Jack twisted his neck, tilted his head towards the colossus, and provocatively beckoned with his hand: "You're quite strong, little guy. Come on, keep going!"
Rumble!
The Underworld Alloy Behemoth beneath the Rocks was startled by this scene.
Although its life was gradually recovering, and it wouldn't give the opponent another chance to unleash such a close-range attack once it became vigilant.
But this oppressive feeling from a higher life form was a fear etched into its DNA.
"Roar!"
The colossus let out a loud roar, shattering countless rocks and forming a storm of debris that lashed out at Jack.
And then... it fled!
[Zhongli! Stop it for me!]
Over such a long distance, the speed of sound couldn't keep up with the battle. Jack directly connected to Zhongli's mind and issued the command.
[Alright!]
Zhongli, who was right next to the colossus, pressed his left sword-finger against his right wrist, and raised his right sword-finger upwards.
"Planet Befall · Reversal!"
Rumble!
The Rock King Emperor himself unleashed his ultimate ability deep underground. The immense elemental power affected not just dozens of square kilometers around, and an enormous wall appeared before the Underworld Alloy Behemoth beneath the Rocks.
The colossus, possessing only brute strength and defense but no authority, could only stare blankly at this massive wall. And when it turned around, a terrifying blade once again approached its neck.
"Can you escape?!"
Jack had previously tested the pure physical attack of the Dreadsteel Greatsword. Now, he was going to add elemental damage.
Roar!
Crimson-yellow flames ignited, and after transferring to the Doom Steel blade, they were influenced by an unspeakable resentment, instantly transforming into black demon flames. With Jack's slash, they became a monstrous, gaping maw.
Swoosh!
The massive maw descended, instantly biting off nearly a quarter of the Underworld Alloy Behemoth beneath the Rocks's body.
[-1892]
Jack was very satisfied with this heavy blow.
After all, Doom Steel was a weapon that could slay even higher-ranking gods. A mere four-star Boss was out of its league!
Even the former Rock King Emperor, Zhongli, couldn't help but silently think to himself, 'This sword could kill me.'
Netherite Colossus, I've tamed it!
Beneath the Chasm, within a vast space that resembled another world.
Jack, holding his Dreadsteel Greatsword, faced off against the Underworld Alloy Behemoth beneath the Rocks, whose height had been forcibly reduced by a quarter.
It was clear that while its size had shrunk considerably, the true injury was to its central core.
Its thousand-meter-tall body was merely an outer armor reinforced with iron ore and rocks; the core of the Colossus was only about 300 meters tall, just one and a half times the length of a Stage 5 Dragon.
[3807 / 5986]
In just a short while, the Colossus's health had recovered by about six hundred points.
This was according to the data.
In reality, Jack felt the rock element power from underground being drawn away, used to repair its injuries.
Zhongli's figure flickered, appearing beside him, having donned his white divine attire at some unknown point.
"Aren't you going to quickly slay this Colossus? It's too large; I can't stop it from absorbing rock elements to heal itself."
"Wait a bit longer. I want to try and tame this fellow."
"Hm?"
Zhongli looked at Jack in confusion, seemingly wanting to know his reason.
Jack explained.
"Look, it's rare for rock element slimes to mutate into this form, right? And it even has the rare Boss panel of a Netherite Colossus."
"I have a bit of a collecting habit. Ordinary Netherite Colossus can be created in Creative Mode with spawn eggs, but this rare variety is hard to come by."
King of All Demons.
Without warning, Zhongli recalled the title on the official document when he attended Jack and the Raiden Shogun's wedding.
He had already openly revealed his ambition.
Not only to become the God of humanity, but also to become the Dark King worshipped by all monsters, encompassing both light and darkness; he would be the sole God of that world.
"Alright, I respect Traveler's choice."
Zhongli stepped back, further reinforcing the surrounding rock walls.
He was creating the practical conditions for Jack to capture the Colossus.
He was the type who didn't talk much to help a friend, preferring to act.
"Thanks! If you have any requests later, just say the word."
Jack punched Zhongli's shoulder, just as Zhongli liked large, plump dragons like Azhdaha, men's romantic ideals were often similar. This steel-rock Colossus, Jack was determined to have it!
Swish!
One sword strike.
[-529]
The few mouthfuls of rock the Colossus had just consumed were wasted.
"Aow! —"
An meaningless roar erupted, and then the massive creature instinctively charged towards Jack.
It seemed slow, but given its enormous size, its speed completely surpassed the speed of sound.
Bang!
Jack extended his sword and exchanged a punch with the Colossus.
Behind him, wind, fire, and lightning elements reacted wildly, like a reactor, generating impact force through explosions, barely resisting the Colossus's punch of over a million tons of force.
This scene deeply shocked the few people present.
"Heh heh, you're so big, but your strength isn't all that great, is it? Now it's my turn!"
After blocking the first punch, the concept of the second punch and subsequent ones became clear.
So Jack began a close-quarters battle with the Colossus.
Each strike only deducted a few dozen points of health, which the opponent could immediately recover by consuming rock elements.
But in reality, the Colossus's health bar consistently stayed at an unhealthy 30% or so.
Once its health got too high, Jack would unleash a Black Flame Slash, devouring a large portion of its body, showcasing the terrifying dominance of the Dreadsteel Greatsword.
Deafening roars continuously echoed throughout the area.
The spreading shockwaves were enough to destroy the entire Liyue Harbor three times over.
But all of them were blocked by Zhongli.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, as Jack for the first time sent the Colossus flying with an over-the-limit blow, the rock wall suffered an unprecedented impact.
Zhongli… was injured.
Buzz!
A green glow spread over.
Zhongli looked up.
Jack looked at him with an apologetic gaze: "Sorry, I got a bit too into the fight. I'll try to tame it now."
"Phew~ As soon as possible. Although I blocked most of the impact, the ground will probably still feel the tremors, and you've damaged the underground too severely; it will be difficult to repair later."
Originally, there wasn't enough space underground to accommodate a thousand-meter-tall Colossus; it was Zhongli who had created it using Azhdaha's authority over rock.
Now that Jack and the Colossus's battle had caused such destruction, even if Azhdaha were called in to help with the repairs, it would be difficult to finish in less than one or two weeks.
If left unrepaired, such a large hole underground would eventually cause the entire Chasm to collapse.
Even Zhongli said so, clearly he really couldn't hold on anymore.
So Jack put away his greatsword and fully activated his grass element.
"Alaya's Dream!"
A phantom impact, targeting the spiritual dream, directly struck the Underworld Alloy Behemoth beneath the Rocks, which had revealed its true form.
Thud!
The Colossus seemed as if its head had been struck by a heavy hammer, and it fell into a groggy sleep.
...
Twenty-something minutes later.
Jack and the Colossus woke up simultaneously.
The former had a slight smile on his lips.
The latter displayed a human-like, simple and honest expression.
Seeing this, Zhongli finally relaxed his somewhat sore arms, gradually withdrawing his defenses.
"Congratulations, Traveler, you've gained a great general."
"I have to thank you for this. I plagiarized your idea of 'awakening the dragon's spirit' for Azhdaha. I used the dream to organize a memory for its chaotic consciousness, essentially giving it the eyes of a soul."
"Dreams and souls, I didn't expect Traveler's grass element ability to have been refined to such an extent."
"Haha, not bad, because I have a good wife, Nahida."
Jack did not take credit for himself.
That night of deep exchange with Nahida.
She had unreservedly gifted Jack all the knowledge she possessed.
It was precisely because of this that Jack couldn't suppress his emotions, wanting to "help" her achieve her dream of growing up, injecting too much grass essence.
The battle ended.
Venti flew over with Yelan.
As soon as she landed, Yelan threw herself into Jack's embrace.
Jack saw that Yelan's eyes were a little red, and he rubbed them, chuckling.
"What's wrong? The underground queen of Liyue actually has this side to her? If outsiders saw this, they'd probably be too surprised to speak."
Yelan sighed: "Yes, I originally thought I was a person with a heart of stone… But after you entered my life (and body), I gained something to care for. I somewhat understand the recent changes in Keqing and Ningguang."
"Good girl, don't worry! Your husband, me, I'm invincible!"
Jack kissed Yelan's forehead, then made his declaration.
"Rock Pillar, can you walk by yourself?"
Buzz! (I can, Father!)
A stony hum resonated.
But miraculously, everyone understood its meaning.
"How amazing, Traveler, you've directly created a new life from an existing monster. This is already the means of… *cough cough*, that one, isn't it?"
The words "Heavenly Principles" that Venti was about to say were glared back by Zhongli.
Jack just smiled without speaking.
The Hydro Archon Egeria could turn Pure Hydro Hypostasiss into humans.
It seemed perfectly reasonable for him, the Creator who mastered the authority of dreams and life, to awaken the true spirit of a Netherite Colossus, wasn't it?
-------------------------------
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