The beast leaped from a great peak and landed in front of the stampede, kicking up a mountain of dust that shuddered the wave of creatures to a halt. The beasts of the air and the beasts of the field all slid and yielded almost instantly just at the mere shadow of the beast’s presence. But not the Skullcrawlers. They formed together to tackle the beast that dared to stand in their way. They, too, eventually froze. They, too, saw through the smoke and saw the falling sunlight shimmering one last time against the beast’s brown and black coat of fur.
They watched him lift his head. Unlike the creatures of Black Skull Island, this beast was not affected in the least by the call of the new alpha. His behavior remained the same as it ever was before; benevolent, gentle, peaceful, fierce, brutal, and horrifying to all who stood against his reign. He did not fall and grovel like the mindless, primal beasts such as the Skullcrawlers, or the thousands of creatures of Black Skull Island. He had heard the alpha call and responded the way he alone saw fit.
And King Kong did not bow.
For a moment, neither did the Skullcrawlers.
They were the brave—or the foolish—of the many creatures of Black Skull Island. They charged ahead in a feeble attempt to overwhelm the beast, dozens of Skullcrawlers crawling forward in a wave of terror and cries that would have petrified any other Titan standing alone against them. But not Kong.
Pounding his own chest, Kong unleashed a tremendous roar and retaliated, charging forth and slamming his open palm into the throat of the closest, lunging Skullcrawler.
With a swift flex of his hand, Kong snapped the creature’s neck while simultaneously slamming the corpse into several more raging on his left. A Skullcrawler slid forward, snapping its razor-sharp jaws around Kong’s right leg. Kong responded by ripping his leg free and driving his foot fiercely into the creature’s head, deep into the earth, where fragments of rock and dirt flew high to stream past Kong’s flaring jaws and resonating battle cry.