Rocks vs. Hajrudin

The second half of the bonfire party reached its climax.

The White Wolf Pirates' apprentice was going to fight Hajrudin, the eldest son of Harald, the Giant King!

The giants perked up at the news.

"Come on, Hajrudin! Don't disgrace the Giant Tribe. Don't lose to that little guy!"

"Hajrudin is King Harald's son. How could he possibly lose?"

"Hajrudin, take him down!"

"..."

A huge crowd of giants cheered Hajrudin on. The twenty-year-old giant boy gripped the short sword in his hand nervously and couldn't help swallowing.

"Tch, that old geezer's always getting me into trouble."

Unlike Hajrudin, Rocks, already an adult, was much calmer.

Although Rocks was only twenty, humans became adults at eighteen, while members of the Giant Tribe were still considered children until they were fifty.

If Rocks had to challenge an adult giant, he wouldn't have agreed no matter what. He wasn't an idiot; he'd at least wait until he'd mastered the Haki Mongge had mentioned.

But fighting a Giant Tribe kid who hadn't reached adulthood was another matter.

"If I win, he'll teach me the Six Powers?"

Thinking of Mongge's promise from earlier, Rocks immediately grew serious.

If he won, he'd learn the Six Powers.

If he lost, he'd have to mop the ship's floors and clean the toilets...

He absolutely couldn't lose!

"Harald, what are you doing?"

At the edge of the giant village, beside a cliff, a tall, broad-shouldered giant stood atop a vast castle built in a large tree. He was peeking at the village through a spyglass.

Hearing a voice behind him, the giant hurriedly put the spyglass away.

"Ahem, I was just checking on the people."

"It's Hajrudin, isn't it?"

Behind the giant, a female giant with long, wavy hair shot him a glance.

"I heard the captain of the White Wolf Pirates is here again?"

"Yeah, but Mongge isn't like ordinary pirates. He doesn't have that much ambition."

Recalling his first meeting with Mongge ten years ago, Harald, the Giant King, pondered for a moment. Then, seeing the worry on his wife's face, he broke into a hearty laugh.

"Haha, don't worry. Even if he really is up to something, at his age, he might not be able to beat me."

At one hundred and fifty, the Giant King was in his prime. Mongge, at seventy, was already growing frail. Compared with the giants, humans simply had far too short a lifespan.

"The times are changing. Dorry and Brogy leaving might be an opportunity. Normal trade with other countries is the right path to development—not plunder."

Harald watched Hajrudin, who had already begun fighting Rocks in the distance, then glanced at his wife's heavily rounded belly.

"For our children."

"We have to leave them a peaceful and stable future."

The giant village.

"Take this!"

Hajrudin shouted and swung his wooden sword down hard at Rocks.

Thud!

The wooden sword struck the ground, smashing a web of cracks into it.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Rocks's forehead.

"Monster!"

He was just a kid, but his strength was astonishing. If Rocks's reaction speed hadn't been fast enough, he suspected he would've been knocked flat in a single exchange.

"Come on, Hajrudin!"

"He's on your right! The little guy's on your right!"

"Look, he's under your feet!"

"..."

It was a classic case of the emperor not being worried while the eunuchs fretted. Hajrudin, the one fighting, hadn't grown anxious yet, but the giants watching were already worked up.

Even the old giant Yoruru was among them.

"Everyone, shut up!"

A giant holding a club more than ten meters long swung it once. Aruru shouted, "Hajrudin is a warrior of the Giant Tribe. Our job is to believe in him!"

Though he said that, a hint of worry crept into Aruru's gaze as he watched Hajrudin.

Rocks was too cautious.

It looked like Hajrudin's attacks came within a hair's breadth of hitting Rocks every time, but from Rocks's expression, he was just conserving his energy.

Hajrudin was simply too big. Though he was only a child by the standards of the Giant Tribe, he was three times Rocks's height, and the difference in their builds went without saying.

In a head-on clash, Rocks would lose without a doubt.

But Rocks wasn't giving Hajrudin any chance to fight him head-on.

"Whew, thank goodness."

After dodging another of Hajrudin's attacks, Rocks felt that he still had plenty of stamina, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

Two months ago, even if he'd been able to dodge Hajrudin's attacks, his stamina would've been completely drained by now after evading them for so long.

But after Mongge's hellish training, his stamina had increased several times over. A fight of this intensity was no problem for him anymore.

"Still, winning's going to be tricky."

As he dodged Hajrudin's attacks, Rocks considered his options.

Hajrudin had stuck to the giants' formulaic fighting style: slashing, sweeping, and chopping with his sword, then using his shield to block the enemy's attacks.

With their size advantage, giants could easily handle opponents who weren't fast or strong enough.

The most important thing was speed!

Just as Rocks was desperately trying to figure out how to get around Hajrudin's defenses and land a hit, he suddenly heard Mongge's voice.

"Hey, Rocks, remember a few days ago when I threw you into the sea?"

"Hm?"

A scene from a week ago came to mind: Mongge had thrown him into the sea, tied his hands, and dragged him behind the ship with a rope.

Rocks's fists clenched.

"He's got an opening!"

Seeing Rocks lose focus, Hajrudin's eyes lit up. He swung his wooden sword hard at Rocks.

Bang!

Amid a cloud of thick dust, the familiar sensation told Hajrudin he hadn't hit Rocks. So, by habit, he pulled back his sword and raised his heavy shield in front of him.

In fact, Hajrudin had come within a hair's breadth of hitting Rocks.

If he'd thrown away his sword and brought the whole shield crashing down instead, Rocks—who had only dodged his previous attacks by rolling across the ground—would surely have lost.

But that tiny difference was all it took.

"I get it now."

When Mongge had dragged him behind the ship, Rocks had to keep kicking the water to swim and match the ship's speed, or he'd drown.

But that training method hadn't been meant to improve his swimming speed.

It was—

"Soru!"

A blur burst through the dust. He stamped on the ground dozens of times in an instant, and his sudden burst of speed startled even Rocks himself.

If even Rocks couldn't react, Hajrudin had even less chance.

In the blink of an eye,

Hajrudin saw Rocks slip past his sword-and-shield defense and appear on his shoulder, a short sword held against his neck.

Without Haki, the Giant Tribe's defenses weren't much different from an ordinary person's.

In that instant, Hajrudin understood.

He had lost.