Chapter 2888: Chapter 2888: The Bridge Was Broken

“Black... monkeys.”

Zen raised his eyebrows in slight curiosity.

Though the three-eyed boy rarely spoke to them, Zen recalled him mentioning that these black monkeys were the creatures responsible for guarding the Burning Crystals.

Since the three-eyed boy was almost killed by them, Zen figured they were strong.

But what were they doing here? A bad feeling began to churn in Zen's stomach.

Chatter! Chatter! Chatter...

As these black monkeys showed up one after another, the human-monkey monsters' voices grew louder. The atmosphere around them was tense.

Just then, this group of monkeys slowly walked towards the hillside.

Zen bowed his body on the hillside and motioned backward. Soon enough, he was within range of the candlelight and made his way towards the little hut.

“Bang!”

Elvinia was so focused on making the wax that she hadn't noticed Zen's footsteps outside the hut.

Having made so many candles, she grew to become more and more skilled. She was even able to discover the best temperature to make wax.

The sound rang for another time, which finally got her attention. She looked up from her spot and was surprised to see Zen rushing in like a vanguard.

Zen never rushed this way. He was always calm and collected.

“What's wrong?” Elvinia asked lightly.

Although the human-monkey monsters beneath the hillside were extraordinarily noisy, Elvinia couldn't hear their voices as sounds could not pass through the darkness.

Without hesitation, Zen handed a Darkness Fruit to her. “Eat it!” he urged.

Elvinia stared at him and furrowed her brows in confusion, “Why? What happened?”

“We don't have time to talk. We need to leave right now or we'll die!” Zen replied hastily.

Looking at Zen's serious look, Elvinia didn't hesitate and swallowed the Darkness Fruit in one gulp.

The Light Fruits and Darkness Fruits had very special features. The moment Elvinia swallowed the Darkness Fruit, traces of black clouds spread from her purple soul. In the blink of an eye, the clouds spread throughout her entire soul. Ṟ𝐀ꞐǑ฿ƐꞨ

Zen grabbed her wrist. “Let's go!”

The two rushed out.

“But those Burning Crystals...”

Elvinia couldn't help but look back at the wax she had to stop working on, but there were other things to worry about now. They had no time to care about those Burning Crystals.

The two sped out of the hut within seconds.

But just as they left the hut, the human-monkey monsters and black monkeys had already climbed up the hill.

“Chatter, chatter, chatter?”

“Chatter!”

“Chatter! Chatter...”

Some of those human-monkey monsters saw the two run out of the hut, so they immediately let out a scream to warn the others.

“Whoosh!”

One of the black monkeys spotted them and instantly rushed towards the two.

As Elvinia saw the shadow that was heading for them, she couldn't help but shout at Zen, “What in the world is that?!”

Of course, Zen was too preoccupied to process any of her questions.

He'd mentally prepared for this exact situation, so the adrenaline in his body erupted without any hesitation.

“Bang!”

Under the strong impact, a crater appeared in the open space in front of the hut. Zen, like an arrow from the string, shot towards the wooden bridge, holding Elvinia's hand as tight as he could.

With only one step forward, Zen got on the wooden bridge.

This move was so unexpected that neither the black monkeys nor the human-monkey monsters had time to react.

The black monkey that came at them stopped in its tracks. At first, it was confused, its eyes wide and blinking dramatically. But after a few seconds, it let out a sly grin and turned towards its companions. It raised its right thumb up in the air and slowly dragged it horizontally across its neck.

The other monkeys grew excited and began to jump and groan rowdily.

“Chatter! Chatter! Chatter...”

They dashed towards the wooden bridge, screaming in excitement.

The black monkeys were extremely agile, and climbed the bridge at high speed. But Zen, he was fast, too.

Zen pushed his strength as much as he could after he arrived at the wooden bridge.

Taking Elvinia, he shot both of them forward five hundred feet, one thousand feet, three thousand feet on the bridge. In the blink of an eye, they had run away. The black monkeys could see merely black dots moving.

“Chatter, chatter, chatter?”

“Chatter!”

The creatures were dismayed by Zen's capabilities. How could he do this?

Coming to their senses, they decided to go back to the end of the bridge after discussing with each other. They knew they couldn't catch the two even if they tried.

This wooden bridge was made by the three-eyed boy to lure creatures outside of the Dark Region from the Grand Sky Temple. The wooden bridge was very steady, and it was reinforced with an magic array.

It was not easy for the human-monkey monsters, pythons and even Zen to break the bridge with their strength—but the black monkeys could.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

On one side of the hill, several black monkeys alternated punching the area where the bridge met the hill.

After several punches, cracks began to appear across it. As the cracks grew larger, the entire bridge began to creak and shake.

“Crack!”

With a loud bang, a section of the wooden bridge fixed on the hill finally broke off, sliding towards the ravine below.

Zen had no time to care about what was happening behind him. All he thought about was moving forward and never looking back.

“Zen... Zen!”

Elvinia called out from behind.

“Not now!” Zen snapped in a stern voice.

Elvinia puckered her lips. If there was one thing she hated the most, it was being told to shut up.

She was going to warn him of the bridge, but decided it was best to just keep quiet and let Zen continue on.

The bridge had no piers. It was like a line that connected the Grand Sky Temple to the hill.

Because the part that connected with the hill collapsed, the entire bridge began to slope downward rapidly.

After a few seconds, Zen felt the bridge under his feet begin to quake and tilt. Just as he was wondering, the entire bridge grew steeper and steeper. In a flash, instead of running forward, he was running upward!

Caught off guard, Zen and Elvinia fell towards the ravine.

“What happened? Is the bridge broken?” Zen asked as they were falling.

Elvinia answered with an impassive face. “That's what I was trying to tell you!”

Zen was struck dumb with the news.

As they were falling towards the darkness, he felt a twinge of regret.

They had no idea how deep the ravine was, so Zen observed their fall carefully as they descended.

After eating the Darkness Fruits, he and Elvinia had become accustomed to the Dark Region. They could see the outline of the things beneath them.

About half a minute later, Zen used all his might to curl his legs and drag Elvinia into his arms. The next moment, he was hurled directly into the nearby bushes.

“Boom!”

It was all right for Zen's body to fall from such a high altitude.

But the Soul of Light was much weaker than the physical body. Zen fell to the ground with Elvinia in his arms, and he made sure to hold her closely to him so that he could take most of the impact. If Zen wasn't careful enough, she might just die.

“Are you all right?” Zen asked with concern, feeling her head and arms for any signs of injury.

“I'm... I'm okay.” Elvinia answered in a stammer.

She freed herself from Zen's embrace, feeling some sort of warmth deep within her heart.