Bitter Battle

In that moment, we truly saw "light"!

That was the most genuine sentiment in the hearts of everyone at West Coast Harbor that day.

Normally, you might scoff at it and dismiss it, but when you were trapped with no way out, that beam of light could truly shatter the defenses around your heart.

Since ancient times, heroes had saved beauties, riding seven-colored clouds to rescue trapped princesses. The plot might have been cheesy and clichéd, but when you experienced that scene firsthand, all that remained was something unforgettable.

Though to onlookers, it probably looked incredibly awkward...

It was just that the prince riding a white horse was nowhere near as awe-inspiring as the mecha giant before them.

Ninety meters tall, made of steel, yet its elegant, flowing muscular contours were not diminished in the slightest, as though infinite power lay hidden within.

Before this, something like this could only have appeared in comics or movies.

But now, because of the threat of monsters, it had emerged.

Since "they" wanted war, then so be it.

"Mount Tai has been deployed to the target area!"

Following the report from the heavy-lift helicopter team, the cables towing Mount Tai detached, dropping it directly onto the shore.

Since Mad Ape had been attacking passenger ships at sea, it failed to notice Mount Tai landing behind it.

Of course, that was also because the deployment zone was behind it.

The drop zone was by the shore, where the water was only twenty or thirty meters deep.

It barely reached Mount Tai's knees.

Of course, even so, it was not somewhere Teacher Guo could reach by jumping.

Even attaching a bamboo-copter and taking off from the spot would not do it.

(Just a joke, with no mocking intent.)

This time, the resistance while running was much lower, making it far easier than the waters off Kowloon Bay last time.

"Rocket boosters, charge!"

Xiao Shou found that the rocket propulsion system mounted at Mount Tai's right elbow was truly a stroke of genius.

It greatly enhanced Mount Tai's close-combat capabilities.

One elbow from that thing was enough to make you drink plenty of water!

Uh, not saltwater...

Just as Mad Ape was about to strike a large passenger ship, Mount Tai finally caught up, its rocket boosters fully charged.

Its right arm shot out from behind Mad Ape and delivered a devastating opening blow straight to its head.

How much damage could a fist powered by fully charged rocket propulsion inflict?

Just look at Mad Ape. Its 3,700-ton body was sent flying by that single punch!

Waves surged across the sea like a violent storm.

Heh, this punch carried twenty years of my cultivation. Can you withstand it?

Well, the facts proved that it absolutely could. Although Mad Ape did not possess Stegosaurus's terrifying defenses, it was not some weakling that could be instantly killed with one punch.

Moreover, its reactions were much quicker. It immediately rose from the sea and roared at Mount Tai. Forget defensive types like Stegosaurus—even Bladehead, another balanced type, was not nearly so nimble.

After getting up, it charged straight at Mount Tai again, leaving Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan no time to react. They could only respond in haste.

After all, their style favored relentless follow-up attacks when an opponent was down. They had never expected Mad Ape to rise so quickly after taking a direct hit, and their advantage from the opening ambush vanished completely.

Still, Xiao Shou and Xie Yushan were not panicking. He had undergone more than half a month of hellish training. While that was not enough to turn him into a god overnight, his confidence in victory and determination not to fear battle gave him some foundation for confronting monsters.

Mount Tai assumed a fighting stance to meet Mad Ape's assault.

Though the monsters were controlled by "them," their attack patterns still seemed driven by animal instinct.

At least, Xiao Shou could not see even the slightest trace of technique in them.

They simply charged and rampaged about.

Relying on the strength of their massive bodies and their terrifying defenses.

That had been true of Bladehead before, and it was true of Mad Ape now.

Mad Ape rushed in front of Mount Tai, leaped high into the air, and swung its thick right arm, intending to give Mount Tai a massive slap.

Honestly, no one could have expected something of its size to jump.

It was as jarringly absurd as Zhu Bajie doing pole vault.

Yet it happened, and Mount Tai naturally could not stand there as a living target.

It immediately sidestepped and gave Mad Ape a push using the momentum of its charge.

Mad Ape's Flying Crow Smash failed.

Its attack thwarted, Mad Ape swiftly turned around and brought both arms down on the hunk of metal that had humiliated and toyed with it.

"Form shield!"

Mount Tai's left arm shifted and formed a shield.

Boom!

The sound of Mad Ape's two arms striking the shield echoed across heaven and earth.

The terrifying force spread rapidly across the entire sea in a vortex centered on where Mad Ape and Mount Tai clashed.

It was as though they had created a massive whirlpool at sea.

Even an S-rank ninja technique probably would not cause such a commotion.

The piercing sound of the clash left the civilians sheltering on the west coast in agony. Even covering their ears tightly could not block out the deafening echoes.

"Disable safety mode. Prepare the electromagnetic particle cannon!"

An electronic magnetic storm ring appeared around Mount Tai's right arm, and the cannon barrel extended from its hand.

"Wait! There are people all around us. We can't use weapons of mass destruction!"

Xie Yushan shouted.

"Then what do we do?!"

"Draw it away from the crowd. Once we're farther away, we can fight without holding back."

The electronic magnetic storm ring vanished, and Mount Tai continued to engage Mad Ape in close combat.

"Ridiculous!"

Mao Shucheng, directing the operation remotely, could not help but shout.

"The safety of the evacuees is certainly important, but you must know what takes priority! If Mount Tai falls because of this and Mad Ape escapes from here and out of our sight, the casualties it causes in the future will be far greater than they are now!"

"Once this battle is over, those two must reflect on their actions properly!"