Chapter 201

Chapter 201: Elemental Execution

As Midi applied force, the Black Iron Giant shuddered as if electrified, every part of its body searing with pain.

Elemental Giants lacked flesh and nerves, and thus should have been immune to pain—or even the concept of it. Yet Midi’s assault violently disrupted the elemental balance within the giant, shaking the resolve of this previously unshakable creature.

Bolts of lightning channeled through the Starfall whip pierced the Black Iron Giant’s body, like thousands of blades slicing through stone and metal. To onlookers, the giant’s once-solid form now resembled a boiling mass, its surface warping and erupting with bursts of sludge and molten metal.

Having slain countless Elemental Giants in his past life, Midi knew their weaknesses intimately. Before the Black Iron Giant could counter, he guided the lightning through the whip, driving it deep into the giant’s chest.

There lay the Elemental Core.

Born from magic veins, the Elemental Core attracted layers of rock, steel, and metal to form a living embryo, which grew into an Elemental Giant. This core served as both heart and brain, housing the giant’s Soul. Destroying it meant instant death.

The lightning, sharp as a blade, surged deeper until Midi sensed the dark Elemental Core. His golden small sword hummed, channeling a surge of power through the Starfall whip. The lightning struck the core, shattering it with a sound like breaking glass. The Black Iron Giant collapsed without even a final roar.

As the core disintegrated, the giant’s will vanished. Its body crumbled like sand—black iron fragments, jagged granite, and debris cascading from ten meters high, forming a jagged mound.

“Victory!” the Dragonkin warriors roared.

“Damn it!” Tanius’s eyes burned with frustration. Proud and eager, he had yet to act, while Midi had already felled a giant with ease.

The Dragonkin’s innate techniques fared poorly against Elemental Giants, leaving them outmatched. Meanwhile, the remaining giants in the Gilded Valley roared in fury, their cries whipping scorching winds that nearly knocked fighters off their feet.

Unfazed by allies or enemies, Midi vanished like smoke, reappearing atop a second Black Iron Giant. The air crackled as the Starfall whip—still reeking of death—coiled around its neck.

Elsewhere, the Dragonkin had dragged another giant down with hooks, severing its head. Though its core remained, the creature’s fate was sealed.

With three giants fallen, the last Black Iron Giant fled, stirring a whirlwind in its panic.

*If these giants used guerrilla tactics, they’d be far deadlier,* Midi mused, watching it retreat. But he dismissed the thought—Elemental Giants were too dim-witted to grasp human strategies. His focus returned to securing the Gilded Valley.

After capturing the valley’s entrance, the Dragonkin fortified it with the Hawk Brigade’s techniques, erecting steel barricades and ballistae capable of piercing thick walls. Only then did Midi order the advance.

Passing through dense woods, they reached the valley’s heart. Exposed metal veins crisscrossed the ground, their kaleidoscopic patterns dazzling the Dragonkin. The air tasted of brass, and the metal-rich soil stifled plant growth, leaving a barren clearing—a natural battlefield.

Across it stood a fifteen-meter-tall Gold Giant, its faintly golden body wielding an ancient axe. Behind it loomed three silver giants, each towering over twelve meters. The Gold Giant’s cold gaze locked onto Midi, the black-haired, black-eyed intruder.

These were Silver Giants, the most warlike of metal giants with the highest magic resistance, each holding an ancient weapon. Behind them stood over twenty Barehanded Black Iron Giants and Bronze Giants. This undeniably revealed the true power of the Elemental Giants in the Gilded Valley.

“Never thought I’d see humans in the Sea of Trees,” rumbled the lead Gold Giant, eyes glinting coldly. “Little pest, daring to invade the domain of Gold Giant Platani! I’ll crush you to dust and burn your Soul as Fuel to light the Gilded Valley’s nights!”

“Too much talk,” Midi answered flatly, thrusting his Starfall whip forward.

The Dragonkin swiftly raised pre-prepared tower shields, interlocking them into an iron wall-like defensive formation that advanced like a creeping steel mountain.

Such was the Sea of Three Towers—no invaders or invaded, only experts and weaklings. Here, desires were seized through personal power, unrestrained by morals or laws.

Midi wasn’t some saint. To achieve his goals, grow stronger, and protect his comrades, he’d wage endless wars without hesitation.

No reply was needed for the Gold Giant’s threats. Attack spoke louder than words.

“Pathetic tricks!” Platani roared. “Slaughter them all!”

The Gold Giant charged first, followed by three Silver Giants and hordes of Black Iron and Bronze Giants. As these ten-meter-tall behemoths stampeded, the entire valley shook violently.

The earth trembled. Dust and rock shards soared skyward. Each thunderous step whipped up Fierce Winds—this was the Elemental Giants’ deadliest tactic: the unstoppable charge.

Momentum magnified their metallic weight and hardness. Once moving, nothing halted them—no Trap, ditch, or even mountains. The enclosed Gilded Valley amplified their charge’s force while limiting evasion.

A direct hit would reduce Midi’s two thousand Dragonkin—reputed as the Sea of Trees’ strongest race—to bloody pulp, fertilizing the valley’s plants.

Yet Midi gave no retreat order. The Dragonkin held formation, shields unwavering. Facing overwhelming foes, their battle-fury ignited—warriors like Tanius glared with naked bloodlust.

Sword in hand, Midi calmly ordered, “Hold. Wait till they reach formation’s heart.”

“Five hundred meters,” announced Sigmund, the Hawk Brigade’s chief gunner, appearing beside Midi.

Time seemed to slow as giants closed in. Neither Midi nor his forces flinched.

“Four hundred… Three hundred…” Sigmund barked, “Optimal range!”

“Deploy!” Midi shouted.

Instantly, the Dragonkin formation split. A final two hundred-man team surged forward with freshly assembled repeating crossbow carts.

Pure magic arrowheads gleamed on the carts. Dragonkin javelin-throwers flanking them panted heavily, muscles coiled. Simultaneously, fifty Hawk Brigade Elves drew longbows, arrows shimmering with pure magic.

“Loose!” Midi roared.

A thousand arrows and javelins erupted like a blazing net, screaming toward the charging giants!