49: Devil gorilla

The once bustling town had long been swallowed by nature.

Streets were overgrown with weeds, vines crawled over buildings, and shops on both sides of the street were obscured by lush trees.

Sunlight filtered through, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The streets were covered with a thick layer of withered branches and fallen leaves, emitting a decaying odor, a masterpiece of microorganisms.

Zhang Fan walked up to the Lion Crocodile, which had now turned golden.

The scales on its body had also transformed into luxurious, noble Golden Scale.

It was entirely golden, as if cast from pure gold.

Zhang Fan raised his Xuanhua Great Axe and brought it down.

"Ding—"

The axe struck the Lion Crocodile's neck, sending sparks flying, yet only leaving a faint bloodline on it.

That was blood remaining on the axe blade, staining the Lion Crocodile's neck.

Zhang Fan wiped away the bloodline, and the Lion Crocodile's neck was as clean and smooth as new, without a trace left.

Looking at the Xuanhua Great Axe in his hand, it was actually slightly chipped!

"This axe I custom-ordered, forged from C7-grade alloy, can easily cleave through the scales of low-level monsters!"

"Yet it's not as hard as the Lion Crocodile. What grade of alloy is this, exactly?"

Zhang Fan gasped.

The Nine-Headed Golden Flood Dragon's Talent Divine Power—Turning Stone into Gold—transforms matter into an unknown alloy.

The specific grade of this alloy is currently unknown!

Because no one dared to provoke the Nine-Headed Golden Flood Dragon by asking for this unknown alloy, naturally, there was no way to study it.

Zhang Fan now discovered that the hardness of this unknown alloy was at least much harder than C7-grade alloy!

How much higher, Zhang Fan had limited reference objects at hand and couldn't compare it. He could only wait until he returned to the Base City to research it.

"Since that's the case..."

A golden light flashed in Zhang Fan's eyes, spraying onto the Xuanhua Great Axe.

"Swish—"

The Xuanhua Great Axe was covered in a golden layer, first the blade, then the axe back.

Finally, the axe handle.

Within a few breaths, this Xuanhua Great Axe transformed from a gleaming iron axe into a dazzling golden axe.

Zhang Fan held the axe, feeling its changes, and wondered:

"It actually became lighter!"

"Roar—"

A low roar came, followed by a pungent stench.

A Devil Gorilla, over 6 meters tall, covered in black scales, and with bulging muscles, emerged from behind the bushes, looking down at Zhang Fan.

"Devil Gorilla!"

Zhang Fan's eyes flickered.

The Devil Gorilla evolved and mutated from the Silverback Gorilla.

It is inherently ferocious and incredibly strong, making it the most terrifying ape-type Monster.

Moreover, this type of ape Monster has astonishing potential; the weakest Devil Gorilla is a low-level Titan Beast.

The strongest Devil Gorilla, however, could be a Monster Emperor!

The Devil Gorilla's growth potential is similar to that of humans.

This is why humans cultivate Devil Gorillas for research.

It was just unexpected that for this practical assessment, the management center would bring in a Devil Gorilla and release it into the testing grounds.

This Devil Gorilla was clearly hungry, staring at Zhang Fan, saliva dripping in a continuous stream from between its teeth.

A shocking stench emanated from its mouth, like the smell of a rotting corpse.

The next second.

It swung its fist, breaking a nearby elm tree, and charged at Zhang Fan like a rampaging bull, carrying the foul odor with it.

"Bang bang bang—"

The Devil Gorilla's feet pounded the ground, causing it to rumble, and the withered branches and fallen leaves to shake up and down.

After closing in, the Devil Gorilla swung its hammer-like fist, smashing down on Zhang Fan like Mount Tai pressing down.

"Having bad breath isn't your fault, but coming out to disgust people is!"

Zhang Fan nimbly dodged the descending fist, then slid under the Devil Gorilla, appearing behind it. The golden axe in his hand smoothly sliced across the Devil Gorilla's lower leg.

"Pfft—"

The axe blade cut through the lower leg like a sharp knife slicing through a tuna's belly—smooth, silky, without any resistance.

The Devil Gorilla's right lower leg was instantly cut open, and blood immediately seeped out.

"Ow!"

The Great Devil Gorilla cried out in pain, becoming even more furious, wildly beating its chest, emitting dull thuds.

It grabbed a large tree, stripped off its branches, and used it as a club, swinging it down at Zhang Fan's head.

A major specialty of primates, essential for their survival, is their incredibly strong grip, allowing them to use various weapons!

This tree was a meter thick, thicker than Zhang Fan himself.

As the Devil Gorilla swung it, the air whistled.

If this club landed a solid hit, even German heavy tanks like the Maus or E100 would be smashed to smithereens.

Zhang Fan moved on the ground with astonishing speed, appearing suddenly on the left, then on the right, as slippery as a monkey.

Despite the Devil Gorilla's menacing presence, it couldn't even touch him.

On the other hand, Zhang Fan occasionally landed an axe blow on the Devil Gorilla, easily cutting through its scales.

After several consecutive axe strikes, the Devil Gorilla's two lower legs were covered in cuts and bleeding profusely.

The Devil Gorilla roared in anger, yet was helpless.

"I'm done playing with you!"

Zhang Fan snapped his fingers, and a wisp of black flame shot up from his fingertip.

This flame, like burning ink, danced on Zhang Fan's fingertip.

Eerie, evil!

Zhang Fan's figure flickered, appearing by the Devil Gorilla's leg.

With a flick of his finger, the black flame landed on the Devil Gorilla's leg.

Then he ran off, like a mischievous child lighting firecrackers during the New Year, afraid of being too slow and getting caught by the firecracker.

The black flame, upon contact with the Devil Gorilla, instantly ignited, spreading wildly from its right leg to all parts of its body.

Within a few breaths, the black flames spread throughout its entire body, and the Devil Gorilla appeared to be bathed in black flames.

Majestic and awe-inspiring, like a black demon that had emerged from the Nine Netherworld Hell!

Unfortunately, the Devil Gorilla, this demon, was not having a good time.

Under the scorching of the black flames, it roared in agony and struggled madly.

It ran for its life, rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish the black flames.

But it was all in vain!

The black flame was like a maggot on a bone, no matter how much the Devil Gorilla struggled, it could not be extinguished.

Instead, it burned even more fiercely!

A minute later, the Devil Gorilla collapsed to the ground and never got up again.

Its soul and consciousness were completely incinerated, and it died on the spot.

"The Nine Netherworld Fire incinerated a Golden Core Realm Titan Dragon Turtle, taking over half an hour to burn it to death!"

"Incinerating the Devil Gorilla was much simpler, done in a minute!"

Zhang Fan was very satisfied with the power of the Nine Netherworld Fire; it specifically burned souls, and as long as a trace touched, it was basically over.

Unless one could bravely cut off a limb, or gouge out bone and flesh, death was inevitable!

But with the spread speed of the Nine Netherworld Fire, the time for such a heroic self-mutilation was extremely short; missing the window meant no salvation!

Zhang Fan stepped forward, collected the Devil Gorilla's corpse, found the bloody pig's head, and continued on his way.

Outside the small town.

In the monitoring room.

The monitoring room was silent, everyone staring at the young man on monitor screen 18, all of them quiet.

They were all veteran Titan Warriors, the weakest being in the Core Formation Realm, with considerable insight, knowledge, and experience.

Except for Liang Xue!

But at this moment, what happened to Zhang Fan completely overturned their understanding, even their worldview.