The crowd frowned. Where was that bugle coming from?
The sound grew louder and louder, long and continuous, echoing through heaven and earth. The dormant Giant King's City seemed to be stirring from its slumber.
Haotian the Great reacted, "Something's wrong, that's the Golden Bugle's sound. Who's blowing it?"
Su Luo turned to look, only to find that Shui Qingyue and Shangguan Hanyu had disappeared at some point. It went without saying that they must have escaped when the Great Emperor was condensing the spring water, and everyone's attention was drawn away.
"It must be Shui Qingyue. Who else is so obsessed with the Golden Bugle?" Her heart sank, and a sense of foreboding washed over her.
Rumble…
The earth began to shake as if an earthquake had struck, kicking up clouds of dust.
Disjointed, heavy roars like booming drums echoed. Someone gasped in astonishment, realizing that the colossal stone statues standing in the distance were rapidly changing. Their gray-white exteriors had vanished; they had clearly come back to life and were moving. Some raised their long spears, roaring "Wala wala" with their mouths.
"Oh no, the giants have awakened!" Du Wei exclaimed.
In moments, a powerful pressure washed over them like waves. Resurrected stone statues were everywhere.
Having just awoken from their slumber, they seemed confused as they saw no enemies.
Some giants stood still, looking around with stiff movements. Others walked slowly through the streets holding long spears, their steps booming. Although they hadn't attacked yet, their seven to eight-zhang height and "wala wala" roars instilled a strong sense of crisis in everyone.
"Let's hurry to the palace and see if Shui Qingyue has the Golden Bugle..."
Before Su Luo could finish speaking, someone cried out in alarm, "Look over there! That giant is even bigger and wearing a crown! Could that be the Giant King? Look… there seems to be someone on his shoulder! A woman!"
"Hahahaha… My subjects, my warriors, you have finally awakened!"
Shui Qingyue's voice seemed to descend from the heavens, unrestrained and arrogant. Though far away, they could clearly see her standing on the Giant King's shoulder, her skirt fluttering, holding the miniaturized Golden Bugle, and looking down at Su Luo and the others.
"Did you ever expect this? I, this Saintess, have obtained the Golden Bugle!"
"The humiliation and insolence you inflicted upon me… I will now repay you one by one. Die! Kill, kill them all… Leave no one alive. My warriors, immediately kill all these trespassers in the King's City."
Her voice echoed throughout the entire Giant King's City, causing the faces of the surviving cultivators to change drastically.
It was over. They hadn't escaped earlier, and now they were going to die here.
Boom boom boom!
The giants, who had been looking around aimlessly and wandering about, seemed to have heard their king's summons. The vertical pupils on their foreheads lit up, scanning their surroundings as if searching for intruders.
Those nearby had already spotted Su Luo and them. They charged towards them with heavy footsteps.
Haotian the Great sneered, "How insolent! With me here, who dares to say kill everyone!"
"Su girl, you handle these giants carefully. I'll go deal with that arrogant brat and snatch back the Golden Bugle!" With that, he leaped forward, spreading his arms wide, and flew towards the distant palace.
Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, several massive figures emerged from the adjacent streets. A troop of giant warriors spotted Haotian the Great, blocked his path, and shot their long spears at him with lightning speed.
Despite being in Shangye Shaoqing's body, Haotian the Great's movements were still as swift as lightning.
He waved his sleeve, and the huge long spears exploded in mid-air, sending fragments flying. He flashed to the shoulders of the giant warriors and lightly stomped on their heads. The giants froze, shuddered, and stood still.
"Hahahaha! These are my servants, I can't just kill them so easily."
Haotian the Great laughed and shouted towards Shui Qingyue, "You impudent girl, return my Golden Bugle immediately, or when I catch you, it won't be as simple as a spanking…"
Shui Qingyue was furious. Although she knew he was Haotian the Great, these words came from Shangye Shaoqing's mouth.
It was a profound humiliation.
"Shangye Shaoqing, shut your mouth! Today, this Saintess will make you die here!" Shui Qingyue raised the Golden Bugle to her lips and blew into it. Instantly, the movements of the giant warriors throughout the King's City quickened, and they scattered.
The surviving cultivators fled in all directions, rushing into buildings to hide.
But some houses also contained giants, so they quickly fled out again, dodging and weaving, flustered and confused as they were pursued.
Li Tianjue protected Su Luo, leading her to evade the pursuit of the giant warriors.
However, the surrounding giant warriors were becoming more numerous. No matter where they hid, they were faced with giants as tall as small mountains. They also had to guard against collapsing houses and flying rubble; being struck by them was akin to a powerful punch, not to be underestimated.
"Wala! Wu Wu Wala… Xi Gua Wu Li!"
Some giant warriors roared like muffled thunder, further intensifying the tense atmosphere.
But at this moment, as if a gust of wind had passed, Su Luo suddenly understood the meaning of the giant warriors' roars…
This situation was mystical. Although their calls sounded like the roars of beasts, chaotic and disorganized, she somehow understood them, similar to how she had understood foreign languages in her previous life.
"Wala wala…"
Awake again, training, training! Hurry everyone, gather…
"Wala wa ya…"
Why are we being trained as soon as we wake up? Didn't the King take us to play ourselves last time and tell us not to bother him? Huh, why is the King standing there, not moving? Is he hungry?
"Ya He Hei! La Wu."
Xima, how long were you sealed last time? I see you can't even walk steadily… Hey, Aguda, you bumped into me!
"Wugu, Xika!"
I'm sorry. That woman blowing the horn seems to be human. Why is she in our King's City? Can she even blow a horn? It sounds so awful.
Listening to the roars of each giant, Su Luo was very surprised by how unique their language was.
Although the pronunciations were brief, they contained rich meanings. She vaguely understood that these giants, despite their booming voices, were actually speaking normally, and their normal speech sounded like angry roars.
As for why she could understand the giants' language…
It was undoubtedly due to the Divine Eye Mirror. It detected the current state of these giants, acting as a language translator. This was a divine artifact passed down through generations of the Su family, and she hadn't even explored all of its functions.
It seemed the giants weren't really roaring with intent to kill; they were just as confused as she was, having just woken up.
Seeing a giant warrior charging towards her with a huge axe, each step kicking up countless gravel, Su Luo's heart stirred. She shouted at the giant, "Hey, big giant, what's your name?"
Suddenly, the striding giant stopped and looked at her, roaring, "Wala!"
Are you calling me?
Su Luo quickly nodded, "Yes, yes! I'm calling you, big giant. Can you understand what I'm saying?"
The big giant gave a simple, honest smile, his eyes widened, and he reached out to grab her, roaring, "Wala Su Ya!"
Of course, I can understand! But don't you humans not understand our Giant race's language? You can understand me? By the way, what's your name?
Su Luo rejoiced and jumped directly onto the giant's large palm.