System's Punishment Trial (part-4)
"Again"
He took to the skies, using a giant extra leap, powering up his legs with the mana that cost a third of his reserves, and hurled the energy spear in an arcing strike at the hand holding the club.
The spear landed at its target.
The wrist tore successfully as a scream escaped the giant.
The club dropped for the first time from its grip.
Victory?
Nope. Unfortunately
He landed badly—just a little off—and was slammed into the dirt by the same injured arm before he could dodge.
[3 lives left]
He groaned as he respawned, blinking against the sun, and muttered:
"Again…"
From above, conjuring a spear mid-jump, he aimed for the crotch this time, ignoring moral ethics, or whatever.
The impact is connected successfully.
The howl that tore from the giant's throat shook dust off distant mountains quite a bit, and the black ichor gushed out, too.
But then… a clean, casual swat struck his body.
And seconds later, a foot stomp so massive it left a crater.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
Tianzhu lay on the ground after resurrection, coughing out phantom blood and whispering, "Okay… It's not a good spot cause there is no landing spots after striking the location. Got it."
He was on the shoulder again.
If he crouched lower, maybe the arm couldn't reach him. If he stood closer to the neck…
Nope.
The left arm still found him.
And crushed like a bug.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
Another repeat kill.
Another red X in the invisible mental diagram he was drawing of this thing's body.
"Again…" Tianzhu only got more determined to find its weaknesses.
This time, with a series of combo attacks, one after another, the giant was riddled with shallow wounds. Its right wrist was bruised. Its left eye is damaged. Its tendons were slashed more than once. Even the crotch bore a tear in its armor-like skin.
But it still moved and killed him, fortunately with a footstomp, a redundant kill.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 2 lives]
[Remaining: 2 lives]
After several failed frontal assaults, Tianzhu tried something different.
He once again waited behind the giant during its club swing as he did during the earlier attempts. The only thing he had forgotten was to slash its Achilles Tendons. As the club smashed into the ground ahead, Tianzhu sprinted up its back instead, timing his run perfectly with the recoil motion.
Just as the giant lifted the club to swing again, Tianzhu jumped, aiming to land on the handle of the weapon itself, hoping to use its own swing as a slingshot toward its exposed ear or jawline.
For a split second, it worked.
He rode the rising arc of the club like a surfer.
Then…
Snap.
The giant jerked its arm backward with unnatural speed, yanking the club into a sudden reverse swing.
Tianzhu didn't anticipate the torque.
His body whiplashed from the sheer velocity, flung like a ragdoll across the air, and smashed spine-first into a nearby rock with a sickening crack, his body bent backward in an unnatural arch.
It was an instant death.
Lives remaining: 1
*
"Okay, this is the last one," Tianzhu muttered, his voice low but steady. He clenched his fists as the countdown timer above ticked down. Ten… nine… eight…
His eyes narrowed. Energy sword in his right hand. Energy spear in his left.
The instant the timer hit zero, Tianzhu darted forward with full speed, his movements honed by failure, pain, and vast experience he had accumulated over like twenty consecutive deaths or more. He made his way to the giant's backside, just as he had done several times before.
Without hesitation, he sliced through its right Achilles tendon.
GRAAAHHHHHH—!
The beast collapsed, roaring in agony as it hit the ground, its body trembling from the pain. Tianzhu didn't stop. He circled around and cleanly severed its left Achilles tendon as well, ensuring it had no chance of standing again.
Thick, corrosive blood gushed from the massive wounds. Tianzhu jumped onto the monster's back, sprinting along its spine while it thrashed and roared in agony.
As he reached the upper back, the massive club came swinging toward him.
He ducked under it and slid forward.
At just the right moment, he plunged the energy spear into the beast's club-holding wrist.
SHRIIEEK!
A flood of burning blood shot out.
Tianzhu didn't waste a breath; he immediately activated Lightning God Armor and vanished from the blood's path in a streak of blur, zigzagging away from the spray with precision.
He conjured another spear in mid-motion, sacrificing 25% of his mana instantly.
The giant's other hand, free of the club, lunged to grab him.
He twisted mid-air, evading it, and countered with a precise stab of his spear into that wrist too, letting the weapon stay embedded in the joint.
Now, both of the monster's hands were disabled.
Tianzhu reached the nape of its neck.
"Argh… Die, you bast*rd."
Without hesitation, he drove the saber deep into the base of the spine, right where the nape connected to the skull, and jumped back as another wave of acidic blood sprayed outward.
Still in mid-air, he saw the giant's remaining eye twitch toward him.
*Graaa* gra* graaaa*
The beast could no longer move its limbs. Its head shook faintly, roaring in pain and struggle. With every bit of strength left, the creature slightly turned its neck and opened its jagged, grotesque mouth to swallow him whole.
But Tianzhu landed perfectly, right on one of its front teeth.
Using it as a launch pad, he kicked off again with full force, rising high above its face.
In that instant, two sharp spears, smaller and hastily forged, appeared in his hands, created from the last stretch of his mana.
"Oraaaa. Die…"
With a roar, he hurled one down.
PFFFT!
The spear pierced the giant's eye. It howled in pain.
Tianzhu landed safely below, panting, but he wasn't finished yet. "C'mon…"
Amidst its agonizing screech, he rushed forward one final time, leapt onto its chest, and climbed up to its face again.
He stabbed the last spear straight into the other eye, burying it deep until only the hilt remained.
Then he jumped away and landed on the cracked, dusty ground, his mana completely spent.
Graaaaaaaa!
Behind him, the colossus let out one last broken scream before going utterly still.
Its body began to twitch, then collapse.
Dust billowed as the towering beast's frame slammed into the earth.
Tianzhu didn't move.
He simply lay there, staring at the monster's corpse, waiting to see if it would rise again. There's still half a minute left before the final Lightning God Armor dissipates.
However, the giant didn't wake up. It slowly disappeared.
He exhaled, long and quiet, as the floating screen finally returned, shimmering above him.
*Ding!