A Cyclops with one blinded eye and a completely ruined sense of smell had become the perfect target.
All it could do was jump and howl wildly in place, flailing its limbs and smashing one pit after another into the solid ground, only further limiting its own movement.
Then, pain that seemed to reach its very soul began erupting across different parts of its body.
It was damage from Goblin Cleaver projectiles imbued with Holy Damage.
One-Ear and Blood Scab had a very clear understanding of their roles: they were Cheng Tian's mobile humanoid extra inventory slots.
During their earlier rest by the campfire, Cheng Tian had openly told them about the activation requirements for Knight's Throw. So, after noticing Cheng Tian shove his straight sword into the giant's nostril and seeing that it had lost its ability to track him, the two decisively found chances to toss the Baseball Bat, War Hammer, Goblin Cleaver, and Hand Axe from their inventories close to Cheng Tian. Then, without a second thought, they retreated back into the grass at a relatively safe distance.
Clearly, the two college students who had been noisy and argumentative at first had fully learned how to read the situation and protect themselves.
Even a blinded Cyclops was not something their frail bodies could afford to provoke. At a time like this, whether they had weapons to defend themselves with no longer mattered. If Cheng Tian still died under these circumstances, they probably would not survive much longer either.
Cheng Tian's Knight's Throw required the weapon currently in his hand as a template.
The Gentleman's Cane dealt too little damage, while Vampire Killer did not meet the requirements for generating thrown weapons. So, the timely assistance from the two humanoid inventory slots was indeed helpful.
Even though only Vampire Killer could maximize Holy Damage, Cheng Tian, who had already been hit by a throw-and-slam attack, no longer wanted to fight the giant in close quarters... Worse than being beaten into paralysis was the horrifying stench coming off the creature.
So, supported by enough MP and Innocent Souls, Cheng Tian began circling the Cyclops like the moon orbiting the earth. Newly generated projectiles enchanted with Holy Damage also began bombarding the giant.
Against the thick-skinned Cyclops, both the blunt impact of the War Hammer and the edged strikes of the Goblin Cleaver had their damage severely reduced. Only the single-digit Holy Damage applied in full, making the fight feel like scraping away at stone.
The giant's only true weak point was its eyeball, but it had tightly covered it with one hand. After taking a few War Hammer throws, it even covered the back of its head, its secondary weak point.
The giant no longer thrashed around in place. Instead, it curled up on the ground with both hands clutching its head, looking prepared to defend itself to the bitter end.
As Cheng Tian ran circles around it, he found it hard to imagine how he could have defeated this Cyclops through conventional means if he had not loaded the Vampire Hunter template with its Holy Whip, or if he had not been here at all.
What Cheng Tian did not know was that if he himself had not been here, the Red Arremers and giant in this instance would not have been so outrageously strong...
Capcom's famous future "Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment Mechanism," anyone?
If Cheng Tian had not been here, and the initial dozen or so people had all survived, then the Red Arremers in this Novice Trial would at most have had Boss Templates, while the giant would at most have had an Elite Template. The Grunt Units might also have dropped more items such as throwing knives, lances, and fireballs—items with limited throwing counts that could be used without Arthur's abilities and deal more effective damage to enemies.
In theory, as long as enough novices survived and were willing to fight, it was impossible to guarantee that everyone would make it through, but clearing the first stage with fewer than half the group sacrificed should not have been a problem.
Of course, the corresponding downside was that obtaining the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons skill would have been nearly impossible, and the achievement module would probably only unlock after another one or two instances.
Fortunately, Cheng Tian had accumulated over a hundred Innocent Souls during the earlier journey, and his MP had remained above one hundred. Otherwise, even if he wanted to slowly chip away at the Champion Giant today, he might not have been able to.
However, in order to maximize the damage of each hit, Cheng Tian ultimately chose the War Hammer, which also cost 1 MP, as his primary thrown weapon. Its throwing speed was indeed slow, but he was now attacking a stationary target. Speed no longer mattered.
Just like that, the giant's HP was slowly but steadily chipped away by Cheng Tian, dropping from over nine hundred to just over one hundred. Its total HP had fallen below 10%... even then, it was still on par with Cheng Tian when he had first entered the instance.
Although he could not see its health bar, Cheng Tian vaguely sensed the giant's pain and weakness. It was probably already on the verge of sudden death.
Yet Cheng Tian did not relax in the slightest. Instead, he became even more vigilant.
Because the giant, crouched there with its head covered, had yet to display a basic ability it should have possessed in the original work.
Could it not use it? Or was it waiting for an opportunity?
Suddenly, the giant moved.
It stopped shielding its head with both hands, leaving its front completely exposed. At the same time, its entire head took on an unnatural flush.
The moment Cheng Tian saw this, he immediately backed away, opening up plenty of distance.
The next second, Cheng Tian saw the giant open its blind eye, which could no longer see properly, raise its neck, and open its mouth toward the sky. Then, a massive, scorching fireball shot into the air.
The fireball streaked straight into the heavens before exploding in the night sky like a grand fireworks display meant to close the show.
Yes, Cheng Tian had always been wary of the giant's fire ability. Though he did not know that it possessed the Weak Descendant of Flame Titan Bloodline trait, he remembered that whether in Demon World Village or Great Demon World Village, regardless of their character models, giants could breathe fire.
Chosen Space had evidently made a reasonable adjustment based on the giant's race, granting it a single use of Flame Breath capable of instantly killing any ordinary invader.
Unfortunately, with both its vision and sense of smell disabled, it could not find Cheng Tian as he randomly circled around it.
A giant selected to become a Demon General naturally had something unique about it.
When it realized it had no way to deal with the intruder, the giant made the final choice of its demonic life: sending out its last ripple to the other demons inside the Demon King's Castle—
A new human hero had appeared!
After spitting out that final fireball to warn its demonic comrades, the giant's nearly one hundred remaining HP instantly dropped to zero. Its body then crashed uncontrollably to the ground.
That enormous fireball had already exceeded the limit it could endure. It was no longer something a measly 5 MP could sustain; it had simultaneously squeezed dry the tiny trace of Flame Titan Bloodline within its body.
The backlash from forcing out bloodline power manifested as a sudden plunge in vitality.
The Cyclops guarding the entrance to the Demon King's Castle was dead.
At the same time, dazzling prismatic light appeared in the giant's chest. A large metal key, like something from the stereotypical European Middle Ages, burned through its breastplate and floated into the air. Then, as if guided by something, it flew straight toward Cheng Tian.
The moment Cheng Tian grabbed the Prismatic Key, three things happened at once.
First, a complete set of brand-new Knight Armor equipped itself onto Cheng Tian, covering his otherwise naked body clad only in Strawberry Underwear.
Then, the tightly shut outer gate leading into the Demon King's Castle slowly opened.
Finally, the Main Quest timer froze completely at 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 39 seconds remaining.
[Main Quest complete. Entering the settlement phase.]
Before you continue