Their path was blocked.
Lana flicked her tail and motioned for silence, then quickly gestured them toward a narrow side route.
Barely two minutes after they slipped away, the air trembled with a thunderous ROAR — a chorus of violence echoing through the trees.
From the depths of the forest, Zinogre had challenged the Rathian and Rathalos pair—
One against two.
"That thing's picking a fight with both of them?"
Bai Chen's Super Perception flooded his mind with detail.
He didn't just see movement — he saw energy, emotion, and power itself.
Within his expanded vision—
The Rathalos burned with an aura like a six-meter pillar of flame.
Zinogre's own lightning aura reached barely five.
"Outmatched," Bai Chen muttered. "He's either a battle maniac… or an idiot."
Either way, their brawl bought him time.
He pushed all thought of them aside — the top priority now was rescue, not interference.
Meanwhile, deep within Zone 13, inside a natural L-shaped tree hollow—
Two hunters clung desperately to life.
The tunnel leading in was eight meters long, with enough space inside to fit three adults—barely.
But the smell of blood thickened the air.
One man, pale as ash, lay half-conscious.
A makeshift bandage wrapped his thigh — stained a deep, dark red.
He'd lost a leg.
Even if he survived, he would never hunt again.
The other man, Raymond, crouched beside him, body covered in gashes, skin burned and split.
Every breath was ragged.
"Rob… hang in there. Rescue's coming soon," Raymond rasped.
The wounded hunter stirred faintly, whispering through clenched teeth—
"Ugh… use me… as bait."
If Raymond dragged his body out and left him to draw the Ajanath's attention,
maybe — just maybe — he could escape.
The only option left wasn't certain death.
"Don't say that. We're a team," Raymond growled, forcing a grin.
"We leave together, or not at all. Just… hang on."
He said it with conviction—
But his heart was hollow.
Rescue?
He had no idea if anyone was even coming.
It wasn't rare for hunters to die mid-mission.
Usually, if no help arrived within twenty-four hours,
It meant the Commander had already called it off.
And they'd been here… thirty-one hours.
Still, he refused to give in.
"Rob… think of your fiancée back in the Old World.
She's still waiting for you."
Rob's lips twitched faintly at the memory, curving upward—
and then… went still.
Raymond froze, panic flooding his veins.
He reached out, trembling, and pressed two fingers under Rob's nose.
A faint breath. Weak, but there.
"Not dead," he muttered in relief. "Just passed out from blood loss."
Gritting his teeth, he tore the inner bindings from their armor.
He strapped Rob to his back, securing him tight.
He left everything else behind — weapons, gear, everything that would slow him down.
Only two red signal flares remained in his hand.
With the map trembling between his fingers, he plotted a route—
a single chance at survival.
If he could break from the hollow and reach the vines five hundred meters below…
There was still hope.
"We're getting out of here," he whispered, voice cracking.
"You promised we'd drink together after this, remember?"
He steadied his breath, adjusted his grip on Rob,
and began creeping toward the exit—
Only to freeze mid-step.
Every muscle in his body went rigid.
His pulse spiked.
A chill raced from his soles to his skull.
At the tunnel's end—
A golden slit pupil gleamed in the dark.
Watching. Silent.
Death itself waits at the door.
Raymond's knees buckled.
He sank to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.
"Heh… heh heh…"
A broken laugh escaped his throat, twisting into a sob.
A veteran hunter reduced to a weeping child before the abyss.
And then—
A voice cut through the despair.
"Secret Technique—Knight Kick!"
BOOM!
The world exploded.
The Ajanath at the entrance was kicked clean off its feet,
its massive body thrown back several meters as if struck by a boulder.
Raymond's tears froze midstream.
The golden eyes vanished—
replaced by a confident smirk beneath the moonlight.
"Still breathing, huh?"
Bai Chen's voice was calm but resolute.
He turned slightly.
"Lana! Master Smith! Get in there and treat them!"
"Yamaa!"
"Understood, meow!"
The white-furred cat and the pink-haired smith darted inside,
their small forms vanishing into the hollow.
"Can you move, meow?" Lana asked quickly.
Raymond's throat tightened again—
But this time, his tears were different.
Not despair. Relief.
"The Commander… he didn't give up on us," he choked out.
"I can walk—just… not far."
"That's fine, meow. We'll get you both back safely."
Lana helped him drink an emergency potion,
Then pressed another to Rob's lips.
By the time they stepped outside,
the clearing was a storm of motion—
Bai Chen and the Sword Master were already fighting the Ajanath head-on.
Raymond exhaled.
One was the Fifth Fleet's rising legend,
the other, a swordsman whose name carried across the New World.
With those two together,
the monster didn't stand a chance.
"Please, this way, meow!" Lana called, waving her paw.
She led the injured pair around the battlefield.
But the Ajanath wasn't about to let its prey escape.
It roared—
a screeching, bone-shaking bellow that pierced the air.
Bai Chen clapped his hands over his ears, teeth gritted.
"That's loud enough to burst eardrums!"
He kicked off the ground, leaping high—
"Shut it already!"
His heel crashed into Ajanath's jaw.
The impact cut its roar short, snapping its head sideways.
The Sword Master blinked in disbelief.
"That raw strength… rivals the Commander's himself!"
The Ajanath stumbled back,
blood-red fury flashing in its eyes as it entered rage mode.
Its nasal plates flared open,
its throat glowed with molten red light—
But Bai Chen didn't even draw his blade.
He raised his right hand,
black energy swirling in his palm like condensed smoke.
"Move—Shadow Ball!"
The orb detonated on impact—
a thunderous crack, and the Ajanath was sent skidding backward again.
Behind his mask, the Sword Master's eyes went wide.
"What… what was that black sphere?"
Before he could finish, a streak of flame shot past his face—
The Ajanath retaliates with a blast of heat from its maw.
Bai Chen dodged sideways, conjuring two more dark orbs in his hands.
They slammed into the beast's torso, bursting in twin shockwaves.
"Next—Quick Attack!"
His body blurred into motion, leaving a white streak of light.
He appeared beside the Ajanath,
hands wreathed in black energy—
each palm forming spectral claws.
"Move—Shadow Claw!"
The claws tore through the monster's armored hide,
ripping scales apart with terrifying ease.
The Sword Master froze.
He looked from his finely forged blade
to Bai Chen's bare, glowing hands—
then back again.
"...Tell me," he muttered, voice dazed.
"Isn't our style of doing things a bit different???"
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
60+ advanced chapters available.
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 40 Power Stones.
Bonus chapter for every 10 reviews/comments