Chapter 51 Battle 4

The power of King Kong was truly terrifying, likely no less than five thousand Anks—almost twice Le Kai’s strength. The massive counterforce that surged through his club at the moment of impact made Le Kai feel as if he would cough up blood. A tingling numbness spread through half his body as he was flung high into the air, plummeting toward the ground in free fall.

His curved blade, always invincible before, had never failed to cleave anything in its path. Le Kai had always been confident that it could cut through anything. Yet this time, he met with disappointment—it couldn’t even put a notch in King Kong’s club. Clearly, this fellow’s weapon was no ordinary object; its origins remained a mystery.

Le Kai had no time to ponder such things. The moment his body went numb, he realized the danger and hurriedly circulated his true energy, dispelling the discomfort. Fortunately, he hadn’t used his true energy during the strike; otherwise, it would have been wasted entirely, and he might even have been killed outright by the counterforce. King Kong’s strength was simply too monstrous. Now, with such a formidable weapon in hand, defeating him easily was out of the question.

Luckily, when he was about two meters from the ground, Le Kai managed to adjust his body. Infusing his legs with true energy, he let out a shout and rebounded like an air-cushion, neutralizing the force of the fall and springing up once more. Spinning mid-air, he shot off at a slant, flying more than ten meters away.

Boom!

King Kong’s landing was nothing like Le Kai’s agile and graceful descent. He crashed down like a meteor from the heavens, making the entire mountain tremble, dust billowing everywhere. An enormous crater formed where he landed, the impact sending rocks flying in all directions—some brushed so close to Le Kai’s face that the slicing air made his heart race.

Le Kai’s face darkened with fury. “You stupid King Kong, are you jealous of my good looks and trying to ruin my face? I haven’t even tasted the pleasures of life yet! You’re truly detestable!”

No sooner had he landed than Le Kai let out a roar and charged, slashing fiercely at King Kong with a flurry of strikes.

King Kong responded with a wild howl, swinging his club. Though his movements seemed clumsy, each block was impeccably timed to parry Le Kai’s attacks. The air rang with a constant clanging, as if they’d stumbled into an ancient blacksmith’s workshop. The club’s material was a mystery—ebony black, yet astonishingly tough. Even when Le Kai channeled his true energy into his blade and hacked with all his might, he couldn’t inflict the slightest damage—not even a scratch.

Le Kai’s keen eyes narrowed. He knew better than anyone the sharpness of his curved blade; there was almost nothing it couldn’t cut. Even the so-called most advanced alloys brought by the professor from the cosmos had been damaged by his blade. Yet this unremarkable-looking club in King Kong’s hands rendered his blade utterly helpless. Damn it, he’d even infused his strike with true energy!

A straightforward slash already carried three thousand Anks of force. With true energy, it reached at least six thousand. That such terrifying power couldn’t even leave a mark—just how tough was this club? It was beyond belief. More importantly, where had King Kong acquired such a rare weapon? He’d never seen him use it in past encounters.

King Kong’s strength had grown significantly since before. This transformation sent a chill through Le Kai’s heart. His own rapid progress over the past ten days was thanks entirely to the “Unity Codex” left by the professor. Could it be that King Kong, too, had practiced some secret art?

The thought set off alarms in Le Kai’s mind, and he dared not attack recklessly. If his guess was correct and King Kong had a master, then he was facing not just this beast, but an even more formidable enemy lurking in the shadows. Since coming up the mountain, he’d felt a vague sense of unease, though his usually infallible predictive abilities hadn’t warned him. He was caught between suspicion and uncertainty.

Now, the way King Kong blocked his attacks was startlingly similar to the techniques the professor had once taught him. For a mutant beast to wield a weapon was shocking enough; to master such systematic techniques was beyond comprehension.

Le Kai dared not go all out. King Kong, relieved of the pressure, seized the chance to counterattack. The massive club, over three meters long, spun around like a juggler’s prop, conjuring a storm of shadows that enveloped Le Kai. There was no opening in the barrage—it was as if the very heavens and earth would be shattered.

Le Kai’s breath caught, his face paling. Without his psychic abilities, he’d have had no idea how to evade such an onslaught. The storm of club shadows, part real and part illusion, was dazzling, but he could still sense the direction of true danger. Calling upon the Unity Step, he retreated swiftly.

Yet King Kong pursued like a shadow, his club’s movements shifting unpredictably, just like a martial arts master—ferocious and unstoppable. An ordinary man would have long since lost his wits and panicked.

Crash after crash, the club smashed into the ground, sending stones flying and dust swirling in a blinding haze. Vision was impossible.

Le Kai kept retreating, but not down the mountain—instead, he subtly guided the fight toward the crater at the summit. Using the cover of dust, his movements became erratic, leading King Kong onward as if carving out a broad path up the volcano.

Seeing his old foe in retreat, King Kong was overjoyed. He swung his club with even greater force, and before he realized it, man and beast had reached the volcano’s mouth.

The crater was far larger than it appeared from below—a hundred meters across at least. From the mountaintop, it looked even more grand and imposing. Below the gaping opening, a ruddy glow emanated—not from flames, but from the surrounding rocks. Whether this color was natural or the stain of ancient lava, none could say.

The temperature here was at least double that of the foot of the mountain—Le Kai estimated no less than eighty degrees. An ordinary person would have been overcome, but both Le Kai and King Kong fought on, oblivious.

The red rocks at the summit were also astonishingly hard. When King Kong’s club struck the ground, it rang like metal on metal, sparks flying, yet the surface remained unscathed.

Only now did King Kong seem to realize where they were. His face, once triumphant, showed a trace of panic, and his attacks faltered.

Could there truly be something atop this volcano?

A thought flashed through Le Kai's mind. His eyes narrowed, and suddenly he leapt, diving into the mysterious depths of the crater.

Though the volcano’s mouth looked bottomless, it wasn’t a sheer drop but sloped down gradually. Le Kai had no fear of falling to his death or plummeting into an endless abyss.

King Kong was dumbfounded at the sight, and in the next instant, with a panicked roar, he too leapt in, hot on Le Kai’s heels.