Chapter 101: Abnormal Reproduction, Diamond Giant

Tarcon’s steps were heavy and steady, his granite body crushing through shrubs as he strode forward in a furious run, with no vegetation able to hinder his pace, moving with great speed.

But this also left a clear trail behind him in the wilderness.

Beneath the cover of night, Garos silently followed the stone giant, his scales taking on a dull gray hue under the moonlight, blending with the clouds, even the sound of his wingbeats deliberately suppressed, utterly silent.

Flight gave dragonkind a Detianduhou advantage over giants.

The stone giant’s perception was not keen, and Garos concealed himself well, moving at a calm, unhurried pace, never once detected.

Thus it went.

The giant walked the earth, the dragon soared the sky.

Time gradually passed.

After roughly five hours, the sky took on a hazy gray-blue dawn hue.

The terrain ahead began to change; jagged hills gave way to flat, massive stones, and the air carried a strange odor of minerals mixed with sulfur.

The full sight of the stone giant encampment gradually unfolded before Garos.

It was a semi-open encampment built against a mountain, its outer perimeter formed by rough basalt blocks stacked into a circular wall, inside stood a cluster of primitive stone huts, each built by layering massive rocks in an ancient style; both the wall and the huts were exceptionally grand and colossal, unmistakably the work of giant beings.

His gaze quietly swept over the stone giants.

Garos’s eyes were drawn to the structure at the center of the encampment.

It was a circular depression about twenty meters in diameter, filled with a gray substance that, at first glance, resembled stone—but occasional ripples proved it was liquid.

“This thing is… a Geomantic Symbiosis Pool?!”

Garos pondered silently.

Stone giants do not reproduce through normal biological means.

They first select suitable geomantic nodes, construct a Geomantic Symbiosis Pool, then, through special methods, choose ores possessing “spirit,” carve them into crude humanoid forms, and place these forms within the pool.

As the crude forms soak in the pool, the liquid mineral essence and energy gradually seep into them, with a chance of awakening consciousness.

If they fail, they become part of the mineral essence.

Those that awaken consciousness crawl from the pool, devour portions of elder stone giants’ bodies, thereby gaining basic cognition of the world and racial identity, becoming newborn stone giants.

Due to differences in the crude forms and the carving techniques.

Each stone giant has a unique appearance and physique, differing in bodily texture, with vast individual disparities.

The weak, formed from ordinary stone, are inferior even to the White Dragon.

But those stone giants born from special ores and awakened possess astonishing talents—though the rarer and more exceptional the ore, the lower the probability of awakening.

Garos noticed.

Several young stone giants were carving rocks.

They were not carving small, growing humanoid crude forms, but massive, rugged statues no smaller than themselves—and the Geomantic Symbiosis Pool already held several such stone sculptures.

These were Stone Guardians.

Stone giants are a race that reveres deities; they can create Stone Guardians, who sacrifice their intellect and longevity to rapidly grow into weapons defending their clan.

Not only stone giants, but also Stone Guardians.

Outside the encampment, groups of rock lizards, pangolins, and other demonic familiars were present.

“A sizable force, but not a large one.”

So far, Garos had seen no more adult stone giants.

Meanwhile.

As Tarcon reached the edge of the encampment.

A particularly massive stone giant emerged from the largest stone hut.

He stood fifteen meters tall, like a small mountain, his body composed of crystalline material, its texture and pattern utterly unlike Tarcon’s, as if forged from diamond, radiating an unbreakable strength.

This stone giant instantly captured Garos’s attention, sending a chill through him.

“A stone giant elder—or a Diamond Giant? Tricky.”

There was already one Diamond Giant elder among the vanguard forces; Garos could not imagine how powerful and numerous the main army would be.

This made him sense a deeper danger.

Yet as he gazed down at the giant encampment, Garos felt something was off—but he couldn’t pinpoint it yet.

He held his breath, stifling all sound, continuing to observe and scout the stone giant encampment.

On the ground, the stone giant Tarcon knelt on one knee.

He cast a spell, his eyes faintly glowing, projecting a memory image.

Karu’s stubborn expression, the corpulent ogre warriors, multiple sorcerers—all were rendered in meticulous detail.

Tarcon’s stony face cracked.

This was how stone giants expressed anger.

He rumbled: “That filthy, lowly tribe of ogres wants you to go personally.”

The Diamond Giant elder showed no anger.

His massive body remained motionless, his eyes filled with wise, contemplative thought.

“That gluttonous demon is clever. Good—it means he’s worth subduing.”

The Diamond Giant elder spoke slowly.

His voice sounded like two diamonds grinding together, a dull hum that made the air tremble slightly.

He gestured for the granite giant to rise, then led him into the encampment, entering the largest stone hut to discuss matters concerning the Chewbone Clan.

In the sky.

Garos could not see the two strongest stone giants.

He narrowed his eyes, counted the number of stone huts in the encampment, then turned and left.

Not long after, a Level 9 mammoth beast lumbered forward with savage strides, its eyes still holding traces of fear and panic, charging toward the stone giant encampment.

The demonic familiars kept outside rushed to resist.

But due to the vast disparity in power, they could not stop the mammoth beast, causing great chaos.

More stone giants emerged from their huts.

The Diamond Giant elder shattered the ground, leaping high with his heavy, massive body, crossing hundreds of meters in a single bound, his diamond form like a cannonball, like a meteor, crashing directly onto the mammoth beast’s back, shattering bones and sinews, inflicting grave injury, then delivering one final punch, killing it cleanly.

After this minor disturbance.

The Diamond Giant elder returned to his hut, and his demonic familiars devoured the mammoth beast.

High in the clouds, Garos watched this scene.

The mammoth beast had been driven by him toward the stone giant encampment, to observe how they would respond.

Garos took a small sip of fairy scale powder; the world instantly turned warm-toned, his thoughts stirred, his mind racing at high speed.

He re-examined the details that had felt off but had eluded him.

“The Geomantic Symbiosis Pool is the core of a stone giant clan—normally found only in their rear base. It cannot be constructed by a vanguard force.”

“When a Level 9 beast intrudes, the elder intervenes directly, not the guards.”

“Here, I’ve seen only one adult granite giant, one mature Diamond Giant, three younglings, and a few insignificant juveniles.”

“A vanguard force sent to expand territory would never bring such burdens.”

Garos narrowed his eyes, realizing this stone giant force was strange.

Expanding clan territory?

No—their age distribution was uneven. They looked more like refugees, seeking to settle here permanently; the claim of expansion was merely deception to fool the ogres.

Surrender his territory to them?

That was unacceptable.

A single Diamond Giant elder was not enough to make Garos abandon his hard-won domain and flee.

If he faced the Diamond Giant elder.

The risk existed—and it was significant.

This was a powerful stone giant, not to be underestimated.

But compared to the consequences of abandoning his territory, Garos weighed carefully and judged he could bear this risk.

Fighting the Diamond Giant might injure him, but with his speed and burst power, even if he lost, he could ensure he would not be killed.

“Three days from now—if he goes alone to the Chewbone Clan, that will be my best chance.”

Garos ascended into the sky, silently departing the stone giant encampment.

(End of Chapter)