Titan King: Ascension of the Giant-Chapter 305 Sorry. My orders are to kill you

Rumbold's pupils contracted. He couldn't sense the auras of Murktooth, Caleb, or Jarod—proof that Orion was far stronger than Rumbold had imagined, stronger even than Rumbold himself.

"Lord Orion," Rumbold said, "now I understand why my master regards you as a true friend."

Orion answered with only a faint smile, ignoring the flattery.

"Honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to this. Those three lords are each plotting their own angle. Something's bound to go down between them."

It was both an intuition and an oddly exciting expectation. Deep down, Orion now understood why strategists love weaving schemes—watching your opponents stumble into your plans is one heck of a confidence boost, and he was more than a little hooked on the feeling.

Meanwhile, farther east, Caleb and Jarod had already rallied their troops. As for Goblin Murktooth, he was now a lord in name only, stripped of his territory. What's more, his transcendent power had sharply diminished.

"I propose we kill that undead being first," Murktooth announced, standing between Caleb and Jarod. "He's the one deploying those death ripple arrays. His attacks are invisible and far-reaching, and he'll gum up our movement."

"That array really is troublesome," Caleb growled in agreement. "It's powerful and covers a huge area. Yes, we should take him out first. This time, we can't just sit around and defend; we have to strike first. Murktooth, do me a favor—show some courage next time around."

Shield Warrior Caleb fixed the goblin with a piercing glare, voice hushed and grim.

"Murktooth, if you run off again in the middle of battle, I won't hesitate to make you pay for it."

"Caleb, maybe worry about yourself first."

Murktooth gave a dismissive sniff. Truth be told, in their previous skirmish with Orion, he hadn't done much except help with defense.

"Enough," Night Elf Jarod said, stepping in as mediator. "We're allies right now, and our fates are bound together. Those two invaders are powerful. We need to stand united and fight our hardest."

"Fine. For Jarod's sake, I'll let it go."

Murktooth seized his chance to back down. Caleb and Jarod exchanged a glance—something dark flickered in their eyes, then vanished just as quickly. From that moment, the three of them quit bickering, apparently ready to present a united front.

Elsewhere, Orion and Rumbold had sensed their gathering presence drawing closer.

"It's showtime," Orion said, voice turning cold. "No matter what happens, we take them out for good, Mr. Rumbold."

"As you wish, Lord Orion."

A sudden thunderclap roared as Orion transformed into living lightning and streaked toward the camp where Murktooth, Caleb, and Jarod waited.

"I can sense your armies converging all around," Orion's voice echoed in the distance, "so I guess you're going all in. Fine by me—time to die."

Murktooth, Caleb, and Jarod exchanged uneasy looks.

"Caleb, hold the front line," Murktooth shouted. "Jarod, pick him off from range. I'll plug any gaps and provide backup!"

He'd been timid before, but now he was the loudest one of the bunch. Caleb raised his shield and braced himself out front. Jarod nocked three arrows at once, aiming straight at Rumbold in the rear—just as planned.

But the second Orion and Rumbold's attacks arrived, Caleb abruptly lowered his shield, leaving Goblin Murktooth wide open.

At that same moment, Jarod whipped around and fired an arrow right into Murktooth's unprotected back. All of it happened in a split second: Murktooth lurched forward—straight onto the tip of Orion's trident.

Bzzz!

Shockwaves rippled over Murktooth's body, costing him half his life right there. Orion surged forward in a crackle of lightning, driving his trident right into Murktooth's heart, severing any chance of survival.

"N-no… That's not how it was supposed to go. You… you betrayed me!"

Murktooth hardly seemed to care about the trident skewering his heart. Instead, he craned his neck to stare at Caleb and Jarod, the two who'd just kicked him out of their defensive circle.

"Murktooth," Caleb intoned from behind his shield, "you're just a cowardly little traitor. I never trusted you for a second."

Murktooth's eyes were clouded with hopelessness at that merciless statement.

"But we… we planned this together! How dare you go back on the plan—damn you…!"

He was fading fast, life pouring out of him. In truth, Murktooth had intended to backstab Jarod alongside Caleb.

Once Jarod was dead, Murktooth and Caleb could accept Orion's surrender offer and snag those "recommendation slots."

To fool Jarod, Murktooth had privately suggested they team up and kill Caleb first. But in the end, the goblin discovered—too late—that he was the expendable one.

"My lord," Caleb said to Orion, nodding at Murktooth's body, "this gutless goblin had no territory, no people left. Apart from the Lord's Stone inside him, he was worthless."

Then he glanced up warily, Jarod at his side watching Orion and Rumbold.

"We hope this gift meets your satisfaction, honorable lord."

"Hahaha… satisfied? Hell yes. Very satisfied!"

Orion's deep laugh burst out, as if he'd been watching some grand stage drama. In fact, he had—he'd stood by doing nothing, eyes coldly taking in each twist of betrayal.

He hefted his trident, peering at the goblin still impaled on its prongs, then gave it a vicious twist. Any last bit of transcendent power guarding Murktooth's heart was snuffed out right there.

"Poor goblin. Let me send you off."

Szzz!

A burst of flame shot from Orion's trident, igniting the greasy film on Goblin Murktooth's body. He let out a final howl before going limp, life snuffed out in an instant. Your next journey awaits at novelbuddy

Even after Murktooth died, the mood remained tense—Caleb and Jarod were still on guard against Orion and Rumbold.

Orion roared with laughter, sounding completely at ease. Out of the three enemy lords, only two were left, and there was no more need for pretense.

Since Orion had decided to play the part, though, he went through with the little show. Fishing out two tokens from his storage ring, he tossed them to Caleb and Jarod.

They were old, weathered bone tiles—something he'd specifically asked Rumbold to provide. When infused with energy, they could command a squad of skeleton warriors. Of course, at this point, those two tokens were just props, bait to trick Caleb and Jarod for a little longer.

"These are our recommendation tokens, keyed to our aura. If you lose them, you should probably worry about staying alive."

Orion put away his trident, and Rumbold seemed to call back his death ripple. Everything looked as if the battle was done. But Orion's rasping voice soon broke the lull:

"One more thing: aside from the two of you, all those corrupted humans and night elves you brought with you will have to die."

His grim tone actually came as a relief to Caleb and Jarod.

"Oh, great lord, that's exactly why we brought them here: to make things easier for you."

Orion nodded, a flash of cold shock in his eyes. Such was the nature of lords in this godforsaken land—to save their own skin, they'd sell out anyone, sacrifice whomever.

"You at least understand your place."

Rumbold moved in beside Orion, evidently withdrawing the death ripple for good. Caleb and Jarod glanced at each other, lowering their weapons and slowly approaching Orion and Rumbold.

"Giant Lord, my name is Caleb. I'm human."

"I'm Jarod, a night elf."

Orion nodded, wearing a faint smile and speaking in that lofty tone again.

"I am Orion, and this is my companion, Mr. Rumbold. Let me remind you once more: we'll grant you our recommendation, provided you behave yourselves and follow the rules."

Hearing Orion's calmer tone, with no weapons raised, Caleb and Jarod finally unclenched a little.

"Lord Orion, understood. We'll follow the rules," Caleb said, and since he was human, Orion gave him an extra glance.

"Good that you do."

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Then Orion's voice dropped:

"Good—now drop dead."

Boom!

In an instant, Orion activated Titan Form. His body size ballooned, and in that split second he lunged straight for Caleb.

At the same time, Rumbold swung his weapon into a close-quarters strike against Night Elf Jarod.

This assault was exactly what Orion and Rumbold had planned beforehand. If their scheme worked, they'd take out the two remaining lords one by one. If it failed, they'd each unleash their trump cards.

As a shield warrior and an archer, Caleb and Jarod were too dangerous to face as a pair. Orion had stowed his weapon and canceled the death ripple purely to lure both men close so he could isolate them.

"You tricked us?" Caleb barked. Although he was wary by nature, Orion's sudden rush forced him to raise his shield in a panic to block the blow.

"Lord Orion, we can negotiate! Jarod and I truly want to surrender! Think about it: a living Legendary-level subordinate is worth more to you than a corpse!"

Caleb was clever, no doubt. Banking on the idea that a living lord might be more valuable, he believed Orion had genuinely planned to recruit them.

"Sorry. My orders are to kill you."

Eightfold Spear Barrage reappeared, but this time, its focus was solely on Caleb. Orion lifted his trident, unleashing a rain of blood-red spears from above, bombarding the shield warrior relentlessly.

Caleb gripped his giant shield with both hands, conjuring a pitch-black energy barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Trident and shield clashed in a grinding stalemate. Orion poured his concentration into channeling transcendent power, summoning more and more phantom spears from the sky.

Caleb couldn't help regretting killing Goblin Murktooth in front of Orion with Jarod's help.

"Damn it… If Murktooth were still alive, at least he could feed more transcendent power to keep our defense stable."

Once Orion went all-in on the Eightfold Spear Barrage, its destructive force was devastating.

Meanwhile, Rumbold had Night Elf Jarod pinned down. Wisps of pale green vapor streamed from Rumbold's body, morphing into a massive serpent that twined itself around Jarod.

Rumbold cackled, launching himself at Jarod.

Clang!

He lurched back, grin turning eerie.

"Not bad—you can handle yourself up close too, huh? Looks like you're not just some archer."

Rumbold stretched, one bony spine after another protruding from his body in a hideous, nightmarish display.

"You're a lower-tier Legendary lord. I'm upper-tier. I'm gonna wrap this up in five minutes, give or take. Gahaha…"

Jarod's face went dark. By now, he realized Orion had been lying the whole time—so much for "recommendation slots" and "tokens." It was all nonsense.

"If you want me dead, I won't make it easy for you."

Night Elf Jarod lifted his longbow with both hands; black light flared across his body. In mere moments, Jarod himself transformed into a streak of black-sheathed arrowfire, engaged in a frantic chase with Rumbold.

Orion caught the faint glow of Jarod's transformation out of the corner of his eye, but seeing Rumbold unshaken, he refocused on his own target. Intensifying his hold over the Eightfold Spear Barrage, Orion conjured even more spears to pummel Caleb.

One deafening series of explosions later, Caleb's dark barrier finally shattered, leaving him exposed.

"So your mighty shield has broken, huh? That means you're done for."

With that, Orion lunged, trident in hand, using Swift Charge to close in on Caleb.

Orion himself wanted to deliver the final blow—just in case Caleb had a hidden move up his sleeve. Terror flashed in Caleb's eyes, but he didn't freeze; instead, he drew his longsword to parry Orion's thrust.

Orion pulled his weapon back, about to go in for a second strike. Suddenly, Caleb's sword flared like a blinding torch—an intense burst of light consumed their surroundings.

Hastily, Orion swept his trident in a defensive maneuver, thinking Caleb was counterattacking. But as the glare subsided, Caleb was already making a break for it, fleeing due south.