55: Chapter 55 The Great Monkey's Defeat

Fatty was furiously collecting under the big jujube tree, and Chen Ze dared not relax in the slightest.

He was currently hiding behind an ancient tree, no more than twenty or thirty meters away from the big jujube tree. His arisaka type 38 rifle was already fully loaded, his finger pad resting near the trigger, ready at any moment.

Chen Ze's eyes were locked firmly onto all the Macaques in the canopy.

He guaranteed that if any Macaque showed signs of diving down to attack Fatty, he would pull the trigger immediately, sending a bullet straight into that monkey's skull.

Although most of the twenty-plus mutant Macaques in the tree were staring at the two dueling Monkey Kings, a few would occasionally glance down at Fatty, who was frantically collecting jujubes below. Chen Ze dared not lower his guard at all.

Following that arrow provocation earlier, the two Monkey Kings had been attacking each other fiercely for about two or three minutes. Now, both sides were somewhat exhausted and had returned to a standoff.

But in the fierce attacks just now, both sides had been injured.

The Old Monkey King's attributes were superior after all. Even after fighting for so long, he only had four or five bloody claw marks on his chest, and his fur was slightly damaged. Though his breathing was heavy, he remained steady, his stance firm, and the fierce glint in his eyes undiminished. He was still firmly suppressing his opponent.

The Big Male Monkey was in a much worse state. Now, its fur was torn into a mess. Its back, shoulder blades, and neck were covered in claw wounds deep enough to see flesh. Dense wounds were constantly oozing blood, staining most of its body red.

The worst injury was on its head. A wound deep enough to see bone had sliced across its left eye. Sharp monkey claws had directly crushed its eyeball, and murky blood mixed with transparent fluid flowed down its cheek.

That left eye was completely ruined, leaving only a bloody, flesh-muddled hollow, devoid of any light.

Perhaps due to the excruciating pain, half of the Big Male Monkey's head kept twitching. Its remaining right eye was filled with hideous bloodshot veins. Its field of vision was halved, its sense of balance was ruined, and it swayed unsteadily on the branch.

Yet, even after fighting to this point, the Big Male Monkey showed no fear, opening its large mouth to roar crazily at the Old Monkey King.

"Heh! Heh!~"

By now, the two sides had reached a state of mortal combat, and the Big Male Monkey was likely going to die here.

Chen Ze watched this, feeling extremely anxious.

The reason was simple: Fatty hadn't even finished collecting half of the big jujubes under the tree. If these two beasts decided the winner so quickly, how were they supposed to collect the rest?

No, he had to help the Big Male Monkey!

Chen Ze made up his mind instantly. He didn't expect the Big Male Monkey to turn the tables; he just wanted to hold the Old Monkey King back and keep this death match going.

Chen Ze, like a ghost, stared unblinkingly at the Monkey King, his F-grade hand crossbow ready to fire.

Finally, the moment the Old Monkey King prepared to attack again, Chen Ze immediately pulled the trigger.

"Swish!"

The arrow made a whistling sound as it cut through the air, like a black lightning bolt, passing through layers of dense forest and accurately hitting the Old Monkey King in the abdomen.

The arrow struck solidly, burying itself deep into the Old Monkey King's soft flesh.

The latter had been about to attack, but being suddenly ambushed, it lost its balance for an instant. Its body tilted to one side, and it nearly tumbled down.

"Hah!!!"

Under the onslaught of excruciating pain, the Old Monkey King immediately let out a furious, shrill roar, its crimson eyes filled with murderous intent scanning the surroundings frantically, trying to find the attacker.

It didn't discover Chen Ze hiding in the shadows, but it immediately noticed Fatty, who was still working hard collecting jujubes under the tree.

Suddenly, a wave of sky-high rage washed over it!

It must have been this damned human who ambushed it. It wanted to bite him to death!

The fierce eyes that had been locked onto the Big Male Monkey instantly shifted, staring fixedly at Fatty, who was buried in his work below.

But at the very moment its center of gravity shifted and its back was completely exposed!

The one-eyed Big Male Monkey moved!

It leaped violently, instantly darting four or five meters and climbing onto the Old Monkey King's back in a flash.

The next second, it opened its sharp fangs, filled with a bloodthirsty cold light, and bit down desperately onto the Old Monkey King's fragile carotid artery!

"Awoo!~"

A heart-wrenching roar shook countless leaves, causing them to rustle down.

Fatty, who was buried in gathering jujubes below, was so startled by this shrill roar that he shuddered. A handful of spiritual jujubes he had just scooped up scattered all over the ground. He stumbled, his heart pounding wildly, and instinctively straightened his back, preparing to turn and run.

He instinctively looked up and realized the two big Macaques were still fighting, and no other monkeys were paying attention to him.

"Damn! Forget it. With Brother Ze watching out for me, I'll just keep packing!"

Fatty finally understood: the fact that the two Monkey Kings were fighting so fiercely must be Chen Ze's doing. What he needed to do now was take the opportunity to pack more red jujubes.

At this moment, the battle in the tree had reached a fever pitch.

The Big Male Monkey's sharp fangs were firmly embedded in the Monkey King's neck, and the scales of victory instantly began to tip in the Big Male Monkey's favor.

But Chen Ze could see clearly that the Big Male Monkey's attributes were far inferior, and having already been severely injured, it couldn't last long.

What they needed to do was use the time the Big Male Monkey was buying to collect more red jujubes and then run away.

Realizing this, Chen Ze stopped hiding and rushed toward the jujube tree with all his might, starting to collect along with Fatty.

Upon reaching the tree, Chen Ze discovered that the number of fallen jujubes was far higher than he had estimated, though many were rotten or had been gnawed on.

"Brother Ze, why did you come too!"

Fatty asked, though his hands never stopped moving.

"The battle in the tree is almost over. Collect as much as you can, then we're running!"

While speaking, Chen Ze bent down and scooped up two full handfuls of red jujubes, throwing them all into the system's temporary storage space. Rotten or good, he mixed them all together; he had no time to sort them.

Time was of the essence; the two were almost burying their heads in frantic scavenging, their movements so fast they left afterimages.

[Ding! Collected e-grade red jujube * 3!]

[Ding! Collected rotten e-grade red jujube * 5!]

[Ding! Collected e-grade red jujube * 1!]

In an instant, the system's notification sounds exploded crazily, and Chen Ze finally understood the feeling Fatty had at the beginning.

This was basically just picking up money!

Just as the two were burying their heads in frantic looting, a distinct, shrill cry of agony suddenly erupted from the canopy above.

The two looked up in unison and saw.

The Big Male Monkey, which had been locked tightly onto the Old Monkey King's neck, suddenly convulsed, its tightly clenched fangs loosening involuntarily.

It had reached the brink of exhaustion.

The Old Monkey King's neck was bleeding profusely, but its attributes were superior; even though it was weak from blood loss, it still accurately seized the opportunity.

It gripped the tree trunk with both claws and swung its body violently. The Big Male Monkey behind it was immediately thrown off, crashing toward the ground.

Chen Ze saw all of this clearly, and his heart instantly leaped into his throat.

"The Big Male Monkey is going to be defeated! We must leave here immediately!"