Today, Sargon is plagued by internal and external troubles, having become a colony of Columbia.
However, the past glory and prosperity of this ancient nation are etched into its songs and legends.
"South of the Burning Wind Scorched Earth lies the current limit of human civilization. It is hot and dry, but not without vitality."
Driving her beloved pickup truck, Kal'tsit watched the Flame Giant speeding under the moonlight, her expression still calm, showing no surprise, merely offering a quiet explanation.
"The Emperor of Sargon once appointed a Kuranta with Nightmare bloodline to be a Pasha of Sargon. That Pasha was enlightened and charismatic, and countless righteous individuals rallied under her banner—a thousand years ago, the iron hooves of the Nightmare Kheshig once trampled half of Terra, causing countless Dynasties to tremble. Many years later, this descendant of Nightmare sought to conquer the entire desert."
Her tone was calm and indifferent, as if she were telling a story.
"She ultimately failed at the last hurdle; the blood and sacrifices caused her subordinates to lose the courage to explore. She died of melancholy after the campaigns ended, but thanks to her efforts, the Watcher's Wall advanced several hundred kilometers, and she also left us invaluable wisdom—knowledge about the evil demons of the South."
"So, you know what this is? And how to deal with it?"
Goki sat in the passenger seat, listening intently to Kal'tsit's narration, his expression full of curiosity, like a student earnestly asking Kal'tsit a question.
Moonlight and firelight spilled onto Kal'tsit's cool, clear face, outlining her long eyelashes.
With such a beautiful teacher, even if Goki was also a professional scholar of divine power, he still had to force himself to act like a novice.
"Stop with the stories, tell us how to defeat it, how to cut it, where to cut it—whatever it is, it's definitely not a good thing!"
Leaning between the driver and passenger seats, Skadi's tone was slightly impatient; her blood urged her to hunt.
Kal'tsit, this woman, was so annoying! Before saying anything, she always had to lay out a long preamble!
Either she quoted classics, or she spoke in Yin and Yang riddles. After talking for ages, there was only a tiny bit of useful content!
And recently, even Goki had caught these strange habits—the two of them played charades with each other every day, it was so boring.
Skadi was very glad that when Goki spoke to her, he was still as direct and concise as an Abyssal Hunter, otherwise her life would be miserable.
"Ancient Sargon bardic poems once described that Pasha's battle—countless soldiers charged towards the end of the horizon, the Nightmare's iron hooves spread a crimson net, the snares dragging the Flame Giant to the ground, sorcerers chanted spells from their homeland, submerging it with yellow sand… This is not verifiable historical fact, but it is sufficient for reference."
However, Kal'tsit never took the opinions of this young Abyssal Hunter to heart.
This naive young girl was fine as a fighter; an Abyssal Hunter's skills could ensure she roamed the continent unhindered, but they would definitely make her experience the harsh realities of the world and the wickedness of human hearts.
Without a man like Goki, acting as her guardian, with just this little hunter's brain, she would have suffered countless hardships just to get this far.
"Yellow sand, you mean bury it with dirt? But it's huge, I'd have to dig for a long time to cover it."
Hearing Kal'tsit's words, Skadi looked at the three-story-tall Giant, then at her greatsword—if she had to shovel dirt to extinguish the fire, it wasn't impossible.
Kal'tsit pinched the bridge of her nose—see, this was the limit of this Abyssal Hunter's imagination.
"I didn't mean yellow sand in that sense, Nona Skadi—Mr. Goki, you don't think so too, do you?"
Goki, of course, knew what Kal'tsit meant, but seeing Skadi's expectant gaze, he couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.
"I thought so too."
Skadi's expression immediately brightened, and Goki liked her straightforward temperament.
"Ha—"
Kal'tsit looked at Goki's large hand; this man truly couldn't lie.
"The generation of this monster is entirely dependent on Originium; it is a walking Originium Arts, consuming enormous amounts of energy every moment. It can only exist long-term in a stable, high-concentration Originium radiation field—the real world is its biggest enemy, it's about to burn out."
The Flame Giant was immensely powerful, but it was clearly in a state of rapid collapse.
Even an Infected person would not be enough as fuel for its actions. Clearly, its recent outburst was due to some external factor providing it with sufficient energy.
As for the mastermind, Kal'tsit could easily think of a dozen organizations greedy for the secrets of the Burning Wind Scorched Earth.
This was an experiment, a premeditated experiment. Someone instigated Alfonso to challenge Kal'tsit, forcing him to become a test subject.
Although Alfonso was not a good person, for Kal'tsit, such destructive modification experiments on the human body were the greatest evil.
After this, she would need to investigate many things…
"What we need to do is simple, Skadi. You and Goki will throw Mon3tr into its core. Feel with your own blood; I will make Mon3tr self-destruct, guiding its Originium energy into a positive cycle to accelerate its collapse."
"Gah—"
As she spoke, the black crystalline beast emerged from Kal'tsit's body, crawled to Skadi's side, and bumped its head against its partner.
"Huh, self-destruct? No! Mon3tr is so cute, how can we blow up Mon3tr!"
Hearing that Kal'tsit wanted Mon3tr to self-destruct, Skadi immediately shook her head, hugging the large creature, which she found exceptionally cute, causing a crisp sound to emanate from the crystalline beast's body.
Crackling—
"Mon3tr can reassemble itself—Alright, let's go. They are pursuing the scattered mercenaries. If you want to save anyone, you'd better hurry."
Kal'tsit sighed, pointing towards the front of the Giant, where a jeep was speeding away.
And the two hunters finally felt that small call, exchanging glances.
"Skadi!"
"Goki, let's go!"
— — — —
The Flame Giant's firelight was gradually dimming, but its speed was quite a bit faster.
"Damn it, why does it have to chase us! I should have given you to someone else, it would have been less dangerous!"
Gavial drove her battered jeep, pressing the accelerator to the floor, dodging the scattered fireballs.
Behind them, several expensive Columbia trucks had already been easily crushed and melted by the enormous Flame Giant, turning from hundreds of thousands of Columbia gold coins into a puddle of molten iron.
The mercenaries, who had just been cleaning up the battlefield, scattered like birds and beasts the moment they saw the Flame Giant. Money could be earned again, but life was singular.
And Gavial, dragging the small client she needed to save, began a frantic escape, but for some reason, this burning fellow kept staring at her.
"Flame Demon, no way, I always thought this world was very scientific—Grandma Priest wasn't crazy after all!"
Feeling the increasingly hot aura behind her, Gavial recalled stories she had heard as a child.
It was after the Conqueror King's expedition that the monsters of the Burning Wind Scorched Earth launched a counterattack to the north.
Winged beasts covered the sky, Flame Giants trampled high walls, and fires even burned into Acahuala's Rainforest.
Until the very end, in the center of Sargon, the Emperor emerged from the Golden City with his Immortals, and Acahuala also dispatched their strongest warriors. The entire Sargon united as one, defeating the enemies invading from the Scorched Earth.
Gavial had always thought it was just a legend, who would have thought she would see a living monster today—that was truly deadly!
"No, it's chasing me. It wants, it wants to hunt me—but I'm not scared!"
Beside Gavial, little Angela's face was filled with terror, but she still turned her head, bravely looking directly at the burning Giant with her big blue eyes.
"My… my kin are here! I'm not afraid of you!"
Feeling the hot and greedy desire in her mind, as well as two other gentle and familiar calls, Angela, who had been extremely afraid of those who performed surgery on her before, now grew bold.
"Kal—'tsit—"
The Giant continued to roar, speaking a name Gavial didn't understand at all.
"So, go find that Kal'tsit, I'm not her!"
Before Gavial could finish complaining, she heard a shriek behind her, like a falling grenade.
Boom!
Although she sharply swerved the steering wheel, a splashing, fiercely burning fireball caused a violent explosion, directly overturning the jeep.
"Shit! Hold on to me!"
The moment she flew into the air, Gavial's agile figure spun, wrapping her strong tail around Angela, and they crashed heavily to the ground.
"Ha, this is truly bad. You can't walk by the river often without getting your shoes wet—hide well!"
Looking at the rapidly approaching Flame Giant, and its raised foot, larger than a car, Gavial gave a wry smile, exerted force with one hand, and lifted the already damaged jeep like a shield, blocking the flames.
"Tsk, Tomimi, Zumama, it seems… I won't be able to go back to see you."
Recalling the faces of her friends, Gavial's Originium crystals glowed. She activated her Originium Arts without regard for the cost, covering Angela with a blue-green light.
"If you survive, don't stay with me. If I die, I might… Anyway, find someone else, the ones with crocodile heads."
Gavial was a doctor. Although she hadn't received Systemic training, she wanted to save more good people, and that naturally included this little girl.
"It's okay, big sister, you don't have to push yourself so hard. Look, big brother and big sister are here!"
Unlike Gavial, who had already begun to consider sacrificing herself to protect the little girl, Angela was full of confidence, extending her small hand towards a defense line.
"Hide quickly, that's a Flame Demon, an enemy that even the Immortals had to defeat with human wave tactics. Who could—huh?"
Gavial hugged Angela tightly while looking in the direction of her hand.
She saw, under the moonlight, three figures striking poses, standing on the roof of a speeding truck.
"Aiya ya ya, ding ding ding dong…"
Carried on Skadi's shoulder along with Mon3tr, Goki couldn't help but provide background music for the two people and one beast as they approached the Giant.
"Stop singing, Goki. Are you sure you want me to throw you into that fire too? Why didn't you tell Kal'tsit your plan earlier?"
Aiming at the Flame Giant's head, Skadi was also a little puzzled. Just as they climbed onto the roof, Goki suddenly asked Skadi to not only throw Mon3tr but also himself.
"Don't worry, I have my own plan. Kal'tsit wouldn't believe my method, but we're close, Skadi, you definitely trust me, right?"
Goki's face still held a calm smile. He naturally knew what he was going to do next—and he had prepared in advance.
On him, his originally jet-black hunter's suit now appeared scorched.
"Hmm, I trust you. Then you go with Mon3tr."
Hearing what Goki considered her "special quality" compared to Kal'tsit, Skadi's lips curved slightly upwards, and the strength in her hands also increased significantly.
"Then… let's go!"
"Gah—"
"Woohoo—lift off!"
The next second, the black crystalline beast and the jet-black hunter drew an arc across the night sky, soaring towards the Giant in front of them.
What Goki wanted to do was simple and clear.
He wanted to… steal the fire!
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