Chapter 560: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Ground Ape Soup

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

The first Colossal Ground Ape jumped from the Ancient Tree it had been hanging from.

Its enormous body dropped through the branches as it roared, the sound shaking loose leaves from the canopy around it.

Maxwell was already moving toward it.

The Colossal Ground Ape spread both hands and brought them together, trying to clap Maxwell’s entire body between its palms.

For a monster of its size, the movement was frighteningly fast.

Its massive arms swept through the air with enough force to push the surrounding leaves aside, while the pressure created by the movement made several smaller branches bend away.

Maxwell’s golden eyes remained fixed on the approaching hands.

He didn’t slow down.

The two massive palms closed around the space where his body passed.

BOOM!

The Colossal Ground Ape’s hands clapped together.

A huge gust of wind burst outward from the impact.

The force shook the enormous Ancient Trees around them, sending leaves spinning through the air and making several branches sway violently.

But there was no Maxwell between the Ape’s hands.

At the same time...

"GROOOOAAAH..."

The first Colossal Ground Ape suddenly moved backward.

Its head snapped back as a deep cry of pain escaped its throat.

A huge pile of blood flowed from its nose.

The monster’s eyes widened.

Standing directly on its nose...

Was Maxwell.

He had landed on the massive creature’s face after slipping past the clapping hands.

For a moment, the contrast between them looked almost ridiculous.

The Colossal Ground Ape’s head alone was larger than Maxwell’s entire body, yet the thirteen-year-old stood on its nose as though the enormous creature beneath his feet were nothing more than another part of the forest.

BOOM!

Maxwell’s fist struck its face.

The Colossal Ground Ape stumbled backward.

Its enormous feet slammed against the ground.

BOOM!

The monster took another step back.

Its feet crushed sand, rocks, fallen branches, and twigs beneath their weight.

The ground trembled with every movement.

Maxwell jumped slightly as the Ape staggered.

His body rose above its face.

His right hand moved upward.

Cognis gathered around his fist.

The faint energy became denser as he pulled his arm back.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

Maxwell shouted.

His right fist came down.

BOOM!

His fist crashed into the Colossal Ground Ape’s face again.

The impact echoed through the Giant’s Eden.

The other Colossal Ground Apes stopped.

Their movements froze for a brief moment as they looked toward their companion.

The first Colossal Ground Ape let out another roar.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Pain filled the sound.

Its enormous body continued moving backward.

It tried to keep its balance.

Its feet dug into the earth.

But it couldn’t hold itself upright.

The monster’s knees bent.

Its massive body began to fall.

The four remaining Colossal Ground Apes reacted almost immediately.

Two moved backward.

Another jumped onto one of the Ancient Trees behind it.

The last one shifted its weight while staring at their falling companion.

All of their bloodshot eyes remained focused on the first Colossal Ground Ape.

BOOM!

The monster crashed into the ground.

The impact sent dust and loose earth outward.

For a moment, it didn’t move.

Maxwell’s hand was still buried in the Colossal Ground Ape’s face.

He pulled his arm back.

The movement left his fist covered in blood.

The first Colossal Ground Ape was dead.

Maxwell’s golden eyes immediately shifted toward the remaining four.

The Ground Apes flinched when his gaze landed on them.

Their enormous bodies moved slightly backward.

Even though they were monsters that could tear apart Ancient Trees, they had just watched one of their own fall after only a few strikes.

Maxwell noticed their hesitation.

"Ehn..."

He straightened himself while standing on the dead body of the first Colossal Ground Ape.

His breathing remained steady.

A smirk appeared on his face.

"Losing confidence now?"

He looked toward the remaining Ground Apes.

Bam!

His right fist struck the palm of his left hand.

The sound echoed through the clearing.

He rolled his right wrist.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

His fingers and knuckles cracked.

The smirk on his face widened as more Cognis surged through his body.

Faint golden Cognis flowed from him like small sparks of lightning.

The Cognis moved around his arms and shoulders before spreading through the rest of his body.

Maxwell looked at the four remaining monsters.

"I will come to you then."

BOOM!

His body disappeared.

The four Colossal Ground Apes immediately turned their heads around the forest.

Their bloodshot eyes searched through the surrounding Ancient Trees.

They looked left.

Then right.

One of them raised an arm.

Another turned its entire body.

They were searching for Maxwell.

But they couldn’t find him anywhere.

BOOM!

"GROOOOAAAH...!"

The second Colossal Ground Ape suddenly screamed.

Its enormous body dropped from the Ancient Tree it had been hanging from.

The other Ground Apes turned sharply.

Maxwell was already there.

His body was suspended in the air beside the second Colossal Ground Ape, his right fist extended after striking it.

The impact had twisted the monster’s upper body.

Before he fell with it, Maxwell immediately changed his position.

His body twisted in midair.

He placed both feet against the body of the Ancient Tree where the second Colossal Ground Ape had been standing.

His boots pressed against the bark.

He used the tree as a platform.

BOOM!

Maxwell pushed off.

His body disappeared again.

At almost the same moment, the second Colossal Ground Ape crashed into the ground.

The impact shook the forest floor.

The side of its head and body looked broken from Maxwell’s punch.

The third Colossal Ground Ape barely had time to react.

Maxwell appeared in front of it.

BAM!

A solid punch crashed into its forehead.

The force of the strike broke through the monster’s skull almost instantly.

Blood surged through the damaged area.

The third Colossal Ground Ape didn’t even have enough time to scream.

Its massive body lost balance.

It fell.

When the remaining two Colossal Ground Apes finally understood what was happening.

They turned.

Then they ran.

Their enormous bodies moved through the forest as quickly as they could.

They jumped from one towering Ancient Tree to another.

Branches snapped beneath their weight.

Leaves scattered as their hands and feet struck the trees.

For creatures that large, their speed was difficult to understand.

The trees shook every time they landed.

The forest itself seemed to move with them.

But they weren’t fast enough.

Maxwell dashed toward the left leg of the fourth Colossal Ground Ape as it was about to land on another Ancient Tree.

He closed the distance before the monster could stabilize its footing.

BOOM!

Maxwell’s feet crashed into the Ground Ape’s left leg.

The impact broke the joint.

The connection between the leg and the rest of the Colossal Ground Ape’s body gave way.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The Ape screamed.

Its enormous body lost balance.

It fell toward the forest floor.

Branches broke beneath it as it crashed downward.

Maxwell didn’t stop to finish it.

He immediately jumped.

His body shot forward with immense speed.

His target was the next and final Colossal Ground Ape.

The last monster was still running.

Its massive body moved from tree to tree.

It had already watched the other four fall.

Now it was trying to escape.

But Maxwell followed.

His golden eyes remained fixed on it.

The distance between them quickly disappeared.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The scream of the last Colossal Ground Ape echoed loudly through the forest.

Then the Giant’s Eden went quiet.

The birds that had fled earlier were nowhere to be seen.

Leaves slowly drifted back toward the forest floor.

The enormous Ancient Trees settled after the violent movement.

Only the broken branches and damaged ground remained as evidence of what had just happened.

A few hours later...

"I’m back."

Maxwell walked into a mountain cave.

Outside, a heavy snow blizzard swept through the forest.

Snow struck the entrance of the cave and gathered along the stone floor near the opening.

The wind howled outside, but the deeper parts of the cave remained warm.

A golden flame burned inside the cave, bright enough to illuminate the stone walls and the small area Maxwell had turned into a temporary camp.

Maxwell carried what he had brought back from the hunt.

He took out the meat of the Colossal Ground Apes that he had cut off after killing every one of them.

Then he took out a batch of fish that he had also caught.

He placed everything down neatly.

The Ground Ape meat was organized into one large pot.

The fish were placed on a long tray beside it.

The meat of the Colossal Ground Apes wasn’t anywhere near as large as their bodies might have suggested.

Most of the meat on the Apes wasn’t healthy to eat.

Only around ten percent of their bodies contained parts that could actually be used as food.

The fish were simply additions.

Even though the ten percent of the Ground Apes that Maxwell had cut out was edible, he still needed something else to eat.

Maxwell stared at the large pieces of meat.

His expression slowly changed.

"Urgh."

He held his nose.

The smell coming from the pot was already bothering him.

He placed the pot over the stone arrangement that served as his campfire.

The golden flame beneath it heated the container.

The water began to boil.

The meat moved slightly inside the bubbling liquid.

A faint red color slowly spread through the water.

Maxwell’s face twisted.

"I don’t understand why you enjoy eating this disgusting meat when there are other monsters out in this forest with edible meat that tastes fantastic."

He sounded genuinely irritated.

The smell from the boiling Ground Ape meat clearly did not sit well with him.

He kept his head turned slightly away from the pot while stirring it.

"I keep telling you it’s for growing stronger muscles and bones."

A deep voice came from the front of Maxwell.

The voice sounded weak, but Maxwell immediately recognized it.

His golden eyes turned toward the person.

"Master, does that now mean we have to suffer?"

Maxwell frowned.

Andraver narrowed his golden eyes at him.

The pale-looking elder remained seated nearby.

"Shut up and keep cooking, or do you want to drink the boiled water of the Ground Apes?"

Andraver paused.

A grin appeared on his face.

"Makes good medicine soup, you know."

Maxwell’s face immediately changed.

His eyes widened.

The threat alone was enough to terrify him.

Then his gaze slowly moved toward the pot.

The liquid inside had turned faintly red.

Maxwell’s face twisted even further.

He immediately turned his head away.

"Ugh... Ugh... Ugh... Ugh..."

His stomach turned just from looking at the water and imagining himself drinking it.

The thought alone was enough to make him feel like he was about to vomit.