Chapter 437 The Squeeze

"That beast ended our hibernation ahead of schedule, plunging our fortress’s supplies into a crisis. The metal-forged Bulwark of Revival didn’t just keep the Spore People out—it also trapped us inside. Our food was limited, and we couldn’t draw endless resources directly from the earth."

"Faced with this dilemma, caught between starving to death and fighting the Spore People, my subjects chose the latter. They took a risk and connected the containers storing our nutrients to the outside world, attempting to acquire more sustenance so they could enter hibernation once more."

"But this was exactly what that traitor had hoped to see. He knew they had no other choice."

Ron interrupted the Giant King’s tale. "Wait, you said ’they’? Where were you at the time?"

"I was in my Hibernation Pod," the gray-green giant said, his eyes dimming. "That traitor was very cunning. He staggered the wake-up times for the different classes of my people. The first to awaken were the lowest class—our artisans and farmers. To survive, they had no choice but to resort to the most dangerous method. By the time I opened my eyes in my pod, it was already too late."

"The Red Mould and its minions invaded through the supply lines, slaughtering my people! When I awoke, all I could see were the vile faces of those detestable Thorny Beasts and Spore People!"

"I fought back with all my might, but the most I could do was protect their bodies from being devoured. Still, that was enough to make those Spore People afraid to look upon my divine might! Only a single Thorny Beast as massive as I am fought me to the death. And that was how I met my end."

The Giant King fell silent. He stared into Ron’s eyes, only to find that the man still seemed somewhat unsatisfied.

"Traveler, is there anything else you wish to know?" Nu Hava asked. "I was the last to awaken, so there may be some details I cannot answer... Perhaps you can go to the lowest level. You might find the answers you seek there."

"I’ll look for those myself," Ron said with a nod. "But there’s one thing you should be able to answer: what’s the deal with the marks on your head?"

Ron pointed to the top of the Giant King’s head. There were three marks identical to the ones outside, which seemed to indicate they had been branded there before he died.

"The marks... Ah, yes. They were a gift from our Deities. Just as I was about to fall, these marks appeared on my head and helped me kill that monster." Nu Hava touched his own head.

"But I suppose a gift from the Deities doesn’t come cheap. These marks gave me immense power, but they also killed me in the end... I think."

Nu Hava was not a true Priest or Mage, so he firmly believed his own judgment. But in Ron’s view, this explanation was full of holes.

"A gift from your Deities? Then I wonder if you noticed that the Thorny Beast also had one on its head?"

"It did?" The Giant King blinked. "No, that’s impossible. It’s just a beast. Why would the Deities bless it?"

"Then let me ask another question: are you sure *you* were the one who killed that Thorny Beast in the end?"

"Of course. No, it’s hard to say." Nu Hava nodded instinctively, but he soon realized there seemed to be a problem with his own memory. "No, that’s not right. Did it kill me first? That’s not right either..."

The giant squatted down, seemingly racking his brain over the question, but he came up with nothing. At the same time, Ron discovered that the space around them was actually shrinking, its boundaries pressing in on them!

"What are you doing?!" Ron reached out to shove him, trying to get a reaction and an explanation, but an invisible Force Field pushed him away, preventing him from touching the Giant King at all!

And as the giant became lost in his tangled thoughts, the space began to contract even more rapidly!

Ron realized that if he didn’t find a way out, he would likely be crushed to pieces. ’Is this some kind of self-preservation mechanism on the giant? But he’s already dead!’

There was no time for further thought. Ron once again began trying to alter his own Magic structure, hoping to find a way out. Given enough time, he could certainly accomplish this task, but watching the barriers press in from all sides, Ron figured he probably didn’t have that much time.

But thankfully, he wasn’t alone. He never was.

Like a drowning man being pulled to dry land, a large hand suddenly appeared behind Ron and yanked him backward. As he was pulled across a distinct boundary, Ron felt his stomach, lungs, and brain empty all at once. When he came to his senses, his feet were once again standing on top of the Giant King’s head!

"Ron! Are you all right?"

The one who had pulled him from that desperate situation was Aive. The Half-Elf was now anxiously patting Ron all over, checking to see if he was still in one piece.

"I’m... okay," Ron swayed slightly. After escaping that severely distorted world, his whole body felt indescribably off. Fortunately, Victoria was a reliable Priest. As a beam of golden light enveloped him, Ron finally let out a long sigh and fully recovered. "Thanks. Much better now."

There was a foul, coppery taste in his mouth. Ron grabbed his waterskin, rinsed his mouth, and spat, only to see a substance similar to the sludge inside the giant’s brain.

"What just happened to me?"

"You were pushing your luck at the edge, and then you fell in," Sera said, crossing her arms. She frowned as she sized Ron up, as if seeing him for the first time. "Why would you do something like that? If we’d pulled you out a second later, you might have actually drowned in there!"

"Were there any crawlers or other ambushers in there? We might not have even been able to recover your body!"

"I... I’m sorry." Ron glanced at the bizarre "brain-hole," still shaken. "Just now, it didn’t feel like I was the one walking. I just wanted to get a closer look."

"Still, jumping in was a bit reckless."

"Reckless? I don’t think so." Jilannis’s lake-blue eyes seemed to see right through Ron. "Being reckless implies that you made the decision yourself."

"Just now, an unusually strong Spiritual Power was luring you, pulling you in. Do you remember any of it?"

"Or let me ask a different question: After you went down there, what did you see?"