Gordon stared intently at the Rathalos circling in the air, his mind constantly pondering countermeasures.
The Hunting Camp wasn't far from here, but running nearly a thousand meters across this exposed riverbed, under the Rathalos's Attack Up, was almost impossible.
Another escape route was the rapidly flowing river nearby.
It was early spring, the high-water season, and if he could jump into the river, he could at least escape the Rathalos's pursuit; the latter, who disliked water, was unlikely to jump into the river to catch him.
Although that was also a gamble with his life, wearing armor in the turbulent river, he could easily drown or be dashed against the rocks if he wasn't careful.
But this, perhaps, was the only way to survive.
With a plan in mind, Gordon began to move towards the riverbank, while instructing the somewhat bewildered Zhu Pa to escape directly if an opportunity arose.
The Rathalos seemed to have seen through his plan; with a turn of its body, it landed in front of him, directly blocking his path to the riverbank.
Helpless, Gordon had no choice but to put his right hand on the hilt of the Burst Blade on his back and confront the Rathalos.
However, the Rathalos clearly had no interest in wasting time with him; its massive head tilted slightly, and flames and sparks danced between its fangs and beak.
"Not good, it's a breath attack!"
Gordon's face changed drastically, and he once again threw himself to the side with all his might.
A crimson fireball, as large as a millstone, blasted out from the Rathalos's wide-open maw like a cannonball, instantly traversing the riverbed and striking a giant tree several arm-spans thick at the edge of the jungle.
Flames splattered with a roaring sound.
The hard, gnarled old tree, covered in sturdy vines, was split in two by the fireball as if it were a dry twig.
Gordon felt his heart skip a beat; if he hadn't dodged in time, he would probably be no more than ashes by now, wouldn't he?
A breath attack of this power was something the Blue Velocidrome Set simply couldn't withstand.
The Rathalos, whose Attack Up had failed again, roared, its dark yellow eyes locking onto Gordon, its legs stomping the ground, its spiky, armored head, like the tip of a Lance, pointed directly at Gordon, launching a sudden charge.
This reckless, head-on Attack Up reminded him of the Great Wild Boar King's charge; if this move was performed by the Rathalos, it would be a Dragon Car several times more powerful!
Gordon knew very well that he absolutely could not panic when facing this kind of Attack Up.
Estimating the Rathalos's speed and the distance between them, Gordon rolled out at the last second, dodging the Dragon Car, but he still didn't relax, rolling again towards a further direction.
Even the Great Wild Boar King would stop suddenly and turn to pursue; wouldn't the Rathalos?
Sure enough, the Rathalos's subsequent Attack Up came.
It flapped its wings, hovering in the air, then raised its feet, its poisonous claws striking at Gordon's back.
Gordon ultimately miscalculated the Rathalos's Attack Up range; even with all his might to create distance and dodge, the Rathalos's claws still tore through his Blue Velocidrome armor, leaving a deep wound on his back.
A purplish-black mark spread outwards from the wound; this was the Rathalos's venom, a potent poison far surpassing Poison Mushroom juice!
Gordon could feel that the wound on his back almost instantly lost sensation, which was not a good sign.
A numbing sensation rapidly spread from his back throughout his body, his blood flow suddenly increased, his eyes began to bloodshot, and blood uncontrollably gushed from his nostrils and throat.
His limbs also began to weaken and become unresponsive; if this continued, he wouldn't be able to dodge the Rathalos's next Attack Up.
"Dududu~ Dududu~ Dududu~"
A sharp horn sound suddenly rang out, temporarily drawing the Rathalos's attention.
It was Zhu Pa!
Gordon had no time to think about anything else; he forced himself to maintain his fading consciousness and, with the fastest speed, took out the antidote that the instructor had emphasized countless times he must carry.
As the antidote was swallowed, the toxins flowing in his blood were rapidly broken down; the intense pain from the wound on his back returned, and the uncontrollable numbness in his limbs gradually disappeared.
Although he was still somewhat weak due to blood loss and residual toxins, most of the poison had indeed been cleared.
"Zhu Pa! Dig and escape!"
Seeing that Zhu Pa was about to be caught by the Rathalos, Gordon roared.
Zhu Pa, who had long been terrified and wanted to escape, but had been suppressing his fear to attract the Rathalos's attention for Gordon's sake, immediately crouched down, his paws rapidly digging at the ground, and in a blink of an eye, he had dug a hole large enough for him to crawl into, slipping in just before the Rathalos could bite him.
Feeling that he had been toyed with, the Rathalos let out another furious roar, flapped its wings to ascend into the air, and swooped down towards the direction Gordon was fleeing.
Gordon, who was desperately running towards the river, heard the sound of Dragon wings flapping behind him, suddenly turned, and threw something he had been clutching in his palm.
A Flash Bomb!
A brief but dazzling burst of strong light erupted in front of the Rathalos as the Flash Bomb exploded.
With a cry of shock and anger, the flying Rathalos crashed to the ground, seemingly badly injured from the fall, unable to get up for a moment.
Gordon excitedly waved his arms, then continued his desperate escape.
A few seconds later, the Rathalos stood up again; its vision had not fully recovered, but it still roughly determined Gordon's position through its sense of smell.
Smoke billowed, and a blazing fireball roared forth again.
"Boom!"
The fireball landed on the riverbed seven or eight meters away from Gordon, and the spreading shockwave made Gordon stumble; flying debris even cut his cheek, but he let out a sigh of relief.
This was better than a fireball to the face, wasn't it?
However, what he hadn't expected was that the Rathalos's breath Attack Up this time wasn't a single shot, but a continuous one!
Three fireballs were successively ejected from its mouth, fanning out to cover the direction Gordon was fleeing.
The last fireball exploded directly on the Burst Blade on his back.
Sulfur-smelling smoke enveloped him, the scattered flames melted his armor, and the explosion's shockwave lifted him entirely, blasting him four or five meters away.
He fell heavily onto the gravel-strewn riverbed, and under the intense explosion's impact, large gushes of blood once again poured from his mouth.
It was hard to say whether it was unfortunate or fortunate.
This fireball, for the temporarily blinded Rathalos, could basically be considered a lucky hit.
But from another perspective, if it weren't for the Burst Blade hanging on his back, which just happened to block it for him, this fireball might have directly killed him.
Lucky or unlucky? Gordon was in no mood to consider these things at the moment.
The surging river was rushing less than two or three meters in front of him; the path to escape was right before his eyes, but he barely had the strength to even open his eyes.
However, just then, a familiar figure burst out from underground.
It was Zhu Pa, who had burrowed underground earlier!
"Meow meow meow!"
Zhu Pa dropped the Felyne Pickaxe in his hand, his two small paws gripping Gordon's shoulders tightly, screaming as he dragged Gordon, who weighed several times more than him.
A year ago, when he first arrived at Kokoto Village, small and thin, he would have been utterly incapable of dragging the armored and unconscious Gordon.
However, a year of high-protein diet and rigorous training had made him grow to a degree unmatched by his wild counterparts.
"Meow!!!"
With a desperate scream, Zhu Pa pulled Gordon, and they both tumbled into the rushing river.
Only the Rathalos, having lost its target, remained circling above the river, venting its boundless rage.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.