Chapter 216: Animalistic (2/2)

Luo Yuan shook his head. “That place is a long way from here, and we'll have to go slower because it’s dark. If some kind of accident occurs, we'll take even longer to get there. We need some extra time to react. Besides, those giants are not human. They should already be sleeping.” Luo Yuan took a look at her before he said softly, “Be careful. Better stay close to Wang Shishi.”

Huang Jiahui nodded as she said seriously, “Don’t worry about me. I will be.”

…

The team climbed up on the giant lizard and set off.

Roar after roars came from the distance, occasionally mixing with pained cries and growls, frightening them even more. Under the shade of the dense forest leaves, the tussock appeared completely dark. They could see pairs of glimmering lights on the shrub from afar. They were the eyes of mutated beasts hunting for prey. The large size of the giant lizard made them hesitate to go near them, though. They just kept wandering around the area.

At night, the forest was a more lively and dangerous place than during the day. Most carnivores were active during the night hours. Because of the high temperature they had been experiencing lately during the day though, some herbivores had also turned nocturnal in order to adapt to the harsh environment.

The giant lizard had to go slow, and it seemed impatient along the way. It could not help but roar a number of times. Although its roars were deafening, its size still kept them safe along the way.

Half an hour later, the group had finally reached the valley.

That place was not too far from the tribe of the giants. Luo Yuan had the group dismount from the giant lizard, because its movement would be too loud. In order not to alert the giants, they left it there while the rest of them walked.

It was very silent along the way, unexpectedly different from the atmosphere in the forest.

Maybe it was because of the frequent appearance of the giants, but barely any mutated beasts were living in the area. As a result, they did not come across any dangers along the way.

Not long after, they saw the dim light of a fire. Its scorching heat made the temperature rise suddenly.

Lin Xiaoji wiped his sweat off. His body was completely covered, so the heat wave made him sweat profusely. He complained in a low voice, “Aren’t those mutated beasts afraid of the heat?”

“It’s a method to defend themselves. With the fire burning, no mutated beasts will dare come near. Some sentries far from the military base use this method too. A burning fire is more effective than any machine guns or cannons. It seems that these mutated beasts are smarter than we expected,” Commander Xia said with a serious expression.

Luo Yuan did not pay much attention to their conversation. He carefully listened to their surroundings for a while before he turned his head and said, “It seems that some giants are keeping watch. I’ll check the place out first. Follow me only when I give you the signal.”

Although the rest of them had not heard anything, no one doubted him. They looked shocked, and their faces had turned serious.

“Brother Luo, let me come with you and help!” Wang Shishi said suddenly.

Luo Yuan hesitated. It should be safer there, so they would not have a problem without Wang Shishi. Besides, it would be really difficult to kill several giants by himself without alerting the rest of them who would still be sleeping. Luo Yuan nodded. “Alright, come with me. I'll need your help later on.”

Wang Shishi nodded her head in excitement.

They crouched as they walked forward slowly. It was getting hotter and hotter as they progressed, the heat almost burning their hair. After a while, Luo Yuan stopped and listened carefully. He pushed aside the dried grass, producing a soft rustling sound, but thankfully he did not attract any attention.

“Have you seen them? Can I see them, too?” Wang Shishi whispered. She was curious about how the mutated beasts looked.

“Shh!” Luo Yuan observed the area carefully. After a while, he turned to her and said solemnly, “There’s a total of 13 giants on guard. I didn’t expect this many. I'm afraid there might be trouble.”

A group of giants was sitting on the hillside randomly, occasionally checking their surroundings.

These giants were stronger and taller than the rest. Every single one of them was about seven meters tall, and their muscles were so big that they almost tore their skin apart. Although they were sitting randomly, they were still emitting a valiant aura. These were not common giants. They were warriors.

Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard from somewhere not far away. A giant stood up in alert and looked around, producing some weird sounds. It sounded as if it was communicating with the others. Then it took a long spear the size of a bowl and walked forward carefully while the others looked around them vigilantly.

These giants were extremely careful and vigilant. In fact, anyone living deep inside the forest with danger lurking in every direction would have done the same. If they did not, they would not have survived this far.

The giant carefully walked towards the source of the sound, surprised to find a dying mutated beast there with its stomach torn open and its guts dropping all over the place. A long trace of blood could also been seen. The most terrifying thing was that the giant did not know where it'd been heading or where it had come from. It was a huge surprise, indeed.

The giant licked its lip, revealing its two sharp tusks.

Even for a warrior like that giant, meat was precious and rare. They could not get it daily, because they had to risk their lives to find it. However, that did not affect how alert it was. It carefully checked around the area, and when it confirmed that there was no movement around, it excitedly picked up the mutated beast by its neck and walked back to where the other giants were.

As soon as the giants saw the mutated beast, there was an uproar. Their faces seemed to transform with happiness; one of them tore open the beast's stomach, pushed its hand in and pulled out the heart, giving it to the strongest giant in respect.

The giant seemed very pleased. It showed a flicker of a ferocious smile as it put the heart into its mouth and bit it with its sharp teeth. As it chewed the heart, fresh blood dripped down the corner of its mouth, making it to look even more ferocious.

Maybe this was some kind of special etiquette or sign, because as soon as the giant swallowed the heart, a feeding frenzy began. The feeding giants looked extremely intense as they tore the beast into several parts and put them into their mouths to tear and bite. One impatient giant acted like a wild beast, which only proved that, although these giants were intelligent creatures, they were still pretty animalistic.