DipNovel Chapter 52: The Mighty Demon Ape
Chapter 52: The Mighty Demon Ape
On the seventh day in City 003, the Thunder Blade Squad rested in an abandoned shopping mall.
A week of intense hunting would leave even martial artists with superhuman physical abilities exhausted. Shenyang dozed off against the wall, Luo Fang checked the supplies in her backpack, and Leng Bao sat guard by the window, clutching her spear. Lin Zheng and Liu Xu sat side by side on the stairs, talking in hushed tones, occasionally punctuated by soft laughter.
Lin Yun sat alone on the top floor of the mall, maintaining maximum vigilance with his mental energy. This was his daily habit—no matter how tired he was, he had to ensure the safety of his surroundings.
Everything within a two-kilometer radius was within his perception. Several armored lizards of the beast soldier level crawled on the street, a flock of mutated crows circled on the rooftops in the distance, and further away, several even stronger auras emanated from them, probably beast general level. Everything seemed normal.
Then, he sensed something was wrong.
About twenty miles away, two extremely powerful auras were clashing. The intensity of that aura far exceeded that of any monster he had encountered before—not a high-level beast general, not a low-level lord, not even a mid-level lord.
A high-ranking lord. And not just any ordinary high-ranking lord.
Lin Yun suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.
"Captain!" He jumped down and came to Lin Zheng's side. "Twenty miles away, there are two high-level lord-class monsters fighting."
Everyone was stunned.
"High-level lords? Two of them?" Shenyang jumped up from the ground. "What kind of monsters?"
"I'm not sure yet." Lin Yun shook his head. "The distance is too far. I can only sense the intensity of the aura, not the type. But both auras are extremely powerful, no weaker than the Devouring Python I encountered before."
Lin Zheng frowned. Battles between high-level lord-class monsters were uncommon in the wilderness. Lord-class monsters possessed a certain level of intelligence and wouldn't easily risk their lives against opponents of the same level, unless it was a territorial dispute or some other special reason.
"Shall we go take a look?" Liu Xu asked Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Go and take a look. But don't get too close. Lin Yun, just observe with your mental power, don't act rashly."
"Understood." After saying that, Lin Yun jumped out of the window.
In mid-air, a battle blade suddenly flew from his waist and landed steadily at his feet. Lin Yun stepped onto the blade and, like an arrow released from a bow, flew towards the direction of the two auras. The speed at which a mentalist could fly using objects was extremely fast; in the blink of an eye, he disappeared behind the buildings.
Shenyang watched Lin Yun's disappearing figure, his eyes filled with envy: "As expected, mentalists are really powerful. This dangerous city is like their backyard to them."
"Don't be envious." Luo Fang patted his shoulder. "You can't have talent by envying it."
Looking in the direction where Lin Yun disappeared, Liu Xu whispered, "He's getting stronger and stronger."
Lin Zheng remained silent, but a complex emotion flickered in his eyes. A fifteen-year-old advanced War God-level mentalist, the third level of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, with incredibly precise movement techniques—such a genius was destined not to stay in Yangzhou City for long. The elite training camp was where he belonged.
Lin Yun stopped a few miles away from the battlefield.
He found a tall building with a wide view, landed on the roof, concealed his aura, squatted behind the railing, concentrated his mental energy to the extreme, and carefully observed the situation in front of him.
Two enormous creatures are engaged in a fierce battle in a ruined square.
On the left was a gigantic ape, entirely black, standing over ten meters tall, its body covered in black, needle-like fur. Its arms were as thick as tree trunks, and its fists as large as millstones. Its eyes were blood red, filled with savagery and madness, and every roar it let out made the surrounding buildings tremble.
Mighty Demon Ape. One of the top ape-type lord monsters, only comparable to the Golden Ape. It possesses immense strength and extremely strong defense; a single punch from it is enough to collapse a building.
The one on the right is a giant python covered in iridescent scales, over thirty meters long, with a body as thick as a bucket, and a row of venomous spines on its triangular head. Its scales shimmer with iridescent light in the sunlight, dazzlingly beautiful, yet terrifyingly deadly.
The Seven-Colored Venomous Python. A terrifying creature ranking among the top of all snake monsters, its most deadly aspect being its venom. Even high-level human martial artists, those at the level of advanced war gods, would find it nearly impossible to survive if their venom entered their bodies.
Two high-level lord-class monsters are fighting each other in a near-frenzied manner.
The Mighty Demon Ape, possessing the advantage in strength, delivered each punch with terrifying force, striking the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python with dull thuds. However, the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python's body was extremely flexible, and most of the force was absorbed by its muscles and scales. It slithered around under the Mighty Demon Ape's fists, looking for an opportunity to attack with its venomous fangs.
"Why did they start fighting?" Lin Yun wondered.
Lord-level monsters possess a certain level of intelligence and won't easily fight to the death with opponents of the same level. Neither the Mighty Demon Ape nor the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python are particularly territorial monsters; their activity ranges often overlap, and conflicts are rare. Such a relentless, fight to the death must have a special reason.
Lin Yun continued to observe.
The Seven-Colored Poisonous Python's attack method was very clever. It knew that its fangs would have difficulty biting through the Mighty Demon Ape's thick fur, so it kept trying to wrap its body around the ape. As long as it could wrap the ape around, the ape, despite its immense strength, would be unable to use its abilities, and then its fangs would find an opportunity to pierce its vitals.
The Mighty Demon Ape was clearly aware of this, so it kept its distance, attacking with its fists and projectiles to prevent the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python from getting close.
The battle between the two behemoths grew increasingly fierce. The Mighty Demon Ape grabbed a massive block of concrete and hurled it at the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python. The Seven-Colored Poisonous Python nimbly dodged, and the concrete block crashed to the ground, creating a huge crater. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python lunged forward, opening its massive maw, and a thick cloud of purple poisonous mist spewed from its fangs, enveloping the Mighty Demon Ape's head.
The mighty ape roared angrily, waving its hands to disperse the poisonous mist. However, its eyes were clearly irritated, began to tear, and its vision deteriorated. The seven-colored venomous python seized the opportunity, its body coiling tightly around the mighty ape's torso, one circle, two circles, three circles... its thick snake body constricting the mighty ape more and more tightly.
The mighty ape struggled desperately, grabbing the snake's body with both hands, trying to tear it away. But the seven-colored venomous python was also quite strong, and its scales were extremely smooth, making it impossible for the mighty ape's fingers to grip it.
The two colossal beasts locked in combat, the earth trembled, and surrounding buildings collapsed. Blood gushed from their wounds, staining large patches of ground red, but neither showed any sign of backing down.
Lin Yun squatted on the rooftop, calmly watching everything unfold.
"Fight, fight." He felt no pity whatsoever, but rather a sense of anticipation. "The harder you fight, the better. I'll make my move once you're both severely injured."
Monsters are humanity's mortal enemies. During the Great Nirvana, countless humans perished at the hands of monsters. Now, humanity has retreated to base cities, and the wilderness has become a monster's paradise. Every monster's death means a tiny expansion of humanity's living space. He feels no pity for any monster.
Moreover, the materials from each of the two high-level lord-class monsters are worth at least 20 billion. If we can capture them both, the income from this trip will double.
But Lin Yun didn't rush to attack. High-level lord-level monsters weren't easy to deal with. In the battle against the Devouring Python, he had almost exhausted all his mental energy and even used a soul attack to barely win. Now, there were two in front of him, both formidable opponents that were no weaker than the Devouring Python. If he rashly attacked, he might very well get himself killed.
"No rush," Lin Yun told himself. "Wait until they've exhausted themselves and are both seriously injured before I make my move. Ideally, one should die and the other should be severely injured; that would be perfect."
He continued to observe, while also beginning to ponder another question—why were these two monsters fighting so desperately?
Neither the Mighty Demon Ape nor the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python are the type to fight to the death for territory. There must be a reason more important than territory that could drive them to such a fight.
Lin Yun shifted his gaze from the battlefield to his surroundings.
This area, which should have been a park, is now a mess. Fallen trees, churned soil, shattered sculptures... Deep inside the park, Lin Yun noticed a wall made of concrete rubble. The wall wasn't high, only a few meters, but it was enough to block the view of a monster of that size.
"That is..." Lin Yun's mental energy probed into the interior of the wall.
Inside the walled area was a modified zone. In the center was a low mountain, several tens of meters high, with a huge opening in its body. Outside the opening stood two smaller monsters—also lord-level, but their auras were much weaker than the two fighting each other; they were probably low-level lords.
Inside the cave, Lin Yun's mental energy detected even more signs of life: a powerful demonic ape, slightly smaller than the one outside, and... a newborn demonic ape.
Lin Yun's pupils contracted slightly.
"I see."
The mighty ape outside is male, the one inside the cave is female, and there's also the cub—that's its family. The seven-colored venomous python has invaded its territory, threatening its mate and cub. That's why it's fighting desperately, sparing no effort to drive away the intruder. This isn't a territorial dispute, but rather protecting its family.
Lin Yun's gaze fell on the two low-level lord-level monsters at the cave entrance. They were the Mighty Demon Ape's "subordinates," responsible for guarding the nest. They didn't go to help because their task wasn't to fight, but to protect the females and cubs inside the cave.
"Interesting." Lin Yun's lips curled up slightly.
He had no intention of harming the cub. Not out of pity, but because there was no need. Apes are mammals, born with the scent of their parents, making them impossible to tame, while oviparous creatures can be domesticated.
His target was the two high-ranking lords who were fighting each other. As for what was in the lair, if the Mighty Demon Ape won, he wouldn't need to provoke it; if the Mighty Demon Ape lost, he would consider it later.
The situation on the battlefield remains deadlocked.
The Mighty Demon Ape clearly had the upper hand in strength, but the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python's venom and constricting techniques made it very uncomfortable. Both giant beasts were injured. The Mighty Demon Ape had several cuts on its arm from its venomous fangs, and purple venom was corroding its muscles. Several of the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python's scales were smashed, and it was covered in blood. There were several obvious dents on its body, indicating that its bones were also injured.
But none of them retreated.
The Mighty Demon Ape couldn't retreat; retreating meant the death of its wife and children. The Seven-Colored Poisonous Python seemed unwilling to retreat either. Lin Yun didn't understand why it was attacking the Mighty Demon Ape's lair, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that they would keep fighting until one fell.
Lin Yun took out a water bottle from his backpack, took a sip of water, and adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable squatting.
This is destined to be a long wait.
An hour has passed.
Two hours have passed.
Three hours have passed.
The battle between the two colossal beasts raged from the plaza to the street, from the street to the park, and back again. A large portion of the surrounding buildings were destroyed, and the ground was riddled with craters. The Mighty Demon Ape's stamina was clearly waning; its movements slowed, and its breathing became heavier. The Seven-Colored Poisonous Python fared no better; it suffered multiple fractures, its movements were less agile, and the frequency of its venom spray had decreased significantly.
But the game is still undecided.
Lin Yun glanced at the sky; the sun was already beginning to set. If they didn't determine a winner before nightfall, he would have to make a choice—either risk taking action or give up.
He didn't want to give up. Two high-ranking lords—the opportunity was too rare to come by.