The moment the Six-Armed Mountain Ape King roared, the battlefield trembled like a living beast waking from its slumber. Dust spiraled into the air, trees shook violently, and the corpses of its fallen kin scattered beneath its massive, stamping feet.
Rylan's grip tightened around his spear.
He knew this creature.
He knew its rank.
And most dangerously—
he knew this monster was only a hair weaker than him.
In a one-on-one fight, he could win.
But with Lisa hidden nearby?
He had no choice.
He needed to kill the beast fast.
As the Clash Begins
Rylan charged, spear raised.
The ape king thrashed all six arms in response, pounding its enormous chest like a drum of war. Its roar boomed through the valley, cracking nearby rocks.
Rylan released his skill immediately:
"Earth Totem Spirit Skill — Hundred Spear Slash!"
A storm of spear shadows exploded toward the ape king, hundreds of glowing, earth-colored blades raining down like a divine punishment.
But the ape king merely opened its jaws—
—and spat a dark wave of corrupted energy wave
The wave collided with the spear shadows with a thunderous BOOOOOOM!
The impact ripped apart the ground.
Trees were cut into clean slices.
Rocks shattered like brittle eggs.
Lisa, crouching behind her bushes, screamed silently and ducked lower as the shockwave threw pebbles and broken bark everywhere around her.
This wasn't a normal fight.
It was like watching two superpowered monsters from an anime blasting worlds apart.
Rylan hissed when the attack dissipated without harming the ape king. His technique hadn't pierced through the monster's corrupted energy.
Not good.
The ape king wasn't waiting.
With impossible speed for its size, it lunged. A shadow fell over Rylan—six enormous fists ready to crush him into the earth.
Rylan jumped, flipping backward through the air. The ape king's fists slammed the ground—
CRAAAACK!
A massive crater formed instantly. The shock was so great Lisa grabbed the ground to keep from rolling out of hiding.
The ape king roared in rage.
Rylan's eyes glowed with battle light.
His lips curled into a sharp, fearless smile.
"Not strong enough," he muttered.
Mid-air, still falling, he twisted his body and dove straight down like a spear himself, slamming his heel into the ape king's chest.
THUUM!
The beast stumbled back several steps, smashing through a tree.
But only enraged further.
Corrosive Black Flame
The ape king roared again, and this time—
one of its right hands ignited in a swirling mass of black fire.
Lisa's heart nearly stopped.
Rylan's eyes widened too.
"So you've awakened corrosive black flame…" he muttered. "You bastard, you're really trying to evolve into Earth Rank Peak…"
That meant only one thing.
The old monarch of the apes—the true Sky Realm ancestor—must be somewhere nearby.
Rylan's killing intent sharpened like a blade.
"I must kill you before that thing awakens."
The six-armed king hurled the black flame.
Rylan dodged, body twisting like a leaf in the wind, but the flame crashed into a rock behind him—
SSSSSSHHHHHHHH!
The stone melted instantly, turning into glowing liquid chunks.
Lisa's stomach lurched.
"That fire… melts rock… what kind of nightmare flame is that?!"
The system vibrated with panic.
[Warning! Host, do not get hit by that. You will evaporate. Literally.]
"No one asked you!" she hissed.
Rylan landed on his feet with a heavy thud.
Enough playing.
CRASH!
Spear slammed into muscular arms.
The two monsters—one human, one beast—clashed with earth-splitting force.
Each time Rylan struck, a shockwave rippled outward.
Each time the ape king punched, the ground caved beneath its feet.
Lisa trembled.
It was impossible to tell who was winning.
A punch from the king grazed Rylan's chest, sending him skidding backward, blood spraying from his lips.
But Rylan only wiped his mouth and smirked cruelly.
"That all you've got?"
The ape king's eyes burned with fury.
It raised all six arms together—forming a killing blow strong enough to crush a hill.
Rylan didn't dodge.
Instead—
He slammed the butt of his spear into the ground.
"EARTH SPIRIT SKILL — Quick-Mud Trap!"
GURGRGRGRGRGR—!!!
The ground beneath the ape king turned into soft, sucking mud, gobbling up its legs instantly. The beast roared, thrashing violently as the swamp-like earth pulled at its massive frame.
Rylan's eyes flashed.
"Struggle all you want. You're not escaping."
The other apes shrieked in panic as the mud expanded, swallowing nearly fifty smaller beasts whole. They sank screaming, disappearing into the earth.
Lisa gagged behind her bushes at the horrific sight.
"This… this is beyond brutal…"
Rylan didn't look away once.
His killing intent was cold, steady, absolute.
With the ape king trapped, Rylan lifted his spear high above his head. Earth energy surged upward, the entire valley's ground trembling under the pressure.
The spear glowed intensely.
Lisa could barely breathe as she watched the weapon transform.
The spear stretched, expanded, and morphed until it became a giant stone pillar, towering nearly a hundred meters tall, shimmering with earth-element runes.
"EARTH SPIRIT SKILL —
MOUNTAIN SPEAR!!!"
Rylan threw it with all his strength.
The world seemed to split in half as the colossal stone spear tore through the sky, screaming downward toward the trapped ape king.
The ape king's eyes widened—
for the first time, fear flickered.
It conjured its corrosive black flame, covering its hands, forming a protective barrier of swirling death.
The Mountain Spear hit.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion was so violent Lisa fell flat on the ground, covering her head. The shockwave uprooted trees. Rocks blasted into fragments. Dust filled the skies like a sandstorm.
When the cloud finally thinned…
Lisa gasped.
The ape king still lived—
but barely.
One of its eyes had been pierced clean out. Black flames flickered weakly across its arms. Half its face was charred. Its breathing was ragged, guttural.
And most importantly—
More than sixty percent of the ape army had been destroyed.
The surviving apes trembled in terror, stepping away from Rylan.
But the king did not retreat.
Madness replaced its earlier calculation.
It beat its chest, letting out a thunderous, wounded roar. The sound held fury, pain, and pure hatred.
Then suddenly—
Its gaze shifted.
Straight toward Lisa's hiding place.
Lisa froze.
Her heart stopped.
No…
No no no no—
The ape king snarled, roaring commands.
The remaining thirty apes screeched in response.
And then—
They turned and sprinted directly toward Lisa.
Rylan's head whipped around.
His face transformed into pure, murderous rage.
"DON'T YOU DARE."