Chapter 232: The Blood Trial’s Aftermath

Oden paused to calculate the time and replied, “If we’re going by the schedule, it’ll be today or tomorrow.”

He hadn’t paid too much attention to this, especially since he’d been busy these past few days. All he knew was that the Blood Trial lasted thirty days.

Krell looked up as he heard Oden’s words, his hand stilled. “Is your Blood Trial really that brutal?” he asked.

“Has anyone actually passed it before?”

Krell was especially curious about the details of the Giants’ Blood Trial, but last time he visited, some issues on Cake Island distracted him, so he hadn’t had the chance to ask.

He knew full well what Lord Karl’s objective was on this trip. If they could win the Giants’ support, his family would take a huge step forward.

It might even trigger a major upheaval in the New World’s power structure—which could make the Celestial Dragons’ position far less secure.

He couldn’t wait for that day to come, to finally return everything the Celestial Dragons had done to the Fishmen.

Oden thought about it for a moment. He’d witnessed a few Blood Trials himself and naturally knew how tough it was. In a gruff voice he said, “The Blood Trial is definitely a grueling test. Participants have to face challenges from the Giants for thirty days straight.”

“And to top it off, the final challenger is none other than Prince Loki himself. That makes the last round even tougher.”

“No one’s managed to clear the trial in recent years. I’m really not sure if Brother Karl will be able to beat this last hurdle.”

As for the earlier stages, Oden didn’t even need to ask—if Karl’s group hadn’t passed them, they’d have left long ago and wouldn’t still be hanging around the Giant Kingdom.

The only real question was whether Karl or Prince Loki would come out on top.

Krell mulled over Oden’s words and had to admit he made a good point.

If Lord Karl hadn’t cleared the earlier rounds, word would have come back by now.

And since they hadn’t heard a thing until today, Krell wasn’t worried about whether Karl would make it out of the Giant Kingdom intact.

“Alright, the next shipment will arrive in fifteen days,” Krell replied.

“Double-check the goods against the manifest when you get them.”

Both Krell and Oden had copies of the cargo list. They swapped them and looked everything over carefully.

After all, this was a transaction worth more than a billion Berries. There was no room to be careless.

While the two of them compared goods at the harbor, a debate broke out inside the royal palace of the Giants.

“Your Majesty, how could you agree to such terms?” one minister said, his voice tinged with shock and disbelief.

“That’s right! Granting someone’s request just for clearing the Blood Trial—that’s never happened in the Giant Kingdom before,” another chimed in, a note of worry in his tone.

“Yeah, if we do this things will get out of hand,” the other ministers echoed, their voices filled with unease and doubt.

The King raised a hand to silence the commotion. His gaze was firm and resolute. “Enough. I called you here to discuss strategy—not to quarrel like this,” he said with an air of authority that quickly quieted the ministers.

His real intent had been to get their advice, not to listen to meaningless bickering. The certainty in his voice made them feel just how determined he was.

The king’s words did the trick, and the bickering stopped. Everyone looked toward him, waiting for instructions.

He took a deep breath and said, “I know you’re all unhappy with my decision, but what’s done is done. The Giant Kingdom has always valued strength, but we also keep our word. Right now, our focus has to be minimizing the fallout from this.”

There was a hint of regret in his voice. If only he hadn’t put so much faith in Loki, he wouldn’t be caught up in this mess.

“Alright, let’s get to work and come up with a plan,” the King said, sounding hopeful. He wanted to hear his ministers’ suggestions so everyone could craft the perfect response.

The Minister of Internal Affairs stepped forward and said respectfully, “Your Majesty, since we’ve agreed to it, we must follow through. If word got out that we went back on our word, people would think the Giant Kingdom can’t be trusted.”

Regret clouded the King’s face, and he sighed. “You’re right. I put too much stock in Loki’s strength and thought that human could never pass the Blood Trial. Who would’ve thought…”

The Minister of Internal Affairs nodded, turned to the other ministers, and declared, “What’s done is done. From now on, we need a rule: anyone who completes the Blood Trial gets only the title—no more fulfilling personal requests. No matter who takes part, that rule stands from now on.”

His words rang out with conviction. One incident like this is more than enough.

The other ministers all nodded in agreement. They knew just how serious this was—without a new rule, it was sure to cause more headaches and disputes.

What’s happened has happened, and the Minister of Internal Affairs’ top priority now was to keep fallout to a minimum by offering concrete solutions. That’s what he was there for.

“Looks like this is the only way forward.”

“Right. We can’t have people saying we break our promises.”

Seeing everyone finally on the same page, the King spoke up. “In that case, the cabinet will handle releasing the news.”

“Post it in the newspapers everywhere but don’t make a big announcement.”

“At least it’s nothing too huge—otherwise we’d really be in trouble.”

A formal order was soon given from the Giant Kingdom’s royal palace.

Because Elbaf was so vast, word traveled slowly, but even so, the news would spread throughout Elbaf within a month.

Back at their quarters, Karl was immediately greeted with congratulations from Brogy, Dorry, and the others.

“Brother Karl, I can’t believe you actually pulled off the Blood Trial,” Brogy said, moving in to offer his congratulations.

He knew all too well how hard it was to pass—and he’d watched today’s last fight with his own eyes.

After thirty days of grueling battles, Karl had still managed to overcome Prince Loki’s fierce attacks. It left Brogy genuinely stunned.

Compared to when he cleared the trial himself, Karl had faced a much tougher road.

“Oh no, I just got lucky, that’s all,” Karl said, waving his hands quickly. He didn’t want to appear too pleased with himself. After all, it was the Giants’ Blood Trial—and stories about arrogance could leave a bad impression.