Leon pressed against the cave wall, listening intently to the heavy footsteps of the Rathalos outside.
Angry roars and the rustling of wings intermingled, rolling like muffled thunder and making the vines tremble slightly.
He took a deep breath, looked into Yuri's eyes—filled with struggle and rage—and said calmly, "Listen, I'll go draw its attention. You take this chance to retreat."
Yuri stared blankly. "You... you're crazy?"
"This was my mission to begin with." Leon managed a faint, cold smile. "I've come prepared."
"But you—" Yuri tried to argue, but Leon cut her off.
"Dumpling, you're responsible for getting her back." Leon's tone was firm, his expression solemn.
"Yes, meow!" Dumpling raised a furry little paw in a salute.
"I can fight..." Yuri's lip trembled as she gritted her teeth. "I'm not a child!"
"You're a hunter." Leon's gaze suddenly became sharp as a blade, a warning in his eyes. "A hunter needs to know when to fight and when to retreat!"
Outside the hollow, the Rathalos's presence grew closer, as scorching as molten iron. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and charred wood.
Leon's words struck Yuri's heart like a sledgehammer.
She clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white. She glared at Leon as if she still wanted to argue, but the anger in her eyes was eventually swallowed by helplessness and frustration.
"Bastard..."
Yuri hissed through her teeth, her voice barely a whisper.
Leon didn't look at Yuri again. He slowly let go of the rock wall and silently drew his dual blades.
The blades lightly sliced through a vine, and thin plant sap dripped onto the ground.
The Rathalos's roar grew even closer.
"Dumpling," Leon instructed in a low voice. "Don't linger. Take her straight back to camp."
"Meow..." Dumpling's face darkened, dropping the usual playfulness. He grabbed Yuri's arm and said, "Rookie, don't you dare die. This cat will be waiting for you, meow."
Leon knew what it meant to send Dumpling away. If he were to fall, there would be no Felyne cart to haul him back to safety.
He closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself.
A moment later, Leon opened his eyes and pulled out the 'Hunting Trio', gulping them down one by one.
Demondrug, Armorskin, and Dash Juice took effect instantly. He scrambled out of the tree hollow and shouted, "Hey! I'm over here! Come and get me!"
The moment the Rathalos's gaze was drawn to him, he fired off a Flash Pod.
—BOOM!!
A deafening blast followed as a blinding white light erupted like a miniature sun, freezing the entire nest in place.
The King of the Skies let out a roar that tore through the heavens!
Enraged by the sudden flash, the Rathalos's massive frame surged into the air. Its wings kicked up a gale, and its razor-sharp talons scraped across the ground. Amidst the flying sand and debris, Leon had already sprinted to the center of the clearing.
Meanwhile, Dumpling seized the moment, leading Yuri as they slid down a slope formed by thick, interlacing branches.
Standing in the middle of the nest, Leon began setting a Shock Trap. He knew that neither Shock Traps nor Pitfall Traps were as effective as Flash Pods.
However, if he used Flash Pods too many times, the monster would adapt. He had to utilize every tool at his disposal.
Flames suddenly erupted, blanketing the area.
Leon rolled to dodge the wave of fire. The intense heat brushed past his face, making his skin feel like it was about to crack.
He gritted his teeth, leaped with all his might, and slashed his dual blades into the Rathalos's right wing.
Slash!
The blades scraped against the scales, sending sparks flying.
Angered by the injury, the Rathalos flapped its wings backward, sending a gust of wind that blew Leon back!
He forced his body to twist in mid-air to maintain balance, but he still stumbled onto one knee and had to scramble back up.
However, a scorching fireball followed immediately.
BOOM!!!
The fireball exploded right where Leon had landed moments ago, charring the tree trunk.
Leon narrowly rolled out of the way, but the edge of the heat wave caught his right arm. The rim of his armor was scorched, and a piercing pain throbbed.
Instinctively, he pulled out a Potion and downed it in one go.
By now, the Rathalos had fully recovered its sight. It let out a heaven-shaking roar that rooted Leon to the spot.
The intense pressure emitted by the monster could instill fear in a hunter, temporarily paralyzing them.
*'Damn it...'*
Leon knew he couldn't use the system recklessly. In a life-or-death struggle, his points were his survival capital.
He had to save them whenever possible.
Although he had crafted Alloy Mail with the Earplugs skill, his agility dropped significantly whenever he wore it.
Therefore, he ultimately chose to stick with the Kulu-Ya-Ku armor for this hunt.
Just then, a crimson blur streaked across the sky.
The Rathalos spread its wings and ascended, its silhouette blotting out the sun.
It circled in the air, its dark red scales looking like forged iron, gleaming with a flame-like luster under the sunlight.
Leon looked up at the domineering King of the Skies.
The two faced off from above and below, the air between them seemingly freezing in place.
"The pressure... is intense..." Leon licked his dry, cracked lips and muttered, "So, do you want to burn me to a crisp or mash me into a pulp?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Leon aimed directly at the Rathalos and threw another Flash Pod.
Light exploded in mid-air like a second sun.
The Rathalos's roar cut off abruptly. Its wings faltered, its flight rhythm shattered, and it crashed straight to the ground.
"Gotcha!"
Seeing the opening, Leon kicked off the ground and charged, leaping into the air and driving a blade into the Rathalos's underbelly.
What followed was a flurry of slashes as fast as falling stars.
Blade Dance! Blade Dance! Blade Dance!
Blades flashed and the light of the steel fell like rain.
Leon was like the eye of a storm, his dual blades carving a series of bloody gashes into the Rathalos's right wing.
The Rathalos twisted its body and whipped its tail around.
Leon rolled, but the tip of the tail still clipped his calf. His movements faltered as a sharp pain shot through his knee, nearly forcing him to the ground.
"Ugh—cough!"
The Rathalos shook its head, struggling to stand, the blood-red light in its eyes growing even more berserk.
Its roar was so powerful Leon had no choice but to cover his ears.
The Rathalos flapped its wings, its venomous talons swiping toward Leon's back.
Paralyzed by the monster's pressure, Leon's dodge was a fraction of a second too slow. The Rathalos's talons tore through the Kulu-Ya-Ku armor, leaving deep gouges across his left shoulder blade.
Dark purple streaks radiated from the wound like spreading vines.
Rathalos poison!
Leon knew that the potency of this venom far exceeded any plant-based toxin he had encountered before.
It was a lethal, concentrated toxin!
Leon felt the pain in the wound gradually fade into numbness. The paralysis began to spread, and a warm metallic taste welled up in his throat.
His limbs began to feel weak and heavy...
He forced himself to stay upright, staggering back two steps, but his vision was already starting to blur and double.
"Stay calm... I have to stay calm..." Leon jammed his Pulsar Hatchets into the ground to support himself.
He knew that if he fell now, he might never stand up again.
The toxin spread rapidly through his bloodstream. With every breath, his lungs felt like they were on fire. His body temperature soared, and his head began to throb...
*'Dumpling should have gotten her far enough away by now...'* Leon spat out a mouthful of blood that tasted of rust, forcing himself to focus on the monster in front of him.
The Rathalos stood before Leon, its body radiating an eye-searing crimson heat. It slowly spread its wings as if it were about to tear the human in front of it to shreds at any moment.
It seemed to sense its prey's weakness. Its red eyes locked onto Leon as it began to advance—
Closing in.
With every step, the ground beneath them trembled.
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