SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 177: The Giant’s Legacy (1)

It was time to talk about Slimepolis. The city used to make a living through mining and trading its byproducts. Slimepolis was considered to be the best rock salt mining site in the empire. When others asked “What can you get out of just digging the ground?” Slimepolis citizens had their answers at the ready.

“It puts food on our plates and money in our pockets.”

“It’s the Great Cave.”

“It’s the Primordial Mother Earth’s skull.”

“We collect the goddess’ teeth.”

That was what Slimepolis used to be. The city that thrived on mining found its glory as the miners dug up the land. The more they mined, the more the days of glory lasted. However, at some point, a different set of sounds rang out when the miners swung their pickaxes, indicating that they had dug all the way to the very bottom of the mine.

[The mining performance of Slimepolis is weakening!]

Some rock salt was still left, but the miners had to dig too deep to find it. The work hours became longer, and the difficulty of their work increased.

[The cost of the Slimepolis salt industry is increasing!]

The slaves escaped. Shellmounts’ skin made them vulnerable to the salt, so they could swing pickaxes for brief periods of time or manage workers at the mine entrance, but crawling deep into the mine was the most difficult task for them. This was why slaves of the six species were required. When the slaves escaped, the economy of Slimepolis the Rock Salt City went downhill.

[The reign of Shellmounts is weakening!]

Fingills resembled merfolk. Seawater irritated their skin so much that the Fingills only swam around in the Great Lake. However, one day, an anomaly was born among the Fingills. When the anomaly went into the sea, he could endure the saltwater, although he commented that it was a bit salty. After some time, the anomaly’s descendants could also survive in the sea.

[Fingills are evolving!]

Seawater was hell for Shellmounts. It was difficult for them to navigate the seas. The fact that Fingills could live in that hell made it so they no longer ran into Shellmounts.

One day, another anomaly was born among the Fingills. They happened to touch a mudflat.

“Wow, it’s so salty.”

Since the mudflat was near the sea, the mud was very salty.

“Can it be more salty than this?”

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Back then, they still remembered what being a slave Slimepolis had been like. The tendency to dig a hole to get salt still prevailed in the back of their minds. The anomalous Fingill dug a hole in the mudflat, put a wooden stick in it, placed reed inside, and smeared it with mud. This was the primitive form of a jar.

A week later, the Fingill checked the jar, which now contained a shallow amount of seawater. She pumped out the seawater and placed the jar in a kiln. When she tasted it, it was extremely salty. Thus, seawater salt was created as a result of an old slave tendency.

[A new technology has been created!]

[A rival faction of the Shellmounts is growing stronger!]

Fingills were also natural boatmen. These merfolk could breathe in both land and water, so they didn’t die even when faced with storms. The once scary sea, the domain of the Sea God, was now their guardian. Ships loaded with salt traveled in and out of docks and other waterways without a hitch. The Fingills eventually took over the production and distribution of the salt industry.

[An ideological conflict has arisen!]

The Shellmounts refused to yield. According to the Shellmounts’ mythology, salt was the goddess’ teeth. It was difficult for the Shellmounts to accept the fact that eating seawater salt didn’t cause stomachaches. People had several choices when it was difficult to acknowledge others. The Shellmounts chose the easiest one.

“This is an evil craft.”

“The devil is helping them.”

“Seawater salt is a cursed food that has the devil breath on it.”

“The Fingills are all demons who serve the devil!”

“The fact that their skin can withstand the salty sea now is evidence of devil worshiping!”

The Shellmounts could have picked a slightly more difficult path, such as editing their mythology.

Actually, the goddess was split in half when she died. Half of her body was buried in the ground, and the other half sank deep into the sea.

Changing the myth was one option. As a country expanded, traditional myths were bound to be at risk. With the world becoming wider, the species discovered that salt, which was thought to only come from land, could also be found in water. The bigger the world was, the more myths lost what made them unique, making it less clear who the dominant species was.

The empire had the possibility to discard their unique local mythology and adopt a new religion with an universal yet boring supreme god. Slimepolis then could have been reborn not as a city but an empire, like Rome.

But the Shellmounts didn’t do that.

“Those who consume salt made by the demons will be charged with blasphemy, regardless of the reason!”

“Salt dissolves when it falls into water, so how can salt come out of water? This is the devil’s trick. That’s how he deceives into falling for false beliefs.

They justified why they couldn’t do that.

“From now on, all the citizens must eat only the rock salt produced by the empire. Those who mine salt from mines that don’t have the temple’s official approval, those who convert water into salt, and those who bring the converted salt into the empire will all be punished!”

“Trade of seawater salt is prohibited. Block all waterways. Sink all the Fingill ships transporting seawater salt!”

The priests, believers of the old myths, defended these decisions. The warriors who waged war against the slaves cheered. The citizens who still looked down on the six species rooted for their peers. The nobles used this justification as the foundation of their power. No one could stop the priests, warriors, citizens, and nobles, not when they joined forces. Only their god could do that, but he had already been eliminated.

“Haha. You’re here! From now on, you are our master. I will serve you,” the Inquisitor would have told me if he had still been around.

[The Shellmounts have destroyed the Fingills’ base port.]

[The Shellmounts have plundered the Fingill trade ships.]

[The Shellmounts are forcing the other species to trade rock salt.]

[The Fingills are fighting back against the Shellmounts’ efforts!]

When the reign of the ones in charge declined and new powers arose, when a new main source of the salt industry appeared, and when one side failed to accept a new ideology and missed a golden opportunity to reform, there was only one possible outcome.

[A hegemony war has broken out!]

That was how things had been for the past six hundred years. It took six wars for the empire to fall.

“Ugor. The Holy Land will be destroyed according to the peace treaty between the seven species.”

The priests lost their religion, the warriors their chance at victory, the citizens their peace, and the nobility their power. What remained was a mine with all its six-hundred-year-old glory and salt excavated long ago. However, a single sentence from a history book couldn’t stop the enemies’ swords, and an empty cave couldn’t feed the people.

By the time everyone realized this, it was so, so late.

“You have three options,” Uburka said. “Option one: I’ll destroy the land by myself! I can and want to do that. Any warrior wants to be praised for generations to come for destroying a city all by himself. I am not only powerful but also generous, so I’ll set my greed aside for a moment.”

Uburka then took a bodybuilding stance. His left pectoral wiggled.

“The second option is that you destroy the Holy Land yourselves, Shellmounts! You can do that, but you’re probably not big fans of that option. It would be humiliating to go down in history as the species who destroyed their own Holy Land. I understand the situation you’re in, so I won’t force you to make this choice!”

Uburka’s right pectoral wiggled.

“The last choice is for all the seven species to pick up hammers,” Uburka announced with a grin. “Destroy the city until your anger dissipates. You soldiers worked hard to come this far, and you citizens also went through a lot to protest until now. Destroy everything in your way! You can and will do just that.”

With a trembling voice, the Mount King, the king of the Shellmounts, asked, “Fearsome warrior, what if I let you into my city and a battle breaks out?”

“Don’t worry! We, Terras, will stand guards. Your hammers will only be used to crush buildings, not people’s heads.”

“There are some things that should be preserved. Us Shellmounts engrave history on stone pillars.”

“Dismantle the pillars and transport them to some other place. I don’t see the problem.”

“They’re really heavy....”

“Pick up only what you can carry. History that the descendants can’t carry on their backs isn’t a sign of honor but stubbornness. If you let parts of history go, you’ll be lighter and free. This will eventually make you stronger.”

“Slimepolis is our last city. Where do you intend to take us?”

“To a place lighter, freer, and better than this one.”

“Some of our citizens don’t believe you.”

“Great!” Uburka clasped his hands together and flexed his biceps. “Let them attack me all at once!”

Nine hundred and forty-four Shellmount citizens came forward. Since they couldn’t charge at the Terra leader at once, the bravest sixteen warriors went first, all of them experienced swordsmen despite being from a fallen empire.

“I will grant you the special honor of witnessing my true self!” Uburka guffawed.

The aura giant descended on this land.

“What?”

“What the—”

“Fuuuuu—”

Uburka’s punch sent all the Shellmounts flying before they could even finish their sentences. Not only the sixteen warriors in the lead but also the twenty-eight Shellmounts waiting in the back flew like baseballs, scoring home runs.

“Hahahaha!” the giant laughed boisterously. “Come at me if you want, kiddos!”

No one responded to his provocation.

“My chest is quite wide! I will embrace all of you even if there are nine hundred or nine thousand of you! Unfortunately, I have no milk in my chest to feed you, but I have enough muscles to turn you kids into adults! I’ll be your papa!”

Not many wanted to have a Terra as their father. Instead of letting the muscle pig beat and stress them, the Shellmounts decided to release their pent-up stress by destroying their ancestors’ buildings. It was a wise choice.

“Damn it.”

“Fuuuuuu—!”

Over the course of nine days, the seven species shouted obscenities and reduced Slimepolis to dust. Uburka made the finishing touch. He once again turned into an aura giant and crushed the city.

Thump! Thud! Thud!

He went at it for over half a day. The cavernous city shook, and the mountain that served as the borders collapsed. Boulders fell from the cracked cave ceiling.

“What the hell...”

One giant hobgoblin buried a city on his own. Uburka smiled with satisfaction, as if he was a boy who had just finished trampling on a sand castle at a playground.

“Heh, at least I’ll get the title of City Destroyer. I hereby declare that the peace treaty is in effect. Terras, pack your bags. You too, Shellmounts. Get your nerdy pillar pieces and follow us. We’re going back to Goru,” the strongest warrior in the history of Terras declared.

That was how the stage ended.

[The hegemony war has ended.]

[The multi-species alliance has achieved victory, though it’s not what they were aiming for.]

[The Shellmounts are no longer at risk of extinction.]

[The Terras have gained sovereign authority!]

[The prestige of the Terras has become greater.]

[The power of the Terras has increased.]

[The chance of Terras developing a new trait has increased significantly.]

[You have received 9,000 species points!]

[You now have 9800 species points.]

My fellow Hunters muttered among themselves.

“He’s really a monster....”

“Don’t tell me monsters like Uburka will continue to spawn among the Terras... If that’s the case, then I feel really bad for my little guys.”

The Paladin shook her head. “I doubt it. The chance is really low. Uburka is called unprecedentedly strong for a reason. Someone like him being born among the Terras is a rare occurrence. Another hero will probably be born from another species in the next era. We just have to endure it until our species’ golden age comes.”

[You can now clear the stage.]

[Do you want to do that now?]

The Black Witch flipped her hair. “Interesting. One species doesn’t necessarily have to be eliminated. I guess it’s okay to just overcome the risk of extinction.”

“Who knows? Another species may be in danger of extinction at the moment. Maybe we just don’t know it.”

We watched from afar as the armies of each species dispersed. It had been eight hundred years since the primordial forest burned down. Although we were still reigning like Constellations, our children slowly began to walk on their own, rather than following the constellations in the night sky.

I said, “Hmm, great work, everyone.”

The Black Witch smiled. “Why are you saying that as if it was a group effort? A guy from your species solved everything by himself. I’ve never cleared a stage as easily as this one. I’m going to spend about ten days watching my little guys before leaving the stage. What about you, Death King?”

“Then I’ll also stay for ten more days before going. I have something to teach Uburka, anyway.”

“What are you trying to teach that monster again...?”

“Don’t worry. It’s for his own good.”

We parted ways, promising to leave the stage in ten days.

[You have purchased Dream Appearance.]

[You have used 100 species points!]

[You now have 9,700 species points.]

Uburka looked at me from the mud pond. “Ugor. Hello again, Daddy.”

“Yeah, Daddy’s home.”

“I followed your advice and guided the Shellmounts to a safe place. Go ahead and praise me for doing a good job.”

“Oh my, my baby. Did you save a species from extinction? Woooooow, well done! Really good. My son is so cool! I’m so proud of you! Terras are the coolest in the world, and you’re the coolest Terra out there! You’re much better than your dad!”

Uburka giggled. “Ugor. Ugor.”

After showering him with praise for about ten minutes, I said, “Uburka, there is something I want you to learn.”

“Ugor?”

“To be exact, I want you to teach this to the other Terras so that it won’t be forgotten even after you die. I want it to last for more than two hundred years.”

“What is it?”

I smiled. Red aura bloomed in my hand. “I will teach you the fire of the world.”

I was going to teach the Terras my New Demonic Heaven Arts.