Granite Golem Attacks

"BOOM!"

A massive commotion erupted in the forest. Looking down from above, one could see towering trees crashing down one after another, the violent collapses kicking up thick clouds of dust that obscured whatever was happening below.

"What's going on?"

Lin Lei wondered, the fruit in his mouth suddenly losing its flavor. He picked up the Green Dragon Crescent Blade lying on the ground, mounted Red Hare, and rode toward the source of the thunderous noise to investigate.

Prior to this, Lin Lei's sweep had been going exceptionally well. He hadn't expected that after the first day of clearing, most of the surviving magical beasts would learn to avoid danger, fleeing their habitats with great caution.

This significantly reduced the workload for all his soldiers, and they hadn't suffered a single casualty; even minor injuries had become rare.

After all, what used to be two-on-one or three-on-one encounters had turned into five-on-one or ten-on-one gang-ups. How could there be any casualties under such circumstances?

It was precisely because of this that Lin Lei had been in a good mood, finding the leisure to snack on fruit; otherwise, he would have been busy hacking away at magical beasts.

"What on earth is this thing? Making such a huge racket—it couldn't be a dragon, could it? Why can't I sense any dragon's might?"

Lin Lei stood on a high hillside, resting his chin on his hands, rubbing them in thought.

"Why does it feel like this thing is getting closer and closer to me?"

Just as Lin Lei paused to peer into the dust, Bambu was running with all his might. Looking up, he spotted the conspicuous Lin Lei and, without a moment's hesitation, bolted straight toward him.

Following behind Bambu was the Granite Golem recorded in the Kobold tribe's archives. Bambu had spotted the creature the moment he reached the mine entrance.

After using his fists to wake the beast, he had stolen the ore from beneath the Granite Golem. That ore was the Granite Golem's food; if anyone touched it, the naturally short-tempered creature would hunt the thief down with relentless, lethal persistence.

In that sense, the creature was a glutton through and through.

"Whoosh."

The Kobold dashed past Lin Lei, leaving only the Granite Golem and Lin Lei to stare each other down.

"ROAR."

In the eyes of the Granite Golem, Lin Lei was no different from the Kobold. Having lost its original target, it naturally shifted its focus onto Lin Lei.

Lin Lei had essentially become collateral damage.

However, according to the Kobold Bambu's logic, the conspiracy had likely succeeded.

"I've become the scapegoat? That thing that just ran past seemed to be a Kobold. I'll settle the score with you lot once I'm done with this."

Lin Lei grumbled, his ears aching from the deafening noise. The Kobold had just been added to the blacklist of the increasingly ruthless Lin Lei.

"Damn it."

Just as Lin Lei caught his breath, he was met with a fist the size of a door—and this fist was made of solid granite.

Lin Lei moved slightly, leaping up to step on the Granite Golem's hand before vaulting backward.

The massive granite fist smashed into the spot where Lin Lei had been standing, creating a five-meter-long fissure that sent cold sweat down his back.

"Where did this monster come from? Such a massive body, such a purple frame... purple... stone."

Lin Lei muttered, suddenly recalling that this monster was a mob from a game he used to play—one of the most powerful non-dragon monsters, boasting a full nine-level rating.

"A Granite Golem. How is it this thing? It's tanky, it hits hard, and it's goddamn magic-immune. A truly disgusting monster."

Lin Lei felt a headache coming on.

"BANG!"

Lin Lei had been distracted, but the Granite Golem didn't stop its assault. With a single horizontal sweep, it sent Lin Lei flying, crashing through seven or eight trees before he finally came to a stop.

"ROAR, ROAR."

Seeing its enemy sent flying with a single blow, the Granite Golem laughed in delight.

"Cough, cough."

Lin Lei crawled up from the dust. The ice-blue armor he always wore was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks that refused to heal.

This was the first time since acquiring the Guan Yu skin that he had been left in such a sorry state, and the first time his armor had suffered such severe damage.

"It really is a tough one."

Protected by the ice-blue armor, Lin Lei hadn't taken too much damage. The armor had absorbed the massive impact of the Granite Golem, leaving him only with internal injuries sustained the moment the fist had struck his body.

"Whoosh, whoosh."

With a thought, Lin Lei leaped a few times, arriving near the Granite Golem and the spot where the Green Dragon Crescent Blade had fallen, retrieving his weapon.

"Come and get me."

Lin Lei taunted the Granite Golem. The creature, which had been happily preparing to call it a day, flew into a rage. Channeling its own magic, it unleashed its signature move: throwing a giant boulder.

The boulder the Granite Golem condensed was larger than two Lin Leis put together. If that were to hit him in the head, it wouldn't just be a "stun" effect like in the game—it would send Lin Lei straight to the front of the line for reincarnation.

"BANG!"

The boulder flew over Lin Lei's head, smashed through several towering trees, and rolled off into the distance.

"Thunder Half-Moon Slash!"

Lin Lei shouted. Though he called it a Thunder Half-Moon Slash, it was essentially just him imbuing the blade with battle qi, leaping up, and swinging downward.

"Bang!"

Lin Lei's blade struck the fist of the Granite Golem, producing a violent collision.

However, the result was of little use. A two-inch-long wound appeared on the Granite Golem's fist; while such a wound would be fatal for a human-sized creature, it was merely a light drizzle to the Granite Golem, causing not the slightest bit of trouble.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Lin Lei did not lose the courage to fight because of this; instead, he leaped repeatedly across its body, attacking the same spot. If an iron pestle can be ground into a needle, why couldn't he carve a massive hole into the Granite Golem?

After fighting for some time, Lin Lei discovered that his only advantage was his speed. Although he lacked the Granite Golem's rock-hard body and immense strength, he possessed an agility that the Granite Golem could not match.

Only by staying alive could he deal damage, and only by landing hits could he be effective.

Lin Lei danced across the Granite Golem, while the golem's fists chased after him, attacking, but the end result was often that it struck itself.

"The Lord is in danger! Everyone, follow me!"

In the midst of Lin Lei's fierce battle with the Granite Golem, Allen, Furell, and the others, who had been waiting for the Lord to return, followed the tracks and arrived, immediately seeing him fighting alone.

Allen drew his sword and roared at the soldiers behind him.

At his command, the soldiers who had been jogging behind charged toward the Granite Golem like a herd of maddened wild bulls.

Lin Lei looked at the soldiers and was surprised to find not a trace of fear—not a shred of fear for this colossal Granite Golem. In their eyes, there was only the determination to face death unflinchingly.

"Let me handle this."

Furell, possessing the strength of a Gold-rank, took the lead, charging to the very front. He picked up his most familiar bone club and hammered it toward the Granite Golem's knee.

The strength of a Bugbear was truly no exaggeration. Under the weight of the heavy weapon, cracks began to appear on the Granite Golem's left knee; it would take only a few more of Furell's strikes for the joint to shatter.

"Prepare the heavy crossbows."

Following the order, the strategic weapon that Lin Lei had not intended to use was brought out as Allen had instructed.

"Everyone, get away from that monster!"

"Fire!"

Allen ordered with an expressionless face.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Crossbow bolts as thick as spears tore through the sky. Facing the whistling wind, they rained down upon the Granite Golem like a downpour. The Granite Golem's body retreated continuously until it finally reached a breaking point, and the Granite Golem collapsed under the unbearable force.

"Stop!"

Lin Lei ordered the heavy crossbows to cease fire.

He leaped onto the Granite Golem himself to inspect its condition.

At this moment, the Granite Golem looked like a giant hedgehog; its tough skin prevented the crossbow bolts from piercing through, leaving them stuck in its body.

"Be careful, Baron!"

Not long after Lin Lei jumped on, the Granite Golem began to sway, attempting to stand up again. Lacking any sense of pain, it seemed not to feel the "heart-piercing" arrows, and once the massive impact subsided, it tried to rise.

"Deploy the vine nets!"

Hundreds of soldiers used massive ropes to entangle the Granite Golem, pinning it to the ground so it could not move.

This time, Lin Lei jumped on without any worries, as the Granite Golem was locked to the ground, unable to budge.

"Snap! Snap!"

The Granite Golem was clearly unwilling to be restrained like this and struggled continuously. The originally sturdy ropes were being pulled apart; at this rate, the Granite Golem would break free and regain its freedom in less than five minutes.

"It should be here."

Lin Lei gestured repeatedly at the Granite Golem's chest. Once he confirmed the location, he began using his blade to dig into the rock.

Each strike did not go very deep, but with no one to disturb him, Lin Lei made rapid progress. Before long, a hole half a person deep appeared.

"Found it. It's this purple core."

Lin Lei pried out a purple gemstone the size of a human head. As he removed the stone, the previously struggling Granite Golem went completely still.

The soldiers, who had been pulling on the ropes, all tumbled to the ground at once.

"Haha, this Granite Golem is dead. Everyone can rest and clean up the battlefield," Lin Lei announced to the crowd.

What he had just extracted was the Granite Golem's core, equivalent to a human heart. Without the support of the core's energy, no matter how formidable it was, it could only obediently turn into a pile of waste rock.

"Ding-dong."

Several notification sounds echoed in Lin Lei's mind. He assumed it was the sound of him receiving lottery attempts, so he didn't pay it much mind for the moment and tucked away the purple core.

"How is it? What are the casualties among the soldiers?" Lin Lei asked Allen and Furell.

"It's not very optimistic. We have nearly thirty human soldiers dead, and countless others with limb injuries."

"So many? We haven't even been engaged with the Granite Golem for fifteen minutes, and the losses are this heavy. Furell, what about your goblin casualties?"

"It's not great either. We goblins have suffered fifty-three casualties, though there are fewer wounded," Furell said, his mood low. These goblins already accounted for a tenth of their tribe, and now they had all died under the Granite Golem.