Chapter 313: Titan bloodline
He had been here for a while, but all he knew was that it was called the far north. He had no idea which continent it belonged to.
His description of the island as a glacier-ridden wasteland wasn\'t a lie, which was why it had fooled Raphaela\'s senses.
"No, this is the Eldoria continent," Alex replied. It wasn\'t much of a secret, and judging by his question, she figured he didn\'t even know where he was.
For these isolated Lords who rarely ventured out, such basic information remained a mystery.
As the man established an Alliance with Titus, the Portal of Transit sprang to life, pulsating with an orange-red glow.
"He\'s here," the man announced, though the system notification beat him to it.
Alex, however, remained motionless, her expression unchanged.
The man was puzzled. Wasn\'t she going to kill him?
The Portal of Transit shimmered, and Titus, clad in a brown leather jacket and sporting short hair, stepped out.
A blast of frigid air hit him, sending a shiver down his spine before he could acclimate.
His eyes fell upon the two figures waiting for him: a burly man and a beautiful girl...
Titus froze, his blood turning to ice. Fear gripped him, paralyzing his thoughts.
Without hesitation, he spun around, intending to dive back into the Portal of Transit.
But as he turned, the air thickened, holding him captive. It was as if he were trapped in quicksand, unable to move a muscle.
"Since you\'re here, why the rush?" a voice that sent shivers down his spine echoed behind him.
Titus tried to summon his powers, attempting to break free from the force that bound him, but his efforts were futile.
He felt a disorienting shift in space, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing before Alex, ripped away from the safety of the Portal of Transit.
The man beside Alex watched, bewildered. As a mere Commanding level Lord, the intricacies of this display of power were beyond his comprehension.
He watched as fear contorted Titus\'s face, wondering why he didn\'t run, why he willingly moved closer to Undead Lord.
Alex didn\'t waste time with words. With a flick of her slender finger, a spatial blade materialized, slicing through Titus in an instant.
From the moment he saw Alex to the moment he died, barely five seconds had passed. He didn\'t even have the chance to utter a final word.
As Raphaela\'s minion, he elicited no sympathy from Alex. She had no need for his information, nor his submission.
She could sense two distinct types of holy power emanating from his remains.
One belonged to Titus himself, his titan power. The other, she surmised, was Raphaela\'s angelic power.
A quick glance at the system rewards brought a satisfied smile to her face, but now wasn\'t the time to delve into those.
"Good work," she said to the man, ignoring the corpse at her feet as she turned and left the island.
The man stood there, alone, buffeted by the wind, the gruesome sight of Titus\'s headless body etched into his mind.
The sheer power undead lord had displayed in that single, fleeting moment sent shivers down his spine. Both were ranked among the top ten, yet that girl had obliterated Titus with such ease!
A gray magic circle formed beneath Titus\'s corpse, and a lich crawled out from its depths.
Alex had initially planned to use his corpse to summon a zombie titan, but its sheer size would have been impractical. So, she opted for a lich instead.
Lords with powerful bloodlines typically needed to reach the later stages of the King level for their bloodline to fully awaken.
Therefore, technically speaking, Titus was still human, not even a half-titan.
Meanwhile, in a remote region of the Arsen continent...
Two towns stood side by side. Suddenly, one of them began to shake violently before collapsing in on itself.
The Lord nearby gasped.
"Titus is dead!"
The titans within the crumbling town, now masterless, remained within the ruined walls. Their eyes flickered with a golden light.
Then, in unison, they turned to the nearby Lord, offering their submission.
The Lord readily accepted, immediately relaying the news to Raphaela.
Raphaela received the news with a stoic expression. She let out a soft sigh and returned to her city.
"Tell the others to ease up on the Lord recruitment for now."
...
Back in the far north, Alex, accompanied by the Arctic Tigerfolk, returned to the palace.
She settled into a chair and opened her system interface, eager to review the notifications.
[Congratulations! You have slain a unique Barrack Lord and earned special rewards: Titan Bloodline Power, Titan Barrack.]
[Note: Only one unique Barrack can exist at a time.]
Alex shot up from her chair, her eyes wide with surprise.
She had only skimmed the notification earlier, focusing on the word "titan." She hadn\'t realized the rewards included not only the Barrack but also the bloodline power!
So, Titus, like herself, possessed a unique Barracks.
This was still Alex\'s first time killing a Lord with a unique Barrack.
Moreover, the system message implied that these unique elements could be plundered.
"With these, I could create a new titan Lord!"
This was far more advantageous than simply turning them into undead.
Titans\' primary attribute was holy, and they could wield other elements as well, a stark contrast to Alex\'s own affinities.
But that didn\'t matter. If she couldn\'t utilize it, Xiao Mu could.
As a light element Lord, the Titan Bloodline Power was practically tailor-made for him.
With the Titan Bloodline, Xiao Mu\'s potential would skyrocket, his growth no longer capped at the King level. He could reach the Emperor level!
Furthermore, absorbing the Titan Bloodline wouldn\'t clash with his existing abilities. It was perfect.
And she couldn\'t simply discard the Titan Barrack. She could have Xiao Mu switch from his current one.
She had known for a while that only one unique Barrack could exist at a time.
This explained why some Lords could plunder and possess multiple Barracks, while others had to rely on conquered races for Auxiliary Barracks.
The difference was significant. Unique Barracks could be upgraded, unlike Auxiliary Barracks, which were limited to summoning a single unit.
Glancing out the window, Alex noted the late hour. It was time to return to Undead City and rest.
Sleeping on the cold, hard ice here couldn\'t compare to the comfort of her bedroom back home. Besides, she could deliver the good news and the rewards to Xiao Mu in person.
Upon her return to Undead City, she found Xiao Hui sitting outside the palace, lost in thought.
Alex\'s sudden appearance startled her.
"Geez, you scared the life out of me! You just appear out of thin air like that," Xiao Hui exclaimed, scrambling to her feet.
"What are you doing out here? Where\'s Xiao Mu?"
"He\'s leading the undead army in an attack on the Featherfolk. I\'m keeping watch for him, making sure he doesn\'t fall behind in experience points," Xiao Hui explained.
A smile spread across Alex\'s face.
"Don\'t worry, you\'ll be the one falling behind soon enough."
She knew that absorbing the bloodline power would grant a significant experience boost and enhance the recipient\'s talent. Xiao Mu\'s leveling speed would soon surpass Xiao Hui\'s.
"Huh?" Xiao Hui looked at her, confused.
They entered the palace and waited for Xiao Mu\'s return. As the sky darkened, the red moon gradually ascended.
[Blood Moon in the sky, darkness descends]
Sophie was the first to return. She looked surprised to see Alex.
"Big Shot, I thought you weren\'t coming back for a few days?"
"Who said that?"
"Xiao Hui did."
Sophie turned to Xiao Hui, who immediately became defensive.
Alex didn\'t mind these; she just smiled.
"Miss Alex, why are you waiting for Xiao Mu? What\'s going on?" Xiao Hui asked, sensing something was up. She had a feeling Alex was about to give Xiao Mu some kind of advantage.
"I took care of that titan Lord today," Alex said, deciding to be vague for now.
Sophie immediately checked the leaderboard. [King Ultraman] was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar name in tenth place.
Just then, Xiao Mu entered the palace. Xiao Hui jumped to her feet and shouted, "Brother! Miss Alex has a special treat just for you!"
Alex: ???