Bai Chen's fists hammered down with unstoppable force—each blow crashing into the Zinogre's skull like thunder.
The lightning beast howled, trying to rise, but Bai Chen's grip was merciless.
"No way a two-meter human should be able to brawl a monster this size," he thought grimly, tightening his hold.
Zinogre's forelimbs flexed, claws gouging into the dirt as it tried to lift its massive frame. Bai Chen saw the movement, shifted his footing, and—
"Move—Close Combat!"
He launched a brutal, defenseless flurry straight at the beast's head.
Each punch landed with a meaty crack, black energy rippling with every impact.
"ROAR—!"
The Zinogre wailed, thrashing violently in pain and desperation, but Bai Chen clung to it like a vice.
The creature suddenly rolled, throwing its weight down from the platform—ten meters straight to the ground.
The fall barely fazed either of them.
Bai Chen's arm was still locked tight around its neck.
He drove one more crushing Close Combat strike downward—Zinogre's life force plummeting to a sliver.
Sensing death, the wolf's body flared with violent instinct. A last surge of power erupted—its muscles tensed, and it hurled itself, with Bai Chen still atop, toward a stone wall.
"Tch—"
Bai Chen released at the last instant, twisting mid-air and landing cleanly on his feet.
The Zinogre slammed into the wall with a brutal crack. Its vision spun, body shuddering in pain—nearly knocking itself unconscious.
Bai Chen exhaled sharply.
"That's enough."
He reached for his belt, pulling free a blank Capture Ball.
"Alright… I'm counting on you. Go—Monster Ball!"
The red-white sphere flew from his hand like a cannon shot, striking the wolf squarely on the chest.
Across the battlefield, the Sword Master—still dueling the Rathalos—caught sight of the strange motion.
He blinked, mid-strike.
"What… is he doing? Throwing a ball at it?"
"Is that a new type of tranquilizer bomb?"
Then the sphere split open mid-air.
A flash of crimson light engulfed the Zinogre—
—And the massive beast vanished.
The ball dropped to the ground, twitching—
Wobble.
Wobble.
Wobble.
Ding!
A burst of tiny star-like sparks flitted out from the sphere.
Bai Chen's eyes lit up.
"Caught it—Zinogre's mine!"
He ran over, snatched the ball off the ground, and clipped it proudly to his belt.
The Sword Master just stood frozen, staring.
"That thing… just absorbed a monster?"
"What in the world is that…?"
His moment of disbelief cost him dearly.
Rathalos's tail whipped around and struck him square in the chest, flinging him across the clearing. The wyvern roared and turned—eyes burning—toward Bai Chen.
The newly minted "trainer" barely had time to react before a massive Fireball burst toward him.
"Move—Quick Guard!"
A shimmering barrier flickered to life as the explosion hit.
Smoke and ash blasted outward.
"Pff—pff!" Bai Chen spat a mouthful of soot. "That one packed a punch."
Through the haze, he saw the Rathalos now shielding the wounded Rathian behind him—its stance wary, protective, and angry.
Even the apex predator seemed unsettled by Bai Chen's trick.
Instinct screamed at it: Run.
And indeed, the wyvern began to retreat, trying to carry its mate into the skies.
"Oh no, you don't!"
Bai Chen's body flashed white—
"Move—Quick Attack!"
He darted forward, intercepting their flight path.
But mid-air, Rathalos swung his tail in a sweeping arc—
The sheer mass of it is cutting off every avenue of escape.
"No time to dodge!"
Bai Chen made the call in an instant.
He braced, gritted his teeth—took the hit head-on—
And as the impact knocked him upward, he grabbed hold of the wyvern's tail.
The momentum nearly tore his arm free, but he clung on, climbing rapidly up the scaled length like a living anchor.
By the time Rathalos realized what was happening, Bai Chen was already on its back.
The wyvern spread its wings with a furious roar, soaring dozens of meters high.
Bai Chen raised a fist and slammed a Close Combat strike into its hide—
But the blow barely dented the thick red armor.
"So that's the level gap…" he muttered, feeling the difference like a wall.
Still, he wasn't done.
He locked his legs around the wyvern's torso, arms crossing before his chest—
a bright emblem of fiery red flaring to life at his feet.
"You think your scales can stop this?"
"Let's find out—!"
The air vibrated with energy.
Natural power surged into him, swirling around his fists in molten light.
This was no ordinary move.
It was a Z-Move.
"Move—All-Out Pummeling!"
Bai Chen's body ignited with an aura.
Each punch struck with the force of a cannon,
a barrage of blows raining like meteor strikes.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Energy blasts detonated across Rathalos's back,
ripping through its scales and shattering its armor.
With a final, echoing roar, the mighty wyvern plummeted—
crashing into the ground below.
The explosion sent debris flying in all directions.
When the dust cleared, Bai Chen stood panting,
sweat and smoke rolling off his body.
Even with his mastery of Nature's Force, losing forty percent of his stamina in one instant left him trembling.
"Still standing…" he gasped. "Barely."
The Sword Master, finally shaken free of his awe, returned to the fray—his crimson blade flashing once more as he drove the wyverns back.
The fight began to tilt in their favor.
Rathian and Rathalos were weakening fast, blood spattering the roots beneath them.
And then—
Bai Chen froze.
His Super Perception flared to life on its own.
A fifth presence had entered the arena.
From above, the treetops trembled.
A faint, familiar sound echoed in his ears—
the song every hunter knew by heart.
"No way…" Bai Chen whispered.
The air split apart as a dark shadow swooped overhead.
A Bazelgeuse—the "World Police"—descended, wings glinting like black steel, scales glowing like embers.
The same beast Bai Chen had glimpsed from afar days ago—
drawn here now by the chaos below.
Tiny, fist-sized scales rained from the sky, landing all around them—
—and Bai Chen's instincts screamed.
Each one pulsed with rising energy.
"Scatter!" he shouted.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Explosions erupted across the entire clearing.
Fire, smoke, and concussive shockwaves engulfed everything—
Even the captured Ajanath lying motionless nearby wasn't spared.
This was the might of the World Police—
a monster so fearsome that even other apex predators were forced to flee.
Bai Chen shielded his face from the storm, eyes narrowing through the firelight.
"Just great," he muttered under his breath.
"Another uninvited guest…"
And amid the chaos, he realized—
The battle for his third partner
had only just begun.
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