Another Side. 19 · [Inferno · Fire]

Foreword:

[The Giant Breaking Heaven Drill!]

[--Su Ling]

[Part 1: Mr. Boom Boom]

The warhammer slowly slid from the [rich man's] shattered skull.

The sickle sliced open the [Ice Man's ] ugly features.

The Laughing Man's Immortal Lune were crushed to pieces by scalding feet.

The three gatekeepers of the shallow sea have returned to Mother Earth's embrace.

The other five brothers lingered in the deeper waters, with only two heads visible above the surface; the other three were completely submerged in the mud and never showed themselves.

Jason walked forward step by step. "Next up are you guys."

The steely body of materialism followed suit, taking heavy steps.

"Teacher A Ling! The closest giant to us!" Xue Ming began, but her words trailed off.

Su Ling immediately replied, "It's [Uruz] – its runes represent the bison and the crescent moon, strong emotions, true will, and are a symbol of masculinity."

Almost at the same time, the [Power Man], who was originally hidden in the ocean, took a step forward.

Its skeletal proportions are extremely exaggerated, with broad shoulders, a burly back, and a thick waist. There are no scars on its body. The three brothers, Ice Man, Laughing Man, and Rich Man, all have wounds from the bites of the Madness Butterfly, but on the exposed skin of [Uruz Powerman], apart from the bluish-black blood vessels and meridians, there is not a trace of the Vita Imprint.

Its facial features are as angular as those of a marble human face sculpture used by art students in their sketches, its jet-black hair hangs down on its cheeks like seaweed, it has no beard, and its eyes are bright and piercing.

Its upper body was bare, and its muscular chest rippled as soon as it emerged above the horizon.

A powerful surge of psionic energy erupted from the materialistic leg armor—

"--This guy looks pretty strong!" Meteor was full of fighting spirit and eager to get started.

[Uruz the Powerful] simply stood frozen, hovering three hundred meters away, seemingly fully aware of how narrow the cage the Immortal Lune had created for it was, understanding the limits of its range of movement, and knowing where the boundaries lay.

"Something's not right!" William, manipulating his materialistic legs, tried to dampen A Xing's enthusiasm and quickly stopped outside the safe zone.

For the two giants--

--A mere 300 meters is just the distance of taking one step or swinging a fist.

If you go any further, you'll enter the [Power Man's] reach range.

"Meteor! Jason! Jiang Xueming!" William called out to his teammates in the various control centers, "This uncle! He seems to still be conscious! Look at his neck!"

On either side of the materialist helmet, two sets of optical telescopes protruded from the fairing, and navigation lights pierced through the thick black fog, illuminating the neck of the [Power Man].

Its trapezius muscle and cervical lymph nodes are in a very strange state; these glands and proteins seem to be tangled together, and the twisted and gnarled cortical texture looks like tumors, rising and falling with the strong heartbeat.

People don't know what this means; perhaps the [Power Man], like the [Fire Man], has found a way to fight against the Immortal Lune and the Madness Butterfly.

"Do you guys remember Jessica?!" Meteor shouted. "She had a head transplant! Fireman did the same! Is this big guy in front of us still conscious?!"

A deep, guttural call came from the giant's throat.

It was an obscure and ancient language that was difficult for humans to understand, and even human vocal organs could not imitate it.

The sound waves stirred up a gale, causing the skin around the [Power Man's] Adam's apple to tremble, and his skin to flutter down, revealing filthy mud.

It's talking!

Xue Ming: "Teacher A Ling!"

"I'm translating it. I have quite a few books in my archive." Su Ling opened and closed her hands, taking out a long scroll from the game UI. The encyclopedia of [Phoenix] also has a transliteration table of the ancient giants' language. "I can't guarantee that this translation is absolutely correct. With more references, it should be more accurate."

William immediately replied, "I understand! I understand!"

Su Ling flicked her wrist, transforming the large scroll in her hand into a keyboard, and handed it to William was a hundred meters away. "Then you can do the subtitles."

Soon--

--The people in the squad saw a part of the [Phoenix]'s golden UI framework separate and turn into Chinese subtitles.

Strongman: "Surter,"

William typed in sync with him, very skillfully.

Liren: "Let's leave here."

"Muspelheim (the home of the giants) no longer exists."

"Our bodies are trapped in Niflheim (the underworld). Before Mother takes back our essence and returns to the earth, we must guard the gates of Niflheim for her."

There was nothing ahead, nothing but death.

"You are no match for me, much less for [Laguz the Waterman]."

"My blood has gone cold, and I'm barely managing to keep my brain afloat by manipulating the muscles and bones in my neck and shoulders. Now you have a better body; it shouldn't be wasted here."

"Don't try to defeat me, I won't let you take another step forward."

"The Homo sapiens inside you can't help you; their lives are short and fragile, they're like ants."

"If you insist on going your own way, even if you give all my primordial essence to Rune, to my mother and the Madness Butterfly, I will not regret it."

"Look at you, you can't even speak."

"The mind and body are controlled by a swarm of ants, and even the soul is about to burn away."

At the same time--

--Su Ling put away the keyboard. "OK! There are 144 vowels in total, I've memorized them all. You don't need to translate anymore. Leave the rest of the translation work to my Soul Power, even though it's machine translation. There are more important things waiting for you to do, William. Now you need to be alert and prepare for battle!"

Li Ren: "Going any further is pointless. You'll probably lose even this armor, your mother will curse you and despise you, and any living being that dares to trespass into Niflheim will be reduced to ashes."

"Have you said enough?!"

An angry roar came from within the helmet of materialism.

Jason Megan leaned forward, took a step, and then stepped out.

He pointed his finger at [Li Ren]'s face, as if in a provocation.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Uruz!"

Li Ren: "It seems you've been completely controlled by these ants, Surter. What a pity."

"You should be the one to regret it, shouldn't you?!" Materialism's forward-thrusting arm clenched into a fist, and a roar from the fire giant echoed from within the helmet, "Who do you think is speaking to you? Uruz!"

Jason frowned, looking like an angry Vajra.

"Why don't I understand?! The one who turned you into something neither human nor ghost, is it me? What are you saying? Keep saying 'Mother' over and over again! How old are you? Still thinking about your mother?"

The spiritual energy within his bones shone even brighter, as if Surter had already awakened long ago.

--It has long been an integral part of Jason Megan.

"If I'm not mistaken! You're probably thinking—we were born from the soil, nurtured by Mother Gaia, nurtured by this planet, and now Mother wants to take back our essence, turning us into half-dead watchdogs, forcing us to kneel in this mud, to willingly accept the mission she's assigned to us? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Li Ren: "Surter, how dare you speak such arrogant words to your mother!"

Materialism strikes with both fists, and the flames emanating from its steel body will illuminate the entire dome of the RSH outpost.

"What utter nonsense is this! Have you ever really seen [Mother]? Is she even one of us? She defeated you with this sea, with the Madness Butterfly and the Immortal Lune! And you're going to bow down to her and beg for mercy?!"

The flesh-and-blood body within the steel frame stood tall and proud, giving Thumb and pointing at the helmet's nose.

"Who do you think I am?! I'm the most rebellious one among us brothers and sisters!"

"If I haven't seen it, I dare say it doesn't exist!"

"If I haven't beaten an enemy, I dare say I'm stronger than her!"

"I have never seen anything like it! I am omnipotent! I am Rumble Rumble! Mr. Rumble Rumble Rumble!"

"I am like a blazing spark! If anything tries to extinguish me, I will burn it all away!"

"But you! You idiot, your muscles are all in your neck, your physical essence is growing into your head! Since you can still think, why don't you try to walk a few more steps into the sea? Go kick open the gates of Niflheim and see what's in that sea! Or are you afraid? Have you already been defeated by it? You can't muster even a shred of courage, and you no longer want to be its enemy?"

"Try whatever tricks you have up your sleeve! Don't try to use cheesy things like blood ties to hold me back!"

Materialism grasps the sickle and hammer.

"You keep chattering away, calling me 'ant' over and over again! Look at these incredibly powerful treasures! They were all given to me by my new friends!"

"Surter!" The powerful man, enraged beyond measure, broke through his defenses. "I will crush you!"

"You've mistaken me for someone else!" Jason Megan braced herself. "I am [Materialism]!"

[Part 2: Ms. Pili Pila]

The Phoenix's data center was emitting extremely frequent, high-pitched, and piercing alarms.

"--Something's up."

Su Ling reminded her teammates in each department.

"Our primary objective was the Water Elemental, but our secondary objective has vanished! [Laguz the Water Elemental], which was crouching beside it, is gone."

Bu Liuxing said nonchalantly, "We can shatter ice! What's water compared to that!"

But the next second, a torrential downpour began!

The millions of mud droplets are like a storm in the ocean, containing a large amount of [Laguz·Water Man]'s essence, carrying cold flesh and supple bones, turning into a localized rainfall.

Almost instantly, it transformed its physical body into a light mist, turning the raindrops into cannonballs in the cold, desolate cavity at an altitude of nearly four thousand meters.

They landed on the shoulders of materialism, slipped into the gaps in its mechanical armor, and the repeated impact was like water dripping on stone, trying to shatter the bones of the fireman. This incessant rain was an inhuman torture, repeatedly tormenting the muscle engine of materialism.

"[N2] Warhead has an electrical malfunction."

"[S12] The mechanism is completely silent. Something has entered!"

"These are [Water Spirit's] minions, prepare for battle!"

"Damage control."

"I'm sorry! I can't do it!" Jiang Xueming's control panel monitor showed over sixty red dots, each indicating a major mechanical malfunction. This wasn't a simple energy circuit failure; it was damage to structural components. Repairing such a massive machine manually was impossible.

But even if he can't repair the damage, he wants to minimize it.

The left arm of materialism churns the metal fiber cloak like a twirling handkerchief, the centrifugal force of the spiral motion swirling these deadly muds to other places.

The moment the Water Elemental launched its attack, the Mighty Elemental charged towards its brother—

--Charge towards the steel monster in its eyes.

The target was getting closer and closer through the porthole, and Yibu shouted, "Charge!"

The right arm's warhead roared like cannon fire, and countless steel needles of armor-piercing shells drilled out from the steel knuckles. The warhammer unleashed earth-shattering power, smashing towards the [Strongman's] skull.

The powerful hammer had just been swung out—

--[Liren] avoided it at an almost unbelievable angle!

It avoided it!?

Yibu's eyes were unfocused and vacant. Not only did his hammer strike miss, but he also failed to fire the expected scorching beam of the tank-piercing shell, and his artillery shot also missed!

That's a giant over 300 meters tall! How could the enormous potential energy generated by his sprinting and punching be released or stopped so easily?

[The Strongman] was clearly heading straight for materialism, but just as they were about to engage in close combat, a drastic change could be seen in the pale skin of the monster's calves, thighs, waist, right chest, and right arm—

--Its physical body, texture, and skeleton are like a complex jigsaw puzzle, a clever Rubik's Cube, rotating, twisting, deforming, and shifting, easily changing its course and directly arriving at the Gate of Death end of the materialistic left anterior cranium!

Yibu frantically shouted, "Smoke screen maker! Smoke screen maker!"

At the moment of failure, half of Materialism's body lost its balance and tilted forward with the force of the punch, billowing smoke bursting from the armor of its arm's weapon set, trying to use a sleight of hand to cover its fatal weakness at the critical moment, hiding its chin and skull in the billowing smoke.

[The Strongman] whispered in the mist, "I told you, you can't beat Surter."

The powerful, heavy finger piercing was like a strange mountain peak, piercing the neck of materialism and spewing out blood-red diesel fuel.

To avoid this fatal blow—

--The materialist mask spewed out raging flames, its entire head tilted upwards.

It was a short round, or it was a long round.

Xia Xia at the ammunition depot had already begun her operation. She picked up the weapon case, pulled along 3301, and the two Bloodstained Wolves to clean up the mud inside the machine and drive out all of [Waterman's] minions.

The crew was busy everywhere in the warhead. Materialistic mechanical failures caused the Fire Giant's joints to rust, making it clumsy. The rocket engines on its legs roared but didn't budge an inch.

Su Ling hugged herself tightly and stomped her foot on the ground.

"Jason Megan! If you can't handle this guy, then give me the flames!"

The trampling of war knocked off the levers of the control panel, and the elevator carried the VIP from the ammunition storage center in his abdomen to the heart center, where he collided with the lightning of the mental skeleton.

[Liren] Seize the opportunity and press your advantage!

--It pierced through the thick smoke with its left forearm, readjusted the target's position, and then unleashed a vicious right punch, aiming to shatter the materialistic mind, to smash this cerebellum, to smash the ants inside the Fireman's head.

Jiang Xueming has already launched a support attack--

--From the dazzling fireworks caused by the mechanical failure of the Damage Control Department, Xue Ming controlled his left arm to keep it spinning the giant steel handkerchief, sheltering Materialism from the wind and rain. Then he kicked aside the disoriented William and manipulated the foot power unit to kick the handle of the scythe hard!

The flying scythe cleaved half of the [Strongman's] torso, about to kill him halfway through the ferocious punch!

But the sharp scythe stopped at the [Strong Man's] collarbone; upon closer inspection—

--The ribs are densely packed together here, as if when injured, the [Power Man] can control all the muscles and bones of his body as internal reactive armor to make an effective defense.

This slash won't change his boxing style at all!

"Boom--"

The materialists' minds were almost completely shattered.

--The tattered helmet revealed the bright red tongue and broken teeth of the Fireman of Surter.

The metal sheet of the helmet flew out and skipped across the black mud.

[The Powerful Man]'s fist continued to rub against his face, and as it left the materialistic skull, the erupting magma threatened to burn his skin to a crisp—but he didn't care; apart from his head, he was immortal.

To Yibu and the others, this punch almost meant absolute defeat, absolute [death].

Jason Megan is probably already a pile of minced meat!

Apart from the loud howls of the two large wolves rising and falling, the machine became deathly silent.

Even if Meteor were the most optimistic person, he couldn't laugh at this moment.

But [Liren] couldn't be happy at all.

--It was as if it had seen a monster! Seeing something bizarre beyond its comprehension, its hair stood on end, filled with extreme terror!

I just can't understand it! I just can't figure it out!

Its control over the physical body and its understanding of power far surpasses that of Surter!

That punch was clearly aimed at this guy's cerebellum! Why! Why did it end up hitting his right cheek?

Why is Surter still standing? Why is that damned iron lump still glowing!?

A human emerged from the wound on the helmet.

The throat of materialism is like a luxurious villa, and Su Ling jumped from the villa's dilapidated window onto its shoulder.

Her bright red robe, like materialism, was a banner.

"Hey everyone! Cheer up! Stand firm!"

It's unclear whether this "big guy" is challenging [the strongman] to a duel, or issuing a call to action to get everyone on their toes.

Su Ling's right arm was gone, as if it had withstood an extremely powerful impact.

According to the Li people, it was this "ant" that changed the orientation of Surter's skull!

"Let me show you the power of humanity!"

She raised her left arm—

"Jiang Xueming! Spin it!"

The [Strong Man]'s intelligence makes him incredibly brave in battle, but this same intelligence also makes him hesitant and indecisive.

It still couldn't understand how such a strong "ant" could push aside Surter's head.

But a sudden gust of wind rendered it unable to think anymore!

"Giant!--"

Su Ling rummaged through the cold clothes on the shoulder of Materialism, turning the bright red flag into an umbrella to shield her from the wind and rain, like a gymnast leading exercises in a stadium, about to give Jiang Xueming a live demonstration of how to kill the monster before her.

The curtain made of alloy fiber was spinning rapidly.

--By being bombarded by mud, it is once again honed into high-temperature, golden-red steel, bursting forth with dazzling flames!

Its edges and corners accumulated the essence of the Rainman, and the temperature was lower and the mass was greater than that of the center area, so it was immediately melted and forged into a huge drill bit!

"The Heaven-Piercing Drill!"

Suddenly, the golden drill bit that had been leaning towards [Strong Man] unleashed a world-shattering power! The fiery tails of the four aerial rockets, along with his left arm, spun together, unleashing an invincible spiral force!

The little water spirits in the power department were almost completely evaporated by the blazing flames!

The strongman tried to evade this scorching, deadly attack, trying to escape from the incredible spiraling force—

But my legs wouldn't obey me!

As the drill bit spins, the churning airflow releases a terrifying suction force! It stirs up ocean waves and fierce winds, threatening to drag it into a vortex of death!

No matter how precise and agile the physical body is, it cannot cope with such a terrifying ability to locate enemies.

A bloody, mangled crater was drilled into its flesh!

Immediately afterwards, all the vital energy in his body was sucked into this terrifying spiral black hole.

The drill's fury was like a tireless meat grinder, determined to devour the [Strong Man] completely!

The scarred materialism has once again wrapped the flesh in a crimson cloak.

Su Ling's body emitted arcs of electricity from her spiritual skeleton. Almost simultaneously with the giant, she donned her battle armor, leaving only her left arm. The red stones on her Five Fingers had just lost their color and turned to ashes when they were immediately replaced with new ones. Amidst the flashing lightning, she transformed back into Lady Crackle.

Final--

--[Li Ren] couldn't even keep his hair or teeth!

It's completely dead!