Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1352 Golden Age

"A single mistake," Lilith remarked, her tone heavy with the gravity of an omen. "And we are facing total annihilation."

She allowed the word to linger in the silence, like a blade poised to fall. Turning her grim gaze toward Orion, she continued her report.

"According to the data projected by the [Strategic Council], a catastrophic global famine is inevitable within the next three years."

Lilith gestured toward a map spread across the desk. "This insect plague represents a lethal threat to the agricultural foundation of every major city. Whether it be locusts, borers, or root-eaters... their rate of reproduction is exponential. In this conflict, the first casualty won’t be a soldier; it will be the harvest itself."

"If the other factions fail to begin stockpiling grain immediately, society will fracture the moment the crops wither. Hunger is the mother of anarchy. Armies will be left to starve, and the commoners will resort to mutiny."

She paused, a chilling light flickering in her eyes. She had not even mentioned the secondary repercussions yet.

"However, within that chaos, there is opportunity. He who controls the grain controls the people. Food is destined to become more precious than gold. By feeding them, we gain dominion over them. We shall harvest their loyalty and their Faith."

Lilith gave Orion a knowing look. She understood the mechanics of power. While the Titanion Realm was consumed by fire, the Stoneheart Horde would flourish.

Their farming was not tethered to the soil of this world. Between the pocket dimension of Scarecrow and Aerin’s [Forest of Nature], their supply chains were varied and beyond the reach of enemies.

"But why would they go hungry?"

The innocent inquiry sliced through the somber mood. Lorelia tilted her head, looking genuinely perplexed.

"Bugs are everywhere," she noted, her large eyes blinking in confusion. "If they are hungry, why don't they just eat the insects? They have a nice crunch."

It was a question only Lorelia would think to ask. Her entire life had been an endless buffet of corpses provided by Orion, regardless of their origin or species. To her, all biomass was simply food.

Lilith reached out, her expression softening as she stroked Lorelia’s hair. She felt no annoyance, only a touch of envy.

"You and Soraya are different, little one. No matter how the laws of this world are distorted, you remain at the very apex of the food chain."

"This shift in the world's laws is a catastrophe for the other races," Lilith explained with gentleness. "But for you? For your Tribes? This represents a Golden Age."

"You are not the victims of this disaster. You are its beneficiaries."

A hint of longing colored Lilith’s voice. She was envious of their biological flexibility. Soraya possessed a fragment of the [Desert’s Authority], while Lorelia had naturally grasped the [Lord’s Stone]. They weren't merely surviving the change; they were evolving through it.

"Furthermore," Lilith said, returning to her professional demeanor, "the infestation is going to strip the environment bare."

"Forests, wetlands, and grasslands—entire ecosystems will be consumed and transformed into desolate wastes. The native species of this planet face extinction. And it won't end at the coastlines; the oceans are next in line."

It was a silent apocalypse, one that had been simmering for years, remaining invisible until it was far too late to stop.

"And finally, we must consider the pestilence."

"Famine and war leave behind mountains of rotting corpses. Decay breeds sickness. Without proper hygiene, plagues will tear through the territories like a wildfire."

Lilith mentioned this with a casual shrug. To them, this was the least of their concerns.

Every settlement within the Stoneheart Horde was fortified with a [Plague Totem Pole]. For them, a disease wasn't a danger; it was a power source. The Totems would harvest the pathogens and transmute them into pure Faith Energy to sustain the Horde.

"Lilith," Lorelia said, finally putting down the intelligence report. "If your words are true... I cannot even fathom the level of civilization the invading insect world possesses."

She finally understood the magnitude of the threat. This wasn't a mere natural disaster. It was a fundamental rewrite of the planet.

"Orion," Soraya asked, her voice losing its usual seductive playfulness, replaced by the sharp concern of a warrior. "Can the Stoneheart Horde truly survive a collision of this scale?"

Lilith and Lorelia fell silent, all three of them fixing their eyes upon their King.

Orion remained relaxed in his chair, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat against the armrest. He looked like a man pondering what to have for dinner rather than a ruler facing the end of days.

"Had this occurred before my Cultivation reached the Demigod stage," Orion said, his voice steady and calm, "we would be gathering our things and escaping to another dimension."

He ceased his tapping and looked at them, a self-assured smirk crossing his face.

"But now? We do not flee. We prepare for war. And we will squeeze every drop of profit out of this conflict."

His certainty was total. He wasn't just any Demigod; he was a well-connected one. If his personal strength fell short, he had favors to call upon. He had the mermaid Demigod, Seraphina, at his side. If the situation became truly dire, he could even summon the Commander.

Orion was so well-prepared that he was practically eager for the invasion to begin.

The heavy tension in the room vanished instantly. Lilith smiled, Soraya relaxed her posture, and Lorelia giggled, relieved that her simple life of eating and sleeping was safe.

"You spoke of five stages," Lorelia chirped happily. "What are the final two?"

"Stage Four: Convergence Zones," Lilith replied, consulting the strategic outlines Orion had helped draft. "We anticipate that in regions with high insect density, the fabric of reality will grow thin. Wormholes and pocket dimensions—[Secret Realms]—will manifest. These will be significantly empowered by the laws aligned with the insects."

"And Stage Five," Lilith concluded, her voice deepening. "The Breach. The [Secret Realms] will shatter. The two worlds will physically crash and integrate with one another. Total war will commence."

"At that point, no race, no faction, and no god will be able to remain on the sidelines."

Both Soraya and Lorelia frowned. They vividly recalled the struggles for the [Emerald Dream Realm] and the [Silverwood Realm].

They remembered the brutal meat-grinder of inter-dimensional combat. The Champions Alliance had funneled limitless resources into those wars—legions of Mages, armies of the Undead, and battalions of Beasts. It was a level of violence where individual power meant nothing.

In those conflicts, even the mighty were nothing more than dust. Millions of soldiers were ground into nothingness in a matter of hours.

"Master," Lorelia said, lifting a small, resolute fist. "I must expand the spider nurseries. I need to breed more. Millions more."

She was driven by fear, or perhaps it was simple instinct.

Soraya nodded her head in agreement. In a war of attrition, sheer numbers possessed a quality all their own. Fortunately, with the [Sea of Sand] under her control, her Scorpion Tribe had seen an explosion in both quality and quantity over the past ten years.

"Expansion is a requirement," Orion agreed, rising to his feet. "But before that..."