Triopals
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Chapter 33
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 17:30:39 +0000 UTCBased on the hunting patterns of Mist Eels, Nathan finally located the Luminous Grazer after several days of reconnaissance.
This majestic and elegant creature could be considered the most sought-after prize in the forest. At the same time, it possessed superior escape abilities. Therefore, Nathan had to exercise extreme caution when hunting it.
He extended his fingers toward the Vermilion Ape he had recently promoted to his right hand due to its intelligence. For convenience, he named it Scarlet, since it was female, making communication easier.
Scarlet sniffed in understanding, then departed from the high branch where they both perched, leaping from tree to tree in search of its companions.
Nathan waited patiently, his eyes locked on the creature that remained oblivious, focused solely on drinking water at the stream's edge. Its antlers emitted a soft glow. The spots on its skin sparkled like tiny stars, mesmerizing to behold. He had already driven away other monsters in the area to avoid disturbing the Luminous Grazer.
About ten minutes later, when the creature seemed to have completed its routine and prepared to leave, Nathan spotted smoke rising in the distance. The signal that he had taught the Vermilion Apes to create.
Without further hesitation, he leaned forward, launching himself behind his newly crafted shield toward the Luminous Grazer.
The antlers of his targeted prey quivered once, and it immediately used its four legs to leap backward.
With a thunderous crash, rocks and earth in front of it exploded upward along with water from the stream's edge. The mixture covered it in a layer of muddy brown filth. The Luminous Grazer frowned in irritation. Dawn was when it was strongest, so it would spend time drinking water, eating fruit, and then finding shelter. It had always been confident in its speed, rarely getting sullied like this. Yet this new attacker could charge forth with such incredible velocity.
Flashing a grin, Nathan swung his shield upward, hoping to strike the creature's body so the thorns of the Thornweave Ancient could pierce its flesh.
The monster reacted with equal swiftness, using its twin antlers to strike hard against the shield, penetrating the outer layer of green thorns to slam against the Ironbark beneath, creating a deafening clang. The impact pushed both parties backward slightly.
Not giving the creature time to react, Nathan continued charging forward, still sheltering behind his shield. Seeing this, the Luminous Grazer took a deep breath. When Nathan drew near, it exhaled, creating an explosion of mana.
The force sent his shield arm flying backward. Using the momentum to flip once in mid-air, he managed to bring his shield forward just in time to block the creature's incoming charge. Both he and the shield skidded across the ground covered in rocks and pebbles, creating a scraping sound. But things weren't over yet.
He glanced at the luminous spots on the Grazer's body. They had grown dimmer, no longer as bright as before. Looking down at himself, several spots that had once adorned his opponent's body now clung to him. He tried using his hand to push and wipe them off, but to no avail.
"What must come, will come," he smirked and whispered.
Immediately after, the spots flashed brilliantly, and explosions erupted. His eyes and ears registered nothing through the blinding light and horrific booming sounds. He only felt his body being pulled in all directions as if by dozens of hands. After a few seconds, everything ended. A thin smoke rose around his body. The shield, fortunately, remained in his grip. His mind stayed clear. His skin showed black and red spots. Overall, the damage wasn't too severe.
Grinning to reveal gleaming white teeth, he taunted the Luminous Grazer.
"Is that all you've got?"
As if responding to its opponent's mockery, the creature tilted its magnificent antlers downward. A sphere of light formed. A moment later, a beam of abundant energy crashed against Nathan's shield.
He gripped the handle tightly, confident that both the Thornweave Ancient and Ironbark layers could withstand it. In his peripheral vision, he could see the soft layers of the Thornweave Ancient being torn apart, flailing like weak tentacles. However, given time and nutrients, it would recover. The Ironbark layer remained steadfastly resilient.
The struggle lasted only a few seconds. The Luminous Grazer, unwilling to prolong the engagement, cut off its attack. Instead, it pointed its antlers skyward. The surrounding light seemed to be devoured by it, creating a surreal scene, painting everything in a gloomy gray as if rain were imminent. When it had gathered enough power, the small sun blazed with blinding brilliance. Brilliant enough to sear one's eyes.
Having anticipated this, Nathan closed his eyes, taking full cover behind his shield. Even so, he could see his vision tinged red from the overwhelming light. It was as if this skill of the Luminous Grazer could penetrate even the tiniest cracks to stun its enemies.
When the surroundings began to feel less hot and his eyes no longer under such pressure, he finally rose up, frantically looking around. As expected, the creature had fled.
He wasn't worried. This was when the Vermilion Apes would prove their worth. Jumping onto a high branch, he surveyed the surroundings.
Then, a smoke trail similar to before rose in the eastern direction, not too far from where he was. He could see trees and animals there in commotion. He immediately rushed toward that location.
Gliding past rows of trees and rock outcroppings at least twice his previous speed, Nathan arrived in moments. What greeted him was a scene of chaos.
The Luminous Grazer was surrounded by the Vermilion Ape pack. It couldn't move freely due to the barrage of thrown rocks and sharpened wooden spears. The red-furred monsters' spread-out formation was enough to compensate for the speed difference. Whenever the Luminous Grazer moved, the pre-positioned apes would launch attacks, forcing the creature to retreat or change direction. This kept it running in circles. It couldn't counterattack because it had used all its techniques on Nathan. The luminous spots on its body were still recharging. The mana in its body wasn't sufficient to accelerate the process.
Its inability to run straight ahead was primarily due to the nets and poison traps that Nathan had provided for the Vermilion Apes to use. Using the tenacious fibers of Strangler Vines, along with some thorny and sticky properties of Thornweave Ancients, the Vermilion Apes only needed to throw nets from the treetops to make the Luminous Grazer wary. The deer-like monster was also quite intelligent, staying alert enough not to get caught in these nets.
During their first encounter, it had shown no fear and used Light Beam to shred the first net. But Nathan had also attached poison bombs to the nets. When burned, they created a deep green mist that blocked vision and was potent enough to paralyze if inhaled.
With no other choice, the Luminous Grazer was forced to change direction, thus becoming trapped in the web of tactics laid out by the red-furred army. A Vermilion Ape only needed to throw an explosive at the pre-gathered hay pile for smoke to rise, signaling those lying in ambush at other positions. The closer ones would advance, easily cutting off the deer monster's retreat. As their numbers grew, it became like a crab in a basket.
A rather simple strategy, but sufficient to capture the Luminous Grazer. Nathan thought that if he possessed the telepathic abilities of the Vermilion Ape Leader, he could have commanded his army to take down the creature before even arriving at this spot.
He howled once, signaling for the red-furred monsters to close the circle, moving to the final phase.
The Luminous Grazer lost its calm and dignified demeanor. It began jumping erratically, its front and back legs seemingly in conflict, sometimes wanting to move forward, sometimes backward. It neighed in panic, its antlers glowing to blind everything around it. Its actions succeeded with the little energy remaining in its body, but that was all. It didn't know how to climb trees. And while the Vermilion Apes were blinded, their hands still firmly held the connection points of the capture nets, so it made no difference.
Nathan jumped down, walking leisurely toward the creature. His hand extended forward, gesturing for it to stay calm. Unlike the Luminous Grazer, he was sucking on anti-poison candy to limit inhaling gas from the poison bombs that had exploded earlier. The apes were high up, so they were fairly well protected from the poison's effects. Although it was only paralyzing and sleep-inducing poison, he didn't want the creature to inhale too much and affect the later stages.
But the Luminous Grazer continued to neigh frantically, its head bobbing up and down, desperate to find an escape route. It attempted to kick Nathan with its front legs but was smoothly dodged. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around its neck, pinning it down. The creature's struggles were nothing compared to his strength. It writhed frantically in his arms, using its large round eyes to look at him pleadingly. It didn't even eat meat, nor hunt anyone. Only other monsters looked at it as if it were the most delicious thing in the world.
Nathan blinked at those sparkling eyes, opening his mouth to console it.
"I'm not even going to kill you, you know."
The creature continued struggling, either not understanding or not believing. Eventually, its strength was depleted, both from using all its skills—particularly the powerful ones that demanded heavy energy consumption—and from the poison invading its respiratory system. It went limp. Nathan released his hold, letting it lie on its side.
Once sure the creature was completely still, he proceeded with his task. Having decided to do this, he wouldn't reconsider just because of momentary guilt. Using a pair of newly hunted Armor Scarab knives—though less effective than the previous time but still requiring an equally putrid process—he began sawing off one of the Luminous Grazer's antlers.
With the Armor Scarab's sharpness, the process was quickly completed. The antler, weighing several dozen kilograms and as long as an arm span, lay neatly in his hands. He certainly wouldn't cut off both of the Luminous Grazer's antlers. Doing so would leave it defenseless against natural predators. Besides, one antler was enough for him.
Wrapping cord around the newly harvested item, he tossed the antler to a High Vermilion Ape to carry. As for himself, he picked up the Luminous Grazer, balancing it on his head with both hands. This heavy creature would have been impossible for him to carry before, but now it felt no different than carrying a child, with only its bulky body causing any difficulty.
After leaving the area affected by the poison, he set the creature down by a tree. To be thorough, he waited until it regained consciousness. Upon regaining awareness, it staggered to its feet, neighing sounds of displeasure at the person who dared cut off one of its antlers. It continued making such sounds for quite a while, sending out curses to satisfy itself before finally gathering energy to make its remaining antler glow, blinding everyone. The Luminous Grazer vanished. No one attempted to catch it again.
Nathan returned to the Crimson Lotus pond, continuing to tinker with his equipment. Snow began falling its first flakes. Today it wasn't too heavy, so it didn't create difficulties with the terrain. However, Nathan spent most of his time in one place rather than moving around.
In the following days, Moirath Forest gradually covered itself in a white blanket. Trees wore soft, fragile caps. The temperature dropped rapidly, forcing most animals and monsters to seek shelter and hibernate. The harshness of winter and the volatile environment made all creatures struggle. Except for the Vermilion Ape pack under Nathan's command.
With his preparations, the monsters could be said to be experiencing their most comfortable winter ever. Snow covered their huts completely but didn't fall through the gaps like in previous years thanks to their new leader's construction guidance. They still had to hunt for food but didn't need to take excessive risks. Nathan had applied meat-drying techniques for winter storage. Thunder Sage worked quite well for sterilization, and combined with salt, the preservation time would be sufficient. Not to mention the low temperature also helped slow the meat's deterioration process. The Vermilion Apes mainly spent their free time listening to their leader's Right Hand, training in actions that, though basic, required finesse.
While managing everything, Nathan conducted his search for the Lunar Shadow. Through PsiLink and his own exploration, he found several clearings where moonlight would shine strongest to predict its appearance. The main issue was that he couldn't divide his forces to conduct encirclement and sweeps. Unless he wanted to sacrifice all his ape monsters' lives to a powerful existence like the Lunar Shadow.
So he had to gamble. During each freezing dusk, he donned his cloak made from Great Spine Wolf and went to locations where Lunar Shadow might appear with his army. The falling snow didn't hinder much as he and the monster pack mainly swung from tree to tree to move.
Upon reaching the designated spots, he began preparations, ordering his amateur soldiers to perform simple tasks. Then, when night fell and the moon hung high, casting its mystical silver light everywhere. Combined with the sparkle of snowflakes, nights in Moirath Forest truly presented an aesthetic scene. On the mountain peaks, one could sometimes see flying monsters passing back and forth through the seven-colored aurora as if dancing to the special rhythm that the season brought.
The only positive result Nathan had all week was photos and videos of the nighttime scenery. He and the Vermilion Apes stayed awake guarding each night with steam rising from their noses, trembling from prolonged wind exposure, or teeth chattering because the cloaks couldn't keep them warm enough. Worst was when they had to stand near a lake, where the wind became even fiercer, and the monster beneath the lake exhaled contentedly because this air was exactly what it desired. One creature's enjoyment was another's hardship. The Vermilion Apes had to huddle together to keep from freezing to death. Only Nathan, with his enhanced physique, could maintain alertness throughout the hunting expedition. Nevertheless, he still felt the cold was truly dangerous. Fortunately, he only hunted half a day before returning to recover. If he had to extend days like currently at Storm Peaks, he truly wasn't sure how long he could last.
His efforts finally paid off. After more than two weeks, the monster with the perfect white fur finally appeared. Ironically, it was at the very place where Nathan first encountered Lunar Shadow and nearly got eaten alive.
Nathan was hiding behind a thicket when Lunar Shadow's form gradually broke through the night's veil to stand majestically, head turned toward the darkness, nose seeming to smell the life essence from the surrounding space.
He narrowed his eyes, taking in the monster's figure and PsiLink. The previously used development comparison software was deployed. The results made him glad he decided to engage early.
The size change compared to their first encounter was 22.3%. In just a month and a half, the monster had grown unbelievably. Nathan wondered if it was because of Lunar Shadow that he rarely encountered Tier 2 monsters in Moirath Forest. If that was true, then Darkan's challenge was truly impossible without his Titan bloodline. How could he hunt on par with this monster?
Not thinking too much, he raised his hand and spread his fingers. Scarlet, standing close beside him, received the order and silently departed. Only she was allowed to stay near him, avoiding unnecessary sounds that might alert Lunar Shadow. Although with its nature of looking down on other species, it wasn't certain whether it would care or not. Either way, he still had to be careful.
When the time was ripe, he jumped down, creating a thump on the snowy ground.
Lunar Shadow slowly turned its eyes downward, still keeping its head pointed toward the moon, not really considering Nathan as a threat worth mentioning. It had roamed this forest for quite some time, with countless enemies falling before it. A human would just be a change in diet.
Nathan slowly stepped out from the shadows of the trees behind him, gradually receiving the moon's illumination. He was fully equipped. The damaged and broken armor had been recreated with materials from Blood Thirster, Armor Scarab, and Ironbark. Besides the shield, various long and short weapons were attached to his waist and back. The wolf fur cloak made him appear more massive and imposing. The fangs worn around his neck clinked with warning sounds. They could also serve as short daggers when necessary.
"Hello, my prize," he couldn't help but say.
Lunar Shadow paid no attention, still enjoying its moonlight bath.
Feeling embarrassed, Nathan slammed his shield against the ground to attract his opponent's attention.
The monster continued to show no interest.
Not wanting to launch a surprise attack for fear of enraging the monster too quickly, contrary to his plan to prolong the battle, the current situation seemed to prevent him from following any prior calculations. Without further thought, he charged forward, shield and sword in hand. If he missed today, who knew when he would encounter Lunar Shadow again. If not now, then perhaps never.
With a thunderous crash, Nathan only felt his body being thrown backward, his legs sinking deep into the snow below. His hands trembled violently after the collision.
Lunar Shadow finally lowered its head, eyes narrowing, clearly showing its annoyance. This was its nightly routine, yet someone dared to disturb it. Well then, it would fill its stomach first.
Nathan gritted his teeth to calm himself. He truly hadn't expected the monster's strength to be so immense.
Tier 2 Phase 6, or Phase 7? Nathan speculated.
PsiLink could only estimate but couldn't provide exact results. Usually, Cultivators would sense this through their Spirit. But Nathan's Spirit was only Tier 1, how could he accurately sense it?
Unable to do anything else, Nathan prepared for his opponent's counterattack. Knowing the disparity from before despite using all passive skills, this time he tried to use his entire body to defend. At the moment the monster, nearly twice his height, arrived, he kicked hard backward with both legs, both hands gripping the shield tightly to push forward.
This time, his strike had enough force. The result was both parties having to step back. The main issue was that the outer Thornweave Ancient layer was almost useless, being torn apart with each collision, not even having time to inflict damage on Lunar Shadow. It also recovered very slowly, unlike normal.
Lunar Shadow frowned deeper, its mouth revealing razor-sharp teeth threatening Nathan. The monsters it had encountered before never possessed such strong impact force as this human. But who was it? It was confident in being the forest's strongest, fearing no one. Once attacked, it would retaliate more fiercely.
The wolf monster breathed out softly, its form gradually blending into the night, as if disappearing from all sight.
Nathan became tense, preparing for the monster's Night Walker technique.
Triggered [Tingling Sense]. One credit given.
Triggered [Adrenaline Boost]. One credit given.
He raised his shield to block the attack from above. The impact shockwave sent snow beneath his feet flying up like reverse rain. His feet were pushed down into the ground below. Before him was a pair of razor-sharp fangs that had penetrated the three layers he had arranged for his shield - Ironbark, Armor Scarab, and Thornweave Ancient.
Lunar Shadow twisted its neck, yanking the shield from the human's grip, then tossing it aside. When it landed on its hind legs, its opponent had already slid away, creating distance between them. The human reached under the snow, smirking at it, pulling up a new shield.
"You didn't think I'd come looking for you without preparation, did you?" Nathan cheerfully taunted, regardless of whether the monster understood or not.
Lunar Shadow didn't catch a single word. Prey that could withstand one or two of its attacks wasn't rare. But in the end, they all ended up in its stomach.
Once again disappearing into the night, Night Walker was deployed. When it appeared, the monster's claws slashed from Nathan's right side. Its weight made him stagger. In that moment, it spun around, its hind leg kicking him flying in a straight line parallel to the ground.
Only when breath seemed torn from his body from impact with a tree did he stop. A series of crashes rang out behind him as he stood up. His eyes looked at the empty space before him, seeing nothing.
The system had just notified when Nathan was once again sent flying, his shield falling on the snowy surface.
Managing to flip in mid-air, he finally managed to control his momentum, jumping up to stand straight. During his flight, he had managed to grab another shield hidden under the snow. Over a dozen shields had been prepared for today. He didn't want all preparations to become futile due to failure.
Roaring once, he activated his trump card.
Berserker, 5%.
The strange thing about Tier 2 was that his skin currently wasn't turning redder like before, but instead became darker, taking on a metallic sheen. He guessed that was a good thing so didn't pay much attention, preparing for the collision.
Lunar Shadow stood straight, using its eyes to evaluate the human. It wasn't clear if it was feeling amused or disgusted that its prey was so persistent. With a nature not prone to overthinking things, it used its signature skill. Its tail lit up from absorbing moonlight.
Nathan saw that action and immediately dove forward with a bullet-like leap. He only landed in empty space. Lunar Shadow had used Night Walker to leave.
Glancing around, he could only see that attacks could come from above or behind. Keeping his shield tilted in wait, the moment a light flashed, he proceeded to block. Two Crescent Moon Slashes glided extremely fast through the air, striking Nathan's shield.
It was immediately cut into three pieces with a cracking sound. However, the power still hadn't completely dissipated, a dim arc cutting into Nathan's armor. Chest and arm were marked with a small groove. At the exposed elbow joint, blood spurted out.
He felt his arm going numb. The cut left a gray-white arc clinging to his arm, refusing to disappear.
Seeing its attack partially successful, Lunar Shadow used the next skill in its combo.
The gray-white mark on Nathan's arm lit up, Moon Scar activating. He let out a cry of pain. But it was just pain like from falling or getting scratched, not too shocking. His skin rang out with sizzling sounds not from being burned but from resisting Moon Scar's force.
He doubled his Berserker state up to 10%. His skin showed more obvious transformation, becoming more distinctly metallic. The sizzling sound grew more intense. Smoke rose from the wound site. After a moment, the Moon Scar mark was dispelled. The wound began to stop bleeding, quickly moving toward closing up. Nathan finally understood why Tier 2 focused on skin cultivation. Just having skin as hard as metal and recovering this fast, he could fight continuously.
Seeing its Moon Scar no longer effective, Lunar Shadow shook its wolf head with deep doubt. This was a skill it had always been confident in. How could a human not using mana resist it?
Nathan threw away the now useless shield in his hand, picked up another shield, and proceeded to counterattack.
The monster, feeling challenged, charged forward. When about to collide, it once again vanished.
This time, it appeared on Nathan's right side. Instead of panicking, he smiled.
"Bingo," he said happily as he jumped backward.
A cloud of dust sprayed up from the ground when Lunar Shadow stepped on Nathan's trap. The monster startled, coughing violently when inhaling the ghastly dark green gas. With speed no less than Nathan's, it retreated in another direction. This was why from the beginning until now, he hadn't thrown any solutions or poison dust. Lunar Shadow was fast enough to make his throws useless. Now everything was different.
Lunar Shadow realized it had inhaled poison gas and exhaled hard. It closed its eyes once, using mana to circulate around its body, using energy from moonlight to purify. Finally, the poison was completely pushed out through its sweat glands. The monster raised its head, looking at Nathan with contempt, its fur flowing in the wind further emphasizing its nobility.
Deploying Night Walker to attack, Lunar Shadow for the first time met direct resistance. The human had anticipated its appearance direction and used full force to knock it back.
Lunar Shadow shook its head from the opponent's impact aftershock that had grown stronger than before. It felt pain. That thought flashed through its mind making it feel humiliated. Disbelieving, it used Night Walker once more. Then, a light spot on its front leg while running toward the enemy caught its attention. It should have been invisible, its body no different than merging with the air, impossible to reveal such a deadly marker.
Nathan didn't see what the monster was confused about, only saw it stop and grew more delighted. He rammed into it with his shield. His other hand drew a line up the monster's flank with his sword.
Lunar Shadow let out a painful groan, revealing its true form, dispelling Night Walker's state. It ignored the pain, eyes still fixed on the bright spot on its front leg that hadn't disappeared. This light carried the sun's flavor, making it hate it bitterly. But why was it there?
The monster would never understand it had been contaminated with a compound made from Luminous Grazer horn powder and phosphorescent mushroom spores. From now on, its Night Walker skill would no longer be effective against Nathan.
But when attacked once more, Lunar Shadow regained its spirit. Its two tails created blurry illusions. Four Crescent Moon Slashes were launched before the human's surprised eyes.
