Chapter 673

[ The victorious leader is ‘An Su-ho.’ ]

[ Please select the faction you wish to preserve. ]

A selection window appeared before his eyes.

Naturally, he selected his original faction, the one Ruin belonged to.

[ The leader has selected the surviving faction. ]

[ All members of the selected faction will survive. ]

[ All members of the faction that was not selected will be eliminated. ]

“Eliminated?”

“Uh?”

“How?”

At that moment.

Swish!

Along with the notification that they had been eliminated, the remaining giants who had barely survived vanished without a trace in an instant.

They did not die by exploding or anything like that. They simply disappeared in an instant, exactly as the words implied.

[ The trial has ended. ]

At the same time, the trial ended.

Jack approached and spoke.

- You handled that splendidly, Master.

“It was a decent strategy, wasn’t it?”

- I believe it was the most rational one. Just as you said, Master, we could not conduct a pointless experiment using the lives of our own people.

That was exactly right.

He could not conduct such an experiment using the lives of his own people.

Of course, that did not mean their lives were not precious either.

That was why, at first, he had considered giving them a chance.

He had considered telling them that they had never even spoken to him once and had merely been enthralled by Graul, so he would give them a chance even now.

But he soon abandoned the idea.

That method was certainly merciful and could have allowed him to gain more people, but from another perspective, because their lives were being held hostage, there was a high chance that all of them would submit regardless of their true feelings.

‘If more than half of them submit, I’ll have to choose people from among those who submitted and kill them anyway.’

That was why he had simply killed them immediately.

If he had to kill people from among them anyway, he could use this opportunity to make an example of them and show the cold and decisive side of their new king.

Soon, Ruin and Uven approached and offered their congratulations.

“Congratulations, Commander. You passed this trial wisely and intelligently once again.”

“I think it was a brilliant strategy.”

Their eyes were filled with trust.

It was because through this trial, they had learned that Su-ho would protect his own people without abandoning them until the very end.

“I’m glad the gamble worked. No one died or was injured, right?”

“Everyone is safe thanks to your protection, Commander.”

“That’s a relief.”

[ Information about the next trial will now be provided. ]

[ Voting for the next trial will now begin. ]

A system notification.

It concerned the next trial.

But another vote?

Everyone raised their heads and frowned.

[ Only one giant may participate in the next trial. ]

[ All giants who are not selected will be eliminated and returned to their original locations. ]

[ Voting will end after one day. It will end early if everyone casts their vote. Revoting is also not permitted. ]

[ Voting will now begin. ]

The full voting conditions were revealed.

But this time, the conditions were strict.

Everyone except the single person elected would be eliminated.

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

At the same time, he understood.

‘So this is why they made us fight a faction battle first.’

And why they had exchanged the factions.

There had been an intention behind everything.

The Giant King Competition was a place where the Giant King was selected, and the remaining giants were destined to have no choice but to pledge loyalty to the Giant King.

Then would it not be better if they were people who would serve him with all their hearts?

The Giant King Competition was not a simple competition where giants competed against one another, but a place that distinguished those who were truly worthy.

Was that why?

Everyone wore similar expressions.

Ruin spoke.

“It seems this is as far as we go. Please make sure you become king.”

Uven also spoke.

“Thank you for bringing us this far without letting us be killed. I sincerely hope you become king.”

Starting with them.

“Thank you!”

“You can do it!”

“I knew from the beginning that it would be you!”

“Now I can let go of my worries and wait in peace.”

“You have to be the one who goes, right?”

“My king!”

Su-ho’s giants each offered him words of encouragement.

A chuckle escaped him.

Was it because only Su-ho’s giants remained?

Not a single person among those who remained coveted the sole position.

Su-ho had no intention of pretending to be humble either.

“Yeah, thank you, everyone. I’ll make sure I live up to your expectations.”

After exchanging greetings for a while, the voting began.

The vote ended quickly.

After all, it was a vote whose answer had already been decided.

[ Voting has ended. ]

[ The results will be announced. ]

[ Out of a total of 226 votes, candidate An Su-ho received 226 votes and has been elected as the giant who will challenge the next trial. ]

[ Congratulations. ]

[ Those who were not selected will be returned as scheduled. ]

A return notification.

The bodies of the 225 people, excluding Su-ho from the total of 226, began to glow white.

“We’ll be going.”

“We’re leaving.”

“I’m off.”

“Do well.”

“Good luck!”

Countless words of encouragement.

And with a flash! everyone disappeared.

Now, the only person remaining in Apophis was Su-ho.

Perhaps the true Giant King Competition was only beginning now.

[ As voting has ended, the next trial will begin. ]

[ You will be moved to a special trial ground for the sole challenger. ]

A movement notification.

His vision changed, and when he opened his eyes again, what he saw was a blazing sun and an endless expanse of sand...... in other words, a desert.

[ A special rune will be provided for the sole challenger. ]

[ Please use the rune immediately. ]

A single jewel-shaped rune appeared before his eyes.

He picked it up and checked its information.

[ Rune of the Giant ]

# A special giant rune provided by Apophis, the Election Territory, for the sole challenger.

A single line of information.

It was not very helpful.

When he clenched the rune tightly, it was immediately used and absorbed.

[ You have absorbed the special Rune of the Giant. ]

[ From this moment onward, fully absorb the Rune of the Giant and survive in the trial ground using only your own strength. ]

[ The use of all other powers will be restricted during this period. ]

[ The trial will end after three days. ]

Three days?

At that moment.

Thump!

His heart began to pound violently.

At the same time, his entire body grew red-hot, and tremendous pain assaulted him. ℴ

“Ghhh!”

It was tremendous pain, the likes of which he had not felt in a long time.

He instinctively tried to use recovery magic, but it did not activate.

Because the system had already restricted it.

Damn it.

A curse burst from his mouth.

Only after realizing that all his powers had been restricted did he begin to feel things throughout his entire body that he had not paid attention to before.

For example, the blazing sun and the desert environment.

The scorching sunlight of the trial ground descended upon his head like a weapon.

Calling it hot was not enough.

A sandstorm blew.

It was the air of the desert.

It peeled away his skin like blades, and the sand beneath him burned the soles of his feet like a griddle.

The absorbed rune was like a living insect.

Like a parasite.

It had clearly been absorbed in the form of light, yet every time the rune wriggled inside his body, the pain rising through his entire body burrowed even into his organs.

At first, it felt like an electric current, and then it became torture that seized and twisted his bones.

His heart pounded against his chest like a maddened beast, trying to burst out.

“Ghhhh......!”

Even breathing in was painful.

This must have been what people meant when they said their blood was boiling.

Every blood vessel in his body swelled like molten iron inside a furnace, and a pulse like the beating of drums echoed inside his head.

His consciousness felt as though it would be blown halfway away, yet as if the pain were deliberately taunting him, moments of peace came intermittently.

Pain and pain and pain.

Agony and agony and agony.

Beneath the sun, Su-ho endured the first day while feeling the pain of his body slowly being cooked.

In truth, he had not endured it. Time had simply passed while he struggled desperately.

Eventually, as the sun began to set and it seemed the desert might finally grow calm, a sand dune rose high in the distance.

It was a sandworm.

Just as the ground was beginning to cool and the air was about to grow cold, a sandworm appeared.

Su-ho staggered to his feet.

His body still hurt.

But he stood.

Because the sandworm charging toward him with the ferocity of a freight truck would almost certainly devour him.

“You’re coming now...... Of all times, now.......”

Swallowing the pain that felt as though his body were being torn apart, he raised both fists.

He was angry.

Why did it have to come now?

Thanks to that, his anger became scorching survival energy.

The sandworm came.

It was close.

Just as the creature opened its maw to swallow Su-ho whole, Su-ho grabbed its gaping jaws with both hands and held them apart.

“Gieeeeeee!!”

A tremendous sound burst from its open mouth.

Saliva also dripped down.

It was unpleasant.

The excruciating pain throughout his body surged once again.

“Gwaaaaaah!!”

With a battle cry mixed with irritation and anger, he tore the sandworm apart.

The creature split into two sides and died while spraying bodily fluids.

Thump!

Another wave of excruciating pain surged through him.

He immediately collapsed and writhed on the ground.

By the time he had endured his fading consciousness, night arrived.

Night in the desert.

It was cold.

Not merely cold, but bitterly cold.

The chill burrowed into his bones, and a different kind of pain from the burning agony of midday assaulted him.

The sensation in his hands and feet rapidly froze, and every time he inhaled, his lungs stung as though they were made of ice.

“Ah, this is seriously driving me insane.......”

His heart once again lost its rhythm and pounded as though convulsing.

His blood boiled, then froze, and after freezing, boiled again.

Headaches crashed through him like lightning, and his consciousness flickered.

After enduring for a long time, another sandworm appeared.

He thought his body would not move, but somehow it moved again.

He created another fresh corpse beside him, then collapsed and trembled once more.

Frost formed across his face, and after he spent the night shivering, the sun finally began to rise again.

The cold lessened.

At the same time, only then did he begin adapting to this damned excruciating pain.

“Ugh.......”

He barely managed to sit up.

At first, all he could do was lie down and twist his body, but now he had finally adapted somewhat.

He sat upright and crossed his legs.

He knew from experience.

There were times when the process of struggling desperately against pain was necessary, but what hurt less than that was taking a specific posture and enduring through sheer mental strength.

This was exactly such a time.

After concentrating like that for a long while, the sun rose high into the sky once again.

Blazing heat.

But it was better than yesterday.

Proof that he had improved.

It was then.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

The sound of a heartbeat.

But it was not merely a sound.

Something inside his heart was beating out of rhythm.

He focused his mind.

Eventually, he was able to identify what it was.

It was the Rune of the Giant he had absorbed the day before.