It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"But the fact that the giants have become weaker does not mean that humans have become stronger. We are still the Middle Six tribes, and we have our own pride. Cooperation must be based on equality, and both sides must have equal input and benefits. This is our bottom line. What do you intend to let us giants do?"

Reed narrowed his eyes and laughed. At this moment, he looked like a profiteer.

He stretched out his hand and drew in the air, trying his best to make sure every giant could understand what he was saying:

"There are many things you can do. For example, the giants are about ten to twenty meters tall, tall and strong. Their muscular bodies look very strong. Such strong bodies are suitable for... moving bricks, right?"

"There are many regrets on the human side, and the construction of large buildings is one of them. Although the wealthy royal family can use magic to build magnificent palaces, and the Lingwu lord guarding the north can mobilize the power of the entire territory to quickly build a steel defense line stretching from east to west, but further down, most people's houses are still very low and simple. Because the cost of building high-rise buildings is too high, even though I have popularized a new material called cement in my own territory, there are still very few people who really use this material to build high-rise buildings. After all, they lack the necessary construction methods."

"…But tall buildings are necessary. To this day, the population density in my territory, and even in the entire human territory, is constantly increasing. When it increases to a certain level, it can only be reduced through war. There is no other way. The customs and habits in many places are to reproduce endlessly. This will cannot be easily changed by a few laws, but at least we can build taller buildings so that more people can survive. Including the city walls, the higher the better."

Lid watched as the higher titans' gazes grew increasingly gloomy, but he didn't care.

He could indeed solve this problem by speeding up the research and development of cranes, but since there are ready-made resources here, it is most convenient and quick to use them. Moreover, even if the crane is built, it is a huge problem to train a large number of professional technicians.

Although it is difficult for the giants to accept such a proposal, it is still possible to discuss it.

Lid spread his hands and continued with a smile:

"In addition, I see that the giants have great endurance and good physical strength. They can carry huge pressure and travel long distances without getting tired. They can carry much more loads than ordinary horses. In addition to construction work, they are also quite good at carrying things."

"Not only that, in addition to the practical effects, the alliance with the giants has many strategic significance. This will help me persuade other races to participate in the cooperation, and it will also help to deter some races with evil intentions. In general, there are still many things you can do, from all aspects..."

Before Reed could finish, one of the High Titans interrupted him with an unhappy tone:

"What's the difference between this and being your slaves? What you call cooperation is nothing more than treating us like servants! No matter how low the giants have fallen, they have never reached the point of working for humans—"

Another high-level giant also stood up and said:

"You probably don't know yet, but the crystallization of our hearts has stopped. Although we don't know the reason, the human nation defense formation is no longer the key to our survival! If you want to take advantage of it, forget it."

There were many discussions. Lid stretched out his hand and suppressed them, signaling others to keep their voices down. Then he said:

"Let's not talk about the crystallization of the heart for now. It's a fact that we lost a lot of compatriots. I heard that the war between the dragons and the elves is still going on. But if the war drags on, the elves who are good at jungle warfare will definitely find an opportunity to counterattack, and the dragons will sooner or later delay their offensive. The neighbors to the east have become Mo Zhui's desperate enemies, and most of the neighbors to the west have suddenly died - you all know the next target of the dragons' war without me saying more, right?"

Lid laughed and said:

"Moreover, the ones who are truly inferior in status and need to work hard in this cooperation are only the low-level giants. Do you really regard them as your compatriots? They have brute strength, they are trampled under your feet and used as mounts, they are insensitive to pain and will not stop until they die on the battlefield. Aren't they just tools in your hands? Since they are tools, why not lend them to us?"

Several giants looked indignant, but did not refute.

The situation seemed to be slowly turning to Lid, but at this moment, Kronos spoke again and said:

"So...what can we get in exchange?"

Kronos stood up, his face calm, but his momentum suddenly rose. This time he was not acting. If Lid could not give him a satisfactory answer, he would probably kill this human who spoke nonsense in the palace of the giants on the spot.

It is common sense that if you have a big appetite, you must show enough sincerity in exchange. If you do not abide by this rule, it is equivalent to declaring his disrespect for the giants, and it does not matter if you kill him.

But Kronos really couldn't imagine what kind of equal exchange Reed could offer.

Lid smiled slightly, reached into his arms, and took out the deep red blood soul crystal:

"How about this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, twelve high-level giants stood up from the ground at the same time!

Kronos opened his eyes wide, staring at the red crystal. Most of the other giants were also shocked beyond words.

After the No. 1 giant came to his senses, his face showed a bit of ruthlessness. Just as he was about to rush forward to rob it, Lid, who had his back to it, was already prepared and shouted:

"Don't move! If you take another half step forward, I will destroy this thing and we will all die together!"

Giant No. 1 suddenly stopped, Kronos narrowed his eyes, and said in a low voice:

"The blood soul is not so easy to destroy. Since it has been wrapped in crystals, human power should not be able to break it..."

Reed smiled.

The next moment, tentacles formed by souls appeared behind him, and the air exploded like a long whip.

The aura of Clenus instantly swept across this vast space.

At that moment, the higher giants instinctively lowered their heads, and hundreds of lower giants knelt down together.

62. Li De points to Qiu Xiang

"Clenus...sir?"

Kronos' voice was full of bitterness, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

What you owe to others must be repaid sooner or later, this is a universal truth. Their lives were given by Clenus, and it is only natural that Clenus would want to take them back one day. Clenus even left a prophecy long ago: "I will lend you my power, and when necessary, you will return it in full." In fact, the giants of all generations have lived in a vague fear.

However, knowing that "the giants will disappear from this continent one day" and actually having the courage to face it when the time comes are two completely different things. Knowing that their power comes from Clenus, knowing that Clenus will one day take their lives, when that day really comes, they will still find ways to shirk responsibility and try all kinds of struggles.

Any living creature that evolves to a certain level will have a natural fear of death.

Kronos stared at the tentacles extending from behind Lid. There was no doubt that it was the power of Clenus, a power of the same origin as the power in their bodies, but a higher level. In terms of strength alone, it was not fatal, but if it was really Clenus standing in front of them, at this distance, he only needed to move his fingers, and the hearts of all the giants present would explode directly, and their blood souls would quickly flow into the body of the young man.

The question in Kronos' eyes was just why the great being who created them would call himself human being and talk about cooperation with them.

The twelve higher giants all lowered their heads, and the army of lower giants knelt on the ground. However, Reed, who was in the center of the circle, laughed.

He shook the blood soul crystal in his hand and said to Kronos:

"You see, this is why you are still alive now."

Lid looked into Kronos' eyes and said calmly:

"I killed Clenus. I snatched this from him. Don't be surprised or doubt it. After all, if you lower your heads and think about it carefully, you will find that there is no other possibility except this fact. Raise your heads. Those behind you don't have to kneel down. The ground is cold."

Kronos's eyes were complicated, but he still raised his head as Reed said and looked at the boy again.

Lid retracted the soul tentacles behind him, looked around at the high-level giants present, and said:

"I killed Clenus not for you, but because he was blocking my way. I cooperated with you not to save you, but because I really needed the low-level giants to work for me. I gave you the freedom to choose your own path. The death of Clenus is equivalent to removing the sword hanging over your head. If I entrust this blood soul to you, you will have the foundation to fight against other races. Although you can't create a new race as easily as Clenus did, with your level, you should be able to turn this thing into a group of low-level giants with no intelligence at all."

Kronos stared at the blood soul crystal in Reed's hand.

Giant No. 1 sat back in silence.

Several high-level giant brothers and sisters exchanged glances cautiously...

Everything that happened before their eyes was too incredible for them. Clenus had been everyone's nightmare, but now the young man in front of them came to tell them that the great creature sleeping in the sea was dead. The thing they had been worried about for a long time had disappeared. Who could believe and accept it at the first time?

Finally, Kronos spoke:

"Just now, I'm afraid we were rude. As you said, the facts are in front of us... We can't help but believe it. Although it's incredible... In this case, no matter what the result of this cooperation is, you have done us a favor after all. But one thing is one thing, and a favor cannot be used as a means of blackmailing us."

Kronos stood up, his tone was much softer than before, but his voice was still loud and clear for everyone present to hear:

"It's not impossible to let the lower titans assist you in construction. But the problem is that our control over the lower titans comes from blood. If I hand over a team of lower titans to you, you won't be able to command them. Even if I let them obey your orders, they may get out of control for various reasons, unless you can maintain the state just now... but I'm afraid your body can't bear it. The only solution is to let the higher titans accompany us to the human territory."

Kronos stared at Lid and asked:

"Until then, what identity will you have towards my brothers and sisters?"

When this question was asked, every high-level giant pricked up their ears, and Giant No. 1 clenched his fists. As Lid said, although the low-level giants were reluctant to work for humans, they could barely accept it during this extraordinary period. But the high-level giants were different. They would not obey humans. The honor in their bones did not allow them to do so.

“…Friends, huh?”

Without thinking too long, Reed gave his answer:

"It would hurt our feelings if we discuss who is higher and who is lower. You cannot be inferior to others, and we cannot find a few giant Buddhas to worship. You are the core bloodline of the giant race, and you have low-level giant resources that are useful to us. To put it in an analogy, you are like a wealthy and powerful contractor. It is reasonable for us to treat you well."

Although he didn't know what the contractor that Reed mentioned was, Kronos was quite satisfied with this answer.

It was actually disrespectful to let them, who were high-level giants, be friends with humans. But when Lid showed the tentacles behind him, this problem disappeared automatically. The fact that a human could kill Clenus was beyond their comprehension. They could only think that Lid had the support of other upper three tribes. Maybe it was the old gods, maybe it was the void, maybe it was the Kungu traitor who wanted Clenus to be completely destroyed... No matter which one it was, it was not something they should ask about, but this cooperation was not so uncomfortable.

Kronos stood up, and the other eleven high-level giants also stood up. Kronos looked at them and called out their names one by one:

"Okeanos, Hyberion, Crius, Coens, Iapetus, Thesis, Theia, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis... my only remaining family! We once vowed to conquer the world with our own strength; for this reason, we swore that brothers and sisters would unite and overcome difficulties. Now, there is indeed a new path before us. We cannot believe it completely, but we cannot disbelieve it either."

Kronos looked at the male giant on his right and said:

"Find three brothers and sisters to go with you. If humans dare to hurt you, the giant army will come soon. Even if it means exterminating the entire race, humans will pay the price. Siberion, you are smarter and more capable, so you will be in charge. Coens, you are the most alert and cautious, so go with you. The rest..."

Kronos named two male higher giants, then looked around at the remaining brothers and sisters.

At this moment, Lid stretched out his hand, pointed quietly at Taisis, and said:

"Just her."

The Way of Gu - Nine Layers - Gugu Never Stops

I went to the hospital on Friday to check my body. I have a lot of inflammation concentrated in one place. Today, my temperature also rose abnormally to around 37.5, which is usually caused by inflammation in the body, but I still need to observe it.

I have to postpone my post today. I really have no choice. I hope my brothers can understand TT

I have taken a week's sick leave next week. If I can recover as soon as possible, I will make up for the update (including extra updates).

In addition, the doctor said that my current problems are mainly due to various bad work and rest habits, overeating, staying up all night, etc. when I was young. I also hope that everyone will stop competing for the champion of staying up all night, and don’t overdraw your body when you are young. Sooner or later, you will have to pay for what you have done.

Let me share with you a quote from One Hundred Years of Solitude that I like very much:

"It turns out that all the splendor that we once had in our lives must be repaid with loneliness in the end."

However, the doctor said that Gugu's condition is not too bad. This time it just happened that many inflammations broke out at the same time, and they need to be treated one by one. Some inflammations are new, and some inflammations have existed in my body for a long time, so we need to distinguish them clearly. For example, because of gastroenteritis, the absorption efficiency of other drugs is reduced, so we have to treat them one by one, and we can't rush.

In short, I hope I can recover soon and then continue writing happily.

Although the novel has been postponed today, the comics will still be updated as usual, so you can go and check it out.

63. Return to the South

With just these few words, the atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.

The high-level giants present, especially the male high-level giants, had different expressions. Giant No. 1 took a step forward and said in a cold voice:

"Why did you choose my sister? If you need someone, I'll go with you. If you want to kill or chop her up, I'll take the responsibility for her."

Kronos also opened his mouth and said tactfully:

"Yes... Thesis has been living in this palace and has never seen the world outside the giants. If he does something out of line when he gets to the human side, I'm afraid it won't be a good thing for both of us..."

The giantess Thesis clasped her hands tightly against her chest and looked at her brothers with some worry.

In terms of height, the human boy in front of her was just at the level of her chest. But when he pointed at her, Taishis couldn't help but feel panic in her heart, and her mind was filled with the scene of being separated from her brothers and sisters and traveling a long distance to a foreign land. She didn't dare to look at Lid, and stared at her brothers nervously.

Lid nodded with a smile and said:

"Well, it seems that you really cherish her, which is good. You see, I will give this crystal to you sooner or later. I can't break it into pieces and give it to you bit by bit, which won't mean much to you. In order to reduce the risk of both of us breaking the contract, I give you the most important thing, and you naturally have to give me the person you cherish most. This is fair, right?"

"How many low-level giants will you send to assist us with infrastructure construction? How much food will we provide you as compensation every year? How many years will this cooperation agreement cover? What kind of agreements will you abide by after you arrive? We can discuss these slowly. But, after I show my sincerity, you should also show your sincerity. This is the first prerequisite for cooperation."

"In my plan, you need to go with me to the human border. Afterwards, Thethis and the two high giants you selected will enter the human territory. By then, at least three high giants will be suppressed by the national defense formation, so that I can stay outside without worry and hand the crystal to you before going back. I think this is good for both parties. After all, this is the first time we cooperate with each other, and it is always right to be cautious. Let me reiterate that this is not a suggestion. For the third high giant, I ask to choose Thethis."

Kronos didn't know what to say for a moment, he was thinking about countermeasures. Although Giant No. 1 was angry, he didn't dare to act rashly. Most of the other high-level giants looked at Thesis, and Thesis, who was at the center of the storm, calmed down first after a panic.

"Please let me go, Brother-sama."

She opened her mouth and spoke softly.

Kronos frowned immediately, but Thesis spoke first:

"I think he's right... Since this is a way for us giants to survive, we must show our sincerity. The current situation is that if humans don't cooperate with us, the impact on them will be small; but if we reject this path, the price we pay will be great... If I can be part of that price, then we will have to pay less for other things. I have always thought that if one day I can help my brother and share some of his responsibilities..."

When she said the last part, Thesis' tears suddenly flowed down.

Apart from Kronos and Siberion who have been looking for a way out, Thesis can be said to be the smartest among the brothers and sisters, and the first to realize that her blood soul was going to be taken away by Clenus. Therefore, she was also under great psychological pressure. Every day before going to bed, she was worried that she would not see the arrival of tomorrow if she closed her eyes. Now that the situation has eased, she has to pack her bags and go to the human territory thousands of miles away, living with a strange race that she has never lived with for a long time. Various pressures made her tears flow uncontrollably.

However, even though she was scared and kept crying, she still chose to raise her head and grit her teeth to face it.

Hyberion beside Kronos opened his mouth, but after a long time he just sighed, looking quite helpless.

Thesis stared at Reed, his huge body still trembling a little, but he still said firmly:

"Please take me away, Mr. Human."

Lid looked at Kronos. The high-level giant who was in charge finally nodded and said:

"Okay. Humans, we will contact Thesis every year. If she is wronged there, our cooperation will end immediately... This is not a threat. Please understand that the giants will not build their happiness on the suffering of any family member. Siberion, Coens, the same goes for you. If you are treated unfairly, end the cooperation immediately and find a way to come back."

The two male giants nodded, and Tethys was still wiping the tears from her face with her palms, and the golden ornaments on her wrists jingled.

Kronos sighed, sat up straight with a tired look, waved to the other high-level giants, and said:

"If you have nothing to do, please leave first. Next, we will discuss some specific matters. Many of you have lived in ignorance of the ways of the world before. It's my fault, as I have always spoiled you too much... But after this incident, you all have to grow up. One day, the giants will go to war with more races, and you will also go to the battlefield. Open your eyes and take a good look. Now we have fallen to the point where we have to cooperate with humans to survive."

These words actually sounded a bit harsh to Reed, but he didn't say anything.

The pattern of top three, middle six, bottom nine has been around for too long, and everyone has this idea. It is a shame for the upper race to cooperate with the lower race, especially this time they were forced to hand over the beloved Thesis. Although Kronos said these words in front of Lid, he was not targeting him, but just hoped that other high-level giants would become stronger as soon as possible.