ch51

“We’re almost at our destination.”

I spoke after arriving at the edge of the human territory stretching north.

Since leaving Poheln, the villages and traces of humans that had existed at regular intervals had decreased, and I was facing a lush expanse of nature.

A land that rejects humans not only with Wandering Giants, but also with the naturally occurring rough vegetation and the beasts and monsters living within it.

From here on, there weren’t even villages built by the wild men scattered throughout the Western Continent, and it was a completely unknown territory where humans didn’t roam.

“I heard that giants have been appearing around here, but I don’t sense anything with my aura.”

The aura I spread out in all directions, covering an area of several 론Elte(km) for exploration, only caught large beasts like bears and wolf packs.

Still, since I was planning to head further north anyway, I didn’t pay much attention and, before entering the territory, I found a spot by the river as the sun began to set and prepared to camp.

“…That guy’s been doing that every time since we left on this journey.”

Rudolph was playing in the river in the moderately dark riverbank, as the sun hadn’t completely set yet.

In front of Rudolph was a huge, flat, long-snouted lizard.

The humans nearby called these creatures crocodiles, and they were staring at Rudolph.

This creature, which seemed to ambush and hunt animals that came to drink water, was the same creature that had given Rudolph a terrible memory by the river when he first set out on the Elven Road.

Thanks to that, he couldn’t drink water from the river and had to travel with me gathering moisture from the surrounding air to feed Rudolph.

With autumn passing and winter approaching, the atmosphere was dry, making it difficult to gather water, and since the giant brothers also needed to drink, we eventually had to periodically find rivers or streams to replenish our supply.

But now, Rudolph, who had become so fast that he could even perform aquatic feats for a deer, initially panicked and became anxious when he came to the river, but he seemed to feel that the crocodiles weren’t as fast as they used to be, and he would tease them whenever we visited a river where crocodiles might be.

Heung-heuung-

I shook my head as I watched Rudolph press down on the snout of a charging crocodile with his hooves, tormenting it and laughing.

“To think that a being revered as a divine beast on the Elven Road finds joy in tormenting a pitiful creature.”

He was the leader of the deer on the Elven Road and a very clever fellow, but his personality didn’t seem to improve much despite all the hardships he had gone through.

“We’re about to arrive at the northern outskirts. Are you feeling any better?”

“The giants’ territory is much further up from here. I don’t have any particular thoughts yet.”

“Hmm. Are there any points we should be aware of?”

“If it were a human, they would have to be careful not to be detected by the giants, but that shouldn’t be a big problem for you, Master.”

“I suppose so.”

“But if you encounter a giant wearing armor and carrying a sword, it’s best to avoid them if possible.”

“Hmm?”

“They are the first giants born from the giant god Terato. They are warriors who have never lost since the beginning of giant history. Precious items like armor are only allowed for them.”

“Oh…never lost, you say.”

Intrigued by the story that stirred my competitive spirit, I began to listen intently.

“Well, you can think of it that way. In the first place, the difference in strength between them and other giants is too great, so they don’t even fight during the selection ceremony. I just know that they are strong.”

“I see.”

“I said that, but we probably won’t encounter them.”

“Why is that?”

“They hardly ever leave the village. It’s hard to see them unless you visit the village.”

“Is that so…”

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

The words ‘undefeated warriors’ made me want to compete with them at least once, but I wasn’t reckless enough to charge into the giants’ lair alone for that purpose.

“As long as we don’t encounter giants trying to do their last hunt in preparation for the upcoming winter, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“I’ll be careful.”

With that, I watched Rudolph tormenting the crocodile, then pressed down my bamboo hat and closed my eyes.

◈ ◈ ◈

“…Twenty-four so far.”

“……”

“Ugh…”

Despite my words, Golb was examining the corpse with a serious face, and Silb was averting his eyes and groaning as he looked at the gruesome form of the corpse.

Between the human territory and the giants’ territory.

Even after entering the intermediate boundary, I couldn’t sense the presence of other giants with my aura.

Only the presence of large beasts fleeing from the giant brothers’ aura could be felt.

But that was perhaps natural.

All the Wandering Giants were dead.

I got off Rudolph and climbed onto the fallen giant’s corpse to examine the cause of death.

On the back of the giant, who was lying face down, was a huge and gruesome line that crossed the entire back in all directions.

A powerful and rough trace that had severed the giant’s thick skin, as well as the muscles and spine.

‘…An animal’s claw? But rather than the claw of a fierce beast like a tiger…it looks like it was torn apart while being gripped by something like the claw of a bird of prey.’

But the size of the claw estimated from the traces that tore the giant’s back. And a bird of a size that matched that claw.

“That means it’s at least 20 Elte(m).”

Estimating the size of the ferocious beast, I let out a hollow laugh in frustration.

Is this truly the territory of giants?

It felt like a different dimension.

“But it’s a bit strange. Looking at the traces I’ve seen so far, the ferocious beast seems to be the same, but there are no traces of it eating.”

Was it not hunting to eat?

The corpses of the Wandering Giants that I had found after entering the territory exceeded the 20 that humans had initially witnessed, reaching 24 with this corpse.

There were traces of maggots seething in the gaps of the giants’ corpses and beasts tearing them apart separately, but…

“The death dates of the giants scattered throughout are not that different. Does that mean it wasn’t hunting to eat?”

It means it wasn’t trying to hunt for meat.

Most creatures in the natural world have the concept of storing food, but they don’t commit such meaningless slaughter.

Hunting was originally a low-success-rate and energy-consuming activity.

I’ve heard that cats hunt mice even when they’re full, but…

“Golb. You look dark.”

“Ah…”

“By any chance, were there any faces you recognized among the corpses you’ve seen so far?”

Golb looked down at me and slowly shook his head.

“That’s not it…that’s why it’s even stranger.”

“Hmm?”

“The giant population is not as large as the human population. If you live in a giant village, you’re bound to become acquainted with people to some extent, whether you like it or not. But I’ve seen the corpses of over twenty giants now, and I don’t recognize any of them.”

“…Hasn’t it been over 20 years since you left the village? Could they be newly born giants or faces you’ve forgotten in the meantime?”

“…That might be the case, but considering the time it takes for a giant to grow this much, I don’t think so.”

“Hmm…it’s definitely strange.”

If it were humans, you could assume that humans of other races scattered throughout had migrated, but the giant Titan race was not a species that naturally occurred on this planet.

A vassal species created by the Elder Loa Terato, like the Elves.

It was a race that could not have additionally originated from the outside.

It was clear that an anomaly had occurred in the ecology of the giants, but with the current information, there was nothing that could be clearly determined.

“For now, let’s put aside what we can’t know immediately, and does a beast exist that hunts giants for fun?”

I looked up at Golb, who was troubled, pointing to the wounds on the giant’s corpse.

Golb answered by shaking his head.

“…Come to think of it, this was also a problem. There are beasts that are difficult for giants to handle, but I’ve never heard of a beast that unilaterally massacres giants like this.”

“It’s becoming more and more of a mystery. We found a problem, but instead, two bigger problems have arisen.”

We came to find out about the problem of the Wandering Giants that had occurred on a large scale, but instead, we only confirmed that there was an unidentified being in the neutral border area between humans and giants that tore apart giants for fun.

The existence of Wandering Giants of unknown origin and the unidentified being that tore apart those Wandering Giants.

“Now that I’ve seen this, I can’t just go back.”

I looked up at Golb and Silb and said.

“Unlike what I initially assumed, it seems like you guys will have to go to the giants’ territory with me for now. From here on, even you who have trained might be in danger. You’ll have to stay focused and move carefully.”

Silb had a frightened expression, but Golb nodded and prepared to move further north.

As if the giant brothers’ tension had been transferred, Rudolph headed north with a slightly uneasy gait.

I caressed the hilt of the sword I wore on my waist.

The silver sword forged from the silver that Prigos brought from the expedition.

As we entered the neutral zone and headed north, I felt the presence created by the vegetation that was gradually becoming larger, and I intuitively felt that the time was approaching to draw this sword, which I was not yet accustomed to.