Chapter 93: Hill Giant
Chapter 93: Hill Giant
"I'm going to eat you!"
An excited roar came from the hillside.
Over five meters tall, with coarse brown skin, wielding a large tree casually uprooted and still covered in dirt as a weapon, wearing unprocessed animal hides simply tied together with hair and leather straps, sweat dripping onto the rotten fur emitting a strong odor—that was a hill giant.
Hill giants are selfish and dim-witted savages, often dwelling in hills and valleys everywhere, and often gathering in mountain lumberyards or shacks.
They hunt, forage, and plunder everywhere, just to obtain more food. They cross mountains and forests, doing their utmost to hunt prey and bully the weak. If not for their enormous size and inexhaustible strength, these lazy and sluggish hill giants would have long been extinct.
And now, it seems the food has come knocking on their door.
The hill giant licked its lips, foul-smelling saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.
Ever since that unusually large ogre led a group of monsters to drive the hill giants out of the valley, they wandered daily on the fringes of the Storm Highlands, scavenging rotten food or devouring passing humans.
This greedy hill giant hadn't had a full meal in a long time, and now was obviously a great opportunity.
[Based on your own strength, you can observe the following information.]
[Greedy Hill Giant]
Huge Giant, Chaotic Evil
AC: 13 (Natural Armor)
HP: 105
Strength—21
Dexterity—8
Constitution—19
Intelligence—5
Wisdom—9
Charisma—6
Senses: Passive Perception 12
Actions: Multiattack, Greatclub Attack, Rock Throw, Bite
Challenge Rating: 5 (1,800 XP)
Mantou sighed, "This monster is kinda strong; can we really beat it?"
Singo said disdainfully, "What are you afraid of? With our setup, we can crush it with basic attacks. We're here this time to farm experience for you. If you had reached level four, believe it or not, it would already be dead."
"Alright, just don't let us get wiped out and embarrass ourselves."
At the foot of the hill was the "Draconic Bloodline Four," their team's strength had greatly improved, so they took on the highest difficulty quest [Defeat the Hill Giant Destroying the Farms]. This quest had an official recommended challenge rating of level 5.
You should know that professional players like Singo were only barely reaching level 4 now, and that's after grinding day and night. Most others were still at levels 1 or 2.
Watching the hill giant charging down the hill wielding a large tree, Singo was not flustered at all: "Born Battle Maniac, you and Autumn Rain hold it here; Mantou and I will attack from the air."
Born Battle Maniac nodded readily: "Okay."
Then Singo and Mantou flipped onto their mounts, riding their wyverns into the air.
Born Battle Maniac stepped forward without hesitation to face the enemy. Confronted with an opponent far taller than himself, he was fearless. Back in the day, he had even chopped down interstellar beasts; to him, such a giant was nothing.
He had chosen the path of the Barbarian Berserker.
For barbarians, rage is a way to reach the extreme—the extreme of violence.
And the path of the Berserker is one that pursues blood and unrestrained fury. When players enter the Berserker's rage, they will tremble in the chaotic pleasure of battle, forgetting their own safety.
"Aaaaaaaah——"
Born Battle Maniac raised his head and roared, activating Rage.
Instantly, his eyes turned blood-red, muscles bulged exaggeratedly, veins popped out, and his whole body emitted a bloodthirsty aura.
In his frenzied state, Born Battle Maniac excitedly charged toward the hill giant, leaping up and raising his great axe.
"Frenzied Strike!"
The great axe carried immense power, slicing through the air as it swung down.
However, due to the hill giant's enormous stature, the axe could only barely reach its chest.
Even the hill giant was startled by this aggressive "little guy," but when it realized it was intimidated by such a small creature and that the opponent was unafraid of it, a ferocious rage appeared on its ugly face.
"I... I'll smash you into mince!"
The hill giant used the large tree to block in front of it, resisting the great axe, and then swung with all its might. The immense force sent Born Battle Maniac and his great axe flying backward together.
Born Battle Maniac fell heavily, and the battleaxe embedded itself into the ground nearby.
After being knocked back, he showed no intention of retreating; instead, a hint of joy and fanaticism appeared in his blood-red eyes at encountering a strong opponent.
"Aaaaaaah——"
Born Battle Maniac forcefully pulled out the great axe deeply embedded in the ground and charged forward again with red eyes.
"Wait a moment—"
A crisp female voice came from behind, but Born Battle Maniac continued his charge as if he hadn't heard.
Summer Night Autumn Rain held her forehead and sighed behind him. The Berserker class was great in every way—could fight and tank—but once they entered Rage, they wouldn't listen to anything and just charged blindly.
Fortunately, she followed up and cast a spell on Born Battle Maniac.
[Enlarge/Reduce]
Born Battle Maniac's size suddenly swelled, increasing from nearly two meters tall to almost four meters. Even his weapon and the animal hide armor on him grew correspondingly. He now appeared slightly smaller than the hill giant but could be considered the same level.
Feeling his elevated perspective, Born Battle Maniac laughed heartily and leaped up again. This time, instead of striking the chest, his jumping slash aimed at the head.
The dim-witted hill giant didn't understand magic, but he knew that the "little guy" had grown and could pose a threat to him.
So the hill giant roared angrily and swung his arms forcefully.
"Bang!"
The blunt edge of the great axe clashed with the tree, trembling slightly, and Born Battle Maniac landed heavily.
But the hill giant still held an absolute strength advantage, gradually pressing down the great axe along with Born Battle Maniac's body.
"Aganazzar's Scorcher!"
Summer Night Autumn Rain's lips parted slightly, and she spewed forth a line of rolling flames, directly hitting the hill giant's massive body while he was immobilized.
The hill giant's right shoulder was burned black, causing him to open his foul-smelling giant mouth and let out a painful howl. His hands gripping the tree also loosened a bit.
And it was this slight lapse that allowed Born Battle Maniac to seize the opportunity.
He knocked aside the tree in the hill giant's hand and swung his over three-meter-long great axe fiercely toward the hill giant's shoulder.
"Slash!"
The great axe chopped off the entire right shoulder, already somewhat charred from the burn, along with the arm.
The thick, massive right arm fell and rolled to the ground.
Warm, viscous blood splattered onto Born Battle Maniac's face, but he didn't mind at all; instead, his expression showed even more excitement.
"Aaaah—I will kill you!"
The giant raised his head and let out a painful wail, becoming enraged due to the loss of his right arm, even losing his sanity.
He directly grabbed the great axe embedded in his flesh and threw it over ten meters away, then rushed forward to engage Born Battle Maniac in the most primitive and brutal close combat.
The two "giants" grappled and wrestled together, using knees, fists, heads, and even teeth, doing everything they could.
In the sky, Singo looked down at the battle on the ground and said to Mantou, "See? If you don't act now, Brother Battle Maniac will beat the hill giant to death himself. Once he enters Rage, he never listens to anyone; he just focuses on enjoying the fight."
Mantou watched Born Battle Maniac fighting fiercely, seemingly wanting to eat the hill giant, and exclaimed, "Wow, Battle Maniac is really fierce!"
Singo said decisively, "Stop the nonsense; get ready to charge."
Mantou said, "Okay."
Then he skillfully maneuvered his wyvern, preparing for a dive.
"Roar——"
The sky resounded with the wyverns' roars.
The hill giant, pressing down on Born Battle Maniac and hammering him frantically, ignored the strange sounds and continued venting his anger over losing his right arm.
Even though his size had increased, Born Battle Maniac's strength was ultimately inferior to the hill giant's, and his Rage had ended, his whole body entering a state of exhaustion.
Facing a monster with a higher challenge rating alone, even a professional player like him would find it hard.
Moreover, he had a backup plan.
And his goal wasn't to kill the hill giant himself.
Born Battle Maniac had been beaten black and blue, but when he lay on the ground and saw the wyverns in the sky, a ferocious smile appeared on his face.
The wyverns dove down, and Singo drew his bow and arrow.
A complex purple rune appeared on the hill giant's arm—that was the Hunter's Mark.
"Whoosh——"
A sharp arrow rapidly pierced into the marked spot on the hill giant's left arm, the blood-stained arrowhead protruding from the other side.
Under the influence of the purple rune, an extraordinary amount of blood gushed from the hill giant's wound.
"Who is it!"
The deranged hill giant, attacked from behind, roared angrily, turned his head, his blood-red eyes fixed on the wyvern rider in the sky.
"Die!"
The hill giant picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at Singo. The immense strength sent these stones, which ordinary people couldn't move, flying easily toward the enemy in the air.
However, Singo maneuvered his wyvern, deftly rolling sideways in the air to dodge this dangerous attack.
The stones traced a beautiful arc in the sky, about to fall to the ground.
Singo shouted, "Mantou!"
So Singo's attack was just a feint!
The real killing move was from behind!
Due to using too much force, the hill giant maintained the posture of throwing the stones, and from behind came a loud dragon roar.
"Roar——"
Mantou dove down at high speed from behind the hill giant, his wyvern's wings folded.
He leaned forward slightly, his arms tightly gripping the over six-meter-long lance; he could even feel the wind whistling past his ears.
At high speed, Mantou's heart pounded, a surge of extreme excitement welling up.
"Take your life!"
Mantou shouted loudly.
[Dragon Roar Charge] activated, the lance aimed straight at the hill giant's massive occiput.
Under the powerful kinetic energy of the wyvern rider's dive, immense force was transmitted along to the spear tip, even covered with crimson draconic aura.
In an instant, blood splattered.
The lance pierced the hill giant's tough skin, penetrated his hard skull, pierced through his filthy flesh, and protruded from his gaping, ferocious mouth.
The hill giant's roar abruptly stopped, and his massive body toppled to the ground.
"Boom!"
Mantou gracefully discarded the lance.
His wyvern "Noodle" suddenly spread its wings, slowed down, and swiftly ascended along the air currents again.
Information refreshed on the interface.
[You have slain [Greedy Hill Giant], gaining 1800 XP]
[Your class level has increased to Level 4]
Mantou's heart hadn't calmed down yet, still a bit excited. He pretended to look up and said, "The wine is still warm, and I've already taken the enemy general's head."
He circled a few times in the air before landing on the ground.
Mantou began to boast smugly, "Singo, just tell me, wasn't that awesome!"
Singo poured cold water on him: "If you weren't such a noob who hasn't reached level 4 yet, my arrow would have hit its head, and Brother Battle Maniac's axe would have chopped its neck."
Mantou immediately became dejected.
Born Battle Maniac got up from the ground, touched his bald head: "That monster was really strong; I feel like I couldn't beat it one-on-one."
Summer Night Autumn Rain looked at the ravaged ground, nodded with lingering fear. Her Constitution wasn't high; if she were hit by the hill giant, she'd be dead.
But soon she asked, "Singo, what... what are you doing?"
They saw him holding the hill giant's foul-smelling arm like a treasure, even sniffing it, almost wanting to take a bite.
Singo said matter-of-factly, "This is good stuff! The hill giant's fingers can be made into Hill Giant Strength Potions that increase Strength to 21 points."
"21 points? That's amazing!"
Born Battle Maniac became interested and joined Singo, unbothered by the stench, to study the giant's smelly corpse.
Even the wyverns circling in the sky curiously landed nearby, though they weren't there to study.
"Hey, hey, wyvern, don't start eating! It's a waste to let you eat this!"
Summer Night Autumn Rain: "..."
After they finished tidying up, the ground was a mess, and Singo's backpack was bulging, his expression excited—it seemed they had returned with full loads.
However, the strong stench on him, like he hadn't bathed in years, made Summer Night Autumn Rain quietly take a few steps back.
Suddenly, Singo said mysteriously, "Do you know what the next main quest is?"
Mantou cursed, "Singo, stop wasting time; just say it."
Singo slowly uttered two words:
"War."
Summer Night Autumn Rain asked curiously, "How do you know?"
Singo explained, "I stayed in the Ember Nest's main base, Dragon Valley, for three days. Unlike Mantou, that noob who just focused on completing tasks, I also noticed the situation in the valley."
He paused and continued, "Almost every day, the hobgoblin and lizardfolk armies were training. In a place with productivity close to the Middle Ages, daily military training is very unusual.
Mantou quickly echoed, "I heard those sounds too."
Born Battle Maniac said, "So you mean, our next main quest will be a war?"
Singo nodded, "That's right, and it definitely won't be small in scale. As faction sub-class [Crimson Scaled Conquerors], Mantou and I should play significant roles in it."
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