The Daimyo Hermitaur, struggling on the ground, could no longer protect its vital points with its claws; Ted's Dragonator strike was incredibly effective.
Large pieces of shell and viscous bodily fluids splattered everywhere, and the previously fierce Daimyo Hermitaur was severely wounded in an instant.
The hot heat sink rods popped out from the Gunlance's body, burning the moisture in the air and emitting a soft "hissing" sound. The Dragonator temporarily entered a cooling state, but Ted's thrusts and shelling never stopped.
"Don't be careless! Keep attacking, crustaceans have strong vitality!" the Gunlance User roared, reminding them.
In fact, Gordon didn't need a reminder; he would never relax his guard until the monster's heart completely stopped. As soon as the Daimyo Hermitaur was hit by the Dragonator and fell to the ground twitching, he had already readied his Great Sword and began charging.
Let me break another one of your legs, then let's see how you move!
One segment, two segments, but just as the charge was about to enter its final stage, the Daimyo Hermitaur suddenly jumped up from the ground as if it had been electrocuted.
It spread its claws wide to both sides and swung them violently, directly flinging two Hunters away.
Gordon felt like he had been knocked flying by a Great Wild Boar; half his body ached, and his head was buzzing.
Staggering to his feet, he took a deep breath and held it, roughly confirming through the expansion of his chest that his ribs were not fractured and his internal organs were not severely damaged; there might be some concussion, but it shouldn't be a big problem.
Ted, due to the presence of the large Shield Crab in his hand, was only knocked back and not injured.
Seeing Gordon knocked flying and falling to the ground, Ted, after stabilizing himself, immediately moved to block Gordon, preventing the Daimyo Hermitaur from pursuing the latter.
Shielding up, Ted nervously turned his head and asked, "How is it? Are you seriously injured?"
Gordon shook his head vigorously to regain his senses and replied, "I'm fine, I can continue fighting."
"Be careful, it's enraged again."
Ted reminded him again, then raised his Shield Crab and Gunlance, stepping forward, pressing towards the Daimyo Hermitaur, which was roaring with its claws raised high.
Gordon gulped down a recovery medicine, felt the pain in his body lessen considerably, and rejoined the battle.
As before, he quickly circled to the side of the Daimyo Hermitaur, raised his Burst Blade, and prepared to attack the latter's other leg, but just then, he noticed something abnormal.
— The Daimyo Hermitaur's large claws closed, blocking its front, seemingly in defense against Ted's Gunlance shelling, just as before.
But due to the different angle, Gordon, positioned at the side of the Daimyo Hermitaur, noticed large quantities of snow-white foam bubbling like boiling water around its mouth.
Ted, whose vision was obscured by the crab claws, the large Shield Crab, and the gun smoke, seemed not to have noticed this.
"Defend! It's a breath attack!" Gordon didn't have time to think and immediately shouted out his first thought.
Pulling back with the recoil of the shelling, Ted, who was about to make his next thrust, heard this and canceled his action without hesitation.
The large Shield Crab slammed in front of him, his center of gravity lowered, instantly entering a defensive stance ready to face the impact.
The very next moment Ted had settled into his defensive stance, the Daimyo Hermitaur raised its crab claw, and a concentrated, high-pressure jet of foam shot out from its mouth.
The foam jet shattered against the solidly defended large Shield Crab, and the immense force it carried pushed Ted, man and Shield Crab, back five or six meters.
"Ah ha! Thanks, little brother Gordon!" Ted laughed aloud, saying that if not for the former's reminder, he would have been directly hit by the foam jet.
The Basarios armor, with its excellent defensive performance, might have ensured he wasn't severely injured, but that experience would definitely not have been pleasant.
The Daimyo Hermitaur was noticeably weaker after its breath attack, and the Hunters wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.
Ted, holding his large Shield Crab and Gunlance, roared and charged at the Daimyo Hermitaur again, clearly intending to go head-to-head, while Gordon continued to swing his Great Sword, continuously attacking the Daimyo Hermitaur's leg joints.
Due to the previous lesson of being knocked flying by the crab claw, Gordon always kept some strength in reserve, observing the Daimyo Hermitaur's movements.
Sure enough, after attacking its joints for a while, the big fellow was enraged by him. The crab claw, originally used to defend against frontal attacks, suddenly swung to the left, sweeping towards Gordon.
Gordon, who was prepared, immediately ducked and rolled, successfully dodging this sudden strike.
Ted, noticing this scene, grinned and increased the force in his Gunlance, taking advantage of the opening in the Daimyo Hermitaur's defense as it swung its crab claw, giving it some hard hits to the face.
Just as Ted had said before, the Daimyo Hermitaur, being a Carapaceon, had incredibly tenacious vitality.
Even though it was heavily injured and visibly weakened, the Daimyo Hermitaur still stalemated with them for a long time, until Gordon broke the deadlock.
Another crab leg joint was successfully destroyed by him.
The Daimyo Hermitaur, with only one leg left on its left side, finally could not maintain its balance and fell to the ground. Its massive body and the heavy, ton-counting dragon skull on its back became the final straw that broke the crab's back.
It seemed it could no longer stand up.
The Gunlance's Dragonator had finished cooling down. Ted, holding his large Shield Crab, walked with heavy and powerful steps to the front of the Daimyo Hermitaur.
He looked directly into the Daimyo Hermitaur's eyes, his tone bold but also with respect for life: "As expected of a 'Daimyo', you are a worthy opponent!"
The Gunlance pointed directly at the Daimyo Hermitaur's heart, and the Dragon Strike's flame lit up.
"Boom!"
"But it's a pity, This Daddy is still stronger!"
Ted showed extraordinary enthusiasm for carving the Daimyo Hermitaur's corpse.
The moment he lifted the Daimyo Hermitaur's abdominal shell, he even shouted like a madman, "Come out! Super-grade crab roe!"
Unfortunately, the result left him deeply disappointed.
This Daimyo Hermitaur was indeed female, but its abdominal cavity did not contain the golden and plump scene Ted had hoped for, only strong-smelling gills and dark green internal organs.
No one could explain the specific reason. According to Gordon's guess, since Daimyo Hermitaurs are elderly individuals among the Shield Crab species, isn't it normal for an old grandma to lose her reproductive ability?
Having not tasted the imagined delicacy and having lost a non-existent competition, Ted looked completely burned out and dejected.
To cheer up this old brother, Gordon had to say that he still wanted to collect a few more portions of crab roe to give away, so the "competition" wasn't over yet.
This wasn't exactly a lie; he did plan to bring some Miasma Forest specialties back for Zhu Pa to try. The little fellow had been left in the city for so long, he was probably furious.
"Ah ha! The competition continues! This Daddy will definitely be the winner!"
Watching Ted roar and run towards the river mouth, Gordon helplessly shrugged his shoulders, pulled out his carving knife, and prepared to continue gathering materials from the Daimyo Hermitaur.
But he didn't expect the former to run back after only a few steps.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I haven't told you about that 'surprise' yet!"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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