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Chapter 82 - Chapter 82: Burning Breath

Even after just completing a roll and standing up, the Giant Scissors' scythe-like inwardly curved sword tip still accurately struck the base of the Great Izuchi's left wing.

However, the Great Izuchi, despite its seemingly slender build, possessed an impressive defense from its carapace.

With the force of his sword strike and the destructive power of the Giant Scissors, this blow, had it landed on the Great Wild Boar King, would have left a deep wound, but here it only chipped off a small piece of the Great Izuchi's carapace, creating a small cut on the tough hide underneath.

Such a result greatly disappointed Gordon.

He had originally planned to severely injure the Great Izuchi's left wing with this upward slash, causing it to lose its ability to fly, but now it seemed that it was barely a scratch, let alone a serious injury.

"Gugaa!"

Just as Gordon was feeling regretful, the Great Izuchi's next attack came.

Its long, powerful neck arched high again, seemingly accumulating strength, and the next second, its giant beak, wide enough to swallow Gordon whole, pecked down.

Gordon quickly stopped his offensive, and just as he retreated a few steps, the giant beak, which fell like a hammer, left a shallow pit where he had originally stood.

Gordon secretly swallowed his saliva; if he had been hit by this blow, it might have shattered his skull.

However, he also realized that while the Great Izuchi's pecking attack was powerful, its wind-up was quite long, likely due to its head and beak being too large and heavy.

As long as he was careful not to be greedy with his attacks, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

The Great Izuchi's pecking was continuous; if it missed one strike, it would adjust its posture, step forward, and continue attacking.

Gordon didn't even dare to draw his sword now; just dodging and rolling took all his effort, but he wasn't anxious, because he knew very well that this intensity of continuous attack couldn't last.

Sure enough, after dodging four or five consecutive pecks, the Great Izuchi seemed to tire, and Gordon seized the opportunity, stepping closer, brandishing his Great Sword, ready to deliver some solid blows.

But just then, a coconut-sized Explosive Bombs flew from afar and landed on the Great Izuchi.

This was Zhu Pa's Explosive Bombs Attack.

Gordon, knowing the blast radius of this small barrel bomb, immediately stopped and held his Great Sword in front of him, entering a defensive stance.

"Boom!"

After an explosion, Gordon cut through the smoke with his blade and continued forward.

Zhu Pa scratched his ears, somewhat annoyed; his timing for this Explosive Bombs was not good—the power of the small barrel bomb was not enough to break through the Great Izuchi's thick carapace on its back, and it had instead interrupted Gordon's attack rhythm.

However, Gordon did not scold Zhu Pa for this.

Teamwork requires cultivation; if he were to nitpick over one mistake, what if Zhu Pa, who was already prone to self-doubt, became timid and hesitant? He certainly didn't want his partner to become subservient.

Wait, something's wrong with the Great Izuchi's state?

Charging to the Great Izuchi's side and leaving a wound on its leg, Gordon suddenly noticed that the former's movements had become somewhat stiff, and even when taking damage, it didn't immediately counterattack, and its large, ruffled ear fans had retracted.

This reminded him of the advice he had received from seniors at the Gathering Hall before he set out—the Great Izuchi has acute hearing, especially when its ear fans are open, and using a Sonic Bomb can easily cause it to become dazed.

Explosion!

Gordon suddenly understood; Zhu Pa's Explosive Bombs indeed failed to cause substantial damage to the Great Izuchi, but the close-range explosion clearly affected the latter.

This explosive sound, of course, couldn't compare to a specially designed Sonic Bomb that emits high-frequency noise, but it was still a form of crowd control.

"Zhu Pa! When its ears open again, throw Explosive Bombs at its face! The noise is very effective!" Gordon shouted, taking advantage of the opportunity to continuously attack the Great Izuchi's legs.

Zhu Pa immediately understood his intention, "Understood, meow!"

Recovering from the effects of the explosion, the Great Izuchi became enraged again; its rapidly beating heart made its movements faster, and its eyes turned crimson from congestion.

Gordon immediately sheathed his sword and retreated upon seeing this.

The next second, a wing claw powerful enough to snap a tree trunk swept horizontally past him, making him immensely grateful for his caution in not being greedy with his attack.

"Gugugugugu..." Just then, a strange sound, like boiling water bubbling, came.

A large amount of flames and sparks escaped from the crevices of the Great Izuchi's large, spoon-shaped beak, and a pungent smell of sulfur permeated the air.

"It's a breath attack!" Gordon felt his heart skip a beat.

Unlike the King Yian Kut-Ku's "breath" expelled after eating special Mushrooms, the Great Izuchi has a special organ similar to a Rathalos—a flame sac.

Although the evolution of its throat and beak is far less developed than that of a Flying Wyvern, making it unable to withstand sufficient high temperatures and pressures, it cannot rapidly spew powerful, high-temperature fireballs like a Rathalos.

But they also have their own unique breath attack method.

The Great Izuchi, which loves to dig for earthworms, stores some sand and soil inside its body; when it needs to use its breath attack against an enemy, the high-temperature flames produced by its flame sac will heat these sands and soils to nearly a thousand degrees in just a few seconds.

Then, they will use their large, spoon-shaped beak to hurl these high-temperature sands and soils mixed with flames.

Such a breath attack, in terms of absolute destructive power, is naturally far inferior to a Rathalos's explosive fireball, but at close range, the wide-ranging high-temperature sands and soils are equally extremely dangerous.

Gordon retreated with all his might, and as the Great Izuchi spewed its breath, he leaped as far away as possible, but he still couldn't completely avoid the attack.

Flames mixed with scorching sand landed several meters behind him, and the hot sand splattered, with much of it landing on him, seeping through the gaps in his armor, burning the skin on his back.

Gordon grunted, but he still endured the burning pain in his back and quickly got up, otherwise the Great Izuchi's next attack would come!

Sure enough, the Great Izuchi, having completed its breath attack, shook its head and charged wildly; this attack pattern of breath followed by a charge reminded Gordon of the Rathalos he had once encountered.

There truly are commonalities between them; should one say it lives up to its title as "Teacher Yian Kut-Ku"?

Gordon knew very well that the best way to deal with such a reckless charging attack was always to dive and roll at the moment the monster was about to collide, as this would maximize the reduction of the monster's possibility of changing its charging direction.

So, he cast aside his fear, kept his eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching Great Izuchi, and silently waited for the right moment.

"Defend, meow!" Zhu Pa's slightly sharp cry rang out.

Although Gordon didn't understand his intention, he chose to trust his partner; his body even reacted before his brain decided—his Great Sword was braced in front of him, in an impact-resistant stance!

Just as the distance between the Great Izuchi and Gordon was only a few meters left, a small small barrel bomb was thrown from the side, accurately hitting the former's forehead.

"Boom!"

The Great Izuchi, already somewhat off-balance from its mad dash, fell to the ground; because Gordon had timely raised his sword to defend, the splashing wood chips and flowing flames did not affect him.

"Well done, Zhu Pa!"

Gordon cheered, and just as he was about to raise his Great Sword to charge a powerful attack, the intense burning pain from his back caused his strength to drain away.

The burns on his back might be more severe than he thought.

Looking at the Great Izuchi, which was temporarily unable to get up, Gordon gritted his teeth with some reluctance, but out of rational consideration, he still roared, "Temporary retreat!"

Without even having time to throw a paintbomb, the hunter and cat plunged into the jungle, retreating from the battlefield.

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