If I try to unleash it early, its strength will be reduced. One more cycle.
Rui Ming exhaled.
Remember — unmoved, unbothered, free from attachment.
Chomp. The bone gorilla bit Murong Zhan's head off.
Lava Spit. Lei was about to follow through with a charging attack, but stopped in his tracks. His martial instincts were strong enough to keep his judgement clear. There was nothing to risk for now.
The bone gorilla threw Murong Zhan's body into the line of sect warriors, a fountain of blood gushing from where his neck used to be, and spat his head, still covered by a helmet, out. It then turned to Lei, its eyes bloodshot. Those spits didn't seriously damage it, but were bloody annoying!
"Lure it back!" Xin felt desperate as he retrieved a glaive out of his back of holding in one polished motion. He felt a part of him die together with Zhan, but kept his composure.
Lei moved like a pendulum, left and right, as if showing the gorilla that he's ready to dodge its ranged spike attacks.
Roar! The beast decided to just charge the young warrior.
Xin quickly scanned the battlefield. What's the correct decision?
We lack leadership! Our two commanders are busy fighting, which means someone needs to step up. How about me?
Xin saw the sect's troops hesitate when they fought the remaining three apes. Those were injured, but still far from being dropped. The squad that had Murong Zhan's corpse thrown at them was outright backing away.
That's it, I need to abandon the bone gorilla! Even if it kills Lei, it's the correct choice! I've got to trust in him!
The gorilla roared fiercely and leaped towards Lei, its unnaturally strong legs allowing it to perform a long jump covering half the alley. It wasn't just freakishly strong because of its size, it also used innate qi abilities!
Lei planned to climb the roof behind him, but the ape gave him no space! Change of plan — side jump!
Swoosh. Lei narrowly dodged a spiked fist attack and rolled away.
Rui Ming inhaled, then unleashed a compound move, step by step!
Cutting wind technique. Windstrider. Tornado dao shard. Zephyr lance dao shard, rank two!
Cyclone Whirlwind Impale! Rui Ming dashed past the bone ape's left thigh and stabbed into its exposed inner right thigh. His sword, coated in an aura of a lance-like shape, broke the bone plating and sliced right in. As a cherry on top, he delivered a swirling whirlwind attack, emerging from the tip of his sword, still buried in the creature's muscle. The combined damage was spectacular, piercing the bone and twisting the ape's thigh muscles and tendons like a meat grinder, sending a hurricane of red mush flying around!
I've trained this move for years. The pleasant sensation of finally executing it is overwhelming, but it's undermined by the context. Curses!
Meanwhile, Xin approached a smaller gorilla from behind. Need to make a choice, quickly, before it turns towards me!
Woodcutter's Downswing! He sliced at the creature's leg with his glaive, damaging a tendon on its heel.
"Roar!" The creature shouted in an eerily humanlike voice, and swung its club at the sect's mortals, trying to get them off.
Stab! An internal disciple delivered a metal qi infused sword stab at its shoulder. Dirt bubble! Another qi active mortal mixed his bubble dao shard with earth path materials, covering the creature's eyes in dirt.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin attacked the creature's leg again, finally tearing the tendon. It suddenly stood on its fists and tried to kick Xin away with its legs, like it was an angry horse! Luckily, Xin's weapon gave him enough reach, and he just stepped back, the blinded creature unable to correctly guess where he stood.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin hit the creature's shoulder as it turned towards him.
Stab. Slash. Bonk. The ape was overwhelmed by the mortals attacking it from all directions, and was too wounded to move on. Stabbed in the eye, it tried to raise its club for a last resort attack, but a combined mass of several people pushed it to the ground, executing it quickly.
"Don't crowd! Attack the big monkey!"
"We can't hurt it! It's rank two!" Another mortal shouted. "Finish the other two apes!"
In heated situations, many people would emerge as potential leaders. And as their visions collided, there would be a clash of personalities. Xin knew the recipe to this victory — overwhelming numbers. Need to get the gorilla off Lei, and surround it with people to cover Ming. This idea of finishing the apes off is stupid, if the bone gorilla kills our rank ones, we're done for.
"I'll smear your family with feces after I kill them, shut the fuck up! Everyone, surround the bone gorilla! Slice where its bone armour is weakest, stay close, throw it off balance together!" Xin lied about its armour weakness, he knew that they wouldn't deal any meaningful damage, but it was the only way to get them to act on this plan. He ran towards his crossbow, getting himself an excuse for why he wasn't in the front line himself.
"Don't stare! Charge!" Xin's voice cracked from the shouting, he reloaded again and aimed at the bone gorilla. It was stunned from pain due to Rui Ming's attack, but would soon resume fighting. Still, this gave Lei enough time to jump on the nearby building. Can this gorilla even follow? No, the roof will break.
Swoosh. A bone spike was launched at Lei, but he hid behind the building's chimney. The creature then turned to Rui Ming, but he already ran away, drawing his bow.
Roar! Surrounded by fifteen people, it started receiving stabs from all sides. Rui Ming peppered it with arrows, but they just chipped at it, not dealing meaningful damage.
Don't worry, Xin, I'll give you strength!
Xin had a vision of him leaping towards the bone gorilla flash in his mind. The creature trips and falls, and Xin triumphantly roars, as he starts swiping at it with his claws, breaking the armour and piercing into its flash. The sweet smell of its blood, Xin could feel it on his tongue.
"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted out, the soldiers assumed he was still trying to repress them, but in reality, he was shutting down the totem's absurd proposal. "Push, everyone!"
Xin shot another bolt at the creature's neck. It hurt it slightly, but it was a symbolic attack first and foremost, saying "I'm with you, guys". In reality, Xin was almost out of qi, his wrists too injured to keep reloading.
What next? How do we win this? The creature is bleeding, and it doesn't seem to have any regenerative abilities. Should we run away? No, it will kill the mortals in droves. Probably won't be able to kill Ming and Lei, unless they expose themselves. With its injuries, it probably can't challenge their movement abilities, especially if they used the roofs to escape.
Xin ran up to the mortals fighting the two remaining gorillas and stabbed at one of the apes with his glaive, infused with the last remnants of his qi. The creature was eyeing for an exit, but was surrounded, so it fought fiercely.
"Let them escape! Let them escape! Attack the big one!" Xin remembered Murong Zhan's advice, and barked at his allies. Hopefully, they'll listen. Xin was angry, this whole chain of command is a fucking mess!
The bone gorilla stomped and killed another mortal. It noticed a qi active mortal among their ranks and pierced him with two bone spikes, launched from its fists. It received numerous stabs, but they did nothing. In return, it moved again and killed two more mortals, crushing one and splashing another into a wall with a powerful kick.
"Xin, we aren't doing shit! Xin!" A mortal standing in the second line of attack shouted out anxiously, poking at it with his ji polearm.
Meanwhile, the sect's troops let the gorillas retreat, and they started running away, swinging at the mortals obstructing their path. One of the gorillas suddenly collapsed from blood loss, the second one was finished off by Rui Ming's wind enchanted arrows. Xin felt his spirit rise. That's a good change, but how do we win now?
"Stab the hole I made! It might work!" Rui Ming shouted out, sounding rather calm and composed.
The ape roared. It connected its fists, infusing them with a massive amount of qi. The spikes started growing all over its fists and even wrists, and it pointed them at the sect's mortals. An area attack, probably a shower of spikes! Xin felt his heart drop. It can't stop its injury, but its qi reserves are still massive! What's the win condition? Think, Xin!
Lei felt his meridians cracking as he stood on the slum house's roof. This spirit stone was too much, I'll suffer immensely. But there is a chance!
Jumper boots! Propulsion shard! He launched himself into the air.
Somersault! Channel the spinning motion into the qi flow!
Axe kick! Metal and Fire Infusions! Propulsion dao shard! Iron Lung dao shard!
Molten Meteor Drop!
Lei's metal qi infused foot landed at the back of the creature's head, his muscles reinforced but still strained from pain. A wave of fiery heat exploded on impact, scorching the ape's bone carapace and sending Lei flying back.
"Argh!" Weakened by blood loss and stunned by pain, it staggered unexpectedly. Lei seized the moment, recomposed and grabbed the creature's buttcheeks, then used fire qi to infuse his other, unharmed leg.
Propulsion dao shard! The creature was almost tripped over, but tried to regain balance.
"Pull! Flip!" Lei shouted out desperately. He knew he wasn't strong enough to do this, and needed everyone's help. A breath later, the bone gorilla was surrounded from all sides, people pulling at its hands, grabbing its head with the backs of their polearms and just dangling on its neck, using their own weight.
Xin joined them from behind, pushing with a desperate battle cry.
Bang. The creature lay prone, mounted by numerous people stabbing at it.
"Anus! Eyes!" Xin shouted to his peers, hoping they'd stab where he asked them.
"Thigh wound! Back of head!" Lei stabbed at the back of the creature's head, there was a scorched crack in its bone armour, but he still had to break through it, then through its hide, and then through its skull.
"Let me touch it!" Xin tried to grab Lei's sword. Lei's vision was already clouded, he was fainting from internal damage, but trusted his friend.
Metal qi infusion! Xin sharpened Lei's blade.
"Infuse your stab!" The gorilla was already recomposing, it would soon start throwing people off.
Lei caught a small remnant of qi at the bottom of his core. He was emptied, and his metal and fire elements were mixing together, filling his body with toxins. Shit, this one will wreck me!
Explosive Stab! He saw the ape's brain liquid emerge towards the surface.
The creature was dead.