Chapter 46: Your Weakness Is That You Don

Aolang sat up abruptly.

His head throbbed, his thoughts were foggy, and the nausea in his chest and abdomen made him want to pound himself several times—these were all symptoms of severe impact.

Aolang struck his head with the back of his fist; he seemed to be in a clinic, his body bound in bandages—had he been injured and fallen unconscious? No, before this...

His mind gradually cleared.

The Feast in the Great Desert, the Celong Operation, the unexpected counterattack of the Fengshan Dragon, the capsized Dragon-Hunting Ship, the prematurely detonated Explosive Bomb, Sai'er raising his Shield in front of him...

Thinking of these, Aolang urgently tried to get out of bed, but accidentally knocked over the low table beside it; hearing the noise, someone ran in from the next room.

"Oh my, you're finally awake? You slept so long, you missed the whole feast!"

The person who entered was Asa; he looked ridiculous, his head wrapped in thick bandages, one arm in a splint, walking with a limp.

But Aolang had no humor for this—he asked urgently, "Where's Senior Sai'er? Is he alright? And the rest of the Ship Group—did the operation succeed?"

Asa had been about to tease Aolang, but just before an ill-timed joke slipped out, he caught himself and cleared his throat instead.

"Ahem, Senior Sai'er's injuries are also serious, but his Rathian Armor held up well—he woke up a day earlier than you and isn't in any major danger."

As for the Ship Group... the losses were heavy; the Fengshan Maru needs major repairs." At this, Asa's expression grew heavier.

"But thanks to your active role, we managed to severely wound the Fengshan Dragon and repel it at the last moment—otherwise, casualties might have doubled and then some."

The Ship Group Leader said he wants to thank you properly."

At that moment, the physician arrived upon hearing the commotion; he shooed away Asa, who still wanted to chat, and carefully examined Aolang again.

Fractures, burns, concussion, internal bleeding...

Hearing this, Aolang understood—he'd need to rest thoroughly for a while.

During his recovery in the clinic, many came to visit.

Mrs. Marydan patted his shoulder repeatedly, saying he'd done well, and brought him plenty of meat; Mr. Ramak left several thick books.

Marydan scolded her husband for it and took the books away before leaving.

Qiaoda also came with the Citadel Guerrillas to visit; their daily duties were busy, so they couldn't come often—so Qiaoda left Sand棘 behind, entrusting it to care for Aolang and Asa during their recovery.

The Ship Group Leader himself came by, expressing gratitude to Aolang and the others, bringing a large amount of comfort supplies, and stating the Sand Ship Fleet would always welcome their joining.

There was also an unexpected visitor: Guild Master Little Beard from the Luokelake Guild came along with the Ship Group Leader.

He brought the mission's reward: besides the base payment, there was a piece of ore taken from the Fengshan Dragon's back, and a scaled plate that had been polished to remove its rocky outer layer, revealing a magnificent deep blue hue.

This material was far too scarce to craft equipment—it was meant solely to honor his courageous combat.

If sold to a Merchant, it would fetch a good sum, but Aolang wasn't short on money now, so he planned to keep it as a memento.

Only after being allowed to get out of bed and move freely did Aolang see Sai'er, who had also been forced to lie in bed for days.

The latter looked in excellent spirits; upon meeting, he immediately joked, "I heard this was your first Cat? How was it?"

"Cat" was a hunter's slang term, referring to being incapacitated during a hunt.

Under normal circumstances, that was no different from being dead—but sometimes, luck could turn things around.

The Guild had an agreement with the Elu clans in the wild: if Elus rescued severely wounded hunters from monsters, one-third of the hunter's mission reward would go to them.

Over time, hunters began using "Cat" as a euphemism for being severely injured, unconscious, or incapacitated.

In response to Sai'er's joke, Aolang merely nodded.

But Sand棘 tilted its head, studying the young Hunter curiously, and asked in return, "Then you? Have you ridden the Cat Cart?"

When it lived with its clan in the wild, it had helped push Cat Carts, hauling half-dead hunters.

"Ahem, I've had it a few times—just lucky I didn't die on the hunting ground," Sai'er chuckled dryly.

Then his expression grew more serious. "My injuries are nearly healed—I'll leave Luokelake in the next couple days. Before that, I need to tell you something."

Aolang straightened up. "Please speak."

"A number of people have told you, haven't they, that you're unsuited for the One-Handed Sword?"

"... Yes."

"I know you possess a special talent, I've heard you speak of your teacher, and after observing you over this time, I can only say your teacher's approach was correct."

"Of course, what I'm telling you now isn't just that—I came here today specifically to warn you: you have a very obvious weakness."

Sai'er didn't drag it out; he looked straight into Aolang's eyes and spoke almost word by word: "You are extremely lacking in self-preservation awareness."

"Lacking self-preservation awareness..." Aolang repeated the phrase.

"Yes. It has nothing to do with your special talent—it's a personal character flaw. Your mind seems to know only offense."

"Uh..." Aolang fell silent—he couldn't quite refute this.

"It's normal for people to have tendencies, but your offensive drive is too pure—for you, defense or evasion exist only as a 'prelude' to your next attack."

"At your current level, this seems fine—monsters like the Yellow Velocidrome can be easily suppressed by offense alone."

"But as you advance further, when you reach Star Three or Star Four and face stronger, more cunning monsters, this fatal weakness will surface—and you may not even get a chance to correct it before you die on the hunting ground."

"Take the most direct example: at the end of the Celong Operation, you dropped your Shield and switched to Dual Blades, right?"

"That was to..."

"I know." Sai'er cut off Aolang's instinctive rebuttal. "Using Dual Blades to unleash Demon Dance and widen the wound—that's fine; in fact, your quick thinking deserves praise."

"Your problem is... after that, did you ever consider picking up your Shield again?"

Aolang was speechless. Sai'er continued: "While I was preparing to ignite the Explosive Bomb, that Shield was right at your feet—you didn't even glance at it, nor did you consider withdrawing early."

"You seem... not to value your own life very much."

"We think so too," Sand棘 chimed in. "You're careful when planning tactics, but once fighting starts, you go completely reckless."

Aolang was silenced by the Hunter and the Cat together.

After a moment of silence, he muttered gruffly, "I'll practice more defensive techniques."

"No, you misunderstand me."

Sai'er's tone softened. "I'm telling you this not to make you divert energy from 'attack'—your extreme aggression is your strength; it shouldn't be suppressed."

It's like a sharp, slender blade — not suited to be used as a shield; the two follow the same principle.

I remind you of this because I hope you'll pay more attention to matters of keeping yourself alive, and there are many ways to go about that.

For example, like right now, using a one-handed sword — a weapon that comes with a shield; or forging sturdier heavy armor; or preparing more life-saving items; or teaming up with a heavy defender who's skilled at defense; or finding a hunting cat to watch your back for you — and so on, and so forth."

When he reached that last remark, he glanced at Sha Ji with a touch of curiosity. "By the way, is this little fellow your hunting partner? Why haven't I seen it before?"

Sha Ji paused, then shook its head. "I'm just here on the boss's commission to look after Aolang-meow for a bit."

Aolang also explained on its behalf, "Sha Ji is a member of the Citadel Guerrillas, not my hunting cat companion."

"I see. You two seemed to get along so well, I thought you were already partners." Sai'er said with a smile, then stopped digging further into the matter and returned to the original topic.

"You told me earlier that, after your teacher allowed you to switch weapons, you actually didn't know when you should switch, or what you should switch to.

So, as a senior, here's my suggestion: wait until you can set down the shield in your hand with peace of mind, then give this matter serious thought."