Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

These people were either allies of the stoneheart horde or had become its vassal races. Clymene understood that when invading a new world, if you didn't have the power to just steamroll everything in your path, you needed to make as many friends as possible.

"They should be fine," Orion said, shaking his head. He thought for a moment, then added, "Tangere has already moved to engage. He and that Cyclops are both on the upper end of the Legendary level. There shouldn't be any major issues."

Clymene fell silent. If their strengths were equal, she knew Orion's friend would likely have the upper hand. Her time on the Dusk Continent, surrounded by the powerhouse allies Orion kept, had set a very high bar.

"Orion," she asked, her voice low, "can we trust them?"

Her real question was unspoken. Can we trust them the way we trust the Champions Alliance?

"That's hard to say," Orion admitted, shaking his head again, which only confused her more.

"Sister, this invasion has another purpose. It's a test for these three new allies. Their power is one thing, but the very fact that they come from different worlds is incredibly significant for the stoneheart horde. If we build a strong relationship, we can gain access to the unique resources of their home realms through trade or exchange."

Orion gestured towards the city walls, where a Wood Elf was chanting softly, her hands glowing with green light. "Look there. That Wood Elf can accelerate plant growth, cultivate Treants to serve as sentinels… she is already an asset. Now her entire race is a vassal of the horde. That's one of the benefits of this alliance." He lowered his hand. "Besides, the Wood Elf race prefers peace and excels at agriculture. Subjugating them gives us a massive, self-sustaining granary."

At the word "granary," both Orion and Clymene fell quiet.

The current stoneheart horde was a logistical nightmare to feed. Setting aside the races with famously huge appetites—giants, succubi, bearmen, gnolls, ogres—the swarms that followed Soraya and Lorelia alone were colossal engines of consumption.

The horde's war machine could never stop, because it had to constantly pillage new lands for food and resources. Only through endless war could the stoneheart horde sustain itself.

"Sister, our goal in this realm isn't necessarily to rule it," Orion said, his voice firm with conviction. "But we absolutely must seize control of the Forest of Nature and the Wood Elves. In my plans, this place… this is the future breadbasket of the stoneheart horde."

He had another plan for securing their food supply, one that involved bringing the Scarecrow into the fold. But with Scarecrow incommunicado during his own ascension to lord, that alliance would have to wait.

"I understand," Clymene said, her jaw set. "I will do everything I can to help you."

With that, she turned and walked towards the necropolis. If this is to be our granary, then we'll need more than just a few skeleton warriors to secure it against all the unknown enemies to come.

As she walked, a chorus of ancient voices stirred within her, awakened by the talk of strategy and sustenance. They were the six souls bound to her own—Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, and the others.

Our granary, they whispered in her mind, a single, unified thought. We must take it. Not just take it, but guard it, so that our children and their children's children will never know hunger.

We will need bodies. So many bodies.

Desdemona, Clymene projected inwards, I know you have reserves. It is time to call them forth. For the horde!

The chorus within her roared in agreement. Summon! SUMMON!

.....

Emerald Dream Realm, Lorelia City.

Inside the baptismal chamber of the Dragon Crucible, a mysterious light enveloped Lilith. It emanated from the intricate pattern on her forehead—the mark of the God-touched. When she and her sister Delilah had slain the traitorous Weeping Banshees, they had received the initial blessing. Now, having absorbed the power of a Banshee Crystal, Lilith was receiving the high-tier benediction.

In that moment, her innate talent and potential exploded. The thick, cloying mist that had always barred her path to the next level of power finally burned away.

Without hesitation, she retrieved the Lord's Stone she had long held in waiting and pressed it to her forehead. The God-touched mark flared, consuming the stone whole. A mysterious alchemy took place within her, forging a new Lord's Stone that was not an object, but a part of her very soul.

.....

Titanion Realm, Lilith City.

Years ago, when Orion had first consolidated his power in the south and launched his Ten-City Plan, this great city had been constructed. As a reward for their early and loyal service, Lilith City and the neighboring Delilah City had been granted to the succubus race as their domain.

Today, a gentle, inexplicable breeze swept through Lilith City. It rippled outwards like a current of clear water, brushing over every inch of the surrounding land.

In Stoneheart City, Orion sat upon his throne. He felt the ripple, and his eyes snapped open. A slow, pleased smile spread across his face. After all this time, Lilith. You finally broke through. You've become a lord.

His mate, second in status only to him in the entire stoneheart horde, had finally reached the Legendary level. From this day forward, no one could ever again question her place or whisper insults behind her back.

He closed his eyes again. Now I wonder, how are the Prophet, Delilah, and the others doing? Have they found their own moment?

He was certain this venture into the Dragon Crucible would yield more than just one pleasant surprise.

Back in Lorelia City, a flash of light appeared in the heavily guarded plaza. A graceful figure materialized from thin air. It was Lilith, freshly ascended.

Confusion clouded her eyes for a second before understanding dawned. She looked up at the immense structure of the Dragon Crucible.

A pity, she thought.

If she could have stayed inside longer, she might have been able to consolidate her newfound power even further. But the Crucible was designed with a failsafe: anyone who reached the Legendary level was immediately ejected. The amount of life energy a new lord could absorb was exponentially greater than what the youngling and Alpha-level warriors could handle.

The Crucible's purpose was to strengthen the core of the allied forces, not to hyper-charge its high-end combatants.

Lilith clenched her fist. The Banshee Crystal her sister had given her was more than half-spent. She wanted nothing more than to give the remainder back to Delilah, to help her ascend as well.

I owe her more and more every day, she sighed, the weight of that debt settling upon her even as her new power surged through her veins.