Though Tian Zheng found himself baffled by Bai Xia’s sudden outburst, witnessing her fierce charge, he knew he couldn’t afford to remain idle.
However, just as the duo confronted it head-on, the Lava Giant first unleashed a sweeping blow with its colossal arm, forcing them to retreat.
Then, its massive maw gaped open, and a terrifying inferno once more converged wildly within its depths!
The Lava Cannonball, with its mere twenty-second cooldown, might not possess the same devastating power as the Earth-Shattering Roar that had nearly annihilated Bai Xia and Tian Zheng moments before.
Nevertheless, neither of them harbored any desire to experience its impact firsthand.
Fortunately, the prelude to its skill activation was glaringly obvious, rendering evasion a relatively simple task.
The Lava Giant, seemingly aware of its inability to precisely strike its targets, flung the fully charged cannonball directly between the two adversaries the moment it had coalesced.
Evidently, it sought to exploit the splash damage from the Lava Cannonball’s explosion to forge an opening.
While the residual splash might not inflict fatal wounds, the ensuing disruption and deceleration caused by the fiery lava would be more than sufficient for it to lunge forward, where even a single strike could prove decisive.
Yet, a monster remained a monster, and one could hardly expect it to possess a keen intellect.
The Lava Giant’s strategy indeed held a high potential for inflicting damage, yet this hinged entirely on Bai Xia and Tian Zheng remaining within the cannonball’s blast radius.
In reality, however, it had severely underestimated the duo’s speed and agility.
The moment it initiated its attack, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng had already, with unspoken synchronicity, darted away in opposite directions, leaving the exploding Lava Cannonball unable to even graze their garments!
Having narrowly evaded the perilous strike, Bai Xia swiftly transformed into a shadow, melding into the earth to accelerate her movement.
She then utilized Shadow Reap, launching herself directly into the air behind the towering Lava Giant.
In a flash, two blades sliced into the Lava Giant’s back.
As her body began its descent, her leather-clad foot pushed off with force against the monster’s craggy hide, instantly propelling her upwards once more.
Concurrently, the ethereal gleam of the Nether Dagger became a continuous blur, each strike eliciting a pained howl from the colossal foe.
The Lava Giant sought to dislodge Bai Xia, who clung stubbornly to its back, yet Tian Zheng had already accelerated his advance.
The moment he reached its colossal feet, he unleashed a swift, decisive swing of his Frost Blade.
While Tian Zheng’s damage output was not formidable, his proximity to its feet made him an unavoidable nuisance.
The Lava Giant, left with no alternative, hoisted its lava-dripping foot, intending to crush the bothersome ant beneath its enormous sole.
Yet, the man proved as elusive as an eel, deftly utilizing the monster’s gargantuan size and rigid movements to continuously reposition and evade, all while his Frost Greatsword relentlessly cleaved into the Lava Giant’s form.
With Tian Zheng’s persistent harassment, the Lava Giant found itself unable to contend with Bai Xia, who remained suspended on its back.
It could only passively endure her strikes, each one more agonizing than the last.
Whenever it attempted to disregard all else and eliminate Tian Zheng, the man would, as if sensing the impending peril, instantly withdraw, allowing Bai Xia to draw its ire.
Then, should it turn its attention to the young woman on its back, Tian Zheng would immediately surge forth from the flank to disrupt its assault.
Though little was spoken between the two, one attacking from the front and the other from the rear, their coordination was undeniably seamless.
The Lava Giant, by contrast, felt a profound sense of frustration, bordering on despair.
Its colossal physique, typically a formidable instrument of destruction, had now become an cumbersome liability.
Its immense bulk meant that any intended action was preceded by a conspicuous tell.
While its attacks, once unleashed, were undeniably potent, the danger diminished significantly if one merely observed its movements and chose to evade in the preceding moment.
Exasperated beyond endurance by the duo’s incessant harassment, the Lava Giant immediately reactivated its formidable Earth-Shattering Roar skill—the very one that had nearly obliterated Tian Zheng moments ago—the instant its cooldown concluded.
However, this time, just as it began to raise its hands, poised to strike, Bai Xia had already preemptively utilized Nether Flash, phasing directly through its massive form.
With its skill interrupted mid-cast, the Lava Giant froze, as if ensnared by a potent immobilization spell.
Before it could even process what had occurred and attempt a new action, Tian Zheng unleashed a skill, completely freezing it in place!
Rendered immobile, it could only passively endure a relentless barrage of attacks—strikes that, while not individually excruciating, were ceaseless.
The combined onslaught from Bai Xia and Tian Zheng left the Lava Giant feeling utterly exasperated and humiliated.
Naturally, maintaining a constant close-quarters assault was not without its toll.
It demanded unceasing mental vigilance, and even when avoiding the Lava Giant’s direct attacks, the persistent searing damage emanating from its body—despite the steady replenishment from healing potions—still caused a noticeable decline in both their health bars.
Thankfully, Frost Aura’s cooldown soon concluded.
Activating it, Bai Xia exhaled a breath of relief, then, after rapidly downing several recovery potions, she plunged back into the fray, lunging once more towards the Lava Giant without a moment’s hesitation.
“Die!”
Her ferocious demeanor was such that, had the Lava Giant possessed a higher intellect, it might well have felt an overwhelming urge to flee.
Though, its dim-witted, stony head would forever remain oblivious as to why this particular individual exuded such potent killing intent.
As the battle raged on, Bai Xia, now fully immersed in the fight, commanded Tian Zheng’s grudging admiration.
Her unparalleled reaction speed and adaptive prowess left even him feeling somewhat inadequate.
The only truly ‘unscientific’ aspect was her sailor uniform—the kind that would surely resurrect Newton in a fit of pique.
For no matter how wild the young woman’s movements became, she never suffered an accidental exposure, save for a fleeting glimpse of white beneath her skirt if one happened to catch the precise angle from directly below.
And indeed, it was a fortunate design.
Otherwise, with Bai Xia’s constant leaping, kicking, and dodging, a conventional skirt would undoubtedly have long since billowed up over her head!
Though Tian Zheng remained intensely curious as to why her attire had transformed into a sailor uniform, he grudgingly conceded that witnessing a battle fought in such an outfit was undeniably a feast for the eyes.
Moreover, the wearer of said uniform was inherently charming, which, for a time, rendered the otherwise perilous and monotonous combat significantly more engaging.
Bai Xia, naturally, remained oblivious to the rather ‘gentlemanly’ scrutiny she was receiving from the man beside her.
Unable to spare any attention, she channeled all the pent-up frustration within her heart directly onto the colossal brute before her.
Particularly after discerning the Lava Giant’s attack patterns, and with Tian Zheng’s seamless cooperation, her strikes became even more spirited.
Despite its formidable health and robust defenses, the damage numbers above the Lava Giant’s head flashed almost without cessation.
As the adage goes, even a multitude of ants can fell an elephant.
Thus, while each individual instance of damage might not have been extravagant, their cumulative effect over time could amass into truly astounding figures!
Its own health, though slowly, was visibly dwindling, driving the Lava Giant into a paroxysm of impotent rage.
Not a single furious strike had landed, and the Lava Cannonball’s utility had become negligible once the duo engaged in close-quarters combat—it couldn’t very well unleash it directly beneath its own feet, could it?
Setting aside the fact that the Lava Giant’s stony body inherently lacked the finesse for flexible skill deployment, even if it were to cast the ability directly beneath itself, Tian Zheng and Bai Xia could effortlessly retreat the moment they perceived its energy coalescing, or simply interrupt the cast altogether.
The Earth-Shattering Roar skill, however, fared even worse.
Lacking an invulnerable state during its cast, it had only succeeded once at the very outset, catching the unprepared duo off guard.
Thereafter, whenever it so much as raised its hands to gather power for its release, it was inevitably interrupted the following instant!