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"Holy moly!"
Ethan had thought the Royal Ludroth's roar was just a display of its rage, but the creature had executed a zero-frame startup, no wind-up roar/spit. By the time he reacted, it was already too late to dodge.
Gritting his teeth, he drew his Charge Blade in a slightly different manner than usual, inserting and locking the two pieces together while drawing the weapon. The shield's surface expanded outward via the mechanism, narrowly intercepting the frontal impact of the water ball.
His arm trembled slightly. Ethan secretly felt relieved. The attack power of the water ball didn't seem as strong as he had imagined. However, this relief had only just surfaced and hadn't yet shown on his face when the water ball burst entirely. The viscous liquid, mixed with special bodily fluids, splattered everywhere, and a small portion landed on Ethan, seeping through every seam and gap in his gear.
Ethan immediately felt several extra pounds of weight added to his body. Furthermore, the mucus clinging between his armor and his skin meant that every movement now required significantly more energy to complete.
"Waterblight…"
Ethan realized instantly. This breath attack could not be resisted by conventional defense. The status ailment, which seemed negligible in the game, made him feel the danger when it actually happened to him.
His stamina was never his strong suit. Even with the breakthroughs from his special training, it was only slightly less of a liability. Having gone through the constant pressure and fight with the Great Jagras leader earlier, his physical energy was already dangerously low. Now, hit with Waterblight, Ethan felt his movements were starting to fail him.
Worse, immediately after the water ball attack, the Royal Ludroth charged forward again, giving Ethan no chance to catch his breath.
This time, Ethan didn't choose to run laterally. He stood his ground, preparing to use an evasion only when the monster was nearly upon him, which would conserve his rapidly depleting stamina.
Just then, an unexpected roar sounded from the side. The two tense combatants simultaneously diverted a sliver of their attention toward the source of the roar.
The Royal Ludroth's charge toward Ethan instantly slowed. It turned to look at the other monster, an Arzuros, which stood upright on its hind legs, making itself look much taller than it appeared.
It recognized the creature immediately. This was the Arzuros that had tried to steal its territory just days ago and had been soundly beaten. Its posture, while feigning height, looked timid.
The defeated can still challenge me?
Ethan also recognized the monster immediately. This was Bear Bro, whom he had searched for several times without success. The fact that it appeared before him again when he was in danger filled him with excitement and gratitude.
However, his gratitude quickly morphed into worry. Bear Bro was just an Arzuros. Would it win against a Royal Ludroth?
The Royal Ludroth completely ignored the small, dung-flinging golden Rajang (Congalala) and lowered its head, charging toward the Arzuros, which dared to challenge it again. This time, it would definitely beat the creature until it ran away with its tail between its legs, never daring to appear before it again!
The two massive creatures rushed toward each other. Battles between monsters were often this unpretentious: lacking in technique, they were purely a contest of who had greater strength and who was more agile.
Undoubtedly, the Arzuros, whose weight was less than half that of the Royal Ludroth, was at a definitive disadvantage in power. The moment the two crashed into each other, the Royal Ludroth pushed the Arzuros back relentlessly. The Arzuros's feet plowed two deep furrows into the mud submerged by the stream, and the clear water instantly became murky.
"Bear Bro! Hold on! I'm coming to help you!"
Ethan pointed with one hand, then raised his Charge Blade in Axe Mode, preparing to rush in and deliver a fierce blow to the long banana.
"Thump!"
However, before Ethan could close the distance, Bear Bro was swatted away by a tail swipe from the Royal Ludroth. It rolled twice on the ground and came to rest right in front of Ethan.
"Uh, Bear Bro?"
The two black, bead-like eyes of the Arzuros stared blankly at the rapidly braking Ethan. It felt that its small friend looked completely different than before, as if he had changed his fur. If his voice hadn't remained the same, using that unique sound to call him, he would have thought he had the wrong person.
Ethan glanced at the Royal Ludroth, which had stopped its attack and was roaring in place, showing off its strength. He folded his Charge Blade and slung it back onto his back, intending to help Bear Bro, who seemed shell-shocked, to his feet.
Bear Bro instantly snapped out of its daze, rolling over and scrambling up. However, instead of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ethan to charge the Royal Ludroth again, it quickly scooped Ethan onto its shoulder and turned to run.
You give way, you know!
I've found my friend, but I can't beat the monster. What else is there to do but run?
Normally, territorial disputes between monsters end when the loser leaves, and the winner does not pursue, to avoid unnecessary injury.
However, the Arzuros's retreat seemed to make the Royal Ludroth more arrogant. It seemed to feel that such a weak creature wasn't even qualified to injure it in a counterattack, and it eagerly gave chase.
Ethan was pressed against Bear Bro's shoulder, his hands clutching the thick, yellowish fur near the armor plating on its sides. As Bear Bro hunched down and sprinted wildly, Ethan naturally ended up riding on its back, bouncing up and down with the motion.
In contrast to the harmonious coordination between a Rider and their monster partner, Ethan felt more like he was experiencing a Hunter mounting a monster to attack—the posture of desperately clinging to the monster to avoid being thrown off could not be called similar; it was exactly the same.
Rachelle had just pushed aside the bushes in front of her when she saw a Hunter in Yukumo gear riding on the back of an Arzuros, charging toward her.
Oho! This rookie looks promising! He's already pulled off a Mount!
Rachelle hugged her Shadow Snipe Heavy Bowgun, which she had slung on her back. She was just loading the Pierce Ammo into the chamber, ready to help out, when she heard the Hunter on the bear's back shout words she could understand but not comprehend.
"Hey! Hey, Bear Bro, look out! There's someone ahead!"
Ethan strained to pull on the fur on the right side. Bear Bro paused for a moment, then understood, veering slightly to the right as it ran. It swept past Rachelle like a gust of wind, leaving only a shout to drift in its wake.
"Watch out, Big Sis! There's a Royal Ludroth right behind you!"
Rachelle turned her head again and saw a long, banana-like creature charging toward her aggressively.
"Do all the rookies play this aggressively now?"
Without any conscious aim, relying only on instinct, the sharp Pierce Ammo whistled out, penetrating the spongy crest on the Royal Ludroth's neck and drawing a spray of fresh blood.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The muzzle flashed continuously, and bolts flew out one after another, each shot punching a hole in the Royal Ludroth's soft, spongy body.
Rachelle was intentionally avoiding the monster's eyes, mouth, and other vital spots, only targeting the soft, sponge-like tissue. She did this not to cause significant damage, but only to inflict pain on the creature.
She wanted to quickly repel this monster, then catch up with that rookie Hunter and find out what the heck was going on!
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