Gordon's second Charged Slash successfully struck the Great Izuchi, but unfortunately, due to the latter's dizzy, swaying steps, this blow did not precisely land on the target's wound. Instead, it struck the Great Izuchi's thigh, leaving a bleeding gash.
At this moment, the Great Izuchi also awoke from the Sonic Bomb's dizzying effect.
As Gordon had anticipated, the Great Izuchi almost immediately entered a state of rage. He barely had time to retract the Giant Scissors, whose tip had plunged into the ground, when the Great Izuchi's long tail swept horizontally.
Between temporarily abandoning his weapon to roll and dodge, and adopting a defensive stance to block, Gordon unhesitatingly chose the latter.
With a shift of his feet, he moved to the side of the Giant Scissors, which were still stuck in the ground. Gordon braced the sword body with his shoulder, lowering his center of gravity.
The next second, a massive force struck him, causing him to stumble back two steps. Fortunately, he did not completely lose his balance, and the hilt of the Giant Scissors remained firmly in his hand.
"What immense strength!"
Gordon chuckled, retreating a few steps. As soon as the Great Izuchi's tail attack ended, he charged towards its side.
The Great Izuchi's gaze had been following Gordon, but unexpectedly, another shadow leaped out and struck it on the forehead.
It was Zhu Pa, wielding a cat pickaxe!
The power of Zhu Pa's attack was negligible, but its insulting nature was extreme. The Great Izuchi, whose rationality was already limited in its enraged state, immediately had its attention drawn. It shrieked, raising its head, about to peck Zhu Pa.
However, Zhu Pa, being smaller and much more agile than a human, simply could not be hit by the Great Izuchi's powerful, heavy pecks. It even had time to make faces at the Great Izuchi, a playful, provocative display.
Thanks to Zhu Pa's activity, Gordon's attack from the side proceeded very smoothly.
Unlike being in a stunned state where it couldn't resist, precisely attacking a specific wound on the Great Izuchi's body when it was normal, or even enraged, was almost impossible.
If he aimed for the wings, he would inevitably incur the Great Izuchi's wing-swinging counterattack, so Gordon shifted his target to the Great Izuchi's legs.
The Great Izuchi's legs were long and slender yet powerful, covered in thick carapace. The flesh wasn't soft, and while the Giant Scissors could penetrate its defense, the Attack Up effect wasn't as ideal as when attacking the wings.
However, Gordon still chose this spot because, from its body shape, the Great Izuchi had a high center of gravity.
Many monsters, including Flying Wyverns, are prone to falling once their legs are heavily damaged due to their high center of gravity, thus revealing a huge weakness.
The Great Izuchi should belong to this type.
Although its legs were sturdy and hard, as long as the Attack Up was sustained, there would always be a point where the damage accumulated to its limit. As the Hunters jokingly put it, this was the "foot-trimming" tactic.
Of course, there's no need to do this against creatures with short legs and a low center of gravity. A typical example is the Great Wild Boar King; if a Hunter wanted to target that thing's trotters, they'd probably have to lie on the ground to swing their sword.
Zhu Pa continuously drew the Great Izuchi's attention. Once the latter's focus shifted, it would rush up and strike a couple of times, annoying the Great Izuchi immensely, causing it to circle around, fixated on Zhu Pa's constantly moving figure.
Gordon, meanwhile, targeted the Great Izuchi's left leg, creating wounds that were not severely serious, one after another, while also guarding against any potential counterattack from the Great Izuchi.
A cat, a bird, and a person circled like this, as if grinding a mill, for several minutes, until the Great Izuchi exited its enraged state and regained some rationality.
"Gugagaga!" The Great Izuchi let out a strange cry.
It flapped its wings and created some distance. Its left wing, heavily damaged by the Giant Scissors, was clearly somewhat inflexible, but it had not completely lost its ability to fly, which surprised Gordon.
What astonishing vitality.
The Great Izuchi, having regained its ability to think, quickly determined that the human wielding the Great Sword was the primary source of its harm. As for the little cat that had been flitting around in front of it, it was merely an annoying fly that couldn't bite anyone.
Enduring the sharp pain in its left wing, the Great Izuchi flapped its wings forcefully. Amidst the strong winds stirred up by its massive wings, it began to ascend.
Just as Gordon thought the target prey intended to escape, the Great Izuchi suddenly swept its wings back and swooped down towards him.
"What the hell?!" Gordon yelled.
What is this? An advanced version of a reckless charge, a diving charge?
"Zhu Pa! Run!" Gordon called to Zhu Pa, then turned and ran.
Once the massive Great Izuchi entered a diving posture, its trajectory was almost fixed. As long as he could escape the range of the dive before being hit, he should be safe.
No matter how good the Great Izuchi was at flying, it couldn't possibly maneuver left and right when descending to almost ground level, could it?
The pebbly riverbed was not easy to run on, but both Gordon and Zhu Pa gave it their all. When they noticed that their shadows were completely enveloped by a huge shadow, the Hunter and Airou simultaneously threw themselves forward.
"Rumble, rumble..."
Gordon, with no time to brace himself, slammed face-down onto the ground. If not for the protection of his armor, he felt like his Gu Tou would have been broken by the various sized stones on the ground.
Although he fell painfully, Gordon breathed a sigh of relief.
The fact that he still had the leisure to think about such things proved that he had successfully dodged the Great Izuchi's diving pounce... Wait, what was that loud noise just now?
Gordon abruptly turned his head to look and was then pleasantly surprised to discover that the Great Izuchi had also fallen to the ground.
Perhaps because of its injured wing, it failed to maintain balance or pull up during those few seconds of ultra-low altitude gliding, and instead crashed down.
Gordon didn't know how hard it fell, but judging by its struggling and flapping, it wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
Such good fortune?
His body moved before his mind. Gordon immediately strode forward and charged over.
The constantly struggling wings, legs, and the twisting head and neck were not very good targets for Attack Up. Recklessly charging up carried the risk of being sent flying at any moment.
Gordon chose the tail this time.
The Great Izuchi's tail muscles were not strong, and when it swung its tail, it relied entirely on the power of its body rotation to drive the tail for striking. At this moment, with the Great Izuchi lying on the ground unable to leverage itself, the tail's movements seemed relatively weak.
At the same time, this seemingly inconspicuous slender tail was extremely important to the Great Izuchi. Whether as a "counterweight" for its large and heavy head, or for maintaining balance during walking and flying, it was indispensable.
In comparison, its use for tail-swinging attacks was less important.
If it could be destroyed at this time, it might severely affect this creature's movement!
With a decision made in his heart, Gordon's steps quickened once again. He rushed to the Great Izuchi's back like a whirlwind, instantly assuming a Charged Slash stance.
Considering the toughness of the Great Izuchi's carapace and hard skin, Gordon did not overconfidently aim for the Great Izuchi's thick tail root, but instead chose the relatively slender middle of the tail.
Breaking half a tail might not be as effective as cutting off the entire tail, but it was definitely better than not being able to cut it off at all!
First stage, second stage, third stage Charged Slash!
"Break off for me!"
"Gagugu!"
Following Gordon's morale-boosting roar, and the Great Izuchi's sharp shriek.
A section of orange-red tail was severed by the blade of the Giant Scissors.
--+--
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