Chapter 78 - Absolute Regeneration!
The sound of roars and bangs was the first thing Bai Zemin could make out as he approached the exit of the subway parking structure. Furthermore, although it was barely distinguishable due to the overwhelming sound of what he assumed were the mutated ape's attacks, Bai Zemin could also faintly feel the sound of the wind being pierced by what he thought were Chen He's arrows.
A split second later, Shangguan Bing Xue's cold voice reached his ears followed by a roar from the mutated ape. Obviously her attack had managed to inflict enough damage for its roar to change.
Two seconds later, Bai Zemin finally reached the surface and his footsteps paused for a moment to take in the surrounding situation. After all, he didn't want to die shamefully by rushing into battle without knowing what exactly was going on.
The first thing that came into his line of sight was an ape that was clearly taller than the previous survivor had announced. Instead of three meters tall, the mutated ape easily reached four meters and its muscles were explosive enough to crush a house with its fists. In addition, the mutated beast was covered in a large amount of silver-colored fur that glistened in the rays of the evening sunlight, giving it a majestic appearance.
However, the ape's body was wounded. There were at least a dozen arrows firmly stuck in the beast's abdomen, chest, arms, shoulders, and legs, causing blood to flow constantly from those small holes.
Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes and noticed that those arrows were not normal. A faint light of light blue shone on the outline of the arrow, which kept them steady and undestroyed by the fierce movements of the mutated ape.
It must be the treasure Chen He obtained. Probably something that boosts his attacks in some way. Bai Zemin thought as his sight moved at lightning speed to the semi-frozen limbs of the giant ape.
Bang!
The giant ape brutally slammed the floor right in front of him and Chen He hurriedly jumped to the side almost getting crushed in the process. He stood up instantly after and ran several meters before pulling out an arrow from the quiver behind his back and firing it at full speed.
When the arrow touched the bow, its dark brown color turned the same as the other arrows that were stuck in the mutated ape's body, confirming Bai Zemin's theory about boosting power. As for whether it was a treasure or a skill, he didn't know.
"Freeze."
Shangguan Bing Xue's voice attracted his attention and Bai Zemin arrived just in time to see a small golden colored stick shooting out a blast of icy air.
Roar!
The ape roared and its wild movements slowed a little but still noticeably. Around its fur, Bai Zemin could see from a distance how some parts had frozen or were still in the process of freezing due to the icy air from before.
A magic wand? Bai Zemin had that idea as he looked at the small stick in Shangguan Bing Xue's hands. He assumed that instead of increasing Strength like his Xuanyuan Sword, the magic wand should definitely increase Magic and Mana or one of both stats.
Instead of interrupting, Bai Zemin watched the battle unfold as he also wanted to see how strong Chen He and Shangguan Bing Xue had become over the past few days.
The battle was quite close.
The giant ape was pretty fast and seemed to be completely focused on hunting Chen He who was shooting arrows every time the opportunity presented to him instead of going after Shangguan Bing Xue who was the person that really threatened its life.
Bang!... Bang!... Bang!
Several one or two-story buildings in the surrounding area were crushed under the giant ape's heavy and powerful fists or its agile kicks that seemed to contain the flexibility and speed of a whip but the power of a giant mace. Bai Zemin was sure that even he would be seriously injured if he received one of those blows directly.
Chen He might not be able to compare with Bai Zemin, but he was certainly not weak by any means. The damage from his strange arrows was little but slowly accumulated and the giant ape was losing more and more blood; moreover, when it seemed that he was about to be crushed, he somehow managed to escape at the last second by using the terrain to his advantage.
Of course, the reason why Chen He could stand his ground and fight without having to run away as he did before or without being killed was all thanks to Shangguan Bing Xue's timely support. Otherwise he would definitely not be able to do as much against the giant ape considering that he was currently already at his limit even with support.
The giant ape's movements had slowed down by at least 60% and great parts of its body had been frozen with small icicles of ice. In addition, Shangguan Bing Xue occasionally set up small ice traps to restrain the monster or shot sharp ice pikes, creating small wounds and freezing the blood inside little by little.
Unfortunately, Bai Zemin knew that it was not so simple to end the life of a First Order existence... Because the giant ape had yet to show any skills!
Indeed, Bai Zemin's thoughts proved to be true not long after.
Roar!
The ape stopped its movements and raised its head to the sky as it roared fiercely. Its silver fur that had been soiled with its own blood and the areas frozen by Shangguan Bing Xue's magic spells were surrounded by a strange white light that flashed with such fervor that it seemed to want to compete against the sun, forcing anyone who looked directly at it to close their eyes.
When the bright flash calmed down and everyone was able to open their eyes again, Chen He could not help but take several steps back as Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
"I see... So that's the skill this ape obtained when it advanced to First Order." Bai Zemin muttered to himself and couldn't help but secretly feel a bit of fear as he realized what the giant ape's skill was.
The giant ape's skill was very simple. It didn't increase its strength, nor did it increase its speed or defense, nor did it give it any kind of elemental control... It was a skill that could only be used on itself.
Regeneration!
The skill that the giant mutated ape had acquired during its evolution gave it the ability to recover from seemingly any wound!
What was worse than a strong enemy? A strong enemy that could recover from the wounds you had inflicted on it after working so hard and risking your life so many times to do so!
The silver fur that was covered with blood and ice patches now looked perfect as if it had never faced any enemy in the first place. However, Bai Zemin noticed that the beast was breathing erratically and the madness in its eyes seemed to have dimmed, being replaced by tiredness.