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.
While charged he used the [Eye of Discernment] on the monkey, which gave him a terse line of information.
[Cindermane, Level 58]
That line removed any last doubts whether this monster was a Herald or not. A solitary Named beast around level 50 fit the bill perfectly. It was a full 13 levels above Vul, who had been level 45 when they battled. He didnt know how levels worked for beasts, but if it was like for himself it meant it should have almost 100 more attributes in total. Together with the removed limiters, he realized he might be in for a tough battle.
Cindermane didnt stay put, but charged toward Zac as well. As he did the red streaks on his body lit up and started to emit a fiery shine like lava. They clashed a few meters away from the red-white tree, with Zac doing an upwards horizontal swipe aimed at its torso.
The monkey actually dared to intercept the strike with its bare paws, which lit up completely to look like magma. A tremendous clash erupted when their attacks collided, the dead plants in the surrounding being pulverized by the shockwave.
Zac was surprised to see that his strike didnt immediately overpower the Herald. With his recent improvements he started to believe there was nothing on the island that could have a comparable level of points in the Strength attribute.
The Herald was pushed back from the force however Zac didnt emerge unscathed out of the initial collision either. The hands of the monkey did not only look like lava, but they were also as fiery hot as well. The air around them was wobbling due to the heat, looking like a mirage. The axe edge actually showed clear signs of heating up where it collided with the monkeys palm.
Zac knew he couldnt fight a protracted battle, as the monkey would destroy his weapon if they kept clashing like this. Using [Chop] wouldnt help either, as the damage was transferred to axe anyway.
Angry at being pushed back Cindermane roared and stomped the ground, causing multiple spikes to erupt beneath Zac. They looked similar to the spikes of the earth mage, with the distinction that they seemed blazing hot and far more numerous.
Zac managed to destroy most of the spikes with a chop, but one managed to stab into his leg. A blinding pain erupted in his thigh, causing him to involuntarily scream. A sickening sizzling sound could be heard and Zac smelled the fragrance of grilled meat. The spike was actually barbequing his leg.
Ignoring the pain he grabbed the burning hot spike with his free hand, ripped it out of his leg and threw it away. As he did the Herald took the opportunity to grab the ground, dragging out a stone the size of Zac from seemingly nowhere. Its molten fingers penetrated the boulder and soon the whole rock was glowing a sinister red.
With a roar it tried to slam the stone down right on Zac, who could only ungainly dodge. Not daring to hide any of his cards any longer he infused his strikes with Dao and started swinging away against the Herald.
Cindermane possessed either great reflexes or combat experience, as he kept dodging or deflecting the strikes. Zac tried to grab onto the monkey with his free hand in order to throw it down on the ground, but as soon as he got a grip on its arm the red streaks lit up and the arm got searing hot. Zac instinctively let go with a scream, and the monkey took the opportunity to try to claw out his throat.
Zac saw no choice but to activate his armor, and the golden sheen protected him from getting killed. He wouldnt give up even with his lifesaving device used up though, and wildly kept swinging at the Herald, unheeding of any cosmic energy expenditure. After a few exchanges the monkey king managed to get a stab in with one of its hands, pushing a centimeter into Zacs arm. The finger burned even hotter compared to the spike, and Zac couldnt refrain from screaming out in pain again.
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.
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