In the past, Lee Shin Woo had bought a level 7 elite bone from the secret shop and absorbed it. The original owner of that bone had been Fennos, a Giant who lived within the Giants' domain.
According to Fennos' memories, the Giants' domain hadn't been snowy fields like this. Though it was a rugged area where only the toughest could survive, the hills had been made up of rock back then, and the Giants used the rocky mountains as their base.
[The Titan's... Pride...?]
"That's right. Have you not heard of me before?"
[Who the hell is that guy!?]
[Are there other troops from the Imperial Army aside from us in here? Does Sir Metafel know about this already?]
In the past, the Giants were so powerful that no other tribe could influence them, and they also treasured their distinct culture. Fennos was the progenitor of the Giants and was the one closest to being a Titan.
Even now, Lee Shin Woo couldn't forget Fennos' strong will.
[I'm the descendant of the Titans, Fennos!]
A Titan. It was the magic word that could bring all the Giants together, and it was their ardent wish to bring them back. However, they ultimately failed to bring them back... and the moment they realized this, the tribe began to decline.
That's right. Before the curse had even covered the Empire, they were already walking on the path to ruin. Only one Giant tried to grow, even until the bitter end, but in the process of doing so, he drew the ire of too many of the other tribes and monsters. So in the end, he lost his life after fighting in a fierce battle. And in time, he had been resurrected as an undead...
'There aren't a lot of memories around there. I'm absolutely sure that Fennos fought against one of the heroes and died, and at the time, he was already outside of the Giants' domain...'
But Fennos' memories (of when he was still alive) were plenty right now. By just knowing what the Titans were and what they meant to the Giants, that gave him plenty of opportunities to gain their favor!
"I'll say it once more. I am Paul Zero... The one who holds the Titan's Pride!"
[Kuhahk!]
Lee Shin Woo said, and simultaneously shot out a fully charged Breath of the Lightning God. Surprisingly, the sword changed midair into a ridiculously large, 4 meter wide and 10 meter long thick bone shield. It was none other than the Titan's Pride, which he'd gotten from the level 6 Steve!
[That's...!]
Seeing that, the zombie giant's eyes lit up and it yelled. He had anticipated it, but the zombie giant really did recognize the shield! Lee Shin Woo smiled in satisfaction and manipulated the Titan's Pride.
As the shield retained the Breath of the Lightning God's lightning and speed, the lightning swept away Metafel's troops, cutting apart knights and soldiers alike. He could even use Bone Armory's new option like this as well!
[How can this be... Kuhahk!]
[He has the same build as us, so how can he... Kek!]
The shield's destructive capability was exceptional, as it came from its size and weight. Moreover, because of Rule of Bone, he could effectively move a bone (so long as it 'belonged' to him) with a low mana cost whenever he wanted, and no matter how heavy it was, he could shoot it almost as quickly as the Breath of the Lightning God. As a result...
"I think I could just use this as a finisher!"
"Wow. There's a shield breakdancing in the middle of enemy territory. Ah, a windmill. A backspin."
The shield had become a giant weapon of mass destruction and swept away the battlefield, instantaneously annihilating the elite troops, with the knights not faring any better.
Lee Shin Woo used his lightning charged shield to kill the final remaining level 5 Elite Elder Knight Ghoul. After that, he surveyed the battlefield through Rem. Fortunately, it seemed like there weren't any reinforcements.
"Brother, are you alright?"
[Ah, Ouuu...!]
Lee Shin Woo changed the shield back into the Breath of the Lightning God, collected all of the bones, and turned around towards the undead giant. It said, [Lv5 Sealed Titan Zombie] above its head. It didn't indicate a 'shield', but rather, a 'seal'. [1]
[How did you... brother...?]
He'd roughly anticipated this, but the Giant didn't really respond to Lee Shin Woo properly. At the very least, Lee Shin Woo's utterance of the word 'Titan', as well as summoning the Titan's Pride had barely gotten a reaction out of him.
This matter wouldn't be resolved easily, so Lee Shin Woo sighed, but Jin, who was spectating all this, was just surprised that Lee Shin Woo had gotten this much of a reaction from an undead he'd never encountered before.
"It seems like enemies from the outside dared to enter our (the Giant Tribe's) territory and attack us. I'll protect you, so let's go to the village together."
[I... got it...]
In what world were they part of the Giant Tribe? The Giant meekly nodded its head at Lee Shin Woo's words, turned around, and began to move. However, this was where it would all start. Not all of the giants would have a screw loose like this one.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to bring that Giant along and try something? Will the other Giants trust you?"
Jin hesitated, even though Lee Shin Woo gave the signal to follow it.
Until now, there had always been a chance that he could talk his way out of the situation, but Lee Shin Woo couldn't disguise himself as a Giant yet, so Jin had no idea what made Lee Shin Woo so confident. However, Lee Shin Woo wasn't really thinking about anything at all.
"Well, I showed them that I'm fighting against the Imperial Army in an attempt to make it look like we're on the same side. It went better than I'd expected, so there's a chance it could become a united front, and there's also a chance it could become a three-way fight as well... Even my daughter-in-law doesn't know how things will turn out."
"Daughter-in-law!?"
Was Lee Shin Woo old on Earth? With just that one word, Jin had completely forgotten about the issue with the Giants and was completely lost in thought. Lee Shin Woo just let him be and absorbed all the bones he'd gathered.
In the past, he would have to separate the information individually when absorbing this many bones, but it was different now.
[Overlapping and absorbing the Lv3 - Lv5 bones of Lv7 Metafel Rerdan's troops. Drawing out intersecting information and absorbing whole memories.]
Nice. He succeeded, just like he thought he would! In an instant, he analyzed the overwhelming information that flowed through his brain.
The instant he used Bone Reinforcement, a message appeared, confirming that they were indeed Metafel Rerdan's troops.
In fact, they were a sort of reconnaissance unit. It seems as though Metafel had sent a few of these reconnaissance units to scout before they went deep into the mountain range. Their goal was definitely the Giants; they had come into this mountain range knowing that the Giants were here.
'I need to see the memories before then. How Metafel's troops got into the mountain range, and how they received their orders as well.'
If something went wrong, his undead seniors in the Giants' domain would have to fight against one of the 12 generals, Metafel, before he even got a chance to do anything.
He ordered Rem to scout out a wider area, while he diligently analyzed the memories. Fortunately, by fusing together the memories of the level 5 Elite Knights, he found something that he could use.
[General, it's open. We've secured a road! The Archmage said that if we just go this way, we won't get lost!]
'A magical device! It's definitely some sort of magical device!'
It was a circular gemstone that was so large that it looked as though it needed to be carried on a wagon.
It seemed a dozen times larger than a compass from Earth, but it didn't simply point towards a direction; it analyzed the flow of mana that manipulated space and also possessed a magic that directed the owner to wherever they wished to go.
It was at least a level 6 artifact... That specialty, it had to be related to the Archmage, Feotane Von Seldin, somehow!
'I've gotten over the biggest hurdle for now. Which is the chance that Feotane Von Seldin is moving personally!'
Lee Shin Woo recollected Feotane Von Seldin's might and suddenly began to shake. Of course, Lee Shin Woo had grown since then, and both his level and stats had grown as well. He'd also found a way to resist spatial magic on top of that.
But even so, he knew that he would be no match for him. He was way out of Lee Shin Woo's league. If Feotane Von Seldin was personally involved, then Lee Shin Woo would immediately run away.
[The forgotten Giants' domain... Keuk, that sounds nice. I've been curious about this place since a while back. This time... Very good.]
Was it really a coincidence that Metafel had only now found the Giants' domain? Lee Shin Woo didn't think so.
It could be connected to Lee Shin Woo and his party overcoming the training facility, or perhaps it was the movements of another hero... Especially someone like Ethan Cruz. The clouds of war that his seniors had seen were likely when the Empire made movements like this.
[General, what are you going to do? We've been ordered to take everything hidden inside, but...]
[Why do you think his Imperial Majesty sent me here in person? It's because he's aware of all this. That I become stronger the more I eat...]
The Mercenary King, Metafel was a Ghoul. The more corpses he ate, the faster his body would strengthen and recover, and when he ate the corpse of a powerful individual, then his growth would be unbelievable. Lee Shin Woo looked through the memories and had a rough idea as to what Metafel had planned.
[We'll do exactly as he wishes. Obviously, we have to present the frozen Titan's Heart to his Majesty, but everything else is mine. With that, I'll be sure to reach it... Level 8...!]
[Is it true that we may be going to war...? I will always follow you General, no matter what!]
The frozen Titan's Heart. He'd sure gotten some great information out of this... The more he followed the Giant's back, the harsher the wind got, and he secretly smiled. He'd come to a great place at a great time. But at this rate, he'd need to prepare some things...
"Shino Rendu."
[Yes, did you call for me?]
Lee Shin Woo communicated with Shino Rendu telepathically, even though he was so far away. Nowadays, he had become quite comfortable handling the darkness element, so this wasn't an issue for him at all.
"It seems like the day of your vengeance will come sooner than you expected."
[Huh...!?]
Shino Rendu reacted quite dramatically. It felt like he could tell what Shino Rendu's expression was just based on his voice. Lee Shin Woo chuckled and spoke.
"I'll let you kill Metafel personally. But the region's really cold, so will you be ok?"
[I possess High Rank Ice Resistance. For the rest... I'll be able to do it so long as I don't give up.]
"Good. Then I'll send you some Pauls with Ice Resistance, so come to where I tell you. It's a bit difficult to enter the area, but... Well, I'll get you a magical device that'll help you get in soon."
[I understand! ...Thank you very much!]
Once Lee Shin Woo was done conversing with Shino Rendu, he gave out detailed instructions to the Pauls. At the same time, he connected the Chi Pauls and Bisher Moon. All of Paul Zero's elite troops (who were currently in the level 4 danger zone) would be coming! ...Of course, the last person he needed to talk to was Kratia.
"Shin Woo, you're not..."
"Of course I am."
Now that Ethan Cruz was running around looking for one of the 12 generals to kill (of course, that's just his excuse), this mountain range, which only a small handful of the Empire knows about and were assembled in...
"I'm taking the Titan's Heart, and killing one of the 12 generals too."
"Jeez..."
Lee Shin Woo declared firmly and Jin, who knew that this was how he would act, just sighed. At that moment, the Giant entered a hole within the crevice of the cliff. Lee Shin Woo and Jin likewise entered.
After they entered, the crack within the severed space was restored and a new subspace was revealed. It was a vast, icy plain.
[Welcome to the Giants' village... Perlin Elta.]
The Giant who'd led them there spoke in a voice as though he had regained some of his intelligence. However, Lee Shin Woo didn't get the chance to reply.
[Who... is this!?]
[He's not a Giant. How did he get in here!?]
Because dozens, no hundreds of undead giants were looking at him.
[1] T/N: Shield and seal sound similar in Korean.