HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"This is where the jungle giants live? It looks...no different from any other place."

As they approached, Liliya inspected the forest ahead. Apart from the plants being slightly larger than elsewhere, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary.

"It should be okay. The Adventurer's Guild rarely gives false information since they only publish it after confirmation. There must be traces of jungle giant activity here. Everyone, be careful." Platinum carried a bow and arrow, walking slightly behind Savage.

After leaving the town, they arrived at their destination quickly, as it wasn't far and didn't take much time.

"The appearance of the jungle giants is similar to ordinary small mountains. Be careful not to collect from their backs." Skyfire thought about the jungle giants' information and gave a rough explanation to her companions.

"Have any of you noticed the ground shaking?"

Cellinia suddenly spoke up, standing next to Rozaliya.

"Shaking... Oh no, let's leave here quickly." Startled, Rozaliya realized the ground was rising and hastily pulled Liliya to turn around and retreat.

The others didn't hesitate either, scattering quickly in different directions. In the next moment, the ground formed a small mountain, rising higher and higher...

Until a giant towered before them, reaching over ten meters tall, covered in young trees and weeds.

"We're quite lucky, encountering one right as we arrive..." Rozaliya's eyes lit up, and her pale pink great sword immediately appeared in her hand.

Lilya beside Rosaliya also pulled out her large blue great sword.

"You guys back off, I'll take care of this big guy." With that, she hoisted the weapon onto her shoulders and charged forward.

The jungle giant had just managed to stand up. Seeing the little bug rushing toward it, without hesitation, its massive hands covered in moss—each several meters wide—swatted down toward Rosaliya as if crushing a fly.

Just as the giant's hand was about to squish Rosaliya, the group behind her paled and were on the verge of rushing to her aid. Only Liliya remained calm, standing without reacting.

The giant's hand slammed into the ground like a hydraulic press, causing tremors that rippled outward. But when it lifted the hand, it found nothing beneath it.

It was like trying to swat a fly only to find nothing between your fingers when you open your hand. The giant was caught off guard.

"Hey, big guy! I'm right here on your shoulder!" Rosaliya's voice chimed.

The jungle giant immediately tried to swat her again. This time, just as it began its attack, Rosariya vanished and reappeared atop its head.

"Hack, hack, hack, hack!"

Rozaliya, wielding her greatsword, struck the jungle giant's head with such force that countless chunks of stone shattered and scattered.

The giant's palm continued its swipe at Rozaliya, but once again, she vanished from its grasp, reappearing behind it.

In this manner, Rozaliya hacked away... until the colossal jungle giant, once tens of meters tall, was reduced to a mere fraction of its original size.

"Finally... time to send you to hell!"

Rozaliya leaped into the air, transforming into a human missile locked onto the giant's head. With a thunderous crash, she slammed directly into it.

"Super Headbutt!"

Boom!

A shower of stone debris filled the sky as the giant's stone head disintegrated into countless fragments. The creature crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Rozaliya returned to Liliya's side, shaking her head as if to clear it of any lingering effects. "It's done. Let's go collect the heart."

Jungle giants were a variant of sub-giants, characterized primarily by their immense size, strength, and resilience. Beyond these factors, they possessed no other notable abilities.

Such foes were particularly easy to dispatch.

Rozaliya alone could shatter a Titan with a single blow, let alone a mere stone giant. Her head had withstood the test of a Titan from Cocolia before.

Without activating its protective shield, no Titan could endure Rozaliya's iron skull.

-

"Lady Rozaliya, Lady Liliya, we've collected the core from the jungle giant." Savage held aloft a piece of blue phosphorous stone—the heart core extracted from the behemoth's body.

"Ah, excellent! With that done, let's head to the Oni Clan territory!" Rozaliya unfurled the map Hoshiguma had given her; their destination was tantalizingly close.

"Yes, what should we do with the core?" Savage offered the glowing orb to Rozaliya.

"You can hang on to it for now," Rozaliya replied, her eyes gleaming with purpose. "It's crucial we have all our tools ready before we delve into the heart of the Oni territory. This core could be the key to understanding their world."

"Oh."

-

Although they were now very close to the oni tribe... it still took them almost an hour to reach their destination.

Moreover... as Rozaliya and her companions neared the hidden abode of the oni tribe, they discovered a raging inferno ahead. Everything—houses and all—was engulfed in flames, the fire's glow visible from afar.

"What happened here?"

"It's on fire..."

Gazing at the flickering fire ahead, the group halted their steps, a wave of confusion washing over them.

-

Timed Mission Triggered: Save the Oni Clan Twins and Eliminate the Terrorists

Mission Details: The Demon Lord of the previous generation in this world was a half-human, half-elf witch. With her immense power, she destroyed half of the continent.

Although the witch was later defeated and expelled from this world by three powerful Heroes, since then, a terrorist organization called the Witch Cult has emerged.

Mission Objective: Rescue the last two twin survivors of the Oni Clan and eliminate all Witch Cultists

Mission Rewards:

300 Crystals (Quality: Purple) Strength, Ability, and Mechanical Experience Chips x30 each Molotov Cherry Fragments x3 Blueberry Blitz Fragments x5

-

Though the tribe was small,

"Go, let's save them."

With that, they charged into the burning Oni Clan village.

Surrounded by houses ablaze with roaring fires, it was clear this hadn't just happened. They continued moving swiftly, careful to avoid the houses collapsing in flames around them.

Dead bodies were scattered everywhere...

Besides the Oni, dressed like ordinary people but with horns on their heads, there were many black-robed figures shrouded entirely in black.

Unlike the Oni who seemed to have died from ordinary causes, these black-robed people met gruesome deaths. It appeared they had suffered from frenzied, brutal attacks, their bodies torn apart.