Titan King: Ascension of the Giant-Chapter 502: Rebirth of bones

On top of the four bone swords, four formidable skeletal swordsmen took shape. One of them looked directly at Orion and laid out their plan.

Once he was done speaking, the four bone swords emitted a dazzling black glow, then drove themselves into the vine cage like four nails. In the span of just two breaths, the vine cage withered, each thick tendril slicing into countless fragments before disintegrating into ash.

With the cage gone, each of the four skeletal swordsmen immediately engaged a respective shark-like parasitic creature, fighting to keep them occupied.

In that instant, Orion spotted the perfect chance to strike Vine Splitters. Without any hesitation, he unleashed Instant Impact and dove headlong into the slime molds layer.

Wielding his trident, Orion crashed through the slime molds layer, the shockwaves from Instant Impact splitting the dense mass of slime molds again and again. Countless mutated slime molds hidden within were destroyed in his wake.

In one hidden spot, the Vine Splitters revealed itself. Its body was formed of countless twisting, living vines, coiling together into different shapes for weapons. These shot out from the slime molds layer, attacking Orion from both the front and the flank.

Realizing he hadn't located the true core of the Vine Splitters yet, Orion flickered aside, triggering Instant Impact again to barrel toward the slime molds layer in another direction. His trident cleaved through the air, slicing deeper into the mass of slime molds. The vine attacks grew fiercer with every inch he advanced.

A hint of satisfaction crossed Orion's face: the stronger the onslaught, the closer he must be to Vine Splitters itself.

After a thunderous roar, Orion upped his momentum even more, churning the slime molds layer like a field being plowed. All at once, he sensed a presence trying to flee into the distance.

"Found you! Now die!"

He activated Swift Charge and Instant Impact simultaneously to boost his speed.

Thud!

The trident punctured something solid. Orion drove his weapon upward, then planted his foot firmly, bursting out of the slime molds layer. High in the air, impaled at the tip of his trident, hung a strange, globular mass. It seemed to be part vine and part flesh, an odd hybrid. Orion had seen this type of thing once before, though in the midst of battle he'd never gotten a close look.

"Break!"

Lightning and a reddish glow surged along the trident, cleaving Vine Splitters' body in two. The creature's form went from rigid to limp.

A cluster of life essence emerged in Orion's hand, and he stowed it away before turning his gaze on the shark-like parasitic creatures still locked in combat with the skeletal swordsmen.

"Since you're all here, none of you are leaving alive!"

Truth be told, if not for these skeletal swordsmen arriving in time, Orion probably would have used Triple Mirror Image. But his duplicates weren't as durable as he was, and in a fight like this, they'd likely be seriously injured or even destroyed.

Orion was determined not to risk losing them lightly. Until he ascended to demigod or god, and could outfit his mirror images with top-grade gear, he preferred to keep them in reserve. (since once lost, those mirror images were gone forever)

Having searched countless Survivor's Chests and combed the Survivor's Platform, Orion had never found any skill quite like Triple Mirror Image, making him all the more careful with its use.

Wasting no more time, Orion surveyed the battlefield and honed in on one of the shark-like parasitic creatures already at a disadvantage. He charged it, roaring, "Get over here and die!"

Whirling the trident in a savage arc, Orion speared the creature's skull. Although death loomed, the shark-like beast thrashed wildly, desperate to throw him off. A hum of supernatural power flared around Orion, igniting his Battle Will Surge. A heavy force pressed down on the parasitic monstrosity.

"Death is never the end!"

The skeletal swordsman Orion had aided earlier chanted softly. Runes glowed upon the black sword in his hand, pulsing with a brilliant darkness.

"Rebirth of Bones!"

The black blade drove into the creature's body, its runic symbols—like tiny tadpoles—crawling all over the shark-like parasitic creature. Slowly, the beast's struggling ceased.

Orion yanked his trident free, dragging out the life essence from its head. Then he sprang off the carcass, reluctant to come in contact with those eerie runes, which were now inching up toward the creature's skull.

"Lord Orion," the skeletal swordsman said, "I must continue the Rebirth of Bones ritual. Please assist the others."

Orion nodded without protest or questions. Trident in hand, he pivoted and dashed toward the remaining three shark-like parasites. Using nearly the same technique each time, Orion successively killed all three. Behind him, the other three skeletal swordsmen began their own Rebirth of Bones rituals as well.

"Lord Orion, may we keep the carcasses of those shark-like creatures? We'll give you all the life essence."

"Sure, no problem."

Orion turned and responded to the first skeletal swordsman he'd helped. It seemed the swordsman had finished the final step of his ritual. He came over to Orion, the two of them now watching over the other three skeletons still locked in their own necromantic rites.

"I am Bone Blue," he said. "And my three older brothers are Bone White, Bone Red, and Bone Green."

Orion caught a spark of curiosity in his gaze. He turned to examine Bone Blue more carefully. Beneath the tattered cloak, Bone Blue wore not bone armor but, unusually, a type of leathery armor—the likes of which was rare among the undead. Embedded in the center of his forehead lay a mysterious blue gemstone.

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Something clicked in Orion's mind. He glanced over at the other skeletal swordsmen. Sure enough, each had a gemstone on his forehead, matching the color of his name. Bone White, Bone Red, Bone Green, and Bone Blue were all hidden behind their cloaks; one wouldn't have noticed unless looking closely.

"You're planning to summon them?" Orion asked, pointing at the four fallen sharks.

"Summoning? No—it's rebirth," Bone Blue said with a faint sneer. "As luck would have it, the four of us came here still missing our proper bone mounts. These powerful shark parasites suit us perfectly.

"Once they're converted, their strength drops by a tier, but powerful bone mounts at the upper Legendary level are almost impossible to find!"

Orion's eyes widened in astonishment at what he'd just heard.