Forge a path to success.

Chapter 77 Being able to withstand falls is a prerequisite for success.

A rhythmic rumble echoed from afar, the ground trembling with each sound, as if giants were striking the mountains. Chu Hengkong rushed out of town, while Fan De stood there dumbfounded, head drooping: "An earthquake?"

The western side of Yingshi Town was ablaze with lights, and the townspeople, carrying torches and lanterns, huddled together, their faces showing no fear but only deep sorrow. The giant forged of steel had already approached the town, its fists pounding against the stone walls at its edge. Its fists were blocked by a flickering barrier, woven from countless tiny runes, rising from the walls and enveloping the entire town of Yingshi.

Qi Su, staff in hand, pressed against the wall, new runes constantly popping out from the staff to fill the barrier. Her small face was deathly pale: "Walking corpses, go back at once! This is no longer your homeland!"

But the shadow giant ignored her words, its eyes flashing with a blood-red light. It punched again, finally shattering the crumbling barrier and smashing through the stone wall on the west side of the town. Qi Su was thrown back by the shockwave of the punch, her eyes filled with sorrow. The giant's heavy fist landed on the crowd, as if casting a shadow over their faces.

A dark green shadow leaped out of the crowd and rushed towards the wilderness outside the town!
The shadow giant's massive body vanished instantly, reappearing a hundred meters away, relentlessly pursuing those leaving the town. Chu Hengkong's consciousness wavered for a moment, then he saw a colossal shadow looming ahead. The shadow giant had indeed caught up, just as it had chased Vande the previous night. It seemed like a programmed machine, relentlessly pursuing any intruder it encountered.

Vande trembled incessantly in his pocket: "Are you out of your mind? You're the kind of idiot who can't stand seeing women and children cry, aren't you?"

“Yes,” Chu Hengkong said simply, “This time it’s my turn, you…”

...!
The words he was about to say were shattered by the gust of wind. When he regained consciousness, Chu Hengkong was already a hundred meters above the ground. Excruciating pain spread through his nerves, like a bomb exploding inside him. Breathing was difficult. His heart stiffened. The sheer violence shattered his consciousness like breaking glass. He opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

He's been hit! Hit by that giant's massive punch!
...!
Consciousness snapped again, a blur as if brushing past a blank page in his mind. Chu Hengkong stiffly turned his eyes, only to see an iron wall pressing down from above. It was the Shadow Giant, teleported high in the sky, its red eyes like blood-red stars. It pressed down from above like a fortress, crushing mortals as easily as insects.

The colossal object crashed to the ground, sending dirt and grass flying like a waterfall. Qi Su let out a desperate scream; she, being in the town, had witnessed the entire event. From the very start of the battle, Chu Hengkong was paralyzed by the Shadow Giant's bizarre power. By the time he regained consciousness, the Shadow Giant had already teleported close and launched its attack. This could hardly be called a battle; it was nothing short of a one-sided massacre.

"Bring him back! Hurry!" Qi Su shouted anxiously, but no one took action, which is why everyone understood her torment. These people couldn't leave the town, and no matter what tragedy occurred outside, they couldn't interfere... powerless!
The shadow giant stood silently in the distance, like a towering death. Qi Su knelt helplessly on the ground, knowing that the moment the giant fell, there would be no "afterwards." But Xiang Fuzi helped her up, pointing to the giant's feet.

"Look," Xiang Fuzi's voice trembled, "look carefully!"

Qi Su stared in astonishment. She noticed that the giant's foot was slightly raised, and a tiny "bean" was preventing the steel from touching the ground. It was an inconspicuous little dot, a person with an raised arm. The iron foot slowly lifted off the ground, and the man raised his arm, rising from the dark mud pit.

He roared and exerted his strength, raising his arm to shake off the giant's foot, as if a mortal were lifting a mountain of metal!

The shadow giant stumbled back, nearly losing his balance. Chu Hengkong stood at the bottom of the mud pit, breathing deeply. His lips were smeared with blood, which dripped from the corners of his eyes and flowed from his ears, turning his face crimson. But he was not dead; he could still stand because a powerful energy flowed within him. That energy protected his internal organs and bones, making his skeleton as tough as steel, allowing the martial artist to rise and throw another punch.

"...Are you really human?" Vande asked blankly.

Chu Hengkong chuckled and beckoned to the giant.

"Didn't you eat enough?" he sneered maliciously. "Come again!"

Consciousness snapped out of his grasp, and the Shadow Giant flashed to the side, its massive metal hand slamming into the ground, sending the human flying into the air. In the next instant, the Shadow Giant appeared beneath the human, unleashing three powerful punches from different angles, mercilessly beating the bleeding man from all seven orifices. The final blow was a double-fisted hammer strike, slamming the human into the earth and creating a crater tens of meters in radius!
Fan De, huddled in his pocket, felt dizzy and on the verge of vomiting. But he didn't die, because Chu Hengkong was constantly "reacting." Before each blow, he adjusted his body's orientation, contracted some muscles, and channeled his energy into his bones. His energy... that unique power of a martial artist... became solid, clear, and then mysteriously vanished in the process, disappearing to who-knows-where.

Vande suddenly had an absurd premonition that this person could keep going indefinitely, and that even if the Iron Giant fought until dawn, it would be impossible to defeat him!
It watched with awe, even fear, as Chu Hengkong rose from the pit once more. He dusted himself off, spat out some blood, and looked at the steel giant with nonchalant indifference.

"Is that all the strength you have?" He shook his head as if confirming, then grinned. "Then...it's my turn!"

Consciousness vanished. The sound of wind. Red eyes. A massive, steel fist, brimming with killing intent. The Shadow Giant repeated its sure-win attack after teleporting, but this time the fist landed on empty air. The human vanished in the same instant! He reappeared behind the Shadow Giant, raising a long whip that roared like thunder!

The lightning whip struck the giant's left leg, creating circles of colorless patterns. The force spread deep into the giant's body with the strike, slowing the shadow giant's movements for a moment. Chu Hengkong retracted his tentacles, stepped forward with his right foot, and struck out with his right palm carrying immense force. The moment his right palm struck, the giant's armor shattered, collapsing in a spherical shape.

Dragon Village Fist Technique - Intercepting Qi Strike. A technique that unleashes inner energy, specifically designed to counter heavily armored enemies. The Shadow Giant's left leg buckled, nearly causing it to lose its balance. It steadied itself thanks to its solid structure and teleported again, attempting to strike this troublesome enemy. But Chu Hengkong vanished almost simultaneously with him; by the time the Shadow Giant reappeared to deliver its punch, Chu Hengkong was already in mid-air, countering with a heavy blow with a spinning kick.

The shadow giant retreated rapidly, teleporting above Chu Hengkong, attempting to crush its enemy with its weight. However, there was nothing below. The green-clad assassin appeared above the giant's head. He exhaled and slammed down with a powerful punch, smashing the shadow giant straight into the ground. The giant vanished again, followed by the assassin. The two figures, one large and one small, clashed, their fists striking the steel, creating gusts of wind.

To the townspeople, the current battle resembled a duel between two teleportation users. Chu Hengkong would strike simultaneously with the disappearance of the Shadow Giant's massive body. He couldn't dodge every attack, but his incredibly tenacious stamina allowed him to withstand the blows and launch a counterattack before the enemy vanished.

Only Vande and Qisu realized the truth: it had nothing to do with teleportation; it was simply that the martial artist had adapted to the rhythm of the attack. Using the extremely short time after a loss of consciousness, they adjusted their position, made judgments to dodge or defend, and then launched a counterattack using lightning-fast movement in the fleeting "gap." He never intended to crack the enemy's ability mechanism; he overcame the attack with pure strength and speed, gradually dismantling the giant with his skill!

Chu Hengkong struck the same spot repeatedly, deepening the dent in the shadow giant's left leg. After another powerful punch, he spun in mid-air, drawing his rock blade for the first time. The fierce, unreturning strike landed on the wound, unleashing all the damage accumulated previously. The shadow giant's left leg was severed by this strike, and it completely lost its balance, kneeling precariously on the grass.

"Great! We won! We won! We won!"

Vande cheered loudly, thinking that this was definitely a sure thing. This guy couldn't fight nimbly, and any further attacks would just be teleporting and then slamming down from the sky. Chu Hengkong could dodge these stupid attacks however he wanted. But it inadvertently met the giant's eyes, the blood-red light in those eyes still flashing, carrying a cold cruelty.

Vande suddenly felt a chill run through his body, an inexplicable fear gripping him like a hand. The shadow giant slammed its palms into the earth, casting shadows that became pitch black and deep, like tangible dark mud. Chu Hengkong's body sank a bit, his feet sinking deep into the shadow.

He was being dragged into that quagmire of shadows!

"Retreat! Get out of here!" Vande shouted anxiously, but there was no response. Chu Hengkong stood frozen in place as if he were unconscious, his eyes remaining vacant for a long time, only occasionally showing a fleeting spark of life.

That eerie attack… the intermittent shocks to his consciousness… were relentlessly inflicted upon him. The Shadow Giant changed its attack method; it intended to wear down the unconscious enemy within its shadow.

Chu Hengkong felt himself sinking, his consciousness fragmented as if he'd blacked out from drinking, his vision only vaguely seeing the bloodshot in the giant's eyes. He recalled his first mishap in the swamp, with Adari's mind-controlling cane. The current sensation of injury was strangely similar; perhaps the cane was related to this giant…

He barely managed to lift his leg, taking one step at a time, moving forward in the brief moments when his consciousness returned. Van Der's cries were intermittent. "Rebellion...no...turn back! Turn back!"

No reaction. He thought to himself. Closer still. The giant's red eyes magnified in his vision. When nearly half of its body was submerged in the shadow, Chu Hengkong raised a finger.

“Vand,” he said haltingly, “launch.”

Launch what? Vande was momentarily confused, then it realized what was happening, jumped out of its pocket, and pointed its tentacles at the shadow giant.

More than a dozen streams of slime shot up from the pits all over the grassland, sticking to the shadow giant's massive body like a spider web!
That was a contingency plan Chu Hengkong had left behind after being attacked—a small amount of slime deliberately left at the bottom of each pit. This slime trap couldn't stop the giant's movements, and he hadn't intended to actually use it to restrain him. Vande landed on a line of slime, his eyes gleaming with twilight. "Stop!"

The Eye Demon's hypnotic spell took effect, and the Shadow Giant ceased all movement. The restraints of the shadowy swamp were released, and Chu Hengkong leaped into the air, heading straight for the giant's severed left foot. He took out the remaining embers and wiped them against his tentacles, causing a blue flame to flicker on the silver tentacles. As the giant broke free from the hypnosis, Chu Hengkong had already plunged the tentacles into the wound on its left foot. The blue flames spread within the giant's body, forming a sky-blue ring.

"Braised in soy sauce".

A brilliant flame rose from the giant's body, the fire of ambition burning through the top of the shadow giant's head, turning it into a blazing blue pillar of fire!

With the aid of the spider gauntlets, the attack completely destroyed the Shadow Giant's shell, instantly halting its movements. The powerless behemoth knelt on the ground, like a giant campfire illuminating the wilderness.

Chu Hengkong retracted his tentacles and wiped the blood from his face. Vande, still shaken, peered out and asked, "What would you have done if I hadn't reacted?"

Chu Heng tossed the remaining embers in his hand and laughed.

"The relics of a high-ranking demon, are you afraid that you can't burn through this little shadow?"

Vande's expression was quite complex, his emotions shifting between "Where did you get the guts?" and "You're really awesome." Chu Hengkong approached the firelight, observing the giant's remains. The fire of ambition burned fiercely, the outer steel plates were charred black, and the giant's face melted in the firelight, its original crying face distorted by the heat, seemingly smiling.

Its eyes are a beautiful black, devoid of any blood-red luster.

Chu Hengkong scrutinized him for a while, then deliberately extinguished his ambition to prevent Yingshi Town from being affected by the fire. He stretched his tired limbs and slowly walked back to the town. The townspeople surrounded him, cheering loudly as if their voices could reach the heavens. Qi Su excitedly hugged his leg, and he patted the little girl's head.

"The hunt is over." He yawned. "Go to sleep early."

(End of this chapter)