The instant the little boy's head was about to burst open like a watermelon, the green mist rippled and thinned dramatically, revealing the figure of a hulking man over two meters tall, his body packed with muscle. A flash of stunned disbelief crossed the man's face, and then he clutched his head, his eyes turning faintly red as threads of bloodshot veins surfaced.
"You dare… you dare kill him…"
The giant roared, as though the little boy had been extremely important to him. The sight of Leilin ruthlessly using his trump card to finish the child off pushed the giant right to the edge of berserk rage.
Wisps of green mist coalesced into the shapes of moths and bees, sweeping toward Leilin in vast swarms like enormous clouds.
Hiss, hiss! Verdant veins crawled across the giant's muscles like small snakes, and his frame surged even larger, instantly exceeding three meters. Every strand of hair stood on end, rigid as spikes pointing straight at the sky.
"In a hurry, are we? Afraid already?"
Leilin sneered. Then, thick plumes of black smoke erupted from his body, rising into the air and spreading outward ceaselessly.
Wisps of black gas intertwined, taking the shape of countless small black serpents.
These tiny snakes bore fine black scales, and their eyes—no bigger than green beans—glowed with an eerie crimson light. Hissing filled the air as they surged forward to meet the swarm of green bees and moths.
Boom!
In an instant, the two massive clouds—green and black—collided and tangled together. The sounds of biting, gnawing, and shrieking poured from the roiling mist.
"Aaargh!!! I'll kill you! I swear it! I'll crush every bone in your body one by one, and make you regret ever being born into this world!!!"
The giant roared and stamped his foot!
Crack! A deep crater blasted open in the ground, and clumps of soil and stone shrapnel flew outward like bullets, sparking against the air.
Using that explosive force, the giant's body rocketed toward Leilin like a missile!
"Localized Serpentification!" A layer of fine black scales instantly covered both of Leilin's hands, rings of dark luminescence rippling across their surface. Dense black patterns continued to spread over the scales, gradually forming markings that resembled runes.
Then the muscles in Leilin's arms bulged outward, and his strength—rated at 20.1—erupted in a single burst!
Boom!
The green and black figures smashed into each other head-on, and shockwaves of concussive force detonated around them.
The two silhouettes flickered and grappled at blinding speed. Anything caught in the backlash of their battle—whether rock or tree—shattered on contact into countless fragments.
Smash! Leilin's left hand deflected the giant's fist, while his right hand clawed forward, blood-red flames blazing from its tips, striking straight for the giant's heart. His speed was like lightning.
The giant's hands were pinned by Leilin, and at such close range he had no way to dodge the ambush.
A vicious expression crossed the giant's face. He shifted his stance just slightly, narrowly avoiding the lethal blow to his chest—but his right pectoral was torn open by Leilin's Crimson Hand, and a massive chunk of flesh came flying off.
"Bone Spike Spell!" the giant bellowed. Then he threw both arms wide, making no effort to defend, and lunged forward to embrace Leilin directly.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
A circle of hideous white bone spikes burst through the giant's muscles like bamboo after a rainstorm, erupting from every part of his body.
Crack! Leilin's right hand was the first to be struck by the spikes.
The fearsome bone protrusions bore spiral patterns on their surfaces, and the force of their charge carried a drilling momentum.
The spinning spikes first broke through the blood-flame, then collided with the Kemonin Scales on Leilin's right hand.
An ear-splitting metallic screech rang out, like a woman's scream. Leilin's brow furrowed, and he retreated rapidly.
"Haha! You want to leave now? Too late!"
The giant laughed, heedless of the blood streaming from his wounds. He spread his arms wide in a bear-hug stance, his hands closing in as though he meant to pin Leilin like a hedgehog!
"At this range… Shadow Concealment!"
The black scales covering Leilin's body flashed with a broad wave of radiance, and his entire figure vanished into thin air.
"You think I wouldn't guard against that trick???"
With Leilin gone from sight, the giant scanned his surroundings and suddenly let out a deep shout. Then he drew in a massive breath.
Two streams of white air—visible to the naked eye—poured into his nostrils like long dragons. The giant's chest cavity caved inward to a degree clearly visible to the naked eye.
Then the giant let out a piercing howl: "Awooooo!!!"
The shrill sound radiated outward in all directions. Visible ripples—like waves in water—materialized in the air, radiating outward from the giant in every direction.
Layer after layer of ground was torn up by the sonic blast, and the green mist-born moths and bees still swirling in the air, along with Leilin's black serpents, all detonated within the shockwave, dissolving back into pure mist.
The mist was continuously pushed and agitated by the sound waves, traveling ever farther until it finally dissipated entirely.
As the giant's pitch climbed higher and higher, the insects and moles in the surrounding area burst apart in midair, reduced to fine mists of blood.
Hummm!
A fluctuation rippled through empty space, a flash of black light blazed, and Leilin's figure materialized once more.