"The thorn moved, meow!" Dilu exclaimed in surprise.
"Could it be that coincidental?" Li Fan's eyelids twitched, and he quickly cast his gaze. The Nergigante reproduces through its thorns. If this one could truly incubate a young Nergigante, it would only deepen Meow-meow's misunderstanding.
"Dilu, you're mistaken. It's not that thorn moving, it's the ground shaking," Li Fan said, letting out a breath.
"The ground is trembling?" Yodora questioned, squatting down and gently touching the ground with her hand, feeling an unusual high-frequency vibration.
Realizing something was wrong, Li Fan looked up. The quicksand in the rock crevices was vibrating at high frequency and sinking underground.
"Dilu, release Xi Xi to help us evacuate!" As Li Fan spoke, Yodora was already floating upside down, preparing to lift the team off the ground.
"Meow-meow! ... Fly quickly! We can't stay here any longer." Li Fan hesitated for a moment before issuing the warning, then grabbed a silk thread and leaped into the air.
*Woo~ woo~...* A distant, mournful cry echoed off the petal-shaped rock walls, and countless rocks and debris slid down amidst the tremors. The vigilant Meow-meow sensed it for a moment, then leaped forward, grabbed the falling oval thorn, and shook its head, throwing it.
The thorn drew an arc. Seeing it fall towards him, Li Fan exclaimed in surprise, "Don't throw it at me!"
*Aow~ aow~* Meow-meow roared upwards, indicating that after this battle, it might be gone, and it was entrusting Li Fan to take care of it.
Seeing the thorn fall in front of him, Li Fan hesitated for a moment before reaching out and catching it with his arm.
"Why are you holding the thorn, meow?" Dilu asked in surprise.
"Collecting material samples..." Li Fan hadn't expected this turn of events and could only make up an excuse.
*Boom!* As rocks tumbled down, a thick cloud of smoke and dust rose from the island's surface, and a colossal shadow emerged from the cracked ground. On the back of the colossal shadow were two giant palms facing forward, with eight fingers wrapped in rock, curved in a grasping posture. Each "fingertip" was connected to a wisp of dust-like mist, tethered to the ground.
*Thump! Thump!*... With each step of its rock-encased, pillar-like limbs, a heavy thudding sound echoed.
"Safi'jiiva... why now?" Yodora, looking down, saw Xi Xi had flown to her front to assist, so she tied the silk thread to its claws.
"I'm not sure yet, but the Xeno'jiiva is dead, so its activity should be uncontrollable," Li Fan speculated.
"Then, should we shift our target next?" Yodora inquired.
"Yes." Compared to Meow-meow, this monster was clearly a greater threat.
As the dust settled, the cracks on the ground quickly sealed. *Swish~ swish~...* Amidst the constant shedding of soil and rocks, the Safi'jiiva turned towards Meow-meow's location. Meow-meow was now on all fours, in a fighting stance.
*Awooo~ awooo~...* A distant cry sounded. Xi Xi, circling in the air, looked at Li Fan with Yodora and Dilu being pulled by the silk threads attached to its claws.
"I can't quite understand... it sounds like it's trying to persuade Meow-meow to be good," Li Fan responded after a moment of thought.
"Huh? One monster trying to persuade another monster to be good..." Yodora felt a sense of unease amidst her surprise.
"Yes, how can there be good or evil in ecology? Monsters with good intentions would have gone extinct long ago," Li Fan also found it incredible.
Meow-meow didn't waste any more words, roared that an orderly ecosystem must be eradicated, and leaped into the air, smashing down with its claws.
*Thump~* The Safi'jiiva's body sank, and large amounts of rock and soil peeled off its back where it was struck, revealing twisted bones glowing with a golden hue.
*Thump~ Thump~...* Meow-meow didn't stop, continuing to strike from its superior position.
"It's already gaining the upper hand?" Yodora hadn't expected Meow-meow to have the advantage right from the start.
"Meow-meow has found its blind spot for attack," Li Fan explained.
The clumsy Safi'jiiva retreated a few steps, its two hind limbs exerting force simultaneously, lifting its body into a standing position, and then suddenly flattening itself.
*Boom~* Its body and the eight wing-like legs extending from its back slammed into the ground. The experienced Meow-meow had already flown away from its back before it could flatten itself.
Just as it prepared to dive onto its back and continue its attack, rope-like, twisted air currents were suddenly projected from the rock layer into the sky.
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!*... The crisscrossing air currents grew more numerous, gradually forming a dense net, providing all-around protection. Meow-meow immediately ascended to observe. The air currents, vibrating at high frequency, shifted slowly, appearing extremely unstable. However, unlike ordinary breaths or sprays, these air currents showed no signs of attenuation. Meow-meow constantly adjusted its position and angle, but couldn't find any space to fly through.
"Is that the shockwave ray you mentioned in your data?" Yodora inquired. During their prior preparations, the Safi'jiiva had always been considered the enemy, so Yodora had acquired a lot of information.
"Yes, an attack triggered by the high-frequency vibration of its wing-like legs," Li Fan replied.
Meow-meow, continuously circling in search of an opening, gradually lost its patience. Finally, it curled its wings around its body and plummeted downwards.
*Hiss~ hiss~ swish!* Under the sweep of several shockwaves, its body thorns broke off in large numbers. However, with its brave charge, Meow-meow once again reached the Safi'jiiva's back. Unlike before, it seemed that to maintain the shockwave rays, the Safi'jiiva was in a state where it couldn't move. Meow-meow naturally didn't hesitate, its claws extending to their limit as it swiped, each blow more ferocious than the last.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*... As fragments of rock peeled off and scattered, the Safi'jiiva's body gradually sank.
*Whoosh~* Suddenly, all the net-like shockwave rays disappeared.
*Hiss~ hiss~...* The eight wing-like legs, deeply embedded in the sand, began to adjust their positions with slow sliding movements.
"Adjusting the shockwave direction with its wing-like legs to aim and fire... Meow-meow, escape quickly!" Li Fan realized the situation was dire and quickly warned.
Meow-meow looked up for a moment. Seeing Li Fan holding that thorn, it let out a relieved roar, lowered its head, and intensified its attacks.
*Swoosh!* In the next moment, all the shockwave emission points remaining on the sand erupted.
...Dozens of shockwave rays simultaneously shot towards the Safi'jiiva's back.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*... Meow-meow, subjected to multi-directional attacks, could only fold its wings to defend. However, the shockwave rays that swept past its body did not disappear, but instead converged into spheres, continuously expanding.
"Is that the 'Annihilation Lotus Kalpa Cannon'!" Yodora exclaimed in amazement.
"No, but the release principle should be similar, both aggregating multiple shockwaves to increase power and range... Meow-meow, find a way to break free quickly." Li Fan watched the transparent sphere grow larger and larger, unable to help but worry.
*Roar!* Meow-meow let out a fierce roar, and despite the injuries, raised its wings.
*Swoosh~ swoosh~ swoosh~...* The thorns on its body shot out, causing a brief interference to the accumulating shockwave rays, and then Meow-meow dived towards the ground. The multi-shockwave rays stopped again. The accumulated transparent sphere bounced twice on the Safi'jiiva's back, then plummeted towards the ground.
*Boom!* A massive explosion, accompanied by smoke and dust, erupted.
*Whoosh~ whoosh~...* Meow-meow's rapidly flapping wings quickly dispersed the surrounding dust. However, its lower body was now completely submerged in the quicksand, and this lift was not enough to free it.
*Hiss~ hiss~* As its two wing-like legs moved sideways, the rock layer beneath Meow-meow's foreleg joints quickly liquefied into quicksand due to the vibration. Losing its last support, Meow-meow rapidly sank and disappeared in an instant.
"This fighting style is too reckless..." Li Fan sighed helplessly.
"Will Meow-meow be okay, meow?" Dilu asked with concern.
"It should be fine for a while. And if it's underground, it won't be affected by our team's attacks. It's our turn next. Are you ready?"
"Ready, meow."
"Of course."
"Alright, Chief Hunter Squad, deploy!" Xi Xi let out an angry roar and plunged downwards. Sensing the roar from the sky, the Safi'jiiva did not look up, but instead re-condensed shockwave rays to sweep.
"Go, Bing Bing Zi!" Li Fan shouted, aiming for a gap in the rays and throwing a Poké Ball downwards. The densely packed shockwave rays were almost impossible for monsters to pass through unharmed, but for a Poké Ball, these grid-like gaps were like giant pits. As long as the thrower had decent aim, it could easily pass through.
*Clink~* The Poké Ball fell into the surging quicksand. As it slowly sank, a flash of white light appeared, and Bing Bing Zi, carrying a large amount of supercooled water, materialized on the surface. Leaping into the air, it immediately released the accumulated energy from the ball. Where the cyan and blue cold air diffused, a large amount of ice crystals condensed and climbed. The quicksand around the injection points of the wing-like legs, after being covered in a layer of shimmering ice crystals, significantly slowed its flow.
At the same time, the shockwave rays sweeping through the air suddenly thinned, and some even disappeared amidst unstable trembling.
*Crackle~* Ice layers quickly formed on the rock. The island, enclosed by petal-shaped rock formations, turned into an ice cave.
*Hmph~* Bing Bing Zi, with two streams of cold air exhaling from its nostrils, let out a cold snort at the Safi'jiiva.
... "The shockwaves are suppressed!" Yodora, standing on the ice, looked at the frost-covered island with surprise in her eyes.
"Quicksand is the basis for shockwave conduction and amplification. As long as this point is suppressed, its shockwave attacks will be severely limited," Li Fan said. Meanwhile, the participating little idiots, Wàn pí, Xi Xi, and Piāo Piāo, all passed through the blockade with ease and hovered at a low altitude.
*Thump~ Thump~...* The Safi'jiiva, its body covered in countless ice shards, clumsily turned its body and repeatedly slammed its four limbs onto the ground. It seemed to be trying to shatter the ice layer in this way, restoring the propagation of shockwaves in the sand. The team naturally wouldn't give it a chance. Rage Wing, Chē Chē, Lightning Brother, Yá Yá, and the four Ice Sea brothers appeared. Yá Yá, now a Frostfang Icefang Dragon, did not act with the other three monsters but instead went with Frostwing Wind Piao Piao, focusing on releasing frost onto the wing-like legs that touched the ground. Li Fan called this tactic "two-way blockage," not only freezing the quicksand that transmitted shockwaves but also ensuring that the eight wing-like legs, the source of the vibration, were also encased in ice.
Soon, seeing the tips of two wing-like legs coated in frost by the agile Yá Yá and Piāo Piāo, the Safi'jiiva had to stop moving and protect all its wing-like legs by embedding them into the ground. Chē Chē, Rage Wing, Lightning Brother, and Golden Lion were all warming up. The Golden Lion, which was somewhat bewildered about what to do next as it was its first time participating, stretched its body with chest expansions.
"Don't worry, just hug it tightly when the time comes," Li Fan instructed.
*Awoo?* The Golden Lion nodded silently, then inquired why the Great Ape wasn't here.
"This is too small a scale. I'll only ask the Great Ape to appear in truly unmanageable crisis situations," Li Fan said with emotion. The Golden Lion, stroking its chin with its massive paw, showed a look of surprise.
*Roar!* Chē Chē roared, indicating that the three brothers were ready.
"Whether the Yodora Guillotine can be formed depends on you! Deploy!" Li Fan said, pointing at the Safi'jiiva.
*Roar! Roar! Roar!*... With furious roars, the four monsters charged. With its shockwave attacks severely limited, the Safi'jiiva could only resist with its physical strength. However, its clumsy body, wrapped in rock, could not compare in agility to the four monsters. After its left foreclaw missed, Chē Chē slid across the ice for a distance, then leaped up and grappled it. Rage Wing and Lightning Brother, responsible for the rear legs, quickly restrained it in place with their embraces and grips. The Golden Lion observed for a moment, feeling that this task was tailor-made for it.
*Awoo!* With a roaring cry, its golden fur and the back of its body appeared, extending towards two muscular forearms. Its steaming giant fists, bulging with hardened muscles, emitted a faint orange glow.
*Thump~ Thump~* Moving quickly to the underside, facing the right foreclaw that was smashing down like a stone pillar, the Golden Lion chose to block it with its palm instead of dodging.
*Thump~ Crack~* The ice layer shattered, and its body sank. The right foreclaw's descent stopped and began to slowly rise. This move was entirely about strength, with no technique involved.
"Hey! Golden Lion! It's not about strength, restraint is the most important thing!" Li Fan shouted to remind it.
*Woo-awoo~* The Golden Lion responded, then raised both arms, pushing the right foreclaw to its highest point before rotating and pulling back, then wrapping its arms around it as it fell.
*Thump!* The right foreclaw slammed firmly into the ground, unable to move an inch under the Golden Lion's pressure.
*Clang~ clang~* Yodora, dragging her Dragon Heat Mechanism across the ice, stopped at the right position.
"May I ask something?" Yodora asked Li Fan.
"What is it?"
"We've already suppressed it to this extent. Why do we have to withdraw and observe when its outer rock shell completely peels off?" Yodora felt the team had a clear advantage, and when the monster's carapace started to fall off, it was best to finish it in one go.
"If it truly has two states, sleeping and awake, its danger level will significantly increase, so it's better to be cautious," Li Fan explained.
"Fighting in a slumber, carrying a weighted carapace..." Yodora found it unbelievable no matter how she thought about it.
"By the way, are you afraid of being stared at?" Li Fan asked.
"It's alright, as long as it's not after two months of hunting in the wild without any grooming."
"Uh... not being stared at by people, but by monsters, the kind that would stare to death without blinking." Hearing Li Fan's description, Yodora froze for a moment, then quickly shook her head, "Ah! Don't disrupt my state of mind... I'm a hunter, I won't believe such things."
Zhao Lala reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.