Chapter 51: Giant and Tyrant
In just a few seconds, the faint blue light gradually faded, and the abnormal buzzing in my ears ceased. However, the turmoil it had sparked did not end with the light’s disappearance.
“An… earthquake?”
The slight trembling grew stronger, soon becoming impossible to ignore. Right before my eyes, tiny grains of sand on the ground began to dance with the earth’s rhythm.
Even the ruins I, Zhong Jing, was clinging to swayed unsteadily. Dangerous sounds echoed from the tunnel below, as large chunks of debris broke off from the walls and crashed to the ground.
Cracks spread across all directions of the tunnel, signaling that this underground space was at risk of collapsing at any moment. Returning through the tunnel’s original path was no longer an option.
What should I do… What should I do…
If I didn’t leave soon, I would surely fall with the collapsing ruins and be buried under tons of debris—a certain death. But reckless action would expose me to the Witch ‘Tyrant,’ and I’d still face being cut down.
My eyes darted around, desperately searching for a sliver of hope, but the more I looked, the more despair set in.
Collapsed ruins were everywhere, offering no safe escape route or hidden refuge. Escaping the Tyrant seemed utterly impossible.
Being crushed into pulp by collapsing ruins or sliced into pieces by the Tyrant’s scythe—such a choice was meaningless.
Just as I thought I’d have to choose a way to die, a roar from nearby shifted the situation.
Not only I but also the Tyrant, who had been sitting quietly, turned toward the source of the roar.
A Giant Walker, standing four meters tall, emerged from behind a pile of ruins and debris. This one was distinctly different from the one I’d seen kill the Corrosive Vulture earlier.
Its body showed almost no signs of decay, and it wasn’t bloated or fat. The bulging, inflated muscles seemed ready to burst from its skin, exuding raw power but lacking any aesthetic appeal, resembling a grotesque muscle monster.
It stared at the Tyrant, and the Tyrant observed it in return.
The next moment, the Giant Walker suddenly grabbed a scrapped van at its feet and crumpled it like a wad of paper, folding and compressing the rusted wreckage. In its hands, the van was as fragile as paper.
Had it not been for the piercing shrieks of metal, I might have thought the van had already rotted away after a century of corrosion.
In a flash, the van was compressed into a half-meter-diameter ball of scrap metal.
Once formed, the Giant Walker stepped back with its right leg, its right arm—gripping the iron ball—extending backward like a bodybuilder. But its purpose wasn’t to show off its muscles.
“Hoo—”
Its twisting waist drove the arm holding the iron ball, swinging it in a wide, crescent arc. The gust from the motion alone created a ripple of air, and the iron ball, upon release, unleashed its terrifying power.
Like a cannonball, it tore through the air with a sharp whistle, stirring a small storm of debris along its path, and slammed heavily toward the Tyrant’s position.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”
My bangs were blown into disarray in an instant. When the deafening crash reached my ears, I numbly shifted my gaze from the Giant Walker, still in its throwing stance, to where the Tyrant had been sitting. The half-broken stone pillar was gone, leaving only a trench stretching dozens of meters.
A faint, acrid smell of burning lingered. At the trench’s end was the thrown iron ball… no, the scrap metal had deformed so severely from the impact it could no longer be called a ball.
Where… where was the Tyrant?
No trace of a struck target was behind the ball. I quickly turned my head to search for the Tyrant’s figure.
As a breeze dispersed the dust cloud, a black trench coat emerged. The Tyrant stood less than half a meter from her original position, her massive black scythe resting on the ground beside her.
“Since you’ve chosen me, pay the price for your foolishness…”
The Tyrant raised her voice, as if proclaiming something, heedless of whether the Giant Walker understood her words. Her unmasked hostility, however, was clearly conveyed.
“ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR!!!”
With a bellow, the Giant Walker grabbed another wrecked car. This time, the Tyrant didn’t give it a chance to prepare. With a single step, she seized her scythe and charged straight at the Giant Walker, the blade behind her poised for a slash.
Perhaps pressured by the approaching Tyrant, the Giant Walker didn’t compress the car into a ball but hurled it directly at her.
“Pathetic…”
With a soft sigh, the Tyrant shifted the scythe from behind her to a raised stance, slightly sidestepping to make room for her weapon.
Just as the car was about to collide, her swinging arm finally unleashed the scythe. Without slowing, her turning body naturally guided the blade in an upward slash.
Once again, the scythe demonstrated its terrifying sharpness before my eyes.
As the Tyrant completed the strike, the car split cleanly in half along a straight line. The smooth cut showed no signs of external force—only precision machinery could achieve such a feat.
“ROAR—!!!”
As it threw the car, the Giant Walker’s attacks never ceased. This time, instead of grabbing another vehicle, it scooped a handful of rubble from the ruins.
Seeing this, the Tyrant seemed to realize something. She stomped the ground hard, as if trying to slow herself, while the Giant Walker flung the handful of rubble at her.
The stones varied in size, most no larger than a fist, yet they posed a greater threat than the bulky car. Thrown with the Giant Walker’s strength, the nearly hundred stones formed a wide barrage, each carrying immense force. They kicked up clouds of dust and shattered gravel at their impact points.
Even the standing ruins couldn’t shield the Tyrant effectively. The stones easily pierced through walls, and though their range weakened, within ten meters, they still had the power to shred skin.
What were those black fumes?
My eyes, locked on the battlefield, immediately noticed a subtle change around the Tyrant. Faint black smoke swirled around her, unaffected by her speed, floating in a seemingly slow, rhythmic dance.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”
Suddenly, the Tyrant slammed her next step into the ground, halting her forward charge. The force caused the ground to buckle and fold under the pressure, raising several stone slabs that formed a makeshift barrier before her.
This… power, it rivaled the Giant Walker’s, didn’t it? Was it the black smoke?
Witnessing this, I suppressed the urge to cry out, my wide eyes filled with shock. My rigid mind instantly linked it to the appearance of the black smoke.
Using the sturdy barrier as her anchor, the paused Tyrant lunged at the Giant Walker again.
Facing an enemy now mere dozens of meters away, the Giant Walker abandoned ranged attacks. Grabbing a broken lamppost, it strode to meet the oncoming Tyrant.
Swoosh—
Leveraging the lamppost’s length, the Giant Walker struck first, swinging the pole with crushing force like a mountain bearing down.
The Tyrant didn’t retreat but advanced, a slight sidestep dodging the blow. The gust blew off her hood, her messy black hair spilling free in the chaotic wind.
Enduring the cutting gale like knives across my face, the Tyrant swung her scythe, severing the lamppost. Simultaneously, she kicked the Giant Walker’s arm, her slender frame and massive scythe dancing lightly in the air.
‘Pfft…’
A two-meter-long gash appeared on the Giant Walker’s arm where the scythe landed, dark blood gushing from the wound. Though it felt no pain, the injury still provoked a roar.
Its movements suddenly quickened, its free hand swiping at the airborne Tyrant.
Even the Tyrant hadn’t anticipated the Giant Walker’s speed. Midair, she couldn’t dodge, but she managed to raise her scythe to block.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”
Like the iron ball earlier, the Tyrant’s body was sent flying, crashing heavily into the ruins behind. A cloud of dust obscured everything.
Wait, this wasn’t the time to spectate…
Seeing the Tyrant flung back, I realized how precarious my position was. The battle between the Tyrant and the Giant Walker intensified the shaking. I hurriedly climbed out of the tunnel to the surface.
All I wanted now was to get away. Though the clash between the Tyrant and the Giant Walker was gripping, and I even wanted to know the outcome, this wasn’t some cinematic spectacle—it was a deadly battlefield. If it spread to me, my strength would make me mere collateral damage.
Unbeknownst to me, as I turned to flee, a denser, darker cloud of smoke parted the dust, and a familiar figure stepped out.
…
“Up ahead, it’s just up ahead!”
The familiar crevice came back into view. Luo Shi couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice. Hours had passed since the horde forced them back.
Yet he still believed in that dark crevice. Han Nianling and that young mercenary girl were still alive. Having witnessed their strength through countless dangers, he was certain they couldn’t have fallen here.