Chapter 417: Destroying the Tribe
"Roar——"
The ground drakes let out a deep roar as they charged directly into the burning camp.
The hill giants were much larger than ordinary humanoid creatures, but they were still no match for the mountainous charge of the drake cavalry.
"Ah!"
"It hurts!"
The crude giants were trampled underfoot and crushed into meat paste, their agonized screams filling the air.
"Who... are you?"
"Why... invade... tribe?"
A hunched hill giant elder, gripping a wooden staff, looked on in shock and rage. Though the giants had lived a wild, primal life for thousands of years, eating and reproducing like beasts, they had a rudimentary level of intelligence.
The giant elders, considered the tribe's wisest, had learned a few basic words of the common language and could voice simple questions.
After living in Kartepa for many years,
The hill giants had learned of the dangers posed by the humans to the south. They avoided confrontation and instead greedily consumed any life forms around them.
They had not developed their own culture, but they would often imitate the behaviors of creatures they ate before devouring them.
However, this was only mindless mimicry—they didn't consider whether their large bodies were suited for such behaviors. One tribe had once attempted to live in trees like elves, only to cause the entire forest to collapse under their weight.
This time, the appearance of a new enemy shattered the traditions they had held for generations, leaving the giants bewildered and at a loss.
Standing atop his ground drake, Count Jesse gazed down at the hill giants with a wild grin.
"Who are we? You want to know who we are?"
"We are the Imperial Expeditionary Force!"
"We're here to bring death and destruction because you are pests infesting the empire's land!"
Jesse initially considered throwing his spear to kill the hill giant elder, but after a moment's thought, he grinned wickedly and drew the pistol from his waist, quickly aiming it.
"Ignorant fool, taste the wisdom of the empire..."
"Bang!"
With a gunshot, a bloody hole appeared in the elder's forehead, and its massive body collapsed with a thud.
"Hahaha!"
"What a wonderful toy!"
Jesse blew the smoke from the pistol's barrel and lovingly returned it to his waist. Each shot filled him with immense satisfaction.
After the war against the Eternal Frost tribe, the empire's troops had become experts at slaughtering giants.
Working in groups of two or three, they coordinated attacks from multiple directions, ensuring that the clumsy giants were dead before they could even locate their enemies.
Gunfire, the pounding of drake claws, the wails of the giants, and the shouts of imperial soldiers all mixed into the cacophony of battle.
The stench of blood and gunpowder spread across the wasteland.
Against the disciplined imperial infantry and mounted gun lancers, these disorganized, brute-strength hill giants had no chance—even with their massive size and strength.
A goblin deputy, also mounted on a ground drake, trampled a fallen hill giant before calling out to Jesse from afar: "Count! There are some young ones hiding in the caves!"
Jesse's expression turned cold, and he commanded sharply: "Leave none alive. Kill them all."
Though referred to as "young ones," the hill giant juveniles were already larger than most humans. The smallest among them stood over two meters tall, trembling as they huddled deeper inside the caves.
Following Jesse's orders, goblins threw bundles of wood into the caves while wyverns descended to the ground and breathed fire into the cave entrances.
The wood ignited instantly, and flames and thick smoke filled the caves. The young hill giants, unable to endure the heat and suffocation, wailed as they tried to escape.
But before they could step outside, the goblin infantry, waiting in formation at the entrance, pulled their triggers simultaneously.
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
The cave entrance soon piled up with charred corpses, many riddled with bullet holes, their original forms barely recognizable.
"My lord, we've cleared out all the hill giants in the area."
"Excellent. These damn creatures dared to attack our hunting party and even devoured a goblin. They got what they deserved."
Jesse folded his arms and inhaled the scent of gunpowder in the air, savoring the thrill of battle.
The empire had classified hill giants as harmful creatures unfit to become citizens.
Unlike their lawful evil cousins, the frost giants, hill giants were pure chaotic evil and extremely unintelligent.
Additionally, there was an "unspoken" factor—the hill giants shared many physical and behavioral traits with ogres.
In the complex hierarchy of giant-kind, ogres were at the bottom. Naturally, imperial ogres, despite their improved intelligence and independence, were eager to eliminate a species that threatened their status.
Furthermore, the imperial think tank had determined that the cost of transforming hill giants into "valuable citizens" far outweighed any potential benefits.
As a result, while frost giants could serve as slave labor, hill giants were deemed pests to be exterminated.
Jesse stepped forward and stomped on a hill giant's massive head before kicking it aside.
"Bart, what's the situation with the Kingdom of Thrace? Have they made any moves since burning down their old castle?"
"Count, over the past two days, the Crimson Scaled Conquerors have spotted Thracian scout units near the border. However, they appear to be insignificant militia forces."
"Their elite demigod troops have been fully deployed to the south to counter the Kassand Kingdom's offensive."
Jesse frowned slightly, his displeasure evident. "How arrogant! The Thracians still dare to send scouts?"
"It seems they haven't learned to fear the empire!"
He drew his pistol once more, savoring its cold, metallic feel as he aimed into the distance.
"If His Majesty Cassius weren't focused on domestic development, our forces would have already stormed their so-called 'Sunrise City,' Auguste!"
"We've been kind enough not to provoke them. Where do they get the audacity to test us?"
Narrowing his eyes, Jesse turned southward and asked coldly: "How far is their scouting camp from here?"
"Very close—just sixty miles southeast of our current position."
Jesse fired several shots southward and commanded loudly: "Everyone, prepare to move out! Let the Thracians see reality and witness the might of the empire!"
"For the empire!"