Chapter 19: Giant

Pete is a goblin who likes to sit on his magic puppet.

Most goblins have this habit.

They always sit on something, looking down from above.

“Hey, Luo De, long time no see.”

In the Violet Tavern.

In the farthest booth.

Pete waved and shouted.

His magic puppet was handing him a cup of wine.

Goblins and dwarves are much the same—both are alcohol addicts.

Luo De ordered a glass of Stone Quartz Town’s specialty: Giant’s Wine.

Though countless wines across the continent claim to be Giant’s Wine, the owner of the Violet Tavern insists this one is the authentic version, stolen personally by him from a giant’s den.

Just like every other tavern selling Giant’s Wine.

“You know what, Luo De? Stone Quartz Town’s Giant’s Wine is the worst I’ve ever drunk.”

Luo De said nothing.

Giant’s Wine, full of impurities and changing flavor every time, has no merit except its strength—it’s the designated trash of Stone Quartz Town residents.

“But this is what real men drink!”

Pete suddenly shouted, raising his cup toward the other patrons.

Those drinking Giant’s Wine raised their cups in response; the bartender behind the counter even yelled he understood.

Others ignored him.

Clearly, this routine happened often in the tavern.

“Coward.”

Pete muttered under his breath.

“By the way, Luo De, where’s your succubus?”

“The Artisans’ Guild? I don’t know. She has her own hobbies—I rarely interfere.”

Pete grinned wickedly.

“Amazing, Luo De—you can keep a succubus all by yourself? Do you have some secret pill for that?”

“I can only say it’s pure personal ability.”

“Don’t joke. Even a ninth-rank human warrior can’t sustain a succubus alone. Tell me the formula—I’ll sell it for you, fifty-fifty split.”

Indeed.

In this regard, humans often lose.

Spiritual growth enhances the body and benefits this aspect too.

But humans have an innate limitation: spirituality affects this area only minimally, barely enough to break through.

Yet Luo De can sustain a succubus.

He relies primarily on the [Second Heart].

In fact, Luo De might as well be a humanoid succubus.

“Did you get the item David mentioned?”

He stopped chatting with Pete.

“A treasure with affinity for fire and poison? Of course it’s expensive.”

Pete narrowed his eyes, scanning him up and down.

As if to say, “You’re just a forest warden—how much money could you have?”

Pala—

Luo De tossed a small cloth bag onto the table; it clinked tightly with metallic sounds.

Pete leaned over, eyes instantly brightening.

The magic puppet opened its abdomen and pulled out a spell pouch.

“Fire Dragon Scales, Witch Poison Talismans, Hydra molts, Fire Lizard hearts—all high-quality items. Only I can get goods this good.”

Luo De sold all the gifts Isabel had sent him.

Let’s be honest—the Argyle family is truly wealthy.

He got 1,700 Gold Along in total.

Good heavens—Luo De had never seen so many Gold Along before; his eyes nearly glazed over.

As soon as he got the money, he planned to spend some on the treasure entrusted by Scorpion Woman Hera.

A ninth-rank ally—he was determined to cling to her tightly.

“I’ll give you a discount: five hundred Gold Along.”

Compared to high-rank spiritual arts, it’s still cheap.

He bought it immediately.

“I’ll throw in one more piece of information.”

Pete counted the Gold Along as he spoke: “The Congress rejected the Argyle family’s complaint against the Yigo Cult, claiming Father Owen had already been dismissed and was never an official Yigo priest—everything was his personal action.”

Luo De frowned.

They dismissed it so casually?

He’d expected the Argyle family to strike back, at least to tie them up.

He began to suspect whether the entire Congress had already been infiltrated.

The two chatted a while longer.

Ting-ting—

The tavern door opened, jangling the brass bell above.

A burly human entered, leading a dog-headed man.

The dog-headed man had black-and-white fur, his round eyes staring left and right as if each had its own thoughts.

“Two glasses of Giant’s Wine!”

The dog-headed man strode in and sat down in the booth.

“Coming right up!”

The bartender immediately brought two large cups.

Luo De watched them.

“What a coincidence.”

Their spiritual accumulation was weak.

The human was at most fifth-rank; the dog-headed man was at peak third-rank.

“You know them? Hah, that dog-headed man looks so stupid.” Pete sneered.

“I don’t know them—but I will soon.”

He was about to stand up.

Then the dog-headed man spat out his wine with a loud “Puh!”

“What the hell is this?! Giant’s Wine? Tastes worse than my grandfather’s three-year-old urine!”

Everyone turned to stare.

Many who had been drinking Giant’s Wine now looked annoyed.

Pete cursed under his breath.

The human across from the dog-headed man tapped the table, signaling him to calm down.

“Brother Wally, don’t rush! Let me handle this. Damn it, this backwater town is trying to fool people with this garbage.”

The dog-headed man angrily smashed his cup to pieces.

“Where’s the boss! Boss, come out!!”

Luo De pushed open the window and asked a passing girl to summon the constable, offering five Copper Along as reward.

The Violet Tavern’s owner was a muscular giant of a man.

His spiritual energy was only first-rank—he clearly wasn’t a cultivator.

He emerged from behind the bar with a grim face.

“I’m the boss.”

“What’s wrong with this wine? Did you add piss? Did you scoop it from the street gutter?!”

“Foreigner, mind your tongue. This is the most authentic Giant’s Wine on the entire continent.”

Watching the escalating argument,

Luo De asked: “Have you heard of the Ruins Brotherhood?”

“Of course.”

Pete tossed a mule lotus seed into his mouth—a product of his own body, crunchy and fragrant when crushed.

A lowly organization of shameless exiles clinging together—no honor, no bottom line, seventy percent of the continent’s dirty work is done by them.

He said: “Rumors even claim the Ruins Brotherhood interfered in the defeat of the Kingdom of Aitheron against the Heavenly Flower Kingdom.”

“They don’t seem capable of such things.”

Pete shook his head: “Sometimes the lower and more base a person is, the more they can influence the outcome.”

The verbal brawl on that side escalated gradually.

People had already begun shoving and yelling.

The patrons were all eager for trouble, and some had even started placing bets on the outcome.

Wally was shoved aside, his brow tightly furrowed.

“Come on!” the boss shouted.

“Come on!” the dog-headed man echoed.

“No spiritual arts—pure physical strength! Dare you?!”

“What do I dare not? What good is your size?!”

“Skinny dog!”

“Fat pig!”

The boss suddenly struck, his massive fist descending.

His movement was far faster than a first-rank cultivator’s.

The dog-headed man didn’t even react—he took the punch, stiffened completely, and collapsed straight to the ground.

The crowd roared with cheers.

Wally’s face changed; he rushed forward at once.

A layer of spiritual aura flared to life, enveloping his entire body.

The boss threw another punch.

The aura membrane shattered instantly; Wally flew backward, his upper body crashing into the bar counter, his rear end sticking up, limp and motionless.

“Woooooo!!!”

“Boss!!!”

The crowd cheered again.

Luo De stared, dumbfounded.

The human boss, who outwardly showed only first-rank spiritual accumulation, had casually punched through a fifth-rank opponent.

What a den of hidden dragons and tigers!

(End of Chapter)