Chapter 738: The Two-Headed Giant

Even Henwell finds the two-headed stone giant difficult to handle.

Its strength is immense, and its physical defenses are absurd.

Those two qualities alone place it firmly within the Iron Rank.

After flexing his wrist, Henwell holds out a hand to the side. "Give me another sword."

Miller tosses him the Blade of Herkes. "Be careful, my lord!"

Twin swords in hand, Henwell slowly circles the two-headed stone giant.

Henwell's earlier counterattack carved only a foot-long mark across its chest.

Against a human or another humanoid, such a wound would have been fatal.

On a creature this large, however, it is little more than a scratch.

The stone giant barely acknowledges Henwell as an opponent. Its attention remains fixed on the Lady of Calamity.

The Lady of Calamity says, "This is an Abyss-corrupted giant. Before its death, it was at least a Domain Master."

"It has lost its extraordinary abilities, and its two heads can no longer cast bloodline spells, but its physical constitution remains."

"To restore the stone idol, we need the sarcophagus on its back. The idol core is inside it."

As she speaks, the stone giant roars and lunges toward the Lady of Calamity.

The colossal creature thunders forward. Miller and the others know they have no place in a battle like this. Even watching from nearby could get them killed.

To avoid becoming burdens, Miller and the others retreat to the entrance of the church complex.

Henwell crosses his swords and blocks the stone giant's pillar-like spiked club.

The tremendous force drives his feet into the stone paving, while one of the club's massive spikes stops barely short of his cheek.

The stone giant sweeps its warhammer at the Lady of Calamity, but Alex moves to intercept it.

Her twin hammers meet the stone warhammer with a deafening crash. Fragments fly, and Alex is hurled away.

Fortunately, Steve has already pulled the Lady of Calamity some distance back.

Henwell forces the spiked club away, ducks low, and charges the stone giant. His twin swords flash as he hacks repeatedly at its ankles.

The stone giant is far tougher than the statue knights. More than a dozen blows barely chip its ankles.

Henwell abandons the futile assault on its feet and looks for another approach.

The stone giant finally seems to recognize Henwell as a threat. It raises one foot and stomps hard on the ground.

The violent tremor does not unbalance Henwell.

Henwell suddenly kicks off the ground and launches himself into the air.

The instant he leaps, stone spikes erupt from the ground in a wave that races beneath his feet.

Henwell performs a backward somersault and escapes their range.

"Didn't you say this thing couldn't cast spells?"

The Lady of Calamity replies, "The idol core on its back must have some effect that weakens the Anti-Magic Formation!"

Henwell curses the woman's unreliable intelligence. He starts to charge, then abruptly changes direction and races in front of the Lady of Calamity.

The stone spikes created by the giant rise from the ground and float into the air.

They turn in midair and point directly at the Lady of Calamity.

The instant Henwell arrives, the sharp stone spikes shoot toward them in a concentrated volley.

Henwell whirls both swords, forming a barrier of blades before him.

Stone fragments explode into a cloud of dust as Henwell is forced backward one step at a time.

The force behind the stone spikes far exceeds his estimate.

Once the volley ends, Henwell rolls his aching wrists and charges before the stone giant can attack again.

The stone giant reads Henwell's charge. Its warhammer crashes down ahead of him as the spiked club sweeps in from the side.

Mid-charge, Henwell suddenly pitches forward as if he has tripped, flattening his body in midair.

After slipping beneath the sweeping spiked club, he reaches up and plants one hand against the head of the descending warhammer.

He curls his body, flips over, and slips through the gap between the two attacks.

Henwell lands on the giant's arm and sprints upward along the massive limb.

Reaching its heads, Henwell flips again. He passes over the stone giant upside down, both swords already spinning.

The twin blades rake across both heads like spinning saw teeth.

Henwell lands on a rooftop behind the giant and immediately races away. The enormous spiked club reduces the building beneath him to rubble.

He bounds from roof to roof, watching the stone giant pursue him without pause.

Why has it abandoned the Lady of Calamity and started chasing him instead?

Did his attacks damage its heads, making it wary because they are a vital point?

Henwell shouts, "Miller! Put a shot into its head!"

He jumps down from the building and keeps the stone giant occupied, buying Miller time to aim.

A gunshot rings out. The giant's left head jerks back, leaving a shattered mark the size of a palm.

Another shot follows, damaging the right head as well.

Even after the two hits, the stone giant continues chasing Henwell.

"Keep firing!"

Miller lands several more shots before Henwell finally calls a halt to the waste of ammunition.

The heads clearly are not what provoked it. Henwell considers another possibility.

"Shorty! Attack the sarcophagus on its back!"

Alex mutters under her breath, but she still follows Henwell's instruction. Seizing an opening, she slams one hammer into the sarcophagus chained to the giant's back.

That does it. The stone giant throws back both heads and roars as dust billows around it.

This is no ordinary dust shaken loose by the impact. Everything the cloud touches begins to turn to stone.

Alex is caught within its range. Her body grows heavy, and her speed drops sharply.

Faced with the roaring, enraged stone giant, she has time only to assume a defensive stance.

The club comes down, and the petite beastkin woman is launched straight out of sight.

Henwell charges straight into the shroud of petrifying dust. Several Chains of Civilization appear and rapidly weave together across his body.

It looks as though Henwell is wearing a faint, glowing suit of armor, which shields him from the effects of the petrifying dust.

He reaches the stone giant, ducks beneath its swing, and slides between its legs to reach its back.

Henwell leaps, crosses his swords with a grinding scrape, and coats both blades in blood flames formed from Blood Will.

Still airborne, Henwell unleashes Unparalleled Sword Dance, severing the chains that secure the sarcophagus to the giant's back.

As the sarcophagus drops, Henwell drives both feet into it and sends the massive stone coffin flying into the church passage.

"Drag that thing away! I'll hold this brute here."

Henwell swings both swords and blocks the stone giant as it tries to reclaim the sarcophagus.

Good.

The battle enters its second phase.