Soul Devourer Chapter 4 Episode 38 — The King On The Throne And The Outbreak Of War
After crushing every Infight Monkey that had filled the path to the throne, nothing remained between me and the King of the Brawling Monkeys, Hanuman.
I casually tossed aside the head of the Infight Monkey I had just torn off.
Shaking my hand lightly to fling away the blood clinging to it, I began walking toward the throne.
With each step forward, the tension in the air intensified. The atmosphere grew heavier. This wasn’t hostility or killing intent, it was unmistakably the oppressive presence of a king.
When the distance between us shrank to about five meters, the ape king, who had been lounging arrogantly on the throne, finally rose to his feet.
Standing upright, his body should have been no more than three meters tall. And yet, the presence filling my vision was far greater than mere numbers… No, it was sheer existential pressure.
“…I see. So this is the dignity of a king.”
For a brief instant, I felt overawed.
Even so, the reality that I was the superior one did not change.
I kicked off the ground, ready to close the distance and crush him at once…
And at that moment-!
“...I am the Monkey King of The Monkey Demons… Hanuman. Though you are but a puny human, you have done well to reach this place.”
My feet stopped involuntarily.
He had spoken. Broken, perhaps, but undeniably in human language.
The unexpected development left me momentarily speechless. Then, unable to help myself, I asked,
“You… can speak human language?”
Hanuman did not answer. He simply lifted his chin arrogantly.
“You have defeated all of my subordinates. That is worthy of praise. In honor of your strength, I permit you to challenge me… Now, face me honorably!”
The instant he declared it, the ground exploded beneath him, and his massive form vanished.
By the time my mind caught up-!
He was already in front of me. A colossal right fist hurtled toward my face.
But I could track the movement.
Easily.
Twisting my upper body, I avoided the punch by a hair’s breadth. At the same time, I seized his extended right arm and prepared to drive a kick into his left temple!
At that very instant, Hanuman stepped further in, preventing me from properly unleashing the kick. Instead, he smashed his left fist into my face.
I released my grip on his right arm and crossed my own arms to block.
The impact was nothing like the Infight Monkeys’.
The weight. The sharpness. On an entirely different level.
I was blasted away and slammed into the ground. With a thunderous crash, a massive crater spread outward.
But there was no pain.
I rolled across the ground at once, evading the downward stomp that followed. As I rose to my feet, a sharp kick came slicing toward my face.
I ducked beneath it and countered with a leg sweep.
Hanuman evaded with a backward handspring!
And then, in the next instant, something incomprehensible happened.
He “kicked” the air.
The moment his foot struck empty space, the air itself rippled as if solid. His massive body accelerated downward like a bullet from above-!
A heel drop smashed into my head.
I was driven face-first into the ground once more, another enormous crater forming.
…Kicking off midair to accelerate. Judging by the name alone, one of its skill【Air Step】, sounds a bit dodgy.
Still thinking with my face buried in the dirt, I sensed movement.
Hanuman inverted onto his hands and spread his legs wide. Then, using only arm strength, he spun his body. A vortex-like pressure blasted outward as he leapt back from that spot.
I quickly regained my stance and faced him again.
“As expected of the king of the fighting apes… The precision and power of your techniques are on a completely different scale. And there’s a skill of yours that interests me… This time, allow me to settle this!”
The moment I muttered that, my fighting spirit surged even higher.
From here on-!
The real battle begins.
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E/N:
It seems there's much to learn from the Brawling King!
Stay tuned!
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Check out my other translation -
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