This Lion Python Ferocious Beast is likely at the second tier, stronger than the Black Ant Ferocious Beast, yielding more meat as well. It took the Giant Ape over half an hour to finish off one.
Once it had eaten everything, the black Giant Ape, now grown to 6.7 meters, slightly parted its massive mouth, revealing two rows of ferocious teeth. Then it moved its steps, continuing to search for traces of the serpentine path, soon making a new discovery.
Amid the black tree roots curling around the rubble, a 14-meter-long, bloated grey Lion Python suddenly raised its head. Its grey serpent eyes glared fiercely into the distance, where a massive black Giant Ape slowly emerged.
"Ruins." The Giant Ape, paying no heed to the Lion Python, glanced at the stones scattered all around.
These stones were about three meters square, dark cyan in color, with mysterious patterns etched on the surface, exuding an intangible sense of repression.
In an unknown past era, this Stone Tower must have served to suppress something.
Hiss!
At the moment the black Giant Ape was distracted, the Lion Python Ferocious Beast's eyes flared with ferocity, its scales quivering as its form transformed into a twisted grey shadow hurtling forward.
The Lion Python moved swiftly, only slightly slower than the black Giant Ape, covering over a hundred meters in a blink at a speed of more than forty meters a second.
As it closed in just tens of meters from the Giant Ape, the Lion Python Ferocious Beast leapt, opening its massive mouth wide, revealing razor-sharp fangs aiming straight for the Giant Ape's neck.
Simultaneously, its massive body coiled, ready to wrap and crush the prey's bones the instant it was bitten.
But what awaited the Lion Python was a black fist like a cannonball, brutally powerful, blasting the air as it smashed into its head.
Bang!
Under the violent force, the ferocious beast's forehead caved in, eyes burst, and its massive form was sent flying with a single punch.
Roar!
Just as the Lion Python hit the ground, a shadow soared down from above, with a heavy foot stomping onto its tail. As the Lion Python instinctively tried to flip and devour, its body was seized by a pair of enormous hands.
Rip!
Scales shattered, the python's skin torn apart, as the ferocious beast's body was ripped in two by the black Giant Ape, its innards and blood spilling out, a thick stench permeating the air.
Roar! Holding the two halves of the ferocious beast's corpse, the black Giant Ape howled to the sky, exuding a vicious aura.
Half an hour later, having devoured the Lion Python Ferocious Beast, the black Giant Ape expanded again, reaching 6.8 meters, appearing even more robust.
As its power grew, Jiang Hou increasingly felt that the passive talent of devouring evolution was somewhat exaggerated.
But the more exaggerated, the better.
The black Giant Ape gave a sinister smile, bent its legs slightly, and with a thud jumped onto a large tree, disappearing into the forest's black mist with a few leaps.
Compared to the ruins, eating was more crucial.
But unlike the swarms of Black Ant Ferocious Beasts that appeared at once, these more powerful Lion Python Ferocious Beasts were quite scarce.
Over the next three hours, traversing over twenty kilometers, the Giant Ape only encountered five Lion Python Ferocious Beasts. After killing and devouring them, its body grew significantly larger.
Then, there were no more.
Perched on the branch of a towering two-hundred-meter-high tree, the black Giant Ape, now grown to 7.3 meters, gazed at the towering cliff ahead, falling into silence.
The left side of the forest was bordered by a bottomless chasm abyss, while the right was blocked by a towering black cliff that seemed to cut through the sky.
The cliff was sheer, as if sliced by a blade, and upon nearing it, the black Giant Ape inexplicably felt an invisible pressure.
Woosh!
The Giant Ape exhaled a gust of foul, hot air, turning to look deeper into the forest, where intertwining towering trees of various heights formed distorted branches, resembling demon claws under the pervasive black mist.
The day was still young, only half gone, and coupled with the power gained from its expanding size, the black Giant Ape felt a growing confidence to venture deeper into the forest.
So, after a short pause, the black Giant Ape headed toward the forest's depths along the cliffside.
Soon, the Giant Ape halted its steps.
Two hundred meters ahead, at the bottom of the cliff, a large cave about ten meters high appeared, with scattered rubble at its mouth and a few ferocious beasts about 1.5 meters long patrolling.
These ferocious beasts resembled the Black Ant Ferocious Beasts but had their bodies covered not in black scale armor, but in thick, azure keratinous spikes, akin to armor.
Moreover, their claws were crab-like pincers radiating a sharpness that even made the Giant Ape feel a twinge of danger.
As the black Giant Ape saw those Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts, the beasts at the cave entrance spotted him too, immediately making a hissing clash of sounds from their mouths.
Instantly, the ground shook as over two hundred Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts surged out from the cave, like a tide of ants, swarming toward the black Giant Ape.
There were no warnings, no attempts at repulsion; these ferocious beasts attacked intending to kill the black Giant Ape upon sight, with bloodthirsty, crazed eyes.
In an instant, an indescribable fury erupted in the black Giant Ape's heart.
Roar! A roar filled with anger exploded as the black Giant Ape's eyes turned blood red, muscles swelling, an explosive force bursting from within.
Roar!
The Giant Ape issued another furious roar, pounding its fists against its chest in a war drum's thunder, its massive form charging toward the ant swarm.
In the blink of an eye, both sides collided in their charges, and dozens of leaping Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts were sent flying by the Violence Ape's impact.
Roar! The Violent Ape raised its arms like stone pillars and smashed them down.
Boom!
The ground shattered, with countless rocks and soil splintering in all directions, the shockwave tossing nearby Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts away, the two at the forefront crushed into pulp.
Yet more Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts rushed at the Giant Ape.
Bam bam bam!
The Giant Ape swept its arms, sending several attacking beasts flying, then clenched its fists for a frenzied pounding, turning beast after beast into mangled flesh.
Under its immense power, each punch shattered the earth, leaving two-to-three-meter craters.
But the frenzied slaughter did not intimidate those Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts; it only made them more bloodthirsty and reckless, charging at the black Giant Ape relentlessly.
Their pincers were sharp enough to tear the Giant Ape's skin, leaving wounds tens of centimeters long and over ten centimeters deep.
Roar!
Wounded, the Giant Ape was more enraged, recklessly destroying everything before it, turning every Azure Ant Ferocious Beast and even rocks into pulped flesh or dust.
The battle raged for a long while.
Until not a single ferocious beast remained visible on the ground, leaving only fragmented bodies strewn about, did the black Fierce Ape, eyes blood-red and heart filled with rage, slowly cease.
Panting heavily, the black Giant Ape surveyed the surroundings with bloodshot eyes.
Almost all Azure Ant Ferocious Beast corpses lay in mangled heaps, with many smashed into pulp, their blood seeping into the cracks, forming bloody pools.
In this battle, the black Giant Ape was severely injured, its body stained red with blood from itself and the beasts.
These Azure Ant Ferocious Beasts not only had stronger defenses than the Black Ant Ferocious Beasts but their pincers were incredibly sharp, able to tear through the Giant Ape's tough hide. Additionally, they knew how to focus their attacks.
Faced with these reckless beasts unafraid of death, the black Giant Ape's legs were now bloodied and raw, with the deepest wounds revealing white bone.
Its chest, back, and arms were also riddled with gashes, with crimson blood continually flowing.
This was the downside of the rage state: the strength surge came with a fury that drove the Giant Ape to madness, fearlessly engaging in brutal combat.
Under normal circumstances, the speed-advantaged Giant Ape would strategically maneuver upon realizing the enemy could breach its defenses.
It would employ guerrilla tactics to slowly whittle down these beasts, rather than destroy everything before it in a heedless, bloodthirsty frenzy.
Nevertheless, the power in its rage state was indeed dominant; no beast encountered so far could withstand even a single punch.