"You...how is this possible?"
How could he break free from her mental control?
What was this guy's background?
The witch froze for a moment, then panicked and scrambled backward.
"The moment you let me get this close, you were already dead."
Ryan watched her calmly, his dark eyes regarding her as if she were a corpse.
"Why is he just standing there?"
Where did his armor go?
The witch stared blankly at the blood-drenched chain blades in Ryan's hands.
When had he drawn those weapons?
Her mind was a muddled mess. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't make a sound.
She raised a hand to touch her neck and felt something cold and wet.
Crimson blood met her gaze.
So, she was already dead.
"What a terrifying guy."
Thud!
The witch's body collapsed to the ground, blood staining the earth.
Ryan stepped forward and wiped the blood from his Chaos Blades on the witch's robes.
"Sacrifice."
Her soul and body, not yet dissipated, were offered up entirely.
Ryan closed his eyes and felt his spiritual power surge as a flood of unfamiliar memories filled his mind.
She was a witch, well-versed in dark magic and alchemy.
It's no wonder she could create magic beans.
Unfortunately, these memories weren't particularly useful to him.
After all, his knowledge of dark magic and alchemy far surpassed hers.
He could easily replicate the beans through alchemy; the only challenge would be gathering the materials.
Creating a beanstalk that reached the heavens required a massive amount of alchemical ingredients, including several rare and hard-to-find resources.
If he had to collect them himself, it would take at least ten days to a month.
But, thanks to the witch who delivered herself to him, he saved a considerable amount of time.
"A trade?"
"How foolish. If I kill you, everything you have becomes mine anyway."
Ryan picked up the pouch on the ground and opened it. Inside were five lonely pea seeds—seeds of the heaven-reaching beanstalk.
They looked no different from ordinary peas, but Ryan could sense a vibrant life force and a terrifying magical energy emanating from them.
This witch was powerful. If she had been prepared for a fight, defeating her wouldn't have been so easy.
But a mage daring to get so close to a warrior?
That was just asking for death.
"What happened?"
Jack, who had rushed over in a panic, noticed the fearful expressions of the villagers around him and felt puzzled.
Why were they all looking so terrified?
Had something happened here?
Jack's eyes swept over Ryan, but were quickly drawn to the blood on the ground.
What had happened?
How could anyone in this village have offended a knight?
Jack shook his head, feeling no sympathy.
Anyone who offended a knight deserved to die.
Besides, he was now Ryan's squire and would naturally side with him.
"Everything settled?"
Ryan, now clad in his armor again, mounted his warhorse.
His imposing figure loomed over Jack.
"Then let's go!"
"Keep up! Don't fall behind."
Without another word, Ryan shook the reins, and the Nightmare Steed picked up speed.
Jack was momentarily stunned, but he quickly broke into a run to keep up.
"Not bad speed."
---
Over a dozen minutes later, Ryan glanced back at Jack, who was panting heavily but still managing to keep up.
No wonder he managed to escape a giant's pursuit with that kind of speed and stamina.
The warhorse came to an abrupt halt. Ryan surveyed the empty grassland around them and nodded in satisfaction.
"This is the spot."
He pulled a seed from a cloth pouch and tossed it into the soil.
The moment the seed touched the ground, a green sprout burst forth.
The next second—
Rumble!
Dense, hair-like green vines erupted from the earth and spread wildly.
The ground shook violently as the vines occupied more and more space, eventually forming a colossal pillar that shot toward the sky.
"What... is this?"
Jack stared in awe at the towering vine.
"Ever heard of the City of Giants?"
Ryan looked up at the vine that seemed to pierce the heavens. His armor instantly morphed into the form of the Chaos Chains.
"Wait here for me."
Under Jack's stunned gaze, Ryan deftly swung the chain blades and launched himself dozens of meters into the air.
Whoosh!
The chains cut through the air, their terrifying momentum propelling Ryan upward.
Thud!
He swung the chains again, embedding the sharp blades into the vine.
After securing his position, he repeated the process, lashing out the chains, finding an anchor point, and using his arm strength to climb another few dozen meters.
A few minutes later, Ryan glanced down. He was now at least several kilometers above the ground.
If he fell from that height, he would be severely injured.
He knew flying magic, but it only allowed him to hover up to a hundred meters at most.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to climb the vine.
"Just halfway there..."
Gazing at the faint outline of the island in the sky, Ryan took a deep breath.
Might as well go all the way.
He continued climbing until he reached the end of the vine.
A few minutes later, he gripped the edge of the massive floating island.
"So this is the Sky Fortress?"
The island was enormous, with vegetation towering into the sky.
Ryan stared at a weed taller than his waist, his expression turning peculiar.
The environment on this sky island is brutally simple.
Everything here is about ten times larger than below.
No wonder it's home to the giant race.
"Speaking of which, where are the giants on this island?"
Ryan cast a levitation spell on himself and slowly rose into the air.
He immediately spotted a faint black mountain peak at the center of the island.
The hundred-meter-tall peak resembled a massive castle, though its size was absurd.
"The giants must be in there."
Ryan landed and headed straight for the castle.
"Hmph! Hmph!"
A shadow fell over him.
Ryan frowned and turned around. A ferocious wild boar with two thick tusks glared at him menacingly.
Tsk!
This thing must be at least five meters tall.
Looking at the boar, which resembled a small hill, Ryan felt a headache coming on.
Does everything on this island have to be so oversized?
"Roar!"
The giant boar let out a low, grating growl and lunged at Ryan, its foul-smelling mouth wide open.
"Hmm?"
Ryan raised an eyebrow and pressed a hand against the charging boar's head.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet cracked and formed a crater several meters deep.
With a casual push, Ryan shoved the boar into the dirt.
"Squeal! Squeal!"
The boar struggled, its limbs flailing as it tried to break free from the tiny creature's grip.
"You're too noisy. I don't like it."
Ryan threw a punch directly at the boar's head.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bone echoed as a shockwave obliterated the boar's brain.
Ryan casually sacrificed the boar.
He was here to hunt giants, not wild boars.
But these creatures seemed to view him as food.
As he made his way toward the giant's castle, Ryan was repeatedly attacked by crocodiles and giant blood-sucking mosquitoes.
Humans, once at the top of the food chain, had become the lowest-tier creatures on this sky island.
Everyone seemed eager to pick a fight.
Ryan, wielding the Chaos Chains, switched to "lawnmower mode."
The whirling chain blades formed an impenetrable curtain of steel that sliced through the surrounding weeds and trees with precision.
Even the giant beasts that approached were instantly reduced to bloody mist by Ryan.
By the end, he was drenched in blood from head to toe.
A single glance from him, radiating terrifying bloodlust, made the restless beasts recoil in fear, daring not to come closer.
Animals have sharper instincts than humans. Despite their size advantage, the overwhelming scent of blood from their own kind clinging to Ryan made it clear that he was not to be trifled with.
"Should've done this sooner."
Ryan spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and shook the blood off his sickle blades.
The clashing blades emitted a crisp ring.
The surrounding beasts scattered like startled birds.
Ryan transformed the twin blades back into a necklace and hung it around his neck.
"The real show is just beginning."
Muttering to himself, he pulled a massive weapon out of his personal storage.
With four dark gun barrels and a rotary magazine beneath the body, the black firearm exuded a heart-stopping aura of killing.
The beasts he'd dealt with earlier were merely appetizers, not even enough to warm him up.
But now, it was time to get serious.
Ryan stared at the colossal castle now within reach, his eyes glowing bloodthirstily red.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground trembled as if in an earthquake.
Heavy footsteps grew louder.
A twenty-meter-tall giant carrying a stone-tipped club and dragging a massive goat lumbered toward the castle entrance.
Just as he was about to enter, he froze.
He sniffed the air; a strange yet enticing fragrance was faintly drifting in the breeze.
It was subtle yet impossible to ignore.
"Human!"
The giant's eyes widened with recognition, and he let out a sky-shaking roar.
"Human?!"
"Where? Where is a human?"
Dozens of giants poured out of the castle at the sound of the roar.
They varied in height and build but wore identical expressions of greed and longing.
"There's a human scent here!"
The big-nosed giant who had first detected the scent dropped to the ground and sniffed intently.
As he crawled forward, the faint human scent grew stronger.
A look of bliss spread across the giant's face, as if he could relive the taste of human flesh.
It's been centuries!
He hadn't eaten human meat in hundreds of years, yet he could never forget that familiar flavor.
There was no mistake—this was undoubtedly the scent of a human.
Now, a human has appeared on the island again.
Still on the ground, the giant suddenly paused and slowly lifted his head.
"What are you looking for?"
Ryan tilted his head, one foot resting on the giant's skull.
He gazed down at the prostrate giant with amusement.
"Human!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the giant's face twisted into a ferocious grin.
Boom!
His mud-caked hands spread open like nets and lunged toward Ryan.
Bang!
A thunderous roar erupted as flames burst from the four pitch-black gun barrels.
Like a storm, the terrifying impact instantly shattered the giant's head.
Sacrifice!
Ryan casually performed a sacrifice and immediately twisted his face in pain.
Raging energy and power surged through him like furious dragons, rampaging wildly within his body.
Amid the agony, he could clearly feel his muscles, bones, and internal organs strengthening at an astonishing rate.
It was as if the strength and muscles of a twenty-meter-tall giant were being forcibly compressed into his small frame.
His muscle density skyrocketed, and his organs' functions were greatly enhanced.
His physical capabilities and hormone secretion were now several times greater than before.
"So this is the power of a giant?"
Ryan took a deep breath, feeling an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
He had thought the werewolf's strength was terrifying, but compared to a giant, the werewolf was nothing.
After all, one was a low-tier magical creature, while the other was a high-tier magical being.
There was an absolute difference in their ranks.
To the giants, crushing a werewolf was no different from crushing a dog.
Witnessing their companion's death, the other giants roared in fury.
"Kill this human!"
"Eat him!"
"I want his hands!"
"Give me his thighs!"
Dozens of giants clamored chaotically, arguing fiercely over who would get the most meat.
They showed no concern for the recently deceased giant or the human standing before them.
"Am I being ignored?"
Ryan scratched his head helplessly. He hadn't expected to be underestimated like this.
Though it wasn't the first time something like this had happened, the number of fools daring to act recklessly in front of him had drastically decreased ever since he had become powerful.
Facing such a situation now—
"It's really quite irritating."
Ryan smiled, but his eyes held no warmth.
They were as cold as ice, enough to make anyone's heart race with just a glance.
By now, the giants had finished dividing up the human's body and had instantly surrounded Ryan.
"I want the legs!"
"The left arm is mine."
"The right calf belongs to me..."
The giants muttered to each other like shoppers in a market, reaching out to grab Ryan.
"What can I say about you brainless fools?"
Ryan sighed softly and pressed a hand to his forehead.
He raised his gun and fired, instantly blowing apart the heart of the nearest giant.
He looked up expressionlessly at the stunned giants.
Had they really not seen the giant he had just killed?
How dare they still act like this?
"This little one is strong!"
"Kill him first!"
Whoosh!
A gust of wind tore through the air as a crude stone axe swung down toward Ryan.
The resulting gust was so powerful that Ryan struggled to keep his footing.
Boom!
The axe descended with a roar.
"Is he dead?"
The giant wielding the axe stared wide-eyed as he suddenly felt an immense force pushing back against the weapon.
His face turned red with strain as he pressed down on the axe. No matter how much strength he used, however, the stone axe slowly lifted upward.
"Did you not eat enough?"
Ryan held up the stone axe with one hand, watching the red-faced giant.
A cruel smile spread across his lips.
Boom!
With a casual flick, the giant holding the axe was sent flying through the air like a doll and slammed into the ground.
Ryan bent his knees slightly, his muscles bulging like squirming earthworms beneath his skin.
With a powerful leap, he soared twenty to thirty meters into the air.
Facing the giant's head at close range, he threw a punch directly at its temple.
Thud!
Its head twisted 3,600 degrees, contorting like a twisted rope.
Its bloodshot eyes bulged out of their sockets.
Does speed equal power?
But what about density?
Compressing a giant's strength into a human body creates explosive force concentrated into a single point, something no ordinary giant could match.
It was like an ant possessing human strength.
A single punch focused into a tiny area could shatter bones.
Swish!
The chain-wrapped blade shot out and pierced straight through another giant's head.
---