Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 185 - 41 Duel_1

Chapter 185: Chapter 41 Duel_1

(263...084...458...For all the book friends who want to join our group. Ps. Friends who stumble across this, please add to your favorites and recommend it. Your support is my biggest motivation. Additionally, everyone, please give some suggestions, thank you. Ps2: The book title has changed, please refer to related works.)

"Does he even speak monkey language?" The gopher crouched on a big rock, dumbfounded as he watched Pannis communicate with the leader of the ape tribe, "Captain, have you ever seen anyone like this?"

"He’s not exactly speaking." Dora said after listening for a while: "It’s just some simple hooting with expressive meanings, it doesn’t count as language, many people can do it."

"Well, I’ve never seen it." The gopher stuck out her tongue, watching Pannis’s every move with excitement.

Under the gaze of eighteen other creatures, Pannis and the leader of the ape tribe used their hands and feet for conversation, they hooted and gestured, getting into a heated negotiation. The tall and sturdy ape chief occasionally swung his large ’stick’, creating a whooshing sound. Showing no sign of weakness, Pannis stomped the ground alternately with his feet, seemingly not using much effort, but generating a dull thumping sound that was quite intimidating.

After a few lively minutes of friendly communication, the leader of the ape tribe seemed to lose patience, growing restless and constantly hollering. The nine male apes following him also joined the ruckus, becoming increasingly threatening. Pannis showed no retreat, chuckled with disdain, gesturing with his thumb to something behind him. Seeing what was behind Pannis, the restless ape tribe seemed startled, froze for a good thirty seconds before recovering. However, the atmosphere had clearly become unsettling in the meantime.

The once raucous nine male apes suddenly fell silent, retreating to their positions. The leader of the ape tribe’s movement seemed quite stiff, as if he was deliberately performing something, frequently pounding his chest to exhibit a brave bearing. The two parties communicated for a moment longer before Pannis shrugged, returning to his side of the territory.

"Uh uh uh uh." Lina subtly mimicked the chest-beating action, and while mocking Pannis she asked, "What exactly did you say to it?"

"Mmm, even though it was for a long duration, there wasn’t much exchange. After all, it’s an exhausting way to communicate," Pannis scratched his head, organizing words with some difficulty, "Initially he asked us to leave the hill right away. I told him that we needed to cross the hillock to reach the river on the other side, so we would have to stay in the hill area for five days. He disagreed, insisting we leave immediately. I tried to assure him we wouldn’t disturb them, but he held his ground, stating if we didn’t leave immediately, they would attack."

"Then what?" Vivian also asked curiously, "What did you do to suddenly change its attitude? It became so...umm, strange?"

"Of course, I introduced our stunningly tall beauty, Miss Dora." Pannis bowed to Dora like a gentleman, praising her in a song-like tone, "Our Miss Dora is gentle and beautiful, it fell for her at first sight and knelt before you. To win your heart, it’s willing to compromise, opting for one-on-one combat with a representative from our side. As for the stake, heh heh."

"%#￥%@," Dora cursed, throwing a kick at Pannis and angrily said, "You bastard, you just sold me out like that!"

"How can you say sold out?" Pannis fled behind Catherine, holding his head and grinning, "Your senior is the one fighting on our behalf. Don’t you trust her? Trust me, this is the safest method."

Dora frowned, thought a bit as she discreetly observed the leader of the ape tribe. The tall ape, whose face was flushed red, was huffing and puffing, continuously flexing his muscles and showcasing his robust build. Dora covered her forehead in exasperation, and fiercely glared at Pannis who was reveling in her misery, "You just wait."

"You always play tricks, you will make her mad." Catherine ruthlessly elbowed Pannis, "But your tricks aren’t usually so straightforward."

"Heh heh," Pannis laughed mysteriously, "You should prepare for the fight now, don’t lose because of nerves."

"Hah, is this your first time meeting me? Do I look nervous about fighting?" Catherine chuckled coldly, picked up the Falcon Shield beside her, her muscles tensed and her joints emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds. "This is a formidable adversary, but knights fear nothing. Prepare to witness my victory."

"May your victory be triumphant, milady Valkyrie." Pannis initially wore a smile on his face. However, when he involuntarily addressed Catherine with this extremely familiar title, he froze in surprise, his smile quickly turning into a look of bewilderment and confusion. After a long pause, he managed to muster a slight smile once again. Unfortunately, Catherine was already heading into battle against the apes and didn’t see this intriguing expression.

"Captain, you should be happy," The Mole rat’s voice pulled Pannis out of his daze. Turning his head, he saw The Mole Rat counseling Dora: "Think about it. This means your charm is so great it even transcends species – it’s so attractive that you can even conquer outsiders. Isn’t that cause for celebration?"

"Hmm, you have a point." Dora crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, she nodded, "It must be my invincible charm, right? Ohohoho, well, Pannis, I’ll forgive you this time."

"Um, thanks." Pannis quietly collected his thoughts and bantered, "I told you, I never play tricks on people."

"Roar!" Seeing Catherine, fully armed, prepared and standing before him, the ape leader roared and gripped a giant wooden club, almost as tall and thick as a grown man. Instead of launching an attack, he firmly pounded his club on the ground, seemingly as a form of salute. Catherine, taken aback, put aside her prejudice against the intelligence of apes and her preconceptions of non-intelligent species. With a serious expression, she lightly tapped her sword and shield together, returning the formal dueling salute of a knight. When Catherine finished her salute and lifted her shield and sword again, the ape leader no longer held back and swung his giant club at her with all his might.

The forest in the hilly areas differs from the plains at the foot of the mountains; the trees in hilly forests are more scattered, with a gap of approximately seven or eight meters between each one. Though vines and shrubs litter the forest floor, there was still more than enough open space for the ape to swing its club. The ground plants didn’t hinder the apes either, they had plenty of experience jumping and wielding their clubs in this environment. The spot everyone occupied was an open, rocky area on top of the hill – clear of any obstructions like vines, which made the environment barely affect Catherine, who could fight without disturbance.

As drops of rain began to fall, Catherine didn’t choose to retreat or dodge; instead, she directly raised her shield, entering the most standard oblique angle block, meeting the leader’s fierce strike head-on.

The booming sound echoed across the entire mountaintop. The club in the leader’s hand wasn’t an ordinary piece of wood; it was incredibly durable. Even after a fierce impact, it was completely unharmed. The power of the ape leader was also formidable; his wrist felt no discomfort after the collision. He swiftly lifted his club and drew an arc in the air, striking again. Catherine seemed physically weaker than the apes’ leader. After a hard hit, she stepped back a little but quickly moved forward again. She held her sword in the opposite direction, her wrist rest against the hand holding the shield, and met the leader’s attack once again.

Another earth-shaking, deafening noise rang out, causing the physically weaker Vivian to cover her ears. The Silver Rank mercenaries and guide Elrad moved back a bit as the dust kicked up.

The dust and shattered stones rising from the impact cleared quickly, revealing the battling parties. This time, the leader didn’t maintain his rhythm, letting out a surprised light growl as he was forced a step back by Catherine’s firm frontal block. Catherine also looked a little uncomfortable. She too took a step back and furrowed her eyebrows as she breathed deeply several times to cope with the impact of the power clash.

"The senior didn’t use her Aggression." Dora whispered, "The ape is of a higher rank than her, isn’t her advantage her ability to use Aggression?"

"The leader can use it too, although not as strongly," Pannis explained. "The strongest apes among the Mountain Apes know how to use a simplistic form of Aggression. However, it appears Catherine is treating this fight as an official duel, and so far, she’s just testing out her attacks."

After two duels, the Mountain Ape leader showed more caution in the fight. He no longer underestimated his opponent, who appeared much slimmer in comparison to him. The leader bent his body slightly, slowly began circling Catherine. She lowered her center of gravity, shield facing the huge ape, her cold, stern face moving at the same pace as she patiently waited for an opportunity.

"Looks like we’ve won." Even though the duel was ongoing, Pannis relaxed and casually took a seat. "The strength of Mountain Apes lies in their enormous power and agility. Catherine’s current disadvantage in power is minuscule, and Guardian Knights are unfazed by agility. Besides, Knights have much higher mobility than any other class, so when Catherine uses her Aggression for a key attack, the battle will be over."

The two parties started again, this time with Catherine making the first move. Hiding her body behind the Falcon Shield, she used a standard Knight technique – Shield Charge – and charged right at the enormous ape. Shield Charge is a fundamental skill of defensive knights, but not many knights are willing to practice it because it looks quite foolish. In order to master this skill, one cannot simply practice in the air but must make real contact and hit hard objects continuously. Only then can one grasp the skill’s nuances at the moment of impact, like adjusting the angle of the shield, controlling one’s power, and direction, which practicing in the air won’t teach. Therefore, mastering this skill requires continuous collisions with sturdy objects, repeatedly injuring oneself, and it requires frequent practice. In the backyard of No. 6 Fox Street, Pannis had found various oddly-shaped hard boulders. Some were broken into pieces, while others remained intact. Each boulder had been a witness to Catherine’s countless bruises, showing the blood, sweat, and tears she’d poured into her training.