Chapter 109 | Iron-Hide Monkey King!

Chapter 109: 109 | Iron-Hide Monkey King!

The ground began to tremble.

"Rumble!" "Rumble!"

At first, it was barely noticeable.

A soft vibration, like a distant drum. Then the shaking grew stronger.

Loose stones bounced and skittered across the forest floor.

The trees around them shook violently, leaves raining down in panicked showers.

Birds exploded from the canopy, screeching warnings no one needed translated.

Andrew’s lips curled up into a smirk and he said sharply.

"Run!"

Without another word, he turned and sprinted into the forest with no hesitation and not a glance back.

John, Jasmine, Lucy, and Michael froze for a split second.

The suddenness of it but then instinct kicked in and they chased after Andrew without hesitation.

Wind blasted past them as trees scratched their bodies as they fled.

Michael, seeing Andrew’s slower speed, didn’t break stride. He simply bent, scooped Andrew onto his shoulder and shot off like an artillery shell.

"What the hell is happening?" Michael shouted as he ran, his face slightly puzzled.

Andrew’s expression stayed serious, his jaw tight. "No time to explain! Just run!"

Behind them, Gerald frowned. For the first time since the standoff began, confusion flickered across his face. He didn’t move. Didn’t chase. He just stood there, eyes narrowing. "What are they..."

He never finished his sentence.

A silver blur exploded out of the forest.

"Boom!"

Gerald’s instincts screamed. Every nerve in his body lit up at once and he spun and threw a punch back ward on pure reflex.

His fist immediately collided with a giant iron fist.

"Bang!"

The explosion was earth-shattering. A shockwave erupted from the impact, an invisible wall of force shook the trees around.

Ans the ground beneath Gerald’s feet shattered into pieces.

Even Gerald’s own squad, were forced several steps back by the sheer pressure.

Gerald slid dozens of meters before he could steady himself, his boots carving trenches in the dirt.

His pupils shrank.

Standing before him, silhouetted against the shattered treeline, was a monstrous ape over three meters tall.

Its fur was silver and matted with old blood. Its crimson eyes burned with an almost intelligent rage.

Its fists was massive and seem to be covered in a gauntlets.

And the aura rolling off its body... overwhelming. Suffocating.

[Name: Iron-Hide Monkey King.

[Grade: 3-Star Elite]

[Level: 40]

[Info: A vindictive monkey king with iron skin]

"ROOOOOOAR!"

The Iron-Hide Monkey threw its head back and let out a roar that shook the entire forest, its sound was so deep and violent it felt like the earth itself was screaming.

"ROOOAAARRR!!"

Only then did Gerald put two and two together.

His face darkened, the realization hitting like a second punch. "So that’s what the brat was planning."

Everything clicked into place. The exploded monkey corpse. The blood deliberately scattered into the wind. It had never been an attack. It had never been a distraction. It was bait.

Andrew had told John to coat them in the scent of a murdered Iron Eyed Monkey. And to the Monkey King, that scent meant only one thing.

Its kin had been killed by them and the murderers stood before it.

Gerald slowly gritted his teeth until they ached. "I’ve been played."

The Monkey King didnt give Gerald much choice and attacked again without warning.

"Whoosh!"

The air screeched as a gigantic fist descending like a falling meteor.

Gerald leaped backward, the wind of the blow tearing at his face.

"Move!"

He shouted to his squad and immediately, his entire squad retreated at once, scattering like startled crows.

"Go after them! I’ll catch up!" Gerald barked.

The seven members of his squad did not hesitate.

They shot after John’s group at full speed, vanishing into the trees.

Gerald stayed behind.

He suddenly punched his fists to the ground as he activated his control technique.

"Earth Chains."

"Boom!"

The ground shattered as dozens of thick, earthen chains burst from the ground, coiling around the Monkey King’s huge body like serpents.

They wrapped its arms, its legs, its chest.

The Iron-hide Monkey King struggled hard, its muscles bulging.

The chains cracked almost all at once, fractures spidering across the ground. But it was half a second slow. That tiny window, was all Gerald needed. He turned around and fled.

"CRACK!"

The chains exploded apart. The Monkey King threw back its head and let out another deafening roar that seemed to split the sky.

"ROOOAAARRR!!"

The forest erupted.

One after another, more Iron-Eyed Monkeys burst from between the trees.

Dozens, then hundreds of Iron-hide monkeys poured from the trees.

Every single one had blazing red eyes full of murderous fury. The whole colony, united by rage and scent, charged after Gerald’s squad.

The earth shook beneath their stampede.

Far ahead, Michael glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock.

Even from this distance, the chaos was visible, a moving wall of silver and crimson tearing through the forest.

"You planned all this?" he shouted, disbelief and delight mixing in his voice.

Andrew, still on Michael’s shoulder, nodded. "I remembered reading about Iron-Eyed Monkeys. They’re extremely vindictive. If one of their own is killed, the whole colony hunts the killer until either the killer dies or they do. I just made sure the Monkey King believed Gerald’s squad was responsible."

Michael burst into laughter, loud and genuine, the sound bouncing off the trees. "Hahaha! That’s brilliant!"

John, running beside them, could not help but grin. He raised a thumbs up toward Andrew. "You really are terrifying. I almost feel sorry for anyone who becomes your enemy."

Andrew simply smiled, his face still tight with focus. "I just didn’t want us fighting a battle we couldn’t win."

Jasmine looked at him with open admiration, her strides fluid and effortless. "You saved us again."

Andrew scratched the back of his head, the gesture awkward given his position. "I only thought of the fastest way to escape."

Jasmine’s beautiful eyes curved into a smile. "When we leave this dimensional zone, I’ll give you a reward. A reward you’ll definitely like."

Andrew blinked. "Huh?"

Michael immediately burst into another round of laughter.

John shook his head helplessly, a tired smirk on his face.

Even Lucy, who rarely smiled, could not suppress the faint curve of her lips. Andrew wisely pretended he hadn’t heard anything.

Some battles weren’t worth fighting.

The group kept running deeper into the forest, the roar of the monkey colony fading behind them. After several minutes, John slowed his pace. "The normal route won’t work anymore."

Everyone looked toward him. He wiped sweat from his brow. "The exit is in the same direction Gerald came from. The Monkey King’s colony is also in that way. If we keep to the shortest route, we’ll run straight into both of them."

He pointed toward another path cutting through the thick trees.

"There’s another route. It’s almost three times longer, but it’s safer."

No one argued. The five changed direction without hesitation and disappeared into the deeper forest.

The deeper they went, the quieter the forest became. Sunlight grew thin and patchy. The air cooled and turned chilly.

Every second inside the dimensional zone added more danger, john led the way while Michael carried Andrew on his shoulder, the latter’s eyes constantly scanning.

Jasmine and Lucy guarded the sides, their gazes sharp, their weapons never fully sheathed.

Even though they had escaped Gerald and the monkey colony, none of them dared to relax.