Amid scorching white incandescence streaked with blade-revealed crimson, the strike slashed across Safi'jiiva's leg with lightning speed.
Darren's figure appeared behind Safi'jiiva. The slight ache in his muscles reminded him that the slash just now had not been easy. He finally understood why the Dual Blades user who had drawn aggro at the start had been forced out so quickly.
Using a Long Sword technique with a Greatsword inherently meant bearing greater strain, not to mention maintaining the balance of fighting spirit and other such factors. But those were merely matters of technique.
The crucial point was this: even with the special abilities of his armor, the Calamity Flame state of the Cinder Moon Dragon's wings, and the Greatsword's exaggerated physical damage, at the instant the blade struck Safi'jiiva, the far-below-expected resistance of its hide and the scorching energy surging from the wound forced him to abandon the idea of continuing to open the blade.
With hide like this, if he pressed the attack by force, the other side might not suffer much damage before he himself was exhausted.
On the cliff, the Commander's fingers had turned white from how tightly he gripped the telescope.
His gaze was locked on the injured hunters amid the chaotic melee; he felt little about Darren's eye-catching performance.
After all, as the Huntsman's close friend, using a Greatsword to perform Long Sword techniques was something he had seen far too many times!
What truly caught him off guard was that so many hunters had already been injured after only a single exchange.
It was not until he saw the cats burst from underground in the chaos, drag the injured hunters out of the battlefield, and send them beyond the valley through the hidden tunnel they had dug that the weight in his chest finally eased somewhat.
Although they had long been mentally prepared for this battle, seeing these young men flung about like toys by that monster still made the Commander's heart clench in pain.
Outside the valley, at a "temporary medical station" with an open field of view and a dense stone forest to the rear—an ideal location for both observation and retreat—Mother Chameleos carefully controlled the dosage of medicinal mist. While treating the Dual Blades user, who was frowning in pain, she simultaneously analyzed the residual Safi'jiiva energy remaining within his body.
Unfortunately, after analyzing it again and again, she could only determine that it was a variant of extremely pure bioenergy. Aside from its alarmingly high energy level, she found no method by which she could counter it.
Fortunately, the Dual Blades user's armor was at least built around Elder Dragon materials. Though the other components were somewhat weaker—unable to compare with top-tier Elder Dragon armor—it still blocked a great deal of the energy impact, so treating him was not difficult.
But the hunters the cats brought in afterward were another matter. There was almost no chance any of them could return to the battlefield quickly.
Mother Chameleos rarely became this serious, yet even she did not dare guarantee that the wounded brought in later could hold on until she stripped away that aberrant bioenergy.
As time passed, the battle grew ever more intense.
After the initial chaos, the hunters began coordinating their assault by squads.
Gunfire was unceasing. Even the Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun users' shoulders had gone a bit numb from the recoil, yet their fingers still kept squeezing the triggers without pause. From time to time, they would switch into Gatling mode and unleash frenzied fire, providing effective long-range support for their comrades charging forward in waves.
The melee hunters moved rapidly, constantly closing in on Safi'jiiva from every angle. The moment they faced an attack they could not evade, there was no need to hesitate—one step back was enough, and the figure bearing a massive shield would appear with pinpoint precision at the front, gritting their teeth as they forcibly took the blow for their companions.
And the price for that was that most of the hunters sent out were Lance users or Gunlance users.
Some did not even get the chance to be sent out.
At this moment, Safi'jiiva's eyes—once utterly devoid of emotion—were beginning to redden amid the slaughter. The stench of blood, along with the tiny yet constantly appearing wounds across its body, kept needling its nerves.
Its attack pattern also shifted—from the initial brawling and slow breath attacks to a critical state, unleashing highly threatening consecutive charging attacks.
Sweeping beams that could rake across and blanket nearly the entire field.
And the point-blank breath it performed after catching a hunter—certain death the moment it got its claws on you, then holding you in its jaws to breathe straight into your face.
Any hunter caught like that had almost no chance of survival. Under that kind of point-blank breath, the armor they relied on for life was hardly thicker than paper.
Even if they were incredibly lucky and were rescued by their companions, the follow-up finishing breath that came right after could still deliver a clean kill.
By now, both sides had been driven into a blood-red frenzy.
Many hunters who lacked the strength—even while enduring scorching breath—still forced their way to Safi'jiiva just to land a single slash on it.
And Safi'jiiva had already grown weary of this kind of battle.
If this dragged on any longer, it would likely draw the attention of certain creatures.
So, staring at the densely packed hunters advancing in formation across the field, it gave its wings a powerful beat. The violent wind pressure slowed their advance.
The entire dragon rose into low altitude, forcibly enduring the hunters' ranged attacks. After the energy gathered into a single point, a "droplet" fell, slowly descending toward the ground.
In that instant, Darren recalled the descriptions Mother Chameleos had brought back regarding some of Safi'jiiva's signature attacks.
"Fall back! Cover the barricades with the shed skin—now!!"
Darren's voice rang out. The cats hiding underground swiftly retreated along the tunnels, while the hunters rushed to the nearest cover and draped the shed skin they had collected from their packs over the barricades.
Admittedly, in terms of pure defensive power, Safi'jiiva's shed skin might not compare to some high-rank armor.
But its exaggerated energy resistance was something armor could not match.
Behind the barricades, Lance users and Gunlance users bearing massive shields crowded along the outer perimeter, raising their shields to protect the hunters inside as tightly as possible, waiting tensely for the incoming impact.
Originally Safi'jiiva's reproductive ritual, it had now become its most terrifying killing move.
This attack gathered all the Everstream energy Safi'jiiva could mobilize in a short time and compressed it into a tear-shaped sphere.
The moment it struck the ground, the entire area was engulfed in an explosion of hyper-activated Everstream energy, bombarding every corner of the battlefield without blind spots.
The first wave of damage was blocked by the barricades covered in Safi'jiiva's shed skin, but the subsequent shockwaves could only be endured by the hunters themselves.
With muscles taut, biting down on the Max Potion hidden at the corner of their mouths, and enduring the searing impact, the hunters guarding the outer perimeter fixed their eyes on their shields.
Whether their muscles tore or their consciousness blurred, not one of them took a single step back!
When the overwhelming explosion finally subsided, those hunters who still had strength left quickly dispersed. Behind the barricades remained only a few hunters who had long since reached their limits, yet had maintained their shield-raised stance until the very last moment.
There was no time for grief—only deep fury and another charge.
Killing the now-weary Safi'jiiva, having expended itself on that strike, was the best tribute!
Upon landing, Safi'jiiva panted heavily, staring in disbelief at the hunters rushing out from behind the barricades. It had never imagined that ordinary creatures could survive that attack.
This situation, beyond the bounds of its understanding, caused it a brief flicker of panic.
But its mind was long since mature—it was not some hotheaded Xeno'jiiva. Faced with this, it did not hesitate in the slightest and made a decision that caused the hunters' expressions to change drastically.
Drain the last of the Everstream energy from this battlefield and replenish itself!