Lance took over the fight against the Corrupt Giant. He started by firing several shots at its head, but the effect was hardly noticeable. The soft Lead Bullets rely pierced its skin before being stopped by the hard bones, making it difficult to inflict further damage.
Instead, the pain only enraged the giant further. It furiously swung the tree trunk with all its might, smashing it forward and forcing Lance to strategically retreat to avoid its full force.
He usually liked to start by taking on an opponent’s heavy hits to gauge their strength. However, there was no need to withstand these blows head-on. This was mainly because there was a considerable gap in their strength, and he would be at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation.
Moreover, Lance was human, not this mindless giant before him.
With soone like Boudica, whose strength was weaker than his but whose skills were better, he would engage her in a contest of strength.
With the Corrupt Giant, whose strength was greater but whose skills were inferior, he would engage it in a contest of skill.
Leveraging one’s strengths against an opponent’s weaknesses—that was the only truly sound approach!
In comparison to his opponent’s massive yet cumberso form, Lance was far more agile. He darted around the giant, enticing it to attack, then dodged before countering.
The range of the tree trunk’s attacks was undeniably vast, even wider than Lance’s greatsword. A casual sweep constituted a wide-area attack. If one couldn’t withstand it, they would suffer trendous damage.
But even if he managed to withstand an attack, the distance between them made it difficult for him to counter instantly.
This was the first ti Lance had encountered such a predicant, leaving him at a loss on how to proceed.
"Mushroom Big Guy!" A shout rang out. Boudica, having recovered from her serious injuries, charged forward, broken War Halberd in hand.
She had been ambushed previously because ntal exhaustion had slowed her reaction ti. Now, fully recovered, Boudica wasn’t afraid of this behemoth at all; she had extensive experience hunting large creatures.
A direct confrontation was out of the question, so she agilely circled to the giant’s back—a blind spot its tree trunk couldn’t reach.
Boudica looked up, an inexplicable unease washing over her. The mushrooms growing densely on the giant’s back seed fused with its skin. As she approached, it almost felt as if the mushrooms themselves turned to look at her, giving her an eerie sensation, as if they were alive.
An unsettling thought surfaced, making Boudica wonder if she was going mad. But there was no ti for hesitation in battle; she imdiately swung her broken War Halberd.
Boudica was strong and agile; it took her only a breath or two to re-enter the fray.
Lance’s attention was focused on his frontal assault against the giant. By the ti he noticed Boudica’s actions, he was montarily stunned and instinctively shouted.
"No! Run away!"
Boudica heard him, of course, but she couldn’t stop her montum. Before her War Halberd could strike the giant’s back, the mushrooms on it pulsated. They spewed out a massive cloud of deadly spores, completely enveloping the area behind the giant, with Boudica inevitably caught in their midst.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" Boudica stumbled back, breaking free from the spore cloud. However, spores clearly clung to her. She coughed violently, her eyes squeezed shut, blinded, as she flailed about with her broken War Halberd.
Seeing this, Lance knew things had gone wrong. Why can’t this woman use her head? After fighting so many corrupted parasites, how does she still not know that these mushrooms spew poison? If there was such an obvious weakness, wouldn’t others have found it? Why are the mushrooms concentrated on its back? Isn’t it obviously modified to defend against attacks from behind?
But this wasn’t the ti for complaints.
"Boudica, listen to ! Retreat towards your left rear!" Lance yelled. Saying this, he threw a waterskin in her direction and simultaneously shouted to William, "William, assist her! Use the water to wash the toxic spores from her face, and be careful not to touch them yourself!"
Hearing Lance’s voice, the panic in Boudica’s heart subsided sowhat. She instinctively followed his directions, rushing out of the chaotic battlefield, while William darted forward to retrieve the waterskin.
But the giant wasn’t so common fodder. In a battle between near equals, any pause could be fatal, let alone Lance being distracted directing soone else.
This gave the giant the opening it needed. The massive tree trunk was raised high above its shoulder and then swung down with full force at Lance.
Trunk Slam!
The Corrupt Giant’s fierce attack gave Lance no ti to react. By the ti his gaze snapped back from Boudica, all he saw was the tree trunk rapidly enlarging before his eyes.
THUD!
It was like a ga of golf, except Lance was the ball being struck. He beca the "fortunate" recipient of the sa treatnt Boudica had endured.
In that instant, Lance felt as though he had lost all sensation in his body. A paralyzing numbness enveloped him, creating a surreal feeling of floating.
But two or three seconds later, intense pain, as if by common consent, flooded his brain. He could hardly discern where it hurt the most; it felt as if his entire body had been thrown into a at grinder and was being torn apart.
Yet, paradoxically, his mind was exceedingly clear at that mont. It felt as if ti itself had slowed down, even as his consciousness began to blur under the overwhelming onslaught of pain.
Now, the real test has co... Do I hold on, or just fade away like this?
"Death?" Lance slowly pushed himself up from the ground. He held the hilt of his greatsword in his right hand, resting the massive blade on his shoulder. His left arm hung limp at his side, his body crouched low. Then, he slowly lifted his head, a low murmur escaping his lips, "The hunt... has only just begun..."
It was as if the man before them had awakened. In the very next second, Lance exploded into action. His body showed no sign of the grievous injuries he had just sustained. On the contrary, he burst forth with a speed even more astonishing than before, each step leaving deep imprints on the ground.
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