novelraw Chapter 102: Abnormal Reproduction, The Diamond Stone Giant
Chapter 102: Abnormal Reproduction, The Diamond Stone Giant
Targon's footsteps were heavy yet steady, his granite body crushing through the shrubbery as he sprinted forward unimpeded—no vegetation could hinder his advance. His speed was remarkable.
However, this also left a conspicuous trail across the wilderness.
Under the cover of night, Garoth silently trailed the Stone Giant. His scaled armor took on a dull hue under the moonlight, blending seamlessly with the clouds. Even the sound of his wingbeats was deliberately suppressed, rendering him completely silent.
Flight granted dragons an innate advantage over giants.
Stone Giants weren't particularly perceptive, and Garoth concealed himself flawlessly—neither too hurried nor too slow—remaining undetected throughout.
And so it went.
One traversed the earth, while the other soared the skies.
Time passed gradually.
After roughly five hours, the dim gray-blue hues of dawn began to emerge.
The terrain ahead started to shift—jagged rocky hills gave way to smooth, massive boulders, while the air carried a peculiar scent of minerals mingled with sulfur.The full scope of the Stone Giant camp gradually unfolded before Garoth's eyes.
It was a semi-open camp built against a mountainside, its perimeter encircled by rough basalt blocks stacked into towering walls. Inside stood primitive stone houses constructed from layered rocks, their designs archaic yet imposing—clearly built for colossal beings.
Garoth's gaze swept past the Stone Giants before being drawn to the structure at the camp's center.
A circular pit approximately twenty meters in diameter, filled with a gray substance that resembled stone at first glance—yet occasional ripples betrayed its liquid nature.
*"Is this... a Geosymbiotic Pool?!"*
Garoth pondered silently.
Stone Giants didn't reproduce like ordinary creatures.
They first selected suitable leyline nodes to create Geosymbiotic Pools, then specially carved "spiritually attuned" ores into crude humanoid forms. These rough prototypes were then submerged in the pool.
Once immersed, the liquid mineral essence and energy within the pool would gradually seep into the prototype, with a chance of awakening its consciousness.
Failure meant becoming part of the mineral essence.
Those that succeeded would climb out and consume portions of elder Stone Giants' bodies, gaining basic world cognition and racial identity—thus becoming newborn Stone Giants.
Due to differences in prototypes and carvings, each Stone Giant's appearance, physique, and bodily composition varied significantly.
The weak ones, formed from ordinary stone, were inferior even to White Dragons.
But those crafted from special ores could possess astonishing talents—though the rarer and more exceptional the ore, the lower the awakening probability.
Garoth noticed several young Stone Giants carving rocks.
These weren't small, growing prototypes—they were crafting imposing figures nearly their own size. Moreover, the Geosymbiotic Pool already contained several such stone sculptures.
These were Colossus Sentinels.
Stone Giants were a race where every member worshipped deities. They could create Colossus Sentinels—beings that sacrificed intellect and longevity for rapid growth, becoming weapons to guard their clan.
Beyond Stone Giants and Colossus Sentinels, the camp's outskirts housed groups of magical beast subordinates—rock lizards, pangolin beasts, and others.
"Not insignificant, but not massive either."
So far, Garoth hadn't spotted more adult Stone Giants.
Meanwhile, as Targon reached the camp's edge—
An exceptionally burly Stone Giant emerged from the largest stone house.
Standing fifteen meters tall like a small mountain, its crystalline body—textured and patterned completely differently from Targon's—seemed forged from diamond, exuding an indestructible aura.
This Stone Giant instantly seized Garoth's attention, sending a chill down his spine.
*"A Stone Giant Elder... and a Diamond one at that. Troublesome."*
The vanguard already had a Diamond Stone Giant Elder. Garoth dreaded to imagine how formidable the main force would be.
This deepened his sense of peril.
Yet as he observed the giant camp below, something felt off—though he couldn't immediately pinpoint why.
Holding his breath, Garoth suppressed all movement, continuing his surveillance.
On the ground, Targon knelt on one knee.
Using magic, its eyes faintly glowed, projecting memory images—
Karu's obstinate sneer, the brawny ogre warriors, multiple sorcerers... all rendered with perfect clarity.
Cracks formed on Targon's stony face—a Stone Giant's expression of rage.
"It seems those filthy, lowly ogres demand your personal presence," it rumbled.
The Diamond Elder showed no anger.
Its massive frame remained motionless, eyes brimming with contemplative wisdom.
"That Gluttonous Ogre is clever. Good—that makes it more valuable to subjugate," the Diamond Elder intoned slowly.
Its voice resembled two diamonds grinding together—a deep, resonant hum that vibrated the very air.
Motioning for the Granite Stone Giant to rise, the Diamond Elder led it into the largest stone house for detailed discussions about the Bonegnaw Clan.
High above, Garoth could no longer see the two most powerful giants.
His eyes narrowed as he counted the stone houses before departing.
Soon after—
A Level 9 mammoth beast charged toward the Stone Giant camp from afar, its savage strides tinged with lingering terror.
The subordinate magical beasts stationed outside moved to intercept, but the disparity was too great. Chaos erupted as they failed to stop the mammoth.
More Stone Giants emerged from their dwellings.
The Diamond Elder shattered the ground as it leaped—its colossal form crossing hundreds of meters like a living cannonball before crashing onto the mammoth, breaking bones and crippling it instantly. A follow-up punch cleanly ended its life.
After this minor disturbance, the Diamond Elder returned while its subordinates dismembered the mammoth for food.
From the clouds, Garoth witnessed everything.
He'd driven the mammoth toward the camp to test the giants' response.
Taking a small sip of faerie dragon scale powder, the world seemed to warm in hue as his mind grew hyper-alert.
He reexamined the earlier unease he couldn't immediately place.
*"Geosymbiotic Pools are clan cores—always located at main bases. No vanguard would construct one."*
*"Against a Level 9 beast, the Elder acted directly instead of guards."*
*"Currently, I've only seen one adult Granite, one prime Diamond, three youths, and some negligible juveniles."*
*"A territorial vanguard wouldn't bring such deadweight."*
Garoth's eyes narrowed—this Stone Giant force was peculiar.
Expanding territory?
No. Their age distribution was irregular—more like refugees seeking to establish roots here. The territorial claim was likely just to intimidate the ogres.
Surrender his domain to them?
Unacceptable.
A single Diamond Elder wasn't enough to scare Garoth into abandoning his hard-earned territory.
Fighting it carried significant risk—but compared to the repercussions of retreat, he judged the gamble acceptable.
Against a Diamond Stone Giant, he might get injured—but his speed and explosive power ensured escape if overwhelmed.
*"If it goes alone to the Bonegnaw Clan in three days... that'll be my best opportunity."*
Garoth spiraled upward, leaving the Stone Giant camp as silently as he'd arrived.