Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 84: Chapter 84 — The Monkey Clan

Chapter 84 — The Monkey Clan

Victor and Monkasa continued through the forest.

The conversation between them had been surprisingly easy. Monkasa was a very straightforward individual, perhaps too straightforward. He said whatever came to mind without much hesitation, and Victor had already learned quite a lot about him during their journey.

For example, Monkasa had three favorite things.

Bananas.

Female monkey ears.

And fighting.

Victor had nearly laughed when Monkasa had casually mentioned the female ears. But apparently, Monkasa was completely serious about them.

At one point, Monkasa had also mentioned something that Victor found rather interesting.

”In our culture, to die a warrior’s death is a honor.”

Victor had looked at him curiously.

According to Monkasa, those who died a warrior’s death would eventually enter the Monkey Kingdom.

Their afterlife.

Victor hadn’t asked many questions about it, but he found the idea fascinating.

Eventually, the forest began to change.

The trees became less dense, and the air carried a noticeable warmth.

They had reached the outer region of the Lava Rock region.

Ahead of them was a massive bridge.

Victor slowed as he approached it.

The bridge was enormous, stretching nearly the length of a football field, but it didn’t look man-made. It appeared to be a natural part of the cavern itself, as if the stone had formed into a bridge over the river below.

The river flowed beneath it, its surface reflecting the faint light from the cavern above.

Monkasa stepped onto the bridge.

Victor followed.

As they crossed, Victor looked ahead.

When they reached the other side, he lifted his head.

His eyes widened.

Massive trees towered above them.

Victor immediately recognized them.

Fire Trees.

Fire Trees were known to grow in environments rich with fire energy, absorbing the energy from their surroundings and using it to sustain their growth.

But that wasn’t what caught Victor’s attention.

It was what had been built throughout them.

Treehouses.

Hundreds of them.

Wooden structures had been constructed throughout the enormous trees, connected by bridges that stretched from one tree to another.

The entire village seemed to exist among the branches.

Victor stared.

He had never seen architecture like this before.

The amount of work that must have gone into constructing the village was staggering.

Every walkway, every platform, every house seemed carefully crafted into the trees.

Whoever had created these structures was a master of woodworking.

As Victor and Monkasa continued forward, the village slowly became clearer.

And then Victor noticed the fighting.

Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be another fight taking place.

Some Lava Rock Monkeys were in their human forms.

Others were in their beast forms.

But regardless of their appearance, they were fighting.

Victor watched one exchange as two monkeys collided with enough force to shake the wooden platform beneath them.

Another pair fought several dozen feet away.

Victor watched them for a moment longer. They all seemed to be using the same fundamental technique, despite their differences in size, strength, and fighting style.

These weren’t ordinary spars.

The killing intent radiating from the battles was so intense that Victor almost broke into a sweat simply walking past them.

There were monkeys lying unconscious throughout the village.

Some were bleeding.

Others were battered and bruised.

Victor couldn’t help but stare.

These guys are battle maniacs.

As they moved deeper into the village, the fighting gradually became less concentrated.

More Lava Rock Monkeys could be seen throughout the treehouse structures, moving between the different platforms and bridges.

Victor noticed something interesting at the base of one of the enormous trees.

There was an elevator.

It appeared that several of these had been constructed throughout the village, allowing the monkeys to travel between the ground and the elevated sections of the settlement.

Monkasa stepped onto it.

Victor followed.

The platform began to rise.

As they ascended, Victor looked around.

The higher they went, the more impressive the village became.

Eventually, they reached the upper levels.

Victor stepped off the elevator and continued following Monkasa through the interconnected treehouse system.

The wooden structures were beautiful.

The craftsmanship was incredible.

Every piece of wood seemed to have been shaped with purpose, creating homes, bridges, platforms, and walkways that blended naturally with the massive Fire Trees.

Victor couldn’t help but admire the work.

As they walked, more Lava Rock Monkeys appeared.

And almost every single one of them reacted the same way.

They smiled at him.

A huge, toothy grin, with their fangs clearly visible.

A few even waved.

Victor was confused.

He couldn’t understand why they were being so friendly toward him.

He had expected something different.

After all, this was a beast clan.

The last tribe he had encountered hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms.

They had nearly sacrificed him on an altar.

Granted, Victor had invaded their holy land and entered their sacred pond.

Still...

He hadn’t expected this level of friendliness.

Victor glanced toward Monkasa.

Monkasa seemed to understand his expression.

”Your clan is very welcoming,” Victor said.

Monkasa smiled.

”Yes, we’re very straightforward people.”

He shrugged.

”If you show friendliness to us, we respond with friendliness.”

His grin widened.

”But if you bare your fangs, we have no problem baring our fangs back.”

Monkasa laughed boisterously.

Victor couldn’t help but be amused by him.

Everything about Monkasa was straightforward.

There was no hidden meaning behind his words.

No attempt to make things complicated.

He simply said what he thought.

Then Monkasa added something else.

”But especially to humans.”

Victor looked toward him.

”Our ancestor used to be battle brothers with a human. They fought wars together across the land at one point in time.”

He paused.

”So we’ve come to appreciate and love humans.”

Monkasa’s smile softened slightly.

”But it’s been a very long time since one has graced us with their presence.”

He shook his head.

”Very, very long.”

Victor nodded.

He didn’t say anything.

The two continued walking through the elevated village until they eventually reached an opening leading into a cavern.

Monkasa walked inside.

Victor followed.

The cavern opened into what appeared to be a large dining establishment.

They found an empty booth and sat down across from one another.

Almost immediately, a waiter approached their table.

The waiter smiled.

”What would you like?”

Monkasa leaned back.

”Give us the special of the day.”

The waiter nodded and prepared to leave.

”Oh, and for dessert...”

Monkasa grinned.

”Two servings of banana pudding.”