Chapter 27: Slaying the Fire Giant, Miracles Always Attend Me!

Then, the impossible happened.

With a sharp crack, the giant sword in the Flame Giant’s hand began to fracture, and with a thunderous bang, it shattered into pieces. Realizing something was amiss, the Flame Giant turned and sprinted toward a nearby fissure in the ground.

Before it could take many steps, countless cracks appeared across its own body. With another deafening bang, the giant crumbled, collapsing into a pile of scattered, broken rocks. A massive, gargantuan heart fell from the remains, pulsing like a roaring inferno. The cave fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the sizzling of the burning heart and a single golden monkey hair floating suspended in the air.

"The Flame Giant is dead. He was killed by a single hair from the Great Sage Equaling Heaven." Su Mu could hardly believe his eyes, yet the evidence was right before him. The giant was dead, and the golden hair remained.

"Hahaha!" Su Mu wanted to let out a roar of laughter and scream, "Monkey Brother, you are mighty!" He didn't know why the hair, which had seemingly been incinerated, had reappeared, or if it had just been charging up a massive blow—though the charging time had certainly been long. Regardless, the Flame Giant was finally defeated.

"Little Divine Dragon, quick, come with me and check if the giant is truly dead. If not, we’ll give him a few more strikes."

"Blade Dance, stop standing there! Come back quickly, don't let this monster suddenly revive." Su Mu’s adrenaline surged as he clutched his woodcutter’s blade and walked toward the giant's corpse. He wasn't being paranoid; the giant's heart was still beating. If he didn't shatter that heart, he feared what might happen next.

BOOM!

Just then, a terrifying event occurred. A massive surge of magma erupted from the ground fissure, enveloping the pulsing heart, while rocks from the cave ceiling rained down into the molten flow. The body of the Flame Giant began to reform. Before long, a two-hundred-meter-tall titan stood once more before Su Mu. With a single roar, it sent Blade Dance flying backward; it seemed even more powerful than before.

"It... it actually revived?" Su Mu stood dumbfounded, cursing himself for being a jinx. Why did he have to mention that it might revive?

"Run!" After a second of shock, Su Mu, Blade Dance, and the Little Divine Dragon bolted toward the escape passage. Blade Dance and the dragon, realizing they were no match for the titan, followed his command instantly.

ROAR!

The Flame Giant would not let an opponent who had killed it once escape. Gripping its massive sword, it swung down at the trio. The entire passage was engulfed in flames, and the ceiling began to collapse. The rapid expansion of air triggered a horrific explosion within the tunnel.

"Absolute Protection!" Su Mu barely activated his barrier before the blast wave threw all three of them out of the passage, landing them just a short distance from the giant. Behind them, the tunnel collapsed completely. The shadow of death loomed over Su Mu once more.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The Flame Giant took heavy, measured steps, sword in hand, approaching Su Mu. His heart tightened. A miracle? Could there be another miracle?

At that moment, the golden monkey hair floating in the air drifted gracefully toward the Flame Giant. It suddenly transformed into a streak of golden light, slicing through the titan.

With a thunderous crash, the mighty Flame Giant was cleaved in two, its body falling to the ground. Having executed the strike, the golden hair seemed to exhaust its energy, dissolving into a pile of ash.

Simultaneously, a system notification rang in Su Mu’s ears:
[System Alert: The Diamond-2 Flame Giant has suffered 10 million points of damage. Health remains at 10%. Host, kill it quickly, or it will revive in ten minutes. Weakness detected: the golden heart.]

"Kill it!" Su Mu charged forward, hacking wildly with his woodcutter’s blade. He only had ten minutes. If he failed to kill the giant within that window, he and his companions would be the ones to die.

Although the giant had only 10% health left, its defense remained terrifying. A red light barrier manifested around the two halves of its body, shielding it from their attacks.

[Blade Dance heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 15,000 damage. EXP +8,000!]
[Little Divine Dragon heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 13,000 damage. EXP +7,000!]
[Host heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 17,000 damage. EXP +10,000!]
[Blade Dance heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 30,000 damage. EXP +16,000!]
[Little Divine Dragon heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 26,000 damage. EXP +14,000!]
[Host heavily damaged the Diamond-2 Flame Giant, dealing 34,000 damage. EXP +20,000!]

...The system's voice continued to ring out. They fought for their lives.

Finally, with a deafening crash, the barrier shattered. The Flame Giant let out a howl of agony, its broken torso reaching out to grasp its sword.

"Damn thing, you still want to fight back?" With bloodshot eyes, Su Mu leaped onto the giant’s chest and raised his blade, hacking frantically at the heart. The system had said the heart must be destroyed to kill it for good.

*Snap.*

Unexpectedly, after only three strikes, Su Mu’s blade shattered. He froze for a moment, then realized: the giant’s body was made of rock; ordinary weapons wouldn't suffice.

"Blade Dance, throw me the giant’s sword!" Su Mu roared. He planned to use the monster’s own weapon to finish it. Blade Dance nodded and kicked the massive blade toward him. Su Mu caught it firmly. Though the sword weighed over three hundred pounds, with his Platinum-3 strength, it felt light in his hands.

"You monster, your end has come. Now, you shall die by your own blade. This is for the human lords you slaughtered!"

Su Mu announced the giant’s demise with a savage expression, driving the longsword inch by inch into the titan's chest. The giant struggled, terror flickering in its eyes, but it was too late. This was war—either he died, or the monster did.

Finally, the blade pierced through the heart. A stream of flame raced up the sword, engulfing Su Mu’s body, followed by another massive explosion that rocked the entire cave.