Targun’s steps were heavy and steady, its granite body crushed through the underbrush, striding rapidly forward, undeterred by any vegetation, moving swiftly.
But this also left a distinct trail in the wilderness.
Under the cover of night, Galos stealthily followed the Stone Giant, his scale armor under the moonlight blending with the clouds in a grayish hue, even the sound of wings flapping was deliberately suppressed, silent and unnoticed.
Flight gave the Dragon Race an inherent advantage over the Giants.
The Stone Giants’ perception was not sharp, and Galos disguised himself well, never too fast nor too slow, never detected by the Stone Giant.
Like this.
The Giants traversed the land, while the Dragon soared through the sky.
Ti slowly passed.
About five hours later, the sky showed the dim gray-blue scene of dawn.
The terrain ahead began to change, jagged rocky hills gradually replaced by flat giant boulders, with a peculiar mineral and sulfurous sll perating the air.
The full view of the Stone Giant Camp unfolded before Galos.
This was a half-open camp built against the mountain, the camp surrounded by crude basalt blocks forming a ring-shaped high wall, inside were primitively styled stone huts intricately stacked from rock slabs, and both the high wall and the stone huts were extraordinarily grand, clearly built for giant lives.
His gaze subtly swept over those Stone Giants.
Galos’ attention was drawn to the structure at the camp’s center.
This was a circular pit about twenty ters in diater, filled with a gray substance, at first glance it seed like stone, but the occasional ripples proved it was liquid.
"This thing is... the Earth Vein Symbiotic Pool?!"
Galos pondered silently.
The Stone Giants’ thod of reproduction was not through normal biological ans.
They would first select suitable earth vein nodes and create the Earth Vein Symbiotic Pool, then through special thods, choose stones with ’spirituality’, engrave them into humanoid rough embryos, and place the humanoid rough embryos into the Earth Vein Symbiotic Pool.
Once subrged, the pool’s liquid mineral essence and energy would gradually seep in, potentially awakening consciousness.
If failed, they would beco part of the mineral essence.
Those who gained consciousness would crawl out, chew upon parts of elder Stone Giants, thus gaining initial awareness of the world and racial concepts, becoming new Stone Giants.
Due to differences in the rough embryos and their carvings.
Each Stone Giant’s appearance and physique differed greatly, the body texture varied, and individual discrepancies were vast.
The weaker Stone Giants made from ordinary stones were even inferior to White Dragons.
However, those whose rough embryos were ford from special stones and awakened possessed astonishing talents, though the probability of awakening diminished with more unique and superior stone rough embryos.
Galos noticed.
Several young Stone Giants were engraving rocks.
They were not carving small, growing humanoid rough embryos, but figures as large as themselves with a majestic stance, and there were already such stone carvings in the Earth Vein Symbiotic Pool.
These were the Giant Stone Guards.
The Stone Giants were a race that universally revered the Divine Spirit, they could create Giant Stone Guards, who sacrificed consciousness and prolonged life to grow rapidly, becoming weapons to protect the clan.
Not only Stone Giants, but also Giant Stone Guards.
The camp’s outskirts were teeming with Rock Lizards, Piercing Mountain Beasts, and other magical creature followers.
"The scale is not small, but also not large."
So far, Galos hadn’t seen more adult Stone Giants.
anwhile.
When Targun reached the camp’s edge,
A particularly burly Stone Giant erged from the largest stone house.
Its height reached fifteen ters, like a small mountain, with a crystalline body, its texture and grain distinctly different from Targun, it appeared to be ford from Diamond, exuding an indomitable strength.
This Stone Giant instantly caught Galos’ attention, causing his heart to be on alert.
"A Stone Giant Elder, yet a Diamond Giant, sowhat troubleso."
Within the Vanguard Army was a Diamond Giant Elder, Galos could hardly imagine the strength and scale of the subsequent main force.
This brought him a deeper sense of danger.
However, looking at the Giant Camp below, Galos faintly felt sothing was amiss, but couldn’t figure it out in a short ti.
He held his breath, stifled all sounds, and continued observing, exploring the situation in the Stone Giant Camp.
On the ground, Stone Giant Targun knelt on one knee.
It cast a spell, eyes flickering slightly, projecting a mory image.
Kalu’s resistant face, the well-fed and strong Ogre Warriors, and mages... all vividly appeared.
Targun’s rocky face displayed cracks.
This was the Stone Giant’s expression of anger.
It said deeply, "That filthy and lowly Ogre wants you to personally go."
The Diamond Elder was not angry.
Its heavy body remained motionless, eyes wise and contemplative.
"That Gluttonous Demon is clever, which is good, as it ans it is more worthy of submission."
The Diamond Elder slowly spoke.
Its voice sounded like two diamonds grinding together, producing a dull buzz, even causing the air to slightly hum.
Signaling the Granite Giant to stand up, the Diamond Elder led it towards the camp, into the largest stone house, to discuss the matters of the Bone-Chewing Clan.
Up in the sky.
Galos couldn’t spot the two strongest Stone Giants.
He squinted his eyes, counted the number of stone houses in the camp, then turned and left.
Shortly after, a level 9 Mammoth Ferocious Beast charged towards the Stone Giant Camp direction with savage strides, eyes still showing traces of fear and terror.
The magical creature followers reared in the periphery first went to resist.
But the enormous difference between them couldn’t halt the Mammoth Ferocious Beast, causing a massive uproar.
More Stone Giants erged from the houses.
The Diamond Elder crushed the ground, its imnse and burly body leapt, spanning hundreds of ters, the Vajra body like a projectile, resembling a teor, crashed directly onto the Mammoth Ferocious Beast, leaving it with broken tendons and bones, severely injured on the spot, then delivered a clean knockout punch, killing it efficiently.
After this minor disruption.
The Diamond Elder returned to the stone house, its magical creature followers feasted on the Mammoth Ferocious Beast.
High among the clouds, Galos surveyed this scene.
The Mammoth Ferocious Beast was driven toward the Stone Giant Camp by him, the purpose was to see how the Stone Giants would respond.
Galos took a sip of fairy scale powder, the whole world turned into warm hues, his mind instantly beca active, and his thoughts began to rapidly flow.
He revisited the details that initially felt off but hadn’t imdiately clarified.
"The Earth Vein Symbiotic Pool is the core of the Stone Giant Clan, usually located within the rear main camp, impossible for the Vanguard Army to construct."
"Facing level 9 ferocious beast harassnt, the Elder takes action rather than other guards."
"The Stone Giants here, I’ve only seen one adult Granite Giant, one mature Diamond, then three young ones, and several insignificant juvenile and young Stone Giants."
"Expansive pioneering Vanguard forces wouldn’t carry such burdens."
Galos squinted his eyes, realizing this Stone Giant troop was peculiar.
Pioneering clan territory?
No, their numbers in age distribution seem disparate, more like they are fleeing, wanting to establish themselves here, settle, that the claim of expansion is just to deceive the Ogres.
Give up the territory, let them have it?
That’s not feasible.
A Diamond Elder is not enough to scare Galos into abandoning his cultivated domain assets and flee outright.
If confronted with the Diamond Elder...
The risk exists, and it’s considerable.
This is a powerful Stone Giant, not to be underestimated.
But compared to the subsequent impacts of abandoning the domain, upon careful consideration, Galos felt he could bear this risk.
Engaging in battle with the Diamond Giant might injure him, but with his speed and burst, should he fall short, he could ensure he wouldn’t be killed.
"Three days later, if it ventures alone to visit the Bone-Chewing Clan, it would be my best opportunity to strike."
Galos spiraled upward into the sky, quietly departing the Stone Giant Camp.
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