Chapter 584: Actual Combat Drill

Chapter 584 -583: Actual Combat Drill

The two then turned their horses around and trotted back along the path. Colin and the others immediately shouldered their packs and followed close behind.

The group followed the path up to a small hill.

There were no large trees on the hill—only shrubs, grass, and thick layers of moss.

With an unobstructed view, they could see tall figures in the distance confronting a group of smaller ones. It was clearly the Giants and the Baron who had given chase.

The two groups stood several dozen meters apart, seemingly in conversation.

“That’s our lord over there, sirs,” the Attendant leading the way said. “We have to hurry.”

“You stay here and watch our packs. Leave the rest to us,” Colin said, shrugging off his backpack and dropping it on the spot. He then led the others in a charge forward. One of the two Attendants remained with the baggage, while the other followed behind them.

As they rushed forward, it seemed the negotiations ahead had broken down.

One of the Hill Giants bellowed, “Little ones made us mad!”

With that, the Baron, mounted on his Warhorse, raised his Riding Lance and charged.

Seeing this, the dozens of soldiers behind him also raised their long halberds, Short Spears, and other weapons and charged. As he got closer, Colin saw that the soldiers were just Recruits in thick Cotton Armor and Iron Helmets—hardly an elite force.

Seeing this, the three Hill Giants each pulled stone blocks from the Beast Hide pouches at their waists and hurled them at their opponents.

The stone blocks traced perfect arcs through the air, precisely knocking several Recruits to the ground.

The Recruits had barely taken a few steps before the three Hill Giants threw another three stone blocks, felling three more unlucky souls. At this, the rest of the Recruits froze in place.

They were normally serfs engaged in labor, not professional soldiers. It was already a miracle they had found the courage to charge the menacing Giants at all.

Just then, the Baron reached the Giants.

One Hill Giant swung its wooden stick, smashing it down on the Warhorse’s head and sending both horse and rider tumbling.

The Baron was pinned beneath his fallen Warhorse. He struggled desperately but couldn’t get back to his feet.

Another Hill Giant, clutching a stone, bellowed, “Stand still, no kill!”

Terrified by the shout, the Recruits stood frozen. Not one of them dared to move.

Just then, another Giant hurled a stone in the direction of Colin’s group. The massive rock flew several hundred meters, landing perfectly just in front of them.

Even if the Giants were shrunk to human size, that kind of accuracy was astounding.

“Little ones, stand together!” a Hill Giant yelled.

“Do as he says. Let’s go over there,” Colin said to the others over his shoulder.

“No talking!”

The Hill Giant’s voice boomed again.

At that moment, Colin noticed the Attendant who had followed them was staring in disbelief. He clearly hadn’t expected the Adventurers to surrender so easily.

Colin paid the Attendant’s reaction no mind. He simply led the others and obediently approached the Hill Giants.

‘What’s the plan?’

Dorn’s voice sounded in his mind.

‘The Hill Giants seem to want to negotiate,’ Colin replied mentally. ‘We need to get close to them, at least. That way, the Giants can’t pick us off from a distance with their rocks.’

‘Understood,’ Dorn answered.

For Giants, throwing stones was a popular sport dating back to ancient times. Nearly every type of Giant held stone-throwing competitions within their clans.

Unlike mortals, who need tools like Catapults or Bows and Arrows to hunt, Giants could hunt just by picking up stone blocks from the ground. For them, throwing stones was a Survival instinct as natural as breathing.

One could say their stone-throwing ability was the most troublesome part of fighting a Giant in the wild.

And so, the six of them moved to join the Recruits.

Colin noticed a few familiar faces among the Recruits. He felt like he’d seen them somewhere before… ‘Aren’t these the villagers from Piotrawin?’

The men all wore expressions of despair.

Colin turned his head to look at the Hill Giants. This was the first time he had encountered living Giants in the wild.

The Hill Giants were hideous. The proportions of their facial features were bizarre, and just looking at them was unsettling.

Their bodies were roughly inverted triangles, with limbs that grew thicker at the ends. Their bellies bulged, as if infested with parasites.

Besides the pouches at their waists, each of the Hill Giants had a huge sack at their feet. Inside, living creatures were struggling.

A satchel filled with head-sized stones hung from their waists, and the wooden stick in one Giant’s hand was practically the size of a small tree. No wonder it had been able to bloody the Warhorse’s head with a single blow.

The two Hill Giants on the flanks held stones at the ready, keeping their Dire Wolves in check while staring down the mortals.

The Hill Giant in the center bent down slightly and spoke. “Little ones, give food same size as little ones, then go.”

“No give, we eat little ones,” another Hill Giant added, wiping drool from its mouth with the back of its hand.

Up close, Colin could feel how penetrating the Giants’ voices were. When they spoke, he felt his own organs vibrate in his chest.

He spoke up. “Why do you want so much food?”

“Boss wants,” a Hill Giant said.

“And why does your boss need so much food?”

“Eat!”

“Then why does he have to eat so much? I thought the Hill Giants always lived in the Witch’s Hammer Mountain Range. Why come out here to forage?”

“Boss eats… a lot.” The Hill Giant was getting annoyed. “Hurry! Give!”

“Alright, I’ll give it to you right now,” Colin said with a sigh.

‘As expected, I can’t get any useful information out of these Giants. It seems their brains are already working overtime just to control bodies this large, leaving no room for thought or memory.’

Colin used [Misty Step].

A silver mist enveloped him, teleporting him ten meters forward to appear directly in front of the Giants.

He reached for his waist and drew [Burning Blood], lightly running his palm along the blade.

The sharp edge drew a line of blood, and the blade absorbed every last drop.

The Recruits behind them were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

No one had expected Colin, who had just surrendered so meekly, to suddenly attack.