Chapter 89: We might have a GIANT problem

Telah confirmed Kanan’s question with a nod, her serious expression telling him that she wasn’t joking around.

He wondered why they wished to join the Breeding Ceremony. It’s not like their people were the ones who were on the brink of destruction.

Scratch that, they were, but not in the same way the Nemean Tribe was. For generations, the Nemean Tribe lost its power and the strength to protect itself. It was only now that they were getting that strength back thanks to Kanan.

"Hmmm. I don’t know. The Ceremony didn’t really have a clause that said, ’The Typhon Tribe must be included in Breeding activities.’"

"Huh?"

"The Ceremony is meant to strengthen the future generation of the Nemean Tribe. Let’s say I do let your people participate, right? Your tribe might not gain anything from this. In comparison, our future children will be significantly more powerful than the previous generations."

"Oh, I see. This isn’t just a ceremony for repopulation."

"Exactly. It’s also a power-sharing ceremony. Your people don’t have blessings, but use the power of the spirits. We can still bring this issue up in the next council meeting if you wish, but I think the others would have the same thinking as I do."

"It’s okay. I understand. I wasn’t aware that the ceremony was literally meant to strengthen the next generation." Telah assumed it was meant to add to their numbers. After all, the more numbers a civilization had, the stronger they were.

By default, that is. A thousand idiots on a battlefield wouldn’t do shit to defend a village.

"Is there anything else you wish to talk about?"

"Yes, actually. Our young, I hope that we can work together in tra—"

BOOOOOOOOM ℴ

A deafening rumble suddenly shook the ground, catching everyone off guard. The sound was so violent that it felt as though something enormous had exploded nearby or slammed into the earth with unimaginable force. But that was only the beginning.

A barrage of ear-piercing screeches erupted moments later, echoing off the walls and reverberating throughout the village. The horrific cries seemed to come from everywhere at once, filling the air with a sense of dread as the ground continued to tremble beneath their feet.

Children began to cry, fear creeping up their bodies. A panic had set in, and people were screaming while running back to their homes.

"What in the world was that?" Telah had never heard anything like that in her life. She had come across plenty of monsters, but not one of them sounded like that.

"I don’t know, but that shockwave felt like it came from the southern gate. Something could have happened. Let’s go."

Telah and Kanan rushed over to the southern gate, stopping along the way to help those who had fallen, were too scared to move, or didn’t know where to go.

They soared through the skies, moving as fast as they could, the only thing in their line of sight being the top of the village walls.

"Hold on...w-what is that?"

As they drew closer, something came into their view, something big and monstrous. At first, Kanan thought that there was someone with an ability to grow to the size of a giant, but as he and Telah got even closer, he saw that he was completely off the mark.

"Holy shit!"

Telah was in awe. "I-Is that a monster? How can it be so big?!"

The monstrous beast bellowed that ear-piercing screech from earlier. It was so loud that everyone had to cover their ears, and those who didn’t were temporarily deafened, with blood coming out of their ears.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Warriors shouted, running away as the monster’s foot hovered over a group of warriors, crushing them to death with a single stomp.

It wasn’t just this giant monster that was a threat either. The usual hundreds of monsters still riddled the battlefield, walking over their own kind and attacking any person in sight.

"FLANK THAT GIANT! DON’T LET IT GET ANY CLOSER TO THE GATE!" Nala leapt into the air and summoned all of the power she could. Her palms faced the giant, then she twisted her hands, both arms overlapping.

The next instant, the giant was split in two by the space around it.

So much of her power was used in that one attack, the sheer scale of it draining her of most of the spirit energy she had. Nala was barely able to warp herself back to the ground safely.

The warriors of the Nemean Tribe were highly disciplined and well-trained. Not a single opportunity could slip past them, so when the giant fell, they all rushed in. "The giant is dead! Kill the rest!"

Everything was happening so fast, but Kanan was glad that the giant was killed relatively quickly. That was until he saw the giant start to put itself back together, vine-like tendrils reattaching themselves to the chopped-off parts of its body.

"What in the world..." Even Telah was flabbergasted at the display of high-speed regeneration.

And Kanan didn’t know that monsters had such an ability.

Nala cursed under her breath. She had used most of her power in that one attack and knew she didn’t have enough for a second unless she was willing to enter Spirit Energy Reflux.

Warriors didn’t stop attacking the monsters around them, even after seeing the giant start to regenerate. They knew that once the giant was up, they would be overwhelmed by the smaller monsters, so they sought to eliminate as many as they could before turning their attention to the giant.

One senior warrior who had fought in countless battles shouted at the top of his lungs for everyone to hear. "Someone go and inform the Chief about this monster! And call for reinforcements! We need as many people as we can get, or we’ll be overrun by these monsters!"

"YESSIR!"

Telah and Kanan had finally reached the top of the wall, everything moving so fast around them. Even with how elevated they were, they could tell that the giant stood taller than them on the wall.

"I’ll get the Typhon Warriors. If that giant breaches the wall, all of us are done for."

Kanan agreed. "While you’re at it, find Chief Solan and tell him that we’re in a state of Code Red."