The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 561 - 585 Sitting on the Mountain

Chapter 561: Chapter 585 Sitting on the Mountain Chapter 561: Chapter 585 Sitting on the Mountain After a series of tests, Lancelot and Bruto finally confirmed an interesting fact: both of them had mastered the Giant’s Tongue, which was most likely a gift that came with the Body Refining using Titan’s Blood. This language was not very useful for Lancelot—giants willing to communicate with him could speak the common tongue, and giants who could not simply saw him as food.

But Bruto’s reaction was much more enthusiastic. The Giant’s Tongue was one of the most ancient languages in the Multiverse, each of its letters was a Magic Rune with a special connection to the essence of the universe. Without the need for obscure Spell incantations or expensive casting materials, inscribing these Runes in a specific combination could activate various magical effects, as Gorgiad had just demonstrated not long ago.

Without a doubt, Rune magic was extremely suitable for enchanting weapons and armor. In fact, several of the most powerful Enchantment formulas circulated among Dwarven Artisans originated from these Giant Runes, and Bruto was already a decent Blacksmith (by human standards). Combined with the new knowledge in his head, he was fully capable of creating some simple and practical magical equipment.

Perhaps one day, the young Dwarf could forge works that would impress his father, which was his greatest wish hidden deep in his heart.

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The rest of their companions were not too interested in physical enhancement, but upon learning about the advantage of mastering the Giant’s Tongue, even Kalalin, who had been most resistant, bit the bullet and accepted it. According to him, learning a new language was already a painful and lengthy process; it was better to endure short-term pain than long-term, and most importantly, it could save precious time.

In addition, the Giant’s Tongue was a nearly lost language, not so much because the number of its users was dwindling, but because the civilization of the giants was in an inevitable decline. Therefore, although the giants were not Kalalin’s field of research, the relics they left behind were everywhere in the world. As a Scholar, physical pain could not deter him from his thirst for knowledge.

Lancelot had prepared enough stocks before his Body Refining, so everyone had the chance to back out. The best performer among them was old Reap, who endured as much Titan’s Blood as the Dwarf did; afterwards, the transformed werewolf was almost as big as an adult White Dragon and had to run wildly around the nearby valleys for a quarter of an hour to return to normal.

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Alamir and Kalalin, by comparison, were far less successful. The Elf Priest’s dosage was about half of the Dwarf’s, while the Scholar’s was a third less. Whether it was due to physical inadequacy or too little absorbed Titan’s Blood, even though both saw a clear enhancement in their physical fitness, they did not gain the ability to grow in size.

However, both had achieved their main goal—they soon began communicating using the Giant’s Tongue, which was, admittedly, a rather novel experience.

In the following days, while keeping an eye on the movements near the Gate of Stroddet, everyone busied themselves with the final preparations for the operation. To be specific, little Esha had fallen asleep after drinking a sip of Titan’s Blood and had not yet woken up, while the werewolf was running rampant all over the mountains, sometimes returning covered in wounds. The Elf Priest spent most of his time each day in prayer to his Goddess; to others, this seemed completely one-sided, but Alamir himself clearly enjoyed it.

As for Bruto, he kept repeating the cycle of sleeping, eating, and fighting Lancelot (or being beaten up, depending on one’s perspective)—for a warrior, this was the best way to improve strength outside of life-and-death battles. And Lancelot too could use this as an opportunity to adapt to his new body and his new Realm.

Yes, Body Refining with Titan’s Blood was the final step he needed, and he finally broke through to the Middle Rank of Foundation Establishment. Comparing himself to a month ago, the capacity of True Yuan within Lancelot’s Dantian had nearly doubled, and his physical strength and agility had also increased by at least thirty percent, reaching the level comparable to any Middle Rank Demon. More importantly, his sensitivity to nature’s spiritual energy had improved, as had his Divine Sense, which showed signs of further growth.

Foundation Establishment at the initial rank was about the refinement of the skin, at the Middle Rank the bones, and at the High Rank the spirit. Once the flesh, bones, and spiritual power were all fully trained, cultivators could then attempt to form a Golden Core and break through to the next Realm.

Another who had a significant breakthrough in strength was Kalalin. Even though he was quite resistant at first, the benefits brought by Titan’s Blood far exceeded his expectations, and now he could cast two 4th-ring spells each day. Since he hadn’t prepared in advance, he could still only cast Arcane Eye, but that didn’t hinder him from improving on the spells he had mastered and creating new tricks that required a 4th-ring spell slot.

The wait was longer than they had anticipated, and if Tijana hadn’t reassured him with Divination that there were indeed a massive number of Frost Giants secretly gathering in the Iron Ice Plains, Lancelot would have suspected that Gorgiad had sneakily slipped back to his old home in the upper plane.

Two weeks later on an early morning, having received intelligence in advance, everyone set out early and gathered on a mountain peak with an excellent view. Directly below them was the Gate of Stroddet, yet the never-ending battles had surprisingly ceased, seeming as if no Frost Giants from the upper plane had appeared in the teleportation area for a while.

This abnormal phenomenon made the Abyssal Lord’s subordinates extremely nervous. They were convinced that the enemy was about to launch a large-scale assault and had gathered a significant force in readiness. When the group arrived at the observing mountain, the number of Frost Giants on the plain below had already exceeded five hundred, and new squads were continuously joining their ranks from the road to the west. Lancelot noticed that the Frost Giants were spread out quite loosely, and he saw at least twenty different banners, suggesting they were not unified under a single commander who could give orders to the entire army.

Among the Frost Giants loyal to the Prince of Wrath, there were no lack of spellcasters. These Frost Mages had created numerous defensive structures made of ice, allowing other Frost Giants to hide behind cover and throw rocks and javelins. If things developed as they anticipated, this would indeed be a satisfactory defensive setup, capable of causing significant casualties to any army coming out of the Gate of Stroddet.

“This is truly exciting,” Alamir exclaimed sincerely, looking at the giant army on the plain that resembled a forest, “since the fall of the Ostoria Empire, it’s been a long time since such a large-scale battle of giants has taken place on the material plane.”

“This feeling is quite marvelous, like those mythological stories I heard as a child are about to unfold before my eyes,” Kalalin said, equally excited, “It’s a pity the Prince of Wrath himself isn’t here, or it would have been even more splendid.”

“If Kostcheqi were here, we’d be running for the hills by now,” Lancelot shrugged, “I’m more curious about how large a force Solheim’s brother has amassed and how much of a role he can play in the battle himself.”