Chapter 153 - Chapter 29: War Destruction #4
In-gong’s party travelled in the carriage for two days. The first night was spent in a small town, but the second night, they had to camp. It was because there were less people the further south-west they went.
As Amita said, Curtis had a lot of rain. In summer, it was common for it to be raining for several days and nights. Fortunately, it was now winter. Unlike in summer, this rain was currently just a light shower.
On the afternoon of the third day, the scenery outside the carriage changed drastically. The same thick foliage was everywhere, but there was an obvious difference in size.
The grass had grown. The grass, which had been ankle height on the roadside, had now grown to their waist. Even though the forest was far away, it felt considerably closer because the trees were so big.
As Carack rubbed his eyes with surprise, In-gong looked joyfully at the mini-map. Some people had come out to meet them.
“It is nice to meet you! I am Kappa, the daughter of the chief of the Gullam tribe! This is the best hunter in our tribe, Uncle Galang.”
The voice of a youthful girl came from high above them. The party in the carriage raised their heads toward the sky and saw a face approximately five meters above them. This was despite the fact that she was leaning on her knees, and half her upper body was bowed.
The red-haired girl, who wore comfortable clothes made of animal skin, was a giant. She looked like a teenager, but she was almost eight meters tall. However, there was a real giant standing behind the girl.
"It is a pleasure to see the royal family.”
The voice came from a height of 10 meters. It belonged to a muscular man dressed in animal skin, just like the girl. As his small black eyes stared down at them, he appeared taciturn.
Carack continued to blink in shock. It was because he couldn’t figure out how many cows had been killed to make the clothes these female and male giants were wearing. There would need to have been at least a few dozen.
The female, Kappa, gazed at In-gong and Felicia with sharp green eyes. Her eyes were so big, it was like looking in a mirror.
"Are you the prince and princess?”
Her eyes and voice were full of longing. The girl was unaware of it, but her face was too close to them. She would be considered rude by any other royalty, but In-gong and Felicia weren’t that formal. They were used to Carack’s impudence, so they simply smiled and nodded.
Kappa smiled brightly, then she bit her lip and asked,
“Can I take both of you on my shoulders?”
"Please.”
Felicia replied, and Kappa brought In-gong and Felicia to her shoulders. The gigantic hand reaching for them from above caused instinctive horror, but In-gong and Felicia didn’t scream. Rather, they admired the scenery which could be seen from Kappa’s shoulders.
Unlike the cyclops and mountain giants who were classified as monsters, rather than humans, the giants living in this forest were simply big humans. They were almost exactly the same as humans, except for being six times larger.
Kappa smiled shyly after putting In-gong and Felicia on her shoulders, feeling a sudden sense of bashfulness about her shoulders. It seemed like she was worrying about what to say.
Apart from Kappa’s anxious thoughts, a matter of more importance was that she was eight meters tall, so her stride was huge. She walked at a speed which would be difficult to follow while in the carriage.
Carack suppressed his wish to ride on the shoulders and looked around. Without realizing it, he was soon convinced.
Kappa and Galang weren’t the only big ones—everything around them was big. The change was sudden, so the surrounding area felt smaller.
From his spot on Kappa’s shoulder, In-gong was just as convinced as Carack. Despite seeing it in Knight Saga, he now understood it instinctively.
‘It is because they are living here.’
Could the giants live if they were thrown into a normal environment?
It would be hard. As Carack had thought, making their clothes would be a daunting task. They were six times the height of normal humans, and the amount of food required to fill their stomachs couldn’t be compared to that of ordinary humans.
Therefore, the surrounding environment was great in size as well. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the giants to increase their population.
In-gong was as excited as Kappa. He was really excited to see the scenery of the giants which he had liked in Knight Saga.
The trees in the forest were three to four times larger than common trees. Additionally, although the difference was smaller in comparison to the contrast between giants and humans, there was no way to be accurate about this in the first place.
They soon arrived at the village, where there were dozens of houses made of wood and clay. All of them were single story buildings, possibly due to a weight problem or something else.
'I will get to see it soon.’
In-gong calmed himself down. When he heard he was going to the land of the giants, he couldn’t help smiling at the thought of the sight he would soon see.
Then one hour later, after greeting the Gullam clan’s chief, In-gong climbed to the top of the table. There was also a small table for normal-sized species, but In-gong wanted to climb onto the giant’s table. The reason for this was simple.
“Big.”
The food was great and immensely large. He felt happy just looking at the cake which was six times bigger than normal.
Carack stared at the chicken leg which was as big as his body and shared In-gong’s happiness as well. The rest of the party couldn’t stop smiling either.
"Master, it is amazing."
Green Wind became solid and said to In-gong. In-gong nodded vigorously.
"That’s right. It’s amazing!”
Why was Caitlin in this place? While In-gong was thinking that, Green Wind looked at Felicia and grinned widely at her.
"Princess should say it as well. Master will like it.”
Felicia blinked at the sudden proposal, but she noticed In-gong looking and opened her mouth,
“A-amazing?”
It was far from Caitlin’s sunny expression, but her red cheeks made it cute.
However,Green Wind shook her head objectively.
"It isn’t similar. Isn't that right, Master?”
Green Wind turned toward In-gong and asked. He had no idea what she was doing, but he couldn’t help smiling.
"No, it’s similar. It really is similar.”
At In-gong’s answer, Felicia quickly covered her face with her fan, while Green Wind glared at him.
Carack just laughed and laughed. Delia had to pinch her thighs several times to keep from laughing, and Karma was in a similar situation.
Time passed by, and it was now time to go to bed. So, In-gong got up from the table. There were ordinary houses for other species, so it wasn’t inconvenient to use it. He wanted to experience the life of the giants, but it couldn’t be helped.
After chatting to Carack for a while, Felicia appeared, dressed in a nightgown. Her cheeks were red from her bath, and her hair was damp. In-gong looked at the terribly exhausted expression on her face and asked,
“What is with that expression?”
"Shutra, have you ever almost drowned in a bathtub?”
In-gong just smiled instead of answering. It was natural to feel the threat of drowning if it was a giant bathtub. The baths were designed for giants like Kaparang and Kappa.
Felicia settled at the table with a tired face, and In-gong used recovery magic on her. Then he pointed to the hand-painted map spread out on the table.
"This is a rough map of the area.”
“Isn’t this modest compared to your usual style?”
Felicia said as she peered at the map. Unlike In-gong’s handmade maps which boasted a precise accuracy, this map seemed to have been created roughly.
While Felicia was combining wind and fire spirits to dry her hair, In-gong explained,
"I just copied a map from here. It is impossible to draw a perfect map of a place I haven’t visited.”
"Well, I guess so."
Even if he had the mini-map, there was a limit. Moreover, the trees were so large and thick that it was difficult to draw a precise map. When the trees gathered together, they gave off the feeling of a mountain or hill.
"I will go out tomorrow for an active scout.”
In-gong spoke casually, and Felicia’s eyes narrowed.
"The forest?”
"The forest.”
He didn’t intend to just search from afar. Instead, he intended to execute an active form of scouting which attacked any enemies who were seen.
However, there were currently no barbarians in the forest because they were confronting Anastasia. The question was whether it was even necessary to do a general scouting, let alone an active scouting.
Nevertheless, the words ‘active scouting’ had emerged from his mouth.
Anastasia, the one in charge of Curtis, had left Felicia and In-gong in charge of defense near this great forest. The reason why she had placed In-gong and Felicia in a place with no enemies was simple. If they didn’t meet any enemies, they couldn’t build up merits and would have to leave empty-handed.
In-gong wasn’t going to disobey Anastasia’s orders as she was in charge of Curtis. Even so, it didn’t mean he had to sit quietly. In-gong was free to carry out military activities for defensive purposes.
"Okay, is there any place you want to go?”
In-gong pointed to one side of the map in response to Felicia’s question.
“I will go this way. I’ve heard stories of an ancient ruin in the vicinity.”
Of course, the source was Knight Saga. This was an area that In-gong wanted to visit, so he was quite excited.
‘It is because I didn’t go to this place in Night Saga.’
It was a place he hadn’t been able to enter since the beginning of Knight Saga; it was impossible to go inside. There was no special reason for this. It was just a limitation of the game, like not being able to enter the sea in RPG games. However, the setting existed. There was a legend about an ancient ruin inside the forest.
It was one of the reasons why In-gong had accepted Anastasia’s command to move to the rear. Killing enemies wasn’t the only way to gain merits. If he found a ruin with something like the Thunder Light Anvil or contained great magic power, he would be able to obtain merits as well.
“Hoh, isn’t that interesting?”
Felicia’s eyes shone like lanterns after hearing about the possibility of an ancient ruin. In-gong smiled at her and said,
"Anastasia noona told us to stay on the periphery, so we should stay put. Isn't that right?"
"Yes. It is a good idea.”
"The two of you look evil.”
Carack clicked his tongue as he watched In-gong and Felicia.
In-gong laughed.
"We will leave immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning. I’ve told the giants in advance. Galang, who we met today, will guide the way. Several warrior giants will follow.”
"Okay, I think this will be a very informative mission. My heart's already pounding despite the risk.”
In-gong made a questioning sound at Felicia’s words.
"The risk?"
"I am with Shutra.”
Felicia winked at In-gong, who frowned, while Carack just laughed.
Some time passed by again. After chatting for a bit, Felicia got up from her seat. It was time to go to bed.
"Sleep well, my dream. Silvan liked this farewell the most.”
If Silvan was here, he would’ve said that. In-gong nodded.
"Good night to you as well.”
Felicia turned and left the room. In-gong’s gaze lingered at the spot where she had made her exit, then he opened his inventory and looked at the Lucia Dream Pillow.
"Prince, what is that look in your eyes?”
“What are you talking about? I am thrilled because I am thinking of tomorrow’s adventure.”
Carack asked with narrowed eyes, and In-gong closed his inventory quickly. Green Wind whispered in In-gong’s ears,
‘Master, please dream about me.’
"Oh, the flames are soaring up again.”
In-gong felt like he was suffering. Rather than refuting, In-gong headed to bed.
&
“This is a scam.”