Ancient Forest — deep within the thick canopy.
A massive beast wrapped in crackling lightning thundered across the forest floor.
Zinogre.
His objective was clear:
Tobi-Kadachi, the target listed on the mission sheet.
The moment he stepped into the creature's territory, a shrill warning cry echoed between the giant roots.
The next second — lightning fell like divine punishment.
Threatened cries turned into panicked ones.
Moments later, Zinogre had already completed the hunt.
Little Cosmog teleported in just as the battle ended, a mission slip for Tobi-Kadachi clutched in his tiny hands.
│ "Mo-gu."
He compared the monster with the mission slip, waited until Indeedee confirmed it through telepathy, then teleported the corpse straight to Forest Village.
This Tobi-Kadachi was one of Elder Yoomlana's requested captures.
Overhead, Nergigante soared past with Indeedee riding on her back — heading toward their next target.
Elsewhere, Basarios moved like a mountain, forcing its way between the trees.
Tinkatuff sat atop his back, guiding him.
Under her direction, he found his quarry:
A very unlucky Great Jagras.
Basarios inhaled —
and a blaze of explosive slime erupted from his jaws.
A Super Lava Blaster roared out, punching through an ancient trunk and slamming into Great Jagras' side.
It didn't fall in one hit.
So Basarios charged, delivering a massive Shoulder Slam, and within a minute, the hunt ended.
Little Cosmog appeared right on schedule.
Under Tinkatuff's cue, he teleported the monster to its designated location.
High above the forest canopy, Indeedee locked onto her target:
A level-43 Yian Garuga.
She hoisted her sniper heavy bowgun, Hidden Marksman, and fired a Piercing Wyvernshot.
The round drilled through feathers and flesh —
Garuga shrieked in fury, banking upward toward the hovering duo.
He never reached them.
Nergigante smashed him out of the sky with a merciless Nergigante Palm.
Then two mounted Gatling heavy bowguns materialized overhead.
A storm of bullets rained down.
For nearly ten minutes, the forest shook with gunfire.
Finally, with Nergigante's assistance, Indeedee subdued and captured the Garuga.
Little Nebula teleported it to Astera Outpost.
Indeedee crossed a 4-star mission off the list.
At the moment, Bai Chen's team operated in three units:
Zinogre acting independently
Basarios + Tinkatuff as a duo
Indeedee + Nergigante providing combat, ranged firepower, and emergency support
And Bai Chen himself was far from idle.
He headed from the Tier-3 camp to the topmost region of the Ancient Forest — Rathalos' nest.
The narrow cave opened to Area 16, the pinnacle of the ecosystem.
Home of the king and queen of the Ancient Forest.
But neither Rathalos nor Rathian were present.
│ "Out hunting, huh?"
Bai Chen extended Super Perception, walking toward the ledge.
From here, the entire coastline could be seen — a breathtaking vantage point.
He was just about to search elsewhere when—
A violent gust surged upward.
A crimson blur streaked from below the treetops.
Rathalos.
In seconds, he ascended to Area 16, hovering twenty meters above Bai Chen, golden pupils glaring down.
│ "Finally."
Bai Chen removed his helmet and looked up almost casually.
│ "Good to see you again.
│ A whole month… and you haven't improved at all."
"ROAARR!!"
The king of the skies remembered him well —
The strange man who once tried to capture him with a ball.
Thank goodness he escaped then.
Bai Chen pulled the helmet back on.
│ "Still level 47?
│ I guess wild monsters really don't level easily."
Rathalos responded with a blazing Fireball Barrage, detonating against Bai Chen in a tower of flame.
But the center of the blast was empty.
│ "Looking for me?"
Rathalos spun.
Bai Chen floated level with him — wrapped in a glowing blue psychic aura.
He was flying using telekinesis.
The thunder-charged Zinogre Blade slipped free from its sheath.
│ "Go."
The blade spun like a lightning drill toward Rathalos.
He tried to dodge — but he was too large.
And Bai Chen was already before him.
│ "Quick Attack."
Steel flashed across crimson scales.
This impossible fighting style stunned Rathalos.
Bai Chen ignited in a red-black aura —
Limit Qi Mode: ON.
He seized the wyvern mid-flap and hurled him down, dragging the aerial fight to the ground.
Bai Chen could fly.
But he wasn't arrogant enough to contest a sky king in its own domain.
On the ground, Rathalos snapped forward to bite—
Bai Chen slammed a fist into his skull.
The King Fang Blade dove into Rathalos' back, electricity exploding through his body.
Even uncontrolled, the weapon's properties and sword-arts activated under Bai Chen's psychic steering.
Bai Chen held Rathalos' head to the dirt, feeling heat surge in the monster's throat—
A point-blank Instant Fireball blasted him back.
His armor blackened, Bai Chen inhaled:
Qi gathered.
A red tether linked him to Rathalos.
Bai Chen dashed.
A half-ton blade carved through hardened scales like wet bark.
Rathalos retaliated with a tail swing —
Bai Chen manifested a Psychic Shield.
It shattered instantly, but reduced the force enough for him to grab the tail, pivot his weight, and slam Rathalos into the ground.
The tether fully taut—
│ "Quick Attack!"
The blade carved a ten-centimeter gash across the abdomen.
Blood spurted violently.
Rathalos screamed.
Vines erupted — Nature Power, binding the beast.
Bai Chen raised his Z-Ring.
Fighting-type Z-Crystal activated.
│ "All-Out Pummeling!"
Raw energy hammered through Rathalos' body, cracking scale after scale.
Rathalos' defiance collapsed into fear.
He burned the vines away with a blast of flame and tried to flee skyward—
But the Zinogre Blade, still circling above, dove straight into the shattered scales on his back.
Rathalos shrieked but forced himself upward—
Only to be struck midair by a telekinetically-launched Basarios Greatblade, slamming him back into the ground like a meteor.
Bai Chen was already there.
He jumped onto the wyvern's head and began pummeling it mercilessly.
The thudding blows echoed like drums.
A fireball from above struck Bai Chen mid-swing, knocking him back.
He glanced upward.
Rathian had returned.
Rathalos staggered upright, reinvigorated by his mate's arrival.
Bai Chen barely regained footing before a second fireball flew.
│ "Wide Quick Guard!"
The barrier absorbed it perfectly.
Above, two blades crossed into an X and shredded Rathian's back.
The Basarios blade followed, smashing her straight out of the sky.
Flames faded.
Bai Chen rose, glowing crimson.
Ultimate Aura locked onto Rathalos — strangling his courage.
│ "Good timing."
Another Quick Attack struck.
Rathian tried to intervene—
only for a compressed psychic blast to hammer her skull, dropping her again.
Bai Chen's foot snapped upward into Rathalos' jaw, stunning him.
He raised both hands.
The blades returned to him — lightning surging.
He hurled the Zinogre Blade to keep Rathian pinned
and charged Rathalos with the Basarios blade.
Even with all his advantages, Rathalos' durability forced a twenty-minute brawl before he finally collapsed.
│ "Go, Monster Ball."
The capture succeeded instantly.
Rathian, without her partner's support, fell soon after.
Bai Chen retrieved the balls with a sigh.
│ "I can't believe I'm not even excited…
│ Do I have 'taming burnout'…?"
A month ago, capturing the iconic fire wyvern pair would've thrilled him.
Now?
Nothing.
Their potential was massive — rare species, variants, and even the legendary gold and silver lineages.
But raising them from scratch?
Too slow. Too resource-heavy.
│ "I'll just catch rare species directly next time.
│ Saves effort."
He pocketed the balls.
│ "Still need one more Nargacuga for Yoomlana's group."
Capturing a Danger 6 Rathalos rewarded him:
2000 skill proficiency
1 rare-grade skill stone
He looked at the remaining mission list.
│ "Nine 5-star quests left…
│ I should finish before the Zorah Magdaros operation."
Completing all missions would net him around 50,000 proficiency.
But skills like Master-level upgrades demanded 100,000+.
He exhaled.
│ "…I need even more missions.
│ Or I need to level up faster and start hunting higher-danger monsters."
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