Seed of Titan-Chapter 120: Planet of the (Massive) Apes

The ape from earlier jumped down from the tree, shaking the ground with a heavy thud. It then hopped onto a large boulder and fixed its gaze on Drai once more.

Suddenly, the ape pointed at Drai while making sounds with its mouth that Drai obviously couldn’t understand.

Drai was confused by this, but he also came to realize that the ape was quite intelligent, as it wasn’t acting purely on instinct.

"Hey, Mr. Ape! I don’t understand what you’re saying! But I don’t want to fight you guys!" Drai yelled while raising his hands in surrender, hoping that his intention would somehow come across.

Unfortunately, his attempt seemed to be counterproductive, as the ape’s expression instantly soured when it heard Drai’s response. Instead of backing off, it growled and shouted incomprehensibly.

As if on cue, the surrounding animals sprinted forward in unison, filling the air with their distinct cries as they charged at Drai.

"Oh, well," Drai sighed before rapidly growing until he reached maximum size.

Seeing their seemingly puny prey suddenly become 15.5 meter tall1, the incoming horde skidded to a halt, crashing into each other in panic.

All the animals aside from the giant ape were now no taller than Drai’s knees, so they were practically squashable critters for the currently towering Drai. With their previous ferociousness completely sapped away, these animals quivered at their spots, sending nervous glances at their leader.

However, the giant ape was no different from its subordinates, as it was also frozen in place, stricken by fear.

"I told you I don’t want to fight. Now shoo," Drai’s booming voice ordered as he waved his hand dismissively.

To Drai’s relief, the giant ape seemed to get his message. It slowly shifted its stance, eventually crouching on the boulder. However, what it did next baffled Drai.

From his crouching position, the giant ape suddenly leaped high into the air until it reached a tree branch. Then it leaped from branch to branch, climbing higher until it finally shot past the treetops.

As it was hanging high in the air, the giant ape roared. Its body suddenly crackled and shined brightly. A second later, the ape exploded with a torrent of lightning, releasing a deafening thunderclap.

Drai could barely see the ape that was high above him, but he noticed that its tiny figure had vanished after the flash of lightning.

’What was that? Some kind of escape skill?’

Hearing the thunderclap, the countless animals around Drai’s feet frantically scurried away. Soon, the area was deserted, leaving Drai standing alone by the river.

’Finally... Looks like my size scared the shit out of these wild beasts. I’d rather not fight needlessly, so this will come in handy while I’m here.’

Just as Dra was about to deactivate his augmentation, he suddenly heard rustling noises closing in on him once more.

’Seriously? I thought we were done here," Drai thought, feeling a bit annoyed. He decided to keep his skill active, hoping that the newcomers would leave straight away after seeing his towering size.

But as the sounds got closer, Drai realized that there was something different this time. The rustling was not only way louder, it also sounded like trees were being felled by this group.

Shortly after, a giant ape emerged from the jungle, followed by another one.

Then another.

And another.

Drai’s jaw dropped as an endless stream of massive apes poured into the riverbank. The smaller ones were shorter than the first ape he encountered, while the larger ones were almost as tall as his hips.

Drai also noticed that the larger apes had white markings on their fur that differed from one another. There were apes with small white spots on their heads, chest, or arms, and there were also those with large patches of white on various parts of their bodies.

A sweat ran down Drai’s forehead as he nervously eyed the giant apes whose number had swollen to more than fifty. The riverside had also become crowded as the apes stood in rows, their intense gazes locked onto Drai.

’...Never mind intimidating them, can I even take them on?’

Drai was slowly losing confidence. He began contemplating whether he should just flee. But before he could make up his mind, the stream of apes finally stopped.

Glancing at his skill duration, Drai thought, ’Around eight minutes left... If I run away now, I can probably get out safely. But why do I feel the urge to duke it out?’

With his colossal size, Drai hadn’t met anyone who could match him in a direct confrontation, which was why he was really interested in fighting the giant apes. Unlike the previous group, Drai felt that this one would be quite a challenge, especially considering their large number.

But Drai’s excitement quickly faded upon seeing a figure larger than the rest emerge from the jungle, felling a cluster of smaller trees as it crashed through them.

The giant apes parted, leaving a path for an enormous white ape that walked ahead until it was at the frontmost of the pack.

Drai was astounded. This ape had completely white fur, and its height reached Drai’s shoulders. But the strangest thing was that it was wielding a shiny black staff, which seemed to be made of some kind of mineral.

’This must be the alpha,’ Drai thought as he clenched his fist.

Meanwhile, the alpha’s eyes gleamed, staring at Drai with visible intelligence. It mouthed a series of growling sounds, which Drai somehow found to be more sophisticated compared to the previous giant ape’s "words".

"Uhm... Do you want to talk it out?" Drai asked, half-expecting the alpha to reply comprehensibly.

But the alpha ape’s response indicated otherwise, as it raised an eyebrow and bared its teeth in a way that looked similar to a ridiculing smirk.

As Drai was wondering what this gesture meant, the alpha suddenly raised its staff and let out a deep cry, which was followed by the rest of the apes, resulting in a thunderous roar that shook their surroundings.

And when the commotion finally died down, the assault began.