Chapter 12: Mixed Gender Double Beatdown
Night fell, and the rainforest grew lively. The sounds of frogs croaking and beasts roaring were incessant as nocturnal creatures awakened, hungry after a day of sleep.
Two towering trees grew intertwined, and at the crossing point dozens of meters above the ground, there was a small, hastily built treehouse.
Inside the treehouse, Hibel huddled in a corner, occasionally glancing at Su Xiao, who lay not far away with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed, resting. Hibel worried he might suddenly pounce on her.
"If you don't put away that scroll in your hand, I'll kill you in five seconds."
"This is self-defense. What if you suddenly lunge at me?"
"..."
Half a minute later, Hibel crouched at the base of the towering tree. Several transcendent creatures lurking nearby were sizing her up. If not for their fear of Su Xiao's aura in the treehouse, they would have already charged.
In the dead of night, Hibel quietly climbed back into the treehouse and fell asleep curled up in a corner.
Crack!
A sharp sound jolted Hibel from her light sleep. She opened her eyes to see a massive eyeball peering through the ventilation opening of the treehouse, observing the interior.
"Giant transcendent creature incoming!"
"What are you screaming about? This is Bubu's new friend."
Baha's voice came from outside the treehouse, followed by the rustling sound of scales scraping against wood. It made Hibel's hair stand on end. She had never heard of anyone becoming friends with a seventh-rank mini-boss.
Below the treehouse, a giant python over ten meters long coiled around several towering trees. It flicked its forked tongue, and in front of it stood Bubu Wang.
"Woof."
"Hiss~"
The python glanced at Su Xiao before turning and slithering into the dense forest. It came from the swamp region and was now heading back to its territory.
Through Bubu Wang, Su Xiao learned that there was indeed a giant ape in the swamp, and it had beaten up Brother Snake a few times. According to Bubu Wang, the ape had once nearly chewed Brother Snake like a spicy snack.
As Brother Snake disappeared from sight, Su Xiao checked the time. It was early morning, around five o'clock. The illusionist and his group would likely make their move soon, probably not too late.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha toward the swamp region. As for Hibel, he told her to stay nearby. She wouldn't be of much use in what was to come and might even be captured by the illusionist's people.
They traveled at full speed for about two hours before the putrid smell of the swamp reached their noses, and the ground beneath their feet grew damp.
Looking ahead, the swamp stretched out before them. Emerald moss grew wildly, completely obscuring the ground. This green swamp was divided by water pits of varying sizes.
Walking here, one step might sink into mud up to the knees, or the next step could cause someone to disappear entirely.
The giant ape's habitat was at the center of the swamp, a rocky area with the best environment, mostly free of poisonous insects.
As they walked across the moss-covered ground, each step caused the earth to shift. With Amu leading the way to scout, Su Xiao wasn't worried about sinking into the swamp. Amu could freeze it.
Heading toward the center of the swamp, they hadn't gone far before Su Xiao spotted large footprints on the ground. Some were deep, left by contractors wearing heavy equipment.
Bubu Wang ahead sent a message: one kilometer further, they would enter a perception field, and it was layered, from at least three perception-type contractors.
Su Xiao ordered Amu to stay put while Baha flew high for reconnaissance. If the timing was right, he would drop an Apollo.
Su Xiao didn't use Apollo directly because he felt the chances of success were low. The contractors had many tricks, and with over thirty seventh-rank contractors, Apollo might be intercepted mid-flight, teleported away, or swallowed into another space.
Arriving before the perception field, Su Xiao sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash, completely suppressed his aura, and reached one hand into the field.
Ripple~
It was as if a layer of water rippled through the air. Su Xiao waited a moment before continuing forward. As long as he didn't attack, kept his vital signs to a minimum, and fully concealed his aura, the chances of being detected were low. Perception-type contractors specialized in intelligence and perception, which happened to be Su Xiao's forte. In close combat, his instinct was a core ability.
After traveling some distance, the ground was no longer damp. Trees grew around them, and strange rocks stood in clusters.
Boom!
A loud crash came from afar, accompanied by faint shouts. Su Xiao quickened his pace.
After advancing a few hundred meters, Su Xiao hid behind a natural stone pillar. A hundred meters away, dozens of contractors were fighting a giant ape.
The ape stood over twelve meters tall, its coarse black fur gleaming. Its arms were exceptionally strong, and the dark, shiny skin on its chest was like a layer of armor.
"Roar!"
The ape roared, now covered in blood. A five-meter-long harpoon pierced its chest. Nearby, a contractor holding a fishing rod was straining to pull it, the line taut as a finger-thick cord.
"Mu Xiao, now!"
The contractor with the fishing rod shouted. A blur passed him and appeared before the ape in an instant.
Slash, slash...
A slender figure leaped gracefully, and blood sprayed from the ape's chest.
"Too weak."
A man wearing rimless glasses spoke. He hadn't joined the fight, just watched.
"We outnumber it. Illusionist, how do we split the spoils?"
Beside the illusionist, a man in a long-beaked crow mask asked.
"According to combat contribution. But... this overlord creature is too weak."
The illusionist frowned. The crow-masked man beside him shook his head.
"If the ape were only this strong, the Bee Queen would have killed it for its heart long ago. It wouldn't be our turn."
Hearing this, the crow-masked man grew alert.
"You mean?"
"There might be another one. This one is male. Apes are social creatures. Look at its feet. Even with 180 points in stamina and 70,000 health, it has too few scars. This world has other overlord creatures, and powerful transcendent ones can hurt it. Besides being social, apes are aggressive. This ape is young, so it doesn't have many scars."
"You mean?"
"The worst case is there are two more. The Rain Throat Tribe won't tell me everything. I'm an outsider. For example, there might be three apes, or more."
With a crash, the ape fell. The surrounding contractors cheered softly. This was their easiest overlord battle ever, and the illusionist's command was commendable.
"Spread out! Set traps and explosives near the corpse. There are two more, or more. If more than three, retreat immediately. If more than four, I'll hold the rear while you go first."
The illusionist adjusted his glasses. His words, "I'll hold the rear," though quiet, carried weight.
"More apes? Overlord creatures live in groups?"
"Of course. If a male and female overlord mate, there's a chance of producing a new overlord offspring. So set the traps quickly..."
Before the illusionist finished, the three perception-type contractors nearby shouted simultaneously that biological reactions were approaching. The next moment, two sounds of breaking air came.
Boom! Boom!
The ground trembled as two giant apes landed. One was black, the other white. Both stood over twenty meters tall, their chests and faces covered in crisscrossing scars.
"Illusionist, retreat."
Mu Xiao, who had leaped back, spoke. Hearing this, the illusionist raised his hand to push up his glasses. Seeing his gaze, Mu Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Do you have a plan?"
"It seems so."
The illusionist stared at the two apes ahead. In the black ape's hand was a rusted warhammer over ten meters long, its head nearly half the size of a house. The white ape held an identical hammer.
The mottled marks on the hammers indicated these transcendent weapons had existed for at least thousands of years.
The black ape was an overlord creature, while the white ape was a powerful transcendent one. Now, both apes were furious to the extreme—their child was dead.
"As beasts, using weapons is against the rules. And you're immune to control. But... what you see isn't necessarily real."
The illusionist grinned. His "cheat" had reactivated at this critical moment.
"Mu Xiao, victory depends on you. At least kill the white ape in a few seconds."
Hearing this, Mu Xiao felt like slapping him.
The illusionist's figure twisted, and following his gaze, Mu Xiao saw the illusionist standing on the black ape's shoulder. The two apes looked confused, one scratching its butt and sniffing its nose, then grimacing.
"You say it so easily. Kill the white ape in seconds? Do you think I'm an eighth-rank contractor?"
Mu Xiao took a slow breath. She used the blade on her right forearm to cut her left hand, letting blood soak into the blade.
In the distance, seeing this, Su Xiao felt quite satisfied. If the illusionist and his group were driven off, he would have come for nothing.