Chapter 1106 – Chaotic Battlefield
Older Brother Jayad once again blocked my path, and this time even Bailing Ding joined him. They were both afraid that the group of Demon Hunters would shoot at us again from the darkness.
With such a dark environment, Older Brother Jayad no longer needed to hide his abilities. As he raised his greatsword, his hand silently brushed over it. I saw clearly that he had already placed the Golden Goblet in his hand.
As the gold coins poured down, a chilling current descended, evenly coating the greatsword’s blade, which then became covered in a layer of frost.
The cold air swirled around the greatsword. Older Brother Jayad raised it high and swung it forward with all his might. The female Flying Ape Fiend’s claw lashed out, but it was sent flying backward, its arm coated in frost.
I paid close attention to the Demon Hunters’ reactions. Indeed, each Demon Hunter had at least one snake head staring at us. The other snake heads were focused on the Flying Ape Fiend and the newly arrived Fire Lizard Squad, thinking no one knew they were spying. They didn’t expect me to see the snake heads.
“Roar!” In its berserk state, the female Flying Ape Fiend showed no fear. It let out a roar, its two arms coiled with dark energy. The frost on its claws shattered, and it charged forward again with renewed ferocity, its arms moving so fast they formed a dense claw shadow.
When the two Flying Ape Fiends joined forces, their combined power was far greater than the sum of their parts. Their coordination and aggressive intent increased significantly.
The terrain here also favored the Flying Ape Fiends. They leaped and climbed, using the environment for their pincer attacks. Their movements were as swift and elusive as ghosts, and they continuously unleashed various spell-like talents.
The battle immediately devolved into chaos. The Dragonborn Captain met the Flying Ape Fiends’ wild claws head-on with his twin hammers. The pretty young Demon Hunter also brought out his pole hammer and leaped in, smashing it down. The hammer’s impact caused an explosion, revealing it was packed with gunpowder, with a fuse within the hammerhead for the explosive mechanism.
A hunter shot out a grappling hook, latching onto a Flying Ape Fiend and lifting himself up, but he was swatted away by a wing. Seeing this, Jayad remembered he had a grappling hook too. With a flick of his wrist, he swung his greatsword, horizontally slashing the Flying Ape Fiend’s body and leaving a deep wound.
I unleashed a barrage of rifle fire at the Flying Ape Fiend, which I could no longer tell if it was male or female, then threw a grenade to knock it over. The young Demon Hunter followed suit, firing his pistol wildly before tossing out a stick of dynamite.
Suddenly, explosions echoed throughout the mountain cavern, shaking the ground. I thought the commotion was loud enough to be heard outside and worried the explosions might cause the cave to collapse. However, the Demon Hunters paid it no mind.
After bracing his spear, the Old Demon Hunter met a Flying Ape Fiend’s charge head-on and raised his harpoon gun, firing the head directly at the fiend at close range, causing a violent explosion.
It turned out the harpoon gun could actually fire. I had suspected as much when I saw its crossbow and spring mechanism, but what I didn’t anticipate was that their harpoons also had explosive tips.
The enraged Flying Ape Fiend charged at the Old Demon Hunter. He nimbly drew his pistol and attacked with his knuckle dusters and bayonet. After a brief exchange of blows with the fiend, he slid to the side. The Female Demon Hunter then moved in to cover him, holding off the Flying Ape Fiend.
The Old Demon Hunter seized the moment to reload. I saw him reload; the harpoon spear only required pulling back the mechanism and inserting a new explosive tip into the spear shaft. It was a remarkably intricate design.
The battle had been going on for a while when Bailing Ding, panting, said, “Hoo! Hoo! Flying Ape Fiends, are they really this strong?”
Although she was unharmed, the several clashes and evasions of the Flying Ape Fiends’ charges and claw attacks had drained her stamina. After all, she had been a noble lady, and even after being captured, she only fought in arenas, so her stamina wasn’t high.
“These are not ordinary Flying Ape Fiends; they are reinforced through corruption. Furthermore, because they’ve consumed many other monsters, their strength far surpasses that of normal Flying Ape Fiends,” Older Brother Jayad explained.
The others were also in varying states of disarray. I was protected by Older Brother Jayad, but Bartholomew was nearly killed by a single claw strike. Luckily, Jayad pulled him away with a grappling hook. Even so, he sustained three bloody gashes on his chest and was currently being treated.
The Female Demon Hunter was also injured. During an evasive maneuver, she was pierced in the thigh by a crystal shard. Although she immediately severed the crystal with her knife and pulled it out, her leg was left with bloody holes, making it difficult for her to walk.
Freya from the Fire Lizard Squad, already injured from the start, dared not enter the cave. She could only hide in the tunnel, playing her music to provide us with buffs. I could feel strength surging within me, but it was useless to me; I’m a gun user, and strength doesn’t help with that.
The Berserker was hit directly by the Flying Ape Fiend’s Sonic Cannon, knocking him out of his berserk state and into a dazed stupor. While the others weren’t critically injured, their stamina had been somewhat depleted.
Although I was unharmed, I felt my own spirit weakening. My vision blurred, and everything I saw seemed wrong. At times, I saw Older Brother Jayad transform into his Angel Form, and at other times, I saw the Demon Hunters sprouting snake heads all over their bodies.
I then saw the Flying Ape Fiend grow strange appendages all over its body, and then I saw the captain suddenly transform into a ferocious dragon. These visions were fleeting, and I realized they were all illusions, but they didn’t affect my ability to fight.
The Flying Ape Fiends were in a worse state than us. Regardless, we had the advantage in numbers. Although we weren’t entirely united, our professions were diverse, and our strengths were considerable. Under concentrated fire, both Flying Ape Fiends sustained multiple injuries.
The most numerous were gunshot wounds, with bullet marks everywhere. While most only caused superficial damage, they still left both charging fiends covered in blood.
Next were the cuts and stab wounds inflicted by melee weapons, which were deeper. The deepest wounds were from Older Brother Jayad’s greatsword, each cutting deeply into their flesh and delivering icy magical attacks.
At this point, another squad entered from a different direction. Only three people remained in this squad: two shield-bearing soldiers and one gunman.
I didn’t know what happened to the other two, but if they had encountered the Flying Ape Fiends previously, their chances of survival would have been slim.
These three seemed perplexed upon entering, unsure of what to do. They could only assume a defensive stance and observe the Flying Ape Fiends being ganged up on.
“We’ll hold them here; you go steal the eggs!” the Old Demon Hunter shouted loudly. I suddenly understood his plan.
The three subordinates heard this and found it logical. They dared not engage the Flying Ape Fiends in combat, still shaken from their previous attack. Now, told they only needed to steal the eggs, their eyes immediately locked onto the nest, and they ran towards it.
As they approached the nest, both Flying Ape Fiends became agitated, desperately trying to break through the blockade to protect their offspring.
However, the Demon Hunters, who had promised to hold off the fiends, somehow allowed them to break through. On the other side, the Fire Lizard Squad also made a seemingly accidental mistake, letting the Flying Ape Fiends pass.
As they excitedly grabbed the eggs, they heard a gust of wind and turned around, only to see the monstrous maw of the creatures.
