Chapter 513.1: Start With Ten Draws (1)

Roel felt like his emotions had just been put through an intense roller coaster ride.

He had already mentally prepared himself for whatever responses Grandar could give him before he came here, but instead, he was taught a lesson that it was impossible to be prepared for everything.

He was still worrying about Grandar being unable to participate in the upcoming battles just a second ago when the latter suddenly dropped a bomb on him.

Grandar killed the Savior? What’s going on?!

Roel stared at the skeleton giant with bulging golden eyes. He had just heard something so unbelievable that he found himself at an utterly loss for words. Many doubts surfaced in his mind.

He did have some notion about what kind of existence the Savior was despite having never personally experiencing His might. It was stated in the historical records that the Savior was a being that towered above the gods. His descent into depravity had spread chaos all over the world, and even the powerful angels and dragons were unable to escape from his influence.

It was impossible to overestimate just how powerful the Savior was.

While Grandar was also strong in his own rights, he didn’t stand a chance against a being of the Savior’s caliber.

Not to mention, the Giant Sovereign’s claim that he had killed the Savior was implausible. Even now, the Savior was still alive and spreading his depravity around the world, evident in the invasion of the deviants and the Fallens’ terrorism.

Many races had to make huge sacrifices in order to quell the calamities induced by the Savior. In fact, the Chaos Dream that Astrid Arde had been protecting was made with the sole purpose of keeping the Savior asleep. Given so, how could the Savior possibly be dead?

Roel looked at Grandar with questioning eyes, but he didn’t refute the latter’s words. While he was doubtful of the claim, he knew from the prideful skeleton giant’s personality that he wasn’t the type of brag. If he said that he had killed the Savior, it must have happened one way or another.

So, what could the cause of the discrepancy here be?

With such a question in mind, Roel patiently waited for the Giant Sovereign to continue his story. Seemingly aware of the inconsistencies in his claims, Grandar paused for a brief moment before elaborating.

“I did kill the Savior, but only His body.”

“His body?”

“Yes. You can think of His body as a part of Him,” replied Grandar.

Roel’s eyes turned feverish as he realized that Grandar might know a way to deal with the Savior and the Mother Goddess. So, he anxiously enquired about the details, but the latter shook his head.

“I don’t remember the details of the battle anymore, but I am certain that I didn’t remember it wrongly. It was a tough battle, as well as my final one,” Grandar remarked with a sigh.

He cast a sweeping glance at his surroundings before sharing the memory he had recalled.

“I said that I killed the Savior, but I didn’t do so under normal circumstances. He has already fallen into depravity by then.”

“Did you turn against the Savior because of His descent into depravity?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t just me. My old comrades participated in the battle too, but they collapsed under the powers of the depraved Savior. It was with everyone’s strength that we eventually destroyed the Savior’s body. All I did was to unleash the final strike.”

Grandar gazed at the distant setting sun as he downplayed the role he took in the battle. After hearing the story, Roel finally understood the significance of Grandar’s realm.

As a hobbyist historian, Roel had a deep interest in the crimson plain that the Giant Sovereign dwelled in. The gigantic corpses partially buried in sand and the damaged swords indicated that it was the ruins of an ancient battlefield of the giants. However, what was perplexing about this was the absence of any enemies in the vicinity.

Every single one of the corpses lying around belonged to the giants.

This led him into thinking that the giants had staged an uprising against Grandar, the Giant Sovereign, and the latter ended up dying in the rebellion. However, he knew now that his previous speculation was off the mark.

This crimson plain was actually the battlefield between the giants and the depraved Savior.

That grim battle had dyed the land crimson with the blood of the giant warriors, and their ruler went into eternal rest. Even so, they still achieved an unprecedented feat that no one had in the history of the Sia Continent.

WIth the power of a single race, they actually defeated the unimaginably powerful Savior and destroyed His body. This was a miracle in itself. However, they had to pay an extremely heavy price for that.

Roel had never understood why the powerful giants had gone extinct so early on.

Admittedly, the environment changes in the Sia Continent over time was hostile to the ancient races, making their eventual downfall inevitable. Even so, the dragons and the angels lasted much longer than the giants despite being in the same position.

But now, he finally knew the reason behind that—most of them had fallen on this battlefield.

True to their tenacious nature as a race of proud warriors, the giants refused to surrender despite being up against an enemy whom they hardly stood a chance with. Again and again, they fearlessly charged at the supreme being beyond their reach, only to collapse in droves under the setting sun. Their sacrifices weren’t futile, however, as they paved the way for their ruler to unleash a decisive strike and clinch victory.

But at the same time, it also marked the end of their kind.

It was much more difficult for ancient races in the legends to reproduce as compared to humans. Losing so many people in a single battle had doomed them to extinction.

There was just one last question in Roel’s mind—why did the giants have to single-handedly accomplish the nigh impossible mission of defeating the Savior?

The other intelligent races such as the dragons and the angels should have realized the dangers of the depraved Savior. It was improbable for them to be so short-sighted as to leave the giants to fight their own devices. After all, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that they would be next after the giants fell.

Are there reasons why the other races didn’t make a move?

Unable to figure out an answer to that question, Roel raised his head and posed the question to Grandar.

“You’re talking about the dragons and the angels? Yes, they aren’t able to make a move.”

“Why?”

“Because they can’t come close to the Savior’s body. They would succumb to depravity and lose their minds.”

Grandar took a brief moment to recollect his thoughts before he elaborated.

“The severity of the Savior’s corruption varies across the races. The effects of the Savior’s depraved whispers on us were mild compared to the other races who contracted with the Savior earlier on.”

“You’re saying that the giants are least affected by the Savior’s depravity as compared to the other ancient races?”

“Yes. We were strong. We didn’t have to side with anyone, so the terms of our contract with the Savior were loose. That’s why we retained our rationality in spite of the Savior’s corruption. Even so, if we didn’t destroy the Savior’s body, it’s only a matter of time before we caved in too.”

Grandar gazed at the distant setting sun and sighed softly. His voice seemed to carry the vicissitudes of life.

“That was our final chance. If we failed to defeat the Savior, all of us would have been consumed by his insanity. I’m glad we accomplished our mission.”

“So, the Savior who is sleeping inside the Chaos Dream is a soul without a body?”

“That’s right. However, the loss of a body isn’t a problem for the Savior. He’ll have a way to recover it if He ever fully awakens from His slumber.”

“…”

Roel’s face turned grave. He didn’t think that the Savior would be such a troublesome enemy.

The laws of the Sia Continent dictated that a living being ceased to exist upon the death of its body, and this held true even for gods like Grandar. Yet, the essence of the Savior’s existence appeared to be His soul instead.

Roel had never been able to comprehend all the talk about how the Mother Goddess and the Savior were beings that transcended the gods. The notion of it was simply too vague to him. However, he was now wondering if the difference between Them and the other gods was in their souls.

Even after losing His body and falling into a deep sleep, the Savior continued to exert tremendous influence on the world, which hinted at how powerful His soul was.

This definitely wasn’t good news to Roel since he possessed no means of vanquishing a soul. His forehead scrunched into a frown, but a moment later, he shook his head.

He would later devote his time to investigating the new information he had just uncovered on the Savior, but he hadn’t forgotten his primary goal for coming here. His lips curled upward as he raised his head to look at Grandar.

“It looks like our goals coincide, Grandar.”

“This is fate. If He ever awakens, I’ll make the same decision as I did.”

“You mean smash him into pieces?”

“That’s right.”

Grandar’s response was so calm that he could have very well been talking about what was on for breakfast instead. Roel sighed softly.

“You don’t have your comrades fighting alongside you anymore. Are you still going to challenge Him despite that?”

“Sealing the Savior is the greatest achievement of us, giants. I must fight for our glory… and I do have my comrade with me.”

Grandar stared straight at Roel with his glowing eyes as he spoke with a confident voice. Roel naturally understood what he was getting at too.

“You’re talking about me? I’m happy to hear that, and I do see you as my comrade too, but I’m all but one person. I don’t think I can match up to the warriors who have once followed you.”

“Not at all.” Grandar shook his head. He looked at Roel and earnestly spoke, “With you, I’ll be far stronger than I used to be. You are not the same person that you were when we first contracted. You’re already a powerhouse now.”

“…”

Grandar spoke in a tone filled with a warrior’s respect and acknowledgment. Those were rare words of affirmation from the Giant Sovereign.

Stunned, Roel fell silent. He recalled all of the difficulties he had faced in his arduous journey before he quietly nodded, choosing to accept his comrade’s compliment. He thought about the terrifying enemy that they were going to up against, and a fearless smile formed on his face.

“I see. Let’s remake history together then, this time with just the two of us.”

“Mmhm.”

The black-haired man and the towering skeleton giant met eyes and exchanged smiles, sealing a promise between the two of them.

A gale blew across the crimson plain as the setting sun started to blur out. As the surroundings gradually distorted, Roel bade his farewell. Under Grandar’s watch, he slowly closed his eyes.