"Hey! Couldn't resist, could you, kid?!"
Harald watched Kenji walk away quickly, as if 'impatient,' and immediately revealed a proud smile.
"That's more like it! That's how a young person should be!"
In Harald's eyes, Kenji now looked more like a young Giant.
Before this, Kenji's calm and experienced demeanor had made Harald quite uncomfortable.
He felt that this 'young man,' merely sixty-six years old, was acting far too old-fashioned.
He no longer regarded Kenji as a human.
Although Kenji had spent over sixty years in human society, Harald was already one or two hundred years old.
Giant simply have longer lifespans, and those extra years lived would likewise bring corresponding life experiences.
"Let him stay with his peers, perhaps...?"
Harald was smiling when he suddenly noticed that something was a little off at the training ground.
He led Loki and walked towards the training ground together.
At this moment, inside the training ground, Kenji, who had just arrived, ignored the questioning or scrutinizing gazes of the Giant youths and maidens present.
He walked directly to a Giant who resembled an instructor.
Kenji found this Giant instructor somewhat familiar.
When he had landed on Elbaph that day, this instructor was one of the Giants who had been knocked unconscious by the shock.
At the same time, this Giant was also Raideen, the master of Harald's son, Hajrudin.
"You?"
Raideen was standing with his arms crossed, watching the assessments of the Giant youths and maidens, with Hajrudin also among the assessed group.
When he sensed someone behind him and turned, he saw Kenji, and his brows immediately furrowed, his expression turning displeased.
He remembered the battle ten days ago very clearly. Even though Harald later personally ordered Kenji and the Marine contingent to be treated, Raideen didn't understand and still held hostility.
In fact, it wasn't just Raideen, the other Giants from Western Village present also harbored a hidden hostility towards Kenji.
If they hadn't been weaker, they would have beaten Kenji countless times during these days of routine battles.
Unfortunately, they lacked the strength, and instead, Kenji had beaten them countless times during these days, which further deepened the Giants' hostility.
"You shouldn't be here, Marine!" Raideen accused unceremoniously.
"Don't disturb or interfere with our Elbaph's affairs!"
Kenji looked up at the massive Adam Tree trunk not far away and did not respond to Raideen, only asking with a slightly interested tone, "Is this Adam Tree really that tough, and will it never be destroyed?"
Upon hearing this, Raideen not only did not answer, but instead warned with a cold expression, "Human, you've crossed the line. Leave immediately!"
His chilling words drew the attention of other Giant warriors nearby, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
Just then, a voice filled with authority came from behind.
"Don't stop him, Raideen!"
Harald arrived at the training ground with Loki, his massive stature clearly towering over the other Giants present by one or two... or countless heads.
His Ancient Giant Bloodline body made him resemble a small castle, and merely standing there, he exuded an invisible majesty.
The Giants present all bowed, and after bowing, Raideen still had a puzzled look on his face, but he said nothing more.
After all, the King's command superseded everything.
"He is qualified to be here, because he is also a Giant." Harald stood firm and spoke again.
This time, he revealed Kenji's identity.
Of course, even now, Kenji had never openly admitted to being a Giant. He had only said he was an Ancient Giant.
In reality, what Harald said at this moment was his own guess, treating a guess as fact, which was somewhat forcing an identity onto Kenji.
It was merely to show that Kenji was also one of them, and then let the news spread.
Indeed, upon hearing Harald's words, the Giants present, as well as some Marine personnel outside the training ground, were instantly shocked, finding it incredibly unbelievable.
After their initial shock, the Marines expressed disbelief. After all, Kenji had joined the Marine when he was in his teens, and his decades of Marine service history were traceable.
After their initial shock, the Giants, however, quickly believed it.
On one hand, these words came from the most authoritative King of Elbaph, meaning the King personally vouched for them.
On the other hand... Kenji's ten-meter-plus height looked exactly like a Giant.
The only flaw was: Kenji's current height was still a bit short of a true adult Giant's twelve meters.
"I heard that Admiral is over sixty years old... he should be an adult by now, right?"
"Ah, over sixty years old is definitely adult."
"But his height... looks like ten meters at most."
"Hey! Perhaps his development was a bit delayed? There haven't been cases like that in the past..."
Inside the training ground, Giants of all sizes gathered in groups of three to five, observing Kenji and discussing.
Most of the Giants had some suspicion in their eyes, but not much.
On the other side, Kenji bothered little with Harald's small maneuver.
At this moment, he came to the side of the Adam Tree's main trunk, raised his hand, and delivered a Shigan.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the Adam Tree's main trunk remained motionless, standing like a mountain, with no cracks or any other marks appearing near the location of Kenji's attack.
"Hmm, this level of toughness..."
The Adam Tree's resilience made Kenji feel amazed.
With his current strength, a casual Shigan, let alone destroying a large tree, would cause a large section of even a tall city wall to collapse.
"Although I only used a fraction of my strength, the fact that it left so little a mark is still a bit absurd."
"No wonder it has endured countless wars and survived to this day, it truly is a 'treasure tree'!"
Kenji nodded slightly, feeling that even if he ultimately couldn't complete the mission, cutting off some of the Adam Tree's main trunk to bring back wouldn't be a loss.
After all, a small part of the Adam Tree could sell for enormous sums, in the billions of Berries, in the underground black market.
If he could cut down the entire Adam Tree's main trunk and take it away, he would never lack warship raw materials again.
Kenji looked up at the massive Adam Tree before him, beginning to ponder the issue of transportation.
Just then, a burst of laughter suddenly came from behind him.
He saw a group of Giant youths and maidens behind him watching Kenji 'overestimating himself' by challenging the Adam Tree, some covering their mouths and chuckling, others scoffing with cold expressions.
Hajrudin walked out from the crowd. He didn't scoff, but he also didn't have a pleasant expression, saying coldly, "You think you can leave a mark on the Adam Tree's trunk with just your finger? Don't underestimate the Adam Tree, outsider!"
"Oh?" Kenji smiled and slowly withdrew his finger.
At the same time, the finger-sized hole he had made with his Shigan gradually became visible.