Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 602: Chapter 443: The Giant’s Shop and an Audience with Great Elder Gu

”Get out of the way! That Mountain-Cracking Axe is mine! I’ll pay Five Trucks of Iron Crystal Stone for it!”

”Carlo, brother! Sell me another one! I’ll introduce my sister to you!”

Inside the shop, the two Domain Level Giants, Gordo and Ug, had no choice but to act as temporary doormen. They held back most of the surging Hill Giants, letting only ten in at a time.

Raylo watched the frenzied scene unfold, his expression still calm.

’Everything is under control.’

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

He would use the most direct method possible to announce his arrival and monopolize the high-end Weapon market of the entire Giant City-State.

As he watched the fanatical Giants toss bag after bag of precious ore and set after set of rare Magical Beast Materials onto the counter before snatching up one Weapon after another, the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.

’Now I have the resources for Black Stone Territory’s development.’

However, just as the atmosphere in the shop reached a fever pitch, with some Giants nearly coming to blows over a Weapon...

...

Two days.

In just two days.

The blacksmith shop at the end of the alley went from being as crowded as a marketplace to having its very last shelf stripped bare.

After the last Battle Hammer was hauled away by an ecstatic Hill Giant, only empty Weapon racks remained in the shop.

The buying frenzy had finally subsided.

But many Giants who had failed to get their hands on a Weapon still lingered outside the alley. They craned their necks, peering inside with enormous eyes filled with regret and frustration.

Raylo stood in the center of the empty shop, his expression calm.

Over the past two days, he had used his Spatial Bag to make several silent trips between Black Stone Territory and the Giant Dragon Realm.

Bag after bag of rare ore, complete sets of Tier Four and Tier Five Magical Beast Materials, and many Alchemy Plants and Crystal Cores unique to the Giant Dragon Realm now lay quietly in the warehouses of Black Stone Territory, adding to its foundational resources.

The resources were secured.

Their abundance far exceeded Raylo’s initial estimates.

The Hill Giants’ desperate craving for high-quality Weapons, combined with their straightforward and unreserved nature, had made the transactions exceptionally smooth.

A tall, burly Giant guard pushed aside the onlooking Hill Giants outside the alley and strode into the shop.

At his appearance, the noisy alley fell silent in an instant.

The eyes of every Giant focused on the guard.

The style of the Giant guard’s Armor, specifically the ancient mountain-shaped insignia carved on its chest, represented a single individual.

The Great Elder.

The Giant guard’s gaze swept across the shop, finally settling on the relatively ”short” Raylo and the powerfully built Kado.

He bowed slightly, his voice deep and rumbling like a war drum.

”Carlo. Kado.”

”The Great Elder requests an audience with you both.”

’It’s time.’

A faint glint flashed deep in Raylo’s eyes.

”The Great Elder?”

The excitement on Kado’s face instantly vanished, replaced by an expression of mixed awe and anxiety.

To an ordinary Hill Giant, the Great Elder was a legendary figure, the bedrock of the city-state, its supreme ruler.

On any normal day, they wouldn’t even be qualified to enter the Elder Tower.

And now, the Great Elder himself had sent someone to invite them?

Kado instinctively glanced at Raylo, his eyes asking a silent question.

”Lead the way,” Raylo said calmly.

The guard said nothing more. He bowed again, then turned and led the way out.

”Sir, we...”

Kado swallowed hard, sidled up to Raylo, and lowered his voice.

”The Great Elder... Why would he summon us? It’s not because we’ve made too much, is it? He’s not going to...”

It was a rather petty thought.

”We’ll find out when we get there.”

Raylo patted his arm, reassuring him.

”Just listen more and talk less,” Raylo instructed.

Kado nodded emphatically.

The two of them followed the guard out of the shop.

The Giants outside automatically parted to form a path. Their expressions were complex—a mix of envy and jealousy, but mostly awe.

To be summoned by the Great Elder was, in itself, a symbol of status.

At that moment, the name ”Carlo Kado” was finally considered to have truly taken root in the Giant City-State.

They passed through the bustling market, exited South City, and arrived at the center of the Giant City-State.

Here, the buildings were no longer crude piles of rock but were fashioned from massive, polished stones. Their surfaces were smooth and the seams were perfect, exuding an air of solemn dignity.

The number of Giant guards along the path grew, and each one had a grave, imposing presence.

They watched Raylo and Kado with scrutinizing and wary eyes.

Without realizing it, Kado’s breathing grew labored.

He could sense more than one hidden Domain Level presence in the area. A few of them felt even stronger than him.

Conversely, he couldn’t feel the slightest trace of the Great Elder’s Catastrophe Level aura.

This was the true heart of the Giant City-State, the residence of the Great Elder, Gu.

They entered the tower.

There were no lavish decorations inside, only the mottled marks left on the stone by the passage of time. A profound, desolate aura hung in the air, one that seemed to have existed since the primordial age.

”The Great Elder is waiting for you inside.”

The Giant guard led them to a large door, then stopped and stepped aside.

The chamber within was dimly lit.

Enormous stone pillars supported the vaulted ceiling, their surfaces covered in ancient murals depicting Giants battling Giant Dragons and hunting Magical Beasts.

In the center of the room, two large braziers burned, their Flames flickering.

Behind the braziers, a figure sat silently on a throne carved from a single slab of mountain rock.

It was the Great Elder, Gu.

He looked ancient.

His skin, like dried bark, was covered in deep wrinkles. A long white beard, woven into several braids, cascaded down his chest.

He just sat there, emitting no powerful or oppressive aura.

Yet the moment Kado saw him, he felt his own Domain Power nearly freeze. A sense of awe originating from the depths of his bloodline made him instinctively lower his head and quiet his breathing.

This was the Great Elder of the Giant City-State.

An elder who, according to legend, had lived for over a thousand years and witnessed countless historical ages.

Raylo’s gaze also fell upon the Great Elder.

He could sense the heavy aura of twilight emanating from the old Giant’s body.

Compared to the other Catastrophe Level experts Raylo had faced, this Great Elder of the Hill Giants had constrained his immense power to the absolute limit, like a dormant volcano.

”You are Carlo?”

An ancient, hoarse voice, heavy with the weight of ages, echoed in the grand hall.

The Great Elder’s eyes slowly opened.

And what eyes they were.

Cloudy, yet they seemed to pierce through everything.

They were like bottomless pools, having witnessed countless ages.

”Yes, esteemed Great Elder.”

Raylo replied, neither servile nor arrogant, as he met the elder’s gaze.

Beside him, Kado was so nervous his palms were slick with sweat.

”In nearly a thousand years, I have never seen Weapons so exquisitely Forged. Moreover, the runes carved upon them are quite novel,” the Great Elder said slowly.

”You flatter me, Great Elder.”

”No.”

The Great Elder shook his head.

This time, his gaze was no longer as still as an ancient well.

A ripple disturbed the surface of those deep, pool-like eyes.

”It’s not just the Forging technique. There’s... something else.”

’A chill went through Raylo’s heart.’

’As expected. Some things couldn’t be hidden from this ancient, Catastrophe Level Giant.’

”Or perhaps I should say... an outlander.”

The Great Elder finally spoke those two words.

His voice was not loud, but it seemed to freeze the very air in the great hall.

Kado’s head snapped up. He instinctively looked at the ”Carlo” beside him.

Raylo’s expression remained unchanged, but his palms had grown damp with sweat.

The Great Elder leaned back on his throne and spoke slowly.

”I am very curious.”

”After going to such great lengths and causing such a stir, what is it that you truly want from us?”

It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the great hall.

The leaping Flames in the braziers were the only things still moving, yet they made not a single crackling sound.

Light and shadow stretched and twisted across the enormous stone pillars, like silent phantoms.