Barren Land (2)
No one knew where Karian's Odd breathing method had originated. He had learned the ancient Odd breathing technique from his friend, the dragon Martias, and refined it over time to suit the human body.
Though Karian's Odd breathing method was exceptional, fully unleashing its power required mastering at least the sixth stage. It had taken Karian ten years to reach that point, and only then could he pilot the red Gigant Martias.
But Wayne Stein possessed both Karian's breathing method and his cultivation experience, so he could ascend to the sixth stage far more quickly.
He had already mastered the second stage—a feat that had taken Karian a full year—in a mere two months!
"Yes, sir!"
However, the Odd Wayne was currently using came from the Great Forest monster, Python.
Long ago, the mere appearance of a single Python—a calamity-grade beast—could wipe an entire city off the map. It emitted red Odd to detect heat, distinguishing prey from rivals.
Wayne's maintenance Gigant took the lead, with the squad members following close behind.
The cave entrance was only about four meters high, but it widened as they delved deeper, so there was no discomfort. Light filtered through holes in the ceiling everywhere, eliminating the need for their lamps.
It seemed the goblins had turned the entire rocky mountain into their lair.
What the hell? That size...?
Amid dozens of goblins, two massive heat sources stood out.
Buffalo? No, horses maybe?
Two beasts like livestock were dragging a disassembled Gigant.
Wayne accelerated.
Whiiing!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The vibrations echoing through the cave halted the goblins in their tracks. They busily pulled small rods from their shoulders and began stuffing something into them—like loading rifles.
Curtis, trailing behind, responded.
"Goblin rifles, sir! Their power's about half a musket's, with an effective range of only 60 meters, so no need to worry too much."
Still, a gun was a gun.
He stopped at the corner. Rounding it would mean a hail of goblin bullets.
He'd be fine, but a human could die from a solid hit.
Wayne's maintenance Gigant scooped up a man-sized boulder from the corner in one hand. Like rolling a bowling ball, he hurled it around the bend with all his might.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rock rumbled with heavy thuds, crushing the goblins.
Boom!
"Kek!"
"Kik!"
Five goblins about to fire their rifles vomited blood and dropped in a straight line.
That was the signal. The three-meter behemoth charged with tool in hand.
"Kigik?"
"Keeeek!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The goblin rifles spat fire in unison.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
But the bullets couldn't even scratch the Gigant.
Whoosh!
Splat! Splat!
The maintenance Gigant swung its long arm with the tool, sending four or five goblins flying at once. The sheer power meant even a graze was instant death.
"Let's go!"
As the goblins' volley ended, Curtis and the squad rushed in from behind.
Bang! Baaang!
Curtis fired his musket, blowing off a goblin's head, then thrust his bayonet into another.
Curtis Mueller, a mech warrior excelling in swordsmanship, spearmanship, and hand-to-hand combat, was a bayonet expert. Every thrust felled a goblin without fail.
Mark, the veteran mech warrior, methodically slaughtered them one by one with calm bayonet work.
Meanwhile, Yann—new to combat—aimed his musket but hadn't fired yet.
"Kegak!"
Suddenly, a goblin charged at Yann.
Curtis saw it but didn't intervene. Yann had plenty of training against humans, but this was his first real fight!
Yann's mind went blank. The goblin's rifle bayonet was crude and short at 10 cm, but coated in paralyzing poison. A stab would numb his limbs.
To survive, he had to shoot.
"Damn it!"
Stab!
Instead, Yann impulsively rammed his bayonet into the goblin's chest. The heart-pierced beast's eyes bulged as it slumped dead.
I... I killed it?
Then another goblin rushed from behind.
Problem was, the bayonet was stuck.
Panicking, Yann pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Splat!
The bullet pierced the first goblin and embedded in the second's gut. Goblin blood and guts sprayed Yann's face.
He tasted the metallic tang of blood.
"You idiot! Get your head in the game!"
Curtis yelled at him.
"...Huh?"
"Aim for the neck! That's how you pull it free!"
"Ah! Yes, sir!"
Humans were inherently twice as strong as one-meter goblins. As a trained cadet, Yann could handle them easily if he kept his cool.
But damn it! Why the hell am I even doing this?
Still, Yann couldn't fathom why a Gigant cadet like him was fighting goblins.
It was a one-sided slaughter. In moments, over thirty lay dead, and the goblins retreated en masse.
But they didn't flee. They had something to rely on!
"Grrrrowl!"
"Graaaang!"
Two massive wolf-like monsters stepped forward—2.5 meters tall, four meters long, with fiery red fur like burning flames.
"Wh-what? Kurts!"
Curtis bit his lip.
Cornered, the goblins had unleashed the C-grade beasts called Kurts by removing their collars and chains.
One snarled at the maintenance Gigant; the other blocked Curtis and the squad.
A third-class Gigant could handle them easily, but unarmed humans stood no chance.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The maintenance Gigant swung its tool to shield the squad.
A maintenance Gigant matched two trolls in strength. It could fight one C-grade beast, but two would be tough.
Wayne planned to ditch it and run to the entrance if needed—his Zillett Gigant waited there.
Then it happened.
The beast behind suddenly wheeled around and bolted, trampling goblins and barreling away with its body.
What the...?
Wayne didn't know why, but now only one remained! One-on-one, he wouldn't lose.
In that instant, the facing Kurt lunged like lightning.
"Graang!"
Clang!
Wayne jammed the tool into its maw to block.
Damn! Such power!
The beast tried to wrench it away with its jaws. As Wayne held firm, it turned into a test of strength.
Suddenly, Python's experience flashed in his mind. In the Great Forest, wolf monsters were Python's prey.
Pythons paralyzed food with Odd waves before striking—emitting rhythmic pulses to freeze them.
I bet I can do that too!
With Python's red Odd and its memories intact, Wayne felt confident.
Gathering his red Odd, his eyes glowed brighter, and the Gigant's eyes blazed like fire.
The spreading red Odd enveloped the wolf beast.
"Keeng?"
The Kurt's body shrank instinctively upon feeling Python's aura—far down the food chain.
Seizing the moment, Wayne shoved the tool aside.
The beast's head twisted, exposing an opening.
Splat!
A kick to the gut sent it crashing into the wall.
Perfect!
Wayne didn't waste it. He raised the tool and smashed down on its rising head.
Clang! Splat!
The Kurt reeled. Wayne swung his long arm, shattering its front legs.
Crack!
"Kuwek!"
With a dull thud, it collapsed headfirst, trembling in agony.
From the disassembled Gigant parts, Wayne grabbed a three-meter sword meant for a custom Gigant.
He didn't hesitate, thrusting it into the beast's jaw.
"Kuaaaah!"
The Kurt howled and died on the spot.
With their trusted beast slain, the goblins fled.
Wayne's Gigant pointed; Curtis turned.
Four goblins dragged a bound woman.
Curtis and two squadmates charged. The goblins dropped her and ran.
"Huh? An elf?"
Curtis gaped at the fallen elf. The others were stunned by her beauty.
He untied her ropes.
"Thank you for saving me."
The elf bowed.
"Just following orders. Thank the squad leader over there."
Curtis pointed to the maintenance Gigant.
The fight was over, but Wayne scanned with red Odd for stragglers. The elf approached him.
"Gasp!"
The Gigant's eyes flashed blood-red; she froze. Realizing it was a mech warrior's Odd Eye, she clasped her hands and bowed.
"I am Alicia Taylor, wife of Baron Fredric Taylor, lord of Lorenne Territory. Thank you for the rescue."
Wayne didn't dismount, just dipped the Gigant's head politely.
"A mercenary?"
Mercenary bands with custom Gigants existed but were rare.
They'd agreed to hide identities, so they used first names only.
"Yes, squad leader!"
Curtis led the squad and Alicia out.
Alone, Wayne headed where the goblins had dragged the Gigant.
Nearby, Gigant parts piled like a mountain.
"Holy hell! How long did they hoard this?"
Unlike old tales of goblins collecting gold or shiny things, wasteland raiders hoarded Gigant parts. It looked like a junkyard or treasure trove—hard to tell.
Guess I'll ask Jamie.
Wayne returned to the kill site.
What about this Gigant?
A custom Gigant lay disassembled, limbs severed. The dead Kurt corpse was another issue.
Screech! Clang! Clang!
Huh?
A Kurt's whimper echoed from the opposite tunnel.
What's that?
Wayne yanked the three-meter sword from the dead Kurt's skull, scanned with red Odd Eye, and entered the passage.
Soon, faint red haze appeared.
It was the red-furred Kurt that had fled earlier. Blood pooled from its head, eyes, and body; its tongue lolled exhaustedly.
No—it was dying.
A massive ballista bolt protruded from its torso.
It had prepared a counterattack here; over a hundred goblin corpses littered the area. Claw and bite wounds confirmed they'd fallen to this Kurt.
Brutal.
Suddenly, Wayne grimaced. A half-smashed iron cage explained the fight.
Inside: ten dead monster pups, all shot.
The goblins had likely used the pups as hostages to capture the Kurt, forcing obedience.
But when unchained, the mother charged to save them, smashing the cage—but too late.
The one Wayne killed was the father; this was the mother come for the pups.
Even a monster has fierce maternal love!
As Wayne shook his head sadly and turned, a whimper came from the cage.
Screech! Groan! Whimper!
The maintenance Gigant pushed aside the broken bars and entered.
Wayne moved the dead pups one by one.
After three, he found a tiny one—half the size—whining feebly.
What? Too small to shoot?
Or perhaps it survived by being crushed under siblings, dodging bullets.
Hiss!
Confirming no heat sources, Wayne opened the hatch and picked it up.
Dog-pup sized, skin-and-bones from starvation, fur faded gray instead of red.
It had lost food competitions to siblings, staying small—and alive.
"Phew. So this is your pup. That's why you were whimpering so hard?"
Wayne placed it before the dying mother's muzzle.
The mother blinked at him—gratefully, it seemed.
Gathering her last strength, she licked the pup.
Wayne's heart ached.
He'd heard his parents in this world sold him at age five for a few gold leaves. He'd resented them once, but now it seemed they might have hoped for a better life for their youngest.
In the end, it made him royalty.
Damn, bringing tears.
Seeing a pup in a similar plight tugged at him.
He remounted and turned.
Huh?
A faint, tiny red haze stirred. The pup crawled desperately toward the mother's teat.
It latched on—but the body was ice cold.
Wayne couldn't step away.
What would become of the pup? As a monster, maybe it'd eat goblin corpses and survive. But in this barren land? No food.
It'd raid humans and die, or get found by goblins and perish.
Wayne opened the hatch and grabbed the pup by the scruff.
"In novels and movies, saving a wolf pup like you means it grows up and saves its master. You gonna do that?"
Grrrrowl!
It growled from its belly instead.
Wayne chuckled.
"Your name is... Eleven. Live for your dead siblings too!"