Chapter 29: Splitting Up

The number of reinforcements was slightly fewer than Aolang had expected; the three Yellow Velocidrome summoned by the leader were crouching low and rushing toward them at full speed.

Aolang glanced at the bone shelter not far away.

By now, that shelter could hardly serve its purpose anymore.

The Yellow Velocidrome King clearly realized that the bone shelter would severely restrict its movements, so it was unwilling to approach.

The other Yellow Velocidrome might not be so smart, but under the Yellow Velocidrome King's command, they wouldn't foolishly run there either; instead, they would fight while surrounding the Yellow Velocidrome King.

Whether the arriving reinforcements could be dealt with quickly became the key to ensuring the battle situation wouldn't be reversed; since trickery was no longer an option, they would have to fight head-on!

"Sajik! Try to hold it off for another half minute!" Aolang shouted loudly.

Elu, who had been thrown around on the Yellow Velocidrome King's back and felt somewhat dizzy, struggled to call out: "We... meow! We'll try our best, meow!"

Taking out a bottle of Power Coating, Aolang drank it all in one gulp, stirred up his qi and blood, and activated Demonization.

His entire body turned into a blur as he rushed at full speed toward the three supporting Yellow Velocidrome.

This time, he did not use the move he was accustomed to—blocking with the Shield to deflect force and then swinging his sword to cut the Yellow Velocidrome's neck—because blocking with the Shield would slow him down.

To quickly eliminate the threat under the siege of three Yellow Velocidrome, speed was essential.

He sidestepped the first Yellow Velocidrome's pounce and bite, while swinging his sword to cut a wound on its side of the neck.

Due to his own excessive speed, this slash was not precise enough to kill the enemy in one strike.

But it still made that Yellow Velocidrome stumble in pain; before the splashing fresh blood could even reach him, the Hunter, whose steps never stopped, had already charged toward the next target.

The other two Yellow Velocidrome approached from the left and right fronts to attack simultaneously. Aolang thought, "Perfect," and kicked hard with his feet, further increasing his charge speed while his steps crossed and his waist and legs twisted.

His entire body swept through the narrow gap between the two Yellow Velocidrome like a whirlwind, with blood flying everywhere.

Demon Dash Slash!

"Gigah!"

"Awooo!"

Miserable howls echoed behind his ears; one of the two Yellow Velocidrome had been hit in a vital spot by the consecutive slashes and collapsed directly onto the ground, while the other seemed as if it had been run through by a meat grinder, its body covered on one side with wounds where flesh and blood were turned outward.

Aolang stopped abruptly, but he did not waste the Inertia that wanted to push him forward; instead, under the help of that force, he compressed and tightened his leg muscles.

Then, borrowing the elasticity released by his muscles, he spun around sharply and swung his Hunter Knife and Round Shield again.

Spinning Slash!

Just as he turned around, the Yellow Velocidrome that wanted to launch a counterattack was struck squarely by the diagonally swung Hunter Knife and Round Shield, howling as it fell to the ground.

The second one.

In almost the blink of an eye, of the three Yellow Velocidrome, only the one that had initially taken his slash, wounded but not dead, remained.

To save stamina, Aolang deactivated Demonization, blocked the opponent's weak pounce with his Shield, stabbed the Hunter Knife into the weak spot on its chest, and then pulled it out.

Thus, the three Yellow Velocidrome that had hurriedly come to support all fell at the very last step before reaching the leader's side.

"Meow—!" Sajik, having used all its strength and persisted for a long time, reached its stamina limit; its claws loosened, and it was thrown off the Yellow Velocidrome King's back, falling to the ground, rolling in sand and dirt, looking extremely wretched.

But it had beautifully completed its mission.

During the time Sajik held off the Yellow Velocidrome King, the reinforcements were eliminated by Aolang one step ahead, and the situation returned to a one-on-one battle.

Realizing this, the Yellow Velocidrome King howled in anger; it exerted force with its hind legs, leaped forward, and prepared to deal with this furry little thing first.

At this critical moment, Aolang rushed in from the side at full speed, raising his Shield to block in front of Sajik.

"Bang—!"

The Yellow Velocidrome King's sharp claws landed on the Shield's surface; the two scraped against each other, producing a grating, ear-piercing noise.

The Yellow Velocidrome King, possessing the Paralysis Fang as a powerful Weapon, rarely used its claws to attack prey; therefore, its claws were not as sharp, long, and pointed as those of its close relative in the Velocidrome family—the Blue Velocidrome King.

Even so, this strike from the Yellow Velocidrome King still left several ferocious claw marks on the alloy-made Shield surface.

The impact force accompanying the pounce even knocked Aolang backward, sliding him several meters; if he hadn't found the right angle to deflect the force and not directly borne the full impact, his defensive posture might have been broken.

"Meow!" Sajik screamed in panic.

"I'm fine!" Aolang shouted loudly to reassure Sajik, but he was actually not as relaxed as he appeared on the surface.

The Yellow Velocidrome King weighed over a ton; its flying kick was not something easily endured.

His right arm, holding up the Shield, was in excruciating pain; although it wasn't broken, the contusion was quite severe, and there might even be a hairline fracture; his chest and abdomen also felt a wave of oppression, symptoms of internal organs being impacted.

But at such a moment, he absolutely could not show even a hint of weakness; Aolang roared loudly with his throat strained and charged toward the Yellow Velocidrome King.

That fierce momentum stunned the Yellow Velocidrome King.

During the previous battle, it had been at a disadvantage; the kin it summoned were eliminated in the blink of an eye, and although its attacks successfully hit the opponent, they seemed to have no effect.

All of this made the Yellow Velocidrome King, which had originally not taken the Hunter seriously, feel uneasy.

Facing the opponent charging at it again, it chose not to meet the attack head-on but instead exerted force with its legs to leap backward, creating a safe distance of several body lengths.

Immediately after, it opened its wide mouth, displaying its fangs, let out a threatening roar at the Hunter, and then turned and ran.

While running, Aolang shouted and chased after it for a while; he also took the opportunity to take out a Dye Ball and threw it forcefully at the fleeing Yellow Velocidrome King.

The Dye Ball accurately hit the Yellow Velocidrome King's back; the dye, emitting a strong smell, splattered out, which made the fleeing Yellow Velocidrome King even more panicked; it thought the pursuer behind possessed some kind of long-range attack ability, and its fleeing pace immediately sped up even more.

Only after the Yellow Velocidrome King's figure disappeared behind the sand dune did Aolang gradually slow his steps.

Sajik, having recovered its strength, hurriedly caught up; it saw through Aolang's bluff and was also very worried about the latter's injuries.

Aolang adjusted his breathing, took out a bottle of Recovery Potion from his pack and poured it into his mouth, then, with Sajik's help, removed the wrist guard on his right arm to check the injury.

"The bones should be fine, meow, but the shoulder and elbow joints have contusions and sprains, meow; it would be best to rest for a while, meow," said Sajik, who possessed some basic first aid skills, after checking.

"As long as the bones are fine, this minor injury will improve quickly after drinking the Recovery Potion," Aolang said, clearly having no intention of retreating to the camp to rest.

After gulping down a second bottle of Recovery Potion, he took out a Whetstone and began sharpening his knife. "The Yellow Velocidrome King's condition cannot be called weak yet.

We cannot give it too much time; if we give it another chance to call a few more Yellow Velocidrome to assist in the battle, it will be troublesome; we must catch up as soon as possible."

Seeing that Aolang was resolute, Sajik no longer raised any objections.

It nodded its small head. "We brought this, meow; if we find a good opportunity to use it well later, it should add some more certainty to our success, meow."

Shaji pulled out a tool bag from behind him and displayed a flat, cylindrical item about thirty centimeters in diameter.

"A Pitfall Trap? You brought this too?" Aolang was somewhat surprised.

For a Novice Hunter like him, the crafting process for such quickly deployable trap items was complex, and the purchase price was even more expensive, so it did not belong to the category of standard equipment.

If he had prepared properly before the hunt, he might have considered gritting his teeth and buying a set to bring along.

But during the time from accepting the quest to departing for the hunting grounds this time, his emotional state had some issues, so he had only prepared basic Recovery Potions, carried food, and Dye Balls.

"You really thought of everything! When we return this time, I'll treat you to a big meal!" Aolang vigorously rubbed Shaji's small head. "Order everything you like from the menu and eat until you're stuffed!"

Shaji scratched his ears, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, I just tried making it following the steps in the Harmony Book for fun, meow. I failed several times before making this one, so I brought it along, meow."

"Do you have any Capture Tranq Bombs?" Aolang asked tentatively.

"I didn't prepare that, meow." Shaji shook his small head. "However, I found a few Sleep Herbs near the camp, meow. If there are Paralysis Mushrooms, we should be able to synthesize Capture Tranq Medicine, meow."

"I know where to find Paralysis Mushrooms nearby."

Aolang put away the Whetstone and took out the map. "At this location, please go check. If there are any, synthesize some Tranq Medicine.

I will pursue the Yellow Velocidrome King, and I'll leave the preparation for the capture to you."

"Understood, meow!"

With the division of labor arranged, the one human and one cat went their separate ways.