Dark Moon Era

A Purple Moon Warrior once said that out of all the vicious beasts, the demon ape’s squeak was the most spine-chilling. It sounded like a baby’s cry and a rat’s squeak combined.

Some scientists thought otherwise about its voice. They learned that due to a mutation, the demon ape had acquired a link with bats, hence its voicebox could release an ultrawave that would disrupt the human hearing. However, it was not proven.

Regardless of the reason, Krovsky finally heard the squeak of the demon ape himself. At that instant, his heart went cold and chills traveled down his spine, causing goosebumps all over his body.

Swash!

A pair of wings grazed Krovsky’s side like a bolt of black lightning. He managed to dodge quickly though not entirely, so one side of his helmet was sliced off together with his ear and a considerable amount of flesh on his face.

“Aaaaaargh!” Krovsky lost his calm. The demon ape had locked its sights on him.

What else could he do other than giving his best efforts to fight back? Still, would his best efforts be useful in front of absolute power?

It was a little useful. At least, he could delay the time of his death and cause trouble for his enemy. More importantly, he could protect his last bit of pride and hold on to a thin thread of hope.

Tang Ling grabbed a raging bull by the belly. No matter how fiercely the bull struggled, Tang Ling’s hand seemed to be stuck to its body, so it could not break free at all.

It was impossible for Tang Ling to trip and fall. He had done it on purpose! From the start till the end, including the bait he threw at Krovsky, everything was part of his setup.

But why Krovsky?

It was sheer coincidence.

‘The raging bulls have to consume a type of special salt and not just any salt. It’s a product unique to the Purple Moon era, and coincidentally, there is a salt mine in this coordinates near the Santos Branching Ridge.

‘But, of course, the raging bull doesn’t need to consume a lot. Every year, when the wolves attack the villages, they will gather around the foot of the mountain and lick some salt at the salt mine. While it’s actually a trivial matter in the natural world, it’s something huge to the silver winged demon ape.

‘Why? Stupid kid, do you want to know? Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s because the herd of raging bulls is a feast for the demon apes. Every year when the raging bulls finish licking the salt, they will fall into a dizzy and sluggish state, so the demon apes will seize the opportunity to herd them into the valley to kill for meat.

‘Do you get it now? They are so smart, they even know how to preserve the beef with the salt. My gosh! As a human, I feel threatened. What about you? Do you understand why you shouldn’t step into the Santos Branching Ridge during the wolf attacks now? Not only will you disturb a herd of salt-licking cows, but you’ll also step on the demon ape’s tail. I suppose you aren’t that despicable, are you?’

I am this despicable! Tang Ling grumbled in his heart after he recalled what Tang Feng had written in his notebook. He realized that the man always started off straight to the point, but as he continued, every map had at least three pages of nagging. It seemed as if calling Tang Ling a stupid kid would satisfy him. Only then would he be content to pass him his teachings.

Tang Ling could not spare extra attention to the nagging at the moment because time was running out and he had to concentrate on the battlefield.

Krovsky was fighting with his life on the line as he was tangled up with the demon ape among the raging bulls. There was no support or aid from the other Purple Moon Warriors at all because when the first demon ape appeared, five more advanced in different waves. All the demon apes jumped into the herd and started to hunt the Purple Moon Warriors mercilessly.

It was only natural to them because these humans had destroyed their feast by aggravating the raging bulls right after they finished licking the salt. Therefore, it would be a hassle for the demon apes to herd the raging bulls into the valley and kill them for meat.

Even if they relied on the terrain of the valley, how many could they possibly capture with their number? With that in mind, the demon apes got even angrier because the humans had drawn the herd away from the valley.

If not for them, the demon apes would have waited for the humans to pass so that the herd of raging bulls would return to lick the salt. Finally, when the bulls were inebriated, the demon apes would come down for the kill since it was much easier that way.

However, of course, the Purple Moon Warriors had been framed, and no matter how smart the demon apes might be, their logic was not powerful enough to identify the culprit. Moreover, the culprit was hiding under the belly of a bull.

The battle started at a climax.

The eight Purple Moon Warriors that chased after Tang Ling were all in a sticky situation. One of them was unfortunate enough to die following the demon ape’s attack right after it appeared due to his carelessness.

Since the unfortunate one was a rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior, dying to a Level 4 vicious beast was expected. Tragically, the rest fared no better than him either as death was around the corner for them.

Nevertheless, Tang Ling could not stay back and watch anymore.

Forced into desperation, Krovsky lost his calm completely. He was no match for the demon ape, but it did not mean that he would die willingly by their claws. The pride of the Purple Moon Warrior drove him into self-destruction while dragging the demon ape down together.

At the very last moment, he ignited all his energy and hugged the demon ape from the back. His rare wood element talent allowed him to grow numerous strange bloody vines from his body, binding his arms together with the demon ape.

When he saw the scene, Tang Ling exclaimed how lucky he was. Had he been ten seconds later, he would have had to resolve to his last resort.

Time was up. Tang Ling sprung out from under the belly of the bull without a second thought. Since he was close to Krovsky to begin with, he was able to race to the Purple Moon Warrior in a jiffy.

Tang Ling reached out to the devil ape’s belly, lifted its silver fur and ripped something off from the belly. His movements were quick, nimble and smooth as though he had practiced it a thousand times.

The demon ape did not even respond to what happened, let alone Krovsky.

Of course, Tang Ling would not sit back and wait for them. After he managed to snatch the thing, he turned around and ran at top speed towards the valley. He had to make it before his transformation was over.

A second later, the demon ape screeched so loudly that it almost shook the heavens.

Kuaaaaaaar!

Unlike the crying squeaks from before, this scream was filled with immense wrath. Although Tang Ling was deeply frightened, he dared not look back. He should be able to make it with a second’s difference in time.

…

Death Adder Scale was actually a codename. As a matter of fact, there were seven members that formed the Death Adder Squad, and every one of them used a part of the death adder snake as their codename.

The leader was Head while the members were Fang, Tongue, Scale, Eye, Bone, and Venom.

The Death Adder Squad belonged to the Dark Shadow Troops of the Stardust Council. Shadow, the creepy bastard who ambushed Su Siao back at Safety Sector No. 17, also belonged to the Dark Shadow Troops. The Dark Shadow Troops was one of the mysterious companies under the Stardust Council, and the Death Adder Squad sat in the lowest rank of the troop.

The weakest member possessed the strength of a rank 2 Purple Moon Warrior while the strongest, Head, was a rank 4-to-be.

Despite being the lowest-ranked squad in the company, they received an important order that day, which was to capture Tang Ling. If they succeeded, their rank would rise. With that in mind, Scale assumed his luck to be off the charts.

It had been more than a minute since he arrived in position at the valley. He then heard noises from the winding valley entrance and he knew that Tang Ling would surely pass by. His heart was pumping with excitement.

If he could capture Tang Ling with his own hands, how great would that be?

There were a few times when he wanted to have a glimpse at the entrance because he was afraid that Tang Ling would fall into the soldiers’ hands without him even making it into the valley. However, he dared not do so.

Orders could not be disobeyed, especially one of the Dark Shadow Troops’. Moreover, it was a direct order from Young Master Long! If he let Tang Ling slip past due to his little mistake, his punishment would be as severe as the reward for capturing Tang Ling.

Therefore, Scale impatiently waited at the center of the valley while listening to the on and off noises on alert to judge whether had Tang Ling been captured or not.

Every second and every minute that passed was torture to him. Anxious and messy thoughts arose in his mind.

After almost 20 seconds, Scale heard something. He detected a set of footsteps heading toward his position swiftly and behind the footsteps were a lot more messy rackets. There were the whistling of the wind, the galloping hooves of the bulls, and the screams of humans. All the noises seemed to be gushing into the valley rapidly.

Is he here? Scale got even more excited but what followed was anxiety. Damn it! Why am I so anxious?! He was considered average within the squad. Despite not being the strongest, he possessed rank 3-to-be powers.

Moreover, being a part of the Dark Shadow Troops proved that he had excellent talent ability and endless methods. On top of that, the equipment given to the members of the Dark Shadow Troops was not something a Purple Moon Warrior could rival. Scale had two trump cards to protect himself. Hence, what was he so anxious about?

Scale adjusted his breath and prepared himself to welcome Tang Ling with a vicious blow. He was hiding behind a sharp corner of the valley, so Tang Ling would never see it coming.

Two seconds later, a huge figure appeared around the corner all of a sudden.

This is it! It’s Tang Ling!

Excitement flooded Scale’s face, but at the next second, he saw Tang Ling smiling at him with a strange hand posture. A huge ball of fire then blasted into him swiftly!

What the hell?! Is Tang Ling already a fire element Purple Moon Warrior?! Has he broken through the locks?!

Scale could not spare any more thought as he pulled out a shield that resembled a giant scale and defended himself. He was at the narrowest corner of the valley, which was only 3 meters wide, so there was no way for him to escape.

Of course, a ball of fire could not hurt Scale since his scale shield could block it completely.

However, after the fire was extinguished, Tang Ling was already beside Scale and sprinted past him. At that very moment, Tang Ling stuffed something hairy into his arms and provoked him with a grave voice that echoed in his ears.

“Boom!”

Scale was infuriated! Without a second thought, he grabbed the hairy stuff and crushed it single-handedly. At the same time, he covered his hands in an armor of scales. He wanted to see how this hairy thing strike would him.

However, the expected explosion did not happen as there was only blood. Drops of blood splattered on his face followed by a rushed squeak.

Scale finally got a clear glimpse of what he had crushed. The hairy thing was a silver baby ape!

What the f*ck?!

Everything happened too fast. From the moment Tang Ling appeared with fire shooting out of his hand, to him getting that hairy thing and crushing it without a second thought, it all happened within microseconds.

Scale’s heart was flooded with anxiety. He realized something but failed to respond properly. His response was not necessary anymore when an average-sized silver figure charged towards him with a mournful cry followed by a huge bolt of lightning at his face.

Scale barely dodged it, and finally, his response came online. He shouted, “Tang Ling! You f*cking set me up!” As he roared, a scale fell off his hand and flew at Tang Ling’s escaping figure.

Tang Ling felt a chill on his back that quickly disappeared in between his flesh. He knew that this ambusher must have done something to him, but he could not turn around. He had calculated everything perfectly but was still beaten by the odds. If anything happened out of the blue, he could only bear the consequences.

He sprinted forward madly without turning around. He had around 40 seconds left in the transformation, and before his weakened state kicked in, he had to find a place to hide. Soon, his figure disappeared into the valley.

On the other hand, Scale could never walk out of the valley anymore. He was furious and sad.

He was furious because he could not have seen this coming. Tang Ling grasped every detail perfectly. First, he used the fire to confuse him and blind him for a second. Then, he misled him to think that the hairy thing was something dangerous.

More importantly, everything happened so quickly and smoothly! Otherwise, why would he have crushed a baby devil ape so ruthlessly?

If he was destined to die here, he would die in the grievance. Moreover, he was pitched against the demon ape without even getting the chance to contact his squad that could have come over and helped him. His only hope was Head and Venom who were reaching the valley. If they made it in time, he would still have a thread of hope to survive.

The sad thing was, what were the odds of that? Next to zero! How long could he stay alive? He was just a rank 3-to-be. Even if he had tricks up his sleeves, how should he face five angry demon apes at once?

Was he going to die? He was certain of it. The demon apes had almost no weaknesses at all. The only way around them was to suppress them with sheer strength.

Were the demon apes really created without a weakness? No, there was one! The baby! The baby demon ape!

Baby demon apes before the age of two were very weak. Even a hopping rabbit could kill it, so wherever the mature demon ape went, it would bring its youngling along and hide it under a hairy skin pouch at its belly.

The pouch was like a cover that fully protected the baby ape. Otherwise, with such a low fertility rate, the demon apes could not have grown in numbers.

Because the baby ape was so weak, the whole ape tribe cared about it a lot. Anyone who dared to touch the baby would surely enrage the tribe and the mature demon apes would surely chase the attacker to the ends of the world.

What did Scale do? He had crushed a baby ape right in front of a tribe of demon apes!

Would he be able to survive the wrath of the apes?