Chapter 47: Collision Course

Chapter 47: Collision Course

The lava monkey didnt look aggressive or violent like the normal monkeys, but rather harmonious. Even if it seemed crazy, it really looked like he or she was meditating under the peculiar tree. It was quite picturesque, the red streaks of the monkey matching well with the crimson trunk.

The good news was that it looked like he found his Herald. The bad news was that he had no real idea on how to improve the odds in his favor. He saw no method to sneak up on it, as the dried husks of the vegetation on the field wouldnt provide enough cover.

He didnt dare use [Eye of Discernment] to see its level either, afraid it would notice him like the Imps. That it stayed in this forest with higher cosmic energy concentration, rather than in its natural habitat of the mountain peaks, was telling Zac that the monkey king possessed some sensibility for cosmic energy.

He debated whether he should charge in blind, or wait for a better opportunity. Finally he decided he had to go for it. Finding the Herald sitting by itself with no backup in sight could only be considered a perfect opportunity.

He also discarded the idea of creating crude traps as he had for Vul, the barghest herald. If this monkey could meditate it likely was too intelligent to run into spikes like an idiot.

The only question was whether this monkey was of roughly the same power as Vul or not. When the limiter was lifted at the turn of the month he had concluded that the beasts improved roughly 50% across the board.

He himself had improved far more than that though. When he fought Vul he had only 59 Strength, and now he was at 160. On top of that, his gear had improved considerably, and he already gained a class and improved pathways. He felt that even if he met an improved Vul today he wouldnt have to rely on traps to kill it, and it wouldnt be a desperate struggle either.

But the monkeys were far stronger compared to the barghest. Would the monkey Herald be far stronger compared to the barghest Herald as well?

There was only one way to find out. He slowly repositioned himself to arrive from the east, which would at least let him approach the back of the Herald. It might give him some time to close the distance before it could react.

He steeled his nerves and slowly ventured out of the protective cover of the foliage, and entered the dead zone surrounding the magical tree. He took great care not to step on any of the dried twigs or branches that covered the ground, not wanting to alert the monkey of his approach.

But even though he made no sound it seemed to be to no avail, as the monkey snorted and slowly got up on his feet. Zac held no hope that it was just a coincidence, and immediately pulled out two daggers out of his pouch and threw them at the monster in quick succession.

The monkey turned around in a lightning-quick manner, and with two casual swipes slapped the incoming daggers away into the ground. As the edges collided with its hands sparks flew, but no wounds could be seen. Zac wasnt surprised as the daggers were barely any use on the normal monkeys, let alone on this super-powered one.

Afterwards he gave up any idea of stealth and thundered straight toward the monkey, with his axe at the ready.

However Zacs every strike was overwhelming. He used every trick [Axe Mastery] had taught him and weaved a net of destruction with his axe. Marks started to appear on the monkey's hands, and it looked like it wouldnt be able to block his strikes forever. It was lucky as well as the edge of the axe was starting to shine with a red sheen from all the collisions as well. Not much longer and Zac feared that the inscriptions on it would be ruined, which meant that it wouldnt auto-repair any longer.

He also had pushed the Herald back toward the tree, and they were currently fighting under the white leaves.

The monkey became more agitated as they approached the trunk, and furiously fought to force Zac away from the tree. There clearly was something special about it, and the Herald didnt want to risk it getting damaged. The Monkey suddenly emitted a penetrating screech, its whole body lighting up.

It spat out a white-hot ball of magma straight at Zacs chest, forcing him to jump out of the way, and away from the tree. As he dodged he also saw that the lava spit wasnt the only thing that changed from that scream.

Like a scene out of a horror movie suddenly an endless number of bodies rose out of the ground, pushing the dried trees and bushes to the side. It wasnt zombies, but a vast number of stone monkeys, all looking larger and stronger compared to normal ones. With a quick glance he could make out at least 40 monkey captains among the reinforcement.

The monkeys had been lying dormant under the ground, and the roar called them to action to create a trap. He didnt know why it waited so long to unleash them, but he knew that he had run out of time. In just seconds he would be overrun with stone spears and boulders. He would have problems contending with just the monkey horde, but if he had to watch out for the spells from the Herald as well hed surely die.

A desperate idea grew in his mind, and he didnt have time to go through pros and cons before trying it out. He was currently two meters away from the tree trunk, and with an exaggerated roar he swung his axe in a horizontal swipe. As he did the familiar blade of [Chop] rapidly grew out, soon longer than he could stably maintain for any longer duration.

Cindermane screeched and hastily jumped to intercept the huge edge from cutting down the tree. Zacs premonition was correct, the tree truly held a great importance to the monkey.

The Herald couldnt properly grab the translucent edge with its awkward positioning, and the edge cut into its whole body horizontally across the chest. A deep grisly gash was carved onto its body, but its great Endurance prevented it from getting cut in two. It still was badly hurt and bled profusely as it fell down on the ground.

Just as he was about to finish it off with another swing a boulder slammed into him from the side. He fell over away from the Herald and he barely managed to get to his feet before another hit him again, forcing him even further away from the dying lava monkey.

Unreconciled he once again charged a great edge and swung it at the prone monkey king. But it still had some energy left and pushed itself out of the way.

He knew his window of opportunity had passed. Boulders and stalactites were approaching from all directions, and the only way to kill the Herald was a suicide dive. As he only needed to kill it for a quest he had no reason to die just to bring it down to hell with him.

Zac didnt hesitate and turned around to run. He could only hope the huge wound he inflicted upon it was lethal and that it would bleed to death. The lava monkey wouldnt have it though and used its last powers to shoot a few molten spikes his direction as well. Zac could only strike away what he could and endure the rest.

Just after a few seconds he had already gotten hit by another two boulders and was stabbed by three more stalactites. Then the army of monkeys was upon him.