Chapter 58: Warring Against a Mountain
In the darkness that devoured all light, the rock giants, like titans from myth, strode heavily across the earth.
The rainstorm contained the power of chaos. Rainwater and mana-rich mist covered their bodies, making these mindless golem colossi move faster and their strength more terrifying.
Thunder danced within the clouds, occasionally illuminating the land and revealing the monstrous forms of these creatures.
Seeing this, facing the invasion of such colossal monsters, no matter how brave the elven soldiers were, they would lose their will to fight. This was an innate fear of behemoths—just as humans cannot destroy mountains, cannot dam rivers, cannot halt the tides of the sea. Facing a hundred-meter-tall rock colossus, battle lost all meaning; no attack was of any use.
The earth trembled more and more violently. The forest swayed fiercely. The tall buildings in the city creaked and groaned. The distant giants showed no sign of slowing down. They strode forward, parting clouds and heavy rain, their eyes gleaming with mana light. The power contained within their massive bodies was enough to easily destroy the city's structures; a single sweeping gesture could crush an army of ten thousand.
The leading giant had already reached the outskirts of the city. With a thunderous tremor, even through the mist, people could see its terrifying form. A massive black shadow broke through the rain, trampling the earth, heading toward where the warriors were. Its body was originally covered in irregular rock, but now, under self-adjustment, it had gradually transformed into metallic-edged angles. The mana-rich rain flowed over its body, making the form that was turning silver even more conspicuous.
Although its body was merely piled with rock, under the power of the formation and chaos mana, it had already surpassed refined steel. Thunder struck the colossus's head. The warrior mused inwardly, "The Revelation Formation, Titan Golems... How does this chaos possess such advanced technological capability?"
This was completely different from the Plague Evil God last time. Although the Wild God's abilities were terrifyingly powerful, and its individual strength far surpassed the stone golems, with giant beasts among them rivaling the rock colossi, that was purely physical and magical power. This time, from start to finish, it was the power of civilization.
How ironic. Evil with no purpose other than pure destruction was using the power of civilization to destroy civilization. One had to admit it was a tremendous irony.
Seeming to realize that such attacks couldn't hit Joshua at all and that they would instead be picked off one by one, the rock colossi and the suspected half-finished Titans ceased their futile attacks. With a rumbling roar, they gathered together, bodies pressing against bodies, and silently halted all movement.
But the warrior's mental alarm suddenly rang.
The wind of mana began to swirl.
The power of the elements converged rapidly.
Rock fused with rock. Over a dozen hundred-meter-tall rock colossi combined, forming a behemoth like a mountain peak, gleaming with metallic light. Its shape resembled a fortress without cannons, a mobile mountain.
On this mobile mountain, dozens of flickering points of light appeared. These were the eyes of the former colossi, within which infinite lightning danced.
Under Joshua's astonished gaze, countless thunderous light beams of varying lengths shot out from these points, raining down upon him like a storm. Pure destructive force tore through the atmosphere and rain, reducing everything to nothingness. In an instant, the air was filled with countless high-temperature plasma bolts, sealing the warrior's evasive paths.
In an instant, the sky became a sea of lightning, vowing to annihilate everything.
A crimson point of light danced nimbly in midair, while streaks of blazing white electric light flashed, determined to strike it down. Compared to the swift Joshua, the rock colossi were slow, but controlled by the formations in their minds, their aim was flawless. Over a dozen rock giants gathered together, sharing energy to form a Thunder Mountain, using overwhelming firepower to suppress the warrior's speed.
Prolonged dodging always led to mistakes, especially since movement in the air was far less agile than on the ground. With a flash of light, a bolt of lightning grazed Joshua's arm. The armor on it instantly turned to ash, and flesh became charred. The Azure Orb spun rapidly, combined with the self-healing power of a Gold-rank expert, the wound healed quickly, no longer a threat. But the result of this attack brought immense pressure to the warrior.
He couldn't defend against the enemy's attacks. A single hit meant death!
Indeed, although Joshua was powerful, in terms of pure strength, he couldn't compare to a colossus formed from hundreds or thousands of stone golems, let alone this Thunder Mountain assembled from dozens of colossi. Even if he activated his Divine Descent to become immune to this lightning power, he couldn't finish the battle within its duration. In the end, he would still have to retreat, unable to defeat the enemy.
And countless stone giants were still appearing at the edge of his vision, including golden-skinned half-finished Titans that could command lightning. Their arrival put Joshua in danger. The increasing number of light beam attacks made it impossible for him to even approach the giants. The battle reached a stalemate. As his stamina drained, his disadvantage grew. If the situation continued, even retreat would become difficult.
Just as the warrior was considering whether to activate Divine Descent to break through the blockade, the stalemate was shattered by a holy light.
With a thunderous roar, a gap suddenly appeared in the blockade formed by countless electric lights. The warrior keenly noticed this. He made a prompt decision, seizing the opportunity to break free. Taking advantage, Joshua aimed at a lone stone giant and charged at full speed. The black great axe swung down, its serrated edge grinding against the rain, producing a harsh screech. In an instant, he severed the colossus's head, causing its massive body to crumble into a pile of rubble.
He turned his head to look at where the opening had appeared.
"Joshua, you always run so fast."
In the distance, a paladin held a holy warhammer. Loranda stood atop the remains of a stone giant, laughing loudly, "Do you think I don't exist as your comrade?"
And beside him, the core on Black's chest also flickered with light. It was the two of them who had joined hands to take down a stone giant releasing light beams in an instant, relieving Joshua's pressure.
"Hmph."
A slight curve tugged at the corner of his mouth. The warrior chuckled softly, "You came so slowly yourself, and you blame me for being fast."
—But this time, thanks.
No longer focusing on the paladin and half-dragon, who had drawn the attention of some stone colossi, Joshua turned his gaze to the Thunder Mountain, which was adjusting its angle to aim at him again. Crimson vortexes swirled in his eyes like flames.
Danger... how intoxicating. This thrill of hanging by a thread, the passion of life and death, and the all-out battle—this was the life of a warrior, enough to make one burst into laughter!
He lowered his head, exhaling a puff of high-temperature white vapor. The Azure Orb on his chest pulsed rapidly like a heart. Joshua crossed the greatsword and giant axe wrapped in crimson battle qi before him. The battle qi around him began to form vortex-like currents. Terrifying power and aura churned the atmosphere, like a spring storing energy.
Then, just as the Thunder Mountain finished its aim, Joshua moved.
As countless thunderous light beams struck the spot where the warrior had been, a long trench instantly appeared on the ground. Atmosphere, soil, and rock were all pushed aside by a speeding figure. He charged against the lightning beams toward the massive mountain. His tiny form was like dust, but his momentum was as terrifying as an infinite meteor striking the earth.
Countless destructive attacks struck beside him, blasting giant craters into the ground. But missing meant nothing. Joshua raised his greatsword, crimson battle qi spinning rapidly, cleaving a light beam directly apart. He burst out from the scattered lightning, arriving before the colossal entity formed from over a dozen hundred-meter-tall golems.
In that moment, the contrast between man and mountain was stark. It was the comparison of dust to a giant rock. Looking at the giant rock, one would never notice the existence of dust.
Humans cannot destroy mountains. This was an enemy like a natural disaster, an existence impossible to contend with.
Even Loranda and Black showed worried expressions. They believed the warrior wouldn't put himself in danger without reason, but they also didn't believe he could destroy such a terrifying enemy. Unlike the golem colossi, this Thunder Mountain was far too massive. No matter how sharp the blade, it could only damage its surface, which was meaningless.
But under everyone's gaze, accompanied by a bold laugh, a thunderous roar erupted from the Thunder Mountain.
The sound of metal grinding against rock echoed through the heavens and earth, drowning out even the lightning streaking through the dark clouds. Even the earthquake-like footsteps of the colossi couldn't compare. Countless dust clouds rose from the Thunder Mountain's surface, defying the heavy rain. Seeing this, Loranda's eyes widened in shock.
Joshua—
He had broken through the Thunder Mountain's outer shell and charged inside the mountain!