Chapter 58: The Giant Wooden Puppet |
Boom...
Within the valley, a hundred-meter-tall wooden puppet giant had appeared unnoticed.
The giant's torso was disproportionately small, with its limbs making up nearly eighty percent of its body.
Its legs resembled towering pillars, each step causing the valley floor to tremble violently, making nearby vegetation sway precariously.
Its arms stretched an astonishing forty to fifty meters, accounting for half its body length. Though lacking distinguishable fingers, its clenched fists resembled massive meteor hammers over ten meters in diameter, relentlessly pounding the ground where people fled.
The valley spanned only three to four hundred meters wide. With the wooden giant positioned in the center, there was scarcely any room to dodge on either side. All members from the six camps who had remained outside were now scrambling desperately.
Fifty-four people had stayed outside initially.
Xia Hong stepped out of the wooden cabin and quickly scanned the area, immediately noticing over a dozen missing. His expression tightened as he urgently searched the chaotic crowd for Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and others.
"Leader, we're here!"
On the right valley wall, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and four others were all present.
But Xia Hong's relief vanished the moment he saw their predicament.
The six were trapped in a narrow crevice in the rock face.
Outside the crevice, the wooden giant's massive right fist pounded relentlessly. Though the rock fissure was one to two meters thick, cracks were already forming under the brutal assault - it wouldn't withstand many more blows.
Lacking fingers, the puppet couldn't pluck them from the crevice, resorting instead to brute force. Alarmingly, it strategically targeted the crevice's only exit, striking faster with each blow to prevent their escape.
Even more disturbingly, the giant multitasked effortlessly. While its right arm attacked the six, its legs and left arm simultaneously targeted three other groups totaling over forty people elsewhere in the valley.
"Leader Xia, catch!"
"Thanks."
Without hesitation, Xia Hong charged toward the trapped six. Luo Ming tossed a greatsword which Xia Hong caught mid-stride without looking, dashing toward the crevice.
With each of the giant's earth-shaking strikes, the ground trembled violently, making Xia Hong's sprint unsteady. His expression grew increasingly grave.
This world's ground was no ordinary earth - the Digging Realm wasn't just a name.
For the giant to create such tremors meant its strength surpassed imagination. Not even Luo Ming could withstand such force, let alone himself.
Reaching the crevice, Xia Hong timed his move perfectly. As the giant's hammer-fist struck again, he kicked off the rock face, raising the greatsword to slash at the massive wooden fist.
Crack...
The blade bit deep, cleaving a meter-long gash as expected from metal against wood.
But Xia Hong froze when he saw beneath the gash - dense layers of translucent white threads.
Before he could react, the injured fist rose unaffected, completely ignoring him to continue hammering at the crevice housing Yuan Cheng's group.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
The narrow fissure couldn't withstand the relentless pounding. Already, Yue Feng and Yuan Cheng at the front were being crushed by dislodged rocks, blood trickling from their mouths.
A few more strikes would kill all six.
Xia Hong looked up to see the gash he'd made already healing. Without delay, he pulled out his last piece of Concentrated Fire Oil, coating the blade.
The giant's fist measured over ten meters across. His initial slash wasn't meant to destroy it, just divert its attention to save the six. But the puppet hadn't taken the bait.
Gripping the sword tightly, Xia Hong timed his next move perfectly. As the fist descended again, he leapt, driving the blade deep into its wooden surface before clinging to the hilt with all his strength.
As the fist rose, Xia Hong was carried upward with it.
The moment the oil-coated blade penetrated, the white threads within ignited, flames spreading rapidly through the wooden structure.
It's working!
Xia Hong's brief relief turned to alarm as he felt the blade loosening.
Not the blade itself - the burning section of the fist was detaching from the main body. The giant was sacrificing its flaming portion to preserve itself.
Realizing he'd fall with the severed chunk, Xia Hong yanked the sword free and leapt upward, sprinting along the giant's narrowing right arm like a monkey climbing a hammer's handle.
Reapplying oil as he climbed, he reached the arm's thinnest point - still nearly three meters thick - and with a roar, brought the blazing sword down with all his might.
Riiip...
Though not completely severed, the two-meter-deep cut proved sufficient. The burning white threads weakened the remaining fibers, causing the arm to snap under its own weight.
Boom...
The detached fist still struck the crevice by momentum, but without the giant's power behind it, the impact was negligible.
Crack...
Even so, the damaged rock fissure finally collapsed.
Emerging from the rubble, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng and the others wore expressions of hard-won survival. Without Xia Hong's intervention, that final blow would have crushed them to paste.
Seeing them safe, Xia Hong glanced at his nearly empty oil container, then at the giant's remaining limbs still attacking Luo Ming's group. After a moment's hesitation, he tossed his last reserves to Luo Ming.
"Leader Luo! Last of the oil - aim for its limbs!"