Chapter 210: Karl’s Trial at the Giant King’s Palace

Dorry glanced at the king’s expression and didn’t dare to hesitate. “It’s a human—Lux D. Karl.” Dorry spoke each word clearly this time, making sure there was no mistake.

His voice echoed through the palace, ringing out for all to hear.

The king’s composure slipped as he muttered, “A D…?”

“But the timing seems off…”

Brogy seemed to catch the king’s mumbling and quickly asked, “Your Majesty, what did you say?”

The king snapped out of his thoughts. “Bring him in.”

A nearby warrior clad in golden armor received the order and promptly left the throne room.

It wasn’t time yet—he really didn’t fit the description they’d been expecting.

Silence settled back over the grand hall as everyone waited quietly for Karl to arrive.

Outside the palace gates, Karl and his group had started to get bored, so they wandered to a nearby teahouse to wait.

Step, step, step…

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the city gate. A soldier in golden armor walked out.

“Which one of you is Karl?”

Karl stood up as soon as he heard his name. “That’s me. Is something the matter?”

The golden-armored warrior hurried over and said, “His Majesty wants to see you. Please come with me.”

Karl simply nodded and silently followed after the armored warrior.

“So, do you guys think Karl can pass the Blood Trial?”

Oden and the others sat outside playing cards, chatting about why Karl was here.

“I’m not so sure. I’ll play three.”

“I wouldn’t be certain. After all, he’s here as a guest brought by Dorry and Brogy—the guy can’t be weak, right?”

“I’ll go with eight as my next.”

“But the Blood Trial these past few years hasn’t been like it used to be.”

“Our king has pulled out all the stops for his son’s training.”

“There have been dozens trying to finish the Blood Trial recently, but everyone keeps losing at the final stage when they face Loki.”

“We’ll see then. Time will tell if he can do it,” Oden said, watching as Karl’s figure faded from view.

For some reason, he felt like he was looking at a real hero.

“Maybe I’m just imagining things,” Oden muttered, shaking his head and turning his attention back to their game.

Meanwhile, Karl followed the golden-armored warrior deeper into the royal palace.

As he stepped through the palace doors, he spotted the king at the head of the hall, with Brogy and Dorry standing at his side. Bowing slightly to the king, Karl said, “King of the Giants, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Lux D. Karl.”

“I assume Brogy and Dorry already told you why I’m here.”

“So I’d like to know—when can I join the Blood Trial?”

Karl didn’t beat around the bush. His goals were plain.

He’d come here for the Blood Trial. From what he’d heard, giants respected directness, so there was no point playing coy—a straightforward approach would work better.

“Hahaha!”

“Of course! You can take the Blood Trial any time,” the king replied from his throne, clearly unbothered by Karl’s directness.

If anything, the king appreciated it. Straight talk and boldness were traits the giants admired.

That said, anyone who thought the giants were simple-minded just because of that would be dead wrong.

The Giants, inspired by real-world Vikings, had a history as pirates—raiding and colonizing across the seas. So, while they seemed open and honest, they weren’t as naive as they let on.

“If you’re not making any other preparations, you can start the Blood Trial in three days,” the king replied coolly, his expression unreadable.

Even though this man’s name had a ‘D,’ since he wasn’t here for any covenant, the king figured a little goodwill was enough.

Who would’ve guessed? The real reason he’d come was just to erase Charlotte Linlin’s crimes in Elbaf.

Just thinking about it left a sour taste in the king’s heart.

Guess it’s like they say—the greater the hope, the harsher the disappointment.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Karl said, surprised at how smoothly things were going.

He glanced over at Brogy and Dorry.

Did they say something nice about me to the king?

“Alright, that settles it then.”

“The Blood Trial will start in three days.”

“Guards, take them to their quarters to rest.”

With a wave of his hand, the king sent two golden-armored guards over.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Karl and his companions followed the guards out of the palace.

Outside, they rejoined the other giants and were shown to a resting area, where they would wait for the Blood Trial.

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Loki burst in. “Father, is someone joining the Blood Trial?”

Loki looked genuinely excited. It’d been so long since he’d fought anyone with real spirit.

Ever since Loki had started competing, fewer and fewer dared to challenge the Blood Trial. Now, hardly anyone volunteered, so he’d run out of sparring partners.

And now that he’d heard someone wanted in, how could he not be fired up?

“Loki, I have a task for you.”

Loki hadn’t expected to get an assignment just for the Blood Trial. “Yes, Father, I’m listening!”

No matter what kind of task it was, Loki would do all he could to get it done.

…

After arriving at the campsite and putting their things away, Brogy and Dorry took a handful of giants and headed into town.

They were set to gather up former Giant Pirates and recruit new members for the crew.

“Brrulu brrulu!”

“Hello, this is Karl,” Karl answered the call mid-training in the yard, picking up the ringing transponder snail.

Krell’s voice came through the line. “Karl, sir, Cake Island was attacked by the World Government! They tried to abduct Dr. Vegapunk.”

“When did this happen?”

“Is everyone on the island alright?”

“What about Charlotte Linlin?” Karl fired off questions before Krell could finish.

The transponder snail fell silent for almost a full minute.

After sorting things out, Krell finally explained, “Over three hundred Fishmen were killed. Halil’s fate is unknown.”

“Nothing major happened to the island. It was just some CP0 agents from the World Government, and their strength wasn’t that impressive.”

“Thanks to Lady Linlin arriving in time, Vegapunk wasn’t taken away.”

Relieved, Karl said, “That’s good. As long as everything’s alright, that’s all that matters.”

Suddenly remembering something, Karl added, “I might not be able to take any calls in the next few days—there’s something important here in Elbaf I need to handle.”

“If Charlotte Linlin does anything unusual, notify Ledfield at once.”

Karl recited Ledfield’s transponder snail number so Krell could memorize it.

“Understood, Karl,” Krell said before ending the call.