Apex War God - Chapter 44
Black Ape was the leader of block 7 and one of the seven bosses of the entire mountain prison. His fighting prowess was exceptional, to say the least; if not, the rest would not have submitted to him.
He practiced an extraordinary General Class technique and had stained his hands with blood. He had reached the Consummate Grade Warrior Realm, with a cudgel as his weapon of choice. In fact, his cudgel was specially approved by the prison guards. It weighed five hundred kilograms, far heavier than what an average foot soldier could manage.
The gang leader evinced no fear in the face of Yang Wu’s challenge. After all, he had fought and killed his way to his current position since getting thrown into prison, so how could he be afraid of the young man’s challenge? He was confident of victory even if the latter looked to be his match.
“You can consider joining my gang. I’ll let you be the deputy, and everyone here—except me—will be at your disposal!” Black Ape made a sincere offer to Yang Wu.
The expressions of the rest of the gang, including Xu Jiaohua and Iron Head, changed instantly, but nobody dared to protest. Inside the prison, their leader had the final say.
Yang Wu walked up to him and laughed disdainfully, “I’m not interested even if you made me the boss.”
“Is there no room for negotiation?” Black Ape asked with a frown.
“There is! As long as you kneel down in submission, apologize to Sooty, and then bark like a dog, I’ll let this matter rest!” the young man replied.
“Alright!” The other man agreed without hesitation.
His words shocked all his followers, prompting Xu Jiaohua to exclaim, “Boss! No, you can’t!”
Black Ape ignored her protest and made to kneel before his young opponent. Just as his knees were about to touch the ground, his body tilted forward, and a cudgel appeared out of nowhere to sweep across Yang Wu’s legs.
One had to admit that this gorilla was extremely unscrupulous.
However, Yang Wu was well prepared this time. He leaped up to dodge the attack, thrusting out both palms with his spiraling energy at the ready, and dashed toward his enemy.
Shrugging off the sneak attack’s failure, Black Ape raised his cudgel again, shooting glowing black beams to block the spiraling energy from Yang Wu’s palms. At the same time, he swung his cudgel again to send another attack at the young man’s waist.
The cudgel released black serpentine lights, looking violent and fierce.
As Yang Wu landed, he bore the brunt of the onslaught but used the opportunity to slam his palm on Black Ape’s chest. Both parties sustained a hit as a result.
The exchange forced the two back. However, neither was seriously injured.
Yang Wu had an amazing physique. Furthermore, he had the light-blue cicada shell for defense, which also allowed his injuries to recover fast. This was one of the reasons the attack didn’t disable him.
On the other hand, Black Ape took pride in his strong body and iron-like bones. He was very confident that nobody in the Warrior Realm could match his body.
Nevertheless, the spiraling energy of Yang Wu’s palm strike could drill into his body. This meant that the young man’s combat could still hurt him to a certain extent.
“Well, you’ve got a trick or two up your sleeves—but not enough to save yourself!” The gorilla was truly aggravated this time. He swung his cudgel again after saying that.
His young opponent responded with equal vigor, “There won’t be a Black Ape in block 7 after today!”
The cudgel clashed with the palms again, and their Profound Energies collided. Energy shot out in random directions, piercing thousands of holes in the surrounding rocks and kicking up dust everywhere.
The fact that Black Ape could dominate block 7—and became one of the seven big shots of the mountain prison—was clear proof of his combat prowess. His Seven Thunderbolt Strikes was an Inferior Grade General Class combat technique, and he had already practiced the first four moves to the Accomplished stage. The latter three were at the Established stage, so when he swung his cudgel, the thunderous sound produced was chilling.
Mountain Crushing the Head!!
Sweeping Cliff!
The gorilla repeatedly swung the cudgel, continually sending out bursts of black light that prevented anything and anyone from approaching within three meters.
Having thrown away his crowbar, Yang Wu just attacked barehanded. The spiraling force he shot out from his palms kept Black Ape’s attack in check. He had more than sufficient power to confront his opponent. Breaking the cudgel lights and ignoring the blows from the swinging cudgel, he forced a path through to slam his palms on the enemy’s heart.
The reckless way the young man fought denied his opponent a chance to avoid the strike. The force of the palm strike on the chest penetrated Black Ape’s body, causing Black Ape’s heart to race. He nearly threw up blood.
After landing a strike, Yang Wu harried his opponent, wanting to send Black Ape to his death with another deadly blow. Sooty stood fast on his shoulder, barking encouragement without affecting his performance at all.
His palms moved like waves, sending one attack after another. He was at the Proficient stage by now, and the strokes he threw were ever-changing. He already showed a basic understanding of the Spiraling Waves Rending Palm Strike’s essence, bringing out extraordinary strength.
Yang Wu thoroughly suppressed Black Ape; the gorilla had not expected the young man to be so strong; the latter was already comparable to a peak Consummate Grade Warrior. Black Ape knew he would lose if this went on.
Although the gorilla managed to alleviate half of the force from the next chest strike, he still threw up blood and sustained severe injury.
The scene alarmed many of his followers. If their leader was gone, block 7 would undergo a complete power shift—something some of them didn’t want to happen; of course, there were also those who couldn’t wait to see him dead.
Yang Wu remained vigilant and was about to follow up with another round of attacks when Black Ape’s body suddenly started transforming, and he let out a bestial roar, “Roar!”
He sounded like an enraged ape—mighty and hostile.
His skin became rough, and his chest hair looked longer and denser than before. On the whole, his appearance was that of an ape. The man had turned into a beast!
Many prisoners had not seen their leader transform before and were taken aback, screaming in horror.
“W-Why does our b-boss look like this? Is he a sapient spirit?”
“How is that possible? He would have eaten us alive if he was.”
“You dumbass! Our chief cultivates a beast transformation technique, so when he transforms into a beast, he’s at his strongest!”
“I see. Then, his nickname really suits him.”
That was right. The man practiced a combat art called Ape Transformation Art. This combat art wasn’t complete, though; otherwise, he would have progressed to the General Realm instead of remaining in the Warrior Realm.
At this moment, his physique was incredibly tough, and his appearance was much more ferocious. His strength had almost surpassed a Warrior’s and was infinitely close to a General’s. This was the most terrifying aspect of the Ape Transformation Art.
Once the cultivator transformed, the side effects would be rather obvious, requiring half a month, or even one month, to recuperate.
But this was the least of Black Ape’s worries. All he knew was that he had to tear this young man alive. Looking fiendish, he warned, “Now that you forced me to do this, it is time for you to die!”
Black Ape stepped forward, and the ground and mountains shook. His cudgel was like a mountain sweeping aside everything in his path.
How could Yang Wu not sense his opponent growing stronger? Still, he had to find out how formidable the other party had become. He quickly drew the energy in his dantian to his arms. Blue light shot out his palms like powerful, surging waves.
Bang!
The cudgel met the palm strike head-on, blasting Profound Energy all around.
The impact numbed Yang Wu’s arms. He stumbled back and hit a mountain rock, imprinting a human figure on it before finally stopping.
Woof! Woof! Sooty was also affected, slipping to Yang Wu’s chest with a yelp.
Black Ape dashed to him without delay and slammed his cudgel downward, bellowing, “Meet your death!”
The cudgel exuded black Profound Energy that shot seven meters into the sky. He could easily split a boulder into powder with this lethal bash.
Unable to avoid the strike, the young man threw palm strikes to repulse the attack. Sending out another wave of energy from his hands, he thrust it out with all his might to ensure he could block the incoming attack.
Boom!
Another alarming explosion resounded. The rocks burst, dust clouds blooming into the sky. The attack beat Yang Wu into the pile of rubble, his palms bleeding. He vomited a mouthful of blood, evidently gravely injured.
His opponent wanted to press the offensive, but this time, Sooty was ready. The dog leaped into the air, aiming its claws at the ape’s face.
While Sooty might be tiny, no longer than a forearm, it was incredibly agile and spot-on with its attacks. No matter how fast Black Ape was, he couldn’t avoid his face getting scratched.
“You damned beast!” the man yelled and smashed his cudgel at the dog.
The dog’s reaction was too quick for him. It managed to dodge his attacks time and time again. Occasionally, it would even twist its butt with a yelp or wag its tail, intent on provoking the man with its actions.
The man was not stupid, though, and could see that the puppy was only buying time for its master. “Let me get rid of that guy first, and then I’ll settle you, you little beast!”
Black Ape accelerated toward Yang Wu, concentrating the energy flowing from the acupoints on his arms on the cudgel. Another blow came whistling down, the sheer brute force a palpable menace.
Sooty sprang back without delay, desperate to stop Black Ape from killing Yang Wu.
But the man ignored the puppy altogether, intent on smashing the young man even if it meant getting bitten.
Just then, Yang Wu leaped into the air, exuding an unusual aura, his battle hunger at its peak. Profound Energy billowed around him as he positioned his palm and fist in a dragon turtle posture, instantly sending ferocious waves crashing against his enemy.
“Die!” the young man howled with bloodshot eyes, adrenaline raging inside him. His desperate desire for victory consumed him, thus allowing him to execute an unprecedented blow.
Successive explosions resounded. Rubble and debris flew in all directions. The dust and Profound Energy formed mushroom clouds, sending the prisoners scrambling for safety.
——
The commotion carried to the prison guards, who had long retreated to the perimeter.
One of the guards turned to his counterparts and asked, “Brothers, should we go and investigate? Black Ape seems to have gone too far this time, hasn’t he?”
One of them replied, “You don’t have to bother with this. Our superior has already instructed us not to meddle in the affairs of block 7 today.”
“What is this about?”
“I was told our superior wanted Black Ape to ‘take care’ of someone.”
“Who’s worth so much attention from our superiors? This isn’t as simple as it seems. With this much of a ruckus, things might have changed. We’d better check it out. If something goes wrong, we’ll be in for it!”
“What’s the hurry? I already told you it isn’t necessary. I’ll bear the responsibility if anything goes wrong.”
