This is going to be a big problem!
Li Fan had a bad feeling.
The failure of the Zinogre to appear as scheduled had completely derailed the already unexpected hunt.
If the Thunderbugs weren't released soon, not only would the Guild's plan fail, but the two hunters currently delaying the Mizutsune's approach might also be in danger.
At that point, the Hunter's Guild would suffer significant losses.
And Mentor Yin Tie's and the Village Chief's plans would also be impossible to implement.
With that thought, Li Fan stood up and sprinted towards the hunters' hiding place.
When he was close enough, he shouted Harun's command.
"Harun's order is! Release all Thunderbugs! Release all Thunderbugs!..."
Li Fan's shouts attracted the attention of the hunters.
Among them, an experienced hunter quickly grasped the intention behind the command.
He then emerged from the hidden reeds and went to where the nets were set up.
The five net frames were opened one by one, and countless blue light clusters swarmed out, surging into the sky.
From a distance, it looked like a blue serpent twisting in the night sky.
Bazeli, looking up, saw the line of Thunderbugs gathering in the night sky and said with a grave expression, "Something's gone wrong with the Guild."
"With so many Thunderbugs, a single absorption should be enough to put the Zinogre into its supercharged state," Yin Tie estimated, stroking his chin stubble.
"Let's move closer and assess the situation. If the Guild has lost control of the situation, our plan won't be implementable," Bazeli suggested.
"Sigh... Why do we have to help clean up the mess the Guild made," Yin Tie grumbled reluctantly, slinging a katana wrapped in burlap over his back.
Seeing his warning had taken effect, Li Fan ran back to the previous patch of grass and continued to lie in wait.
Actually, not wearing armor wasn't entirely a disadvantage. At least his load was light when running.
Li Fan realized for the first time the benefits of not wearing armor.
Harun, who was holding off the Mizutsune alone, retreated while holding his heavy shield. The slippery bubbles covering his body severely restricted his movement.
However, each time he was attacked, he could slide backward to mitigate the impact, which eased the pressure considerably.
Chu Yan, hiding behind, wiped the foam off his thick lenses. He had been about to attack, but Harun stopped him.
"Why, Guild Master? The Mizutsune's back already has wounds. If I just grab it again..."
Chu Yan was confused, but before he could finish, Harun interrupted him.
"Feel your own armor first," Harun reminded him as he watched the Mizutsune's movements.
"So... slippery..."
Chu Yan then realized that his entire leather armor had become coated with slippery fluid at some point.
If he were to jump onto the Mizutsune's back in this state, he'd likely be thrown off the moment he touched it.
"Then... then we should retreat immediately!" Chu Yan exclaimed in realization.
Harun stomped his left foot twice on the ground, sending out not only slippery fluid but also countless tiny, sparkling bubbles.
Chu Yan then understood that it wasn't that Harun didn't want to retreat, but that he simply couldn't.
If he put away his shield, the Mizutsune's attacks would be even harder to defend against.
"There's a tree behind us. When I'm attacked again, I'll be aware of it and retreat towards it. When we're far enough, you use the Wirebug to escape first," Harun instructed.
"Guild Master, what about you!"
"Don't worry about me. This isn't my first time fighting a Mizutsune. I'll retreat when I have a suitable opportunity after the Zinogre arrives," Harun said confidently.
Roar! Roar! Roar!....
At this moment, a distant roar caught the attention of all the hunters.
The Mizutsune, which was continuously attacking, seemed oblivious to the arrival of its formidable opponent.
The blue serpent in the night sky rapidly descended, circling and forming a ring by the lake.
The brightness of the lightbulbs suddenly intensified, flashing before Li Fan's eyes, issuing a warning.
To everyone's eager anticipation, a dark silhouette soon emerged from the forest, its four paws powerfully pounding the ground as it arrived at the lakeside.
The shimmering lake water reflected the imposing figure of the Zinogre.
At this point, the Mizutsune in the distance finally seemed to realize something. It stopped its attack on Harun and gazed in the direction of the Zinogre.
Roar! Roar! Roar!....
The Zinogre looked up at the full moon in the sky and let out a series of roars.
As if summoned, all the Thunderbugs converged on its back, creating a spectacular scene.
Faint blue electricity flowed across its body along its shell, and its yellow, charged carapace opened slightly, beginning to accumulate energy.
Its soft, electrically charged fur stood on end, transforming into sharp spikes.
The original Thunderbugs, their activity stimulated during the discharge, became more intensely glowing Supercharged Thunderbugs.
It was said that only in this state could Thunderbugs reproduce.
Boom! The Zinogre let out a powerful roar, and countless fine sparks spread outwards from its body.
The abundant electrical energy on its body, unable to be effectively released, left scorched earth wherever its paws stepped.
Despite this, countless Thunderbugs continued to surge towards the Zinogre's back.
Seeing this, the Mizutsune cautiously retreated a short distance, bracing itself on its front paws and letting out a low growl as a warning, as if to tell the Zinogre not to approach.
The fully charged Zinogre ignored it and charged forward with its four limbs.
Harun, unwilling to be caught between these two five-star monsters, knew that if he didn't run now, he wouldn't get another chance.
He ignored the slippery fluid under his feet, put away his lance, and began to flee.
As he stepped on the slippery ground, his hands struggled to maintain balance, giving the impression that he could fall at any moment.
Finally, he grabbed the Wirebug cast by Chu Yan and successfully escaped.
Strange, the Wirebug launcher was so useful, why was only Chu Yan equipped with it?
Li Fan, relieved, couldn't help but feel curious.
Boom! Its lightning-clad claw slammed down forcefully.
Even though the agile Mizutsune had dodged in advance, the lightning still spread to its body through the conductive slippery bubbles.
Whoosh!
The Mizutsune, struck by the electric light, paused slightly, then its sliding speed increased dramatically, immediately creating distance from the Zinogre.
Then, a water stream ray was sprayed from its mouth.
The water stream ray cut across the Zinogre's chest carapace, leaving a linear gouge.
The Zinogre didn't continue to endure the blow and leaped back to dodge. The Supercharged Thunderbugs on its back continuously condensed into spheres.
Flashing with dazzling electrical light, they detached from its back and flew out, arcing towards the Mizutsune.
Its massive body was now a hindrance.
The Mizutsune dodged desperately but was hit by two electric orbs.
Crack! Crack!
The electric orbs exploded on impact, and electricity surged through its body. The Mizutsune fell to its side on its own slippery fluid, sliding a considerable distance backward.
"What's that smell?"
Li Fan, engrossed in watching the battle, suddenly smelled something burning.
He turned to see Dilu, who was writing furiously, her small notebook's pages smoking due to her rapid writing speed.
"This is a battle unlike any I've ever seen, meow!" Dilu exclaimed, immediately switching to a blank notebook and continuing to write rapidly.
Slam! Slam! Slam!
The Zinogre raised its claws and began to smash down.
The downed Mizutsune thrashed its four limbs, letting out mournful cries.
"It seems the Mizutsune doesn't stand much of a chance."
Hearing a voice, Li Fan turned and saw Mentor Yin Tie crouching behind him, with Bazeli approaching as well.
"Mentor Yin Tie, I think the Mizutsune's condition looks alright," Li Fan felt it was only temporarily at a disadvantage.
"In a fight against hunters, its condition might be alright. In a duel against a Zinogre, if any of its claws on its limbs are damaged, it basically loses its chance of winning," Yin Tie explained.
Li Fan was somewhat bewildered, as this was not mentioned in the game.
Soon, the Mizutsune opened its mouth wide, and with a bite it wasn't adept at, it clamped down on the Zinogre's right foreleg.
Using the leverage to spring up flexibly, the Zinogre pushed with its sturdy foreleg, sending the Mizutsune sliding away, scattering a cloud of bubbles.
At this moment, Li Fan noticed the Mizutsune lower its body, digging its claws into the soil to brake.
However, due to the Zinogre's forceful blows, the horn-like claws on its front limbs had become twisted and cracked.
This caused the braking to fail, and its entire body became uncontrollably unstable during the slide.
So that's how it is. The Mizutsune, having lost its braking ability in its front claws, could no longer control its body posture when sliding on its own secreted fluid. Li Fan finally understood.
The Mizutsune's close-range attacks relied heavily on sliding. If it couldn't even control its own movement while sliding, it was pointless to lay down more slippery fluid on the ground.
In contrast, the Zinogre, due to its weight and sharp claws on its limbs, was not significantly affected even when fighting on the slippery fluid.
However, the conductivity of its discharge was greatly enhanced on the slippery fluid.
"Big Orange, where is the largest body of water nearby?" Yin Tie asked.
"To the east, about four kilometers away," Big Orange replied after observing the map for a moment.
"Now it all depends on whether those Guild members can hold off the Zinogre," Yin Tie's tone carried a hint of worry.
Indeed, the Guild's plan seemed to have been implemented.
But it clearly hadn't reached the ideal state of mutual destruction.
Although charging the Zinogre with a large number of Thunderbugs was a last resort, no one knew what this enraged Zinogre would do next.
With the Mizutsune severely injured and retreating, the plan to repel the Zinogre now solely relied on the Guild.
Li Fan analyzed the situation and felt that the direction of events was not very optimistic for the Guild.
With Thunderbugs lining up to charge it, the Zinogre grew stronger with each battle.
The continuously retreating Mizutsune, although it had managed some agile counterattacks, ultimately chose to retreat and flee under constant pressure.
The Zinogre attempted to pursue, but a Heavy Artillery Shell hit its face, embedding itself in the carapace between its horns.
Hiss! Hiss!...
The fuse for the delayed detonation was still burning. The enraged Zinogre, before it could even see where the hunter was, the Heavy Artillery Shell exploded! A burst of fire erupted.
Wiping away the smoke with its claws, a dozen hunters suddenly appeared in the distance. The Zinogre was momentarily stunned.
Harun raised the horn hanging around his neck and blew it forcefully.
Li Fan was concerned about the Guild's battle situation, but he had to act now.
He rode Can Can out for not long before catching up to Yin Tie and Bazeli.
"Mentor Yin Tie, Village Chief Bazeli, please get on as well."
"This... will it fit?" Yin Tie hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively.
"We can squeeze in, it's no problem, meow," Dilu said, climbing onto Li Fan's shoulder.
"Then let's go," Yin Tie, with Big Orange's help, was helped onto Can Can's back.
There was no room at the tail, so Big Orange simply held Bazeli in front of him.
Can Can sensed the increasing and uneven weight on its back, twisted its neck, and gave a resentful look.
It seemed to be saying, are you humans and Felynes intentionally messing with me?
Carrying cargo and people was one thing, but overloading was another!
"Let's leave the camp tools and such behind for now. Dilu, mark the location, we can retrieve them later," Li Fan said, dismantling the bags from the carrying harness.
With the reduced load, Can Can walked forward for a short distance, found the weight bearable, and gradually picked up speed.
"When the Mizutsune fled, the purple fur underneath had dried and solidified. It's highly likely it will head to a nearby water source to replenish its moisture. Fighting it in shallow water would be a disadvantage. Fortunately, this one has no combat experience, so it should be easy to lure it onto land," Yin Tie analyzed.
"You can tell if a monster has no combat experience?" Li Fan was somewhat surprised.
"There's a saying among hunters: monsters that are covered in wounds and monsters that are completely unharmed are often the most terrifying," Yin Tie explained.
"But when I first encountered that Mizutsune, it seemed to be almost unharmed," Li Fan recalled their encounter at sunset, which had left a deep impression.
"Precisely. Combined with its weak combat performance, that's why I judged it to have no combat experience," Yin Tie informed him.
Li Fan then understood.
A monster that appears unharmed could either be a novice who hasn't participated in intense battles, or an exceptionally talented individual who rarely gets injured even when frequently engaging in battles in the wild.
This Mizutsune was clearly the former. However, the Zinogre tonight had already taught it a harsh lesson.
"What about that Zinogre?"
"Much stronger than the Mizutsune."
"Are there other ways to distinguish them?"
Individuals with exceptional combat talent were, of course, highly valuable for capture.
But the current Li Fan had no intention of provoking them.
Yin Tie fell silent for a moment and replied, "You can also judge by intuition. When you confront a monster and realize that it genuinely wants to crush and kill you out of instinct, then it must be an individual with extremely rich combat experience."
Click! Click!...
As Li Fan was still contemplating, he heard a metallic clanking sound.
He looked down and saw that the metal prosthetic leg of Mentor Yin Tie was trembling, producing the sound.
Oh no! Could the identification of individuals have triggered unpleasant memories for Mentor Yin Tie?
Leading to fear?
Li Fan was also troubled by this. Apart from Yudora's method of experiencing pain through body and mind, he hadn't yet developed any effective techniques. He decided to try and alleviate it with words of encouragement.
But as soon as he turned his head, Li Fan froze.
The fear and timidity he had expected were nowhere to be seen.
Only a face struggling to suppress excitement.