The burns on his back were indeed severe.
The Refined Ore Set, crafted entirely from metal ore and possessing extremely high thermal conductivity, not only offered no defense against high temperatures and flames but could even amplify flame damage.
The principle is similar to a teppanyaki grill.
This was also why Gordon had been injured by the residual effects of such attacks more than once—the King Yian Kut-Ku's high-temperature breath was one example, and the Great Izuchi's hot sand breath was another.
If he had worn a more "fire-resistant" armor set, such as the Red Velocidrome Set made from the hide of Red Velocidrome living in high-temperature zones, then as long as he wasn't directly hit by the breath, the slight high-temperature residue and area damage could be almost completely ignored.
Instead of being severely wounded like he was now.
Initially, Gordon thought it would be like the time with the King Yian Kut-Ku, where drinking some recovery medicine would fix everything, but he hadn't expected the wounds caused by the Great Izuchi's hot sand breath to be exceptionally troublesome.
recovery medicine could indeed accelerate skin regeneration, but without proper treatment of the wound, the new, tender skin stuck to the clothing on his back, and any slight movement would cause the wound to tear open again.
To prevent the injury from worsening and becoming infected, he reluctantly returned to the Hunting Camp with Zhu Pa.
At the Hunting Camp, with Zhu Pa's careful assistance, Gordon cautiously removed his armor, revealing his scorched undershirt and the horrifying red and black wound on his back.
"It's very serious, meow," Zhu Pa said worriedly, "Do we need to cancel the quest first, meow?"
"Hiss~, no," Gordon gasped, lying prone on the Hunting Camp bed. He said, "The burn looks terrible, but it shouldn't have damaged the muscle. Zhu Pa, get a small knife and help me clean the wound, otherwise, it won't heal properly."
"Okay, meow."
Having been Gordon's Hunting Cat partner for nearly two years, Zhu Pa had now mastered various wound dressing and treatment techniques, including those for burns.
Yet, even so, it took Zhu Pa over an hour to painstakingly scrape away the dead skin from Gordon's burn and a large amount of foreign matter stuck to the new, tender skin using a sterilized small knife.
This foreign matter primarily consisted of shirt fibers and cooled sand. If these foreign objects weren't thoroughly cleaned, no amount of recovery medicine Gordon drank would be effective.
After finally cleaning the wound, the sweat seeping from Gordon's forehead had completely soaked the pillow. After taking a few deep breaths and downing two more bottles of recovery medicine, he remained in a prone position, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.
Adequate rest was essential to maximize the effects of recovery medicine.
It must be said that the invention of recovery medicine and various alchemical potions greatly increased the survival rate of Hunters; otherwise, such large-area skin burns could easily lead to infection and more severe consequences.
Seeing Gordon's breathing stabilize and no significant fluid seeping from the wound, Zhu Pa finally relaxed, curling up on the soft mat at the foot of the bed.
The sky was darkening; it was best to get some good rest today.
Gordon was awakened by hunger.
From noon yesterday until now, he had eaten nothing but a few bottles of recovery medicine.
Still in a prone position, Gordon didn't rush to get up. Instead, he cautiously tried to move his arms. No pain came from his back, which made him relieved.
With a push of his arms, he got out of bed and did a few chest expansions. He confirmed that the wound on his back had completely healed.
This medical method, which uses potions to accelerate wound recovery, will inevitably leave scars.
Without even looking, Gordon knew that his back must now be covered in an ugly expanse of burn scars, but what did it matter?
Not to mention he didn't care about such things to begin with, even if he did, his back was already a mess after taking that fireball from the Rathalos, and now it was merely scar upon scar.
Without waking Zhu Pa, who was still softly snoring, Gordon quietly made his way out of the tent.
The sky was still dark, but based on the disappearing stars and the position of the moon, Gordon knew that in at most an hour, the sky would begin to lighten with dawn.
Stretching lazily towards the sky, Gordon chuckled, "Let's make a hearty breakfast first."
Another half an hour passed, and Zhu Pa, also woken by hunger, rubbed his eyes and emerged from the tent.
"Morning, Zhu Pa!"
"Morning, meow~, Gordon, is your wound okay, meow?"
"It's fine, it's fine." Gordon smiled and showed Zhu Pa his back, suddenly noticing he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"No wonder it's a bit cold," Gordon mumbled, heading into the tent to get his change of shirt, not forgetting to tell Zhu Pa, "Breakfast is ready. Eat a lot, because today we still have to go find that big bird and get our revenge!"
"Okay, meow!" Zhu Pa bounced towards the iron pot bubbling over the campfire.
The so-called hearty breakfast was naturally not like those in taverns, with plenty of fish, meat, cheese, and vegetables. Instead, it was a large pot of steaming mush.
This time, Gordon hadn't taken the time to hunt for fresh meat, so delicious grilled meat was out of the question. The only "ingredients" were the hard, brick-like Portable Rations.
After crushing several Portable Rations and adding water to the pot, he began to boil them.
The dry wheat flour would expand after absorbing water, and the dry, hard, and salty dried meat mixed within would also soften slightly, eventually turning into a thick, porridge-like dried meat and wheat mush.
To say that this large pot of hot mush was delicious was, of course, impossible, but it was certainly better than directly stuffing dry, hard Portable Rations into one's mouth; at least it wouldn't chip teeth or scratch the throat.
Just as the old folks liked to say—eating is like adding coal to a furnace; when a person is full, they will have energy.
Gordon and Zhu Pa, now burping from being stuffed by that large pot of mush, felt invigorated.
"Zhu Pa, let's discuss tactics!"
No amount of intel gathered could compare to truly facing a Great Izuchi in the Hunting Field once.
Gordon had considered many things yesterday while cleaning his wound to distract himself. Now was the time to properly formulate a tactical plan.
"Yesterday, I was constantly fighting the Great Izuchi head-on, and I found that its head isn't really a weak point. Its Giant Scissors are extremely hard, and even with my Giant Scissors, it's not easy to break its defense.
Moreover, the Giant Scissors are also the Great Izuchi's most powerful weapon; both its pecks and breath attacks are incredibly powerful. Facing it head-on carries a high risk, so in future operations, I will try to target its wings or abdomen.
So, Zhu Pa, I need you to attract the Great Izuchi's attention. You don't need to truly engage it; just jump around in front of it and provoke it. Be careful to protect yourself, and I will seize the opportunity to launch an Attack Up from the side."
"Okay, meow!"
"Next is its hearing problem. Zhu Pa, how many Explosive Bombs do you have left?"
"I'll check, I have two left, meow!"
"I still have three Sonic Bombs here; I'll give them all to you. You decide when to use them, but be careful: when the Great Izuchi is enraged, it will retract its ear flaps, at which point noise is ineffective. You must only use them when its ear flaps are extended."
"Understood, meow!" Zhu Pa took the Sonic Bombs, nodding seriously.
"Prioritize using Sonic Bombs. Explosive Bombs might burst the Great Izuchi's ear flaps, and once the ear flaps are destroyed, the effect of noise will also be weakened. Old Man Miles told me this, so there's no need to doubt its reliability."
"Prioritize using Sonic Bombs, meow? I've got it, meow."
--+--
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.
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