Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part Two]

CHAPTER 211: Breaching The Impenetrable Fortress

At the last second, the walking fortress jerked its head away. His blade missed its target—but not completely.

With a cracking snap, one of the beast's massive spiraled horns came clean off, tumbling through the air before crashing into the ruins of the battlefield.

Daisuke landed, boots skidding against the snow, breath heavy as he turned to face the towering colossus once more.

The Treant loomed over him, its eye burning with an ancient, unfathomable rage.

BUUONGG!

Before it could process what felt like a mere papercut, a thunderous force slammed into its face.

Propelled by wind magic, Tiphanna launched herself from a nearby tree, her large hammer crashing into the beast. The impact sent the creature staggering backward, its massive limbs ripping through the earth. It uprooted a tree in a frantic attempt to steady itself.

Landing beside Daisuke, the blacksmith smirked, her eyes flashing with determination. "I have a plan."

The Treant let out an angry snarl, its clawed fingers sinking into the ground as it pushed itself upright. Rage poured from its body like a suffocating miasma. Without hesitation, it hurled a barrage of boulders at its tormentors.

Daisuke didn't flinch.

His eyes burned with battle-honed focus as he effortlessly weaved through the flying stones, his movements so minimal they seemed almost taunting.

The Treant's fury intensified.

With a roar, it wrenched the rest of the tree from the ground and hurled it at the elusive bug.

But no impact came. No satisfying crunch.

The fiend's glowing eyes widened in confusion. There was no body, no splatter of crushed bones. Its prey had completely vanished.

Suddenly, a flicker of movement at the edge of its vision caught its attention—but it was too late.

"[Mana Flare]!"

A blinding explosion of light erupted from Daisuke's chest, searing into the Treant's vision. The beast recoiled with a deafening roar, thrashing violently as the radiance burned into its retinas.

Before it could recover, Tiphanna struck.

She descended like a comet, her hammer glowing molten orange as she drove it into the giant's back with an earth-shaking crash.

A wave of fire erupted from the impact, scorching the creature's cloak and superheating its bark-like armor. In the same beat, it lurched forward, collapsing onto all fours, smoke rising from its blistering form.

"Now!" she bellowed, retreating.

From above, Daisuke came plummeting like a spear loosed from the heavens.

His daggers struck true, burying deep into the weakened armor. Flames erupted from the blades, spreading like wildfire across the Treant's smoldering body. The beast let out a hellish scream, its white-hot plating cracking under the strain.

Desperate, it sprouted jagged spikes from its back, aiming to impale its assailant.

But Daisuke was already gone.

Instead of struggling to free his wedged weapons, he cleverly dematerialized them. In their place, he planted a Frost Prism and vaulted into the canopy of the trees.

TSSHHHHHH!

A violent burst of steam erupted as the freezing detonation clashed with the superheated armor, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.

"You're up!" Daisuke called above the chaos.

"Already on it!" Tiphanna shot back.

From above the swirling mist, she descended, wielding a massive iron nail pulled from her magic bag. With a single swing, she sent it hurtling at blistering speed. The spike punched deep into the Treant's back with a resounding crack. The force of impact slammed the beast into the ground, its limbs splayed and trembling.

And then she struck again.

She landed with monstrous force, her hammer meeting the embedded nail in a crushing blow that sent the mist scattering in all directions. The brittle, overheated armor finally gave way, shattering into fragments that scattered like shards of broken glass.

"Now's your chance!" she cried, leaping back.

Daisuke was already moving.

"[Cosmic]..."

Lightning crackled around him as he tore through the air, a streak of raw destruction plummeting toward the earth.

"...[CUTTER]!"

His daggers struck the exposed nail with a deafening thunderclap.

Time slowed to a crawl.

A concussive shockwave detonated outward, ripping through the battlefield. Trees buckled, undergrowth flattened, and jagged fissures snaked across the earth as a massive crater yawned open beneath the Treant.

The creature unleashed a harrowing, guttural scream.

Its once-impenetrable armor shattered, fragments of bark flying in all directions like shrapnel.

[Critical!]

[11,623 damage dealt.]

[11,321 damage dealt.]

[Situational Damage!]

[69,739 damage dealt.]

[63,928 damage dealt.]

"Is it over?" Tiphanna asked as Daisuke landed beside her.

"Not even close." He wiped his mouth, chugging an MP potion without taking his eyes off the shuddering fiend. "This is just the beginning."

[Colossal Frost Treant | Lvl 47 | Field Boss | HP: 4717291/4892064]