Chapter 30: Caution, Must Be Cautious

Aolang began the hunt.

An experienced Hunter can even track a flying Wyvern over long distances by the faint traces and scent left by a Dye Ball.

Aolang admitted he lacked such tracking skills, but if the target was a Yellow Velocidrome King that could only run on two legs, he was confident he wouldn't lose it.

Perhaps confident in its own speed, or perhaps because it had never been chased as prey before, the Yellow Velocidrome King had not fled far.

Upon reaching the Rocky Area north of the Oasis, it slowed its pace, preparing to eat, rest, and recover from its injuries.

Little did it know, the Hunter had only arrived a few minutes late, now close by.

Aolang hid downwind, behind a large rock dozens of meters away, secretly observing the Yellow Velocidrome King's movements.

If the Yellow Velocidrome King was preparing to summon companions, he would charge without hesitation to interrupt it.

But the former seemed to believe it was safe, relaxed, and quietly approached a group of Back-Shell Dragons grazing and wandering, preparing to hunt.

This made Aolang's expression turn somewhat subtle, a strange thought flashing through his mind.

The Yellow Velocidrome King was secretly approaching to hunt the Back-Shell Dragons, while he himself was secretly approaching to hunt the Yellow Velocidrome King; could something be lurking behind him, planning to attack?

Aolang turned back alertly; the view was quite open, nothing abnormal in the air, it should still be safe, except a Shieldworm was quietly crouching on the nearby cliff wall, making him uneasy...

He glanced back at the Yellow Velocidrome King; its attention was fully on that group of Back-Shell Dragons, it shouldn't notice this side for some time.

Just in case, he decided to deal with that Shieldworm first.

Dividing some attention, occasionally turning back to confirm the Yellow Velocidrome King's position and status, Aolang lowered his body and crept quietly to the cliff wall where the Shieldworm resided.

The Shieldworm seemed to sense the coming danger, pressing itself tighter against the cliff wall.

Ordinary Monsters seeing this might feel unable to get a bite, but humanity's advantage lies in being good at using tools.

Aolang took out his Carving Knife, inserted it into the gap between the cliff wall and the Shieldworm, pried it off the wall with little effort, and, before it could curl up, slashed it down with his blade.

Good, the safety of the battlefield is now secured.

Aolang had no leisure to carve; after sheathing his Weapon, he quietly returned to his previous hiding spot. During the time he dealt with the hidden threat, the Yellow Velocidrome King also emerged from the shadows and launched an attack on the Back-Shell Dragon herd.

The Back-Shell Dragons lowed and gathered together, protecting their young inside, shielding each other with their broad back-shells while uniformly pointing their tails, adorned with vicious bone tumors like wolf-tooth hammers, outward.

The Yellow Velocidrome King was momentarily at a loss for where to bite.

As the leader of the pack, it rarely hunted alone; after circling the Back-Shell Dragon herd for a while and finding no opportunity, it began to call its companions.

Aolang, observing secretly, narrowed his eyes slightly and temporarily suppressed the thought of launching an assault.

A herd of Back-Shell Dragons was a hard bone; the Yellow Velocidrome King certainly didn't want to gnaw it alone, but even if it called companions, breaking the Back-Shell Dragon herd's formation wouldn't be that easy, otherwise these Back-Shell Dragons living within the Yellow Velocidrome territory would have been hunted clean long ago.

He and Shaji had successively eliminated twelve Yellow Velocidromes; this pack should have only a few left, and those not yet revealed were the only remaining hidden threat of this hunt.

If he could use the Back-Shell Dragon herd's "help" to draw out this single hidden threat and eliminate it, the subsequent battle situation would become much more secure.

Although he occasionally chose to act rashly on a whim, when conditions allowed, he preferred this hunting method of eliminating accidents step by step, bringing the entire situation completely under control.

Patiently waiting quietly for quite some time, the summoned Yellow Velocidrome finally appeared within the Hunter's line of sight.

This time, the Yellow Velocidrome herd came exceptionally slowly, with only a pitiful three individuals, one of which was even an immature individual of smaller size.

Aolang lightly said "Hey"; these should be the remaining forces of this Yellow Velocidrome pack.

Under the Yellow Velocidrome King's command, the three newly arrived Yellow Velocidromes were launching harassing feint attacks on the alert Back-Shell Dragon herd from different directions.

Their goal was to panic the Back-Shell Dragon herd; once the herd broke its stationary defensive formation and scattered in flight, their opportunity would come.

The half-grown Yellow Velocidrome, not yet mature and severely lacking hunting experience, was the first to be unable to restrain its bloodthirsty desire, rashly leaping onto the back of a Back-Shell Dragon.

Before it could even open its mouth, another Back-Shell Dragon turned and swung its tail horizontally.

The tail hammer, covered in bone spikes, struck head-on; amidst the grating sound of bones shattering, that Yellow Velocidrome was swung away like a ball for several meters, crashing to the ground, wailing, clearly unable to survive.

The Yellow Velocidrome King roared in anger; it obviously realized that continuing to watch from the sidelines meant not only failing to hunt food smoothly, but its two remaining subordinates would likely perish here too.

Seizing the tiny opening exposed by the Back-Shell Dragon herd during the earlier chaos, it risked a jump to dodge a Back-Shell Dragon's tail strike, forcing its way into the Back-Shell Dragon's defensive circle.

Now it was the Back-Shell Dragons' turn to panic.

Even a well-trained human army would fall into chaos when enemies breached their lines, let alone a Back-Shell Dragon herd defending by instinct.

The other two Yellow Velocidromes also seized the opportunity, launching surprise attacks from other directions; the Back-Shell Dragon herd's formation was on the verge of collapse.

At this moment, Aolang also activated Demonization and charged out from behind the large rock where he hid.

Noticing the Hunter approaching, the Yellow Velocidrome King let out a roar of anger, but trapped inside the Back-Shell Dragon herd, it could not move freely; a careless moment could result in a tail swipe or a stomp from a massive Back-Shell Dragon, which even it would not enjoy.

However, Aolang's target was not it, but the two Yellow Velocidromes jumping frantically amidst the panicked Back-Shell Dragon herd.

Relying on the advantage of agile movement, he darted through the chaotic dragon herd.

Quickly approaching one Yellow Velocidrome, he swung his blade to cleave, creating a bloodied gash on its side while raising his Round Shield to smash its head.

That Yellow Velocidrome was dazed by the blow, stumbling and swaying on its feet.

Wind rushed from behind his ear; Aolang quickly crouched and lowered his body as a Back-Shell Dragon's hammer tail swept horizontally, solidly smashing that unsteady Yellow Velocidrome to the ground.

Before it could rise, another Back-Shell Dragon, in its panic, ran past and stomped its chest cavity flat.

Looking at that pitiful Yellow Velocidrome with its intestines spilling out, Aolang grinned, mustered his full alertness, and charged toward the last remaining Yellow Velocidrome.

By now, the Back-Shell Dragon herd had scattered in flight, almost completely dispersed.

That Yellow Velocidrome, carefully dodging the Back-Shell Dragons crashing wildly in their panic, hadn't yet reacted when Aolang approached right in front of it.

He used his shield to deflect the attack, then his blade danced rapidly; after two consecutive slashes, a familiar combo, the last Yellow Velocidrome also fell into the pool of blood.

The young Hunter, having dealt with the opponent before him, immediately lunged sideways, flipping through the air.

"Boom!"

A huge figure, green and yellow, pounced, stamping several cracks into the rocky ground where the Hunter had stood a second before.

Having failed to hunt food, its subordinates nearly dead, and its ambush failed, the Yellow Velocidrome King glared with blood-red vertical pupils, roaring in anger.

Aolang, quickly rising, raised his Shield and One-Handed Sword, staring intently at this final, and strongest, opponent before him.

"Next, it's one-on-one."