Chapter 61: Pitched Battle
The ground was barely visible beneath the forces as blood and broken bodies covered most of it by now. Even fires were starting to erupt at various spots around the battlefield, likely from the attacks of Pyromancers and the Herald. With the dried out tree husks on the ground the whole valley would likely be an inferno of flames in a short while.
Zac could see that more combatants from both camps were steadily streaming in from the surroundings, and immediately joined in on the mayhem when they arrived. He checked his quest and saw that the timer showed [00:10:03].
Zac once more glanced at the mouthwatering fruits glistening on the tree, and after a few steadying breaths, he charged into the frenzy. He steadily moved forward wielding an axe in one hand and a dagger in the other. He refrained from using [Chop] in this crammed melee, afraid to draw attention to himself.
He mainly used the axe to deflect or hook incoming swings, and finishing off the enemy with a quick stab in their throat or heart before moving forward. It was a quick and dirty method that didnt announce his monstrous Strength.
He steadily moved forward, forced to kill a combatant almost with every step. His disguise was still assisting him immensely, as it often took the demons a second to register that they werent facing an ally. And a second was all that Zac needed to quickly and discreetly kill them.
Soon he was just 30 meters from the edge of the shield, and the area actually was getting less cramped compared to more. Every single monkey at the core was a captain, and they were furiously fighting with various well equipped demons. The monkeys had to fight a few captains per demon, not being able to match their might.
Each battle had its own space, as the swings and shockwaves could kill, or at least disrupt anyone coming too close. Getting hit and distracted in an intense situation like this could be a death sentence, so everyone kept their backs clear.
It was obvious that the demons steadily were gaining the upper hand, as almost all the bodies on the ground were monkeys. That couldnt go on, as Zac needed the fight to keep going to a point where they whittled each other down. Zac took out a dagger and discreetly threw it straight into the back of a well-geared demon. The make of his armor was the same as Zacs old chest-piece, only covering the upper torso, so Zacs dagger slammed straight into his back without giving the demon time to react.
The hit destroyed the demons spine and he helplessly fell on the ground. The monkey captains immediately pounced and punched his head into the ground into it was a bloody pulp, before moving on to assist its brethren. Satisfied with his work he continued on and acted as a hidden reaper.
He still was forced to kill monkeys and demons coming too close to him, but he kept moving around to avoid getting exposed. He also kept a healthy distance from the battle between the Herald and the general, which were still going at it with extreme prejudice. Every chance he got he threw a dagger at one of the stronger-looking demons. Sometimes he got a perfect hit and actually managed to kill them himself, and at other times he managed to at least maim and distract them, allowing the monkeys to finish the job.
Soon he ran out of knives and was forced to start throwing Nexus Crystals at the demons. They werent as effective as the knives, but with Zacs strength anything he threw could be considered a weapon. Soon the war at the center of the battlefield was starting to sway into the favor of the monkeys.
After Zac helped kill so many of the demons there currently were far more monkey captains fighting every single demon, and the extra help was often enough to turn the tides.
But the demons quickly figured out something was wrong, and a mountain of a man angrily shouted something with a piercing voice that carried over the sounds of battle, pointing a huge battle hammer straight at Zac. Many of the demons immediately spotted him, and it looked like his ruse was over.
However, he had already mostly accomplished his plan, and a great number of demons were killed due to his machinations. Also, the general and Herald's battle were reaching a white-hot intensity, and they couldn't be bothered with the scream. The Herald was quite ragged by now, and the old monkey captains had been replaced with new ones. Zac had a feeling that the only reason the monkey king was still alive was that the demons knew he was of importance to the incursion. Otherwise, Zac couldn't imagine that the General didn't have some ace to kill him after all this time.
He tried sneaking back into the chaos of the battle, but a few of the demon leaders wouldnt have it and they charged straight at him. A rock wall was erected in front of Zac, halting his escape. He tried shouldering through it but it was far sturdier compared to the walls he had encountered earlier. It held together against Zacs slam, although it sustained some cracks from the impact.
Suddenly he sank down into the ground, and couldnt move his feet. The ground had first liquefied then solidified in quick succession, making it seem like he was wearing cement shoes.
Zac didnt have time to rip himself free, as a huge mallet was falling down upon him. Through some means, the mallet was getting larger as it fell down toward his head and soon was large enough to completely smash him into a pulp.
Zac saw no choice but to infuse his hatchet with his Dao, and brought his axe in a two-handed swing, holding nothing back. Zac had severely overestimated the demon from his size and choice of weapon, and when his axe collided with the huge mallet with a terrifying clash it flew out of the hand of the demon like a rocket. It sailed over the crimson tree and landed somewhere on the other side of the battlefield.
Zac was startled, but not as startled as the demon. He wasted no time and slammed the axe haft down on the demons shoulder, and then used the spike on the back of the axe head as a hook to pull him to melee distance. As Zac dragged him close he ended the demon with a quick stab in his throat with his dagger, and then used the body to intercept a few ranged attacks.
The force from the weapons colliding had actually cracked the ground he was standing on, freeing him from the binding. He located the earth mage some distance away and grabbed a monkey captain by its arm.
The monkey captain furiously slammed his fist in Zacs chest, but Zac only took it with a grunt before he lifted the huge monkey up in the air and threw him like a boulder at the demon mage. The earth mage hastily erected another wall to intercept the monkey projectile, but the force behind the beast powered through it.
Zac was not far behind as he entered the wall through the breach and with a quick chop decapitated the demon, who didnt even manage to activate his stone skin skill in time.
Zac moved on toward the next demon who had tried to gang up on him, but a blinding light interrupted his plans. It was the large shield covering the tree that started to shine many times brighter compared to before.
Zac glanced around and when he saw no one was attacking him at the moment he brought up the quest skill again and saw the timer go down from 2 seconds to 0. With a bright flash, the shield immediately winked out of existence, exposing the tree to hundreds of greedy eyes.
No one moved for a split second, before all hell broke loose. Everyone started rushing toward the tree, holding nothing back. Even demons were hitting other demons in a struggle to reach the fruits.
Zac wasnt any different, and taking full advantage of his close proximity to the tree he pushed forward, driving massive amounts of cosmic energy into his legs. The ground cracked with every step he took, and it would be more accurate to say Zac pushed himself forward by slamming into the ground with his feet rather than running. He summoned [Chop] and killed any monkey or demon getting too close, and soon he was almost underneath the trees branches.
Zac was among the first but he was still behind two individuals, Cindermane and the dazzling general. Both had already moved toward the fruits, their arms reaching to grab them first. The monkey king had actually created large lava pillars that lifted it up toward the branches, and the general somehow stepped on black arcs of lightning as he moved upwards through the air.
Zac knew he was out of time and with a roar he created a huge edge with [Chop] and unleashed it at the two. It seemed that no one of the other camps dared intervene with the two in the forefront, perhaps afraid that they would inadvertently ruin their leaders plans. The edge shot up at the two, cutting a few of the crimson branches on the way.
The Herald screeched and looked horrified as he stared at the incoming edge, and actually missed his steps and fell down from the pillars it created. It appeared that Zacs last chop had left a shadow in the Herald's mind.
The general looked surprised to be ambushed at this moment but still managed to smoothly dodge it. He was far up in the air by now and only needed one more step on the black lightning steps to reach the fruits. Desperate, Zac infused his axe with the Dao of Heaviness and hurled it at the demon. The fruits were 5 meters up in the air, so Zac and the general were extremely close. With Zacs power, it almost looked as though the axe teleported as it slammed into the general.
The general had skillfully blocked the strike with his sword, but between Zacs huge strength and the Dao of Heaviness, the momentum of the throw wouldnt be denied. The demon was forcefully pushed away from the tree and the shockwave destroyed most of the branches of the tree.
Even the branch which held the two Fruits of Ascension were broken off, and they were falling straight toward Zac. Not wanting to waste such a God-given opportunity he jumped up in the air and snatched the fruits, and immediately stashed them into his pouch.
He couldnt believe how easily he had acquired the fruits, it looked like 67 Luck wasnt just for show. But the elation of getting the treasure quickly dissipated, as hundreds of murderous glares focused their suddenly undivided attention on him.
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