Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

With the plan to lure and kill the Four-Winged Blood Bat in mind, Orion deactivated his Titan's Rage skill.

In the next moment, his size and aura rapidly diminished, and the stats on his data panel returned to normal.

As Orion's presence weakened, the Four-Winged Blood Bat in the sky immediately sensed the change. However, the creature was cautious and didn't dive down right away.

Orion reached into the Bagbird's stomach pouch and pulled out three more spears, hurling them with all his might.

This time, though Orion threw them with full force, the speed and power were nowhere near as terrifying as when Titan's Rage was active.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three spears shattered one after another, their impact far weaker than before.

The reduced power seemed to signal something.

The Four-Winged Blood Bat, sensing an opportunity, began to cautiously descend, testing the waters.

Seeing this, Orion threw three more spears, trying to halt the creature's descent.

The Four-Winged Blood Bat flapped its wings and spat out a wind blade, shattering the incoming spears with ease.

Orion's expression shifted slightly, and he turned to retreat into Moonshadow Valley.

The Four-Winged Blood Bat, watching from above, saw everything clearly.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The creature let out a strange, mocking hiss, as if laughing at Orion's weakness, or perhaps at the helplessness of prey trying to flee.

The Four-Winged Blood Bat continued its descent, flying closer to the ground.

Orion controlled his speed, retreating toward the valley's stone gate while keeping a close eye on the creature's position.

As Orion neared the gate, the Four-Winged Blood Bat was now flying low, closing in fast.

"Now!"

A flash of blood-red light appeared, and the massive form of the Abyssal Dragon materialized. Its jaws opened wide, and it unleashed an Abyssal Flame Bomb directly at the Four-Winged Blood Bat.

Boom...

Bang...

The Four-Winged Blood Bat was hit squarely by the Abyssal Flame Bomb, screeching in pain as it plummeted to the ground.

By this time, Orion had already leaped onto the Abyssal Dragon's back, his Ghostbone Armor covering his body. Together, they charged toward the fallen creature with a thunderous roar.

The Four-Winged Blood Bat, writhing in pain, struggled to rise, attempting to take flight once more.

Zzzla!

Orion, having reactivated Titan's Rage, hurled his Bone War Trident with all his might, striking the Four-Winged Blood Bat squarely in the chest.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

A pained screech echoed through the valley as the Four-Winged Blood Bat collapsed onto its back.

By then, the Abyssal Dragon had closed in, its massive jaws clamping down on the creature's neck with a vicious bite.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The Four-Winged Blood Bat's throat convulsed as it tried to spit out another wind blade in retaliation.

But it was too late. Its neck was crushed in the Abyssal Dragon's jaws, and its counterattack failed.

The creature let out one final, desperate screech, but it grew weaker and weaker until it finally fell silent.

Orion jumped down from the Abyssal Dragon's back, retrieved his Bone War Trident, and then cracked open the Four-Winged Blood Bat's skull, extracting a dark source crystal the size of an apple.

This was an Alpha-level dark source crystal!

If Clymene consumed it, she might be able to advance to Alpha-level as well.

"Let's drag it back," Orion ordered the Abyssal Dragon, which was already feasting on the Four-Winged Blood Bat. The dragon obediently grabbed the creature's body and began dragging it back toward Moonshadow Valley.

Inside the valley, the giants who hadn't awakened their bloodline powers had already taken refuge in tents and underground shelters. Only the strongest bloodline warriors remained on the stone walls, watching Orion's battle with the Four-Winged Blood Bat.

"Chieftain, Orion and the Abyssal Dragon have won!"

Elder Rendall's voice trembled with excitement. His heart was filled with overwhelming joy.

When he first learned that Orion had successfully advanced, Rendall had been thrilled, though he had tried to remain calm.

But now, after witnessing Orion slay an Alpha-level dark creature—especially a flying one—Rendall's heart felt as if it had been set ablaze, burning with hope and excitement.

"Orion!"

"Orion!"

"..."

Elder Rendall led the chant, shouting Orion's name at the top of his lungs.

Soon, the bloodline warriors joined in, their voices rising in unison.

Finally, the entire Moonshadow Valley echoed with the triumphant cries of the giants, their cheers filled with joy and pride.

At the valley gate, Orion withdrew the Abyssal Dragon back into his heart.

The massive corpse of the Four-Winged Blood Bat was laid before the gate.

Orion returned to the stone wall and approached Clymene.

"Sister, this dark source crystal might help you break through to the next level."

Orion handed the dark source crystal to Clymene, whose hands trembled as she accepted it. Her voice was hoarse with emotion.

"Orion, my dear brother, is this really for me?"

Orion smiled but said nothing, turning instead to Elder Rendall.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

"Understood!"

With that, Orion turned to leave.

"Orion, wait!"

Clymene pulled out a bag of dark source crystals and placed it in Orion's hands.

"These are some of the ordinary dark source crystals we've collected over the past few days. Take them for your own use."

Orion didn't refuse. He accepted the crystals and left the valley gate.

Now that both Clymene and Rendall had reached a bottleneck in their advancement, the only way for them to break through was to consume high-quality dark source crystals, like the one Clymene now held.

"Chieftain, go and cultivate. I'm looking forward to hearing the good news!"

Rendall laughed heartily, filled with hope.

If Clymene advanced to Alpha-level, there was a good chance that, with the help of both Orion and Clymene, Rendall could also reach Alpha-level.

The seed of hope had been planted, and Elder Rendall was optimistic about his future.

---

Deep within Moonshadow Valley, in the bloodline warrior tent area, Orion returned to his tent.

This time, he didn't engage in lovemaking with Lilith. Instead, he handed her the bag of dark source crystals.

"Lilith, these are for you."

Lilith's beautiful body trembled for a moment, but she quickly relaxed and smiled warmly.

"My dear Orion, I will always love you. I will serve you forever."

Orion gave her breast a playful squeeze, telling her to stop trying to seduce him and to focus on her cultivation.

Nearby, Little Lysinthia's eyes flashed with envy and longing.

Lilith gave Orion a quick kiss before retreating to a corner of the tent to quietly refine the dark source crystals.

Orion didn't remain idle either. He reclined on the fur bedding, half-closing his eyes as he focused his mind on the Survivor's Platform.

---

"Hulk, your order of 500 Pet Pills has been completed. Please proceed with the transaction!"

Currently, Orion had only one stable trading partner on the Survivor's Platform: the elf Aerin.

Orion didn't delay. He immediately initiated the trade with Aerin.

After paying the required crystal cores, Orion sent Aerin a message.

"The next order is for 1,000 Pet Pills. The deposit has been paid."

"Got it!"

---

In the Forest of Nature, home of the wood elves, Aerin hummed a soft tune, her lips curled into a joyful smile.

After earning crystal cores from Orion, Aerin's strength had been rapidly increasing.

She had already reached elite-level and was now on the verge of advancing to hero-level. The speed of her progress was something she had never imagined possible before. It was simply too fast.

"Goddess of Nature, bless Hulk, that big fool. You must keep him alive. My future depends on him!"

For Aerin, the Pet Pills were essentially a no-cost business.

Most of the ingredients needed to make Pet Pills were abundant in the Forest of Nature and practically worthless.

And as a wood elf, Aerin was one of the best plant cultivators. Growing those low-level plants was incredibly easy for her.

The only thing she lacked was crystal cores, which were scarce among the wood elves, who abhorred killing.

Orion's appearance had given Aerin the opportunity she had been waiting for.