Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Seth wore the Helm of Hades and left the underground garage that only had the unconscious guards left on the floor. It would have been suspicious to use the elevator while invisible, so Seth saw himself forced to use the stairs.

When he reached the lobby, he hesitated for a moment but decided against leaving them a little present. Pip seemed sentimental about this rathole. She might get angry if he burned down the city accidentally.

Reaching their inn, he found the Chimera leader and her people surrounded by a bunch of burned and lifeless bodies. Was this what Dave meant when he said that nobody would come to help him?

"Any injuries?"

"None. The fight was a joke," she said dismissively.

"Okay. We are returning to the caravan tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Right now, to be exact. Our business here is over."

"Did you get the rations already?"

"Yep. Get everyone ready for departure."

Seth hurried them to return. He had a queasy feeling in his stomach.

The lights of spells could easily be seen in the darkness of the night. They had just left the gate and were already able to see the signs of battle in the distance. Why was it that every time he left, these people managed to get in trouble? They were worse than children!

When the guard tried to stop them, they were quickly dispatched by Dragonmight. They would have been faster if Seth had not left Puffles with the caravan but seeing what was going on he was glad he had left him.

As the group got closer, the others were finally able to also see what their allies were fighting. The scene Seth had already seen from the gates was worse than he thought, but not as bad as it could have been.

He was sure now, THIS was what Dave had meant. The ground surrounding the camp was littered with giant sheep corpses. While many were still in the middle of fighting these furry fiends, others were hard-pressed in distracting their owners.

Giants.

Somehow somebody had managed to lure them to the campgrounds of the caravan and a fight had broken out.

The strongest adventurers like Elza, Marcel, and the Archer had split into half a dozen parties that were fighting just as many Giants. Duhu had turned into a giant tiger and distracted another. Another two giants were busy preventing two giant boas from strangling them to death.

Evan was really shining at this moment. Especially after his training in the swamp. There were not just the two, giant Titanoboas. After increasing his level, the number of summons he could bring out at once had also increased. Besides strangling a giant, he was also protecting a big part of the noncombatants.

Of course, none of them could compete with Puffles. His Kill Count had already climbed to 3. The corpses of the giants on the ground were mutilated by the flying centipede's razor-sharp legs and sickle arms. They also had fist-sized burn holes that penetrated their bodies like gun wounds.

The giants the Ivicer kept in check did not look much better than their fallen comrades. It was a wonder that they were still able to walk. They did not just walk, but they furiously tried to smack the nightmare centipede out of the air with their hands and clubs. Unsuccessfully.

With the group's arrival, Fire Lances and Lighting Strikes joined the fight against the giants. Thanks to Puffles picking them off one by one, they already had a hard time fighting the caravan. Now another two powerhouses and a group of fighters joined.

Against popular believe, Giants were not stupid. The biggest of them cried out loud and they suddenly ceased to fight. They scrambled to assemble around their leader, who was covered in bloody wounds from Puffles' attack.

The caravan forces halted their action, confused by their opponent's sudden retreat. Vigilantly they watched the Giants' every move. Suddenly-

They knelt on the ground. The leader had stepped forward and sank to his knees. The rest followed his example. Even the aggressive herd of giant sheep pulled back.

"Puff! Stop attacking them for now!" With his call, the Ivicer flew over and elegantly landed in the campgrounds.

~ be careful. These guys have a really tough hide. Even though the great me can fight them, you might have some problems. ~ the Ivicer said smugly. But it was obvious that it was just its ego talking.

Even the nightmare centipede had a hard time against the group of giants and seemed quite exhausted now.

"Seth, you are finally back." Marcel greeted the blacksmith as he stepped up beside him.

"Yeah... what happened?"

"I have no idea, really. We were just getting ready for the night before the herd of sheep suddenly came upon us like a tsunami. The giants followed closely behind the sheep."

"it's good you were able to hold out this long. Any casualties?"

"Many injured but no casualties. Fortunately, Puffles was here or we might have been wiped out."

Seth nodded and then stepped out of the crowd of travelers to come before the kneeling giant. The right half of its face was a mess but the remaining eye focused on the blacksmith. Was that hope he saw in the giant's eye? This guy was actually glad to see him!

"Why did you attack my caravan?" Seth asked. He simply relied on his <Universal Translation> to do its work.

"Some sheep dead. Town people say you killed sheep. We come for revenge. But you strong. We sorry. Please mercy."

"They lied; we did not touch your sheep."

With great sorrow, the giant's gaze wandered over his dead brother and animals.

"We even more sorry. Please mercy!" he smashed his forehead on the ground and begged for their lives.

Seeing a few giants between 35 and 40 meters kneel in front of him made Seth feel unbelievably powerful. It hit him. What was cooler than giant snake mounts? Giants! No, scratch that. When Seth imagines riding on the shoulder of a giant into battle, he found the thought silly.

Still, having these guys as allies could be really cool.

"We need to discuss that for a moment" he made the giant wait and returned to the crowd.

Seth turned to Duhu, Marcel, and the other leaders.

"They are asking for mercy. It seems that the attack was a misunderstanding. What do you think?"

"They have lost more than us in this battle. I believe it would be acceptable to show them mercy. Not forgiveness, but mercy." Duhu was the first to speak up. The others more or less agreed with the wise tiger man.

After their little council, Seth returned to the giant, who was still pressing his forehead on the ground.

"We will spare your life. In exchange, we will take all the corpses on the battlefield with us and-"

Seth turned back to look at the people behind him.

"Pip come here! You have to swear allegiance to me and this girl. In a few years, she will return. At that time, you have to work with her to fulfill her goals. Deal?"

"Yes, benefactor! Urbock agrees. Tribe will stand with benefactor and tiny female." the giant leader Urbock exclaimed relieved.

The blacksmith would have loved to have these guys at Minas Mar, but the logistics were too much of a headage. The way to Delta was still long and he didn't want to worry about feeding the giants and their herd.

He decided it was better to leave them here for later use. Seth was sure they would be a great help when Pip decided to take ove- reform, No, found a branch office of Minas Mar in Hope. It was an investment in future possibilities.

Pip still seemed confused and unable to process what had just happened.

"Okay, everyone. I know you had a rough time, but get ready for the night. We will depart tomorrow."

Thanks to Seth going back to everyday duties, the people finally realized that the crisis had ended just like this. Sighs of relief and cheers could be heard before people got back to rebuilding and cleaning the campground.

While the sheep were added to the caravan's ration, the giants ended up in Seth's inventory. Giants had a natural resistance to magic and physical attack. Their hide was one of the toughest leathers one could acquire.

It was like the discount version of Dragon Scales. He was quite happy with the loot. It was just a shame that he did not gain any souls from this. He would have liked to get a giant's soul but he could hardly kill someone who had surrendered, just for that.

The giants didn't deserve such treatment in his opinion. They were kind of cute, in their own way.