Two hundred feral soldiers awaited Lucian in the courtyard. The other two hundred had been left behind to fortify the gold mines and guard his son.
Leaf and his not enough protection paranoia was perfect for the defence job.
To usurp the pirate fleets, Lucian needed an army, but marching two hundred hulking, tattoo-covered Southerners through the Diamante Kingdom's borders would be impossible.
Southern Seas were unsailable, Eastern Seas were occupied by Reavers, so the only option left was to enter through the Giant West Hills.
They stretched across the borders between the Diamante Kingdom and the Varia Kingdom. The Hills Height reached the clouds, and the terrain was so rugged that it was impossible for caravans to traverse. Not speaking of the frequent landslides and rockfalls.
The ferals were all third ranked hunters now, could travel without food or water for days, but were not used to the climate of the hills. The seas were not going to be any kinder, and Lucian had to prepare them for both.
Goblin and Jax were also coming with him. Both had shown promise in leading the ferals, and Lucian wanted to give them more responsibilities.
"Vice Jax?" Goblin asked, his eyes shining with excitent. He was wearing a new set of clothes that Lucian had gotten him. They were simple, but sturdy, with a hood to cover his head. "Are Hill Giants real? Are we going to see them?"
Jax glanced at the boy, who was practically bouncing on his feet, "Hill giants are just a myth," he said, adjusting the straps on his backpack, "They are stories the southerners tell their children to scare them from wandering in the hills."
Goblin's face fell, "But... but, I heard they are taller than the hills, and they eat people for breakfast, and they crush houses with their fists!" He looked at Lucian, hoping for a confirmation.
Lucian smiled as he made a motion of let's go to his n, his palm moving in a forward gesture.
"I've seen one in my travels," he said, making Goblin gasp, "He was about as tall as a tree, and had a nasty habit of throwing rocks at anyone who got too close. He wasn't as scary as the stories make them out to be, though."
"You t a Hill Giant?!" Goblin's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. He fastened his pace to walk next to Lucian, "When was it Boss?"
"I think it was on my fourteenth birthday," Lucian recalled one of his death seeking birthdays, "I went to the hills to find a present for myself and spotted a group of southern smugglers trying to get through."
Goblin listened with rapt attention, his eyes sparkling. Jax joined the conversation as well, curious about the story, "Smugglers?"
"A group of southern won who were trying to run away from their husbands," Lucian elaborated as they listened, "They were following a northern guide who promised them safety on the other side of the hills for a few coins. I thought it was a good idea to tag along, so I paid the guide and joined the group."
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Lucian and his feral army traveled for ten days until the Giant West Hills showed themselves in the horizon.
"Huge," Goblin whispered, staring at the towering walls that blocked half of the sky.
The River Of Tears disappeared into the Giang West Hills, making it look like the hills were drinking the river dry.
And that was only one of the many rivers that flowed into the Hills. There was also a waterfall that fell from the sky, crashing into the hills with a deafening roar. The water spray could be seen from miles away, creating a rainbow in the air.
The water source would make the hills damp and cold, a perfect place for plants and fungi to grow. And grow they did, covering the hills with lush vegetation, from grasses and ferns to mosses and lichens, giving the hills a greenish hue.
Lucian and his group had camped at the foot of the hills, like a dot in front of the mighty wall of earth.
The climbing equipnt they carried was much more advanced than the one Lucian used in the past.
He was the first to climb, preparing the path for the others. He would secure the ropes and iron pins into the rock, creating a lifeline for the ferals to follow.
The ferals were tied to the ropes with special harnesses, so they wouldn't fall to their deaths if they slipped.
Climbing the hills was a test of endurance, strength, and skill. The ferals had to learn how to find footholds and handholds, how to balance their weight, and how to breathe properly at high altitudes.
"Keep an eye out for loose rocks and falling debris," Lucian called out to his team, as he reached a ledge and looked back.
Jax and Goblin were behind him, followed by ten ferals. The rest were on the ground, waiting for their turn.
The ferals were doing well, considering they had never climbed anything higher than a tree before.
Lucian's intention worked as a guide for them, showing them the best route to take, which saved them a lot of ti and energy.
It took them three days to reach one quarter of the way, and they had to rest at a flat spot, hidden behind a rock formation.
The view from there was breathtaking, as they could see the plains of the Southern Alliance stretching out before them under the warm hue of the sky.
Goblin plopped down on the ground, his chest heaving, "Boss, I feel strange," he said, looking at his hands.
Lucian sat next to him, handing him a flask of water. "What kind of strange?" he asked, watching Goblin gulp down the water.
"Like I want to touch the sky," Goblin whispered, his right hand outstretched, fingers splayed, trying to reach for the clouds. "And I feel like I can do it."
Lucian chuckled. He tried to visit his parents in heaven through those hills after they died, so he understood the feeling.
He leaned against the rock, and tried to use his astral projection to cross the sky, curious about what was waiting beyond it.
The distance was still too great to reach from here, so he gave up fast.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jax watched how Goblin got up and started to strip down, "Are you out of your mind?"
"The clothes are becoming too tight, it's hard to breathe in them," Goblin explained, pulling off his shirt, then started working on his pants, "They will rip if I don't take them off."
"What are you talking abo─" Jax opened his mouth to scold him, but stopped when he saw the air around Goblin begin to ripple and distort.
Lucian grabbed his axe and stood up, ready to fight. He swore it was one of the won's children, who had turned into a giant and squashed its own mother in the past. The giant would then begin to climb the hills and disappear into the clouds.
Lucian didn't catch what happened after that, because he was too busy running away from the rocks that were falling from the sky.
'There's no heaven beyond the clouds,' he recalled Voice's words to him, but he swore that the giant wasn't throwing rocks off the hill but at the sky.
That day Lucian lost connection with Voice for a few weeks. The shackles remained, but the proxy between his wish and its fulfillnt beca severed until Voice returned with a more compelling nature.
It let Lucian use its powers so he could reach his wish faster. That's when he realized that Voice was in a rush to turn him into an awakened shackled.
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