Chapter 42 - 41

'This guy’s seriously trying to piss me off!!' I instantly concluded upon seeing the Gigarillon’s smile.

Of course, for the other apes, they were all probably thinking that this was just something normal. After all, it was clear to see that these guys were now quite used to it which means that this practice had already been ingrained into their primitive culture. Unfortunately, it was different for me. Because obviously, being a former human and all, there was no way I could ever accept being reduced into a mere steed. The problem was, it seemed like the Gigarillon had also taken notice of that and was deliberately using that to set me off.

'Fine, if you think you can make me obey, you can go ahead try!!' I swore internally while letting out a growl.

After noticing our presence, the apes began lining up to the side probably to make way for the two high-ranking monsters. Then, after all the monsters had properly lined up, the Tronobo and Pronobo brought me in front of the Gigarillon before bowing down.

With a smug smile plastered on its face, the Gigarillon stared straight at my eyes with a mixture of amus.e.m.e.nt and curiosity. And seeing that, even I was forced to admit that the monster standing in front of me was indeed someone special. In fact, I would even dare say that this guy had some vast amount of experience. Though of course, this only made my situation even more precarious.

For a while, the Gigarillon and I stared each other down. But upon sensing that I wouldn’t back down, the Gigarillon gestured to the apes to start the preparation. Following the Gigarillon’s command, the Tronobo brought me to the center of the balcony-like area. Then as if trying to imitate the fighting ring from before, the apes surrounded us with a rough circular-like position. Though this time, the monsters used their very own body in replacement for the logs. And because there were only a few of them here, they only managed to make a single line.

Honestly, even I was surprised by the dedication of the apes. I mean, seriously, they were even willing to use themselves as the replacement for the ring without any fear nor hesitation. Though I guess these guys were just that confident about their ability, after all, every single one of them was a Banobo and they were all probably handpicked by the Gigarillon himself.

While the Tronobo was still busy removing my bounds, I cautiously gazed around. 'Well, looks like there really is no escaping from here.' Was my conclusion.

Clearly, with all these strong monsters surrounding me, it was pretty much impossible to make a successful escape. And even if I somehow managed to, I still needed to go down this gigantic tree, which was swarming with apes. Besides that, since the Gigarillon was here, that option has been pretty much doomed to fail.

'But seriously, making this area as the arena to force monsters into submission is truly clever. Most likely, this is the idea of that Gigarillon.'

Logically speaking, this place was probably chosen as a way to make it hard for any monster to escape. After all, there wasn’t any option besides going through the swarm of apes living in this tree. And because the location was also high up in the tree, jumping off the balcony would only lead to certain death. Besides, pretty much every ape would have the advantage if they fought up in a tree. Furthermore, being that the monsters could freely move at this height, that would mean that their fighters could easily respond in case of emergency. More than that, they could also evacuate the non-combatants if they wanted to. So clearly, this was an amazingly clever idea for a monster.

'Seriously, what is up with this monster.' I couldn’t help but wonder.

It was then that the Tronobo had finished removing my bounds. Immediately after that, a Banobo stepped in at the center of the ring. But from what I could tell, unlike the other Banobo’s around, this one was way weaker than them. Probably, this guy was just a candidate and this event was a ritual to prove his capabilities as a rider. And based on the vines that the Banobo was holding, it was painfully obvious that he would try to make me submit using that. Most likely, just like the Hellhounds, I saw that day, this Banobo would attempt to bound my mouth then control my movements using that. Though, for now…

'Hey, hey, hey. What’s this huh? Why that newbie? Are you guys underestimating me?'

Obviously, it didn’t sit well with me that the Gigarillon sent this newbie to fight me. And even though this might just be how they usually did this; I simply didn’t really care. After all, I even managed to injure their King in a fight, so I at least expect that they would have acknowledged my strength. But sending this newbie? Really?

'Since you guys send this newbie here, then I assume I am free to kill him, right? After all, this is still a battle between monsters.' I internally asked while looking at Gigarillon’s direction. Though naturally, the Gigarillon simply stared at me curiously which means my question failed to come across.

Well, it didn’t really matter to me if the Gigarillon understood or not. After all, all I had to do was win against this Banobo and show these monsters that they wouldn’t be able to make me submit.

But don’t get me wrong, even though this Banobo was truly weaker than the others, it wasn’t as if I was underestimating the monster. Because in truth, based on my observations, a single Banobo was about at the same level of power as my current race; a Great Wolf. So, in a sense, beating even just one of them would take some time and effort on my part. And of course, that very same logic also could also be applied to this Banobo. That was why obviously, I fully intended to give it my all and I also wouldn’t let my guard down.

With that in mind, I began feeling my body up to check on my overall condition. Unfortunately, it seemed like my body hadn't fully recovered yet and I estimated that at best, I could only fight in full strength within five minutes. So, naturally, I would have to win this fight fast and swiftly.

Upon gazing upfront, I saw the Banobo standing there looking calm and collected. Though of course, I could easily tell that it was just a front. Because unfortunately for him, my senses were now in sync more than ever before. Particularly my sense of smell.

Before, because of how s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e my sense of smell was, I always felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of odors it could detect all at once. Furthermore, my memories as a normal wolf weren’t even helping because it was just too short to completely master it. Of course, I could still isolate some odors I recognized, and that was how I went on up until now. But now, after fighting different monsters and living through all of it, I slowly gained enough experience to recognize those unknown odors. To be more specific, it seemed like those unknown odors that I hadn’t recognized before were actually the intense emotions being produced by the living beings near my vicinity. And from what I could smell, these Banobo in front of me were most definitely nervous. For now, it still hadn’t evolved into fear yet, but I could at least capitalize on that.

Being that I needed to conserve my strength, I cautiously waited for the Banobo to attack. Probably sensing that, the Banobo decided to make the first move.

Using the range of the vine in its hands, the Banobo lashed out. But because the vines weren’t long enough, all I had to do to dodge the attack was to move around the Banobo while keeping a certain distance. Though of course, being that I only had a limited time to use my full strength, I avoided keeping Haste on. Instead, I only activated it once in a while using it as a means to have a sudden boost of speed. And to hide my top speed, I accelerated at random rates which in turn confused the Banobo even more.

Of course, in a logical sense, that decision wasn’t actually a bad one. After all, I wouldn’t be able to run away from the Banobo using my current tactic. But unfortunately for the Banobo, this was in fact my aim from the very beginning.

Without moving an inch, I silently activated Haste. Then when I was almost within the Banobo’s reach, I suddenly charged forward in full speed. And in that same moment, an intense scent of shock entered my nose.

Immediately upon sensing the Banobo’s hesitation, I released all my bloodl.u.s.t without holding back. And as a result of receiving the full brunt of my killing intent, the Banobo momentarily recoiled giving me enough time to topple the monster down.