Chapter 131: Threading the Needle
You have got to be kidding me, Jack said in disbelief.
A hundred feet below him, the giant grinned, revealing a set of sharp, yellow teeth. Its eyes stared into Jacks, and there was no emotion there, only malice.
Forest Giant, Level 122
Great. And its even stronger than the last one! Jack cursed out loud, still unable to believe what was happening.
Brock, on the other hand, was very much up-to-speed. He shot to his feet and looked at Jack for instructions. He seemed ready to go down fighting.
Jack bit his inner lip. The giant still stared from below, and he knew that he couldnt defeat it. Its level was simply too high. One hit from that club would flatten him like a fist pancake.
Bro, Brock said, his gaze serious. He mimicked running. Jack shook his head.
Its description says its fast, he replied. I think staying up here is our best shot. Maybe it cant climb.
But thats not safe either, he realized immediately. Even if it cant climb, what are we supposed to do? Wait here until it grows tired? Will it ever? And what if the cultivators come here to investigate, then wonder what the giant was hunting? Theyll tear us apart. That Animal Kingdom minotaur will eat me alive.
Does the giant want to eat me alive?
He looked back down. The giants teeth were sharp like a carnivores. It was even salivating. Jack gulped. It wants to eat me alive. Fuck whoever decided to put giants in an insect forest.
Oh. Thats why its called the Giant Ring.
Unfortunately, trivia about Trial Planet werent very helpful right now.
We must escape, he realized. But how? We can try to run, but it will catch us as we climb down. Maybe I can fall on it like a meteor? Or will it baseball-club me into the cave ceiling?
At least it cant climb, so we have time.
Come on, Jack, think. What do we have? A guy who fists a lot, a buff brorilla who can say two words, the height advantage What else?
He looked around. The bee stared back at him. Jack felt like a lightbulb just shone over his head.
The bees wings shook a bit like itd read his thoughts. But that was impossible. Right?
Brock, Jack said quietly, trying to act nonchalant, I have an idea. Prepare to run, okay? I will count to
The tree shook a bit. Jack looked down. The giant had abandoned its club and was hugging the tree trunk with both arms, slowly but surely making its way up. In scale, it was like a human baby climbing a normal-sized tree, except they were both a hundred times larger.
Jack cursed. If you can climb, why wait until now!?
The giant growled, its face stuck to the tree as it struggled to climb. It wasnt good at it, but it was trying.
Wow, fuck that guy, Jack said in anger. And fuck this forest. We go at three. Ready? Three.
He turned and smashed a Meteor Punch into the unsuspecting bee, tossing it down from the branch. He mentally apologizedat least hed taken care not to kill it. The droning buzz from the beehive at the end of the branch intensified. Jack didnt have a moment to waste.
Both his fists shone purple. Meteor Shower! he shouted, feeling stupid for calling his move out-loud, but tension called for tension. Meteors rained horizontally. The giant stopped, looking at Jack with incomprehension. The few bees hovering around their hive darted for him, but his meteors were already on the way.
The beehive was only attached to the branch by a thick column of wax. Jacks Meteor Punches exploded into it, cutting deep into the material. It broke on the second meteor. The beehive fell.
Jack held his breath. Brocks eyes widened. The giant followed the falling beehive with its eyes, then watched as it crashed and shattered against the ground. Tons of wax and honey fell into a pile. An army of a hundred bees buzzed out of it, ready to give their lives to annihilate the offenders.
Some noticed the bees attacking Jack on top of the branch, but that scene was far away. The giant was closer and larger. Their many eyes fell on him. The giant stared back for a moment. Its skin tightened.
They lunged at the same moment that the giant let go of the tree, falling back to the ground and picking up its club. It roared and swung. Just like its description said, it was fast. Its club whistled through the air despite its size, carving a line through the cloud of bees and injuring dozens, but they were too many.
They fell on him like a new coat. They covered him from legs to neck, each stinging him and injecting their venom, along with their life. Bees died after stinging. The giant roared in pain, smashing the club into his own body in a vain attempt to escape.
Meanwhile, Jack was fighting eight bees by himself. They were almost too many. Each was the size of a desk and zoomed around like it weighed nothing. He could keep up with their speed, but not if they came from every direction at once.
These bees were all at the same level as he was. He couldnt afford to hold back. For the first time since arriving at Trial Planet, he was going all-out. Meteor Punches exploded everywhere. His fists shot out even faster than the bees, and they struck like ogre-wielded sledgehammers. The Iron Fiend Body helped him twist and bend his body to difficult angles, and his perfect Dao Seed imposed his will onto the world, skewing reality in his favor a tiny bit.
The Iron Fist Style guided his movements, flawlessly transitioning from parries, to punches, to dodges. He danced amidst the stingers.
He grabbed one mid-air and turned it into another, forcing a bee to impale one of its own. Both bees went down. He ducked under a stinger and turned to avoid a second, shooting an uppercut into the abdomen of a bee and making its innards explode from the other sideDrill had been absorbed into Iron Fist Style, but its principle remained.
Level Up! You have reached Level 61.
As he drew back his hand, a bee flashed to his right and another to his left. He elbowed one of them. The other impaled his leg at the thigh. He screamed out in pain. It wasnt just the injury. A hint of venom flowed into his blood, causing searing pain all over his leg. At least, the stinger had run clean through it, causing most of the poison to drip from its tip to the bark below.
The bee dislodged itself with a sickening sound, but the stinger remained, sticking out of both ends of his leg. It was like a sword.
Jacks eyes went bloodshot. Iron Fiend Body was already working to restore the wound, but it would take time. He let the stinger in his leg to contain the bleeding. He kept fighting.
His fist smashed into a bee mid-flight, exploding into it like a meteor and clipping its wings. It tumbled down to the forest floor. Meanwhile, in the corner of his eye, Jack saw Brock dancing with a bee. Hed somehow managed to dodge its initial sting and grab onto the stinger with all his strength. He was now holding on to it and flailing wildly as the bee flew around and tried to shake him off, easily carrying his weight.
It flew away from the branch. The only thing separating Brock from the ground was a hundred feet. He let out a monkey cry and held on even tighter, straining all his muscles to not fall off. His fingers were slipping off the stinger. It was only a matter of time.
Seeing that, Jacks mind was filled with urgency. He ghost-stepped to the front, slipping behind the remaining bees. He struck one in the same movement, penetrating it with his fist, then turned around and back-fisted another. A weaker version of Meteor Punch appeared around his hand, exploding onto the bee and blowing its head off.
Level Up! You have reached Level 62.
He panted. That was the last bee. The stinger was still in his leg, limiting his movements, but Brock was struggling. He was only level 37though elitefighting off a level 60 monster. And he was dangling over a deadly fall.
Jack didnt think much. There was no time. He ran to the edge of the branch and jumped. The air screamed in his ears. Suddenly, he was a long way from the ground, and the only thing holding him aloft was his rapidly dwindling momentum.
He kept his eyes focused on Brock and the last bee. He was on the right course. Brock saw him, and his gaze was equal parts glee and terror.
The bee saw him too. Suddenly, its flight shifted. It jerked to the right to avoid him. Jack could no longer reach. Even if he struck it with a Meteor Punch, Brock might not survive the fall, and Jack couldnt fly.
Or could he?
GHOST STEP! he shouted. The world obeyed. His body moved contrary to physics, changing directions mid-air and dashing to the right. Unlike when he used the skill on land, the strain this time was immense. He immediately felt out of breath. He couldnt do this again.
But he didnt need to.
He fell on the bee, grabbing on to its wings and fighting to stay there. It tried to shake him off, but his fist smashed into its face, obliterating it. Its wings stilled as it fell from the sky.
Brock! Jack shouted, reaching out. Brock reached out, too, and managed to grab his arm. Jack pulled him in a hug. Hang on! he shouted.
They smashed against the forest floor like a cannon ball. Leaves went flying, and a dull thud echoed in their ears. Jacks Iron Fist Style told him to roll, but he couldnt do that while holding Brock. He landed on his feet. His knees creaked but thankfully held. Brock was ripped off his arms, tumbling on the soft soil with a pained grunt, but he looked fine.
Oh, thank God, Jack said. He quickly grabbed Brock under his armpit and bolted off. Behind him, the floor was littered with dead bees, some flattened and some simply crawling without their stingers, but the giant wasnt in better condition. Its skin was bloated and red. Bees covered it still, walking all over it without stingers and trying to bite, determined to do everything they could to save the hive.
The giant opened its mouth and screamed. It couldnt walk anymore. Its club was on the ground, covered in the blood of its cracked palm. Its eyes met Jack, and they were full of hatred. Then, the giant collapsed.
Jack didnt look back anymore, either. He ran into the trees, determined to open as much distance as possible. Not only was he afraid of the bees seeking him for revenge, but the battle had been extremely loud. The cultivators would certainly come to check, and more giants might arrive, toothey were probably attracted to sound, which would explain why this giant had arrived in Jacks territory so soon after its predecessor died.
Jacks leg throbbed. The stinger was still there, burning him on every step, but he powered through the pain.
They had to get the hell away.
He ran until the sounds disappeared beside him. On the way, he met a bunch of conqueror ants but ignored them. He was injured and exhausted. He needed a moment to rest and recover.
Suddenly, more notifications appeared.
Level Up! You have reached Level 63.
Level Up! You have reached Level 64.
Was it due to the giants death? That was interesting. Jack quickly willed all twenty pointshed leveled up four times in totalinto Physical. A little bit of extra energy entered his body, giving him the power to reach his destination.
There was a spot relatively near the anthill that hed marked for future rest, back when he thought theyd stay here for days. It was a little cave carved in the base of a large tree trunk. It seemed natural. And, most importantly, empty.
The moment he made it there, he let Brock down and sat on the ground, leaning his head back and panting hard.
Fuck, he said. He fished his pockets for the strips that remained of his old shirt. When he grabbed a handful, he pulled the stinger out, gnashing his teeth to avoid screaming. He tossed it aside.
Idly, he wondered how hed managed to run this far with a wrist-thick hole through his leg. Had the stinger missed all vital spots, or was it somehow due to Iron Fiend Body and his Dao Seed?
The sight of his streaming blood drew him back to the present. He wrapped the cloth strips around both ends of the wound and tightened them to slow the bleeding. The Iron Fiend Bodys regeneration would do the rest. Hed be fine in a few hours as long as no cultivators, giants, or mega-insects attacked them in the meantime.
I fucking hate this place, he muttered. Listen up, Brock. The moment I recover, we trick the fucking ants, and then were out of here.
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