A deathly silence had fallen over the camp, broken only by the mournful whistle of the wind.

A tall figure lay slumped in the center of the camp’s clearing. At the sound of movement, he shot upright.

It was Kado, the Tier Five Domain Level Hill Giant who had escaped last time.

A flicker of wariness crossed Kado’s murky eyes, but when he recognized the familiar figures in the approaching party, his caution instantly melted into wild joy.

He let out a deafening roar and excitedly waved his thick arms at his kin.

However, he was met with only silence.

The fourteen Hill Giants simply stood their ground, their gazes lowered. Not one of them stepped forward to greet him.

Kado froze, the joy on his face hardening into confusion and unease.

Just then, a golden shadow enveloped the entire camp.

Sun descended from the sky. His hundred-meter-long body crashed to the ground, and the remnants of the earthen walls were easily crushed to dust beneath his immense weight.

"Submit, or die!"

Sun’s deep roar rumbled like thunder, his golden eyes locked onto Kado.

A scorching, tyrannical aura instantly spread out. The air temperature skyrocketed, and the grass visibly withered and turned a scorched yellow.

Sun Furnace Domain, deployed!

"ROAR!"

Kado sensed a fatal threat. He let out a defiant roar and violently stomped his right foot.

An invisible, heavy field of gravity erupted from him, cracking the ground and sending dust flying.

Gravity Domain!

The two completely different Domains clashed violently above the camp, tearing the very air and producing a piercing shriek.

The intense heat and crushing pressure intertwined, creating a chaotic field of energy.

Raylo didn’t hesitate for a second.

Coal Ball, who was in front of him, opened its small mouth. A silver light flashed, and the Giant Puppet appeared out of thin air, landing solidly on the other side of the camp to form a pincer attack with Sun.

Golden light flared within the Giant Puppet’s empty eye sockets. It began to charge toward Kado with heavy strides, each step leaving a deep impression in the earth.

But that wasn’t all.

Raylo pulled the ancient horn from his coat, raised it to his lips, and sounded it.

The distant, desolate call of the horn echoed between heaven and earth.

In the sky above, a brilliant blue star suddenly blazed to life before plummeting like a meteor, trailing a long, fiery tail.

In mid-air, the starlight condensed, forming a knight clad in armor of blue starlight and wielding a Sapphire Greatsword.

His face was indistinct, but his form was incredibly solid, and a cold, sharp aura washed over them.

Starfall Knight!

The Knight spread his arms wide in the air, and his Domain instantly unfurled like a heavenly net, completely enveloping the Hill Giant Kado below.

Two Domains!

Three Domain Level Powerhouses!

Kado’s massive pupils contracted. He was utterly terrified.

The scorching Sun Furnace Domain made him feel as if he were trapped in a furnace, while in the Starfall Domain above, stars twinkled, poised to rain down as meteorites.

Behind him, the tireless, unfeeling Giant Puppet was already swinging a massive fist his way.

BANG!

Kado turned, barely managing to block the Puppet’s heavy fist with his arm. He wanted to run, but when he looked up, he met the gaze of Sun’s dragon eyes, which blazed with golden flames.

He realized with despair that he was surrounded on three sides, with no escape.

He now understood that the only reason he’d escaped last time was because his opponent had been busy subduing the kin he had left in the camp.

The ensuing battle was completely one-sided. It was less of a fight and more of a beating.

Five minutes later, a battered and bruised Kado lay on the ground, his body covered in cuts deep and shallow. The deepest wound, a gash across his chest that nearly exposed bone, was the Starfall Knight’s handiwork.

He gasped for breath, all fight gone from his eyes, leaving only deep exhaustion and fear.

"I... surrender."

He mumbled in the Giant tongue.

Raylo waved his hand. Sun retracted his Domain, the Starfall Knight dissolved into starlight, and the Giant Puppet ceased its movements, standing silently to the side.

Kado struggled to his feet, walked before Raylo, and knelt on one knee, lowering his proud head.

Raylo nodded in satisfaction.

To Raylo’s bemusement, the Hill Giant who had just been on the brink of death seemed to be remarkably resilient.

After pledging his loyalty to Raylo, Kado immediately scrambled to his feet, acting as if he hadn’t just been beaten half to death, and cheerfully went to join his kin.

He immediately zeroed in on the ten-meter-long Wolf Fang Club held by one of the other Giants.

Kado unceremoniously snatched it away. He swung the massive Wolf Fang Club with such vigor that it whistled through the air. Caressing the club as if it were a priceless treasure, he let out a satisfied roar.

Ed watched from the side, dumbfounded. He couldn’t help but whisper to Raylo.

"My Lord, are all Giants... wired a little differently?"

Raylo couldn’t help but laugh at the comical scene.

"Maybe simple is better."

Raylo was naturally thrilled to have subdued the Hill Giant Kado and added another Tier Five Domain Level Powerhouse to the Black Stone Territory.

This meant the Black Stone Territory’s peak combat strength had reached a new level.

Night fell, and several bonfires crackled to life in the camp.

Kado hugged his brand-new Wolf Fang Club like a priceless treasure, occasionally giving it a swing or two. The resulting gust of wind made the bonfires roar and flicker.

Raylo paid no mind to the commotion. He walked to the edge of the camp alone, with Moonlight trailing silently beside him.

He took the ancient Soul Horn from his coat.

The Horn still gave off a faint glow, but the light from the inlaid Tier Five Magic Core was noticeably dimmer than it had been before he summoned the Starfall Knight.

Raylo gently brushed a fingertip over it, sensing that its stored energy was nearly depleted.

’At most, it can handle one more summoning.’

His gaze then shifted to the motionless Giant Puppet.

The silent behemoth had withstood the suppression of Kado’s Gravity Domain and several heavy blows during the fight. While it showed no external damage, Raylo could clearly sense through his Soul Link that its internal core was running sluggishly.

This thousand-year-old war weapon had already been suffering from a lack of maintenance. After a series of battles, it was nearing its breaking point.

’It’ll probably break down completely after one or two more fights.’

’And as for repairing a Tier Five Domain Level Giant Puppet?’

Raylo gave a wry smile. ’Forget the Black Stone Territory; I doubt I could find a master with the necessary skills and materials even if I turned the entire Duchy upside down.’

’Looks like the Soul Horn and the Giant Puppet will have to be my trump cards. I can’t use them lightly.’

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, sunlight pierced the forest mist, casting dappled light on the ground.

Kado had re-established his position as the leader of the Hill Giants.

"Sun," Raylo said.

"ROAR."

The hundred-meter-long Golden Dragon lay on the ground, bringing its enormous head close to Kado to act as a temporary translator.

Raylo needed to learn the details of the Endless Forest Sea, and as a native who had lived for hundreds of years, the Tier Five Domain Level Powerhouse Kado was undoubtedly the best source of information.

"Ask him our current location and the distribution of power within this forest."

After Sun conferred with Kado, he relayed the information.

Kado’s reply was simple but logical, and he quickly laid out the key information he knew.

"Kado says that a two-hour walk to the south, at their pace, leads to a massive basin," Sun relayed. "It’s the home of the Mammoth Herd."

Raylo’s spirits lifted. This was the very reason for their expedition.

"On the edge of the basin is a deep, wide river called the Canglan River."

"He said a real behemoth lives in the river, a Catastrophe Level Giant Dragon called the Azure Wave Dragon Emperor. They say he has ruled those waters for over a thousand years."

Catastrophe Level Giant Dragon!

Raylo’s pupils contracted slightly.

"There are also many Magical Beast clusters of various sizes along the river and in the forest, and most of them have submitted to the Azure Wave Dragon Emperor," Sun continued to translate.

Kado scratched his head and pointed west.

"He says that to the west, past the edge of this forest, you can see a range of volcanoes called the Roaring Volcano Group. At the foot of the volcanoes, there’s a line of peaks inhabited by over a thousand Griffins of all kinds."

Over a thousand Griffins!

The Griffin Knights behind Raylo couldn’t help but gasp when they heard that number.

"Those Griffins are subordinates of the Lord of the Roaring Volcano Group, the Red Flame Dragon Emperor," Sun added.

’Another Dragon Emperor.’

Raylo’s brow furrowed unconsciously.

Kado seemed to recall something else. He pointed south again, past the direction of the Mammoth Basin.

"He says that across the Canglan River, there’s a huge valley that’s home to another Hill Giant tribe. They’re much larger than us, with over a hundred members."

Over one hundred Hill Giants!

This news made Raylo’s heart skip a beat.

If he could bring that tribe under his command as well, the ground forces of the Black Stone Territory would be transformed.

Azure Wave Dragon Emperor, Red Flame Dragon Emperor, over a thousand Griffins, over a hundred Giants...

A torrent of overwhelming information flooded his mind, and for a moment, Raylo struggled to process it all.

This seemingly primitive Endless Forest Sea was far more complex and dangerous than he had ever anticipated.

Each name represented a terrifying power, any one of which could easily crush the Black Stone Territory.

He fell silent for a moment, processing the impact of this new intelligence.

The Griffins of the distant Roaring Volcano Group and the Giant Tribe across the river were certainly tempting, but for now, the most important thing was to increase the Black Stone Territory’s own strength.

’One step at a time.’

"Our original plan hasn’t changed," Raylo said.

"First, we’ll go to the Mammoth Basin and capture enough Mammoths for the Black Stone Territory."

He looked at Kado, issuing his order through Sun.

"Kado, you and your kin will be the vanguard for this operation."

An excited expression immediately appeared on Kado’s massive face upon hearing he had a mission.

He beat his chest powerfully, hoisted the ten-meter-long Wolf Fang Club onto his shoulder, and let out a roar in response to Raylo’s command.

Raylo nodded in satisfaction and vaulted onto Baofeng’s back.

"Move out! Target: Mammoth Basin!"