"Kevin?"
Kevin's sudden appearance made the few people fiercely fighting the Griffin exclaim in surprise.
Their voices were filled with joy. Naturally, they had been worried about Kevin's sudden disappearance. The problem was that the Griffin's power prevented them from escaping or doing anything, forcing them to seek opportunities under its relentless pressure.
Kevin quickly surveyed the battlefield, taking in the current situation.
Menchi and the other two were covered in wounds, their clothes tattered, looking quite disheveled. However, they only had minor external injuries, and it seemed they hadn't even had time to use healing potions. It looked like they had only been grazed by wind blades.
At that moment, the Griffin was still vigorously flapping its wings, controlling the hurricane, and continuously attacking the three.
Kevin hadn't lingered too long in the Nen space.
"Hold on," he said. "I'll go pull out that cowardly fellow."
He wasn't sure if the raven's Nen ability could still be used, or if there was any cost—he couldn't gamble. If Gowen were trapped inside, it would be fatal.
"Caw! Caw!"
The raven let out a panicked cry, flapping its wings, trying to escape.
How could Kevin give it that chance?
He took a deep breath—a large amount of oxygen filling his heart and lungs. His entire body instantly flushed red, and a faint steam rose from him. Nen burst forth.
Whoosh!
The air was instantly torn apart, and a sharp sound spread outward.
Kevin shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging fiercely ahead.
The raven, just taking flight, felt the fatal pressure from behind.
Fly! Fly!
It had only one thought: quickly fly away and leave this place. The pressure Kevin had exerted in the Nen space had made it unable to face him now.
Kevin's appearance caused the Griffin to immediately shift its target.
It was a Phantom Beast—its intelligence incomparable to humans, but it possessed a certain level of wisdom and animal instincts. Almost instantly, it locked onto Kevin as the most threatening target.
The Griffin flapped its wings fiercely, letting out a sharp roar. Wind pressure, wind blades, and roar projectiles all shot toward Kevin.
"I can't let you interfere. Stop right there!"
Menchi clasped her hands together, clapped them forward, and Nen shot out. Since Kevin had appeared, there was no need to hold back any longer.
"Snake!"
This time, what appeared was no longer a Nen arrow wrapped in dust, but a giant snake composed of a mass of Nen—a Nen beast.
A colossal serpent appeared before everyone, entirely condensed from Nen, its body distinctly translucent. The serpent's tentacles shot forward like lightning, directly coiling around the Griffin and pulling hard.
This sudden giant tentacled python caught the Griffin off guard, pulling it directly to the ground.
"Heavy Armored Chariot!"
Buhara's figure was noticeably thinner now. He shot out like a speeding truck, slamming heavily into the Griffin.
Accompanied by a scream, the enormous Griffin was sent flying a considerable distance. However, the area of impact didn't seem to have sustained much damage.
And waiting on the other side was Gowen.
He raised his greatsword high, his expression resolute, his Nen surging.
"Courage!"
The Nen on his greatsword erupted like flames. Gowen gripped the greatsword tightly with both hands and slashed downward with force.
The Griffin's flesh split open. Feathers flew, and a massive wound—two meters long—appeared on its lower back.
This sword strike was astonishingly powerful.
The Griffin struggled, its wings flapping wildly, its pained cries echoing everywhere. The wound wasn't large, but it seemed to have a profound impact on the Griffin.
Without the Griffin's interference...
Kevin rushed to a height of seven or eight meters off the ground at top speed.
"Trying to run?"
He made a sudden lunge over the last stretch of distance.
The moment the sound rang out, Kevin's lunging arm pierced through the raven's flesh. He held his five fingers together to form a palm, and his arm came out the other side of the raven's chest.
The raven lowered its head blankly, its wings drooping weakly.
Kevin pulled out his arm, landed on the ground, and with a flick of his hand, the blood on his arm drew a diagonal line, sprinkling onto the ground.
The raven's corpse crashed heavily onto the ground. Its bird-like eyes gradually lost focus, its beak slightly opening and closing, only able to emit faint caws. Life was rapidly draining from its body.
Kevin didn't stop after landing. He turned and rushed back toward the battlefield.
The battle was far from over.
Squawk!
A sharp, piercing eagle cry rang out.
A massive gust of wind swept over, and Kevin, who was charging forward, immediately stopped, shielding himself with his hands. Large amounts of stones and branches continuously struck him.
This storm was like a passing disaster. The surrounding trees snapped and toppled.
"Damn it!"
Kevin couldn't help but curse. He dug his feet firmly into the ground, crouching down, afraid of being swept away by the gale. He felt as if he were fighting a tornado—directly facing the terrifying power of nature.
Only then did he understand why that raven thought teaming up with the Griffin could take him down. With such terrifying power, they indeed had sufficient confidence.
Is this what a powerful Phantom Beast is?
The storm gradually dissipated, leaving the entire battleground in ruins.
Menchi and the other two, who had just completed a combo attack, had now been sent flying and scattered in different directions. It seemed the previous combat had just been the Griffin playing around with them.
The Griffin flapped its wings and took flight. Its appearance was no longer as majestic as before—it looked somewhat disheveled. Its enormous eagle eyes were filled with the brutality of a wild beast.
That wound seemed to have infuriated it greatly, making it extremely frenzied.
Under the sunlight, the Griffin swooped down, aiming directly for Menchi.
Menchi, at this moment, had been violently slammed into a tree by the earlier storm. Facing the pouncing Griffin, she was powerless to dodge.
"Is this the legendary monster?" she mumbled to herself, preparing to take the potion in her hand.
This would at least ensure she wouldn't be instantly killed. She felt this was the best option at the moment.
However, someone clearly didn't think so.
The Griffin, pouncing toward Menchi, suddenly paused—its entire body in mid-air dropping slightly.
It turned out Kevin had timely grabbed one of the Griffin's hind claws, trying to pull it to the ground with force.
Unfortunately, his attempt failed. The lift generated by the Griffin's wings was too powerful for him to easily pull it down. But this action effectively interrupted the Griffin's attack rhythm.
Menchi seized the opportunity to quickly drink the potion and retreat into the forest. In this situation, the forest was her best cover.
The fierce wind howled down. The Griffin flapped its wings, about to carry Kevin along into the sky.
This was not the outcome Kevin wanted.
He held tightly to the bird's claw, pulled himself up hard, and smoothly landed on the Griffin's back. Kevin gripped the Griffin's feathers tightly, his right fist drawn back like a fully strung bow.
Due to the urgency of the situation, he couldn't accumulate too much Nen—but this punch was imperative.
Bang!
He slammed his fist down hard.
But the power didn't seem to meet his expectations.
"Barrier?" Kevin was surprised.
This Griffin actually used wind to construct a barrier for itself. It was practically cheating—wasn't this just like him?
At that moment, the Griffin was violently twisting in the sky. Kevin was flung back and forth, but his hands remained tightly gripping the Griffin's flesh, refusing to let go no matter what.
Seeing this, the Griffin simply flew toward the forest, then suddenly flipped over downward, plunging headfirst into the trees.
This reckless attack method caused the Griffin to crash into the forest back-first, making an earth-shattering sound. Thanks to the protection of its wind-formed barrier, the Griffin's injuries didn't seem too severe this time. The impact on itself was limited.
In the chaotic forest, Kevin coughed as he crawled out from the fallen trees.
"You crazy bird."
If he hadn't adjusted his posture in time when the Griffin crashed—and without the barrier's protection—he probably wouldn't have been able to get up from that hit.
At that moment, the Griffin was completely insane, having no mind to confront Kevin directly. It spread its wings and foreclaws, charging straight at him.
Wind blades flew everywhere, and the entire forest instantly became unrecognizable.
"No good," Kevin muttered. "It seems I can't take this guy down without drinking a potion."
He no longer hesitated. He drank a healing potion directly, then took out a syringe and injected it into his thigh. The two potions quickly took effect within him. Vigorous Nen began to surge forth.
To deal with this Griffin, there was no need for delicate maneuvers—only brute force would work.
He had to teach it a lesson.
A red Nen arrow flew swiftly from the jungle, precisely hitting the wound on the Griffin's back that Gowen had previously opened.
A burning pain emanated from the wound. This didn't attract the Griffin's attention but instead intensified its fury, causing it to randomly spray wind blades around. But the target was still Kevin—completely ignoring the attacks from behind.
At that moment, the only person who could continue fighting besides Kevin was Menchi. The Griffin's previous burst had severely wounded Gowen and Buhara, who had been shielding Menchi. Gowen was likely unable to fight anymore, and Buhara was probably using a potion to heal his injuries. The possibility of them directly confronting the Griffin was minuscule.
"Shut up!"
Kevin rushed out from the forest, seized the opportunity, and punched the Griffin on the head.
The punch was extremely powerful, directly knocking the Griffin's head to one side and making it dizzy. After successfully landing a hit, Kevin immediately used his leg strength to spring out and rushed back into the forest, quickly adjusting his position.
Although the punch landed, the Griffin was only momentarily dazed and quickly recovered. It was as if the punch had not caused any substantial damage to it.
That barrier was somewhat annoying. It prevented Kevin's idea of wearing down its health from being implemented.
The Griffin continued to spray wind blades indiscriminately. Kevin dodged left and right in the forest, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
"This is troublesome," he muttered. "It's not giving me any chances."
The wind barrier on the Griffin's body could nullify a portion of attacks—especially blunt force from Kevin's fists. That wind would disperse the force of his blows in all directions. Moreover, without finding a suitable opportunity, even if he wanted to use a piercing attack, the force would be partially weakened.
Furthermore, this Griffin was massive. Without accumulating enough Nen for a piercing attack, it would be impossible to inflict a fatal wound.
So barriers are this disgusting?
He used to only think his own barrier was amazing, but he had never considered how disgusting a barrier could be when it was on an enemy.
Currently, the most obvious scar on the Griffin was still the one left by Gowen. It seemed that the characteristic of Gowen's sword was its ability to cleave through Nen. If Gowen could still move, he might have become the main attacker.
But now, that was clearly not possible.
Kevin had to find a way to break through the Griffin's barrier—or create an opportunity to accumulate strength. The two or three punches just now had given him a rough idea of how much force was needed to break through the barrier and cause damage.
He needed time.
Even if it was just a few short seconds.
Her internal Nen reserves were running low.
After shooting that Nen arrow, she had been observing the situation, looking for an opportunity to act. Kevin's punches seemed to cause little damage to the Griffin, but they could restrict its movement to a certain extent. However, if this consumption continued, Kevin would definitely be at a disadvantage.
How could a human's total Nen compare to that of a Phantom Beast?
A human's advantage lay in their will and wisdom.
Menchi pulled out a potion. This was her most precious potion, which Kevin had equipped them with before this trip—after all, they were facing the somewhat unknown over here sound. This potion was not for sale.
[Surging Potion]
As far as she knew, this potion increased her Nen output, allowing her to expend more without running dry during its continuous effect. Menchi opened the cap and drank the potion in one gulp.
The effects took hold immediately. Instantly, her Nen began to surge out. Her previously empty body was suddenly filled.
"So much Nen..." she murmured. "The grade of this potion is clearly different from the others."
The difference between C-grade and B-grade potions was obvious. You could feel it the moment you drank it.
"It's just that too much Nen is gushing out—it's hard to control."
Feeling the changes in herself, Menchi gritted her teeth and slammed her hands forward. All the Nen surged ahead like a bursting dam.
A tentacle-like Nen beast was once again materialized, its size even larger than before. It was almost catching up to the size of the prototype encountered during the hunt.
This was Menchi's Nen ability.
Menchi's ability belonged to the Emission type, leaning toward Enhancement. Her most commonly used technique was [Flavorful Seasoning Arrow] —wrapping special seasonings she carried with Nen, transforming the energy into arrows, and shooting them out. The seasoning powders wrapped in these arrows would be enhanced by Nen to have special effects, and each arrow was not entirely the same.
This ability was certainly not excellent, and it required external seasonings, making it somewhat troublesome to operate. But this was not Menchi's true primary Nen ability.
Her real ability was [Taste Bud Life Pulsation] .
She could materialize Nen beasts with her Nen, and the appearance and abilities of the beasts were closely related to the prey she had hunted and tasted. Just like this tentacle python—she had once fought it, killed it, achieved victory, then butchered and dissected it to understand its body structure, and finally personally cooked and tasted its meat.
Thus, she could materialize the corresponding Nen beast and control it in battle.
The strength and completeness of the Nen beast depended on the number of conditions she met: combat, victory, butchery, cooking, tasting. For each condition met, the materialized beast's completeness would be higher, and its strength would be closer to the original. When all conditions were perfectly met, the Nen beast could not only unleash its original abilities but also adjust its size and strength according to Menchi's thoughts, and even possess a certain degree of autonomous combat ability—without requiring her to focus overly on controlling it.
And the tentacle python was the strongest and most versatile Nen beast Menchi could materialize at this stage.
Under the infusion of surging Nen, the Nen beast grew wildly, almost recovering to its optimal state. All its tentacles shot out, and its massive body pressed down on the Griffin.
Instantly, the Nen beast tightly coiled around the frenzied Griffin, squeezing with force. The Griffin struggled desperately, and some tentacles quickly broke off.
The opportunity had come.
Kevin did not hesitate. He leaped out from the forest and soared into the air.
As his body descended, his right hand was clasped together in a piercing shape. His entire form was like a launched dart. Surging Nen gathered under his control. At that moment, his whole body was steaming like a cooked crab.
Intense malice surged into his Nen.
This was the strongest blow Kevin could unleash at this moment.
"Meteor Pierce!!"
The python coiling around the Griffin was easily torn apart. The Griffin struggled to adjust its posture—but it was too late to dodge or counterattack.
The meteor-like attack had already fallen.
Boom!
A thunderous, piercing roar echoed, followed by the Griffin's mournful cry. The entire ground trembled from the impact, and the sand and stones on the ground flew up under the violent shock.
"Did it succeed?"
Menchi ran from the forest to the edge, looking at the battleground in the center, shrouded in dust.
A gentle breeze swept through.
Menchi's eyes widened suddenly.
"It's still not enough?"
The dust gradually dissipated, and the massive Griffin staggered to its feet.
Kevin back-hopped, landing in front of the creature.
"It really didn't die."
This Phantom Beast's vitality was simply too tenacious.
Under Kevin's fierce attack, Menchi found it hard to believe that any life could survive so tenaciously. She looked at Kevin in the distance, her eyes conveying a question of whether to retreat.
However, Kevin merely shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the struggling Griffin before him.
The Griffin's wings hung limply at its sides, and its scarlet, unfocused eagle eyes stared at Kevin. Its wide-open eagle beak tried to cry out but instead spat out a large amount of blood. A torrent of blood also gushed from beneath its neck.
Bang!
The Griffin's massive body crashed down.
Its wings and limbs were still twitching slightly, but it was completely powerless to resist—death was inevitable.
Only then did Kevin let out a long breath.
"You go check on Gowen and the others first," he said.
Hearing this, Menchi turned and ran toward the previous battlefield.
Kevin, meanwhile, approached the Griffin.
The Griffin's eyes still seemed to be slightly moving, watching him. The fatal injury was in its head and neck, where a large hole had been pierced. The fact that it could still struggle to stand for a moment already proved the strength of this Phantom Beast.
At that moment, Kevin could finally truly call himself a Mythical Beast Hunter.
A Phantom Beast—legendary in tales—had been successfully hunted by him.
Griffin.
Hunt complete.