Chapter 31: Aolang's Methods

After a brief standoff, the Yellow Velocidrome King moved first, launching an attack.

It raised its body, opened its bloody maw, and lunged to bite the Hunter.

It was still this simple, even dull, attack style, but the existence of the Paralysis Fang meant the Hunter had to stay alert to respond.

One mistake, even just a graze from those toxin-coated fangs, and what awaited him could be death in the hunting grounds.

Holding the Shield before him and sidestepping to dodge the attack was the safest response; even if the Yellow Velocidrome King followed up with further pursuit, he could handle it calmly.

But his caution seemed somewhat excessive.

The Yellow Velocidrome King, having missed its bite, made no further attack moves; instead, it jumped backward to create several meters of distance, as if wary of the Hunter's counterattack.

A feeling of disappointment arose in Aolang's heart.

Why not attack? As the leader of the pack, have you become timid and hesitant after losing all your subordinates?

Or is the Velocidrome King, known as the first stage for Novice Hunters, actually only this level?

Aolang pressed his lips, suppressing these impetuous emotions that hindered judgment with reason; holding the Shield aloft with his right arm and gripping the Hunter Knife in his left, he advanced step by step toward the target.

The Yellow Velocidrome King shifted its weight backward, tensed the muscles in its thighs, and prepared to jump back again to create distance.

Aolang suddenly accelerated explosively; in the blink of an eye, the few meters between them vanished to zero, and the Hunter Knife in his hand, carrying the force of his forward charge, slashed diagonally at the opponent.

Thrust Slash!

The Yellow Velocidrome King, originally preparing to jump back, was half a beat too slow; the Hunter, having closed the distance first, swung his knife and struck its chest.

"Gaaao—!" The Yellow Velocidrome King cried out in pain, and finally, its ferocity was provoked; it no longer thought of retreating, lowered its head, and tore at the Hunter who had closed in.

Aolang protected his body with the Shield, sidestepped to avoid this tear, but the Yellow Velocidrome King's counterattack did not end there; it spun its body, and its slender tail whipped toward him like a lash.

Aolang, who had never relaxed his vigilance, stepped back and jumped away; the tip of the Yellow Velocidrome King's tail swept across the Shield, and the considerable force caused his movement to pause slightly.

Finally, it's looking like something!

Taking advantage of the moment before the Yellow Velocidrome King could turn back around, Aolang tensed the muscle groups in his legs and core like bowstrings; after a brief Charged Attack, he surged forward violently.

The Yellow Velocidrome King had just turned around at that moment; a far heavier Great Sword Charge Attack, held back by nothing, slashed down onto its head, opening a bloody wound and, in the same motion, shearing off a piece of its majestic Crown.

The Yellow Velocidrome King, suddenly struck by a heavy blow, tilted backward, entering a significant stun.

Aolang did not rush to continue the assault; instead, he stored the excess "Inertia" from that previous strike and entered a Charged Attack stance once more.

One second, two seconds; at the instant the accumulated power reached its limit, he lunged forward with a sword swing again, delivering another heavy horizontal slash that knocked the Yellow Velocidrome King's head to the side.

The "Fatal Combo," now incorporating Great Sword Charge Attacks and some Great Hammer Inertia conversion techniques, had long become unrecognizable; if an experienced Great Sword User proficient in Fatal Combos were here, they would likely feel physically uncomfortable watching it.

The true core of the Fatal Combo lies in "rhythm" and seizing the opponent's openings, not in Charged Attacks.

A move like Aolang's, which relies on brute force to create miracles, gathering power after knocking the opponent into a stun, recharging for over a second, and then unleashing a full-force strike to stun the Monster again, is less like a Fatal Combo and more like a Great Sword Charge Attack locking onto the head.

Of course, Great Sword Users would not accept this description; they would say, isn't this just a Fatal Combo with a slightly slower rhythm and slightly greater power?

A Charge Slash is hardly something so flimsy!

In fact, Aolang himself understood that his Fatal Combo, which recklessly integrated Great Sword Charged Attack techniques, was actually somewhat stuck in the middle.

It lacked the power of a Great Sword, lacked the agility of a One-Handed Sword, its overall rhythm was closer to a Great Hammer, yet it lacked the Great Hammer's advantage of heavy impact.

If used against larger, stronger Large Monsters, this move might seem rather awkward; failing to create a stun would interrupt the offensive rhythm.

But on the Yellow Velocidrome King, it was just right.

Before the Yellow Velocidrome King could even regain its footing, a Charged Shield Bash swung down and smashed onto its forehead, dazing it, knocking out several of its poison fangs, and causing it to stumble backward again in a daze.

Aolang certainly wanted to continue suppressing it with this rhythm, but even the most excellent Great Sword User cannot perform Charged Attacks indefinitely.

Let alone performing Charged Attacks with a One-Handed Sword, which is inherently more difficult than with a Great Sword; with his current skill and physical constitution, he could at most perform three such heavy strikes in succession.

Forcing a continued Charged Attack would likely cause muscle strains due to sustained tension.

Then would he have to abandon this excellent attack opportunity, create distance, and give his muscles a few seconds to relax?

Of course not.

The Weapons he mastered were not limited to just the Great Sword, the Great Hammer, and the foundational One-Handed Sword, which could borrow from one another.

There was also the Dual Blades, with a completely different combat style!

Initially, he had even tried to fuse the Demonization of Dual Blades with the Great Sword's Charge Slash techniques; if he could retain both the high speed of Demonization and the immense power of the Charge Slash, wouldn't that be super strong?

However, after many personal trials, he discovered that the two were almost completely incompatible.

The principle of Demonization lies in surging Fighting Spirit, forcing the body into a hyper-active state; in this state, heart rate spikes, blood flow becomes extremely fast, and muscles are highly unstable, twitching like cramps even with a few finger movements.

Not many Hunters can adapt to this state; only this small portion of Hunters can activate Demonization in actual combat and become Dual Blade Users.

Yet even Dual Blade Users with exquisite skills cannot perfectly control their bodies in the Demonization state; they can only form muscle memory through countless hours of training.

A typical manifestation is that during Demon Dance, movements are almost impossible to stop; only through diving and rolling can it be forcibly interrupted.

Meanwhile, the Great Sword Charge Slash requires absolute control over every muscle in the body.

Using herding sheep as a metaphor: only by making every sheep obedient and gathering into a flock can the herd be smoothly driven in a certain direction.

But in the Demonization state, every "sheep" is mad, running wildly in all directions; there is almost no way to force them to gather together.

Therefore, every attempt he made to start a Charged Attack while in the Demonization state was a failure—total, complete, and without any room for error; ultimately, he could only choose to abandon it.

He had once taken this question to consult Lady Marydan.

Although she was neither a Great Sword User nor a Dual Blade User, she was the strongest Hunter he knew, with a vision far beyond that of ordinary Hunters.

After hearing his question, Marydan found a "solution" for him from another angle.

When a flock of sheep is forcibly gathered together for too long, they get annoyed and cannot gather again for a while; this is the same as the Great Sword being unable to charge indefinitely.

So at that time, why not let the sheep run wild? Once they have had their fill of running, wouldn't they be able to gather together again?

Aolang struck his sword and shield, activating Demonization.

In the flash of crimson light, Fighting Spirit surged wildly within his body; the young Hunter's figure flashed, appearing before the Yellow Velocidrome King, his sword and shield crossing in his hands to become blurred afterimages.

Demon Dance!

In just a few seconds, Aolang, having created over a dozen new wounds on the Yellow Velocidrome King's chest, neck, and head, deactivated Demonization.

The muscles, originally tensed tight from continuous exertion, were now thoroughly loosened.

While the Yellow Velocidrome King had yet to recover from this storm of relentless strikes, Aolang tensed his core muscles once more, assuming a Charged Attack stance...