had triggered those monster loot drops.

Now, it seems that any citizen killing monsters can spawn these Survivor's Chests—including the little spiders.

Just minutes ago, he witnessed one of the spiders devour a goblin, leaving a Survivor's Chest on the spot, which was automatically collected. That sort of thing never happened before the Horde Hall was established.

"Looks like you have to be Legendary level and able to build your own territory. That's the real key to the world's core power!"

That was Orion's fresh revelation about how territory development and the forces of this world all connect.

As for the second insight, which came to him thanks to Rumbold's offhand remark: black-blooded goblins are a cursed race, their blood profoundly evil. Contracting them would likely attract the attention of certain gods and twisted entities, something Orion is absolutely not interested in.

However, Orion can at least make use of dead goblins and capture a few living ones as sacrifices. The ultimate plan? Do what Rumbold does—turn these dead goblins into undead skeletons.

They'd serve as the lowest-level miners for the Stoneheart Horde, requiring no food, no pay, and never threatening betrayal. A perfect plan!

Orion was already imagining future invasions playing out the same way. The only snag is that it demands a lot of sacrificial material, and it definitely can't be done in broad daylight.