Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Lizard King
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The night before setting out to capture the Lizard King.
Thud! Thud!
Kang Geohan watched Roen toss the magic stone this way and that, sweating profusely even late into the night.
"Roen? What are you doing? It's late."
Roen smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, uh, I couldn't sleep. Tomorrow's a big fight. I was practicing chain actions. Still feels like I'm lacking..."
Kang Geohan let out a small sigh.
"Enough. Today's real combat was practice enough. Rest up now. Resting is part of the job."
"But..."
"No buts. Think rationally! Blind effort isn't always good. You have to know your limits and act within them. Pushing past them just wrecks your body and leaves you with chronic issues. Go rest!"
When Kang Geohan snatched the magic stone away, Roen said with an embarrassed look.
"What? You worried about me?"
"Of course I am. You're my comrade."
"Heh heh. Yeah, comrades."
Roen's mood seemed to lift somehow.
"Go to sleep."
"Got it. Night, Kang Geohan."
"Yeah. Sweet dreams."
Fortunately, there were no further attacks that night, and everyone greeted the morning in good condition.
* * *
The swamp stretched so vast it tricked the eye into thinking the horizon was visible.
The water's surface was mirror-like, perfectly reflecting the sky.
It wasn't deep, but like melted glass, no matter how much you stirred the water, the bottom remained invisible.
It was a beautiful landscape, yet eerie at the same time.
At the swamp's edge, withered trees stood starkly, and piles of animal bones lay like those of creatures that had died while drinking.
The fishy stench from somewhere was so pungent it seeped even into the Giant cockpits.
That was where the Lizard King waited.
The midday sun cast long shadows across the swamp, with Lizardmen banners fluttering in between.
A thousand Lizardmen stood in perfect formation, only their heads above the water.
And in the center rose a massive Lizardman about four meters tall. Anyone could see it was the king.
On its head sat a steel-colored crown, with wires like power cables and chains dangling from its back.
The crown's center glowed red like a furnace, leaking steam with every breath.
Jaksen Silver declared.
-That one's mine. You all fight defensively, step by step. Don't overdo it.
-Yes, understood.
The seven Giants advanced into the swamp.
Thud! Thud!
The Giant Hearts pulsed in sync with their heartbeats. Tension built ahead of battle.
Thud! Thud!
The Giants strode boldly forward until they reached the swamp's midpoint.
Now, a sprint would bring them into contact.
Shaaaa!
Up to that point, the Lizard King had stood motionless like a statue, but it opened its maw and roared.
At that instant, something anomalous happened on Kang Geohan's SPU.
"What the hell? Suddenly?"
In the silent, empty swamp, life signs suddenly appeared.
Lizardmen popping up from below the surface one after another.
Three thousand new ones.
At the swamp's heart, the seven Giants were surrounded by four thousand Lizardmen.
Jaksen Silver's gritted-teeth voice came through.
-...An ambush?
Hidden beneath the mirror-like surface where the bottom couldn't be seen?
But even then, a Giant's SPU should have detected faint tremors or heat.
Then Kang Geohan noticed the newly appeared Lizardmen's body temperatures rising gradually from a very low state.
"Hibernation...!"
Over three thousand Lizardmen had been lurking in a coma-like state. It had been planned from the start, meticulously.
Crunch.
The sound of Jaksen Silver grinding his teeth.
-Varied tactics, huh. All units, maintain formation and withdraw slowly. This place... is mine. Damn lizard bastards. Let's see if you're this clever after I take your king's head.
Shaaaa!
The Lizardmen let out a chilling screech. They charged without giving time to think.
At the same time,
Kwoooong!
Shattering the mirror-like surface, Jaksen Silver's Yotun launched forward. A straight charge toward the Lizard King's position!
Steam erupted, and Lizardmen in its path exploded apart.
But the Lizard King merely gripped its weapon tighter, as if daring it to come, refusing to budge.
Only especially large Lizardmen closed in around it like a guard detail. The rest turned their gazes to the remaining six Giants.
The pressure of four thousand eyes glaring.
It was utterly different from facing a thousand. No, having faced a thousand made the despair of four thousand all the clearer.
Gerot muttered.
-What a waste to die like this...
Helena cut him off before he finished.
-No one's dying. Absolutely. Not a single one.
Her voice carried bubbling rage.
Then the Lizardmen charged. Clustered together, pushing and pulling like a tidal wave. Leaping high.
* * *
Jaksen Silver felt acute responsibility for the situation.
'My fault.'
No one could have predicted Lizardmen hibernating for an ambush, but as this unit's commander, it was his failing.
So he intended to take responsibility somehow.
'Take down the Lizard King, and we have a chance.'
The Lizardmen's superior organization and intelligence came from the crown the Lizard King wore.
Kill the king, seize the crown, and they'd revert to the dumb lizards everyone knew. Then victory was possible, whether retreat or otherwise.
'So... I'll kill it myself! As fast as possible!'
He pushed back the pressure surging with each output increase, ramping it higher.
In just ten seconds, he reached the Lizard King and its guards.
"Die!"
Kwaaaang-!
The back-mounted super sonic thrusters spewed fire, and Yotun momentarily broke the sound barrier in its sprint. The moment its foot hit, swamp water cleared, shooting water pillars skyward.
Shwaaa!
But blocking his path was a massive net. Similar to the support type Roen used.
'Using Giant armaments?'
Only then did he see the guard Lizardmen readying weapons. Familiar ones.
Massive swords. Shields. Too big and heavy for a single Lizardman, lifted by several combining strength. All human Giant weapons.
No idea where they got them, but
Jaksen Silver's lips twisted.
"So what? Giant weapons? You know how many Rogot Giants I smashed?!"
He slotted the hammer into the main armament port and drew the greatsword beside it, swinging.
Flash!
The net split amid lightning. The sonic boom followed a beat later.
In that split second, Jaksen Silver glanced back.
The six Giants surrounded by hordes of Lizardmen flickered into view. He bit his lip.
'Hold on just a bit. Just a bit. I'll finish quick and come back!'
Full output. Faster!
Output climbing like a full sprint.
Breath catching—! He sucked in air to resist the crushing pressure, ramping output once more.
His Yotun swept through the Lizardmen like a red flash.
Giant shields split in half, greatswords flew skyward. Jaksen barreled through, smashing Lizardmen like wet clay.
But amid the chaos, something shot out.
Sound-speed object on the sensor processor. Jaksen reflexively lowered the greatsword to guard his left abdomen.
Kwaaang!
Shock that forced the heavy Yotun back a step. Cracks spiderwebbed the blade. A shattered spear bounced away.
Keerik. Kiririk.
The Lizard King sneered, picking up a new spear.
Not just any spear. A proper weapon for anti-Giant use, inscribed with impact spells.
Launched with chain action support from the tangled guards behind. A threat beyond mere Lizardmen.
Tsss!
Steam jetted from Jaksen Silver's nose and ears.
"Fine. Throw another!"
As if it heard, spears flew in succession.
Jaksen drew a great shield from the main port and blocked.
Not straight-on, but batting them aside, advancing step by step.
Shaaaa!
Lizardmen charged with Giant weapons.
Spears etched with piercing spells, hammers with explosion inscriptions. All vicious armaments.
But none breached Jaksen Silver's shield.
Bang!
Kwang!
Wielding the shield with near-divine skill, batting away spears and all attacks. He ground his teeth and shouted.
"Your downfall! Is not knowing a true Giant Rider's capability!"
Paaang!
In the tiny gap between attacks, Jaksen didn't miss. He tossed the shield and drew the special weapon from his side, Annihilation Flash.
Not "flash" of light or sharpness, but annihilation—Annihilation Flash.
The hilt-only blade emerged from his side,
Pusshiii!
Like a sun crashing into the swamp, massive steam billowed around Yotun, and from within rose a sun-like light that slashed straight.
Pasasasak-!
The guard Lizardmen, over a hundred piled atop each other like a wall, evaporated in one strike.
The flickering vision of Lizardmen tongues and tails cleared—! Steam parted to reveal clear sky and mirror surface.
"Hah...! Hah!"
Panting from overexertion, Jaksen didn't stop.
Fighting like this wouldn't last long, but killing the Lizard King would buy breathing room.
Super sonics flared again from the back, Yotun skimming the ground to charge right to the Lizard King's face.
Jaksen Silver drew his greatsword and yelled.
"It's over! You bastard!"
But,
Kigigak! Kigik!
The Lizard King laughed instead. Eyes crescent, mouth splitting wide.
In slow motion, it removed the dangling crown.
Using the push from its rear guards, it hurled the crown with full force. Arcing over Yotun's shoulder, flying far.
It soared to the lake's distant center,
Shwaaak!
And there, a massive five-meter Lizardman rose. It snatched the flying crown with one outstretched hand.
Jaksen Silver's eyes shook.
"The Lizard King... wasn't this one?"
The Lizardmen hadn't underestimated a true Giant Rider's prowess. They'd planned for it, preparing a real ambush separately.
Shaaaa!
The true Lizard King, crowned, bellowed. And astonishingly, human words spilled from its maw. Slurred, but clear.
-Kirruk. Humans. Now it's your turn to flee from us. Kirruk.
Its gaze pierced the six Giants led by Kang Geohan.
It ignored the rampaging Jaksen behind. Because Jaksen was strong.
Strategy basics: eliminate the weak first, not the strong.
Right after, the four-meter Lizardman and guards charged the weary Jaksen Silver. Dying and dying, they pressed relentlessly. To tie his feet somehow.
"Uwaaaaa! Get out of my way!"
Sparks flew from Jaksen Silver's eyes.
* * *
-We have to retreat! Scatter and full speed! That's the only way to save anyone!
Roen said. Right after the true Lizard King appeared.
Even thousands of Lizardmen were already overwhelming. Now the Lizard King too. Roen judged coldly. No chance of victory.
Kang Geohan ground his teeth in reply.
"Running like that... some might escape. But there'll be casualties."
Roen pleaded desperately.
-But staying means we all die! Let's save who we can! Kang Geohan! Think rationally. Stay within limits, right? Ignoring limits gets you hurt! Fighting the Lizard King is beyond us! With thousands surrounding, even Jaksen Silver might not save us in time! We can't match them—we need to break through no matter what!
"Normally, yes."
Kang Geohan replied softly.
Right. Know your limits and move within them. Crucial in training too. Overdoing it just brings injury.
But,
Situations demanding limit challenges inevitably arise. Maybe that's why we train within limits normally?
Like an Olympic finalist.
Like the Greek soldier who ran 40 kilometers to bring victory news sooner.
Kang Geohan thought this was that moment.
He turned and asked.
"Sir Raphael Black. If we take down that Lizard King, we can all survive, right?"
Raphael Black met Kang Geohan's gaze.
"...I like that idea."
Rumble!
The two men's Giants vented steam simultaneously.