The Neanderthal stared at Uhtred, a slow grin spreading across his rough, angular face as he took in the human’s evident surprise.

"This is called the English language, is it not?" he asked, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone. "The dominant language among you humans."

The more he spoke, the more Uhtred’s internal alarm bells rang. This Neanderthal was speaking English with a level of fluency he shouldn’t have been capable of possessing.

Of course, Uhtred already understood that the Neanderthal had likely learned the dialect from the humans they had captured, but even though there was an unnatural, stiff drag to his speech, the speed at which he had learned the language in just four days was staggering.

Uhtred pushed his shock to the side, leveling a cold gaze at the massive Neanderthal, focusing instead on any sign of movement, preparing himself for an imminent clash.

He primed his heat manipulation and his newly learned Frost magic, charging them so he could use them at a moment’s notice.

However, to his surprise, the giant made no move to attack. Instead, the air beside him rippled as he reached into something like a spatial inventory.

Uhtred braced his legs, ready to vault backward, but the Neanderthal only pulled out a table and two folding chairs.

Uhtred stood entirely flabbergasted. He kept his focus sharp, wondering if this was some kind of weird, high-level diversionary tactic, though even he knew he was being paranoid.

The Neanderthal unfolded the furniture and sat down with a heavy slump. He spread his massive legs wide, letting his large battle-axe drop to the floor next to his boots as he settled firmly into the seat.

He stared straight at Uhtred, pointing a thick, calloused finger at the empty chair across from him, motioning for the human to sit.

"You can drop your vigilance, boy," the giant grunted. "If I wanted to do battle with you, I wouldn’t go through all of these steps. You would not even see me coming."

Uhtred’s eyes narrowed. He stretched his perception to its absolute limit, but in truth, he sensed no malicious intent radiating from the Neanderthal.

Slowly, Uhtred reined in his own aura. He slowed the rapid cycling of the cosmic essence through his body, easing his combat posture.

He walked over calmly, dragged the chair out, and sat down firmly, keeping his gaze leveled directly at the giant across the table.

"Hmm. You have guts along with your talent," the Neanderthal noted, his pale gray eyes glinting.

Reaching back into his spatial storage, he pulled out a small iron kettle along with two rough clay teacups.

He placed them down, pouring a dark, thick liquid that carried the bitter scent of wild herbs.

"I think this is customary among your kind," the Neanderthal said, struggling slightly with the pronunciation. "You like to take this thing called tea, right?"

Uhtred didn’t respond. He simply watched as the giant casually cycled a trace of heat cosmic essence across the palm of his hand and into the base of the kettle.

Within a few seconds, the dark liquid reached a boiling level, steam hissing from the mouth. The giant poured the steaming tea into the two cups and slid one across the table, right toward Uhtred.

Uhtred made no move to pick up the cup. The Neanderthal didn’t touch his either.

"You are not drinking," the Neanderthal said, scratching the side of his beard thoughtfully. "I wanted to make you feel comfortable by entertaining you with what you are familiar with, but it seems it had the opposite effect."

The giant waved his thick hand, and the steaming cups and kettle vanished in an instant, warping cleanly back into his spatial storage.

The casual look on the Neanderthal’s face changed, his expression turning deadly serious.

"You must be wondering what my intentions are for doing all of this," he said.

As he spoke more, the grammatical deficiencies in his English language began to show, the words coming out shorter and more blunt.

"I simply want us to have a discussion, man to man," he said, staring straight into Uhtred’s eyes.

"By the design of the System, we are enemies. But beyond that, I personally want to understand you. I want to understand your kind, and I want you to understand us also."

Uhtred’s eyes flickered slightly. This move had taken him completely off guard. He could feel very clearly that the giant bore no trace of hostility or deceit. His intuition told him this Neanderthal was being entirely genuine.

And if his intuition wasn’t enough, there was also the simple, harsh reality of their power gap.

The Neanderthal was vastly superior to him in raw stats. If he had wanted to capture or kill him, he could have launched an ambush the exact second Uhtred crossed the territory line. He would have been caught in a brutal life-or-death struggle immediately.

Yet, this powerhouse had chosen to sit down and seek a conversation.

Uhtred didn’t fully know what to make of the situation, but since he sensed no immediate threat, he saw no reason to decline.

This giant was clearly the head of this entire territory. He knew things about the System that humans hadn’t even begun to fathom, and having an open dialogue could give Uhtred crucial insights into how the ancient variants thought and operated.

However, the vivid memory of the human captives he had seen just moments ago, malnourished, bleeding, and locked in wooden cages like cattle, was still fresh in his mind.

The raw anger made his knuckles itch, tempting him to reject the talk and choose violence anyway.

The Neanderthal seemed to catch the lingering rage burning behind Uhtred’s eyes, and a low chuckle escaped his lips.

"You rage for the suffering of your kind."

Uhtred’s eyes twitched, in response. The giant had hit the nail right on the head.

The massive man’s laughter suddenly boomed across the empty mound. He seemed genuinely amused by Uhtred’s anger.

"It would seem even you are susceptible to the emotional flaws of your race," the giant said, leaning forward. "You feel a deep sense of camaraderie with these people, even though you have no personal familiarity with them."

The Neanderthal then let out a slow sigh, the look in his pale eyes becoming unreadable.

"Your rage is warranted, human. But you should also remember that you currently hold one of our kind in your own sector. You captured one of our scouts, and I am certain he has suffered the exact same fate your people are suffering here."

He looked at Uhtred pointedly, his voice dropping an octave.

"You may rage, but you must remember that this is war. It is but the way of things."

Those cold, pragmatic words seemed to finally act as a splash of icy water on Uhtred’s temper. He reined his anger back into check, letting out a slow, controlled breath through his nose.

He closed his eyes for a single second, and when he reopened them, a hard, serene calm had taken over his expression.

The Neanderthal didn’t say anything to commend Uhtred’s ability to instantly suppress his emotions, but the gleam in his gray eyes showed he was deeply impressed by the display of mental discipline.

Uhtred spoke for the very first time, his tone flat and even:

"You said you wanted to discuss," he said. "What about?"