Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"Any word from our potential allies?" the Deputy Commander asked, finding the topic of the fruitless hunt for the clown and the Witch tiresome. He switched subjects, inquiring about the Roc-blooded race in the western Kiso Mountains and the southern Staghelm City.

Alexander simply shook his head, his silence heavy with meaning. Orion didn't know what had happened to his comrade's envoys, but it clearly wasn't good.

"We need a decisive, overwhelming victory," Alexander finally said, his voice tight. "We need to show these people our strength."

The words hit their mark. Orion understood immediately. The people they had sent to establish contact with potential allies had been met with mistrust, or perhaps something worse.

"Leaning on others is a fool's game," the Deputy Commander sighed. "The only one you can truly count on is yourself."

Alexander gave a slight nod of agreement, and Orion felt the truth of the words resonate deep within him. Allies were valuable, but not essential. More often than not, you could only truly rely on your own people. Partners and allies were just icing on the cake.

"If those people had any real intelligence, they would have made a move when they saw us fighting the Cult of Four," Orion added, voicing his own opinion, which aligned perfectly with what his two commanders had likely already discussed. "A timid, short-sighted faction like that isn't worthy of being our ally anyway."

"I have spies in every direction," Alexander said, his voice turning cold. His people had been met with a cold shoulder, and it was a personal affront to his pride. "After this war is over, there will be news. And then, it won't be them choosing whether to join us. It will be us choosing whether to accept them."

"Exactly," Orion agreed, his confidence bolstered with his two comrades backing him up. "We're here to conquer territory, not save the world!"

Alexander shot a sideways glance at Orion but said nothing. And so, the three of them continued their advance, leading the torrent of their combined armies ever southward.

Titanion Realm—Aenari Island.

Marina's sharp senses had given Rendall, Beyn, Torba, Drakthul, and the others a crucial early warning. Before the great tsunami arrived, Rendall had led the Tribe's bloodline warriors to the highest point on the island.

"It's hard to imagine," Rendall murmured to Drakthul, his eyes wide with awe and terror. "How would we ever survive something like this without an island to stand on?"

To them, a tsunami born from the deep ocean was nothing short of an apocalypse.

In the distance, the surface of the sea began to churn violently, waves cresting and crashing as if a thousand beasts were stampeding within the depths, as if countless sirens were screaming in rage. Soon, the surging, chaotic waves began to race toward them.

Then, a solid wall of water appeared on the horizon.

By the time the Stoneheart Horde's warriors could fully comprehend the sight, a deafening, thunderous roar was already upon them. The sound was a chaotic, overwhelming wall of noise.

The tsunami crashed ashore. It swallowed the beach in an instant, then the trees and vegetation, before slamming into the mountainside where the survivors clung to the peaks. Before Rendall's very eyes, the entire coastal island was completely submerged.

"Treacherous Sea Race!" he roared, his eyes blazing with fury. "Damn this cursed water!"

Facing the cataclysm, all he could do was shout helpless curses. And only Rendall knew that beneath his anger was a raw, primal fear. The terror of witnessing such a disaster firsthand was no less potent than facing an enemy on the battlefield. A spectacle of such vast, merciless power made one feel the fragility of life more than any blade.

At the edge of the sky, as the tsunami made landfall, Marina had already soared over the waves, flying toward the source of the enemy's aura. Not even she would dare to face such a cataclysm head-on.

"Your actions have angered me!"

SLAP!

The hazy, dream-like water materialized around her. The colossal, iridescent tail descended from it, slamming down upon the surface of the ocean. In that moment, the churning sea seemed to freeze, and an invisible shockwave shot through the water into the depths below.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

A moment later, two figures were blasted from the sea: the Reverse Whale, Dadur, and the Dreadfin, Cyclon. Both of them were clearly injured, their auras weakened.

"Why?!" Dadur shrieked, clutching his chest. "You're one of the Sea Race! Why are you mixed up with those land-dwellers, helping them invade our territory?"

If it had been a mermaid from the Tidefang Clan who had come to drive them out, he wouldn't have said a word. But the faction standing behind Marina was from the land. They were enemies of the Sea Race. They were insects. In Dadur's mind, they were not worthy of forcing him from his home, and that conviction was the root of his actions.

"You are a child of the ocean, a noble mermaid of the Tidefang Clan," Cyclon said, his tone far more stable than Dadur's hysteria. He was respectful, even now. "Those low-grade races are not worthy of your service. Leave now. We will pretend you were never here."

Marina shook her head. She glanced at Dadur, then focused her attention on Cyclon. "The Dreadfin have not ventured out of the Kygard Expanse in many years. I want to know why you are in the Trident Sea."

Cyclon was silent. That was his secret to keep.

"For the sake of the Dreadfin race," Marina said, her voice leaving no room for argument, "I can forgive this transgression. Leave. Now."

Both of them were from major clans of the Sea Race. Marina had no desire to kill them. A Legendary level expert was a high-tier combatant, not easily replaced.

"You tell us to leave, so we must leave?" Dadur snarled, a crazed light in his eyes. "What kind of reasoning is that?!"

He roared, his body shifting and swelling into his massive Reverse Whale form. With a great beat of his tail, he charged Marina.

Killing intent flashed in Marina's eyes. Once more, the iridescent tail emerged from the hazy water and swept down with merciless force. This time, however, Dadur was not struck. Just as the tail was about to connect, a phantom in the shape of an even larger Reverse Whale erupted from his body—the will projection of an arch lord.

"WHO DARES TO SLAUGHTER MY KIN IN MY OCEAN?!" the arch lord's aura boomed across the water. The hazy sea around Marina simply contracted slightly, ignoring the pressure completely.

"You're a dumbass," Marina breathed.

Seeing the Reverse Whale will projection turn its murderous gaze on her, she took out the urn Orion had given her and released the ancient giant-horned whale.

EEEEEEEE!

A high, piercing cry echoed from the urn, followed by an act of primeval consumption. As the charging will projection shrieked in terror, the ancient giant-horned whale lunged forward and swallowed it whole.