Chapter 30

As Wang Lishou desperately held onto the large ape, Lu Buqi also increased his speed to the maximum, quickly killing three more black apes. However, the remaining black apes soon realized the disparity in strength and began to flee, evading Lu Buqi's pursuit.

Just as Lu Buqi decided to change his strategy, temporarily abandoning the chase of the black apes and preparing to return to assist Wang Lishou, he found that Wang Lishou was already showing signs of defeat. The spear in his hand was once again snatched away, but this time the large ape discarded it to the side and instead raised its two arms, which were like hooks and whips, to launch a fierce attack on Wang Lishou.

Wang Lishou was at a disadvantage due to his shorter arms. Under the fierce attacks of the large ape, he could only defend himself, and his arms and shoulders were covered in blood, indicating multiple injuries.

From the strength of the large ape's arm strikes, it was clear that it possessed power on par with Wang Lishou, only slightly inferior to the violent bear. Moreover, the speed of its arm attacks was comparable to that of any Wing Chun master Lu Buqi had seen in his previous life.

Lu Buqi was shocked. He realized that he had underestimated the strength of the spirit beast. No wonder people said that without the strength of the eighth level of Bone Resonance, one could only run when encountering a spirit beast.

"Hold on!" Lu Buqi took a few quick steps, rapidly approaching the battle. His decapitation saber, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, slashed toward the large ape's back.

However, the large ape seemed to have eyes in the back of its head. It suddenly withdrew its attack and dodged to the side, then nimbly leaped onto a nearby palm tree, about four zhang high. From its elevated position, it bared its teeth and glared down at the two men.

"How are you?" Lu Buqi was secretly frustrated. He knew that apes were intelligent, but this large ape was excessively clever!

Although he found the spear difficult to use, Wang Lishou still drew another one and spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva. "I'm fine, no bones are broken."

At this moment, under the large ape's command, more than a dozen black apes surrounded them again, and the situation had clearly become a fight to the death. Lu Buqi narrowed his eyes. "This large ape is as strong as you and me, and it's very fast with incredible jumping ability. It will be difficult for you to handle it without a weapon. I'll deal with it, and you take care of the smaller ones!"

Wang Lishou understood that this was not the time for bravado. He responded in a low voice, "Alright, but be careful, Lu Buqi. Its arms are more flexible than a human's."

Lu Buqi had studied apes and monkeys extensively in his previous life and was well aware of their strengths. Their arms, longer than their legs, were their primary means of survival.

Wang Lishou took the initiative, venting his frustration on the weaker black apes. As soon as he moved, the large ape on the palm tree also sprang into action. However, this time, it did not leap down to attack Lu Buqi directly but instead swiftly moved to a shorter tree and then pounced on Wang Lishou with lightning speed.

"It seems to know our plan and is deliberately disrupting our rhythm. It truly has great wisdom!" Lu Buqi inwardly lamented, admiring the large ape's intelligence. He did not dare to be complacent and immediately threw a spear with a reverse grip.

Although Lu Buqi was far inferior to Wang Lishou and even Da Shun in archery, he possessed exceptional skill in short- and medium-range throwing, thanks to his training in his previous life.

Wang Lishou had already witnessed this skill, whether it was killing badgers and water rats at night, throwing spears to kill wolves and black apes, or using the blood spike as a projectile to save Wang Lishou. The blood spike was now deeply embedded in the forehead of a black ape.

This time, the blood spike flew like a giant crossbow bolt, whistling through the air toward the large ape, while Lu Buqi quickly followed up.

The large ape screamed in the air, batting the spear away, but its palm was pierced, creating a bloody hole. Although it was not a fatal wound, it completely disrupted the large ape's attack and triggered its aggressive nature.

Landing on the ground, the large ape licked its wound and then pounded its chest, ignoring Wang Lishou, who was pursuing its subordinates, and charged at Lu Buqi.

The saber moved like the sun, but the large ape was indeed agile, dodging the attack and lashing out with its arm toward Lu Buqi's head. Lu Buqi had anticipated this and made a timely defensive move.

For a moment, Lu Buqi and the large ape engaged in a fierce exchange, like two martial arts masters. After a short while, Lu Buqi's arms and shoulders were covered in deep blood marks, and his decapitation saber had left several wounds on the large ape's arms. However, this exchange of injuries was more detrimental to Lu Buqi, whose vitality was not as robust as that of a spirit beast.

On the other side, Wang Lishou was making good progress. After skewering three black apes with his spear, he used his large bow to kill four more, causing the remaining black apes to emit short, heart-wrenching screams and hide behind trees and other obstacles.

This clearly agitated the large ape, which suddenly regained its composure. It turned around, taking a hit from Lu Buqi's saber on its back, and charged at Wang Lishou, who had just reloaded his bow.

Caught off guard, Wang Lishou could only raise his bow to meet the large ape. The bow struck the ape's face, but the ape's long right arm hit Wang Lishou's shoulder and neck with great force.

With the sound of the bow breaking under the impact, Lu Buqi heard a pained groan and saw Wang Lishou's muscular body suddenly collapse.

"Damn it!" Lu Buqi felt a wave of guilt. If he had managed to keep the large ape occupied, this situation would not have occurred. He roared in anger and swung his decapitation saber at the large ape.

Unexpectedly, the large ape suddenly crouched, and as Lu Buqi's momentum waned, it struck his right arm with its arm, sending him flying and crashing into a palm tree, leaving him dazed.

As Lu Buqi shook his head to clear his mind, he felt a dark shadow approaching. Realizing the imminent danger, he gritted his teeth, summoned his strength, and swung his saber horizontally with his right hand, slicing through the air. At the same time, he used his left hand to block a thick ape arm, guided by the sound of the wind.

Lu Buqi did not stop there. His left hand touched the ape's arm and quickly separated, then fell to the ground and, together with his right hand, firmly gripped the decapitation saber. He then pushed off the tree with his back foot and charged forward.

With a "thud," Lu Buqi heard the grating sound of the blade cutting through bone, followed by a cacophony of screams. As he was hit in the chest and abdomen and flew into the air, he still clung to the decapitation saber with all his might.

Blood splattered, almost blinding Lu Buqi. When he landed several zhang away, the large ape, nearly cut in half, did not die immediately. It let out a painful cry, its eyes bloodshot, and staggered toward Lu Buqi.

"Damn it..." Lu Buqi struggled to move but could not get up. It was not because of broken bones but because he had exhausted his strength and was in a semi-shock state from the impact.

The heavy footsteps of the large ape grew closer, and Lu Buqi felt a deep sense of frustration. "Am I, Lu Buqi, going to die so miserably?"

Just as the large ape's heavy breathing was almost in his ear, it suddenly let out a short scream and collapsed beside Lu Buqi, its massive head facing him, exhaling its last breath. Its once bright black eyes had turned deep green.

"Wang Bo, I owe you a debt of gratitude!" At this moment, Lu Buqi almost burst into tears. He knew that while his saber strike was fatal, the large ape's quick death was due to the poisonous needle left by Wang Bo.

Let's rewind a moment to the scene after Wang Lishou was severely injured and Lu Buqi was thrown by the large ape's arm...

When Lu Buqi stood up, the large ape's final attack was already descending, mere meters away. However, Lu Buqi's sudden counterattack with his saber seemed to catch the large ape off guard, and even more surprising was his left-hand attack.

The left hand that blocked the ape's arm was not just a simple block. Between Lu Buqi's fingers was a long needle, glowing blue.