Lann sighed deeply, he hadn't expected Eist's ideas to have become so extreme.
Eist's will to live, when Queen Calanthe died, was also buried. The only reason he was still standing was to avenge his wife.
So when he discovered that surviving would hinder Lann's goal of avenging Calanthe, he was willing to die. He even offered himself as a sacrifice, willing to use his own death as a springboard so that Lann could gain the islanders' acceptance and support.
Lann had to admit that, from a purely political perspective, Eist's analysis was reasonable and correct.
But it was also something Lann could not accept.
He looked around, observing the witchers and followers that accompanied him.
His gaze was so firm that even if he didn't say a word, anyone could read his meaning.
Kolgrim sighed. "Don't keep looking, if you don't leave, we won't be able to escape either."
Coen patted Lann on the shoulder, then looked at Eist in admiration. "This is what a gentleman should be like."
Gerd looked at the ice giant in fear, but there was also a spark of suppressed excitement; while Geralt remained silent, only moving forward to stand next to Eist.
"Ciri is still waiting for you, Eist." Geralt said. "So we won't leave, at least not just run away."
Looking at Eist as if he wanted to say something, Geralt raised his hand, blocking Eist's words.
"We recently killed a cyclops," Geralt said, his eyes narrowed. "Even though this blue giant is much bigger, it shouldn't be much more difficult."
"You must trust the professional judgment of witchers."
"So..." Lann continued Geralt's sentence, "we stay and solve this monster."
At that moment, the system panel that only he could see appeared before him. He looked at the experience bar; the value there was close to being filled thanks to the servants' efforts over time.
However, Lann was not so concerned about leveling up, he had an even bolder idea...
...
The fleeting glimpse in the cave had been just that, but now, everyone could clearly see the full figure of the ice giant, and they were struck by how surprisingly human-like he was.
Common giant monsters, like the Old Speartip Cyclops they had faced before, only wore a loincloth of some sort made of an unknown material, but the ice giant was much more dressed up. He wore a scarf and vest the same color as his hair, with bones tied on his shoulders as ornaments, his wrists wrapped with hemp rope, and on his thighs, he wore protection made of wood, canvas, bones, and stones.
Although, from the effects of Lann's previous blow, it seemed that these armors were not as durable as the ice giant's own skin and only served as decoration. However, this meant that the ice giant's intelligence level was not comparable to the monsters they had hunted previously, making many deception tactics no longer considered, and only direct confrontation remained.
"Lann, what we said just now sounded very heroic and poetic, but... do you really think we can defeat that thing?" Kolgrim approached Lann and whispered. "It's not the same as when we killed Old Speartip. This is like the difference between a lesser vampire and a high-ranking vampire. And to top it off, there are fewer of us now than there were back then. If you have any plans, now is the time to share them."
Kolgrim looked at the colossal ice giant, whose height surpassed even the walls of a city, and then at the soldiers of the Tuirseach clan. He gritted his teeth. In combats of this magnitude, human soldiers needed catapults or siege ballistae to inflict real damage on this kind of monster. With their current equipment, all they could do was offer their lives as a distraction, giving the real combatants time to launch an effective attack.
"I'll be the main attacker." Lann took a deep breath. "My sword can cut through his skin and wound his flesh. But to execute a cut of that level, I need time to focus my energy. I need you to hold him off long enough to give me a chance."
An emerald glow ignited on Lann's black magic scimitar. Iris emerged from within it, materializing without caring that the human soldiers could see her. She understood that this was a moment of life or death. She had to fight.
"I can help too," she declared. "Otherwise, none of you will be able to get close to the ice giant. I, on the other hand, can ignore his attacks."
"It's fine by me," Lann agreed without hesitation. "But be careful. That monster uses magic. We don't know if it has anything that can hurt you."
Lann closed his eyes and concentrated. "Besides..." he muttered. "I need more help."
Three spheres of light appeared around him. It was his [Teleport] skill. Although there were many soldiers on the scene, they couldn't really inflict any real damage on the ice giant. They needed fighters with extraordinary powers.
The problem was that Lann was in Skellige, far from the mainland. Summoning most of the people who possessed his spatial mark would consume an exorbitant amount of magic. If he did that, he would be incapacitated for battle.
So he had to choose those who were closest.
When the light dissipated, three figures emerged.
The first was the succubus Nanomi, dressed only in an apron. She looked curiously at the slowly disappearing points of light on her skin, but before she could give Lann a seductive smile, the ice giant appeared in her field of vision. Her expression changed instantly.
The second was Yennefer. She was dissatisfied, being summoned without warning bothered her, but as soon as she understood the danger, she reacted immediately.
With a glare at Lann and Geralt, she stepped back toward the defensive line of soldiers and began chanting a spell out loud.
The third was Fritjof. Before the summoning, he had been tending to the wounded on the shore, and he still had bandages and ointments on his hands. He looked around the place with a frown, analyzing the situation.
His gaze swept over Lann, Yennefer, Nanomi, the other witchers, and finally the ice giant. His expression changed from surprise to resignation, and finally he could only sigh.
"Looks like we're going into the history books today," he said.
Then, like Yennefer, he retreated to the rear. He whispered a chant and plunged his staff into the ground, channeling the energy of the nearby mountains.
What happened next left everyone speechless.
The ice giant, seeing Fritjof's action, roared in fury. The witchers' medallions began to vibrate violently.
Then, the wood of his bracelet began to grow, lengthen and expand... until it became a gigantic oak pillar more than ten meters long.
Kolgrim gulped. "Lann... tell me the truth. Do you still have confidence that we can beat that guy?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, their gazes fixed on the giant oak club that the ice giant was holding. They couldn't believe their eyes.
Although Yoana had mentioned to them earlier that the ice giant's weapon was an oak staff, they had assumed it was an ancient tree torn from the mountains. They never imagined it would be something like this...
"Druidic magic," Gerd muttered, lost in thought. "We knew that frost giants could use spells, but according to the bestiary, their power was limited to commanding other beasts and unleashing violent snowstorms. Druidic magic? This is too much..."
A whistling sound tore through the air, and something flew straight towards Gerd. On instinct, the witcher tried to dodge it, but recognizing it at the last second, he hastily caught it: a new alchemy backpack.
Typically, witchers' backpacks carry three to four types of inexpensive bombs and potions, ready for any emergency. However, the one Lann had thrown at him only contained one type of item: Dimeritium Bombs.
Meanwhile, Lann was drawing weapons from his inventory and handing them out to his companions, who at any moment could be forced into hand-to-hand combat with the giant.
Coen examined the bombs and took a deep breath. "I never thought we'd need this against the giant..."
But it wasn't enough. Lann looked at the giant's wrist, where he had managed to open a wound moments before. To his surprise, the cut had disappeared, as if it had never been there.
"Kolgrim… Do you think he's vulnerable to poison due to his accelerated regeneration and high metabolism?"
The corners of the witcher's mouth twitched. "In theory, yes. But at that size, how much poison would we need? Plus, my attacks barely scratch his skin... Bah, I'll see what I can come up with."
With his snake eyes, Kolgrim glanced around and noticed Milva, who was stringing her bow with an arrow ready to shoot.
"Wait!" he exclaimed, running towards her. Quickly, he pulled out a small flask from his alchemy backpack and poured its contents onto the arrowhead. "Use this."
Lann nodded at the sight. He then took out a vial of ogroid oil from his inventory, applying it to his Aerondight sword, which began to glow with a faint glow. Meanwhile, his black magic scimitar floated in the air before fading into an emerald green flame.
"Attention, everyone!" Geralt, at the front of the group, stood firm with his white hair blowing in the wind. His eyes followed every movement of the approaching giant. "Here he comes!"
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