Kay felt incredibly stifled.
He had spent his life wild and free, recognized since childhood as having the potential of a knight. As he grew, he not only displayed exceptional talent but became the kind of man who could keep a thousand maidens' bodies but never their hearts.
Yet, he never imagined that a man like him would one day be ambushed by a giant just because he was looking for a snack—and worse, he was about to become the giant's snack instead.
"It's all Lily's fault, that idiot! She actually ate two weeks' worth of rations in one go! That's why I'm stuck in this mess!"
At the thought of this, Kay felt a surge of irritation.
God knows why his "younger foster brother"—who was actually a "younger foster sister"—looked so small but could eat so much.
At this rate, she'd eat all of Britain hollow before she even finished leading it to glory.
Imagining himself and a group of knights kneeling before that blond girl, weeping and wailing, "Oh King, we can't afford to feed you anymore," Kay felt a profound sense of sorrow.
Britain is cooked!!!
And then there was that useless white-haired magus!
They agreed to look for food together, but it had been days and there wasn't a sign of him. He was definitely off fooling around somewhere again.
Besides, did no one notice that the great Knight Kay had gone missing?
Where are my teammates? Someone, save me!
As he watched himself being tied to a tree trunk, destined to be roasted like the black horse from earlier and swallowed whole by the giant, Kay's expression grew increasingly contorted, and the profanities poured from his mouth like a machine gun.
"Damn it! Do you dare let me down? Let's have a go at it, I'll show you what a true nightmare looks like!"
"You piece of work! All you know is eating! Did you forget to pay? Eat, eat, eat, I hope you choke to death, you bastard giant!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Can you hear me talking? I'm telling you, you're ignoring me now, but when my sister gets here, I don't care how much you beg, you'll never be on our level!"
"Aaaaaah! Let me down!"
Souya stood there, dumbfounded, listening to Kay's barrage of insults. Only one thought occupied his mind: Holy crap, this guy is a legend.
Whose subordinate was this? To think Britain possessed someone with such expressive facial expressions and such abstract cursing skills.
Even Souya, who had survived the era of 21st-century internet toxicity, had to admit that with this guy's mouth, he'd be a top-tier influencer in the modern age.
[By the way, Host, do you really not plan on saving him? If he keeps cursing like that, the giant's ancestors for eighteen generations are going to be rolling in their graves.]
Hearing this, Souya felt a bit nonplussed and replied:
"What do that giant's ancestors have to do with me? I'm not his forefather."
"Besides, this guy is dressed as a knight. He doesn't look like some weakling. Maybe he's doing this on purpose to make the giant lower its guard before he strikes."
The System was convinced by Souya's logic. It looked at the still-cursing Kay and couldn't help but sigh.
[I have to say, this giant is impressive. To be cussed out like this for so long and not even come out to teach him a lesson... if it were me, I'd have ripped his mouth shut by now.]
"Is there a possibility the giant simply doesn't understand a word he's saying?"
System: ...
Just as Souya and the System were talking nonsense, a roar erupted from the cave. A five-meter-tall giant with yellowish skin, wearing a loincloth made of animal hides and rippling with muscles, crawled out.
"That's the bastard who stole my horse!"
When enemies meet, eyes turn red. Souya's eyes practically caught fire the moment he saw the giant.
He swore he would tear this thing into ten thousand pieces to avenge his lost horse and the grievances he suffered in the forest these past few days.
As the giant crawled out of the cave, it immediately grabbed the tree trunk Kay was tied to, staring at him with a fierce expression.
"ROAR! (What are you screaming about so early in the morning, you moron?!)"
"What are you doing? What are you trying to do! I'm warning you, if you're gonna kill me, just do it! Don't get weird with it!"
Looking at the giant's eyes—each the size of a lantern—and the obvious "morning breath" temper within them, Kay felt a sinking feeling in his gut.
"ROAR! (Shut up, you noisy insect!)"
With that, the giant took the trunk Kay was tied to and slammed it face-down onto the ground.
"GAH!"
Kay's scream echoed through the forest.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR!"
The giant clearly wasn't satisfied and slammed him several more times.
It wasn't until Kay's handsome face was swollen like a pig's head that the giant finally put the trunk down, looking quite pleased with itself.
"Now's my chance!"
Seeing the giant let its guard down, Souya's eyes lit up.
He immediately gripped his spear, and with his magical energy surging, he lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for the giant's eye.
This was a cyclops. If he could blind it, finishing it off would be twice as easy.
The attack was so sudden that the giant, still basking in the silence it had finally achieved from Kay, failed to react in time.
It instinctively squeezed its eye shut, trying to use its eyelid as a shield.
But with Souya's strength, was this strike really that simple?
Possessing the 'Lingering Light of the Age of Gods', his physical attributes and magical energy grew stronger as Vortigern's influence expanded. His raw stats were already comparable to the heroes of the Age of Gods' peak.
In an instant, the spear pierced through the giant's eyelid and sank deep into the eye.
Green blood sprayed out immediately.
"ROAR!"
Feeling the agonizing pain and the loss of sight, the giant lost all composure. It grabbed the trunk Kay was tied to and swung it wildly at Souya.
"I'LL KILL YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!"
Kay's scream was stretched out by the wind as the giant swung him through the air.
Souya remained calm. He yanked his spear back, stepped onto the giant's head, and used it as a springboard to leap high into the air, narrowly avoiding the blow.
However, the force of the wind from the giant's swing pushed him back toward the ground.
"This guy's strength is a bit ridiculous, isn't it?"
Standing on the earth, Souya watched the giant swing the tree trunk haphazardly, snapping surrounding trees like twigs.
[To answer the Host: Giants are Phantasmal Species known for their raw power and destructive capability, and Mountain Giants are among the best.]
[However, as relatively pure Phantasmal Species, a Mountain Giant's power mostly comes from the earth. If the Host can make it leave the ground temporarily, you can break its defense and pierce its heart.]
"Oh, so his setting is basically the same as the Land Shadow Knight from Armor Hero, huh?"
Souya immediately understood.
But knowing is one thing; doing it is another. After all, the giant wasn't some video game character who was going to jump for no reason when it had the earth's blessing right there.
The giant finally calmed down, stopping its meaningless swinging.
Though it had lost its sight, it still had its hearing and smell. In fact, losing its vision made these other senses even sharper.
Within a few breaths, it distinguished another scent in the clearing, besides the human in its hand.
That must be the despicable coward who ambushed it.
With a roar, the giant swung the trunk down toward Souya with crushing force.
[He's picked up your location! Host, get out of the way!]
"No need."
Ignoring the System's panic, a confident smile curled on Souya's lips.
I refuse to believe that a minor giant at the end of the Age of Gods can outmatch my physical stats, which are on par with the Age of Gods' prime.
Souya planted his feet firmly, raised his right hand, and thrust his spear like a thunderclap toward the incoming tree trunk—and Kay, who was still attached to it.
"Brother, let's talk this over!"
Seeing the guy dare to meet the giant's attack head-on, and aiming the spear right at him, Kay screamed in terror.
But Souya didn't have the patience to listen.
The spear struck like a dragon, precisely piercing the gap between Kay's legs and embedding the spearhead into the trunk.
Souya's feet sank deep into the ground from the impact.
On the surface, it looked like the giant had the upper hand, but was that the truth?
Souya gave his hand a violent flick. The resilient spear shaft suddenly erupted with immense force, shattering the tree trunk into countless splinters in a single instant.
His spear wasn't like the ones used by most knights in Britain, where both the head and the shaft were made of iron. This was a custom spear Souya had ordered, modeled after Chinese spears: an iron head with a flexible wooden shaft. Only a spear with this combination of flexibility and sharpness could perfectly channel his terrifying strength.
With quick hands and eyes, Souya caught the screaming Kay in mid-air and tossed him toward the nearby woods.
He then continued his assault on the giant.
The giant, realizing its attack had failed, grew desperate.
"ROAR!"
It bellowed, slamming its massive foot onto the ground. The next moment, a surge of power caused the earth to crack and split.
Sensing the force beneath his feet, Souya leaped instantly, dodging the tremor.
But to his surprise, the giant seemed to have anticipated his move.
A massive hand swiped down toward Souya from above.
"Watch out!"
At that moment, a clear, melodic voice rang out.
Souya saw a flash of movement. In the next second, a golden-haired girl in a white dress appeared before him, holding a longsword that looked as if it were cast from pure gold, blocking the path of the giant's hand.
"This is..."