The ground trembled slightly, and a figure nearly three meters tall appeared at the edge of the island's primeval forest.
It was completely gray-white, seemingly made of huge boulders, its face pitted with no obvious eyes, nose, mouth, or ears.
"Stone Giant..." the "Star Admiral" Cattleya murmured the monster's species.
However, neither Klein nor Anderson knew anything about this monster.
But neither of them threw a questioning glance at Cattleya, focusing intently on the monster, putting on a professional front.
Cattleya turned, facing the docked "Future," half-raising her right hand, and said louder:
"Aim!"
The pirates on duty on the ship immediately adjusted the direction of several dozen cannons on the port side, making them all aim at the heavily approaching Stone Giant.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Cannonballs flew out, landing around the Stone Giant, dust instantly rising, blocking a large area. Amidst the obvious trembling of the earth, flames flickered, and fragments flew everywhere, as if they could destroy everything.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The tall gray-white figure emerged through the smoke and dust, surprisingly not too severely injured, only a few cracks on its surface.
"Star Admiral" Cattleya said with an unchanged expression: "This is not a type of Giant, but a Stone Monster. Its core is the main ingredient for Sequence 5 'Guardian' of the 'Twilight Giant' pathway, so its defense is very high."
Amidst the echoing cannon fire, Klein almost doubted his own hearing. Since you know the Stone Giant's strength, why did you order a full broadside? Isn't this a waste of ammunition? He thought, half puzzled and half complaining internally.
Perhaps hearing his thoughts, Cattleya looked at the approaching Stone Giant and said: "I haven't encountered this type of mystical creature before, so I wanted to run a test."
That reason... I can't argue with it... Klein was speechless.
At this moment, Anderson Hood, who had been observing the Stone Giant, raised his hand and said: "Does any of you have a mystical ability in the domain of Frost?"
"I do." the "Star Admiral" Cattleya answered calmly.
Seeing that "Hermit" had a way, Klein swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. For him, unless necessary, he really didn't want to activate "Creeping Hunger", even though the "Corpse Collector" indeed has the ability to control ice. — On this island, he estimated that he wouldn't find suitable food!
Cattleya took a grayish-black scroll from a hidden pocket in her wizard's robe and whispered a word in Ancient Hermes:
"Freeze!"
Silently, the scroll was engulfed by ice-blue flames, and then crystalline streams of light fell from the air.
They quickly landed on the Stone Giant, freezing the target inside, covering it with icicles one after another.
Amidst a teeth-grinding crunching sound, the ice layers broke one after another, and the Stone Giant slowly walked out of that area. However, the gray-white color on its surface deepened a bit, and its movements became much stiffer than before.
At this moment, Anderson suddenly raised both his hands, like a conductor signaling the audience to applaud.
Flames of orange-yellow near white instantly erupted beneath the Stone Giant's feet, as if it had stepped on a trap.
A burst of steam quickly rose from its surface, followed by a cracking sound as deep cracks appeared one after another.
Anderson pulled his right arm back, condensing a blazing white spear in his palm.
The flame at the spear's tip converged into a single point, bursting with dazzling brilliance.
The spear flew out, accurately hitting the crack in the Stone Giant's abdomen, directly burning and melting a large hole there.
As for Anderson Hood, who had been standing on the beach, he seemed to have merged with the blazing white spear, and when the fire blazed, he eerily appeared behind the Stone Giant.
He clenched his left fist, arm muscles bulging, and drove an uppercut into the Stone Giant's abdomen through the hole.
This seemingly simple attack produced an exaggerated effect. The Stone Giant immediately stiffened on the spot, a cracking sound continuously coming from its internals, and in just a few seconds, it collapsed into a pile of rubble.
An absolutely lethal attack… Klein's gaze constricted.
"Star Admiral" Cattleya stood calmly in place, saying without any surprise: "Sequence 5 of the 'Hunter' pathway is called 'Reaper'. Moreover, they are skilled at discovering the weaknesses of their prey."
"Reaper"... reaping lives? No wonder... Klein nodded slightly.
At this moment, Anderson crouched down and rummaged through the Stone Giant's remains.
Then, he turned his head and smiled bitterly: