Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1356 The Crossroads of Survival

Titanion Realm: Soaring Bird City

A vibration in the soil served as the initial alert. Soon after, a chaotic blend of pounding hooves and the heavy, rhythmic ringing of bells from beast-blood mounts filled the air.

From their high vantage point on the battlements, sentries observed a massive cloud of dust as it solidified into a caravan. The sight was immense—a serpentine procession of riders and wagons snaking toward the gates of Soaring Bird City.

Even at a distance, the exhaustion of the group was obvious. With heads hanging low, the mounts were covered in sweat, while the wagon wheels groaned under the weight of a relentless forced march. However, the seasoned soldiers on the wall sensed something more than mere fatigue emanating from the line.

It was pure terror.

"Does that look like a merchant fleet to you?" one guard whispered, squinting against the glaring sun. "They look more like survivors fleeing a forest fire."

"Shut your mouth," the sergeant barked, though his eyes remained fixed on the approaching throng. "Look at those banners. That is the Golden Apple Chamber of Commerce."

"Within the Human Kingdoms, they are considered untouchable," the sergeant added, his voice dropping to a low rumble. "They have the Royal Family in one pocket and the bandit lords in the other. Nobody dares to strike them."

To an ordinary soldier, the Golden Apple was more than a merchant guild; it was a pillar of the world. The notion of them being pillaged was nearly unthinkable. The soldiers could only assume their bedraggled state was due to the immense volume of treasure they were transporting.

"Send a messenger to the palace," the sergeant commanded, spitting over the rampart. "If the Golden Apple has arrived, we must ensure some of that stock remains within Soaring Bird City."

The Palace

Princess Ava didn't bother looking at the document the courier placed on her desk. The arrival of the continent's most affluent traders meant nothing compared to the parchment currently trembling between her fingers.

It was the most recent intelligence report from the Rose Knight Regiment.

"They have been under constant harassment since departing the Kingdom's central regions," a gravelly voice cut through the quiet. "It wasn't bandits. It was swarms."

The speaker was Godfrey, one of the Eight Great Knights. He lacked the polished look of a courtier, appearing instead as a man of the wild. As a leader of a Mercenary Corps operating out of the Stoneheart Horde, he was only in Soaring Bird City to rest and stock up before heading back to his base.

Though Godfrey was human by birth, his allegiance had long since shifted to the Stoneheart Horde territories. His bravery in the defense of Stoneheart City had earned him a [Flame-Tiger] mount—a creature that granted him the status of royalty among fellow mercenaries.

"Losses were minimal," Godfrey remarked, leaning over the tactical map, "but the mental toll is devastating. There are maimings and cases of neurotoxic poisoning. Princess, I recognize that stench. It is the scent of a Beast Tide."

Ava stared intensely at the report.

Insects. Swarms.

She understood the implications perfectly. She also realized why the Golden Apple Chamber of Commerce was moving with such frantic haste. This wasn't a trade mission; it was a liquidation. They were running for their lives.

The fact that Roderic, the firstborn son of the Grand Duke, was hiding within that caravan confirmed her darkest suspicions. If the successors to the highest thrones were in flight, then the capital had already lost hope in its own walls.

So, the leadership of the Kingdom has already surrendered, Ava realized, a bitter taste like ash filling her mouth. What options does that leave for us?

The heavy question lingered in the air, reaching her assembled council: Garrett, Godfrey, Lambert, and Klythia.

"My Lady," Lambert, the city's diplomat, moved forward. His tone was soft and inquisitive. "Is the state of affairs truly so catastrophic?"

Ava inhaled deeply, feeling the invisible weight of a crown and the immense duty of the city she governed. She turned to look at them, her gaze searching every face.

"Before I provide an answer," Ava said, her voice turning to steel, "I must know. Can I trust you? Completely?"

The response was instantaneous.

"I swear by the blade in my hand and the honor of my blood," Garrett declared, dropping to one knee.

"To the very end," Godfrey added, his mercenary grit replaced by a grim solemnity.

"We shall not falter," Klythia stated, her hand resting on her sword hilt.

This wasn't merely a display of chivalry. These were battle-hardened veterans who could feel the shift in the world. Ava wasn't seeking loyalty against a political foe; she was asking for their devotion in the face of the end of days.

"A decade ago, during the last Civil War, the heavens changed," Ava began in a low voice. "That wasn't a natural phenomenon. It was a breach. Another world commenced its invasion of the Titanion Realm."

A deathly silence fell over the room.

"The anomalies we have witnessed? The Demigods stirring from centuries of sleep? It is all linked," she continued. "Factions across the three continents and the great oceans have been secretly preparing for a global war. But now, the veil has been shredded."

"The insect swarms harrying the Golden Apple caravan are not merely local beasts. They are the heralds of a world-altering transformation."

This was no mere theory. The Kingdom’s tacticians and spies had collected every strange occurrence, every mutated beast, and every fluctuation in mana. While Orion, the Giant King, had perceived the shift through his bond with the world's laws, the ancient human organizations had figured it out through millennia of records and observation.

"The raid on the caravan is just a symptom, not the root cause," Ava said, pushing the report aside. "I require your counsel because Soaring Bird City stands at a critical juncture."

"The looming war is a clash between worlds. It will consume entire nations. In the grand scale of this struggle, the Human Kingdom... is insignificant."

That harsh reality, passed down from King Harold himself, seemed to drain the air from the room.

"A choice must be made," Ava declared, her eyes locking onto her commanders. "We cannot remain here. We will be crushed. Therefore, we must move."

"There are two possible paths. We can retreat to the capital and seek shelter in the Utessar Kingdom."

She stopped for a moment, letting the weight of the name sink in.

"Or," she resumed, "we journey to Stoneheart City. To the lands of the Stoneheart Horde."

Ava fell silent.

She already knew the destination. She knew where they truly belonged. Her link to Harold, and by extension the newly risen Demigod Orion, provided a lifeline that the failing human monarchy could never offer.

Yet, she could not simply command this.

Leading a city of humans into the territory of a "monster" faction is considered heresy by the masses, she thought bitterly. I cannot compel them to follow.

The choice had to originate from her council. They had to take ownership of it. They had to believe it was their only chance at survival.

"My Lady," Lambert spoke up, his forehead creased with anxiety. "Is there no other path? Can the Kingdom or the Stoneheart Horde not provide reinforcements to defend our walls?"

Ava looked at him with an unreadable expression. The diplomat was searching for a shield, but Ava knew that the approaching hurricane would turn such shields to dust.

What they truly needed was a fortress.