Chapter 12: Giants

Under the unforgiving glare of the sun, Lambda's truck skidded to a halt outside Erac Wilson's foreboding stronghold. An argument broke out among Wilson's men about which vehicle to use for the journey deeper into the base.

"We will stick with our truck," Lambda suggested, his eyes narrowing.

A burly henchman from Wilson's gang sneered, "Your clunker wouldn't make it past the front gate."

The spiky-jacketed biker, interjected, "Enough. Get in take our truck."

With tensions simmering, Lambda, Ryland, O'kuyo, and Alan exchanged uneasy glances as they followed Wilson's convoy deeper into the heart of the fortress.

They all sit together at the back of the truck along with two other Wilson's goons. The truck move slow. But as the truck delve deeper, the goons at the back started to leave the truck leaving only the four of them inside.

Ryland take this chance to summon White Boy. The other guys were surprised and asked, "what are you planning to do with him?" asked Lambda.

"Relax Boss. We never know what might happen inside. Maybe, having an aerial guardian might be helpful," respond Ryland.

Ryland then take a peek outside. He saw a lot of Wilson's goons are minding their own business. "White Boy, can you help me?" Ryland asked.

White Boy replied with a squeak and a nod.

"Me know what Master wants."

Suddenly, White Boy shift to a small size bat and fly away. The other guys, and also Ryland was surprised. "What did that thing just did?" Lambda asked confusingly.

"I don't really know exactly. But I hope he will do what I was hoping he would," replied Ryland.

"Master!"

Suddenly Ryland heard a familiar voice in his head. He remembered that feeling as the same from the moment he perform the ritual with White Boy.

"Can hear me, Master?" asked the voice again.

"Is that you, White Boy? How did you do this?" Ryland asked the voice inside his head.

White Boy replied, "Me just can, Master. Staff give me this."

Ryland grinned and thought to himself, "Telepathic communication. Interesting. Does this mean that I can always communicate with all my summoned creature this way in the future? That will be nice."

"Alright White Boy. Keep watch up there okay. Prepare for any instructions from me," Ryland told White Boy telepathically.

"Alright, Master," White Boy replied.

As they reached the heart of Wilson's lair, the menacing atmosphere was palpable. It is an open space adorned with grim trophies of Wilson's conquests, casting ominous shadows that danced with every flicker of candlelight. A large warehouse stood steady at the background. At the end of a long table in the middle of a used to be basketball court, sat Erac Wilson himself—a towering figure at 2.1 meters, his brown skin stretched over a muscular frame. His denim jacket and blue jeans were complemented by an array of bangles on his wrists and chains around his neck, each piece reflecting his dominant and ruthless nature.

Lambda is also a large statured person. Their size is almost the same.

Lambda cleared his throat, "Wilson."

Erac Wilson's cold eyes fixed on Lambda.

"Where are Rocco and Juice?" Lambda asked.

"They're safe, for now," Wilson sneered, leaning back in his chair.

Wilson's cold gaze met Lambda's. "You're jeopardizing everything with your incompetence. My business thrives on Mercurial, and you've cut off the supply."

Lambda countered, "The mine was invaded by monsters. It was a matter of safety."

The room grew tense as the two locked horns, arguing vehemently about the Mercurial supply. Lambda was steadfast, refusing to back down despite Wilson's intimidating demeanor.

You're putting my operation at risk," Wilson growled, his patience wearing thin. "Increase the supply for the next delivery."

Lambda's grip tightened around the pickaxes at his side, his knuckles white with fury. "It's not that simple! "

Suddenly, O'kuyo leaned over to Ryland, whispering, "That's Rocco and Juice! Up there! They're hanging on that crane, ready to be dropped into that pool of molten metal." O'kuyo give eye signals pointing at the side of the large warehouse. One man standing by the crane, maybe getting ready to act as directed by Wilson.

Nodding, Ryland close his eyes and focused on White Boy, instructing him silently. With a stealthy maneuver, White Boy darted towards the crane.

As soon as it reach the crane, White Boy change to its original size. Eventhough it's smaller than other dracula bat's, but being inside the staff had give it a boost of strength. It just need to grab off the rope from the crane hook, releasing Rocco and Juice just in the nick of time and whisking them to safety.

The room erupted into chaos as Wilson's goons noticed the rescue. Seizing the moment, Lambda lunged at Wilson, his pickaxes flashing in the dim light. Wilson, fueled by fury, grab the chains on his neck, and retaliated with his Mercurial manipulation, morphing the mercurial chain into a shield to counter the attack Lambda made.

Lambda doesn't stop his attacks. He continued with barrage of attacks using both pick axes. Wilson block each attack with ease.

Wilson's man started to move. Wilson shouted to his man, "do not interfere! This is a fight between Giants! You puny guys will be squashed if you try!"

As he grab his enormous belt buckle and morph it into a hammer, Wilson continue shouting, "and do not harm those guys! Lock'em in a cage. They stole the hostages, now they become the hostage!"

As Lambda slow down to catch his breath, Wilson took the chance to swing his hammer at Lambda, knocking his temple.

As Lambda wobbled, Wilson turn his shield into another hammer and try to hit Lambda on his head.

"Mercurial Smash!, " Wilson shout as he swing down his hammer.

Klungg!

A loud sound of clunking boom across the area. Looking down, Wilson noticed that Lambda managed to block that smash with his pick axes.

Lambda shouted and raised his body with an explosive burst, knocking his opponent back.

Wilson was pushed back pretty far. "I knew you were holding yourself earlier. So, a knock on your head is what it take to make you fight a fellow Giant seriously, huh?" said Wilson. Apparently, any guy with the same stature like him or larger will be considered Giant by Wilson.

Amidst the intense battle, Ryland noticed Alan's sudden disappearance. Where had he gone?

Lambda's voice echoed through the room, "For a Giant, you are so coward as to get yourself hostages. You have no pride, Wilson!"

The accusation struck a nerve. Wilson's face twisted in rage as he roared, "Pride? You talk about pride? What do you know about pride?? I had fought in the war! I served under the iron rule Caer Khozali! My sacrifices and service are beyond reproach! So, don't you dare question me about PRIDE!" Wilson shouted as tons of mercurial in barrels around them started to moved.

Just when it seemed like Lambda was at a disadvantage, Alan emerged from the shadows, a blade poised at Wilson's throat. The room fell silent, the tension palpable.

"Stop this fight and release them, Wilson," Alan's voice rang out, firm and unwavering.

With a begrudging nod, Wilson signaled his men to stand down.

"You served under Stormblade before huh? No wonder you had such a temper," Alan said to Wilson.

"You... You knew General Stormblade?" Wilson asked as he lose the hammer at his hands.

With a smile and slowly take down his knife, Alan responded, "Yes of course i knew that muscle head. I have been looking for him for 15 years."

Climbing down from the back of Wilson, Alan added, "I knew I had seen you somewhere before. Back when you still have that mohawk hairstyle. "

Wilson turn around to identify Alan. As much as he try, he couldn't remember anything. "Who are you old man?" asked Wilson.