214 Elbaf, The Source Of Misfortune

The next day, the sky was slightly bright.

The girl curled up tighter in Lynch's arms, shivering against the biting cold wind. Even with the blanket, the chill woke her up.

"Ahh~ I haven't slept this comfortably in a long time," Hilda said, standing up and stretching.

The soft morning sunlight revealed the faint outline of her slender figure.

But suddenly, sweat covered her body, and she collapsed to the ground. Her face turned pale, and crimson blood trickled from her nose.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lynch quickly caught her, worry etched across his face.

Hilda clutched his hand, forcing a smile. "Six days. I only have six days left to live"

"Thank you for staying with me last night."

She looked at him with pleading eyes. "You should go. My condition will only get worse, and I don't want to drag you down."

"How can this be? I promised to show you the outside world. You have to hold on," Lynch said firmly.

The night before, Lynch had secretly examined Hilda's condition. Just as she had said, she only had a few days left to live.

Elber's disease was a genetic condition that attacked the body at its core. 

It wasn't something that could be cured—not by him, nor with the current medical advancements in the world.

Her fragile body couldn't endure much, but at the very least, Lynch resolved to let her spend her final days without regrets.

"Wow~"

The grass at the edge of the forest edge rustled, as if something huge was approaching.

A rough giant carrying a mace peeled away the leaves, and a huge face appeared in the eyes of Lynch and Hilda.

Lynch immediately recognized him. He was one of the giants who had attacked Hilda the day before.

In fact, it was this very giant's final brutal kick that had knocked her unconscious.

From afar, the giant's eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation when he noticed the collapsed house.

But as he got closer and saw Hilda still alive, his expression shifted to one of clear disappointment.

Giants rarely hid their thoughts—everything they felt was written plainly on their faces.

It didn't take long to figure out who was behind the house's collapse.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... the house fell down? What a shame it didn't crush you, you little pest."

The giant's mocking voice boomed as he approached, his massive mace slung over his shoulder.

His gaze shifted to Lynch. "And what's this? A human? How pathetic, little Hilda. Have you stooped so low as to befriend such weak and despicable creatures?"

"Ahem…" Hilda coughed, her voice hoarse but resolute. "Uncle Burton, I won't allow you to insult my friends!"

For once, the ever-smiling Hilda—who usually endured scolding and beatings with a cheerful demeanor—lifted her head, her face filled with unyielding seriousness.

Hilda remembered her mother's words: a true friend stands up when their friends are being bullied.

Seeing that Hilda dared to contradict him today, the giant became furious instantly, "Friend? Who would be friends with a monster like you?"

He turned to Lynch, his voice dripping with disdain. "Boy, don't you know? This little beast is cursed by the devil. Stick around, and you'll be cursed too!"

"On the day my son was born, it was because she was in the village that my son was died!"

Lynch met the giant's glare and calmly shook his head. "In my eyes, you're the one cursed by the devil."

"Your race's birth rate is already extremely low. It's not uncommon for infants to die. Why would you place such an unjust burden on Hilda? What has she done to deserve this blame?"

"Okay, okay." The Giants were very disappointed not to see Lynch abandon Hilda.

The giant's face twisted with fury as he raised his mace high. 

"Associating with someone cursed by the devil? You must be a spy sent by humans!"

"If you're here to harm the giant clan, I'll kill you first!"

"Uncle Burton! No!" 

Hilda cried out, her voice trembling. Under the stress, scarlet blood gushed from her nose again.

Burton froze, his eyes widening in shock as he noticed the blood. 

"You—you're sick!" He recoiled, stumbling back as if Hilda carried a deadly plague. Panic, without a second glance, he turned and bolted.

"Little beast, why don't you just die!" he yelled over his shoulder. "If I catch you near the village again, I'll beat you to death!"

Lynch's expression darkened, an edge of anger flashing in his eyes. "Coward," 

"Weren't you going to kill me? Why run? Are you scared?"

"The way you ran off just now... you looked like a dog. Are you truly a warrior of Elbaf?"

Every word hit Burton like a hammer to his pride. 

Fury replaced his fear as he spun around, his face red with anger. "The warriors of Elbaf never retreat!" 

In his rage, Burton forgot his earlier terror and charged back, wild and reckless, like a raging bull.

"No, Lynch, move out of the way!" Hilda cried in panic.

Burton's huge mace swung down with a force that seemed certain to crush Lynch into pulp. 

Hilda tried to push Lynch aside, but her frail body gave out, leaving her to collapse to the ground. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing for the horrifying sound of Lynch being struck.

Seconds passed, then more. The scream she feared never came.

Hilda cautiously opened one eye, fearing what she might see. But what met her gaze left her stunned.

Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, and her mouth fell slightly open, as if witnessing the impossible.

Burton, the famed strongman of the village, stood frozen. 

His massive mace—one capable of smashing boulders—was being effortlessly held in place by Lynch's two fingers!

Lynch, only two meters tall compared to Burton's towering eight meters, looked calm and composed as he stopped the giant's attack with ease.

Burton's face turned red from the strain, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't wrest the mace back from Lynch's grip.

This...

"Oh my God," Hilda whispered in awe, "how strong Lynch must be."

In that moment, only one thought remained in Hilda's mind: "So Lynch wasn't exaggerating yesterday."

He is really powerful!" Hilda's beautiful eyes were shining.

Burton's strength is pretty good, far exceeding that of the average Vice Admiral. 

It's no wonder the giants claim to have the strength of the Vice Admiral when they reach adulthood.

"Hoo~ Let go of me!" Burton growled, veins bulging as his muscular arms strained. His rough face turned red from too much exertion.

But... the mace seemed to be held down by a pair of invisible hands, and no matter how hard it was, it couldn't be shaken.

Kacha~ Kacha~

With just a slight squeeze of his palm, Lynch shattered the fine iron mace into two clean pieces. The sound echoed like a warning bell.

Burton, caught off guard by the sudden release of force, stumbled backward and landed heavily on the ground.

"Gulf~" 

Watching the fine iron mace break into two sections in Lynch's hand, Burton looked horrified, got up and ran away.

"You're a monster too! A demon cursed by the devil! Both of you are monsters!"

"In your world of giants, anything you don't understand is a monster, isn't it?"

Lynch snorted and easily caught up with Burton. He grabbed one of Burton's legs and pulled back like a sack of potatoes. Burton screamed as Lynch flung him to the ground in front of Hilda.

At this moment, Burton looked at Lynch with only fear in his eyes.

The man in front of him has such a small body but has perverted power. He must be a devil! It must be the demon possessing Hilda!

The warriors of the giant race are not afraid of death.

But this was different. The fear of being killed by a demon haunted him—such a death meant their souls would be condemned to hell, forever banned from entering the Valhalla

"Hilda, what do you want to do with him?"

Burton is like people in the Middle Ages who blamed all disasters and misfortunes on one person, slandered her as a witch, and killed her with fire and crosses.

But Lynch still wanted to see Hilda's opinion.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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