Chapter 1035 Gunther's Conviction
Lith looked at the girl who was laying flat, with her back to the ground. She was about to… sleep. Yes, sleep. It was only a shockwave from the explosion which sent her tumbling on the ground, she hadn't suffered any other injuries.
'Is she not right in the head? Misunderstanding sleep for death?'
Lith thought, sitting a few distance away from her. His head was propped up in his hand, perfectly resembling a certain a silver-haired lady who loved to stalk her children through abusing her nonsensical powers.
He continued looking at the girl, her broken spectacles lying near her, disabling her from seeing anything clearly. Ironically signifying her broken state of mind, which prevented her from seeing reality as it is. He listened to her babbling away about her life for a couple more seconds before she eventually gave in to sleep.
Finally, he approached her and poked her head, sending a small jolt of spiritual energy to wake her up.
"Huh?! Huhhh?! I've been revived? Who would revive me? Who is so kind? God? Was that you? Were my prayers finally heard? Have I been saved?"
Lith facepalmed while sitting just beside her, inwardly lamenting at the girl.
'At least look at the side? At least realize you were only sleeping? Is it really stress making her dumb or is something actually wrong with her head?'
He coughed, putting her solo drama at a stop. The girl finally looked to the side, doing something which she should've done long ago.
Doing so now, she looked at Lith with a mixed expression of reverence and excitement.
Although she could not make out since her glasses broke apart, right now, even the blurry silhouette of Lith looked beautiful to her.
She softly muttered while trying to take in as much of Lith's beauty as possible, "God indeed…"
One of his eyebrows twitched as Lith bonked her head, knocking her unconscious.
'Hopeless case.'
He gave a call to Sylvia, who appeared before in a few seconds, and asked her to hand the girl to Fei after briefly explaining her circumstances.
He then turned around and saw the state of the capital, the infected crowd was still fighting and with the way things were, it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon.
Lith made his way towards the most important part of the capital after a quick look.
The city was made with keeping giants in mind, so it wasn't easily destroyed, at least from the giant's perspective, but for small beings like someone of Lith's stature, it was still violently vibrating. It was just like when humans fought on the road or somewhere, it would look all fine to them and the spectators but for minute creatures like ants, it could very well be vibrating madly, prompting them to flee.
Lith ignored the batches of crowd rapidly falling prey to the infection as he witnessed the battle on the podium. Looking around, the rate of the spreading of infection was slower than before, with measures already being taken by the crowd to isolate but it didn't have any effect on the battle already taking place between the ex chief's faction and the one of the current chief.
He wasn't visible to anyone except Gunther, who had an artifact given by Lith himself which allowed him to see that the young man was standing above the crowd and looking in a certain direction.
The main members of Malros's faction were captured and present here. Gunther was no exception to it.
From a corner, Gunther gritted his teeth as he took in the sight of his people fighting, with some even dying. Giants going berserk was no laughing matter, they lose any and all rationality as a predominant thought in their mind becomes quite literally the only thought.
For example, it was very likely that the giantess who first got infected had her head occupied with thinking of ripping the bastard with mustache to shreds. So as soon as she was infected, that thought became the only thought to remain as everything else was pushed away. The giantess immediately acted with little restraint in her fight as she followed the only thought, dismissing even the threat to her life. Because as of that moment, the thought of her losing her life didn't cross her mind at all.
Gunther thought as he glanced at Lith, who looked like he still had no intention to take action. It was proving stressful even for him to dodge all red infectious liquid with all the restraints which were placed on him. Taking a one last look at Lith, he gritted his teeth with madness as he controlled for a single thought to occupy his mind and let a drop of red liquid hit him.
He trusted Lith in whatever he had in mind. He had seen how capable he was in the academy and back during the assassination attempt, but he couldn't see the giants dying anymore and stay still. It was the land his father and grandfather spent countless years protecting, fostering and ruling. If getting infected is what would allow for his restraints to break off, he shall do it.
Immediately the next moment, his hair turned red as the seals placed on him broke down one after another. A humongous roar was heard as everyone stopped what they were doing for a second. A giant who was about to monkey grab another one's ancestral marbles, stopped. A giant who was about to bite off an ear, stopped. A giant who was about to kick the third leg, stopped. A giant who was about to spear the forbidden virginity, stopped.
Even Lith's attention was distracted from what he assumed to be where the chief was hiding to Gunther who had willingly chosen to be infected. He watched with a gentle smile as his friend's mentality was rapidly overridden with a single thought. Lith couldn't move, he had already been locked onto by a divine sense. He knew that moving now would be a risk.
As soon as Gunther was completely infected, he began running. Not towards the battlefield. Not towards the faction of the current chief. Not towards Lith. Not towards the gap, looking to escape.
He ran towards the crowd. Towards his people.
He was there in but a few couple seconds as he began disengaging people from each other as soon as he arrived. Redirecting a punch which was originally headed for a giant's head, he sent it to the ground and chopped at the back of the attacker's head, making him unconscious.
But before even a second had passed, a fist the size of a big boulder was already heading his way. It was the one who he had just saved, none of the infected giants were in their right mind. He quickly ducked slightly and gripped the hand which was supposed to hit him, hurling the giant overhead, hitting another giant midway and sending them both sprawling onto the ground. Before they had the chance to get up, a knock to the back of their head temporarily took them out of the battle.
Gunther went around the battlefield, expertly weaving across multiple people and violent situations as he saved countless giants from emergency situations and unwanted death.
Quite obviously, it wasn't as effortless as it looked. His body was rapidly racking up wounds and cuts, stacking injuries on top of each other as even his one track mind and enhanced combat prowess as a result of infection failed to deal with the effects of injuries.
His clothes were soaked in blood, ripped in several places with only a cloth hanging from several places. The cloak and hood which had been forced onto them had long ago been ripped off to choke some troublesome giants to unconsciousness as they resisted getting knocked out several times.
One of his hands was limping by his side as he jogged to the next bunch of people. It wasn't his intention to jog, he was still running as far as his perspective went, but to an outsider, his energy levels had already been depleted low enough that his supposed run looked like a jog.
Alas, just as he was about to reach there, one of his legs gave out. There wasn't enough time to rebalance as the faulty leg gave out completely. His humongous body leaned to one side as the momentum carried him forward, sliding through the ground as all the skin which came in contact with ground was rapidly being torn.
The huge body which was a couple hundred meters away from the fighting crowd was still breathing and alive. The mountainous body shook, signifying its attempts to get up. A pity, its energy reserves were long since empty.
A few couple seconds went by as the body kept shaking incessantly before Gunther roared, albeit far weaker than his first roar. One of his eyes had already been scraped when he slid through the ground, but his other eye was fixed on the crowd fighting a few hundred meters away. It was filled with resignation as he watched yet another giant's neck being snapped.
Gunther roared again, gathering enough willpower and energy to plant a hand on ground. Just as he was shaking violently in an attempt to move, a small hand was placed on his head.
Lith had arrived, he chose to take the risk of diverting his attention and moving as he gazed gently into his friend's eyes.
"You've done enough. Take a rest, let me handle the rest."
When Gunther's eyes closed and his breathing turned peaceful, Lith used Life magic and began healing him as he muttered under his breath.
"You chose to protect your people. I'll protect you now."