The survivor barbarians exchanged onest round of uncertain nces before finally heading toward the Thunderfang Tribe, just as Bronn had suggested.


    Once thest of them was out of sight, Bronn turned to Spark, his eyes gleaming with excitement.


    "Sparky, how about you join us?" he asked, his voice full of eager anticipation.


    "Join in?" Spark repeated tly, as if he already knew what wasing.


    "Yeah,e with us to explore the ruin," Bronn said, nodding enthusiastically. "I''ll give you a share of whatever we find."


    Spark waved his hand dismissively. "You can go alone on your grave-robbing adventure."


    "You really don''t like exploring ruins, huh?" Bronn''s excitement dimmed into a wry smile. "How about you just tag along? You won''t even have to lift a finger."


    "No," Spark replied curtly. "If it turns out to be a greater ruin, you''ll just drag me into helping you."


    Bronn chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Spark had seen right through his n. "Come on, Sparky. You''re the boss. Can''t you help just this once?"


    Spark sighed, already feeling tired from the conversation. He was about to decline again when Amelia spoke up.


    "I want to go see this ruin."


    Bronn''s face lit up instantly.


    "That would be a great help," he said, clearly grateful for her sudden interest.


    He knew that anyone who could take down a giant that had terrorized nearby tribes had to be extraordinary.


    He turned back to Spark with a sly grin. "Your mate is joining. Now you have toe, Sparky."


    Spark was momentarily speechless. Bronn''s logic was baffling, but Spark realized he had only himself to me for the situation. After all, he was the one who had made up the story about them being mates.


    Now he had to keep up the act until Amelia returned home, or Bronn might spread rumors that could ruin his reputation at the academy.


    With a deep sigh, Spark finally relented. "Fine, but only this once."


    "That''s my boss!" Bronn eximed, his enthusiasm returning in full force.


    Just as the conversation was winding down, Spark wrinkled his nose, catching an unpleasant smell.


    "Did you not shower?" he asked, holding his nose in disgust as he looked at Bronn.


    "Boss..." Bronn''s shoulders slumped, looking genuinely hurt. "I''ve learned to stay clean after living among humans. You can''t me me like this."


    Spark turned to the elderly barbarians standing beside Bronn. "Then is it you four?"


    "NO, no, no!" they hurriedly shook their heads in denial, their faces pale with rm.


    Spark was about to turn to Amelia when she interjected, "It''sing from the giant''s corpse."


    They all turned toward the massive body, which was now visibly rotting and falling apart before their eyes.


    "What''s happening?" Bronn asked, watching in disgust as the giant''s flesh seemed to melt away.


    "It''s because this isn''t real flesh, Your Highness," exined the elderly barbarian, who seemed to be the most knowledgeable among them. "It was a sort of puppet with a core. That orb removed was holding its essence together. Now that the core is gone, this fake flesh is dissolving."


    "A puppet?" Bronn echoed, staring at the disintegrating flesh with disbelief.


    In just a few moments, the giant''s corpse hadpletely dissolved, turning into a thick, foul-smelling liquid that seeped into the ground.


    Thest traces of the terrifying creature that had caused so much destruction were gone, leaving only a putrid puddle in its ce.


    The battlefield had be a muddy mess, the once-frozen ground now reduced to a sticky swamp as the ice melted away after Amelia withdrew her energy.


    Not a single trace of the giant remained—not even a bone to mark its existence. The only evidence that the creature had ever been there was the orb Amelia had carefully tucked away.


    "Let''s keep moving," Bronn said, finding no reason to linger in the deste wastnd. With a powerful leap, heunched himself into the sky, shouting a joyous,


    WooHooo!


    The group of barbarians didn''t hesitate to follow, their forms vanishing into the horizon with the same eagerness.


    Amelia rose into the air as well, her energy forming a protective barrier around Spark, lifting him alongside her.


    "Another free ride, I guess," Spark muttered as he floated behind her, his voice carrying a mix of amusement and resignation.


    Amelia didn''t respond, her mind upied with the unsettling appearance of a greater ruin in Grimhold.


    She had barely escaped from a ruin deep within that cursed ce, and now, just after emerging from one nightmare, another ruin had surfaced. And not just any ruin—a greater ruin.


    The timing was too strange, even for someone like her, who had spent years studying the unpredictable nature of these ancient sites.


    It defied logic for ruins to emerge so close together in time.


    As these thoughts churned in her mind, they traveled quickly, covering great distances in mere moments.


    Soon, they arrived at arge hill that loomed over the dense forest surrounding it.


    Amelia''s instincts kicked in as she sensed something was off.


    She nced upward and her eyes widened in shock.


    At the peak of the hill, a massive cyclone twisted violently, its powerful winds roaring loud enough to be heard from miles away.


    "Is this strange phenomenon linked to the greater ruin?" she whispered to herself, her voice tinged with both awe and curiosity.


    Though she had never encountered a greater ruin before, the raw power radiating from the cyclone was unmistakable. This was no ordinary urrence.


    Amelia followed the group, gradually descending toward a small clearing at the base of the hill.


    As they touched down, a loud,manding voice broke through the stillness.


    "Huh! Are you trying to pick a fight?" Bronn''s booming voice echoed across the clearing, immediately catching Amelia''s attention.


    She turned to see Bronn''s group locked in a heated argument with another band of barbarians.


    These neers were dressed in dark clothing, and each one radiated a powerful energy that matched the intensity of Bronn''s warriors.


    "Why don''t you start first?" one of the barbarians from the rival group sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.


    The tension between the two groups intensified, their shouts and challenges reverberating through the clearing, driven by the raw, battle-hungry spirit that wasmon among barbarians in Grimhold. Confrontations like this were an everyday urrence; these people thrived on the thrill ofbat.