After nightfall, the distant rumbling continued unabated.
Nicolas and the Giant King Yorm were gone for an entire night.
The next morning, as Bonnie was still groggy, she suddenly heard the nearby giants cheering loudly.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Bonnie quickly snapped herself awake and looked in the direction the giants were cheering.
Soon, she saw the Giant King Yorm in the distance, having returned to his normal size, covered in wounds as he made his way back to the capital. Standing on his shoulder was Nicolas.
"I, the Giant King Yorm, hereby declare that Nicolas will forever be a friend of the giants!"
The words of Giant King Yorm immediately sparked another round of cheering from the giants. They clearly understood that anyone who could earn the recognition of the Giant King must be incredibly powerful.
Although they hadn't witnessed the battle's outcome firsthand, Nicolas' performance in the previous battle was already worthy of their cheers and admiration.
Such is the way of the giants—they worship warriors and revere battle.
"Yo! As expected of you, Nicolas."
Roger approached and playfully punched Nicolas in the chest.
Nicolas smiled and then said meaningfully to Roger, "During the fight with Yorm, I heard some strange sounds. Captain Roger, could you tell me what those were?"
"Uh, it was probably some birds chirping. You know how it is—Elbaf has beautiful scenery, and all sorts of strange birds live here."
Roger put his arm around Nicolas and laughed.
Seeing that Nicolas seemed ready to ask more questions, Roger quickly changed the subject, "Since you've gained Yorm's recognition, he'll probably be inviting you soon."
"Inviting?"
Nicolas looked at Roger with some confusion.
"Yes, guests who earn the Giant King's recognition have the opportunity to learn the giants' unique battle techniques, like the Hakoku sovereignty. And there's something really special there—most people can't learn it even if they see it, so make sure you seize this chance."
Roger said mysteriously.
"Nicolas!"
At that moment, Yorm, who had been simply bandaged, enthusiastically called out to Nicolas.
"Hey, did Roger already tell you? Hahaha, I hope you can take this opportunity to master that legendary technique."
"Is it really that difficult to learn?"
Hearing both Roger and Yorm mention this, Nicolas couldn't help but feel curious.
"It's a legendary technique among the giants. The move I used at the end of our battle was derived from it, though I only grasped a small part of it.
In the long history of the giants, only the legendary warriors of Elbaf has been able to fully use this technique."
Giant King Yorm added with a smile, "So much so that now many giants don't even believe it exists."
"Now you've really piqued my interest."
Hearing this, Nicolas said with a smile.
"Then come with us."
Giant King Yorm said, turning to lead the way.
"Wait."
Nicolas suddenly spoke.
Hearing Nicolas, Giant King Yorm turned around, puzzled.
"Since this technique is so extraordinary, wouldn't it be possible for my companions to also take a look?"
Nicolas said with a smile.
"Well..."
Yorm glanced at Nicolas' companions and then said, "Of course, but they'll need to earn my approval."
"No problem."
Nicolas said confidently. After fighting the Giant King Yorm, he was sure that while others might not, Vista would definitely make it, and Yamato had a chance as well. As for Simon and Katy, it might be a bit tough—Yorm, when using his Devil Fruit power, was truly a high-defense, high-attack, and very resilient opponent.
Before long, Vista and Nicolas followed Giant King Yorm, passing through a grand hall and along a wide corridor until they arrived at an ancient door.
"It's inside here."
Giant King Yorm said with some emotion as he touched the thick door, "When I first came here, I was confident I could master the legendary technique, but…"
He shook his head with a smile and then exerted his strength to push open the door.
As the door opened, the light inside was dim.
But as the door opened, it seemed to trigger some mechanism, and soon, flames began to light up in the darkness, quickly spreading and driving away the shadows.
Only then did Nicolas see that this was an underground cave—a huge one.
Even with his massive size, Giant King Yorm seemed small in this space.
In the center of the space stood a huge stone monument with no inscriptions, only many illustrations.
Looking at the massive square stone monument, Nicolas couldn't help but think of the Poneglyphs, though it was strange for a Poneglyph to lack any writing.
"This stone records the highest battle technique of the Elbaf warriors—the Spear of the War God!"
Giant King Yorm turned and said to Nicolas, "According to the giants' ancient records, during a war long ago, our strongest warrior was severely injured. Barely making it back to Elbaf, he only had time to leave his most powerful technique before passing away."
"Sounds pretty impressive."
Nicolas said. This whole situation felt like one of those martial arts novels where a young hero inherits the legacy of a legendary warrior.
"Ahem, I have a question."
"What kind of war was that giant king part of?"
"It was the war that swept the world 800 years ago. But because of various reasons, we don't know much about it. We only know that during the war, all races united together. Then, something unexpected happened, and the elite forces of each race were destroyed, leading to the formation of the World Government.
After that, Elbaf became isolated from the world. Except for a few giants who ventured out to sea, there's been little contact with the outside world. Any recent contact is only within the last century."
Nicolas raised an eyebrow.
"So, that giant king's companion was…?"
Giant King Yorm laughed and said, "The legend says that man could bring smiles to the whole world. People called him Joy Boy.
And it's said that the Spear of the War God was created with Joy Boy's help."
Nicolas nodded, a knowing expression on his face.
"Alright, let's see if you can comprehend the Spear of the War God."
Giant King Yorm said. Hearing this, Nicolas didn't ask any more questions and began examining the contents of the stone monument.
But the more Nicolas looked, the more peculiar his expression became. The figure depicted on it looked an awful lot like a giant version of Nika. There was no doubt about it—that figure was definitely Nika.
Nicolas pointed at the image of Nika, with his massive fist raised like an island, and asked with a puzzled expression, "This is…?"
Giant King Yorm shrugged, "We don't know either, but this is indeed what our ancestors left behind."
"Well, let's take a closer look."
But the more he looked, the stranger Nicolas' expression became.