novelraw Chapter 95: A Great Harvest, the Earth Giant Advances Again!
Chapter 95: A Great Harvest, the Earth Giant Advances Again!
[Noble-blooded Apostle, what will you do?]
[1. Mercifully spare the Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain. No matter what wrongs it has committed, it is still your bloodline descendant. A little betrayal is nothing, of course you forgive it.]
[2. Seeing your wayward descendant return to the fold, you feel gratified. You pat its big head and grant it the Chieftain’s Scepter of the Beastmen Giants. Perhaps it will then become your follower.]
[3. The hatred of having your bloodline power stolen burns within you. You grip the Chieftain’s Scepter of the Beastmen Giants and smash it on its skull. For such treachery, only blood can repay blood.]
The first option was the whole if you love it, forgive it thing. Automatically ignored.
The second option seemed off. The scepter was originally the Chieftain Boss’s item. Handing it back just to gain such a powerful Boss as a follower? That was too good to be true.
He thought back to when he had gotten that warhorse, a low-level mount, and even that had required extensive taming and the use of an item before it submitted.
As for the Three-Headed Lion, that had been even more of a headache. Completing that questline had been a dizzying ordeal, and obtaining that powerful summon usually required Apostles to give up the rest of their chapter progress as the price.
As Lin Xun pondered, the option text began to tremble.
[You hear the Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain lying prostrate on the ground panting anxiously…]Ha, getting impatient already? Trying to trick me into giving you back the weapon?
Lin Xun narrowed his eyes and decisively chose the third option, smashing its head in with one strike.
[You grip the Chieftain’s Scepter of the Beastmen Giants, muscles bulging all over your body. With a roar of fury, you slam the scepter down hard on the head of the Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain.]
[With a loud crash, blood splatters everywhere. It staggers, blood flowing down its head like a small stream.]
[The Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain lets out a furious roar and rises to its full towering height, charging at you…]
[You raise the scepter again and smash down on it…]
[Without its preferred weapon and suppressed by your superior bloodline power, it cannot even unleash half of its strength.]
[Beaten back and forth by your blows, it is soon covered in wounds.]
[The Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain roars, spreading its massive arms and swinging wildly. You understand its meaning. Though defeated, it is unwilling to concede and wants to grapple with you in a fair contest of strength.]
[For Earth Giants, they always relish testing their strength against enemies and love crushing foes with endless might.]
[Brave and fearless Apostle, do you want to toss aside your weapon and follow the Earth Giant tradition by wrestling it fair and square?]
Lin Xun raised an eyebrow and immediately pressed ‘No.’
The Beastmen Giants really had rocks for brains. Time to teach it a little lesson today about the new era.
[Your crimson eyes filled with disdain, you keep gripping the scepter and continue bashing it repeatedly…]
[With a final roar of unwillingness, your enemy’s bones shatter, and it slowly collapses to the ground…]
[You have defeated the Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain. Your experience points have massively increased.]
[Power surges within your Shell. The Corrupted Earth Giant Shell Level has increased. Current Shell Level: 35 (+5, +10)]
[You have obtained the Beastmen Giant Chieftain’s Spirit Essence (Special Spirit Essence Item)]
[You have obtained the Beastmen Giant Chieftain’s Skirt (Rare-Grade Equipment)]
[You have obtained the Large Amount of Bloodline Essence of the Ancestor Giant (Special Item)]
[You have obtained the War Monument of the Beastmen Giants and Treant Tribe (Document)]
[You gaze down at the limp, lifeless body before you…]
[Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain Shell: The chieftain of the Beastmen Giants tribe. Originally, by consuming the bloodline of the Ancestor Giant, its body had grown to a staggering 20 meters tall. However, this was not its true bloodline power, and at death, most of that power dissipated.]
[Though the bloodline power has diminished, it can still be passed on to the next chieftain. Due to the large loss of bloodline power, the body has shrunk back to just over 10 meters. It died from blunt force trauma causing massive skeletal fractures. Compatibility: 61% (+45%)]
Defeating the Beastmen Giant Chieftain had instantly raised the Shell Level by five levels, like riding a rocket.
However, because the Beastmen Giant’s body was massive, the Compatibility did not meet the possession requirement, something Lin Xun had already expected.
Luckily, the Earth Giant, having been drained, had a body size similar to a normal person. That allowed its Compatibility, with talent boosts, to reach an impressive 141%, making it easy to possess.
Compatibility, as he knew, fluctuates depending on the Shell’s external form and appearance.
Wait a second.
Lin Xun suddenly felt something was off and quickly opened the Shell Panel.
Even after the Earth Giant’s body size had increased, its Compatibility was still at 141%, without dropping!
From the Apostle Forum, he had learned that some Apostles, after acquiring certain mutation-type items and using them on their Shells, saw their Compatibility plummet below 80%, making possession impossible and forcing them back to square one overnight.
“Why hasn’t the Earth Giant’s Compatibility changed?”
Lin Xun frowned deeply, searching for a long time before reaching a conclusion.
His soul talent: A Thousand Faces, Ten Thousand Forms, had the effect of significantly boosting Compatibility with Shells. Perhaps this so-called boost did not merely mean an increase, but also included ‘stabilization’, or more accurately, ‘only rising, never falling’.
“There must be some hidden secrets in the Thousand Faces, Ten Thousand Forms talent that I don’t know about yet. Hmm, let’s see what your limit is.”
Lin Xun grinned and opened his Inventory. It was time for the most exciting part.
[Beastmen Giant Chieftain’s Spirit Essence: A remnant Spirit Essence clinging to the Shell, moderately strong, left behind after the death of the Corrupted Beastmen Giant Chieftain.]
[Upon use, grants 1,500 Spirit Essence. Alternatively, it can be added during the forging of Shell Equipment, with a chance of triggering an awakening effect, generating related bonus attributes.]
When the drop text first appeared, Lin Xun had thought it was just an ordinary Spirit Essence item, but to his surprise, it was a Special Spirit Essence item.
Special Spirit Essence items were dual-purpose. If you were short on funds, you could use them directly as Spirit Essence currency.
If you had plenty of savings, you could use the item’s special function, which usually meant adding it as extra material in forging.
Generally speaking, the higher the Spirit Essence value, the greater the probability of awakening equipment, and the stronger the bonus attributes.
Lin Xun currently had over 22,000 Spirit Essence, making him a small-time rich guy, so he didn’t care about this bit of extra Spirit Essence. He decided to save the Special Spirit Essence for later and forge equipment at the library.
[Beastmen Giant Chieftain’s Skirt (Rare Grade): A massive skirt passed down through generations of Giant Chieftains, made from the hide of an unknown creature.]
[It has excellent toughness and can expand or shrink in size. It also provides excellent defense, though its coverage area is limited, protecting only key areas.]
What the heck, iron underpants?
Lin Xun casually slotted the equipment into the Earth Giant’s Shell Panel.
[You feel stronger!]
The next item was the real highlight.
[Large Amount of Bloodline Essence of the Ancestor Giant (Special Item): Pure bloodline power that should have been hidden within the Giant race, somehow extracted into a concentrated form. It contains an incredible force.]
[This item can only be used on Shells with Giant bloodlines. After use, it can refine the Shell’s bloodline power, enhancing Shell Quality.]
Without hesitation, Lin Xun clicked to use it.
[You have used the Large Amount of Bloodline Essence of the Ancestor Giant…]
[The Earth Giant’s bloodline returns to you. Deep power within the bloodline gradually awakens!]
[You clench your fists tightly and let out a low growl. The bloodline power within your Shell begins to stir again, your body expanding and rising ever taller…]
[The Earth Giant Shell Quality has advanced to Rare+ Grade!]
[The Earth Giant Shell Quality has advanced to Epic Grade!]
[The Earth Giant Shell Quality has advanced to Epic+ Grade!]
“Awesome!”
Lin Xun opened the Shell Panel, and sure enough, the Shell Quality now showed Epic+ Grade.
Previously, his highest Shell Quality had been the Yellow-Robed Bishop, which only reached Rare+ Grade, but the Earth Giant had just jumped two levels in a row.
Of course, without counting the talent bonus, the Quality was only Epic Grade.
[Now nearly 30 meters tall, you feel the surging power within the Shell. The ancient Shell talent begins to awaken…]
[You have gained the Earth Giant race’s unique racial talent: Earth Form!]
What the heck? Shell talent?
A new Shell Talent section had appeared in the Shell Panel.
[Shell Talent: Earth Form (+/-)]
[Earth Form: A unique racial talent of the Earth Giant race, a skill that only those with the noblest bloodline have a chance to comprehend. When used, it allows you to freely change your Shell’s size, with your body mass adjusting accordingly. The minimum size cannot be smaller than 1 meter, and the maximum size cannot exceed your current limit of 30 meters.]
The plus and minus signs next to the talent skill must be buttons to adjust body size.
Lin Xun was dumbfounded. Did he just become Dagu? Or Kamen Rider Kuuga?
It was like transforming into an Ultraman.
The Earth Giant could actually change size?
For a moment, Lin Xun couldn’t help but look down…
It took him quite a while to snap out of it, thinking to himself that the Giant’s racial talent was truly a god-tier ability.
He had originally worried that the Giant Shell would be useless in indoor environments within the game, rendering half its utility worthless.
But this talent skill perfectly resolved that concern.
Moreover, the Giant’s colossal Shell had a True Name, meaning it could be manifested in the real world!
If not for this talent, he couldn’t imagine the overwhelming scene that would unfold after manifesting it…
“I just hope the Chieftain’s skirt isn’t worn commando-style. Otherwise, that would be public humiliation on a whole new level. Good thing I have this god-tier skill.”
Finally, he looked at the last item.
[War Monument of the Beastmen Giants and Treant Tribe (Document)]
[… The Treant Tribe’s territory keeps expanding, encroaching deep into our tribe’s hunting grounds.]
[These damned Treants are incredibly powerful. Each Ancient Primordial Tree has the strength of dozens of our most elite warriors.]
[To conserve our forces, we can only send the mixed-bloods to the frontlines, wearing down the Treants’ strength…]
[… The Corrupted Blood Beastmen are too weak and die too fast. They can no longer meet the demands of the war.]
[… By the grace of the Divine Light! Our tribe’s shaman has finally developed a way to deal with the Treants!]
[We spread these potent poisons around the mountains. The toxic properties seeped deep into the soil, causing the root-bound Ancient Treants to wither one by one, greatly weakening them.]
[Once poisoned, even an Ancient Primordial Tree can be defeated by just three or four of our elite warriors!]
[We achieved a great victory in this war. Only one Ancient Primordial Tree escaped back to the forest.]
[I believe it won’t be long before we wipe out the Treant Tribe completely…]
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up as he read the document item.
The real key in this document was not the war between the Beastmen Giants and the Treants, but the method for dealing with Ancient Primordial Trees!