Chapter 180: The World of the Arrogant Giant (6)
The giants gripped their weapons with grim determination. A chilly wind brushed past them.
“Are you ready?”
At the Giant King’s question, Taesan nodded.
The Giant King then turned his gaze to the giants.
“Giants, we are the strongest race. No one has been able to oppose us, not even the great transcendents.”
His quiet yet powerful voice resonated among the giants, their eyes beginning to burn with fervor.
“Prepare yourselves. We will trample and tear apart those filthy beings who dared to meddle with us.”
“Yes!”
A brief shout echoed.
The Giant King waved his hand. A massive power surged toward the castle, and soon the seal on the monster was lifted.
Clang!
The Giant King clenched his fist.
A huge barrier formed around the castle, and a strange, dense aura swept over them.
Crack!
The aura violently battered the barrier. The Giant King’s expression turned serious.
Simultaneously, the sky split open.
As if a hole had been punched through, a vast space formed. The immense energy emanating from it caused the giants to grip their weapons tightly, and Taesan to frown.
A giant hole in the sky.
It was exactly like the rifts that existed on Earth.
Crack!
Monsters began to fall from the sky. The creatures staggered to their feet upon landing on the ground.
Taesan observed the monsters but found none particularly strong. They were all around B-rank.
The problem was that there were hundreds of them.
Slowly, the monsters approached the giants.
The Giant King spoke to the grand warriors.
“Then I leave it to you.”
“Understood, my king.”
The grand warriors stomped the ground.
With a roar, the giants charged at the monsters.
The Giant King looked at Taesan.
“Then, human, I entrust this to you. Please, save us.”
Leaving the Giant King’s murmur behind, Taesan entered the castle.
The moment he stepped inside the barrier, the monster’s aura tried to consume him.
“Move.”
Taesan crushed the aura underfoot and advanced.
The castle was engulfed in the monster’s aura, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead. However, Taesan navigated skillfully with his Synchronization Eye and enhanced senses.
Meanwhile, outside, the giants and monsters were locked in fierce combat.
“Hup!”
Umberak swung his sword down, slicing a monster in half.
“Hahaha!”
He burst into laughter.
The innate combat instincts within him flared up. Not only him, but the other giants also laughed wildly as they fought the monsters.
However, their strength alone was not overwhelming. The giants and monsters were evenly matched, and at times, the giants were even pushed back.
It was the grand warriors who tipped the balance in favor of the giants.
A grand warrior with a blindfold on flew through the air, waving his hand. With gestures akin to those of a grand mage, he opened a space and brought down pillars of light.
Boom!
Monsters hit directly by the light pillars vanished without a trace.
Another grand warrior swung a transparent blade, slicing dozens of monsters at once.
The observing giants were awestruck.
“So that’s magic.”
The power they had forgotten due to the monsters.
And the power they could reclaim.
Their eyes blazed with determination.
The monsters were rapidly being eradicated.
Taesan reached the place where the monster was located.
Rumble.
The monster reacted to Taesan’s approach. Writhing tendrils began to slither towards him.
Taesan gazed at the hideous monster calmly.
[Mind Control Check…]
[Instant Death Check…]
[Frenzy Check…]
[Madness Check…]
[All Checks Passed!]
Even when facing an S-rank monster before, he had not undergone this many checks.
The strongest monster Taesan had seen in this life was A-rank.
And the monster before him was far stronger.
‘S-rank or higher.’
If it were a normal monster, Taesan wouldn’t stand a chance.
But Taesan gripped his sword.
[The opponent is an impossible enemy to defeat.]
His stats surged with skill and mental checks. Feeling the strengthened power, Taesan gripped his sword firmly.
This monster was specialized in fighting giants, unlike the monsters on Earth.
Moreover, its most potent ability, mental waves, didn’t affect Taesan. The condition that it couldn’t kill giants also didn’t apply to Taesan, who was human.
All that remained was the monster’s physical abilities.
That much, Taesan could handle.
[You have activated Essence Understanding.]
His vision expanded in an instant.
Information about the monsters, though static-ridden, streamed into Taesan.
While he couldn’t grasp precise details, he could understand the general attributes.
The monster’s health was extraordinarily high.
It was several times that of the A-rank monster he fought before. Taesan focused on the writhing tendrils of the monster.
Those tendrils were its main attack method.
Rumble.
As Taesan analyzed the monster, it suddenly quivered. The writhing waves swept over Taesan’s mind.
The shockwaves that turned the giants’ brains upside down and battered their hearts concentrated on Taesan.
“Doesn’t work.”
Taesan shook his head. Realizing that mental attacks didn’t work, the monster moved its tendrils.
Taesan stomped the ground.
Simultaneously, the tendrils struck down.
Boom!
The tendrils slammed the ground and dominated the space. Taesan swung his sword, cutting down the tendrils, and evaded unavoidable attacks by leaping away.
Quickly reaching the tendrils, Taesan thrust his sword into them.
Crunch.
The sword pierced the tendrils.
But it didn’t go in deep. Confirming their toughness, Taesan distanced himself and dodged the tendrils before charging again.
Boom!
The tendrils struck down.
Taesan raised his sword.
[You have activated Powerful Strike.]
Crunch.
He cut through the tendrils one by one, advancing steadily until he was face-to-face with the monster.
[You have activated Critical Strike.]
He identified the part where the tendrils connected to the monster as the weak spot and thrust his sword there.
Crunch!
The sword pierced deeper than before.
Taesan twisted the sword.
The tendril fell off.
Taesan stepped back.
There was nothing difficult about it.
The monster was designed to kill giants. While it surpassed S-rank in mental prowess, its physical abilities weren’t much different from an A-rank monster.
The tendrils, sharp as thorns, aimed at Taesan all at once.
Taesan didn’t dodge.
[You have activated Random Blink.]
His body moved through the air.
He had already marked a spot near the tendrils. The moment he blinked, he brought his sword down like an axe.
Crunch.
The tendrils trembled violently. As he kept striking, the tendrils fell off.
Boom!
The tendrils attacked again.
Taesan raised his sword.
[You have activated Deflection.]
The trajectory of the tendrils twisted, slamming into the ground and walls. The tendrils kept coming, but Taesan deflected them all and moved forward, swinging his sword.
He continued to cut down the tendrils one by one. As their number decreased, dealing with the monster became increasingly easier.
The same was true outside.
“Uraaah!”
A giant roared as he gripped a monster with his hands. The monster let out a distressed sound before being torn in half.
The giant shouted as he threw the monster’s corpse away.
“Nothing to it!”
The giants were overwhelming the monsters.
The grand warriors’ help was immense. With a single gesture, dozens of monsters fell, so it was the monsters, not the giants, who felt the numerical disadvantage. As they were nearly done with the monsters, the Giant King quietly murmured.
“Is it starting?”
Boom!
A massive wave spread from the sky. The giants, who had been fighting with a roar, paused momentarily.
Monsters began to fall from the rift again.
And these monsters were clearly stronger than the ones they had been dealing with.
“So what!”
A giant roared and charged. The monster at the forefront swung its long arm. The giant confidently raised his shield.
Crunch.
The shield shattered, and the giant was sent flying.
These monsters were far stronger than B-rank.
If Taesan saw them, he would have classified them as A-rank.
Hundreds of A-rank monsters charged all at once. The giants gripped their weapons with grim faces.
Crunch.
Taesan severed the tendrils. Only three remained.
It was almost over.
Rumble.
Above the monster, space opened.
Dark, dense energy poured down like a waterfall, enveloping the monster.
“Of course.”
[There they go again. Don’t they get tired of this?]
The ghost muttered in exasperation.
The gods used all sorts of means to kill Taesan.
It was no different here. Taesan was not surprised, having expected at least one change.
Crunch.
The severed tendrils writhed and grew back, sprouting small thorns.
Simultaneously, the thorns fired from the tendrils.
Thud thud thud!
The thorns embedded themselves in the ground. Taesan leaped and swung his sword.
Crunch!
The thorns were cut all at once.
But more thorns kept sprouting and targeting Taesan.
There were too many thorns to cut down with a sword.
Taesan quickly decided that he didn’t need to use two swords. He sheathed one and pulled out the Aegis Shield instead.
Crunch!
The thorns struck the shield. Although there was a slight pushback, it was manageable.
No damage came through.
Taesan planted his feet firmly.
[You have activated White Rune Shield.]
Boom!
A white shield appeared in front of Taesan. The thorns struck the shield. It didn’t last long, but it bought Taesan enough time to move.
Crunch!
Taesan swung his sword, shattering the thorns like matchsticks. However, the tendrils kept producing thorns.
Cutting the thorns was meaningless.
He needed to cut off the tendrils producing the thorns.
To do that, he needed to approach the tendrils again.
Shrrk!
Dozens of tendrils spread out at once.
Thousands of thorns shot toward Taesan.
Taesan planted his feet firmly.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Rakiratas.]
[You have activated Marbas’s Seven Deadly Waves.]
Boom!
Black waves surged, overflowing through the space. The waves surged greedily, rushing toward the thorns.
The thorns were swallowed by the waves and disappeared.
The black waves didn’t stop.
They surged forward, devouring everything in their path.
Taesan controlled the waves and charged forward. The monster gathered its tendrils and fired all the thorns at once.
The thorns embedded themselves in the black waves. The waves hesitated momentarily before surging forward even more fiercely.
Boom!
The waves exploded.
Thousands of thorns disappeared instantly.
Thud.
Taesan stomped the ground.
He had already reached the tendrils.
He raised his sword above his head.