Titan King: Ascension of the Giant - Chapter 488

Chapter 488: Clymene’s resolve
Bottomless Abyss, Underworld.

The fierce battle had been raging for a long time—it was brutal in every sense of the word.

Crunch!

Grendel was ambushed by a terrifying spiked worm, sent hurtling through the air. Another giant, concealed bug suddenly burst out of the ground, snapping its jaws at Grendel’s head.

“Grendel, watch out!”

Thanks to Clymene’s shout, Grendel tilted sideways and barely dodged the lethal strike. Even so, one of his arms and half his shoulder were still torn off by the oversized bug.

With a thud, Grendel hit the ground and rolled a good thirty feet or so before steadying himself. Clymene leaped down from the arrow tower, made her way to Grendel’s side, and helped him up.

“How bad is it?”

Grendel shook his head. As a skeletal knight, he felt no pain. Yet he knew all too well that the deathly energy within him had plummeted. Not only was his fighting strength impaired, but even his long-term potential was likely diminished.

Clymene raised her right hand. A suction force radiated from her palm; in the blink of an eye, a nearby skeletal warrior was pulled toward her. With a sizzle, she tore away the warrior’s entire arm—shoulder and all.

Clymene handed the arm to Grendel, who, without a second thought, attached it to his own missing limb. At once, the bones in Grendel’s body began writhing and extending at high speed, quickly assimilating and strengthening this newly grafted skeletal arm.

“Make do with that for now. Once you’ve recovered a bit, get back into the fight. After the war’s over, maybe we can find your original arm.”

Grendel nodded without speaking. On the battlefield, arms were expendable—and so was this newly continued life. If it was for the horde, Grendel was prepared to lay down everything.

After calming Grendel, Clymene turned and headed back to the arrow tower.

Right then, a piercing screech came from within the swarm, bringing the entire battlefield to a momentary halt. At once, a bolt of red light flared up from the mass of crawling enemies and formed a blurred worm-shaped silhouette, streaking straight for Clymene’s unprotected back.

In that split second, Clymene, even at Alpha level, had no time to react. But at the critical moment, a deep rumble akin to thunder rolled out: the will projection Orion had placed at Clymene’s forehead appeared once more.

A lightning trident shot forth, only to be swallowed whole by the worm phantom. Yet in a duel between will projections, victory or defeat depends on whose transcendent power and resolve are stronger—so nothing was decided yet.

Hovering in midair, the crimson worm phantom let out a pained screech, and its shape grew steadily larger. It swelled and swelled, until it could no longer hold itself together. Finally, like an overfilled balloon, it exploded.

The resulting blast wave formed an enormous shockwave that wiped out almost every living thing within a thousand-foot radius. Only a handful of exceptionally strong creatures survived, though most of those were badly wounded. Among them were three Dark Worms that had been hiding in the swarm—one perished outright, and the other two were gravely injured.

Naturally, Clymene and Grendel, caught near the center of the explosion, were also sent flying.

Although Clymene avoided critical injuries, she had still taken some damage. Grendel, who was already wounded, collapsed where he fell, his soul energy obviously exhausted. It was clear he wouldn’t be able to continue fighting.

In the surrounding areas, nearly all skeletal warriors, cave spiders, and dark worms were wiped out—apart from a few who were naturally gifted enough to survive.

Because of the sudden blast, the fierce battle between the two sides paused. A crater-like depression now marred the battlefield, a gaping void where the explosion had occurred.

Roaarrr!!

Squeeeak!!

But within two breaths, both armies’ cannon fodder once again hurled themselves into the fray with frenzied roars. The battlefield’s meat grinder whirred to life again.

After a brief respite, Clymene, holding Grendel in her arms, jumped back onto the arrow tower to survey the chaos.

Only now did she realize how extraordinary Orion had been—challenging a Legendary level powerhouse while at Alpha level was more than just luck or raw talent. It was something neither words nor simple explanations could fully capture.

Another thing weighed on her mind: Orion’s will projection had completely dissipated.

“What should I do now? Will Orion make it back in time? Can we hold off that otherworldly lord?”

Clymene stared at the battlefield, her eyes brimming with anxiety.

“Is this fear I’m feeling? Dread?”

“Am I ready to face death again? This time, I may not even have the chance to fall into eternal darkness.”

“I am Clymene, from the Giant Tribe!”

“That matters!”

“Because even if I fall, someone will remember me!”

“…”

She didn’t know how much time passed before the turbulent emotions inside her finally settled.

Death. Clymene had tasted it once before—it was anything but pleasant. Still, for the Horde, and for Orion, she wouldn’t hesitate to die a second time.

That was Clymene’s resolve!

“Rooar!”

Standing atop the arrow tower, her hair blowing in the wind, Clymene let out a thunderous howl—a sort of dirge for the soul, broadcasting her determination to every Skeletal Knight in earshot.

Vargrum, Mordak, Zorn, Balgor, Desdemona, and the others all sensed Clymene’s will and responded with their own hoarse howls. Even Grendel, lying behind Clymene, opened his jaw in a silent roar.

…

Emerald Dream Realm, Red Moon Valley.

Loska, lord of the Red Thread Clan, opened his eyes, light blazing within. Through his renewed efforts, he’d finally worn down the enemy’s lingering will projection, depriving the distant foe operating the teleportation array of their final trump card.

“Caution. Yes, I must remain cautious.”

“There’s no rush—now is not yet the time to descend in person.”

Muttering to himself, Loska soothed his excitement in a tone almost as if he were coaxing a child. Closing his eyes again, after a few moments, another will projection split away from his body and hid itself inside a Dark Worm near the teleportation array.

However, compared with the previous two times, this will projection was much weaker. That was because it was being sent on a probe mission—to test whether the enemy still had anything left up their sleeve. Put simply, it was doomed to die. Thus, Loska had no intention of investing too much power into it.

Suppressing the agony of rending his soul yet again, Loska channeled his transcendent power. The teleportation array flashed, and the Dark Worm vanished, transported away.