Instead of trying to lumber forward to swing his axe at the Rat King's body, Hugh swung his axe over his head and slammed it into the ground with the blunt side of the head first.
The axe struck the ground with enough force to send a tiny earthquake over to the Rat King, destabilizing it and disrupting its concentration. Although it wasn't enough to dispel the meteor, it forced the Rat King to choose between using its mana to continue attacking or repairing the ground it stood on.
Hugh hadn't seen the Rat King when it crossed the wasteland and how it skillfully repaired any cracks and fractures wherever it walked. But it was obvious that the Scorched Earth Rat King could wield the earth attribute with proficiency, and it would be better to assume the Rat King wouldn't be stopped by something so simple as uneven ground.