Chapter 24: Titan Ape (Part 2)
ROOOAR!
A roar filled with dominance exploded throughout the mountains, shaking the very air for tens of meters around.
Heavy footsteps echoed from inside the cave and soon, a towering monster resembling an ape walked out.
The monster stood nearly five meters tall, its body covered in dark bronze-colored fur. Bulging muscles covered its massive frame, making it look as though it could shatter a giant boulder with a single punch.
Its crimson-red eyes were filled with killing intent, and chunks of flesh and blood were still stuck at the corners of its mouth, indicating that it had been eating when Crol disturbed it.
’To think there would be a Titan Ape inside this rift...’ William suppressed the shock in his heart and stared at the monster with narrowed eyes.
Not just in the Vermillion Realm, but even across many other realms, Titan Apes were considered one of the strongest monster species.
Their combat power could be said to be among the best within the same rank, and defeating one was an extremely difficult task.
’No wonder these people failed to take away the core of the Astral Rift in my previous life...’ William nodded in understanding as he saw Roran and Moru had already begun fighting the Titan Ape.
Bang!
The instant the Titan Ape emerged from the cave, it wasted no time and lunged toward Roran and Moru like a giant speeding truck.
"Watch out!" Roran shouted as a large shield immediately appeared in his hand.
He raised the shield in front of him and firmly planted his feet on the ground to withstand the impact.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as the Titan Ape’s fist smashed into the shield with all its might.
The ground within a five-meter radius sank before exploding, sending rocks and rubble flying in every direction.
Moru was blasted backward by the shockwave and crashed more than five meters away, rolling across the ground.
However, the one who suffered the most was Roran, who had taken the Titan Ape’s attack head-on.
The moment the punch landed, he felt as though his shield had been struck by an entire mountain.
His body slid backward nearly fifteen meters, leaving a long trench in the ground.
His arms almost snapped from the overwhelming force, and his internal organs shook violently, causing blood to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, the shield in his hand was an Uncommon-grade artifact that he had obtained from a Treasure Orb.
The shield could greatly weaken the impact of attacks from Star Warrior-level opponents and even reflect a portion of the damage back at the attacker.
It was because of this reflective effect that the Titan Ape staggered backward slightly instead of launching another attack immediately.
"Damn it! The Rift Core just had to be inside this monster’s cave..." Roran cursed angrily before immediately charging toward the Titan Ape.
As he rushed forward, the spikes protruding from his arms lengthened and transformed into razor-sharp blades.
"Moru, support me from behind!" Roran shouted as he arrived before the Titan Ape.
ROOOAR!
Seeing such a tiny creature dare to charge at it, the Titan Ape instantly flew into a rage and let out a thunderous roar.
Golden light gathered around both of its fists as it smashed them downward at Roran.
Seeing the gigantic fists descending toward him, Roran once again raised his shield to block the attack.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact drove Roran’s entire body into the ground, and a painful expression appeared on his face.
However, due to the shield’s reflective ability, the Titan Ape’s fists were also injured, causing it to pause for a brief moment.
Although every bone in his body ached, Roran gritted his teeth and slashed at the Titan Ape’s leg.
The blade protruding from his arm flashed with a cold gleam as it tore a deep gash into the monster’s thick flesh.
ROOOAR!
The Titan Ape roared in pain, and its eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
It was about to attack Roran again when, all of a sudden, an arrow streaked through the air and struck it directly in its left eye.
The attack came so suddenly that the Titan Ape had no time to react and the arrow pierced deep into its eye, instantly destroying it.
ROOOAR!
The Titan Ape roared in agony as blood gushed from its ruined eye.
"Good job, Moru!" Roran shouted excitedly before immediately launching another attack.
"Stupid..." William shook his head when he saw this, knowing very well that an injured Titan Ape was the most dangerous kind.
"Not only are Titan Apes naturally stronger than others of the same rank, but this one also seems to be at the middle stage of the Star Warrior Realm. There is no way these guys can defeat it."
William muttered under his breath as he saw a crimson aura begin pouring out from the Titan Ape’s massive body.
Roran continued slashing at the Titan Ape’s right leg, intending to cripple it so that it could no longer move.
However, he failed to notice that the more injuries the Titan Ape suffered, the denser the crimson aura surrounding it became.
Moru also continued firing arrows to harass the Titan Ape, but after catching it off guard with the first shot, he failed to inflict any meaningful damage.
Just then, Roran once again slashed at the Titan Ape’s leg, deepening the wound until even its bone became visible.
He was about to continue attacking when all of a sudden, a sense of crisis unlike anything he had ever experienced enveloped him.
ROOOAR!
A roar filled with boundless fury echoed throughout the surrounding mountains, reverberating for tens of kilometers.
The Titan Ape suddenly kicked Roran square in the chest.
Roran instinctively raised his shield to block the attack, but the force behind the kick was far greater than before and he was blasted nearly 20 meters away.
After blasting him away, Titan Ape paid him no further attention and instead, it instantly charged toward Moru—the one who had destroyed its eye.
Moru’s face turned pale with fear when he saw this and he immediately tried to flee.
However, despite the injury to its leg, the berserk Titan Ape was still far faster than him.
In the blink of an eye, it appeared directly before him.
ROOOAR!
The Titan Ape glared at the tiny creature before it with eyes burning with fury before throwing a punch with all its strength.
BOOM!
The massive fist struck Moru square in the chest.
His ribs shattered instantly, his lungs collapsed, and his body flew dozens of meters before crashing heavily onto the ground.
He struggled to stand several times, but not long afterward, the light faded from his eyes as his life aura disappeared.
"Damn it!" Roran cursed loudly when he saw that both of his companions were already out of the fight and without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and fled.
However, the Titan Ape had no intention of letting him escape so easily and immediately gave chase.
Seeing this, William also decided not to stay any longer.
As for taking advantage of the battle between Roran and the Titan Ape to ambush them, the thought never even crossed his mind.
The Titan Ape’s ability to grow stronger the angrier and more injured it became was an innate racial ability that merely consumed some of its Aether Energy.
It wasn’t like a Berserk Skill that left its user weakened once the effect ended.
Even after the ability wore off, the Titan Ape wouldn’t enter a weakened state.
With his current strength, William simply had no way of dealing with such a monster.
Just as he was about to retreat, he saw the Titan Ape catch up to the fleeing Roran and launch another attack.
’This guy is doomed,’ William thought to himself as he prepared to leave.
However, just then, he noticed something in Roran’s hand and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
