Stop, Friendly Fire!

<Chapter 32. Titan's Pride - 5 [End of Volume 7]>

[The Titan's strength is being restored!]

[He who possesses Fenno's will, Paul Zero, has revived the Titan!]

The Giants were in high spirits. Once Lee Shin Woo had come out holding the Titan's Heart, or the Titan Bone Core, the abilities of all the Giants spread out across their domain had increased. Of course, there was no way to get an exact number, but it seemed like they'd gotten about 20% stronger than before.

'And if I manage to install the core into a golem... At the very least, they'll be stronger than they are now.'

If he added in the golem's body, which amplified and refined the core's energy, then the Giants' should be strengthened even further. But he regretted just one thing: the golem would possess a natural weakness.

'It won't endlessly release heat. However, it will condense heat almost to its very limit and then release it for a limited duration...'

Of course, because it was set up that way, the core was level 8, but he couldn't get rid of the feeling that this golem was a weapon of mass destruction. It couldn't run for very long and it also had a long recharge time, so...

[We'll follow Paul Zero's orders! Become a wild ice storm and push the enemy back!]

[The returned Titan's Pride! Let's show them the strength of the Titans!]

[Uoooooooh!]

"Good. Then, everyone do as they've been told! ...This is all I know for now, and I'll leave the rest to you."

"Ah."

Once he ordered the Giants to move out, Lee Shin Woo turned around and passed the core to Kratia. Though the core was indeed fully restored, there was still much they needed to know about it before they could use it to manufacture a golem. And Lee Shin Woo couldn't find out all there was to know by himself.

"Can you really leave it with me?"

"I'm going to be busy commanding them, so I don't have the time to do a thorough analysis. Plus, you're the only one who can protect it and analyze it at the same time."

"...Leave it to me. We'll make an amazing golem together."

Kratia, who momentarily looked on vacantly at Lee Shin Woo's words, soon snorted, nodded her head, and accepted the core from Lee Shin Woo, along with his trust.

She said that 'she could do it' and he put her in charge of it, but her mission truly was important. She wouldn't be sitting in one place, leisurely analyzing the core; instead, she would be moving together with Lee Shin Woo, simultaneously analyzing and protecting it so that it would eventually further strengthen the Giants.

Moreover, if she had the time, she would have to use her magic as well. For anyone else, it would be impossible, but for her, who could use Catalyst Magic through the use of her orb, it became possible.

"Do you think we'll be able to make a golem before we face off against Metafel?"

"That'd be the best outcome, but remember, we came here ready to win without this thing."

Lee Shin Woo had given Kratia the core for her to analyze 'just in case'. If Metafel hadn't had that strange skill that allowed him to call troops to him, Lee Shin Woo wouldn't have had to prepare for the worst case scenario.

But as they say 'even if it's rotten, it's still a herring'. Because Metafel had shown what he could do, Lee Shin Woo had to do what he could, and even a bit of what he couldn't.

"But it's a relief that we were able to obtain the core early on. Since we also gained some great reinforcements in the process."

"That's... Yeah, you're right."

Once Lee Shin Woo and Kratia got atop his back, Jin ran atop the hill and nodded, seeing the two Giants jumping down from the cliff and into the tail of the enemy forces. Those two Giants were none other than the two elite level 7 Sealed Titan Zombies that had once been heroes, Ellata and Arogan.

"Remember, hit and run!"

[Of course. Hit...!]

[Hit!]

His High Rank Command skill allowed them to hear him, even from afar, and the two Giants enthusiastically nodded their heads at Lee Shin Woo's command.

Although they were level 7 elite Giants, if Metafel personally came forward with his subordinates, they would have no chance against him. Therefore, he'd ordered them to adopt hit and run tactics, and they seemed to obey his order without question, befitting Giants who were so loyal to the Titan's Heart... is what he thought, but they soon betrayed his expectations.

[Hitttttttt!]

The two 'heroes' both placed their hands into the ground and flipped the ground, crushing hundreds of soldiers underneath. Then, they picked up the unearthed land and threw it, killing the other section of the army. They had instantaneously annihilated the squad.

[As you've commanded, Sir Paul Zero, we'll withdraw now!]

[Victory for the great Titan!]

It wasn't even a matter of 'hitting and running' anymore. With just one much too powerful 'hit', the Giants had destroyed the entire squad leaving no more enemies to kill, so they just had to go somewhere else!

There had to have been a few level 5 knights mixed in, yet they had died without even putting up a fight, causing Lee Shin Woo to just laugh.

"They're quite dependable."

Nice. If they kept doing that, then they would be able to lower the enemy force's numbers faster than he'd anticipated. Even so, Lee Shin Woo ordered that they not be careless. He then gave out his orders to his other troops.

"Break that side!"

[I understand!]

There were other Giants who fought at the forefront other than Ellata and Arogan, but most of them would either break the dangerous mountainous terrain or shake the mountain paths to sew chaos amongst the enemy ranks.

With their size, the Giants could easily break a single hill and crush the enemy forces under the rubble or isolate the unit from the main force!

[Hey... a rock's coming your way...!]

[A rock? Wait, it's a boulder... A boulder!]

[I-It's the Giants! The Giants have ambushed us and are throwing boulders at us!]

[What the hell are you talking about... Kuhahk!?]

[General!]

Rem kept track of the enemy's movements, and once Lee Shin Woo had gotten its report, he gave out orders to the appropriate Giants. They were disrupting the army at the right place and the right time, so even Metafel's ability wouldn't be able to assemble all of his troops together.

[Kuhaa. Who are you so desperately looking for?]

[Keok!?]

[It's a monster!]

And it wasn't the Giants that had arrived here first, but the Paul Corps, as Lee Shin Woo could relay his intent to them much more quickly.

Especially Shino Rendu. Perhaps it was because of his Avenger karma, but all of Shino Rendu's abilities increased exponentially when facing not only Metafel but his subordinates as well.

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!]

[Kahk!]

[Kii...!]

Shino Rendu swung his largely reinforced right arm (with the skill bestowed upon him by God), and created a miracle much like the two Giants. Whenever his giant, reddened arm created a shockwave, the Empire's troops would be ripped apart and scatter.

Because of him, the Empire's troops faltered, and the Pauls he led merely had to strike at the soldiers and take them down. Actually, around half of them had already died and turned into loot.

[Paul Zero has given the order. The greater our resolve, the faster the Titan's resurrection will be!]

[Uooooooooh! The Titan's Pride!]

[The Titan's Pride!]

"Did you say something like that?"

"Yeah, I lied."

"You're so cool."

The Giants from all across the mountain range cried out, and Lee Shin Woo continued to give out orders.

They would throw boulders, break cliffs, break roads, and even break snowbanks that had accumulated for years and drop them onto the Imperial Army. It was shiver-inducing, as it was so much like mother nature's fury.

[Now is the time! While they're floundering around, let's give them a spear to the face!]

[For Paul Zero!]

[Carrying out Master's command.]

It wasn't just Shino Rendu attacking the confused Imperial Army, it was also Bisher Moon, Chi Paul, and even the Erems as well launching a surprise attack, so Lee Shin Woo was actually able to see the number of enemy forces dwindle.

It was like they were eating cheese, starting from the outside little by little. By repeatedly dividing and isolating their troops, Lee Shin Woo's troops were quickly able to cut down their numbers. Perhaps they were even cutting them down faster than the first day. Also, the Giants' fighting ability had increased significantly and their attitudes had changed as well.

[I'll kill you... for the Titan's Pride!]

[For Paul Zero!]

[Dear Titan, please watch over me!]

It was different from yesterday where they had to fight out of necessity. They trusted and had hope that the Titan would return, so they fought as though there were something waiting for them beyond death. There was no way they wouldn't have gotten stronger.

[Metafel... I'll kill you myself!]

[These abhorrent traces of the Empire... Let's bury them into the cold earth!]

[Uooooooooooh!]

Of course, the Paul Zero Corps had absorbed 13,000 bones in a single day, so they had become significantly stronger. Moreover, the level 7 elite bone that Chi Paul had absorbed had a greater effect on it than he'd expected, so the Paul Zero Corps were determined to get stronger and were being more active in the fight than before.

"Good. They've killed about 10,000 of them."

Lee Shin Woo figured out how many they'd killed through Rem, nodded his head, and muttered. Jin was astonished and yelled.

"Already!? It hasn't even been two hours since the battle began...!"

"We have to take them down even quicker. After all, I don't know how long we'll be able to maintain our advantage."

"But couldn't you just take your elites and fight Metafel directly? If you take down the leader, then they'll fall apart and run away. Isn't that your usual plan?"

"No way. We can't."

Lee Shin Woo firmly replied to Jin's question. Of course, if he had an ability that could one shot the leader and sew chaos amongst the enemy ranks all in one then he would do so, but...

"For this guy, we need to take out all the guys around him first."

"I agree. ...Since our opponent's a Ghoul."

Even though he was constantly giving his subordinates orders, Lee Shin Woo didn't take his eyes off of Metafel Rerdan, who was in the very center of his troops. He had judged Metafel as that much of a threat.

Despite his soldiers dying all around him, Metafel didn't hurry and his eyes shined, surveying the battlefield around him. Then, as ordered, Setoin (he looked like his aide-de-camp) shot an arrow at someone who had been in the rear, killing them.

"...He's looking for me."

"There are two hills between us, so do you think he'll be able to find us?"

"He'll never be able to find us. They don't know about Rem, so they're still trying to find us. If only they knew... Too bad."

But right as Lee Shin Woo finished, Setoin immediately shot an arrow into the sky. Metafel and Setoin, who'd felt that it was odd that Lee Shin Woo was able to both command his troops and track their movements from afar, had soon come to the right conclusion. Moreover, they had quickly figured out exactly where Rem was and even hit it! Setoin definitely had some kind of sniping skill.

[Master, I've sustained damage.]

"Return. That guy's a pain in the ass."

[I understand.]

He knew that he'd eventually be exposed as the battle went on, but it was much too soon. Lee Shin Woo recalled Rem, who'd been struck by Setoin's arrow, healed it, and clicked his tongue.

"The situation's changed. It's become unclear as to whether we can deal with Metafel quicker or not."

"What about firing a huge spell at them and then putting Rem back into the air?"

"We can't use Rem anymore. However, firing a huge spell; that sounds like a good idea. ...It seems like Setoin is moving to take down the Giants. Break that cliff over there. With that, we'll be able to hold him back. ...I think we should start attacking their command now."

"Ok."

Kratia briefly passed the core to Lee Shin Woo and began casting her spell. But when Rem, who had been fully healed, was about to jump onto Lee Shin Woo's shoulder, it stopped and focused on the core.

[May I help with the analysis of the course as well?]

"Ah, now that I think about it, golems are your specialty. Can I leave it to you?]

[Of course.]

To think that it'd be the best of helpful, regardless of whether it was in the sky or on the ground. What a lovable golem. Lee Shin Woo thought about what he should reward Rem with once this battle ends, and continued to order his undead. But then...

"Shin Woo!"

Kratia sharply called for Lee Shin Woo. Lee Shin Woo raised his head, he witnessed Kratia's spell causing a huge explosion and saw her use the cliff to attack Metafel and Setoin in particular. Using her Catalyst Magic, she transformed the crumbled icy hill into hundreds of thousands of ice spears, which was especially memorable.

"What's this? It's perfect."

"That's not the problem here! That guy! The moment I cast the spell, he figured out where we are!"

"...He's pretty good. Was Hansen the only half-wit amongst the 12 generals?"

Was it because Kratia's magic was so large in scale? He was able to see Metafel from beyond the broken cliff. The problem was that Metafel had found them when Kratia had activated the spell...

[Keuk, Kuhaaaaaaaa!]

Right after he'd ascertained their location, he screamed bizarrely. If Lee Shin Woo still had eardrums, then it felt like they would've burst. It was as though that scream was warning them that he'd find them, and Lee Shin Woo decided to take him on, matching him with his Instigate.

[Kuhaaaaaaaa... Kuwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

Metafel, who'd been screaming, suddenly opened his mouth wide.

And ate the nearest knight.