Lance charged forward with his greatsword, and as he neared, his muscles erupted with powerful strength. Pushing off the ground with one leg to borrow the earth’s force, he swung the greatsword in a dance-like twist of his body. The Corrupt Giant reacted, lifting a tree trunk to block, but this time it was the giant’s turn to stagger and step backward to stabilize itself. The giant’s rigid, muscle-less face showed no expression, yet its astonishment was palpable. Its mushroom-transformed brain simply could not comprehend why it was retreating. Just then, Wang Cai and the others attacked the old witch, and her agonizing screams triggered the Corrupt Giant’s most important mission—to rush back and protect her. However, it was clear Lance would not let it do so. This update is available on novelFirｅ.net Even as the giant’s attention was diverted, it prompted Lance to attack even more fiercely, swinging the exaggeratedly large greatsword as if he would never tire. He forced it to face him in direct combat, for retreating would mean confronting the sharp edge of his greatsword. Every strike cleaved into the tree trunk. The once-sturdy trunk grew progressively weaker under the relentless chopping. Finally, metal emerged victorious. In their struggle, the greatsword cut through the thick tree trunk and continued unabated, cleaving into the giant’s arm. But on the other side, the dire state of the old witch completely distracted the Corrupt Giant from its own pain, and it reached out to grasp the blade. Lance had been reluctant to approach its back. Now, with no other choice, the giant grasped the sword, attempting to pull him in, while bending forward to expose the mushrooms sprouting on its back. Seeing the mushrooms pulse, about to release their spores, Lance seized the opportunity. "Bless—Strengthening!" Formidable strength surged from his heart. With both hands on his greatsword, he pulled it straight out of the giant’s grasp and countered with a backhand slash. Greatsword Chops Great Tree! A sword stroke descended from above. If it had been just an ordinary Longsword, it probably would have been unable to penetrate the skull that even bullets couldn’t pierce. But the Giant Slayer was made for such a situation. Under the powerful strengthening, it cut straight through the head without any hesitation, splitting the upper body in two right down the spine. The giant’s impressive physique could not stop the sharp blade. In that extraordinary display of offense, the Corrupt Giant crashed to the ground, the mushrooms on its back not even getting a chance to release their spores. Lance, too, exhaled a sigh of relief and planted his greatsword into the ground. As the power ebbed away, his limbs trembled, and the greatsword felt heavy in his hands. The consecutive bursts of strength had exceeded his body’s capacity. Only because he could perform Flesh Reconstruction on the spot to heal his hidden injuries was he not left incapacitated for days after the fight. Strained muscles healed, and capillaries reconnected. After a few breaths, his body recovered. He didn’t bother with the giant’s corpse and instead walked over to where the beaten and half-dead old witch lay. "Paracelsus, go check on Boudica." Lance approached, waving the others away, his gaze fixed on the old witch lying on the ground, her body marked by numerous bites and sprouting clusters of mushrooms. The old witch, too, noticed the change in the situation. The appearance of this man means that my painstakingly nurtured child has perished. "No! My child..." Sure enough, when I looked over, all I saw was the massive, fallen body of my child. No wonder there was no response to my frantic calls earlier! The old witch wailed in grief, but the next second, Lance’s sword flashed down next to her as he demanded in a harsh voice, "Tell me, what are you doing?" The sword’s proximity jolted the old witch into stunned silence. Looking up, she revealed eyes filled with hatred. "Who on earth are you?" But Lance remained unmoved, his expression cool as he slowly lifted his greatsword, suspending it above her head. "I’ll ask one last time." As the old witch’s gaze fell upon Lance’s face, she seemed to realize something, panic flashing across her features. "Impossible! Impossible! You... you are..." Yet mid-sentence, her expression shifted to a smirk, and her speech became disjointed and deranged. "HEHEHE! Poor thing, you have no idea what this place is... You have no clue who your enemy is... Despair will envelop this land..." "That’s all? Who doesn’t know what lies beneath? Did you think I needed you to spout such nonsense?" A look of disdain spread across Lance’s face. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve descended into the Dark Dungeon in the game! I visit the Old Ancestor down there every time, chatting and laughing with him. Do I not know more than an Elite monster like you? The old witch was dumbfounded upon hearing his response. I had meant to show off, but he stole all my lines! "But that is..." The old witch began, but halted her words out of fear, barely managing to continue, "When despair strikes, no one will be able to escape..." "It doesn’t matter. I’ll take action." Seeing Lance’s confident demeanor, the old witch thought, Is he arrogant, or just a plain fool? Possibly resigned to her fate, she calmed down and sneered at Lance, "But you can do nothing. Even if you kill me, you cannot save Hamlet. They have already set out." Having said that, the old witch seemed to employ some Secret Technique. Her muscles withered away, while the mushrooms rooted in her flesh began to swell rapidly, as if she were determined to take Lance with her in a sacrificial act.