Chapter 20: Chapter 19: [I’ll Smash You to Death With This Big Sledgehammer!]
BOOM!
He Xiaotian emerged from the ruins, single-handedly carrying a sledgehammer completely disproportionate to his size.
The Pig Grudge, which had been struggling to squeeze its way inside, tilted its head in confusion.
"Oink oink?"
"Oink my ass!"
After his bellow, he broke into a run, pouring all his strength into every step as he charged toward the Pig Grudge.
’Two swings of its hammer nearly took me out. Now that my power’s increased, it’s time to get some payback.’
And so, a truly incongruous scene unfolded.
A human, so thin he was nothing but skin and bones—a walking skeleton—gripped a sledgehammer thicker than his own body with both hands and raised it high.
BOOM!
He Xiaotian’s timing was perfect.
The Pig Grudge was caught in an awkward, half-in-half-out position, completely unable to dodge.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
The sledgehammer struck true, right in the kidney, and a pig squeal that pierced the heavens erupted.
Outside the slaughterhouse, Director Huang was drenched in sweat.
Decades of weathering storms had forged his current composure.
Of course, he wouldn’t just tell anyone that he was terrified, too.
"Director, should we...?"
the deputy director asked upon hearing the squeal.
"Just hold the perimeter. Don’t go in and cause trouble for the special task force comrades."
In truth, Director Huang had no idea that the "special task force comrades" he spoke of were already down for the count, completely useless.
The one fighting desperately to the death was someone else entirely.
"If I don’t hammer both your kidneys out today, then my last name isn’t He!"
"OINK OINK!"
The Pig Grudge glared with its single remaining eye, which was filled with rage.
’Taking advantage of a pig in peril!’
"Oink oink? You still dare to oink at me?"
He Xiaotian’s eyes widened. He swung the massive sledgehammer again, putting all his strength into another blow.
BANG!
A thousand pounds of force, swinging a colossal sledgehammer the size of a grown man’s torso and covered in sharp spikes.
What kind of effect would that produce?
He Xiaotian would tell you: splattering flesh and bone-deep wounds!
This blow nearly made the Pig Grudge’s eyeball pop out, and its whole body began to struggle even more violently.
Kick ’em while they’re down.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!
He Xiaotian swung wildly, smashing down three more times in a row.
He nearly hammered half of the Pig Grudge’s body into oblivion.
As for its kidneys?
They were long gone.
"Do you have any idea how ugly you are? You look like a dried-out pineapple that fucked a rotten durian!"
As he hammered the Pig Grudge’s flank, he vented his fury, his mouth running like a machine gun.
"OINK!"
The horrifically maimed Pig Grudge craned its neck and roared in fury.
It finally managed to turn around, bringing the sledgehammer in its left hand crashing down toward He Xiaotian’s head.
BOOM!
The floor shattered, sending stone fragments flying.
A quick glance revealed that He Xiaotian had used the hole in the wall to dive into the cold storage area.
Swinging his sledgehammer with both hands, he brought it down on the Pig Grudge’s other, undamaged kidney.
BANG!
The hammer’s spikes sank effortlessly into its flank, leaving the Pig Grudge in a very awkward position.
It had struggled so hard to free its arm, only for the ’little skeleton’ to slip away like a loach and dive into the cold storage area.
And now he was mercilessly back to hammering it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOM!
The Pig Grudge’s single eye was so bloodshot it looked ready to burst.
One could only imagine the extent of its fury.
It had always seen humans as ants, yet tonight, an ant had it pinned to the ground and was brutally smashing it.
If it let this stand, it would be a disgrace to its very existence!
The doorframe of the cold storage area was simply crushed.
Finally free, the Pig Grudge snorted two jets of air from its nostrils and turned around.
It stared down at He Xiaotian.
It was as if it were brewing something, ready to erupt at any second.
"Fuck you!"
The hunger deep inside him urged him to end the fight quickly and replenish his depleted essence.
So He Xiaotian decided to meet the challenge head-on, aiming a vicious strike at the pig’s head.
BANG!
"AWOOOO!"
The blow landed squarely on the Pig Grudge’s face. It didn’t even make its familiar squeal, just let out a miserable howl.
The Inner Strength in his Dantian surged forth like an erupting volcano.
It flowed along his meridians and into his hands.
WHOOSH!
Crimson flames erupted, and the sleeves of his clothes instantly turned to ash.
The sledgehammer in his hands, now wreathed in blazing fire, smashed down once more on the Pig Grudge’s head.
BOOM!
A single strike shattered its skull. Blackish-brown blood shot toward the sky like a fountain.
Not only that, but the flames from the hammerhead poured through the wound and into its brain.
TSS! TSS!
As plumes of white smoke rose, the Pig Grudge swung its own sledgehammer furiously at He Xiaotian.
BANG!
He wasn’t some fool who would stand there and take a hit just for the sake of killing the Pig Grudge.
The reason the monster’s thrown hammer hadn’t killed him earlier had a lot to do with the force it had used.
His ability greatly mitigated the impact of heavy blows; it didn’t make him immune to them.
He Xiaotian wasn’t about to bet on whether he could survive a terrifying, last-ditch strike at a moment of life and death.
If he could take it, great. But if he couldn’t...
It would be GAME OVER!
He let go of his hammer, his feet slipped, and he dodged directly behind the Pig Grudge.
Before it could react, he bent his legs and sprang up.
His hands formed into claws, and he dug for its eyes from behind its head.
SQUELCH!
He Xiaotian felt his fingers sink into something like jelly.
Except this jelly was bone-chillingly cold.
So cold that in the instant they penetrated, he felt they were about to freeze off.
TSSSSS...
The fire-hot Inner Strength surged from his fingers into the Pig Grudge’s brain and began to burn violently.
"OINK OINK!!"
It swung its sledgehammer backward, striking He Xiaotian squarely in the back.
BANG!
Unfortunately, the blow wasn’t as powerful as a frontal attack.
Swinging a hammer backward naturally reduced its power by more than half.
And that level of damage was something He Xiaotian could still endure.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Pig Grudge attacked relentlessly, swinging its hammer behind it.
He Xiaotian, meanwhile, held on for dear life, his hands clamped into its eye sockets, gripping its brain.
He continuously poured his Inner Strength into it, steaming and roasting its brain and flesh.
"Heh heh, today we’ll see which one of us gives out first."
Trickles of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. One or two hits seemed manageable.
But three hits, four hits, and more... this was a contest of pure viciousness!
Under normal circumstances, He Xiaotian would never have been able to endure this; he would have given up long ago.
Because it hurt!!
He hardly had an unbroken bone in his body. His left side and his back were riddled with bloody holes.
Even something as hard as iron has its limits.
In short, every single nerve was screaming pain signals to his brain.
"You’re a Grudge-body, right? Trying to evolve into a monster, are you? Haha, after I’ve hammered you into this state, I bet that wish is going down the drain. Even if I can’t kill you today, this will still set back your evolution by a long shot, won’t it?
Those two slackers already called for backup. In one day, someone much stronger will get to Z County and finish you off!"
He Xiaotian spoke word by word, taunting the Pig Grudge, not caring if it understood him or not.
"OINK OINK OINK!!"
"Roaring is useless. I’ve found your source."
As his words fell, he detonated all the Inner Strength within his Dantian.
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