Arthur turned his head in the direction the woman”s gaze and there before him stood the giant that he had heard so much about during the past few days. It stood almost 20 feet off the ground and carried a club bigger than Arthur himself. The stench of rotting human corpses emanated from its disgusting body and insects of every sort imaginable crawled freely through its hair and under its skin. Arthur stood motionless, stunned for a moment by the unbelievable hideousness of the creature.
“How could a God who created the beauty of things such as the forests and mountains also be responsible for creating such filth?” thought Arthur. He then put his hand on his sword and grasped it tightly. Was this giant more than he could handle? Would his pride and honor lead him to his death? If Merlin was right, and God was not on his side, how could he expect to win this fight? Arthur”s stomach began to churn as all these thoughts flew through his mind and he clenched Excalibur even tighter. The giant was carrying the bodies of twelve peasants on its back. The sight of the dead men and women the giant had so mercilessly killed enraged Arthur. This beast would pay dearly for its crimes if he had anything to do with it.
“May great God in heaven, who rules the world, give you a short life and shameful death! Surely you are the most foul fiend that was ever formed! Guard yourself, you dog, and prepare to die, for this day my hands will kill you!” exclaimed Arthur.
The giant answered Arthur by raising its massive club and swinging it at him. Arthur could feel a gust of wind blow against him as the tree-sized club whipped through the air towards him. He raised his shield with his head covered in an attempt to block the giants blow. This was the worst part of fighting for Arthur, not being able to see what was happening, he would have to leave his fate up to God.
The blow came quickly, completely jolting and stunning Arthur and shattering his shield into sawdust, but at least he was still alive. If God was to forsake him, today was not the day He did so. Arthur”s strength and confidence grew after he survived the first blow for he believed God would protect him tonight. As the giant bent down to grab him, Arthur unsheathed Excalibur and sliced open the giant”s forehead. Pools of blood drenched its head preventing it from being able to see. The giant, who had never experienced any serious opposition before, started to panic. In wild frenzy it grabbed at the ground and managed to scoop up Arthur in its hands attempting to crush him, but in its state of panic, the giant was no match for Arthur who quickly broke free of its grasp.
“Peace to you my lord!” the giant screamed. “Who are you that fights so skillfully with me? Only Arthur, the most noble of all kings, could defeat me in combat!”
“I am that Arthur of whom you speak,” replied Arthur. Not having any pity for the disgusting giant, Arthur ignored the giants plea and began to hack the wounded monster to pieces as it itself had done to so many of the peasants. The giant could only scream in agony as it was mutilated for it could not see and therefore could not defend itself. After the giant had been killed, Arthur instructed Sir Kay to chop off its head.
