Conspiring
As though the hands of fate itself were at play, the trio Langxiong was tailing soon found what he assumed was their next target, and somehow… This Crusher Gorilla was also an unusual one. This would be explainable if they were seeking out special individuals, but every single time, the plant cultivator had been surprised by it.
Langxiong didn’t see how this could possibly be a mere sequence of coincidences. Not only were they finding what they wanted in this one forest–Amongst countless hidden amidst the border mountains–But they were also consistently running into exceptional individuals.
‘Anoteros was absolutely right. There is some sort of force behind Linfeng… Someone or something is guiding his steps, and… Mmh…’
The grey-robed Elt stopped his own thoughts. Linfeng’s expression and posture changed a lot when he noticed the Crusher Gorilla, which was odd, as while extremely powerful, this bestial kind of ape was actually sorely lacking in spatial awareness and intelligence. Sneaking up on a Crusher Gorilla in its sleep would be way easier than with the previous two creatures, and he should know this.
‘Is it… Does this beast have the last ingredient he is seeking?’
That was the most logical explanation he could think of to explain why Linfeng suddenly seemed to tense up in such a manner... Not because it was a challenge greater than the previous ones, but because it was the final challenge, and overcoming it meant something to him.
‘In this case… This is my time to shine’
Langxiong pulled a piece of parchment, wrote a short message upon it, and then tore it apart, causing the item to be burnt by blue flames. It was a single-use refined tool that would send what was written on the parchment to Shu.
Once sent, Langxiong went on the move. He had time to act as the day was still high, and the trio would rather attack at night, whilst the beast was slumbering. They also needed to be careful, as they had to move against the wind and keep the beast in front of them. Otherwise, it might be able to smell them.
Nature was unpredictable and unforgiving, so the wind eventually began shifting course. This forced the trio to distance themselves from their target, allowing Langxiong to appear in front of the white-furred Crusher Gorilla.
Its kind was normally supposed to have black fur and lacked the presence of a silverback. Unlike regular gorillas, they were solitary. Well, partly solitary.
Females stuck together and would use their combined might to repel any males they didn’t like. Meaning that a troop of females would often all be bearing the offspring of the same male.
Regardless, males were solitary, presumably because they didn’t just fight for female approval. They went ahead and had fights to the death on sight. This was probably partly to blame for why they were a somewhat rare species. If a single male crushed the competition, it would eventually lead to a bloodline bottleneck, as all females would always be impregnated by the same male, without any care about Kindredomolie, while all the young males wouldn’t stand a chance against their larger, more experienced Valdre.
They had developed a resistance to the effect of Kindredomolie as a result, but it was far from enough to solve their issues. This meant that the correct thing to do to stop Crusher Gorillas from causing their own extinction was either to cause a migration, or to kill the leading male.
This one, however–While definitely the strongest of its kind in this area–had fur of an abnormal colour. If Langxiong wasn’t misremembering, it probably meant that no females wanted him.
An interesting specimen.
“May I take up a bit of your time?”
“What does a puny ape like yourself desire from me?”
It was always a bit strange when a creature that could hardly figure out how to solve puzzles that small children could deal with suddenly started speaking eloquently. Langxiong truly didn’t understand how his ability worked, but it definitely did work as he always received correct information.
“Are you familiar with the old Raging Bull and giant Banana Bat?”
It took a bit of explaining, but the Crusher Gorilla did indeed know of the beasts the cultivator was referencing.
“What of them?”
“They were killed by a trio of beasts just like me, and they are after you now. You didn’t notice, but they have been stalking you for a while. They are waiting for you to fall asleep before striking”
“Mmh… Why would you tell me this? If they are the same kind of beast as you, then aren’t you a part of their pack?”
“I belong to an enemy pack of theirs, and don’t take me wrong, I do not care much that they want to kill you. I care about what they want to get from your dead body. I am unwilling to let them get it, so you have to survive for as long as possible”
Langxiong was blunt, but once the conversation was initiated, all the beasts he conversed with seemed to gain a lot of intelligence. As such, the Crusher Gorilla was able to see the big picture and understand that even if they weren’t truly allies, getting the cultivator’s help was the correct course of action.
The illegitimate descendant suspected that his ability also included something that allowed for intent or something like that to be transferred, as the creatures he spoke with always seemed to understand what he truly meant.
In any case, Langxiong was able to convince the white-furred Crusher Gorilla to listen to him, and the beast hurried its pace to put some distance between the trio, who could only helplessly try to follow after it, without being able to know that their plan had already been thwarted.
“Are they strong in a direct fight?”
“The worst one is the plant cultivator, but the tall male is backed by an invisible entity of some kind. He is basically untouchable as things stand. He can be injured, but if the damage passes a certain threshold… Well, I was told that something bad would happen. So it is best for us to make them run around for as long as possible”
“We have to let them think that they still haven’t been found out by having you act like you are merely going about your day. They’ll eventually figure out something is fishy and decide to just use their full might during the day, but even then, we can still make them run laps”
“My, am I truly that valuable?”
“You are a fairly unique Crusher Gorilla. You definitely have more value than most of your kind”
“Then why do females avoid me like the plague?”
“Probably because your white fur makes you look too different from them, and because white fur is a disadvantage in the forest”
“Huh… Any chance you could speak to one for me?”
Langxiong shrugged.
“I can try”