Desert Giant Scorpion

"Meat!" Rono had been sleeping in the restaurant. After all, if he was asleep, he would not know he was hungry. "! Gelu, you spoke? Ptooey, ptooey—you finally learned to speak the common human language?"

"Gulu... Dad... Gulu." Gelu proudly puffed out his little chest. Even if he could only say one word, he could still speak, right?

Sairona walked over. "Help me move the meat. Good job, Gelu."

The meat Gelu had given him was already in his stomach. Hearing Sairona's words, Rono immediately sprang up. "Sairona, let's go!"

"Gulu gulu." Gelu indicated that he wanted to help too.

"Alright! Let's all go together!" Rono made the final decision. Once they reached the cabin, Rono directly hoisted all the barrels of stored meat onto his shoulders, then handed one to Little Gelu as well.

"By the way, what are you doing? Are you going to cook all that meat?" Sairona mocked him calmly.

"..." Rono looked utterly baffled. "How many barrels?"

"One. No more than that." Sairona held up a finger.

"Fine." After an intense mental struggle, Rono still agreed. You're the cook—you win.

"Gelu can take that barrel." Sairona pointed at Gelu, who was carrying a wooden barrel larger than himself toward the restaurant.

"Gelu Gelu!" The Little Treant was delighted, and even his steps became bigger.

Rono reluctantly set down the wooden barrels, then cheerfully ran out. Meat, meat, meat!

Sairona sighed. There was no saving him.

In the restaurant, Rono taught Gelu how to speak. "Dad—"

"Gelu—"

"Dad—"

"Dad—lu." Gelu lowered his little head. Gelu was too dumb; no matter what, he could not learn it.

"Sugoi! Gelu, you got it!" Rono clapped loudly.

"Gelu? (Really?)" Gelu raised his little head, scratched his head with a small hand, and became shy.

"Of course it's true!" Rono gave him a head pat.

"Should I find myself a girlfriend too?" Sairona muttered as he cooked in the kitchen.

Everyone enjoyed the meal. Rono was happy because he got to eat meat, Gelu was happy because Rono had praised him, and Sairona was happy because seeing the two of them happy made him happy too.

Days passed one by one. With Rono's madcap sailing, a journey that should have taken a month and a half was completed in just seven days.

The Waiter thoughtfully gave each of Rono's group a straw hat and helped them onto the camels—Gelu still sat on Rono's shoulder—before mounting a camel himself. Their destination was Rainbase.

Once they mounted the camels, their speed dropped significantly. Along the way, some residents greeted them, solely because they were from Baroque Works.

"Yo, looks like our reputation isn't too bad."

"Of course. Baroque Works has not only brought us jobs, but also relief shelters. Everyone is very grateful to them," the Waiter said proudly.

"I heard the Revolutionary Army is fighting the King's Army now?" Rono asked curiously.

The Waiter's mood sank. "Sigh, Alabasta's geographical conditions are too harsh, and food yields are too low. Although the king has not imposed heavy taxes, everyone still lives hand to mouth. The Revolutionary Army wants to use Dancing Powder to create more oases in Alabasta, while the king believes Dancing Powder will bring divine punishment and forbids its use. They went to war because their beliefs clashed."

"Honestly, I look down on your king. Don't look at me like that. A good king should use every possible means internally to let his people live happy lives, and externally, he should defend his territory and uphold the nation's dignity. Yet your king has been fighting the Revolutionary Army for so long. Heh." Rono spoke disdainfully.

The Waiter's initial anger disappeared. He had no strength to refute him.

"There seems to be something up ahead. A scorpion?" Sairona said calmly.

"Ah, a Desert Giant Scorpion?" The Waiter became somewhat panicked.

"Let Gelu get some practice." Rono stopped Sairona from drawing his gun.

"Sure." Sairona thought that was fine too.

"Gelu Gelu!" Gelu leaped down from Rono's shoulder, transforming into a three-meter-tall Tree Giant just before he hit the ground.

"Sigh, he's still not as tall as me. Gelu needs to eat more in the future. How can that do if he doesn't grow taller?" Rono sat on the camel—in its gigantic form—and shook his head as he looked at Gelu, who only came up to his waist.

"Waaahhh!" Gelu shouted as he charged at the Desert Giant Scorpion.

Rono paid no attention to Gelu and instead surveyed the scenery around them. The desert scenery really had its own unique charm. Looking at the distant Gobi wasteland and canyons, Rono sighed. "Nature is amazing."

"Holy crap, Rono, did you grow a brain?" System Loli flew from Rono's straw hat to hover before him, utterly astonished. This thoughtful Rono was not the Rono he knew.

Rono's face darkened. When the hell had he ever not had a brain?

In the distance, Gelu battled the Desert Giant Scorpion. Gelu truly was Rono's son, since his fighting style was exactly the same. The Desert Giant Scorpion snapped one of its pincers at Gelu, but Gelu neither dodged nor evaded. He went straight in with a punch. Bang! The Desert Giant Scorpion felt helpless. Wasn't it just out looking for food? Why had it run into such a freak? It could not break through his defense at all—how was it supposed to fight? Waiting online, urgent.

Gelu's body was made of Strange Tree, with a hardness close to steel. He completely crushed the Desert Giant Scorpion. One of the Tree Giant's hands transformed into a heavy hammer and smashed down on the scorpion's carapace. The Desert Giant Scorpion suffered the heavy blow, all six of its legs buckling as its shell creaked.

"Gelu!" Gelu shouted, bringing his hands together. Branches intertwined to form an enormous Wood Hammer. Bang! The Desert Giant Scorpion spat blood, its back shell cracking apart. Gelu raised his hammer-like hands, turning the lower end into a cone before smashing it down viciously. The Desert Giant Scorpion was pierced through and nailed into the sand. Squelch! The conical Wood Thorn exploded, churning the Desert Giant Scorpion's insides into a mess.

Gelu withdrew his hands, and his body gradually shrank, though the red markings on him glowed faintly. "Gelu Gelu!" He pointed at the Desert Giant Scorpion on the ground with one hand and waved to Rono and Sairona with the other. Rono and Sairona guided their camels over to Gelu. Rono frowned slightly. Just then, System Loli had told him that the Desert Giant Scorpion was now nothing but an empty shell—its life force had completely vanished within only a few minutes. Rono placed Gelu on his shoulder, got off the camel, and crouched beside the Desert Giant Scorpion. He gently tapped it. "Duang, duang." The crisp hollow sound made Rono frown even more. He threw a punch, and the entire Desert Giant Scorpion shattered into fragments across the ground.

Sairona watched Rono's series of actions from atop his camel, then beckoned the Waiter over. "Come here. Can Desert Giant Scorpions shed their shells to escape?"

"Mm, no, they can't." The Waiter thought about it before answering.

"What about the flesh and blood inside?" Rono asked. This definitely was not some trick of shedding its shell; this was its actual body.