Chương 174: Repelling the King of Gluttony

Li Qinwu fired first. The heavy lead ball slammed with pinpoint accuracy directly into the King of Gluttony's forehead, shattering into harmless metallic dust upon impact. The blow momentarily halted the monster's forward momentum, giving the rest of the goblin marksmen time to open fire, their volleys raining onto the King's massive frame. Yet these powerful musket rounds dealt virtually no damage.

The King's fat behaved like a non-Newtonian fluid—bullets struck his skin only to send heavy ripples across his flesh before flattening and dropping away.

"What in the absolute hell is this bullshit?!" Li Qinwu's eyes widened in disbelief. Turning to the gun crews, he roared, "CANNONS, FIRE!!" BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! All six field guns erupted in unison, discharging heavy loads of canister shot. Hundreds of iron lead balls sprayed outward in a devastating fan. Over forty projectiles struck the King of Gluttony's massive bulk head-on.

Carrying vastly more kinetic energy than musket balls, these heavy iron shot tore straight through the non-Newtonian fat layer, punching several bloody holes into his midsection before lodging deep within his dense muscle. And then... nothing. Proving capable of tearing ordinary men into bloody ribbons, the canister shot was completely neutralized by the monster's endless layers of fat.

Had the volley not also mowed down a dozen normal trolls in the background and snapped several trees in half, Li Qinwu would have assumed the gun crews forgot to load the shot altogether. Staggering back a few steps under the force of the artillery strike, the King of Gluttony collapsed heavily onto the earth. Slowly, he pushed himself back upright, reaching down with a clawed hand to pick at the dark, oozing puncture wounds on his belly.

"Oh my... I'm injured... Tsk, tsk, tsk... It feels like... thousands of years since I last felt pain. How nostalgic. Well then..." Grabbing the edges of the open wounds on his belly with both hands, he yanked outward with violent force. RIP! With a sickening tear, his bloated stomach split wide open. Instead of spilling guts and bile onto the ground, the tear revealed a swirling, jet-black void—a light-devouring abyss. His stomach had literally transformed into a colossal, gaping maw.

"Ah... It has been far too long since I revealed this form in the mortal realm. I—" BANG! Another bullet flattened against the King of Gluttony's forehead. Looking up, the King saw Li Qinwu raising a fresh, pre-loaded musket. BANG! A second bullet smashed against his brow, shattering into pieces. The King of Gluttony tilted his head in amused confusion.

"Oh my... A goblin? Hmm... What a fascinating specimen. An ancient strain? Or do you possess a special heritage? No matter... Let me taste you. This physical vessel is... breaking down quickly... I must... hurry..." Opening the pitch-black maw on his stomach, the King of Gluttony charged straight toward Li Qinwu once more. Seeing both his muskets and cannons currently reloading, Li Qinwu knew he had no ranged firepower left to stop the black-skinned horror.

With the creature coming directly for his head, he had to buy time.

"Gob-Die! Have your zombies block him!!" Li Qinwu bellowed. Hunkered down in the trench behind the lines, Gob-Die immediately channeled his dark magic. The troll zombies—who had been lying flat on the earth to avoid friendly fire—pushed themselves up and shuffled toward the King of Gluttony, brandishing their heavy clearing axes. Surrounded by a horde of undead trolls, the King initially tried to ignore the soulless husks to go straight after the special goblin.

However, the primal hunger surging within him proved impossible to resist when free meat presented itself. Grabbing a nearby troll zombie with his bloated hands, the King shoved it whole into the pitch-black void in his stomach. The giant mouth snapped shut a few times, swallowing the entire zombie whole. Once he took that first bite, his gluttonous instincts completely hijacked his mind. One after another, he scooped up the undead giants and crammed them into his belly.

Meanwhile, the goblin marksmen finished reloading and opened fire once again. Yet after two full volleys, the King remained entirely unfazed. Worse still, because his entire skin had turned jet-black, it was impossible to tell whether the musket balls were even leaving scratches.

"Muskets! Stop shooting the black monster!" Li Qinwu bellowed.

"Target the trolls behind him! Don't let them close the distance!!" Sprinting toward one of the field guns, he shouted at the crew, "Load solid shot!!" The artillerymen moved with practiced speed—swabbing the bore, shoveling powder, seating the wadding, and rolling a solid iron cannonball down the barrel. Li Qinwu single-handedly hauled the gun carriage to adjust its alignment, training the muzzle straight at the black void on the monster's belly.

"Sparks!!" Gob-Boom slammed a flint striker into the touchhole. With a deafening boom, the solid shot tore down the field, smashing through two zombie trolls before slamming squarely into the gaping void of the King's belly. And then, nothing happened. The heavy iron ball vanished into the black hole of his stomach, leaving not even a ripple behind. Li Qinwu's brow furrowed.

The void in the creature's belly seemed to connect to an entirely different plane of existence—absorbing the kinetic energy of a flying cannonball as if it were nothing! Jumping behind the second cannon, he heaved the carriage into position, targeting the King's broad chest this time. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. BOOM!

The heavy sphere tore through several more zombies before slamming directly into the King's massive, flabby breast. This time, the shot hit solid physical mass. The force obliterated his left breast entirely, spraying dark, corrupted fat splinters across the field. The impact left a massive, caved-in crater across his ribcage. Yet despite the devastating damage, the King had successfully absorbed the blow at a heavy physical cost. The excruciating pain snapped the King out of his feeding frenzy.

Gulping down one last zombie, he locked his gaze onto Li Qinwu and charged forward. Leaping behind the third gun, Li Qinwu aimed low and pulled the ignition. BOOM!! The iron ball struck the King's lower leg. Li Qinwu had hoped to tear the limb clean off to rob the beast of his mobility. Yet the creature's physical density was terrifyingly high. The solid shot slammed into his shin, only to ricochet off his dense bone as if hitting solid armor plate!

Still, the blow cost the King dearly—his lower leg was violently twisted 180 degrees backward, leaving his foot spun completely backward with the heel facing forward. The King of Gluttony let out a bloodcurdling shriek. It had been centuries since he had felt physical agony in a mortal vessel, and the shock snapped him back to full consciousness. Glaring at Li Qinwu with absolute malice, he delivered a violent horizontal sweep with his serrated cleaver, slicing all the surrounding zombies in half at the waist.

With the obstacles cleared, the King bent his posture low, hopping toward Li Qinwu on his one good leg like a giant, distorted, three-legged toad. Li Qinwu fired another cannon, but the King executed an agile hop, dodging the flying iron ball before continuing his rapid advance. Li Qinwu's eyes narrowed. Anyone could tell this creature was a high-tier transcendent entity. If he allowed the monster to breach the trenches, the Guard Regiment would suffer devastating casualties. I can't keep letting my boys bleed!

With a sharp burst of speed, Li Qinwu leaped straight over the timber barricade, wielding his greatsword as he charged head-on toward the King of Gluttony. The surrounding goblins froze in shock. The Boss is charging alone—should we follow?! Several veterans felt their blood run hot, eager to initiate a grand bayonet charge alongside their leader.

Selected from the finest troops to form the Guard Regiment, these veterans had heard the tales from the original Ten Companies of the Punitive Army—how courage, discipline, and cold steel could conquer any foe. They thought their moment had come. However, Gob-Spear—Li Qinwu's longest-serving subordinate—bellowed an immediate order: "Hold the line! No one moves! Keep firing at the trolls in the woods! Do NOT get in the Boss's way!!"

Gob-Spear understood all too well that the black mountain of meat was far beyond their ability to fight. Under these circumstances, staying out of the Boss's way was the greatest contribution they could make. Sprinting toward the King of Gluttony, Li Qinwu swung his greatsword in a devastating overhead arc aimed straight for the monster's head. DUANG! A violent recoil surged up Li Qinwu's arms, numbing his hands instantly.

To his horror, the edge of his +10 Sharpened greatsword chipped, failing to bite into the bone! He felt as though he had struck a block of solid forged steel—the impact nearly shattering the webbing between his thumbs and fingers! Before he could reset his stance, the King of Gluttony wrapped his massive, bloated arms around Li Qinwu in a blindingly fast bear hug. Digging his boots into the dirt, Li Qinwu threw himself backward just in time—narrowly dodging the lethal embrace!

If I got caught in that hug and shoved into that stomach void, I'd be re-spawning in another world for sure! The moment Li Qinwu regained his footing, the King hopped forward on his single good leg, snapping his stomach-maw shut in a violent bite. Rolling frantically to the side, Li Qinwu dodged the snap as the King slammed into the dirt, biting out a crater a meter wide where Li Qinwu had been standing a second prior.

Scrambling back to his feet, Li Qinwu rained heavy sword blows onto the King's bald skull, the metal clanging loudly like a blacksmith's hammer hitting an anvil. The monster's skull was denser than pure pig iron, completely impervious to blades. While the impacts rattled Li Qinwu's hand bones with searing pain, he realized there was nowhere else to strike. The stomach was a devouring void, and the rest of his body was composed of non-Newtonian fat that absorbed blows effortlessly.

The bald skull was literally his only targetable surface. Despite his grotesque physique, the King moved with unnatural speed. Li Qinwu found himself dancing on the edge of death, narrowly dodging the serrated cleaver several times. His sixth sense screamed frantically in his mind—one slip, one graze from that black monster, and he was a dead man! The last time he had felt such oppressive dread was during his duel against the Hero, Leon.

Shifting his weight to dodge another leap, Li Qinwu watched as the King crashed face-first into the dirt like a giant toad, biting another mouthful of mud. Before the monster could push himself back up, Li Qinwu lunged forward, driving his greatsword toward the King's intact ankle. That was the only spot on his body besides his head where the fat was thin. Li Qinwu wanted to see if he could destroy the monster's remaining leg. CLANG! The greatsword collided with the ankle joint.

Perhaps because the ankle lacked the unnatural density of his skull, the blade managed to bite ten centimeters deep into the flesh!

"AAAAAARRRRGH!!!" The King of Gluttony let out a agonizing shriek, swinging his cleaver backward in a wild arc. Li Qinwu tugged hard on the hilt, but the blade was jammed tight in the joint. Abandoning the sword without hesitation, he stepped back to dodge a wild swipe from the monster's bloated claw. Pulling a heavy hand-cannon from his spatial storage, he pointed the barrel straight at the King's grotesque black face and pulled the trigger. BOOM!

A dense cluster of lead shot blasted out at point-blank range, slamming straight into the King's face. While most of the shot bounced harmlessly off his facial fat, several pellets obliterated both of his eyes!

"AAAAAARRRRGH!!!" Eyes remained one of the most fragile organs in any living creature. Even in his empowered state, the monster's eyes could not withstand a point-blank blast from a hand-cannon. Dropping his serrated cleaver, the King of Gluttony clutched his bleeding sockets, thrashing wildly in pain. Li Qinwu pulled hand-cannon after hand-cannon from his storage, blasting the monster's face at close range, though the remaining shots were deflected by his massive, swinging arms.

After emptying his entire stock of ten hand-cannons without dealing further mortal damage, Li Qinwu pulled out a standard musket, feeling momentarily at a loss. If hand-cannons aren't working, a musket definitely won't do much... Just then, he noticed the King of Gluttony rolling onto his stomach to shield his wounded face, exposing his rear end squeezed tightly between two massive folds of fat. Li Qinwu's eyes narrowed into slits.

Fixing a +10 Sharpened bayonet onto the musket barrel, he took aim, lunged forward with all his strength, and drove the steel blade forty centimeters deep into the monster's rectum before pulling the trigger. BANG! A strike to pierce the stars! The King of Gluttony felt his severely constipated intestines instantly cleared—in the most literal, physical sense imaginable.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHH!!!" The King unleashed the most harrowing, blood-curdling shriek of his entire life. Scrambling to his feet, he flailed his giant arms frantically, trying to grab his tormentor. However, having lost his sight entirely, his blind swipes caught nothing but empty air. Backstepping to a safe distance, Li Qinwu wiped the sweat from his brow, marveling at how absurdly hard this bastard was to kill. Still... Reaching into his storage, Li Qinwu pulled out a heavy demolition charge.

After a second's thought, he pulled out two more, bundling them together into a three-in-one super pack before igniting the fuse. The thrashing King of Gluttony froze abruptly. A sudden, overwhelming sense of danger washed over him—a threat capable of destroying his physical host completely. If his body were destroyed before his soul could sever its connection, the backlash would cause permanent, irreversible damage to his true entity. I have to run!

Dropping onto all fours, the King of Gluttony scrambled toward the woods in a distorted, terrifying sprint. Though blind, his supernatural senses guided him away from the source of the deadly threat.

"Hey! Hey! You motherfucker!!" Li Qinwu stared in disbelief as the fuse on his super demolition charge burned down. How the hell is the target running away?! Sprinting after the beast, Li Qinwu tried to close the gap, but the King moved with terrifying speed on all fours, quickly leaving him in the dust—a musket barrel still swinging like a tail from his rear end. With the fuse about to hit the powder, Li Qinwu had no choice but to hurl the charge with all his strength.

The heavy demolition pack flew through the air, trailing smoke as it closed in on the deformed King. BOOM!! A massive cloud of smoke and dirt erupted, obscuring Li Qinwu's vision entirely. When the smoke finally cleared minutes later, a massive crater marked the earth. The King of Gluttony was nowhere to be seen. The remaining troll forces had likewise scattered into the depths of the forest—retreating as suddenly as they had arrived.