Chapter 78: Clash Between Monsters

Both man and beast stood a distance away from each other, glaring at their foes like an apex predator readying to snatch its prey. The air sharp and heavy as if their very presence could distort its flow as even before hitting with their fists, their towering mystic energies clashed in a brutal show of force.

Bang! The earth shook as if giants were fighting, stones and gravel flying about as it even pushed back the weaker amidst the scene.

"Oh heck, this uncle is even stronger than I thought, to think his strength is so absurd!" Leya said in shock as she saw Marius's body erupting with dense white mystic power that seemed to be one step higher than the Silverback Mystic Ape's.

"Indeed, he's far too strong, comparable to Famed Warrior; I can't believe no one's ever heard of him," Quon added from the side with similar surprise in his eyes.

If anyone amongst them didn't show much excitement, it was Illiak who still remained gloomy; he stared at the scene with his eyes shrouded by his hair as he murmured, "Power... is this his strength?" 

His eyes flickered as if thinking about something, but at this time, the fight between Marius and Silverback Mystic Ape had officially begun.

The ape blurred and vanished with a roar, using swift movement not fitting for its massive size; it appeared shortly after at Marius's side and swung its fist towards his tiny body.

While doing this, an illusion of a fierce ape appeared around its body, adding even more to the overwhelming force headed towards Marius.

"Oh no, that's its Raging Ape Fist, uncle, watch out!" Leya called out in alarm, but right as she finished her words, Marius had acted.

"Let's see who's stronger, Seven God Fist!"

Marius shouted as he channeled his Strengthen All skill into his Seven God Fist, striking a punch towards the Silverback Mystic Ape's fist. An illusionary fist appeared over his body, crashing into the impression of the ape around his foe.

Suddenly an explosive boom sounded as a heavy gush of wind erupted from their collision, the shockwave scattering for a few dozen meters as it pushed back Leya and the others even further.

A rippling clash of power scattered from both attacks as their fists tore through the illusory images and finally connected, creating another explosive boom of mystic power.

A crater formed with a bang before their energies faded, showing the man and beast that stood silently with their fist connected. Their eyes were sharp as they glared at each other as if assessing their foe's next move.

Leya's mouth opened wide at this; she was now lost for words, not only her, even Herculean who had now regained his focus, looked at the scene or rather, the familiar man in amazement.

"It's that guy... to think he was so strong."

Not caring about the other's views, Marius stood a step back as did the Silverback Mystic Ape, both distancing themselves by a few meters.

"You're a strong one, but not strong enough... come, show me your full strength," Marius said as he beckoned the ape.

Feeling irritated by Marius, the Silverback Mystic Ape gripped its fists tightly and gritted its teeth. A dominating power formed around it as it's arched its body backward taking in a large breath that seemed no different from a black hole's suction force.

Soon, it leaned its body forward with its massive head facing Marius, opening its mouth and roaring to releasing a rippling wave of silver-colored energy.

Marius's eyes narrowed at this; he felt that the attack was threatening, but he didn't want to dodge it; he stood his ground and crossed his arms over as his entire body tensed.

In moments, the energy wave released by the Silverback Mystic Ape had traversed the distance and swept by Marius at great speeds. The trees and boulders in its vicinity shattered to bits as if hit by a series of bombs. Even Marius felt as if he was being crushed from all directions.

"Everyone, stay near me, Mystic Barrier!"

Leya promptly shouted as she waved her staff, conjuring a barrier before them. Quon and Illiak naturally stood close to her, the energy wave that scattered finally arrived at their location, but as it had run out of power, the destruction caused was minimal as the barrier easily mitigated it.

"Is everyone okay?" Leya asked as she looked at the others.

Quon nodded and replied, "I'm fine, still that guy, he's able even to tank its fabled Earth-Shattering Roar."

Leya, whose attention now shifted towards the scene, agreed as she saw Marius standing tall with only a few injuries; she muttered, "This uncle really is a monster..."

Back within the battlefield, Marius looked at his slightly wounded body with excitement as he licked his lips; he couldn't help but speak in joy, "I've gotten injured, it's been such a long while, I'd have thought I couldn't bleed anymore. Still, I can see the limits of your strength; I suppose it's time we end this big guy."

The giant ape only grew more provoked at Marius's manner; it was a bit surprising that he survived its most powerful skill, but that didn't mean that it was going to give up. 

Roar! With another savage cry, it adopted the running posture with both arms on the ground once more. The earth was trembling because of its overwhelming mystic power that once again erupted from its body. In seconds, its fur skin began to shimmer like metal as it turned a shade darker.

Marius's eyes flickered at this as he thought, 'Oh, so that must be its Iron Furr skill, it looks like my fists won't be able to hurt it anymore, but... that's only my fist...'

Without another word, Marius raised his arm to the side, causing his battle-ax to appear; he spun it before holding its handle with both arms, his manner turning cold and icy as if he was ready to make a kill.

The Silverback Mystic Ape, having clad its entire body by its iron-like fur, smirked as if feeling confident that no one could harm it, even more so for the foe it tested in hand-to-hand combat.

Even though its foe took out a strange stick, it still didn't feel any threat to its life, as such, without another word, it charged again, kicking the ground with its legs to propel itself at blur-like speeds.

It vanished behind the foe with a whoosh, striking another of its Raging Ape Fist towards him in a violent manner. The wind grew chaotic due to its force, and it seemed that its foe was only one step from death, but sadly, it was mistaken.

Before the attack even arrived, Marius smiled and took a light step forward, his foot which touched the ground, sent out an invisible ripple as if what it touched wasn't the earth but a rippling lake.

In that instance, Marius vanished from sight as the ape's fist crashed into the ground, shattering everything within that few meter's range into rubble.

"OU?" The Silverback Mystic Ape uttered in confusion as it saw the crumbled earth before its eyes, the dust clearing away to reveal no corpse of the human, it tried to understand the situation, but it seemed that it would never get the chance.

As silent as a cat moving through the night, Marius charged towards the rear of the Silverback Mystic Ape, his steps leaving behind light ripples on the earth each time as his figure flickered and appeared from one location to the next.

Finally, he made a jump, arriving directly behind the neck of the clueless Silverback Mystic Ape, his eyes shining in a cold and ruthless light as he spun his body like a gig and chopped the shimmering edge of his battle-ax downward.

'Twisting Gale Swing!' Marius shouted at the core of his mind, his power erupting to its fullest, causing the already sharply gleaming edge to glow even brighter.

With a sharp cutting sound, the battle-ax cut across the neck of the Silverback Mystic Ape as a cyclone of savage and brutal winds swirled around its body before vanishing.

The Silverback Mystic Ape sensed a dangerous force, it was about to react, but before it could even take action, it saw Marius appeared at its side with his ax held downward.

"Ouu!" The Silverback Mystic Ape roared, prepared to strike him to death. It wanted to swing its arm with full strength but soon found that much to its dismay; it couldn't move its body. In fact, it felt as if it was disconnected from everything as its world spun upside down, showing its large frame in a third-person perspective.

With a thudding sound, the Silverback Mystic Ape's large head fell to the ground, surrounded by the pool of blood that came from its large corpse.

Marius stared at this coldly and smirked. He soon shook his head, regaining his usual mood as he cracked his joints and spoke, "Haha, now that was fun."

The others looked at him in shock, Herculean staring mostly in horror as if he had encountered a monster this world has never seen before.