"Zhu Pa, excellent work!" Oshura roared in praise.
It was Zhu Pa, who had been hiding in the shadows, seeking an opportunity, who threw the Explosive Bombs. It had recently taken a liking to studying explosives and was always worried that using Exploding Bombs in battle would affect Gordon in close combat, but now it had seized a good opportunity.
As the Mushroom burst into flames, King Yian Kut-Ku finally staggered to its feet.
Gordon, who had been swinging his Great Sword with all his might, continuously creating new wounds on the former, immediately retreated a few steps.
He noticed that King Yian Kut-Ku's fleshy nose had already turned bright red, which was clearly a sign that it had entered an enraged state.
With a large secretion of adrenaline, enraged monsters would disregard physical pain; not only would their combat power return to its peak, but their movements would also become much more agile and violent, making them extremely aggressive and very dangerous.
King Yian Kut-Ku stood on two feet, straightened its body, spread its strong arms with their claws wide open, and its plump belly continuously trembled, as if panting heavily, a low growl of "hoo-hoo" reverberating in its chest.
As Gordon slowly retreated, he finally clearly saw how enormous this monster in front of him truly was.
Over seven meters tall, compared to the well-proportioned and agile Rathalos, King Yian Kut-Ku appeared much fatter and stronger. In terms of weight alone, the two might even be comparable.
Having stood up and displayed its powerful physique, King Yian Kut-Ku did not immediately launch an attack.
Contrary to its brute-like appearance, even in an enraged state, this fellow was unusually calm.
It immediately brought its long, curled tail in front of it. The giant, burning Mushroom at the tip of its tail looked like a torch, and perhaps in another ten seconds or so, it would completely burn out and turn to charcoal.
Unexpectedly, it actually swallowed the half-burning Mushroom in one gulp. Gordon could even see flames shooting out from its nostrils and between its teeth.
Its teeth were too terrifying!
"Hoo-hoo, cough, cough..."
King Yian Kut-Ku, having swallowed the burning Mushroom, coughed out a series of black smoke, while the unburnt part of the Mushroom had already slid down its esophagus into its stomach, where, under the action of powerful stomach acid, it was quickly digested into nutrients for it to recover from its injuries.
"Tsk, that's truly exaggerated."
Oshura, who had also witnessed this astonishing scene from a distance, spat and pulled the trigger again, the roars of monster bird's wrath continuous.
Archers, with their extremely long range, had no concept of temporarily avoiding the monster's fury when it was enraged; even if the monster exploded on the spot, they could continue to deal damage.
Unlike Lv1 Normal Ammo, which was only finger-sized and mostly used for smaller monsters, the Lv3 Normal Ammo she was using now was enough to pierce through King Yian Kut-Ku's thick fur, causing it intense pain and damage.
King Yian Kut-Ku's attention was almost immediately drawn to this annoying fellow who was targeting its rear, and even Gordon, who had just delivered a few heavy slashes, was temporarily ignored.
"Roar, hoo-hoo!"
Seeing that King Yian Kut-Ku's attack target was about to shift from himself to the Archer, Gordon knew it was time for him to do something.
Continuously attracting the monster's attention and creating attack opportunities for Archer companions was the responsibility and duty of a Great Sword User!
"Heh-ha!"
Twisting his body and swinging his arm, Burst Blade whistled as it tore through the air, cleaving horizontally onto one of King Yian Kut-Ku's hind legs. The ferocious claw-like blade tore through the skin, leaving a bleeding wound on King Yian Kut-Ku's thigh.
King Yian Kut-Ku howled in pain, its attention immediately drawn back.
Its arm, thick as a pillar, lifted high and swung down with full force. If the half-meter-long, scythe-like claw connected, even if Gordon was fully armored, he would undoubtedly be severely wounded.
However, Gordon was already prepared. After confirming he had attracted his opponent's attention, he immediately rolled to create distance, and King Yian Kut-Ku's attack landed on empty air.
The scythe-shaped claws scraped across the ground, sending shattered rocks flying, leaving several clear claw marks on the hard rocky ground where the hunter had originally stood.
In the distance, Oshura, who had originally seen King Yian Kut-Ku turn its head and was preparing to put away her Light Bowgun and start moving, curved her lips into a smile and stopped her movement to stand up.
This recently acquainted young Great Sword User had a stronger sense of cooperation than she had imagined. Although still lacking in experience, he had been diligently learning and adapting to cooperative hunting methods.
Their cooperation wasn't bad at all!
The crisis had been resolved. Oshura squatted down, lowering her center of gravity, and resumed her stance. The horizontally held monster bird's wrath continued to fire, its attacks never ceasing.
On the other side, facing King Yian Kut-Ku's continuous violent attacks, Gordon simply sheathed his weapon and circled around King Yian Kut-Ku by repeatedly dodging and rolling.
This was the advantage of team hunting. As a Great Sword User, as long as he maintained the monster's attention, even if he didn't land a single blow, the Archer in the distance could wear the monster down to death.
After several more consecutive claw attacks were skillfully dodged by Gordon, perhaps because the wound on its shoulder and neck caused King Yian Kut-Ku to lose its balance, or perhaps its stamina was temporarily exhausted.
After the last sweeping claw attack missed, King Yian Kut-Ku once again fell to the ground.
Gordon, who had been feeling suppressed for a long time, naturally would not miss such a good offensive opportunity. He took a large step forward to reach King Yian Kut-Ku's side, gripped the hilt of Burst Blade with both hands, and immediately entered a Charged Slash stance.
This time, King Yian Kut-Ku got up very quickly. Gordon didn't have time to complete the three-stage Charged Slash, so he had to hastily release the one-stage Charged Slash he had just charged. The hook-shaped blade tip of Burst Blade heavily struck King Yian Kut-Ku's shoulder.
The intense pain caused King Yian Kut-Ku to exert more force in its rising movement. Its upper body leaned back, appearing as if it was about to lose its balance.
Gordon seized this opportunity, just as he was about to continue the pursuit, he heard a loud shout from Oshura in the distance: "Get clear!"
Although he didn't understand where the danger came from, Gordon instinctively reacted, diving and rolling forcefully to one side.
King Yian Kut-Ku, which seemed about to fall backward, suddenly took a deep breath. Its already bulging black belly instantly swelled several times like a balloon, and at the same time, it thrust forward forcefully.
The air around its belly was pushed away, making a dull "thump" sound. Amidst the turbulent airflow, Gordon, who was rolling to his feet, felt a little unsteady.
Looking at the huge belly that had expanded and faintly emitted a metallic, hard luster, Gordon's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
If it weren't for Oshura's timely warning, he would definitely have been sent flying by that big belly. Whether he would have suffered serious injuries was debatable, but the perfectly flowing combat rhythm would certainly have been broken.
"Damn it, that belly Attack Up is stronger than I thought!" Gordon cursed under his breath and charged forward again.
Most monsters briefly enter a state of rigidity after performing a powerful attack, and King Yian Kut-Ku was clearly no exception.
Its swollen belly only lasted for three to five seconds before quickly deflating like a punctured balloon, returning to its original shape. King Yian Kut-Ku flopped softly onto the ground, and even its eyes and nose, which had been red with anger, returned to normal.
Heavy panting echoed all around.
It was tired.
--+--
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.
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