Chapter 563: Seventy-One - The Enslaved Frost Giants
Chapter 563: Seventy-One - The Enslaved Frost Giants
In the suburbs of Isthalia City, steam trains loaded with firearms, ammunition, and other logistical supplies were parked beside the platform.
This type of steam locomotive had an especially large engine with a dragon-beast head sculpture carved on it, looking fierce and clumsy, thus earning the nickname "Giant Skull."
However, its hauling capacity was also especially powerful, able to carry 2,200 tons of cargo in one go. It was specially used for large-scale goods transport and was hailed as the "Empire’s Carriage Driver."
"Hurry up! No slacking!"
"These arms are to be sent to the front lines! If they’re not delivered on time, the higher-ups will get furious!"
Ogres, hobgoblins, half-giants, and other robust Imperial vassals bustled about, hauling heavy containers between the armory and the steam locomotives.
"Snap!"
"Useless trash!
His Majesty Cassius mercifully forgave you, yet instead of showing gratitude, you dare slack off!"
First came the loud crack of a whip, followed by the angry cursing of an hobgoblin overseer.
"Mm."
The frost giant gritted his teeth and groaned from the pain but didn’t cry out. Fresh whip marks joined the scars already covering his back.
The young frost giant slave bent down, put on the worn wooden yoke, and once again dragged a dozen containers behind him.
The heavy steel shackles around his ankles clanged occasionally, but he didn’t care.
Accompanied by heavy breathing, he trudged forward with great effort.
The frost giant had only rested for a moment before the overseer whipped him without mercy, but he was long used to this numb, beast-like life.
"Damn beasts! You should know your lives were bestowed by His Majesty Cassius. You are nothing more than his private property!"
The hobgoblin overseer roared hoarsely, eyes bulging with rage.
The several-meter-long whip cracked through the air, frequently landing on the backs of the frost giant slaves, leaving deep, bloody wounds.
It was said this hobgoblin overseer’s son had died in the well-known "Glacier Annihilation War," his neck snapped by a warrior of the Eternal Frost tribe.
Since then, the hobgoblin had volunteered to become the overseer of a frost giant slave team, taking joy in whipping them.
The Empire officially prohibited slavery—but frost giants were an exception.
It was well known that just a few years ago, the great His Majesty Cassius flew north and personally wiped out the Eternal Frost tribe’s frost giants, ending the millennia-old "Frost Calamity" that plagued the people of Anzeta.
But generational blood debts and tens of millions of deaths couldn’t be forgiven with a mere apology.
As a ruler deeply loved by the people of Anzeta, Cassius would never allow such a thing to happen!
After careful consideration, to atone for the thousands of years of harm the frost giants caused the people of Anzeta, His Majesty authorized all captured frost giants to be enslaved.
—To atone to the people, to repay the blood debts.
As a result, frost giant slaves were seen toiling in exhaustion in the construction of Isthalia, the laying of Imperial railways, and the building of the Empire’s Wall defense line.
They were not treated as citizens, nor given the treatment and dignity of normal workers, but used like livestock—even like public machinery.
When there was work, they were dragged out to toil day and night. When there wasn’t, they were locked in dark dungeons, surviving on the lowest-grade paste.
Rumor had it, "Beneath every railroad tie of the Imperial railway lie the corpses of a hundred frost giants, whose vengeful spirits cause the trains to jolt."
Scholars within the Empire strongly condemned this, calling it a barbarity unworthy of Imperial spirit, comparable to the nobility of the Northern Kingdom. Even the esteemed legislator Olivia had spoken out repeatedly.
But the Empire’s petty citizens and soldiers argued back. They remembered the blood feud and believed this was the price frost giants ought to pay.
They rebuked: "We can release those damned frost giants, but can they revive our dead relatives and ancestors?"
The frost giant slave issue had sparked several debates in the Citizen Assembly, but nothing changed their plight.
Now, with breeding at the ranches and steady food supply, the number of frost giant slaves in the Empire had increased to 400, nearly matching the Eternal Frost tribe at its peak.
"Snap!"
Another loud crack of the whip.
"Useless trash, get up! Don’t you want to regain your freedom? Fail your task and you’ll rot in the dungeon for the rest of your life!"
The hobgoblin overseer cursed while swinging his whip, nearly knocking down a smaller frost giant.
His mention of "regaining freedom" referred to a new policy by the Empire.
Roughly stated: frost giant slaves who completed or exceeded their tasks would receive a special "Pardon Coupon."
With enough coupons, they could leave the dungeon and regain their freedom.
But this was merely a false promise, offering foolish frost giants a glimmer of hope.
According to internal calculations, most frost giants wouldn’t live long enough to collect enough coupons—not to mention the many shady manipulations involved.
Yet the frost giant slaves were unaware of this. Hearing the overseer’s words, they became enthusiastic, quickly donning their yokes and resuming labor.
Their breathing grew heavier, and they even roared to exert full strength.
But the young frost giant did not follow. He kept a pace just fast enough to avoid the whip, dragging the cargo slowly.
In his light blue pupils flickered a barely noticeable, deeply buried hatred—even the hobgoblin overseer missed it.
—His name was Arigon Eternalfrost, son of former frost giant hunting captain Baya, who had survived the massacre due to his young age.
The overseer went for a drink break, and another frost giant came over and whispered:
"Arigon, hurry up. Don’t you want to earn a Pardon Coupon?"
Her relatively short 4.5-meter frame and sparse white beard revealed she was a female frost giant.
"Kaya, you’re too naive."
Arigon snorted coldly. "Pardon Coupon? That’s a joke. Do you really think these Imperial dogs will let us go? Let me tell you, that damned Red Dragon wants us to work until we die!"
Hearing "Red Dragon," perhaps from long years of abuse, Kaya shuddered and curled up in fear.
Her throat trembled, but she tried to remain rational. She whispered, "Arigon, you’re insane! You dare mention that name?"
But Arigon’s gaze remained resolute as he looked at the strong, alluring female frost giant and softly said:
"Kaya, do you trust me?"
Kaya’s face was tense with fear, but staring into Arigon’s pale blue eyes, she nodded resolutely.
Arigon whispered, "Back then, that elder left a safeguard within my body. I’ve been hiding the power of the ancestral totem."
He stepped forward, grasped Kaya’s strong hand, and whispered in her ear, "Trust me, Kaya. I will get you out of here.
The chieftain’s son, the frost giant Koman with ancestral blood, should be in the Anstica Mountains in the south. I’m going to join him and restore the glory of the Eternal Frost tribe.
Together we will destroy the Ember Empire, liberate all frost giants, and slaughter these vermin—"
"Snap!"
Another loud crack, and fresh wounds appeared on Arigon’s ragged back.
"Damn beasts! Are you in heat? Go to the dungeon breeding ranch! Who allowed you to speak during work? Who?"
Seeing the two frost giants close together, the overseer cursed viciously, spittle nearly flying onto their faces.
He swung his whip fiercely again, whipping it toward the disobedient slave.
"Snap."
But this time, Arigon reached out and caught the whip, his face twisting with hatred as he glared at the overseer.
"Hobgoblin, you’re courting death!"
At last, he tore off the mask of numb, submissive slavery and revealed the cruel, warlike nature of the frost giant.
Arigon had never submitted!
But the hobgoblin overseer was also a battle-hardened veteran and didn’t flinch under the giant’s aura.
"Damn it, the beasts really are rebelling. Fine, I’ll use this chance to kill them all."
He threw down the whip, pulled out a controller from his pocket, and viciously pressed the button.
Instantly, dazzling lightning erupted from the shackles on every frost giant present, electrocuting them black and causing wails.
In moments, over a dozen giants collapsed unconscious, unmoving.
Totem markings in icy blue lit up on Arigon’s body, his muscles bulging, veins swelling.
"Roar—"
The frost giant howled to the sky. His metal shackles froze into ice and shattered.
The hobgoblin cursed, "By Cassius! He’s a remnant of Eternal Frost! They weren’t exterminated thoroughly enough!"
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
Realizing the seriousness, the overseer quickly drew his pistol, retreating while firing repeatedly at the giant.
He also activated the communicator on his chest and roared, "Emergency! Frost giant slave uprising! Uprising!"
Arigon grabbed a massive rock as a weapon, smashed Kaya’s shackles, and locked his gaze on the overseer.
"Hobgoblin! Lackey of reptiles! You will pay! I’ll return everything you did—double!"
"Your entire Empire will be destroyed by the mighty frost giants! The name Eternal Frost will again resound through Anzeta as your nightmare!"
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
The overseer ignored the taunts and emptied his magazine at the frost giant.
The bullets struck Arigon, but the ice armor covering him blocked them completely.
Hobgoblins and ogres nearby drew weapons and opened fire at the rampaging giant.
"The fall of the Empire—begins with you!"
Arigon, confident in his Eternal Frost power, charged headlong with his rock into the hail of bullets toward the overseer.
His only goal—smash the bastard into pulp!
Facing the rampaging frost giant, the hobgoblin laughed mockingly, spreading his arms wide:
"Foolish, lowly beast! You don’t understand the greatness of the Empire or the power of His Majesty Cassius!
Hahaha! Come on, kill me! I’m a first-class Imperial citizen! Kill me and every frost giant nearby dies with me!"
The overseer’s taunts drove Arigon into a rage. Breathing heavily, his blue eyes blazed with fury.
The frost giant raised the rock high and slammed it down on the loathed overseer with all his strength.
At that moment, a loud dragon roar echoed.
"Roar—"
A tremendous pressure overwhelmed the frost giant, making him tremble and freeze mid-strike—Was it the Red Dragon Emperor himself?
But the hobgoblin sneered and mocked, "Heh, it’s the Crimson Scaled Conqueror. Looks like your rebellion ends here."
The rock fell from his hands. Arigon looked up and saw a wyvern diving down, roaring with wings spread.
On its back was a knight in heavy armor, wielding a long spear.
—It was the Dragon Roar Charge, the Crimson Scaled Conqueror’s signature attack.
Staring at the descending wyvern knight and feeling the dragon’s might, Arigon gritted his teeth and thought:
These red dragon vassals can’t harm me. I am a totem warrior protected by ancestral power, the hope of the Eternal Frost tribe!
His muscles tensed, his focus sharpened, ready to bring down both rider and wyvern.
Just then, a more powerful, unfathomable force descended, pressing down on Arigon.
The totem on his body dimmed instantly. The icy armor shattered into powder.
Eyes wide, mouth agape, disbelief filled his face. He muttered, "No... impossible... this is ancestral power..."
"Szzzrrt—"
Unprotected, the spear pierced the blue skin, stabbed through his thick chest, and its bloodied tip emerged from his back.
"Damn, this was a mini-boss! Level almost 10! Normally we’d need a full party to fight!
Tsk tsk, this [Dragon-Blood Viscount - Sealing Extinguish] is awesome. It removed all buffs on the frost giant. Too bad it’s only usable here."
Mantou leapt off the wyvern, removed his heavy helmet, and smiled in delight while reading his panel.
The frost giant, pierced by the spear, knelt before him with no dignity of a defeated warrior.
This so-called last hope of the Eternal Frost tribe, who claimed he would overthrow the Ember Empire, died pitifully at the hands of a passing player.
And in the foreseeable future, countless frost giants would perish building the Empire’s great blueprint, paying for their past sins with their lives.