The doubts rising around him sounded extremely harsh to Hulk's ears.
Hulk gritted his teeth. He absolutely could not lose. He had to win today!!
If he lost to a five-year-old human girl, how could he show his face in the Giant Race ever again?
Hulk snorted coldly and gathered his full strength once more, veins bulging all over his body.
"I am a warrior of the Giant Race! I will never lose to you!"
"Are you done talking yet?? Linlin is hungry. After the match, Linlin wants to go eat cake."
Linlin said somewhat impatiently.
As her words fell, Linlin finally made her move and began to pull the rope.
Hulk felt a terrifying, irresistible force coming from the other side, causing him to lose control of his body.
Linlin pulled hard, dragging Hulk directly over to her side, crossing the red line.
"Linlin wins."
Linlin let go of the rope and returned to Reno's side.
Hulk, who had fallen to the ground, looked at Linlin's retreating figure with a complex expression. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word, as if something were stuck in his throat.
Thud.
In the crowd, Mother Carmel's gaze had gone completely blank. She didn't even notice the vegetable basket slipping from her hand and hitting the ground.
From the first moment she saw Linlin, she had judged that her talent exceeded that of ordinary humans.
But she hadn't held out much hope for the match result.
Defeating Hulk should have been as hard as ascending to the heavens, yet the outcome was vastly different.
Hulk had absolutely no power to resist in front of Linlin. Compared to the bloodshot-eyed, full-power Hulk, Linlin was relaxed and composed throughout the entire match, handling it with ease. She hadn't even seemed to exert much effort.
What kind of talent is this?!
Among the nearly ten thousand children she had handled, there was no shortage of talented ones.
There were even a few with extraordinary gifts that the World Government agents praised endlessly.
But compared to Linlin before her, they weren't even worth mentioning.
Over the decades, Carmel had become accustomed to disguise; it was a part of her life.
But today, after seeing Linlin's performance, an unprecedented greed uncontrollably surfaced on her face. Her expression turned ferocious, and a ghostly green light flickered in her widened eyes.
Like a wolf that hadn't eaten in ages spotting a lamb.
I must have her! I must get Linlin at all costs!!
Carmel screamed inwardly, trembling all over. In her excitement, she almost shouted out loud.
"Mother, you dropped your basket."
Just then, a giant warrior beside her poked Carmel's shoulder to remind her.
"Hmm?"
"Oh, right. Thank you."
Distracted, Carmel snapped out of it. As she bent down to pick up the basket, the greed on her face vanished in a flash, replaced by her usual demeanor.
But in her heart, the seed of greed had begun to sprout.
"You won. The warriors of the Giant Race will not go back on their word."
"Stay here for the time being. I will have the strongest giant warrior teach you Ikoku until you master it!"
Chieftain Jorul, true to his promise, declared.
Although some giant warriors were still unconvinced, no one stood up to object.
They were giants; they had their dignity and honor.
A loss was a loss. They would absolutely not renege.
"Then thank you very much, Chieftain. Linlin and I have long admired the Giant Race. We will be disturbing you for a while."
While thanking him, Reno cast an imperceptible glance into the crowd, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
During the match just now, he had spotted Mother Carmel.
Every expression on Carmel's face fell into Reno's eyes, especially those few seconds when she revealed undisguised greed.
Knowing her nature well, Reno knew Carmel had set her sights on Linlin.
Even if he didn't approach Carmel, that woman would come looking for him.
"Hahahaha... Alright, the match is over. Everyone disperse."
"There's plenty of time. No rush on the Ikoku training. These two kids are here for the first time; let Hajrudin show them around."
"Don't cook tonight, everyone. Prepare some food; we're having a banquet tonight!"
Chieftain Jorul addressed the crowd.
"Oh! A banquet!!!"
"It's been a long time since we had a banquet! We're benefitting thanks to these two kids today!!"
"Let's go! Let's go!!"
The happy giant warriors quickly dispersed, heading home to prepare ingredients.
Before leaving, Carmel gave Linlin and Reno a meaningful look, then quietly left the scene.
However, if one observed closely, they would see that Carmel's pace was obviously much faster than usual.
"Linlin, even Hulk wasn't your match! You're amazing!!"
Hajrudin gave Linlin a thumbs up.
Hulk wasn't trash like Lester, yet in front of Linlin, he had no chance of winning.
It seemed his evaluation of Linlin had still been conservative.
"Alright, don't praise her too much. She'll get conceited."
Reno waved his hand. Hearing praise too often wasn't a good thing.
"Let's go. Since you're new here, I'll show you around."
As the host, Hajrudin couldn't wait to take Reno and Linlin to some fun places.
"Chieftain, we'll be going then."
After bidding farewell to the two Chieftains, Reno and Linlin left with Hajrudin.
"The younger generation is to be feared. Linlin's talent is the likes of which I've never seen in my life. If only she were a warrior of our Giant Race."
Watching Linlin's retreating figure, Jorul sighed with emotion.
Over 300 years old, he had seen countless geniuses.
But no one's talent compared to Linlin's.
"Hahahaha... You old coot. Even though Linlin isn't a giant, we've established a friendship with her now. That's still a good thing."
Beside him, Jarul stroked his long beard contentedly.
"True enough."
Settling for the next best thing, Jorul nodded in deep agreement.