Its razor-like claws were capable of cleaving mountains and severing rocks and were exceptionally sharp. Its roars produced roiling soundwaves as they shook the heavens and earth. It gave off an extremely horrifying and fearsome might throughout its being, as though a savage beast from primitive times.
Compared to it, ferocious tigers and lions were practically cute, little babies.
It was currently in an extremely perilous situation, however.
Dozens of adventurers had it surrounded on all sides. More than a dozen Warriors had formed a sturdy wall of defense and were holding off the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s attacks head-on. Each and every one of them was strong and valiant. They moved like lightning and leaped as high as birds in flight, jumping up and down and moving about incredibly swiftly.
Judging from their speed and intensity of attacks, they were at least Sixth-Grade or Seventh-Grade Warriors!
Behind these Warriors were five to six Magicians dressed in magician robes. With magic staffs in their hands, they chanted spell incantations and cast an unending stream of spells.
Swamp Rock Bullets, Meteor Rain of Fire, Vine Lances...
A barrage of spells bombarded the Titanic Dragon-Ape one after another as though they were free of charge to use. The attacks split its skin and flesh, drenching it in blood.
At the same time, a group of assassins fully wrapped in black robes weaved back and forth about the Titanic Dragon-Ape. They came and went like shadows, waiting for opportunities to launch ambushes to curb its movements from the sides.
Warriors!
Magicians!
Assassins!
As the three groups of people acted as one body and coordinated their movements with great rapport, they were actually overpowering the Titanic Dragon-Ape, despite the odds. As the Titanic Dragon-Ape faced attacks coming from all directions, despite being strong and powerful, the pitiful Ninth-Grade Magical Beast could only rely on its solid, robust body to passively endure the attacks, ending up completely at a disadvantage,
“That group of adventurers has such great rapport in their coordination!”
This was Meng Lei’s very first time witnessing a large-scale team battle like that, and his heart couldn’t help but be set afire with passion as he watched. A thrilling grand scene like this was much more exciting than any Hollywood visual effects blockbuster. It was simply so intense.
Warriors that met the enemy head-on!
Assassins that came and went like phantoms!
Magicians that fervently dealt damage!
Three parties as one body!
Total rapport in their coordination!
“A good man is hardly a match for multiple enemies, and a ferocious tiger fears the pack of wolves!”
Meng Lei let out an emotional sigh. “Even a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast has to yield when it’s up against a siege with so many people! As expected, there’s strength in numbers, and many hands make light work, indeed!”
“What nonsense!” Upon hearing Meng Lei’s comments, Ol’ Amos scoffed and said, “Brat, open your eyes wide and take a good look at what the true situation really is!”
“Uh...”
Meng Lei was taken aback. “Was I wrong to say that?”
“What you’ve noticed is just what’s on the surface!”
Ol’ Amos shook his head and said in contempt, “Most of the people in that group of adventurers only have sixth-grade to seventh-grade battle capabilities, and even the strongest among them is no more powerful than eighth-grade. Even if they have high numbers, they can still forget about killing a Titanic Dragon-Ape!
“You must understand that contained within the Titanic Dragon-Ape is the blood of our Dragon race, and it’s an outstanding presence among the Ninth-Grade Magical Beasts. It has incredible physical strength, peerless defenses, and can even fly. How can adventurers with that extent of ability rival it?”
Meng Lei frowned and argued, “That’s true, but the adventurers are clearly overpowering the Titanic Dragon-Ape by a lot!”
“No, wait! Doesn’t the Titanic Dragon-Ape have wings? Why isn’t it flying?
“If it flies into the sky and gains an aerial advantage, not only can it avoid the assassins’ ambushes, but it can also avoid some of the magic attacks. The adventurers’ advantage in numbers will be greatly reduced.
“Dammit, it’s so stupid that I can’t even bring myself to watch anymore.
“Why don’t you just goddamn fly...”
“Have you gotten an inkling of what’s wrong now?”
After he side-eyed Meng Lei, Ol’ Amos twisted his beard and explained with a smile, “It’s not that the Titanic Dragon-Ape isn’t feeling it today or that it’s stupid. Rather, it’s because... It can’t retreat.”
“It can’t retreat?”
Meng Lei stared blankly at him. “Ol’ President, why’s that?”
“Look carefully at its crotch.”
Ol’ Amos pointed at the area in between the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s legs.
Its crotch?
Puzzlement appeared on Meng Lei’s face. When he looked at the Titanic Dragon-Ape, he saw that the area between its legs was stained full of blood. Blood dripped from between its legs and almost dyed the ground red!
“You see it now?” asked Ol’ Amos as he stroked his beard with a smile.
“Ol’ President, has the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s butthole been violated?” Meng Lei was bewildered.
“Your butthole’s the one that’s been violated!”
Black lines filled Ol’ Amos’ face as he berated him furiously, “What the heck are you thinking about? Can you be more serious here?!”
“Uhh? Or maybe its balls have been cut off?” Meng Lei made another guess.
“Goddammit, you retard! That’s a female Dragon-Ape! How would it have any balls?!”
Ol’ Amos was fuming mad. He glared viciously at Meng Lei and snapped. “Open your eyes and take a good look behind the Titanic Dragon-Ape!”
“Behind it? Isn’t that a cave behind it?”
Meng Lei scratched his head. “That’s probably the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s den, right? What’s the deal about the den? Isn’t this very normal?”
“Your IQ is too low. I can’t communicate with you!”
Ol’ Amos was pretty mad, and he couldn’t be bothered to keep Meng Lei in suspense anymore. “That Titanic Dragon-Ape’s combat power has obviously dropped by a lot, and it’s weaker than even an ordinary Eighth-Grade Magical Beast now. Moreover, there’s blood at its crotch, and it’s also desperately guarding its den. The truth is already very clear and obvious by now—it has just given birth to its offspring...”
“Given birth?”
Meng Lei was dumbfounded for a moment. Then, he exclaimed in a low voice, “Ol’ President, are you saying that the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s combat power has dropped only because it has just given birth to its infant? That’s why it’s desperately guarding its den and keeping the adventurers from entering?”
“Yes!”
The old academy president nodded lightly and sighed as he fingered his beard. “A Titanic Dragon-Ape that’s in its usual state is strong enough to fight on equal grounds with an adult Dragon. How would those adventurers dare to encroach upon it?
“It’s only when it has just given birth and is in a weakened state that it would attract covetous attention from these adventurers. After all, this is a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast, as well as a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s infant. The temptation is too strong.”
“So that’s what it is.”
A huge jolt went through Meng Lei, and a look of realization flashed across his eyes. A Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s value didn’t need further explanation; just its magic core alone could already fetch a whopping dozen of millions of gold coins, not to mention a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s carcass.
In addition, it was highly probable that there was also a newborn infant here.
They could target both simultaneously because both held a fatal attraction toward adventurers!
Even Meng Lei’s heart was beating fast from temptation, much less the adventurers.
“A Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s carcass! And a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s infant!”
Meng Lei’s eyes lit up with a greenish glow, and his breathing gradually turned heavy. He muttered, “If I can wrest it from them and get my hands on it, I’ll definitely strike it rich...”
“What? Tempted?”
Ol’ Amos side-eyed Meng Lei and put a damper on his spirits. “Benefiting from a fight between two other parties is naturally a good idea, but you must be able to swallow the profits down first.”
Ol’ Amos pointed at a muscular man behind the adventurers and said with a smile, “That group of adventurers aside, just that guy alone is already someone whom you can’t compete with. He’s at least an Eighth-Grade Warrior.”
“Eighth-Grade...”
Meng Lei grimaced and looked at the man.
Behind all the adventurers stood a muscular man that wore silver armor and held a broadsword. He stood on the hillside and directed the adventurers from a high position, giving out commands.
It was evident that he was the leader of the group of adventurers.
“You see it now?” Ol’ Amos reminded him, “With that leader and that group of fairly strong high-grade adventurers, you won’t be able to swallow it.”
“I guess so.”
Meng Lei smiled and said no more. Then, he began to watch the battle seriously.
Just like what Ol’ Amos had said, the Titanic Dragon-Ape had indeed likely just given birth. Not only did it not have even 1/10 of its usual combat power, but it was also anxious about its infant in the cave behind it. As such, it could only take the attacks passively, totally at the mercy of the adventurers bombarding it with frenzied attacks.
In the beginning, it could still withstand the attacks by relying on its powerful defenses, but as time passed, the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s injuries became more and more serious, and it gradually exhausted its stamina...
The Titanic Dragon-Ape was rather close to falling now.
“Time for me to move!”
Chapter 72: Dragon-Ape Dies, Extreme Stupidity
Roar!
Its badly mangled body was drenched with dripping blood!
On the ground, blood converged into a stream!
The Titanic Dragon-Ape let out roar after roar, the aura around it as violent and ferocious as ever. However, its roars had already weakened to less than half of what they had initially been. Its arms swung about madly, but its movements had also slowed down by half a beat compared to before.
It was already riddled with injuries and utterly exhausted.
“Time for me to move!”
At this point, the adventurers’ calm and steady leader moved. As he raised his enormous sword, a dazzling red light rose around him and manifested into a suit of armor.
“Battle Aura Armor!”
Meng Lei’s eyes lit up. When Warriors cultivated Battle Aura, their Battle Aura could only circulate within their bodies in the beginning, and its might didn’t explicitly show. Only high-grade Warriors could bring out the true might of Battle Aura!
At seventh-grade, Battle Aura liquefied to bring enduring stamina.
At eighth-grade, Battle Aura manifested into armor to greatly improve one’s defenses.
At ninth-grade, Battle Aura manifested into wings to allow short periods of flight.
Different grades brought about different changes. The combat power levels were in completely different leagues!
The fact that the muscular man in front of them could exhibit Battle Aura Armor was enough to show his eighth-grade Warrior status. As for whether or not he was a Ninth-Grade Warrior, that was something that remained to be seen.
But no matter what, he was a strong enemy, regardless.
Battle Aura Armor... Now, that’s what a real Eighth-Grade Warrior is!
Meng Lei licked his lips, an unusual look flashing across his eyes. He could redeem Stat Attribute Points anytime to upgrade his body to the eighth-grade level so that it would become comparable to an Eighth-Grade Warrior’s.
However, he wasn’t a real Eighth-Grade Warrior!
This was because his Battle Aura cultivation was still too lacking, and his Fire Dragon Manual was still not up to standard yet. He could neither achieve Battle Aura liquefaction nor Battle Aura armor manifestation.
With just an eighth-grade body, he could only be considered a pseudo-Eighth-Grade Warrior at best.
But it’s alright! I’ll be able to do that one day, too!
Just as Meng Lei was lost in thought, Ol’ Amos beside him exclaimed softly, “Look! That guy’s about to make the kill!”
Meng Lei was quickly brought back to reality. He saw the adventurers’ leader transform into a red light streak that shot toward the Titanic Dragon-Ape. He moved lighting-quick and reached in a split second.
“Die, damned beast!”
As though a divine laser sword, dazzling red light suffused the huge sword in his hand. It slashed across the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s throat, and then, as a clear 'splurt” rang out...
Warm blood sprayed everywhere, and the furious roars came to a stop!
The Titanic Dragon-Ape instantly froze where it stood!
After achieving his objective with one strike, the adventurers’ leader swiftly shot backward and retreated. In just an instant, he’d returned to where he’d been standing at earlier. He gazed at the Titanic Dragon-Ape from above, a hint of excitement flashing across his eyes.
“Stop attacking!”
Whoosh!
The adventurers on the battlefield simultaneously halted their movements. Each and every one of them stared excitedly at the Titanic Dragon-Ape, whose throat had been slit with one sword slash. They wore agitated expressions and were delirious with joy!
“Hahaha!”
“We’ve succeeded! We’ve succeeded!”
“After so much trouble, we’ve finally done it!”
“Tsk, tsk, a Titanic Dragon-Ape! That’s the Ninth-Grade Magical Beast, Titanic Dragon-Ape, you know! We’re gonna be rich! Haha, we’re gonna be rich now!”
In contrast to the cheering adventurers, the Titanic Dragon-Ape had a look of grief on its face instead. It held its hand over its throat as best as it could, yet it simply couldn’t stop the blood gushing madly from its wound.
It turned to look at the den behind it, but it couldn’t utter even a mournful cry. All its cries turned into bloody bubbles mixed with blood that gushed out of its wound when they reached its throat.
“Ugh... ugh...”
The Titanic Dragon-Ape stretched its arms out and grabbed at its den from afar. Yet its arms, which had ripped apart tigers and leopards alive and cleaved mountains and severed rocks in the past, fell back down with a crash before it could even raise them.
Giving birth had exhausted too much of its strength, while the fierce battle had depleted all of its remaining energy. A single slash of the sword had also severed its very last bit of life force.
Drip, drip...
Tears filled the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s eyes, and it cried out mournfully a couple of times in the direction of its den. Then, it crashed onto the ground and lost all signs of life.
It had died and completely left this world! Even though it was clearly worried about its newborn child!
Now that it was dead, how was its child going to survive?
“The Titanic Dragon-Ape has died just like that?”
Upon seeing this, Meng Lei felt rather sad without any rhyme or reason. In the past, he’d felt absolutely nothing when he hunted Magical Beasts.
But at this moment, when he saw the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s various actions during its last moments, Meng Lei felt like something had moved his heart, and he felt rather sorrowful.
“When it comes to a parent’s deep love for their young, humans aren’t comparable to beasts.” Ol’ Amos sighed. “In this respect, all living things are equal.”
“That’s right.”
Meng Lei nodded silently.
At the other side...
When the adventurers saw the Titanic Dragon-Ape collapse and die, they cheered even harder and louder. With a big wave, the muscular leader declared, “My brothers, today, we have successfully killed the Titanic Dragon-Ape without suffering any casualties! This is a joyous occasion to be celebrated!
“However, we mustn’t forget that we’re in the depths of the Magical Beast Forest where high-grade Magical Beasts run amok, and other adventurers have their covetous eyes on us. This place can be said to be incredibly dangerous!
“This is especially true when we’d created a huge commotion with our battle just now and very likely attracted other adventurers here! Therefore, we must take absolute care to avoid being careless and indifferent to our surroundings!”
All the adventurers’ expressions sobered up, and they looked around warily. Just like what their captain had said, it wasn’t time to rejoice yet. Should they celebrate too soon and end up letting other adventurers reap the rewards of their efforts, that would be a tragedy.
“Heed my orders!” The muscular leader shouted, “The assassin team is in charge of keeping a lookout in the surroundings! Closely monitor every bit of activity in the surroundings within a radius of a few kilometers of where we are. Report to me at once if there’s any abnormal activity!”
“Understood!”
“The Warrior team is in charge of taking apart the Titanic Dragon-Ape! Ensure that you take it apart in the shortest amount of time while making sure that you do not damage any of the internal organs, especially its magic core! Ensure that you preserve it properly after digging it out!”
“Understood!”
“The few Magicians are to follow me. Everyone else, hurry and get to work!”
After the leader dismissed them with a wave, all the adventurers began to busy themselves with their respective tasks. Five to six Magicians walked up to the leader and followed him to the cave next to the waterfall.
“They’re going for the Titanic Dragon-Ape infant now.” Ol’ Amos looked at Meng Lei and asked mirthfully, “What are you going to do?
“A Ninth-Grade Magical Beast’s infant will grow up into a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast, you know. In fact, there’s a certain chance that it’ll evolve into a Saint Domain Magical Beast.”
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