However, Artedinis had no interest in ancient history. To be precise, no one did.
Everyone, regardless of status, character, or motive, had come for the slaughter.
The imperial princess pushed back her long hair and laughed.
"Those who want to clean up this riffraff can head down now. I want to find some more valuable prey."
She really could not muster any interest in prey that could be slaughtered with a mere flick of the wrist.
In a trial, quality matters more than quantity!
As soon as she finished speaking, the members of the holy crusade bid their farewells and departed, heading down via the small shuttles docked to the warship.
These crusaders were not here for the trial; they were simply here to eradicate a future threat, so naturally, they went wherever the giants were to kill them.
The other adventurers left as well. They were not as picky as Artedinis and were quite satisfied to be able to kill ordinary giants.
The warship continued forward, passing over plains that could be described as entirely featureless.
Finally, along the horizon, they discovered a patch of raised sword-hills.
Countless massive axes, halberds, swords, spears, and staves were thrust into the hill, resembling a forest of steel.
And on the high ground in the center of the sword-hills stood a presence that rendered everyone speechless.
"That is..."
It was a colossal creature, unlike the ordinary giants. While a typical giant was only about a dozen meters tall, the one discovered now was twice that height.
In the space that seemed torn and fractured, the giant had a mane of lifeless, gray-white hair that made one feel a bone-chilling stillness just by glancing at it, fluttering chaotically in the gale.
A pale mask with scarlet cracks covered the giant's face, and its body was covered in dark purple armor that flowed with light, equally eerie and ominous.
It stood silently on the high ground, its hands gripping a greatbow. That greatbow seemed to be composed of countless surging dark stars, constantly shattering and reforming.
The giant stood like a statue, clutching the bow. Even though it was broken and tattered, its posture remained filled with an indescribable grandeur.
"That is also... a giant?"
The imperial soldiers on the deck stared dumbfoundedly at the broken giant.
Artedinis crossed her arms and smiled. "It seems this is one of the giant kings from ancient history who dared to offend the gods. Not bad. Only in this form does it have the qualifications to be an opponent."
Although they were still very far away, the Giant King's sense of presence was incredibly intense, making everything else seem dim and lusterless, to the point that the material world they perceived felt like a phantom bubble.
In their perception, there was only its existence; nothing else could occupy their thoughts.
This specific sensation was undoubtedly at the level of a "great fiend." Even though its power had been worn away by endless years of imprisonment, its essence remained unchanged.
The giant sensed the approach of outsiders. Its face moved slightly, and the gaze from beneath the mask fixed upon them.
"!!!"
Those below the 【hero】 rank felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Their hearts stopped beating for a moment, their blood reversed its flow, and they could not stop trembling.
Their lips quivered, wanting to speak, but for a long time, they could not utter a single clear syllable.
They could only watch helplessly as the giant raised the greatbow high above its head, slowly nocked an arrow, and then...
"Hum—"
A violent vibration shattered the atmosphere. Their ears were instantly filled with the ringing sound. The moment the giant released the string, a beam of bright purple light shot into the sky.
"Boom—"
The warship took emergency evasive maneuvers; the sky where it had originally been was pierced by the arrow descending from above.
Not only that, but the rock and earth below also cracked and collapsed under this single blow, the ground caving into the arrow's impact point like quicksand.
The impact point of the arrow formed a pitch-black vortex, the released storm constantly twisting and devouring the surrounding matter.
This shocking scene made the voices of the operators on the ship tremble.
"That blow just now... Your Highness, with our current defensive level, I fear we would crash after taking just one hit."
Artedinis watched the destruction caused by the arrow with great interest and said,
"If the warship crashes, it will be somewhat troublesome, so you do not need to go forward. We will approach by shuttle and hunt it down."
"Wait, Your Highness, it is too dangerous. We should still retreat..."
The imperial princess interrupted her subordinate's persuasion, lifted her head, and laughed.
"Why fear it! Even if it is an ancient Giant King, after such long ages, its power and reason have long since been worn away. This so-called Giant King today is nothing more than a beast! Do you want me to be afraid of a mere beast?! Do not disturb my interest in hunting."
Wait, you just said "beast," didn't you?
Faust looked at the fully armed Little Red Riding Hood hunter. Qin stared fixedly at the Giant King with her lake-blue eyes, then nodded.
"I think it can indeed be considered a beast."
What defines a liberal? As long as it lacks reason, it counts as a beast.
However, is the 【Flame of the Wolf-Hour】 really such an inconvenient thing? Faust even felt that Irithea did not need to follow any principles; as long as she felt it was a beast, then it was.
【Witch】 is such a subjective existence. The only pity is that these girls have strong principles and cannot deceive themselves, which invisibly limits their authority.
"Faust, let's go. Come with me."
Artedinis boarded the shuttle and turned to look at the Qingxi prince.
"Hmm? You surely don't want to bring all your people, do you? That won't do. Can't you tell I want to fight alongside my friend? You really don't understand a woman's heart."
The imperial princess shook her head lightly and held up one finger.
"So, at most one person. Any more, and I will be squeezed out by your little group."
Upon hearing this, Faust had no choice but to helplessly exchange glances with the girls and said,
"Then I will go with Irithea."
Regarding the prince's decision, even the most haughty black-haired beauty only gave a faint hum and had no objections.
Because in terms of pure combat power, Irithea was indeed the strongest among them. Not to mention Selena; her talent as a warlock was not low, but it was a pity that it was still too slow to manifest. Even though she had already become a high warlock of the 【hero】 rank, she was inferior to Lola in pure attainment.
And since it was not night, Viviana, who lacked the bonus of 【one night's dream】, was also slightly inferior to Irithea.
Seeing this, Artedinis nodded and said,
"Are your styles both close-quarters combat? In that case, to coordinate with you... I will use ranged attacks."
"Creak, creak—"
Accompanying the crisp sound of construction, a golden radiance flashed on Artedinis's extended hand, gradually condensing into a brilliant greatbow.
【Radiant Creation】!
This was the unique spell of the 【Radiant King】 path. As long as magic power was consumed, one could condense armor and weapons anytime and anywhere, manifesting them. Furthermore, their efficacy completely matched one's own strength. It could be said to be very convenient and powerful.
It was still a case of one spell topping someone else's entire path—the strong are full of surprises everywhere.
The shuttle, as a small transport vehicle, was extremely fast. Within a few breaths of leaving the warship, it had approached the Giant King.
Faust and Irithea landed first. The moment they landed, the Giant King, sensing its territory had been invaded, nimbly drew its bow and nocked an arrow.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"
This time, they were greeted by a sky-filling rain of arrows. The light arrows scattered by the greatbow obscured the sky. The dark purple light arrows bathed the plain in radiance, and the wave of sound created by breaking the air crashed toward them.
Faust did not dodge or evade. He intended to take on all the attacks.
Rate on N.U.
