Chapter 663

When Su-ho spread out his senses, the terrain of Apophis was drawn in his mind with him at its center.

Among them, one individual was rapidly closing the distance toward Su-ho.

It was the one detected by Giant Sense.

Su-ho stood still and waited for him to approach.

The thudding sound drawing closer gradually grew louder, and before long, what appeared was a muscular man with a fairly solid build and barely any clothes on, reminiscent of Tarzan.

The man covered his lower body with something resembling a leather cloak, and his long hair and enormous spear were impressive.

His appearance was not much different from that of an ordinary person.

“Found you!”

The man laughed loudly after discovering Su-ho.

At the same time, the way he stuck out his tongue and swept it across his entire lips created a distinctly primal unpleasantness.

Su-ho immediately created a Blood Sword and grasped it as well.

Then the man introduced himself.

“My name is Balukan! I am a giant from Nelvaf, the homeland of great warriors!”

The one who introduced himself as Balukan was extremely excited for some reason.

Balukan pointed the primitively designed spearhead at Su-ho and spoke.

“Good to meet you! You’re that famous fake giant!”

“Fake giant?”

“Yes, fake giant! I heard that even though you aren’t a real giant, you’ve been pretending to be one!”

“Me?”

“Yes, you! It’s true, isn’t it!”

What was he talking about now?

Pretending to be a fake giant?

“Explain it so I can understand. Why am I pretending to be a fake giant?”

“Why else! Because you’re a fake who became a giant through the power of the System!”

“Ah?”

So that was what he was talking about?

By that standard, he really was a fake giant.

From Balukan’s perspective, Su-ho was an artificial giant created by the System rather than a pureblood.

“So?”

So what?

Whether he was real or fake, he had inherited a giant’s bloodline according to the System.

And he had acquired the qualifications and had been acknowledged by both Seolmundae Halmang and Cronos.

Was that not enough?

At Su-ho’s question, Balukan chuckled.

“You really are shameless! That’s why I couldn’t stand it! How could I simply pass by when there was a fake giant near me! Prepare yourself! I’ll be the one to take you down!”

At that moment.

Whoosh!!

Balukan’s spear flew toward Su-ho’s face.

Tremendous speed.

In an instant, he threw the spear at Su-ho at such tremendous speed that it could not even be followed with the eyes.

Clang!!

However, his spear did not reach Su-ho.

It was because of the Protective Holy Art that was constantly active.

Su-ho immediately drew his sword and unleashed it.

Slice!

The high-level quick-draw sword technique was swung like the crack of a whip.

A sharp cutting sound rang out, and at the same time, Balukan’s head fell downward while his smiling expression remained unchanged, and he died.

Before long, the dead Balukan’s body and head crumbled into black fragments and disappeared.

‘It seems they vanish like that when they die.’

Still, a fake giant.

Su-ho had never seen Balukan before.

Yet Balukan knew Su-ho.

He had even revealed his hatred while calling him a fake giant.

The conversation he had shared with Seolmundae Halmang suddenly came to mind.

Seolmundae Halmang had said that she had foreseen that Su-ho would soon arrive and that the giants had come to Apophis at the appropriate time.

“Ah.”

The sound escaped his mouth.

I see.

There is no one among those gathered in Apophis who does not know me.

And judging by how even Balukan, who looked like a barbarian warrior, acted, most of them probably did not have a favorable impression of him.

“Hatred everywhere I go.”

New Blood.

Put positively, it meant new blood. Put negatively, it meant nothing more than a mongrel.

It was not something he had obtained because he wanted it.

It was merely a right granted to him by the System like a reward.

Therefore, even if everyone treated him like some mongrel mixed-blood freak, at the very least, Su-ho himself did not think of himself that way.

He was not a fake.

He was a single genuine existence created from a mixture of genuine things.

That was why he decided to change his strategy.

If they were going to hate and despise him anyway, then he would give them a reason worthy of that hatred.

Su-ho slightly raised his foot and kicked off the ground.

Then various skill effects surged around and enveloped Su-ho.

Next, Su-ho lifted his body slightly into the air and spread out his senses.

[ Giant Sense is activated. ]

As the range of his senses expanded, the detection range of Giant Sense also widened.

Various First Giants could be felt throughout Apophis, which unfolded inside his mind.

Su-ho flew at high speed toward the ones closest to him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He flew silently and approached at high speed.

By the time he drew close to them, loud explosions could be heard.

The ones who had encountered each other first were fighting.

Without slowing down, Su-ho approached them.

Then the gazes of the two who sensed Su-ho’s presence shifted toward him.

However, by then, it was already too late.

[ Line is activated. ]

Slice!

The moment their gazes reached Su-ho, he used Line to instantly increase his speed and passed between them.

At the same time, a cutting sound rang out, and a beat later, the giants’ heads fell as blood sprayed out.

The sprayed blood soaked the floor of the ruined city, but it soon burned black and disappeared.

After confirming their deaths, Su-ho immediately moved toward the location of the next giants.

999 people.

It seemed he could reach that number quickly.

***

A considerable amount of time passed.

Su-ho cut down every giant he encountered.

From time to time, those with good senses noticed Su-ho’s approach and blocked his first attack, but that was all.

Among the giants who blocked his surprise attack, there was not a single one who did not know Su-ho, and not a single one who did not hate him.

“You!”

“Oh! So you’re that fake giant!”

“Ha ha! I finally get to see that famous fake bastard!”

That damned talk about him being fake.

He had heard it until his ears were callused.

So, because he no longer wanted to hear it, he treated them all equally by putting a blade through their bodies.

There was no one difficult to deal with.

Judging only by the presence he sensed, every one of them was an excellent warrior, but there was only one reason they lost.

Su-ho was far stronger.

Su-ho flew around like a street cleaner and cut down every giant he saw.

Honestly, it was ridiculously easy.

This was supposed to be the Giant King Tournament?

He had been needlessly intimidated by the scale of the numbers and the reputation attached to the name.

That was when it happened.

Boom!!

A powerful impact.

His vision darkened, everything before his eyes went black, and an enormous impact struck directly in front of him.

The reason he said it struck in front of his eyes was because something unknown had literally struck the Protective Holy Art spread out before his face.

Su-ho immediately retreated.

Then this time, something ambushed Su-ho from behind.

Boom!

Of course, this time as well, it failed to penetrate the Protective Holy Art.

What was it?

Where was the surprise attack coming from?

He spread out his senses more sharply.

At that moment, he felt a cold killing intent, and when he turned his head toward the direction it came from, he saw a man looking down at him with his arms crossed from a point so high in the air that Su-ho had to tilt his head far upward.

He was a man with brown skin that looked tanned, short gray hair, and priestly robes of the kind monks might wear.

The man slightly tilted his head and wore a dry, puzzled expression.

It was an expression that seemed to ask, Why isn’t he dead?

Su-ho narrowed his eyes as well.

He did not deliberately speak to him.

The man had tried to kill him anyway.

He had not called Su-ho a fake giant, but regardless, he probably did not view Su-ho favorably.

Then what would be the point of exchanging names?

Instead of greeting him, Su-ho swung his sword.

[ Sky Slash is activated. ]

Whoosh!

A sharp sound of wind being cut.

It shot forward like a bitter winter wind and swept past the man in an instant.

At that moment, the area surrounding the man’s body flashed brightly with white light.

A dense concentration of mana.

It was a barrier.

“Interesting.”

Su-ho smiled coldly and rested the sword on his shoulder. Then he flew high into the air and brought himself level with the man’s eyes.

The man still said nothing.

Instead, this time, he began to emit pitch-black, ink-colored energy around his body like an aura.

It was not a murky energy.

If it had been demonic power, Su-ho would have noticed it long ago.

At that moment, something long and black shot out like an arrow from the ink-colored energy and ambushed Su-ho once again.

Boom!

However, this time too, the man’s surprise attack was blocked by the Protective Holy Art.

The man’s attack, extended like a fist, had aimed precisely at Su-ho’s face.

Looking at the thing obstructing his vision, Su-ho spoke.

“Move.”

Bang!!

Along with a notification announcing that Dragon Speech had activated, the thing expanded, exploded, and disappeared.

It was his first time using Dragon Speech.

But Su-ho nodded in satisfaction because it was even more convenient than he had expected.

At that moment, the man who had remained silent the entire time spoke.

“Word magic?”

Word magic?

After even launching a surprise attack, was that all he had to say?

His dry and rigid gaze somehow appeared faintly crazed, but was that merely Su-ho’s imagination?

Even so, Su-ho answered him.

“Yeah. More precisely, Dragon Speech.”

“It has been a long time since I saw it.”

“You’ve seen Dragon Speech before?”

“A long time ago. I can no longer see it now.”

“Why?”

“Because I killed all the dragons.”

“Ah?”

What a brutal answer.

But it did not sound like a joke.

His expression itself was extremely serious.

Still, it was refreshing.

Every other person Su-ho had met had immediately begun provoking him by calling him a fake giant, but this man did not appear to be that kind of person.

So, out of curiosity, Su-ho initiated some small talk first.

“You’re a little unusual.”

“Why am I unusual?”

“Usually, the moment they see me, they’re busy mocking me by calling me a fake giant or something, but you haven’t said anything like that.”

“A fake giant.......”

For a while, the man rolled the words fake giant around in his mouth.

Then, for the first time, a smile appeared on his lips.

“Those are amusing words.”

“What is amusing about them?”

“Of course it is amusing when fakes discuss who among them is fake.”

“Fakes? What do you mean by that?”

“What else could I mean?”

The man raised his arm.

Then a large book slowly appeared beside him.

“I mean that everyone in Apophis other than me is a fake. Because I alone have inherited the true primordial blood.”

The moment the man answered, the summoned book opened wide and began rapidly turning its pages.

At the same time, the ink-colored energy wavering around him began to surge violently.

“Do not worry. I am the only genuine one in Apophis. So do not become angry at what the others say.”

Booooom!!

A massive explosion.

Along with it, ink-colored attacks began rushing toward Su-ho from every direction.