Over the next two days, Logan concealed himself high above the clouds, keeping a constant watch on the Rajang—and gradually, he began to notice something strange.
Rajangs were aggressive by nature, often attacking any creature that entered their line of sight. But they weren't known for wanton environmental destruction.
They also didn't stay in a constant state of battle-readiness. Rajangs rested too.
Most of the time, they would just plop down wherever they felt like and nap without a care for the surroundings or any potential threats nearby. That kind of recklessness came from sheer confidence in their strength.
But this one—Logan could sense it was in a perpetual state of rage. And yet, its tail—the organ that acted as its emotional regulator—was completely intact. That shouldn't be the case.
And another thing: even at night, while it slept, the Rajang would suddenly jolt awake despite there being no threats nearby—then lash out and destroy its surroundings for no apparent reason.
From what Logan had observed, it seemed like during the day the Rajang was deliberately invading different monsters' territories, provoking them on purpose, only to fly into a frenzy and slaughter them.
Even when wounds covered its body, it paid them no mind.
From Logan's perspective, this Rajang wasn't so much rampaging aimlessly—it looked more like it was seeking death. As if it wanted to die in a battle where it could give everything it had.
Throughout all its encounters, not once had the Rajang entered its Rage Mode. That fact made Logan begin to wonder—was it even capable of activating that form anymore?
Step by step, the Rajang moved forward, slowly approaching the coastal edge of the Wildspire Waste, nearing the swamp region. The area ahead was riddled with clusters of ant mounds.
Meanwhile, the Admiral, accompanied by two Lynians, had also arrived in this zone, guided by his scoutflies.
"Same damn story… This thing really does destroy everything it touches, huh."
The Admiral picked up a stone from the ground, his gaze sweeping over the cracked and battered terrain. His tone was heavy, grave.
He had tracked the Rajang from the coordinates the Research Commission had provided. Along the way, all he found were shattered landscapes or the mangled corpses of monsters that had been brutally slaughtered.
Except for one spot the day before yesterday—an area that had clearly been scorched by fire, where only the corpse of a single Barroth was found. That anomaly still weighed on his mind. Everything else had been typical for this Rajang's trail.
Just as the Admiral was about to press on, the scoutflies at his waist suddenly flew out of their cage.
Glowing with a green hue, they darted off in one direction.
But before the Admiral could move, the light of the scoutflies instantly turned red—and they scattered in a frenzied, aimless panic before finally returning to the insect cage on his belt.
That could only mean one thing: a dangerous monster had been detected nearby.
"Stay sharp!" the Admiral barked in a low voice.
Sita and Tonkotsu instantly leapt to his side, weapons at the ready, eyes scanning the surroundings with intense caution.
A gust of wind passed through the air. Grains of yellow sand danced and scattered into the breeze.
[Thud! Thud! Thud!]
The Rajang emerged from the yellow sands, making no effort to conceal its presence.
Like a towering gorilla, it strode into the Admiral's view with its enormous bull-like horns jutting forward.
"So many wounds! Has this thing been fighting nonstop all this time?"
The Admiral's gaze swept over the Rajang's body, covered in a dense web of scars—old and new overlapping. Most were superficial injuries that meant little to a monster of its caliber, yet the sheer number was staggering.
Especially the gaping puncture wound on its left chest—fresh meat still in the process of regenerating.
It was hard to imagine the kind of life-threatening blow this beast had once suffered.
Meeting the Rajang's icy stare, the Admiral nonchalantly patted the dust off his armor, then took his shield and lance in hand.
At his signal, Sita immediately broke off to the flank, ready to coordinate a pincer attack at any moment, while Tonkotsu turned away without hesitation, already seeking a good spot to set traps.
"So I finally found you. Gotta say—you've got some stamina."
Even facing a hostile Rajang, the Admiral's tone carried a hint of ease. Yet his calm, water-clear eyes locked unwaveringly onto the beast's every move, ready to respond in an instant.
"ROAR!!"
The Rajang raised its head and bellowed. Perhaps it was pure instinct, but it had sensed the threat from this small figure before it.
A threat even greater than that posed by the pair of Rathalos it had previously faced.
For the first time, it felt as though it had encountered a true equal.
A fierce surge of battlelust ignited in its eyes. Its iron sinews instantly tensed, and it launched the first strike.
Unlike when facing monsters—where the Rajang relied on brute force, aiming to shatter defenses in a single blow or gore its foe with its massive horns—this time, it took a different approach.
Its opponent was a much smaller hunter. So the Rajang began exploiting its superior speed.
Backward leaps, quick jabs, wild hammer fists, ground-slamming pounces, full-body tackles—
An endless barrage of techniques crashed down in rapid succession.
And yet, the Admiral responded to each one with utter calm, evading with precision—dodging, rolling, leaping—
Never once charging in recklessly for close-quarters combat. He waited patiently for openings between the Rajang's strikes to deliver calculated counterattacks.
Only when he had no choice would he raise his shield to absorb a blow.
Compared to the monster's overwhelming advantages in size and strength, hunters could only rely on the augmentation provided by the mystical Wyverian forging craft.
But that didn't close the power gap. In most cases, hunters relied more on evasion than on defense.
As a legendary hunter who had once stood face-to-face with Elder Dragons, the Admiral remained well within his element despite the Rajang's furious onslaught.
Each of his counters dealt only minor damage—but his refined hunting technique ensured every strike hit the same spot.
One of the foundational principles of hunting: focus your attacks on a single part of the body—cripple your quarry's movement before delivering the fatal blow.
This was something the Admiral demonstrated to perfection.
As he tangled with the Rajang, Sita circled around, taking a longer path to flank the beast from behind.
Hi target: the Rajang's tail.
It was one of the monster's known weaknesses. If he could deal serious damage—or better yet, sever it entirely—it would not only cause intense pain but also push the Rajang into emotional instability, gradually disrupting its attack rhythm.
Sometimes, an enraged and irrational monster was easier to deal with than one that was calm and calculating.
[Boom!]
A deep, muffled sound rang out as the Rajang smashed its fist into the Admiral's massive shield with all its might.
The Admiral's feet scraped against the ground, carving two trails through the dirt as he was pushed back. But he managed to hold his ground and absorb the crushing blow.
They locked briefly in a clash of strength—and that was the exact moment Sita had been waiting for.
Draw Slash!
Leaping high, he brought his greatsword down hard on the Rajang's tail.
The combination of the weapon's sheer weight, sharpness, and the momentum from his draw strike caused a surge of pain to shoot through the tail, forcing the Rajang to reflexively swing around with a punch.
But Sita, having anticipated that his blow might not sever the tail, had already raised his greatsword diagonally in a defensive stance.
"Meow!"
The impact of the Rajang's punch transferred directly through his weapon and into his body, sending his flying through the air with a pained yelp.
The Rajang moved in to follow up, but a lance thrust pierced toward it from a sharply angled position, driving deep into its flank with a wet squelch.
"Rrraaagh!!"
It roared, grabbing the shaft of the lance and hurling the Admiral—man and weapon both—clear across the field.
Then it wiped a hand across its wounded side. Seeing the blood smeared across its palm, its muscles tensed once more. It slammed its fists against its chest, tilted its head back, and let out a furious roar toward the sky.
The pain had completely ignited its rage.
Its eyes bloodshot, the Rajang tore a massive boulder from the ground and hurled it straight at the Admiral. Immediately after, it leapt into the air, both fists raised like twin hammers, descending with terrifying force straight toward him.
The Admiral had just dodged the flying boulder when he saw the Rajang following up with its aerial strike. He had no choice but to evade once again.
Though the beast's fists missed their mark, they struck the ground with such power that cracks exploded outward like a spiderweb, the tremor shaking the earth in a localized shockwave.
The Admiral had barely regained his footing when the tremor struck, throwing him off balance and forcing him down on one knee.
He looked up helplessly at the charging Rajang, which showed no signs of stopping. Gritting his teeth, he managed to raise his shield just in time.
"Flash bomb, nya!"
With Tonkotsu's voice came a blinding burst of light that exploded from behind the Admiral. Caught off guard, the Rajang was momentarily blinded, instinctively halting its assault and raising one hand to shield its eyes.
The Admiral seized the opportunity—his lance shot forward, carving another gash into the beast's body. Without getting greedy, he immediately rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the Rajang's reflexive punch. While the monster was still unable to see, the Admiral continued to dodge its wild, flailing attacks, landing precise thrusts again and again.
Sita, ignoring the numbness still lingering in his arm, returned to the fray, joining the Admiral in a coordinated assault.
High above, Logan—having just finished feeding with Aki—was scanning the ground for an opening when he spotted the battle unfolding below.
One man, two Lynians—their distinct armor made them easy to identify.
The Rajang, eyes tightly shut, flailed aimlessly with its fists. Every strike missed, leaving it wide open for attacks from the lance-wielding hunter and the large Felyne at his side, who capitalized on every gap, leaving deep marks on the beast's hide.
Although the damage was minimal, the attacks were highly concentrated. After several consecutive strikes, the injuries to that specific area had clearly begun to worsen.
And then there was another figure darting around the battlefield—jumping, dodging, occasionally tossing items—wearing a Rathian armor set.
A Rathian set?!
Logan's pupils contracted. His eyes locked onto the figure.
"Isn't that one of ours?" Logan immediately recognized the Grimalkyne—Tonkotsu, the one stationed at the Astera outpost.
He was surprised to see him here, far from where he was supposed to be. But watching the battle below, it was clear: anyone who could hold their own against a Rajang like that had to be a top-tier hunter.
Strike while it's weak!
With zero hesitation and not a shred of shame for lacking "honor," Logan let out a sharp growl and dove into the battle alongside Aki!
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