Titan King: Ascension of the Giant - Chapter 1159

Chapter 1159: The Mother Deity

“And with that,” Orion’s voice cut through the silence on the hilltop, “I declare this land property of the Stoneheart horde.”

Poof.

Bozath tried to run. In a desperate, final gamble, he unleashed his bloodline’s full power, a violent eruption of energy that momentarily shattered Orion’s oppressive aura. He turned to flee.

It was useless. A trident sprouted from his back, a mirror image of Kankerd’s demise.

“Gotta give him points for trying,” Orion commented dryly. He dragged Bozath’s corpse over to the last survivor, Perni, from whom he sensed a familiar trace of energy. This must be the one who sent that probe into the valley.

“Are you some kind of devil?” Perni asked, his eyes wide with a terror that had completely eclipsed his will to fight. He wasn’t trying to escape. He knew there was no chance. His will was broken. All he wanted now was an answer to comfort him in his final moments.

“Devil?” Orion tilted his head. “What’s that?” He pressed the tip of his trident against Perni’s forehead. “I’m a giant.”

“Look around. They’re all dead,” Orion said, his voice devoid of emotion. “If you’re willing to answer a few of my questions—or better yet, swear fealty to me—I might let you live.”

It was a threat wrapped in an offer. The brutal, instantaneous slaughter of the other four leaders had been the prelude, designed to break the will of this final one.

“You said it yourself,” Perni whispered, and then a broken, hysterical laugh escaped his lips. “They’re all dead. All of them… hahaha… You want me to betray the mother deity? You’re out of your mind.” His eyes blazed with a sudden, fanatical fire. “I will return to her embrace, and she will see you burn for this!”

“Hahaha…!”

Laughing maniacally, Perni lunged forward, impaling his own head on the stationary trident.

Schlick.

The last Legendary-level warrior of the Cretaceous race was dead.

“A true believer,” Orion muttered, a hint of respect in his tone. “A shame. If he’d turned, he could have been a powerful asset.”

Warriors were to be respected, regardless of which side they fought on. After retrieving Perni’s Lord’s Stone, Orion summoned a ball of fire and incinerated the body, a silent funeral pyre.

Then, he moved through the paralyzed ranks of the Cretaceous race, grabbing the two strongest Alpha-level warriors he could find before vanishing on the spot.

He had dealt with the five Legendary leaders himself for a simple reason: back in his own camp, only Lumi and Soraya could have handled them. Lumi, however, was the linchpin of their entire operation, a force multiplier too valuable to risk on the front lines. And Soraya was the race’s broodmother. She was the absolute last resort, a queen you didn’t move until every other piece had fallen.

Protecting his high-value assets was non-negotiable. That was why, the moment he’d sensed the leaders, he had moved to eliminate the threat personally.

In a flash, Orion was back in the valley. He tossed the two unconscious Alpha-level captives on the ground. Catching Soraya’s questioning gaze, he just shrugged and turned to a nearby succubus sentinel.

“Get Drusilla.”

Drusilla, an elder of the succubus race and an Alpha-level powerhouse herself, was their best interrogator. With her abilities, she could peel the truth from their minds.

An hour later, she entered his tent and knelt.

“My Lord. I have the intelligence you wanted.”

Orion gestured for her to rise. He knew her well. Drusilla was one of Thundar’s wives; Orion had even attended their wedding. Following his example, many of the giant tribesmen now considered it a mark of status to have a succubus wife, and in turn, the succubi often sought out giants as partners for their strength and potential.

“Report,” he said.

Drusilla rose, her head bowed respectfully. “My Lord, the Cretaceous race was guided here by a being they call the ‘mother deity.’ Their orders were simple: drive us out or kill us.” She hesitated. “In their memories, this mother deity is… it’s… a giant egg.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she choked, spitting up a mouthful of blood.

Orion reacted instantly. His own power flared, shattering a faint, invisible web of energy that had tightened around Drusilla. He produced a healing potion and pressed it to her lips.

After a few moments, Drusilla’s breathing steadied, but her face remained pale. The backlash had wounded her deeply; she would need a long time to recover.

Orion cursed himself for his oversight. This was the Cretaceous World, the domain of another demigod. Even if that entity’s state was unusual, probing minds for its name and nature at such close range was bound to trigger its defenses. The trace amounts of the demigod’s power lingering in the very air had lashed out at Drusilla. She was lucky the backlash had been so weak.

“Continue,” Orion said, his voice softer.

Drusilla nodded, taking a steadying breath. “My Lord, their mother deity is located in that direction,” she said, raising a trembling hand and pointing. “In a distant volcano. She is an egg, and it seems she is… suppressing something. She cannot move from her position.”

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she relayed the intelligence; it was all tactically advantageous. “And one more thing,” she added, her brow furrowing in concentration. “In their memories, there is also a sacred beast within the volcano. They believe it is incredibly powerful, but there were no specifics.”

Orion’s eyes narrowed in thought. After a long moment, he waved a hand. “Go. Rest and recover.”

After Drusilla left, Orion considered his options. The decision came quickly. He strode out of the tent and appeared at Soraya’s side.

“You have command of the camp. I’m going to pay a visit to this mother deity.” He scanned the perimeter. “I’ve swept the area; there are no more threats of Legendary level or higher. You and Lumi stay safe.”

Before Soraya could reply, he was gone.

***

Cretaceous Volcano.

Deep beneath the mountain, in a chamber of magma and rock, a sigh echoed from a colossal eggshell.

Perni, Bozath, Berlu, Dayna, Kankerd—all five of her Legendary lords were dead. The mother deity, Nyxira, had felt their life forces extinguish.

She had foreseen this outcome, in a way. She just hadn’t expected it to happen so swiftly, so decisively. The leader of these invaders was ruthless.

She had ordered her children to drive the intruders away, but her true goal had been to buy time—enough time to finally grind the being she had sealed beneath the volcano into nothingness.