บท 219: A show of Power
In the giants' Skeleton Fortress, there was a room dedicated to storing gold, silver, and jewelry—treasures amassed by the giants during their rampages across the world. Although it was unclear why these giants, who had no use for currency, would collect such wealth, the sight that greeted Wayne as he entered the enormous treasure room brought a wide smile to his face.
It wasn't just the sheer quantity of gold and jewels that pleased him, but the thought of how much wealth had been plundered from countless countries, nobles, and royal families over the years. The simple room, built of ordinary stone, held mountains of gold and jewels, with dust accumulating over the years.
Piles of golden statues, goblets, cups, and other precious items were scattered throughout the room. Among the treasures was even a beautiful harp made entirely of gold, a true work of art.
But now, all of this belonged to Wayne, and his financial power was about to be significantly enhanced.
He strolled casually around the room, taking in the sight of the accumulated wealth for a few moments before patting the black money bag on his belt. It was time for his little assistant to get to work.
A few seconds later, Vivian emerged from the purse, wearing adorable pink pajamas with a cartoon hairpin in her hair. She glanced around the room sleepily and called out,
"Wayne, Vivian is taking a nap right now. If it's not something important..." Vivian began, but before she could finish her sentence, her eyes widened in astonishment. Instantly alert, she flapped her little wings and flew out of the money bag, her sleepy demeanor replaced with excitement as she zipped around the room, emitting cheerful sounds.
"Haha! Haha! So much gold!" she exclaimed. "Are we going to get rich?"
"Wayne, which kingdom's treasury is this? Are we really going to rob it?"
Vivian was practically bubbling over with excitement as she began pulling out pieces of beautiful jewelry from the piles of treasure. She drooled over each piece as if they were her favorite treats, clutching them to her chest without a care for the dust that covered them.
Wayne, however, wasn't particularly interested in the jewelry's beauty. His focus was on how much money these items could be exchanged for. He waved to Vivian, who reluctantly put down the jewelry she had gathered. Wayne then poked her exposed belly, which peeked out from her pajamas, and said, "Vivian, convert all the gold in this room into gold coins, but leave the twenty most valuable and beautiful pieces of jewelry. You can also choose one for yourself as a gift from me."
Hearing that she could keep a piece as a gift, Vivian immediately hugged Wayne's finger, rubbing her face against it like a kitten, and said excitedly, "Thank you Wayne, I love you so much!"
Vivian worked with remarkable efficiency. As a special race created by the goddess of wealth, she possessed various unique magical abilities. In less than an hour, the gold and jewelry in the entire room had visibly transformed into stacks of gold coins.
When the room was finally empty, only a golden treasure box remained, containing the twenty most gorgeous and valuable pieces of jewelry.
Vivian used her magic to lift the golden treasure box and placed it in front of Wayne. Then, with her hands on her hips and a satisfied smile, she wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead and said excitedly, "Wayne, the exchange of gold coins is complete. The treasures here are worth a total of 53,623 orens. Since it's all pure gold, the goddess of wealth only charged a one percent handling fee."
Wayne couldn't help but smile at the news of the revenue. With a massive sum of over 500,000 orens, even after paying off his loan, he would still have more than 400,000 left—a fortune that most people couldn't even dream of.
In fact, in the entire Kingdom of Temeria, only the wealthiest nobles could rival Wayne in terms of wealth. It was truly an unexpected windfall.
With such a large sum of money at his disposal, Wayne knew that many of his upcoming plans could now begin in an orderly manner.
Vivian, too, was thrilled with her reward. Although the little one wisely chose a simple gemstone bracelet, the fact that it came from this treasure room meant it was worth at least several hundred orens—a very generous tip.
By the time Wayne returned to the hall of the Skeleton Fortress, several captured royal guards had been rescued. Among them, he spotted the movie's protagonist, Jack, dressed in a leather jacket and looking every bit the villager.
However, without the magic crown or magic beans, Jack was just an ordinary person—lucky, perhaps, but not the hero who had saved the day. Princess Isabel, who had once admired Jack in the story, now had no particular feelings for him.
Instead, her attention was entirely focused on Wayne as he entered the hall. Her bright eyes were fixed on him, clearly more drawn to the powerful, mysterious Witcher.
Approaching the princess, Wayne asked in a calm voice, "I'm heading up there to fight the giants. Would you like to come and watch the battle, Princess Isabel?"
Before Princess Isabel could respond, Captain Elmont, who had just been rescued, interjected, "Wayne, we should escort the princess back to the ground now. You've secured the magic crown and subdued the giants. I must report this to His Majesty the King. Otherwise, they may decide to cut down the magic vine, and we won't be able to return."
Wayne heard the underlying message in Elmont's words but chose to ignore him. Instead, he continued to focus on Princess Isabel, waiting for her decision.
Isabel, with her naturally adventurous spirit, didn't hesitate. Faced with Wayne's invitation, she eagerly accepted. With a smile, she quickly boarded the magic flying carpet, wrapping her arms around Wayne's waist once more. She then asked, "Wayne, you already have the magic crown. Why do you need to use other means to conquer these giants? What do you plan to do with them?"
Isabel's question echoed the curiosity of Elmont and the others. Although Wayne wasn't obligated to answer, he decided to be straightforward. "These giants may be evil beings, but they are still a powerful force. Power itself is neither good nor evil—it all depends on how you use it."
He then glanced at the thoughtful princess and added, "There's another group of villains far from here. I intend to use these giants to deal with that other group of evil people. Even if both sides destroy each other, it would still be a beneficial outcome."
With that, Wayne disregarded any further objections and, with Princess Isabel securely holding on, flew out of the eye socket of the Skull Castle, heading toward the open space above the canyon where the giants awaited.
There wasn't much in the way of greetings; the battle with the giants began swiftly. Faced with the prospect of being enslaved, not all giants were willing to surrender—they were prepared to fight for their freedom.
The first to step forward was the strongest of the giants, named Pruman. Standing nearly ten meters tall, he was clad in iron armor that covered most of his body, wielding a massive mace. His head was protected by a heavy iron helmet, making his defensive gear more formidable than that of most giants.
Unfortunately for Pruman, even his impressive armor and weaponry were no match for Wayne. Armed with a sword, Wayne's strength and agility far exceeded that of the giant. When their weapons collided, the force of the impact caused the giant's mace to be sliced cleanly in half by Wayne's blade. In a swift follow-up, Wayne severed the joints in Pruman's legs, bringing the giant crashing to the ground. Before Pruman could react, Wayne's sword mercilessly cleaved through his neck, beheading him.
The scene left both the giants and Princess Isabel, who was watching the battle, in stunned silence. They had initially thought that Wayne was like the wizards of legend, capable only of casting spells and relying on magic in combat. None had expected him to possess such incredible speed, strength, and skill in close combat. His superb swordsmanship, combined with his smaller size and ability to dodge with ease, made him a nearly invincible opponent.
By the time Captain Elmont and the others managed to climb up the cliff and reach the battleground, Wayne was already facing five giants simultaneously. The giants, realizing the dire situation, abandoned any notion of honor and attacked Wayne together, desperately trying to reclaim their freedom.
But when faced with five opponents, Wayne no longer held back. He utilized his elusive Blink ability, powerful swordsmanship, extraordinary physical strength, and the potent signs of a Witcher.
The five giants couldn't even catch a glimpse of Wayne's shadow before he was upon them. One by one, he dispatched them with precision—either slicing through them with his giant sword or using the power of his magic signs. By the time the dust settled, all five giants lay dead at Wayne's feet, having been killed with ruthless efficiency.
The battle ended even faster than the previous encounters with individual giants, causing an immediate uproar among the remaining giants. Their hearts filled with frustration and a growing sense of despair.
As the tension on the battlefield grew thick, Wayne ascended his magic flying carpet and addressed the giants below:
"In those two battles, I showed mercy," he declared. "Now, we come to the final challenge. You may select fifty of your strongest warriors, and I'll give you an hour to prepare. This time, I will not show mercy."
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing, "If fifty of you cannot defeat me, then you should understand that you cannot defeat me at all. If any of you dare to harbor thoughts of rebellion in the future, I will ensure your entire giant clan vanishes from this world."
Wayne's words were not an exaggeration. The entire population of Gantua Island numbered around three hundred giants—some strong, some weak, some young, and others elderly. If they couldn't overcome Wayne even with fifty of their best, it would be a clear message that resistance was futile.
Wayne watched from his magic flying carpet as the giants huddled together, discussing their strategy. He also made note of the giants who seemed to hold some authority or respect among the others. If any of them survived the upcoming battle, they would be ones to keep an eye on.
The giants were not fools. They knew that this next battle would determine the fate of their entire clan. Recognizing Wayne's advantage of air superiority, the giants immediately began mobilizing all their resources, gathering large objects to use as projectiles. Most of them collected stones of various sizes, while others sought out straight trees to fashion into makeshift spears. Some even resorted to retrieving fishing nets, tools they typically used for hunting, hoping to capture the airborne Witcher.
However, their preparations were ultimately in vain. Wayne had no intention of giving them such an opportunity.
An hour passed quickly.
This time, Wayne didn't hover at a mere two to three hundred meters, where the giants' thrown objects could potentially reach him. Instead, he ascended to a height of about five hundred meters, far beyond their range. As the fifty selected giants looked up in astonishment, Wayne began his assault.
From this altitude, Wayne unleashed a large arsenal of alchemical bombs, relics from his training days in Vizima. These bombs, stored for nearly a year, were nearing their expiration, and Wayne saw this as the perfect opportunity to both use them effectively and demonstrate the overwhelming power of his wealth and preparation.
Under the operation of Wayne's Igni sign, which he ignited from the air, hundreds of alchemical bombs rained down upon the fifty giants below. The variety of bombs included:
Honeycomb Bombs that exploded upon the slightest impact, Dragon Dream Bombs that unleashed searing flames, Devil's Puffball Bombs that emitted clouds of toxic gas and even Northern Wind Bombs from his previous battle against the evil god, capable of instantly freezing anything they touched.
The battlefield was soon engulfed in chaos. Explosions rocked the ground, flames spread rapidly, toxic gas filled the air, and frost crept across the land. But the most harrowing sounds were the desperate, anguished cries of the giants as they fell one by one.
In a futile attempt to retaliate, the giants hurled their prepared projectiles at Wayne, but their efforts were in vain. The objects soared no higher than two or three hundred meters before plummeting back to the ground, often striking their own comrades instead.
The battle, if it could even be called that, lasted only five minutes. By the time the smoke began to clear, nearly one-third of the giants lay dead, victims of the explosions, poison gas, and frost.
Not only were the giants on the battlefield stricken with horror, but even Princess Isabel, Captain Elmont, and the other giants observing from the sidelines were left speechless. The sheer devastation caused by Wayne's alchemical arsenal filled them all with a deep, visceral fear of his power and the seemingly unstoppable magic he wielded.
They had never seen bombs before, and to them, all these weapons seemed like nothing short of Wayne's magic. They couldn't fathom how a human, who looked so similar to them, could wield such devastating power, easily killing dozens of giants with what they believed was sorcery.
They couldn't help but think that even the entire Kingdom of Albion's army would be helpless against such overwhelming magic. Wayne's ability to fly at will, coupled with his high-altitude advantage, rendered the tall city walls that humans relied on for protection utterly useless—instead, they would become coffins trapping those inside.
As the minutes passed, with half the giants on the battlefield dead, the remaining ones began to realize that victory was hopeless. Some of the more cowardly giants started crying out for mercy, pleading for their lives and surrendering.
But Wayne was unmoved. He retrieved a two-ring amplification scroll, preserved by the legendary Tesla, and in a tone devoid of emotion, he declared, "Once you step onto this battlefield, surrender is not an option. Only one side can survive."
Ignoring the desperate expressions of the remaining giants, Wayne continued his assault. He unleashed a fresh barrage of bombs, transforming the battlefield into a scene of carnage, leaving charred corpses in his wake.
Even the giants who attempted to flee found no mercy. With an indifferent expression, Wayne took out his Giant Bow and, with precise shots, hunted down those trying to escape, each metal arrow finding its mark.
When the battle finally ended and the dust settled, Wayne slowly descended in front of the remaining two hundred giants. He didn't need to brandish Eric's crown to assert his dominance; his cold gaze alone was enough. He looked at them one by one and commanded, "Pledge your loyalty to your master, slaves."
"I gave you a chance. You now understand the consequences of resisting me."
"Kneel down and accept your fate."
Though these giants towered over him, four or five times his height, they couldn't meet Wayne's piercing gaze. Fearful for their lives, knowing they were powerless against the treasures and strength he possessed, they began to avert their eyes.
Under the lead of a few giants who recognized the futility of resistance, the remaining two hundred giants quickly fell to their knees, bowing low and shouting in unison, "Master, we will obey your orders."
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