Chapter 143: Team Combat of Magical Beasts

The three gorillas that stepped out from the crowd clearly displayed the distinct characteristics of females. They were much smaller in stature than the giant gorilla that had come before. According to the field knowledge Catherine had acquired, male gorillas possessed prominent fleshy pads on both sides of their cheeks, whereas females lacked these pads, featuring indented throat pouches instead—a very distinct difference.

Although she did not understand the language of the gorillas, Catherine could clearly perceive that all three female gorillas were filled with intense grief and indignation. The hatred in their eyes as they looked at her was so full it seemed about to spill over. The three gorillas moved to the center of the arena, arranging themselves in a triangular formation. The surrounding gorillas all fell silent, and the atmosphere instantly turned solemn.

With a simple nod to one another, showing no intention of any verbal communication, the older female gorilla in the lead launched a frantic attack toward Catherine!

Her momentum was obviously inferior to that of the deceased giant gorilla, and naturally, she posed no threat to Catherine. However, Catherine had no leisure to deal with this charging female gorilla at the moment. She had already realized that the hand seals of the two younger female gorillas were changing rapidly. It was easy to see at a glance that they were conjuring their exclusive innate skill: "Shadow Binding"!

They could not be allowed to complete their spellcasting!

Catherine made this decision almost in an instant. The siege of three gorillas was already enough to keep her flustered and overwhelmed; if several tracking dark energy spheres were added to the mix, then with her limited combat experience, she would surely fail to attend to all fronts and would not be able to hold out for long!

Fortunately, the charging older female gorilla did not know how to use weapons. She rushed forward with clenched fists, her lethality very limited. Catherine strode forward, and the moment she passed the older female gorilla, she raised her arm slightly, effortlessly blocking the attack. She even used the momentum to propel herself at an even faster speed toward the two spellcasting young gorillas!

This maneuver of bypassing an opponent could be considered classic, yet Catherine felt no sense of pride in her heart. The very instant she brushed past, the corner of her vision clearly caught that the bypassed female gorilla showed no intention of pursuit, nor even the slightest trace of vexation. She stopped right where she was and quickly began weaving hand seals herself! Simultaneously, one of the two spellcasting young gorillas instantly ceased her spell, roared, and charged rapidly toward her, while the other maintained a steady expression, the movements of her hands vaguely accelerating by several notches.

What damned coordination!

Catherine’s expression remained blank, but inside, she was already furiously enraged. This was her first time in a non-one-on-one battle, and she had immediately encountered such an obviously well-coordinated team, which was immensely sickening. Facing the second female gorilla that rushed up to intercept her, Catherine completely ignored the opponent's attack, letting the other smash a blow against her. Holding her dagger firmly in her left hand, she slashed directly upward toward the creature's throat!

Having just witnessed the sharpness of this strange "tooth," the female gorilla naturally refused to let Catherine graze her. She pulled back her fist and leaped backward with all her might, retreating several meters to dodge Catherine's strike. Only now were there no more obstacles between Catherine and the young female gorilla that was casting spells!

So magical beasts' coordination is nothing special after all! A cold sneer curled the corner of Catherine's mouth. With a simple stride, she arrived beside the female gorilla that was still weaving seals. Without time to swing her blade again, Catherine used her empty right fist to smash fiercely toward the female gorilla's face! With her past experience as a mage, if this attack landed solidly, then regardless of any magic, it would be interrupted one hundred percent!

Yet, in the very second before her fist was about to strike, a sneering smile identical to her own appeared on the lips of the young female gorilla who was casting the spell! Before Catherine could process this, the female gorilla brought her hands together and forcibly detonated the dark energy sphere that had not yet finished forming!

The dark elements instantly lost control! They formed a continuously rotating, highly adhesive small vortex in her hands! The gorilla's hands were undoubtedly drawn into it, shredded to pieces by the powerful rotational force. Moreover, the strong suction generated by the vortex caused Catherine, who was standing at close quarters, to stagger, her body involuntarily tumbling toward the vortex and losing her balance!

Only then did Catherine realize that these female gorillas were truly fighting her with the intent of mutual destruction! Pulled by the vortex, Catherine was utterly unable to maintain her rapid footwork. The young gorilla that had leaped backward to a distance had now rushed over like a galloping horse, put her all into a punch, and slammed it fiercely into Catherine's back!

Thud!

This punch was heavy and powerful, sending Catherine lunging forward while a mist of blood involuntarily sprayed from her mouth. Yet her mind remained remarkably clear at this moment. Exerting every ounce of effort to control her body, she bypassed the continuously rotating dark vortex and executed a substandard "Iron Mountain Lean," directly crashing into the handless gorilla and sending it flying!

Although she had made the optimal choice at the very first moment, Catherine's crisis was still not resolved. The oldest female gorilla had completed the spellcasting for her "Shadow Binding." By now, she had already hurled the conjured dark sphere and closed in, forming a pincer attack from the left and right with the other young female gorilla, determined to seal off all of Catherine's dodging routes!

The battle entered its most arduous phase right from the start. Two battle-hardened, unflappable female gorillas, paired with a continuously tracking energy sphere, forced Catherine to run for her life. Especially when the handless gorilla recovered its wits, it could actually direct the out-of-control energy vortex. Utilizing the vortex's strong suction, it constantly harassed her, distorting Catherine's movements and creating perilous situations one after another in a matter of moments!

In less than two minutes, seven or eight bloody gashes had been added to Catherine's arms, legs, and face. Particularly along the side of her thigh, where she had been clawed by the older gorilla, the wound was nearly an inch deep! Although the powerful self-healing capability of martial arts stanched the wound to prevent massive bleeding, she had been continuously darting and shifting at high speed, which constantly tore open the newly healed wounds. Accumulated over time, the physical drain was not to be underestimated.

Such external injuries were actually fine; Catherine barely felt them, nor were they any major issue. Yet as the battle progressed, Catherine clearly sensed that the heat accumulating within her body, unable to be discharged, was growing heavier. Even letting the Fire of Antaeus blaze fiercely on the surface of her skin was of no avail. At this moment, her body temperature was already at least nearly fifteen degrees higher than normal! If she found no way to dissipate the heat, her body would completely collapse from within long before she could be beaten to death by these gorillas!