"Superior Breathing Technique..."
His heart suddenly began to beat faster, a pure breath of life flowing with his blood to his limbs and bones.
Carl’s neck arched, his body trembling slightly.
In Hal’s eyes, his opponent seemed to inflate, suddenly growing taller and larger.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a giant three meters tall.
Carl raised his left hand, gazing at his palm.
Thanks to the automatic assembly witchcraft on his armor, as his body grew larger, the armor expanded with it, not hindering his movements.
"Do I need to say..."
The dirt beneath his feet exploded and the rocks below cracked as the armored giant lunged fiercely at Hal.
The broadsword, which previously required two hands to wield, now looked like a ’short sword’ in Carl’s grasp.
A ’short sword’ enveloped in Fierce Flame.
Hal was sent flying like a cannonball shot from its chamber.
If Carl were within a Divine Domain Fragment and could call up his data panel, he would have discovered a rapid, dramatic change in his stats.
This was an increase of a full 0.9 from his previous 2.1!
Even though he couldn’t see the specific numbers, he could feel how terrifying his strength had become.
"It seems what you said isn’t entirely correct."
Carl loosely gripped his left hand. Swinging the ’short sword’ towards his opponent, he declared, "Different breathing techniques yield different Secret Skill effects, and the one I’ve cultivated is clearly superior."
Hal spat out fresh blood and staggered backward, "This is impossible!"
"I told you," Carl swung his sword in pursuit, his colossal figure like an Ancient Giant reborn, "Nothing is impossible!"
The broadsword swept across, cutting Hal’s body in two at the abdomen. His upper half flew off, scattering a great deal of blood.
Carl stood stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses.
As his strength waned, his giant form began to shrink, and a sense of Weakness promptly overcame him.
The Secret Skill, while powerful, was fueled by a short-term burst of potential and couldn’t be sustained for long.
Carl steadied himself, stepped forward, and picked up the parcel from Hal’s body.
The large parcel contained three smaller parcels.
One of them held two black iron plates.
His Giant Spirit Breathing Technique had come from a similar iron plate, but the content on this one was clearly different.
Without looking closely, he put away the iron plates and opened the other two smaller parcels.
Inside one of them were four fist-sized circular metals, similar to coins but larger.
Another contained a wooden box full of meatballs.
Large coins? Meatballs?
These were all things he had never seen before. But for Hal to carry them at such a time, they had to be extraordinary.
Ayala and the others stood at the ’city gate’, looking at the people coming and going, their expressions varied.
"Big Sister," Xiao Nan spoke in a low voice, "Is this Vitelli City? The legendary Fiery Sun City? Freedom Port?"
"Yes," Ayala spoke with difficulty, "This is definitely the place."
"It’s not as good as I imagined," Leon said, "Apart from there being more people, the buildings here aren’t even comparable to Black City."
Black City once had actual houses, various three-story buildings, and towering structures everywhere. They were just somewhat dilapidated from years of neglect.
Before them were houses haphazardly pieced together with wooden boards, areas formed of various shanties, and narrow, labyrinthine alleys.
Rotten rats and dead fish lay everywhere. Piles of urine and feces were strewn about. The revolting, putrid stench could be smelled from far away.
The roads lacked paving stones; they trod on mud. Lower-lying areas had become sewage ditches filled with excrement, its water a purplish-black, with swarms of buzzing insects circling above.
The pedestrians’ clothes were also poor, mostly coarse linen, and many were barefoot.
This didn’t matter much.
They too were shoeless, their hair disheveled. Looking no different from the city’s common folk, they attracted no attention.
"The environment is a bit poor, but we have freedom!"
Ayala spoke, seeming to feel that her words were not very convincing. As she walked forward, she continued, "Perhaps the environment inside the city is better. Watch your belongings; there are thieves here too."
Just now, she had seen at least three pickpockets.
These people were extremely adept at stealing. When discovered, accomplices would step in to help them escape.
Clearly, these thieves are organized!
"Big Sister," Xiao Nan stepped forward, "What do we do next?"
"First, find a place to stay," Ayala looked around, "We need to ensure our safety, learn more about this place, and then... wait for Uncle to find us."
"What if Uncle doesn’t come?" Leon asked.
The group fell silent.
"It’s okay," Ayala took a deep breath, her face breaking into a radiant smile, "When Uncle Carl wasn’t with us, we still managed to live in Black City. It’s the same now."
She gently shook her head. "Now, Xiao Nan is a Knight Attendant, Leon, you have your Dharma Seal, and we still have the things we brought from Black City."
"At the very least, surviving won’t be difficult."
"Yeah," everyone nodded.
If Carl was the backbone of their small team, then Ayala was its pillar.
Without Carl, they might feel the future was more uncertain, lacking a certain sense of security.
If they lost Ayala, the team would cease to exist!
As long as Ayala was there, they could stick together, confident they could advance together.
A towering figure stood atop the tower, arms spread wide as if to embrace the approaching figures in the distance.
"Welcome to Vitelli City!"