Chapter 42: Ruthless Bandits, Absolutely Ruthless Bandits! (5.1k)_2
At that moment, King Admetos saw that the situation had fully reversed, and immediately drew his dagger, calling upon the Divine Blood Guard around him and the band of Divine Blood Heroes led by the Twins of Sparta to encircle and prepare to completely annihilate the remaining Giant Spirits on the field.
As the familiar shouts and roars on the battlefield gradually thinned out, Antaeus, who was brawling overhead with Hercules in the distant woods, also realized something was wrong. The crimson in his eyes gradually receded, giving way to a tint of irritation on his face.
"Despicable humans!"
The towering Titan cursed, sidestepping and using his shoulder to push Hercules in front of him aside, then he began to sprint towards the battlefield to aid the Giant Spirits who were already at a disadvantage.
He was a giant born from the mingling of the divinity of Poseidon and Gaea, and though he belonged to the lineage of the Titans, he was not of the traditional kind born from the blood of the primal Heavenly Father Uranos.
Therefore, among the Giant Spirits, his prestige and followers were limited. If he were to lose his own men on his first battlefield appearance without achieving any commendable feats, the power-respecting Giant Spirit Clan would certainly see him as a laughingstock, mercilessly mocking and bullying him without hesitation.
This outcome was something Antaeus could absolutely not tolerate.
However, before he had taken a few steps, a thick arm grabbed his ankle.
"Trying to leave? It's not over yet!"
Hercules sneered coldly, his steel-cast muscles bulging and dark red Divine Patterns flickering on and off his body as divine power wildly surged within him.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Following that, Hercules, holding onto Antaeus's ankle, swung him from side to side, tormenting him over and over again like an ant holding up an elephant.
After tormenting him for dozens of moments, Hercules finally released his right hand and threw his opponent.
Antaeus, who crashed into the mountain, had his neck broken, limbs twisted, and was barely recognizable as human, even a watermelon-sized eyeball dropped out of its socket.
But with the dark and azure Divinity Patterns lighting up on his body, the blood that had sprayed out began to flow back into his body, his broken bones clicked back into place, and even the eyeball on the ground rolled back into its socket, merging with the squirming flesh.
"With Mother Goddess Gaea's blessing, you cannot kill me!"
Antaeus rotated his popping neck, pressed his hands against the rock wall, pulled out his body, and grimly looked at his opponent, the murderous intent in his eyes boiling over.
He understood that to return to the battlefield and rescue his own Giant followers, he first had to deal with this obstacle in front of him.
What a tough opponent...
The earlier Hercules looked towards the rejuvenated Giant leader, sensing the nearly inexhaustible vitality and brute force within that body, and could not help but frown slightly.
Since luring Antaeus into this mountain forest, he had been furiously battling the other for several hours.
Although superior in skills and divine power, repeatedly knocking him down, killing him,
but whether it was breaking his bones, tearing off his limbs, stabbing through his skull, or crushing his heart.... as long as a few moments passed, this monster would immediately recover and continue to energetically fight with him.
As time went on, Hercules, after several surges of divine blood, began to feel overwhelmed by his demigod body.
Continuing like this was disadvantageous for him.
Just as Hercules was gasping and facing a dilemma, the Medusa emblem engraved with his name on his chest emitted a slight hum, and a deep voice resounded inside his head.
"Unbeatable on the ground, but what if he lost his foundation?"
Hearing that meaningful reminder, Hercules's eyes brightened. Watching Antaeus stride towards him waving his arms, he ducked under the attack, once again surged his divine blood, and unleashed a powerful uppercut to Antaeus's jaw.
Instantly, the mountain-like giant rose like a rising star from the ground.
Watching Antaeus flail his limbs in midair, fear appearing on his face for the first time, Hercules felt assured, leaped up, and locked both hands around Antaeus's neck, tightening increasingly.
As the overburdened neck bone cracked crisply, Antaeus in midair realized his vulnerability, panicking inside as he struggled frantically to return to the ground.
Since the previous fierce battle had sapped much of his strength, Hercules temporarily struggled to control Antaeus's resistance.
Just as the monster was about to drag him down with him, the Medusa emblem on his chest trembled again, a subtle starlight descended, casting itself onto him.
In an instant, the starlight transformed into a golden armor covering his body, and a continuous stream of Aether Magic Power flowed into him. Above him, the vast starry sky and the boundless firmament seemed to mysterically connect with him, as if a golden lion made of starlight roared to life within him.
Hercules, buoyed by fortune, gathered his strength and twisted Antaeus's neck, then kicked upward, sending the falling body soaring again.
Immediately after, he cleared his mind and struck several quick punches in succession. Densely packed lightning and starlight converged around him, focused by his fist into highly dense spherical bolts of lightning that directly targeted Antaeus's falling body in midair.