Chapter 110: The Mountain Giant vs. The Crystal Beast! Purging the Black Mist! [3000 words]
“Boom!”
As the colossal beast charged forward, a new tremor swept through the area where Yi Shen and his companions stood. From a distance, Zhan Yu and the others watched Yi Shen intently, sensing that he was performing some kind of preparatory spell.
What they didn’t anticipate was that within seconds, chunks of earth from the ground began to levitate, covering an area spanning at least a thousand meters!
These earth blocks converged, intertwined with various kinds of vegetation, and from this gathering emerged a massive hill. In just a dozen seconds, it took shape into the outline of a gigantic giant, its stature even taller than the beast opposite it!
Another ten seconds passed, and to the stunned onlookers, the enormous giant surged forward, charging straight at the crystalline monster. As it ran, the earth fragments trailing behind it fused seamlessly onto its body!
The crystalline beast had originally come on fiercely, creating a vivid sense of unstoppable force. Everyone believed nothing could possibly halt it.
Yet the hill giant summoned by Yi Shen was constructed in a mere thirty seconds and met the beast’s assault with a body even larger in scale!
“Boom!”
When the enormous beast collided with the hill giant, it felt as if the entire world shook. The tremendous shockwave overturned nearby monsters and toppled lingering vegetation and structures!
Zhan Yu and his comrades were forced backward by the force of the blast.
“???”
“!!!”
Almost everyone was left dumbfounded.
On the battlefield, the massive beast was actually stopped dead in its tracks by the hill giant!
The beast shook its head, glaring fiercely at the hill giant, confused at the unexpected obstacle barring its way. When it arrived, it had not sensed anything of equal strength on the opposing side.
Yi Shen, too, fixed his gaze on the beast, beginning to form an initial assessment.
“The enemy is formidable.”
Despite summoning the hill giant, it lost over a hundred thousand health points in the recent clash, while the beast only lost around twenty thousand.
Moreover, the hill giant’s attributes were linked to both earth elements and Yi Shen’s own essence, boasting approximately four million health points in total.
Yet the beast’s health was clearly higher—at least six million and climbing. Even if Yi Shen unleashed his Flame Gate to burn it, little damage would be made.
Yi Shen began directing the Flame Gate to support the hill giant’s attacks, while his mind was far from idle—he was already summoning a new wave of hill giants. There was no room for retreat.
If one hill giant couldn’t subdue the beast, then he would summon two.
If two weren’t enough, then three!
Since the enemy had come, Yi Shen had no intention of letting them leave; even if it meant grinding them down, he was determined to wear them out completely!
Ignoring the confusion on Zhan Yu’s side, Yi Shen slipped fully into combat mode.
He now faced not only the colossal beast but also the legion of moonlight mirror images lurking behind.
These mirror images had previously kept their distance due to the burns inflicted by the flames, but when Yi Shen struck them with the Flame Gate, many were either resisted by the beast or scattered to evade.
Just as Yi Shen had imagined, the Flame Gate inflicted little damage on the behemoth.
Its crystalline exterior seemed to grant it formidable resistance, forcing Yi Shen to rely on true damage effects to slowly chip it down.
Over fifty moonlight mirror images now encircled Yi Shen’s position.
By now, Yi Shen had summoned three hill giants simultaneously, reaching a temporary stalemate!
And Yi Shen himself was far from idle.
As some of the mirror images approached, he affixed magical bombs on each of them, then began channeling layered arcane strikes.
His shields were nearly maxed out at all times.
Whenever a shield broke, he promptly cast healing spells on himself.
Though nerves were stretched taut, Yi Shen refused to fall behind in this high-intensity battle!
In the sky above, he resembled a war god.
“Clatter!”
A beam of white light gathered on the battlefield as Zhan Yu and the others joined the fray.
Several massive rays of radiance shot forth from behind. Peng Fan, the chief ranger of the Jianghe Guild, had drawn his longbow.
They had initially feared that once the leader monster appeared, handling the aftermath would be nearly impossible.
Yet to their astonishment, Yi Shen alone held firm against such overwhelming pressure. At this point, it was nearly unjustifiable to question his resolve!
...
The battle intensified to a fever pitch.
Both sides exerted their utmost, probing for weaknesses.
The crystalline beast discovered the hill giant’s lumbering movements and shifted to guerrilla tactics.
Meanwhile, Zhan Yu and his team swiftly collaborated to slay several low-tier mirror images, only for new reinforcements to arrive in response.
The command center of Jingmen Safe Zone dispatched additional support. What had begun as a minor test by Yi Shen had unexpectedly escalated into a major conflict.
“Hold off on reinforcements,” Yi Shen approached Zhan Yu, instructing him to contact command and request that no one else be sent.
If he were alone, Yi Shen could maneuver freely, even baiting the beast as he saw fit. But with others entering the fray, he risked being trapped, unable to advance or retreat.
Zhan Yu understood and relayed the message to Qi Lei and Yu Tian, ordering all lower-level explorers to withdraw.
The monsters on the field were all high-level; sending in weaker fighters would be a death sentence.
The hill giants lasted roughly three minutes each. Soon, the first summoned giant collapsed, dissolving into a mound of earth.
Yi Shen took the opportunity to reform his summons and increased the number of hill giants to five.
His proficiency with forbidden spells had clearly improved; summoning a Flame Gate now took just over ten seconds, while a hill giant could be formed in under twenty!
At last, the crystalline beast was worn down to half its health!
It seemed to be contemplating retreat.
Yi Shen pressed forward relentlessly.
The battle raged on for over three hours.
Zhan Yu’s team was beginning to exhaust their stamina and mana, pulling back, but Yi Shen held the frontline with unyielding resolve, pressuring the enemy all the way back to the edge of the black mist!
The terrifying beast was forced to retreat by Yi Shen’s sheer determination.
The hill giants relentlessly charged into the black mist.
Now aflame with fighting spirit, Yi Shen unleashed seven or eight Flame Gates above the mist, burning a massive hole and reaping a great number of monsters.
His level surged to 45!
While most others might struggle to level once per year beyond forty, Yi Shen had climbed three levels in mere hours, fueled by the sheer volume of monsters on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the crystalline beast’s defenses were still too strong. If it tried to escape, Yi Shen currently lacked the means to stop it. He would have to wait for more forbidden spells or higher attributes before attempting again.
Though his mana remained full after casting so many forbidden spells, Yi Shen felt the strain in his mind and soul.
Much like the toll of unlimited blink spells on the body, unrestricted forbidden magic weighed heavily on his spirit.
Yet he still cleared the black mist thoroughly!
What had previously covered hundreds of square kilometers was now suppressed to just the core area of advanced black mist.
Because these advanced mists were trickier to handle, Yi Shen made little progress in the short term.
By around five in the morning, he slowly withdrew, spending over an hour cleaning the battlefield and collecting most of the valuable spoils.
Only then did the battle truly draw to a close.
Yi Shen messaged Zhan Yu, telling him he was going home to sleep.
Today, Yi Shen had slain tens of thousands of beasts. For the foreseeable future, they would lack the strength to assault Jingmen Safe Zone’s defenses again.
Exhausted mentally and physically, Yi Shen needed proper rest.
Dawn broke.
The morning in Jingmen Safe Zone was as quiet as ever. Due to recent chaos, street vendors were fewer than usual, with only a handful of long-established shops open.
Yi Shen lay at home, briefly updating his mother on the situation and asking not to be disturbed.
He also messaged Zhu Qing and the others, requesting help in gathering more elemental materials, then sank into a deep sleep.
His bed was so comfortable that he fell asleep almost instantly upon lying down.
At the same time, yesterday’s battle report was released.
Though Yi Shen slept, the frontline of Jingmen Safe Zone buzzed with excitement!
Even Zhan Yu and his team were stunned. One Black Mage alone had single-handedly cleansed all the black mist from the frontlines the previous night, forcing the monsters to retreat into hiding!
This feat not only shook the major guilds but also sent ripples to the Hanzhong Safe Zone and even further north to the capital city, astonishing countless people.
Monster invasions were common, especially in the north where beast tides persisted and many regions remained unconquered.
But to have one explorer capable of facing tens of thousands of monsters alone, summoning creatures rivaling leader monsters—this was news that could change the entire situation!
What no one knew was that as Yi Shen slept, his body began emitting faint hues of fiery red and earthy yellow, his cells actively transforming.
Moreover, after absorbing so much moonlight essence, a silver glow reminiscent of moonlight shimmered across his skin.
...
P.S.: Approaching 450 chapters—please keep subscribing! Tomorrow I’ll build out the next part of the story, aiming to update with ten thousand words.
(End of chapter)