Titan King: Ascension of the Giant-Chapter 569: Demigod phantom

The trident was deflected, leaving Orion thoroughly astonished.

This barrier was unexpectedly sturdy, making it impossible to destroy by brute force.

"Could it be that this barrier can only be worn away gradually?"

Recalling what he had observed earlier, and combining that with the current state of the Radiant Continent, Orion quickly deduced the barrier's defensive nature.

After the Radiant Continent's apocalypse, ancestral mages sacrificed their lives and magic to forge this barrier.

It's not that it can't be shattered by force; it's simply that Orion's offensive power isn't high enough yet.

That left just one option: find mages who specialize in magical formation, and let them gradually erode the barrier piece by piece.

In fact, that is exactly why Corvinus and the others had been unable to extract the world essence this whole time.

"Seems we'll have to wait for Gandalf!"

A few days later, Gandalf and Lorelia arrived at the base of the magic tower, leading their cave spiders armies as they advanced unimpeded.

"Lord Orion, they're all gone?"

Gandalf couldn't detect the presence of Corvinus and the others, indicating they no longer existed on the Radiant Continent.

In such circumstances, there are only two possibilities—either they left, or they died.

"Their spiritual crystals are already fused into my weapon!"

Orion lifted his trident as if showing off.

During the past few days of waiting, he had merged all the spiritual crystals he obtained into the Flame of Will, strengthening the trident further.

"Wow…"

"Lord Orion, your power is beyond belief."

Gandalf could only offer sincere praise, lacking better words to describe his current feelings.

"Heh heh heh… They were simply too weak!"

Orion put away his trident, saying nothing of Nero's avatar.

He knew perfectly well that the Deputy Commander must have anticipated exactly this situation when sending him here.

"How should we break through this magical barrier?"

Orion pointed at the barrier protecting the World Tree, shifting this troublesome question over to Gandalf.

"It's a defensive barrier, and the only way to break it is by wearing it down with magic," Gandalf replied.

"A barrier like this will fall in, at most, one day."

He reached out, touching the luminous barrier, his eyes filled with a wistful sense of nostalgia.

"It's all over now," Gandalf sighed, channeling his magic into the barrier to begin its dissolution.

...

"Master, here are some trophies Lorelia wants to offer you!"

Lorelia came bearing gifts, her face beaming with delight.

The joy and sense of victory in the wake of such a conquest had her riding high.

"Master, next time Lorelia wants to follow you again and fight in other worlds."

Orion put away the Bagbird pouches Lorelia handed him, offering her a compliment that left her positively gleeful.

"You've been doing well lately—how are our little spiders holding up?"

The moment he mentioned losses, the previously exhilarated Lorelia immediately looked crestfallen.

"Master, we've lost nearly 40% of our little spiders!"

As the cave spiders armies forged ahead, they hadn't encountered any massive opposing armies, but there had been no shortage of wicked mages along the way.

Between the wicked mages and various beasts that used self-destruction tactics, the little spiders took severe casualties.

In a sense, Lorelia had paved the entire path with their blood and flesh.

"Once we're back, the horde will allocate you some resources and restore your spider numbers," Orion reassured Lorelia, then shifted his attention to Gustalon.

"My lord, I traveled all across this continent but found no valuable minerals or magical plants—nor anything else of real worth. All the evil beings here simply devour one another."

"There's nothing of any value."

Scouring the land for special resources was another task Orion had assigned Gustalon, but it turned out this was a barren continent indeed.

No wonder it had been abandoned—if it were resource-rich, it wouldn't be in such dire straits now.

One day later, the magic barrier dissolved.

"Lord Orion, the barrier is broken!"

"The World Tree is inside!"

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Gandalf's voice rang out. Orion, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and looked at the World Tree.

Once a majestic sight, it now stood at only 2 feet tall, and 99% of it had withered away.

There were no leaves—just a trunk about to lose all traces of vitality.

Gold-colored magical sigils stretched across the bark, dimming and flaking off in places.

This was Orion's war trophy.

Just as Orion prepared to step forward and study the remains of the World Tree, a shadow darted out from its withered trunk, coalescing into a mighty figure.

Its eyes glowed crimson beneath a hooded cloak, and its lower half was concealed, revealing nothing.

"A demigod phantom!"

Orion's pupils shrank instantly. His body went rigid and ice-cold, as if sensing the threat of death.

Lorelia, standing behind him, felt the same. Countless little spiders trembled, completely immobilized by the crushing power radiating from the demigod phantom.

That release of pressure alone claimed even more spider lives.

"It's just a phantom!"

In this critical moment, the familiar voice of Deputy Commander Edward rang out, and Orion felt a wave of relief wash over him.

A hazy figure emerged from Gandalf's body; Deputy Commander Edward's powerful presence enveloped Orion, Gandalf, Lorelia, and the others.

"Heh heh heh… Who would have thought that by leaving behind a little world essence here, I'd lure out a demigod-level being?

Devouring you is far more beneficial than that scrap of world essence," boomed the shadow, its echo a deafening roar.

"What a coincidence—I want to devour you too."

Deputy Commander Edward's voice was every bit as lofty, devoid of emotion.

As soon as he spoke, the two demigod phantoms collided with brute force, both trying to use their divine power and faith to grind each other out.

In the end, neither one could claim victory.