Translator: AnubisTL
Targon's steps were heavy and steady as his granite body crushed through the undergrowth. He strode forward with massive strides, his relentless charge leaving a clear trail across the wilderness.
Using the cover of night, Garos quietly followed the stone giant. His scales, dulled to a somber hue in the moonlight, blended seamlessly with the clouds, and he deliberately suppressed the sound of his wings, moving in utter silence.
Flight gave dragonkind a unique advantage over giants.
The stone giants' senses were dull, and Garos's camouflage was flawless. He maintained a steady pace, neither rushing nor lingering, never once being detected.
Thus, the giant walked the earth while the dragon soared through the sky.
Time passed.
After approximately five hours, the sky began to lighten with the hazy, grayish-blue glow of dawn.
The terrain ahead gradually changed. Jagged rocky hills gave way to flat, massive boulders, and the air grew thick with a strange, mineral-sulfur stench.
The full panorama of the Stone Giant Camp slowly came into view for Garos.
This was a semi-open-air camp built into the mountainside. A massive circular wall of rough-hewn basalt blocks enclosed the camp, within which stood rows of primitive stone huts, their walls layered with massive rock slabs in a style that spoke of giant-sized construction.
Garos's gaze swept over the stone giants.
His attention was drawn to a structure at the center of the camp.
It was a circular pit about twenty meters in diameter, filled with a gray substance. At first glance, it resembled stone, but occasional ripples and waves proved it to be liquid.
"Could this be... an Earth Vein Symbiosis Pool?!" Garos thought silently.
The Stone Giants' method of reproduction was not through normal biological means.
They would first select suitable Earth Vein nodes and create an Earth Vein Symbiosis Pool. Then, through a special process, they would choose spirit-infused ores, carve them into rough humanoid embryos, and place these embryos into the pool.
As the embryos soaked in the pool's liquid, the mineral essence and energy within gradually permeated them, with a chance of awakening consciousness.
If this failed, the embryo would simply become part of the mineral essence.
After awakening consciousness, the individual would crawl out of the pool, gnaw on the bodies of older stone giants, and gain a rudimentary understanding of the world and their racial identity, becoming a newborn stone giant.
Due to variations in raw materials and carving techniques, each stone giant differed in appearance, physique, and texture, with vast individual differences.
Weak stone giants formed from ordinary rock were even less formidable than white dragons.
However, those whose raw materials were special ores and who awakened consciousness could possess extraordinary talents. The rarer and more exceptional the ore, the lower the probability of awakening consciousness.
Garos noticed several young stone giants carving rock.
They were not carving small, human-like raw materials that would grow, but imposing figures as large as themselves. The Earth Vein Symbiosis Pool already contained some of these stone carvings.
These were stone giant guards.
The Stone Giant Clan revered a divine spirit. They could create stone giant guards, who sacrificed their consciousness and lifespan for rapid growth, transforming into weapons that guarded their clan.
Beyond stone giants and stone giant guards, demonic retainers like rock lizards and pangolin beasts also roamed the camp's perimeter.
"The scale is considerable, yet not overwhelming."
So far, Garos hadn't seen any more adult stone giants.
Meanwhile, as Targon reached the edge of the camp, an exceptionally massive stone giant emerged from the largest stone hut. Its height of fifteen meters made it resemble a small mountain, its crystal-like body possessing a texture and grain completely different from Targon's, as if constructed from diamond, radiating an aura of indomitable strength.
The stone giant instantly drew Garos's attention, sending a chill down his spine.
"A Stone Giant Elder, or perhaps a diamond giant... this will be tricky."
The vanguard already included a diamond giant elder. Garos could only imagine how formidable the main force would be in scale and might, which deepened his sense of danger.
Yet as he gazed down at the giant camp below, Garos felt an inexplicable sense of unease, though he couldn't immediately pinpoint why.
Holding his breath and suppressing all movement, he continued to observe and scout the Stone Giant Camp.
On the ground, the stone giant Targon knelt on one knee. Channeling magic, its eyes glowed slightly as it projected memory images: Karu's stubborn, unyielding face, the plump, muscular ogre warriors, and more than one sorcerer—all rendered with perfect clarity.
Cracks began to form across Targon's rocky face.
This was the stone giant's way of expressing its anger.
In a deep, rumbling voice, it said, "Those filthy, lowly ogres want you to come in person."
The Diamond Elder showed no anger.
Its massive body remained motionless, its eyes, filled with wisdom, gazed thoughtfully.
"That Gluttony Demon is clever. That's good—it means it's more valuable to subdue," the Diamond Elder said slowly.
Its voice sounded like two diamonds grinding against each other, producing a dull hum that made the air vibrate slightly.
Gesturing for the granite stone giant to stand, the Diamond Elder led it toward the camp and into the largest stone hut, where they began a detailed discussion about the Bonechewer Clan's affairs.
In the sky, Garos couldn't see the figures of the two most powerful stone giants.
He narrowed his eyes, counted the number of stone huts in the camp, and turned to leave.
Soon after, a Tier 9 mammoth beast charged toward the Stone Giant Camp, its eyes still showing traces of fear and panic.
The demonic retainers penned on the periphery moved to intercept it.
But the vast disparity in power made them unable to stop the mammoth beast, causing widespread chaos.
More stone giants emerged from their huts.
The Diamond Elder shattered the ground with a stomp, his massive, muscular body leaping into the air. In a single bound, he crossed hundreds of meters, his diamond-hard physique like a cannonball, like a meteor, crashing down upon the mammoth beast. The creature's bones snapped and shattered, leaving it severely wounded. The elder followed up with a decisive punch, ending its life cleanly.
After this minor disruption,
The Diamond Elder returned to the stone hut, where his demonic retainers began carving up the mammoth beast for food.
High above, amidst the clouds, Garos watched the scene unfold.
He had driven the mammoth beast towards the Stone Giant Camp to observe how they would respond.
Garos took a small sip of fairy scale powder, and the world seemed to shift into warm hues. His mind immediately sprang to life, thoughts racing at high speed.
He began re-examining the details that had felt off earlier but hadn't immediately made sense.
"The Earth Vein Symbiosis Pool is the core of the Stone Giant Clan, typically housed in their rear-guard headquarters. They wouldn't allow the vanguard to build it."
"When a Tier 9 ferocious beast attacked, the elder personally intervened, rather than other guards."
"Here, I've only seen one adult granite stone giant, one mature diamond stone giant, and three young ones, along with a few insignificant juveniles and adolescents."
"A vanguard force expanding its territory wouldn't bring such a burden."
Garos narrowed his eyes, sensing something peculiar about this group of stone giants.
Expanding the Clan's territory?
No, their age distribution was uneven, making them look more like refugees seeking to establish a foothold and settle down. The talk of expanding territory was likely just a ruse to deceive the ogres.
Surrender their territory to them?
That wouldn't do.
A single Diamond Elder wasn't enough to make Garos abandon the territory he had painstakingly built and flee in terror.
If I confront the Diamond Elder...
The risk was real, and significant.
This was a powerful stone giant, not to be underestimated.
Yet, after carefully weighing the consequences of surrendering his territory against the risks of battle, Garos decided he could bear the risk.
Fighting the diamond giant might injure him, but with his speed and explosive power, he could ensure his survival even if he couldn't win.
In three days, if it goes alone to the Bonechewer Clan, that will be my best opportunity to strike.
Garos circled upward and silently departed the Stone Giant Camp.
(End of the Chapter)
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