"Honored King of Elbaf, greetings. I, Fate D. Roldy , offer you respect from the New World."
Roldy placed one arm across his chest and performed the etiquette of the Giant Kingdom. The people behind him followed suit.
The King of Elbaf sat upon a massive throne carved from a single block of stone. A crown rested on his head, and the pauldrons on his shoulders were carved in the shape of lions. Merely sitting there, he exuded a powerful aura.
"King of the Next Era, Fate D. Roldy . I have heard your name."
The Giant King, Sparta, showed him goodwill.
Before a powerhouse of Roldy 's level, he did not dare act arrogantly. Moreover, the other party was a fellow countryman with giant blood flowing through his veins. Sparta had already begun planning to establish a friendly alliance with Roldy .
The industrial chain under Roldy 's command would bring the giant race the things they needed most. And according to the intelligence Sparta had received, Roldy 's various actions were surely part of some larger plan. His visit this time was likely because he had his eye on the power possessed by the Giant Kingdom.
The truth did not exceed his expectations.
After the two rulers with different identities exchanged a few simple pleasantries, Roldy quickly stated his purpose. The first thing he proposed was an alliance with the Giant Kingdom.
Sparta agreed quite readily.
The conditions he offered were very tempting. Roldy 's merchant fleet only needed to increase the transport of supplies to the Giant Kingdom. The giants did not require Roldy 's protection.
In return, Roldy would receive the eternal friendship of the giant race.
That giants kept their promises was something everyone on the sea knew. And the eternal friendship promised by the Giant King was even more priceless.
However, after hearing this, Roldy slowly shook his head.
"Honored King Sparta, you may have misunderstood what I mean. The alliance I want is not merely that."
"Oh? I would like to hear the details."
"Countless people are living in misery. The Fish-Men, beloved by the sea, are sold as slaves. Even the giants, kings of the land, cannot escape that fate. The giants should not merely huddle within Elbaf. Courageous young warriors should go out and make their way across the sea, and they should receive the status they deserve."
"But under the control of the World Government, all of that is nothing but a luxury. I feel deep sorrow over this, and that is why I came here."
Roldy 's words made Sparta's entire body tremble.
His eyes widened. He had never expected this to be what Roldy wanted to express.
Was this not just a roundabout way of trying to pull the Giant Kingdom onto Roldy 's side, so they could one day resist the rule of the World Government?
Indeed, as the current king of Elbaf, he was dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.
The giants were powerful and openhearted, yet that very nature had become a weakness exploited by those with ulterior motives. Their towering bodies had made them the most sought-after slaves.
Even so, every year, an endless stream of young giants wanted to go out and explore the world. As king, Sparta could not stop them.
But the result was that many young giants never returned.
He was furious about it. He wanted to slaughter every last slave trader, along with the clients backing them.
But the problem lay precisely there.
The people behind those arrogant slave traders were none other than the World Government.
Those high and mighty Celestial Dragons!
Publicly, he was the king of the giant race.
Privately, the previous king of the Giant Kingdom, his elder brother, had died in a plot orchestrated by the World Government.
He bore an irreconcilable hatred toward the World Government.
But so what?
No one understood the strength of the World Government better than Elbaf.
Elbaf had existed even longer than the World Government. In the kingdom's ancient texts, there were records of that world-shaking war from eight hundred years ago.
They recorded the final king.
The Ancient Weapon Uranus.
And the King of the World, Imu.
Without enough combat power to oppose those two beings, no number of ordinary soldiers would matter.
"You truly are bold. But why should I involve myself in something like this?"
Sparta spoke coldly. His tone no longer held the warmth from the beginning.
In truth, if he had not learned that Roldy once rescued many giant slaves at the Sabaody Archipelago, he would never have given the other man a chance to explain.
Heroes under heaven were as numerous as carp crossing the river. His elder brother had been one. Rocks had been one as well. Even someone as strong as Roger did not enter his eyes.
Only those who stood above Admirals were qualified.
And even then, they merely possessed the qualifications.
"Because of strength."
"Something like that isn't proven with words."
The two stared at each other. It was as though faint, dazzling sparks were already grinding between them.
In the next moment, Sparta on the throne and Roldy below both disappeared.
Right there in the solemn royal palace, the Giant King and the King of the Next Era collided!
"Is that all?"
With purely physical strength, Sparta blocked Roldy 's punch.
There was no need to be surprised. The strength of giants was already formidable by nature. As king, Sparta was also the strongest warrior of Elbaf. This outcome was only natural.
"As expected of the strongest giant warrior!"
Roldy sighed in admiration, but the heat in his eyes grew even more intense.
"So, whether it's the Giant Warrior Army or the so-called baptism, I want them both!"
"Hm? Although I don't know where you got that information, if you want to continue this discussion, you'll have to defeat me first!"
The legendary baptism did not have especially harsh requirements.
As long as one possessed giant blood and had strength worthy of recognition, that was enough.
Roldy naturally possessed the former.
As for the latter, he would have to beat Sparta into submission!
"Then please forgive my offense!"
A red light flashed in Roldy 's eyes.
In the next instant, his fist became a claw, and he seized Sparta's fist.
As the muscles across his body bulged, Sparta, who stood twenty-two meters tall and was incomparably powerful, was actually lifted over Roldy 's head by brute force!
He had not used the power of his Devil Fruit!
"Natural-born monstrous strength? What terrifying physical power!"
Sparta exclaimed in surprise.
But strength alone could not make him submit.
He had already decided to bring out his true ability and give this fellow from the New World a proper shock, to let him understand just how vast this sea truly was.
And then…
Roldy beat him brutally.
Sparta sat collapsed on the ground, his face bruised and swollen. Even one of his front teeth had been knocked out. He stared at Roldy in complete shock, utterly unable to understand how one person could reach such a height in speed, strength, reaction time… every single aspect.
He was a perfect all-around monster with no weaknesses!
"What a terrifying man."
Only now did Sparta finally come back to his senses.
He looked at Roldy , his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"The pressure you bring me is even stronger than what my elder brother once gave me. Young man, I acknowledge you. You are qualified to receive the support of the giant race."
"As for the baptism you want, there is no problem. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing just how terrifying someone like you will become after undergoing it."
Sparta admitted his defeat.
Roldy reached out and pulled him up from the ground.
"Then I'll be counting on you from now on."
Roldy smiled warmly, as though the man who had gone berserk in battle just now had not been him at all.
Sparta smacked his lips.
Roldy 's strength was worth investing in. Moreover, in the giant race's records, it was clearly stated that in the future, a hero would lead the giants out of their predicament.
Perhaps that hero was Roldy .
Perhaps not.
Who could say for sure?
A powerful warrior ought to enjoy everything.
The baptism of the gods would belong to Roldy .
…
Sparta held a banquet in the royal palace to welcome Roldy .
The matters that followed had already been settled. Roldy 's group would remain in Elbaf for quite a long time.
The so-called baptism of the giants was very lengthy. At the shortest, it lasted four or five years. At the longest, it could take more than ten years.
As for whether any living being could truly go that long without eating, perhaps that was the mighty power of the gods.
The four senior officers Roldy had brought with him, along with around a hundred underlings, were all trustworthy and worth cultivating. They would head to the military camp of the Giant Kingdom and undergo brutal training there.
At the banquet, Roldy and Sparta sat together without the slightest concern for appearances, arms around each other's shoulders.
Candlelight fell upon the two of them.
Yet because of the angle, the sight looked somewhat strange.
Roldy 's body was bathed in light.
As for Sparta…
He was separated from it by a clear line of darkness.
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