*Bang! The bone greatsword slashed down!*
*A cloud of blood mist erupted from the Great Jaggi's forehead, crimson trickles flowing down its massive beak.*
*Eudora followed up with a sweeping horizontal slash, striking its head.*
*However, even with its head turned sideways by the blow, the Great Jaggi, relying on its monstrous instincts, forced itself to rise.*
*Eudora's movements were unhindered. She stepped forward, lowered her stance, and with both hands gripping the sword hilt, forcefully pulled upwards.*
*The Great Jaggi, its head just returning to its original position, was met head-on by this upward slash, striking its lower jaw.*
*The immense impact of the greatsword's swing sent the Great Jaggi's head and torso recoiling backward.*
*Its two claws dug into the earth, tightening slightly as if trying to regain balance.*
*Eudora lifted the greatsword to her side, moved forward, planted her feet firmly, and slammed her shoulder into the monster.*
*The Great Jaggi, teetering on the edge of losing balance, couldn't withstand such a forceful collision and toppled to the ground again.*
*"So strong, meow!"*
*Felyne, holding a Potion and waiting, praised.*
*"Very strong. While Eudora isn't accustomed to the Great Jaggi's attacks, she seizes every opportunity to strike,"*
*Li Fan commented.*
*The Great Jaggi, lying on its side, thrashed its legs violently.*
*Eudora stood before its left wing, adopting a charged slash stance.*
*Upon Li Fan's command, Uragaan fiercely raked its claws at the right wing.*
*Numerous holes were quickly gouged into the relatively soft, pale green membrane of the wing.*
*As they were torn, these holes began to connect, forming gaps in the wing membrane.*
*"Hya!"*
*On the other wing, Eudora unleashed her fully charged slash.*
*Slish! A gash as long as the sword appeared on the membrane of its left wing.*
*The Great Jaggi let out a howl. With a surge of unknown strength, it suddenly sprang up and began spewing fireballs.*
*After forcing Eudora and Uragaan back, it rapidly flapped its damaged wings, attempting to take flight and escape.*
*"Grab its leg!"*
*Li Fan shouted. This was a maneuver he had designed for Uragaan before the hunt.*
*While the name sounded a bit comical, it was highly effective in preventing the Great Jaggi from flying away.*
*Uragaan charged forward and, just as the Great Jaggi lifted off the ground, firmly latched onto one of its legs.*
*The Great Jaggi's legs were powerful but not agile. It kicked wildly, realizing it couldn't shake off the Felyne. It decided to try and take the Felyne with it into the air.*
*However, the membranes of both wings were now extensively damaged. The lift generated by flapping was very limited, not to mention the "ornament" of Uragaan hanging from its leg.*
*Li Fan ran up, pressed the mechanical switch on a Sonic Bomb, and hurled it forcefully at the Great Jaggi.*
*Clang!*
*The Sonic Bomb exploded!*
*A visible ring of sound waves expanded in mid-air.*
*Even though Li Fan covered his ears, the sound was still incredibly piercing.*
*The Great Jaggi, highly sensitive to sound, stiffened in mid-air and then plummeted heavily to the ground.*
*This time, Li Fan and Felyne also joined the attack.*
*They couldn't damage the parts covered by hard armor, so they continued to attack the already tattered wing membranes.*
*"Agh! Agh! Agh!..."*
*"Meow! Meow! Meow!..."*
*One frantically slashed with a hunter's knife, the other struck repeatedly with a short staff.*
*"Roar! Roar! Roar!..."*
*Uragaan, having gotten back up after the fall, wasn't idle either. It sat down on the Great Jaggi's back and pounded it with its bear paws.*
*Eudora's mouth twitched slightly, finding it somewhat speechless.*
*Even as a three-star hunter, she had never witnessed such a street-fight-like attack style.*
*Moving to an area not contaminated by flames, Eudora aimed at the Great Jaggi's head and unleashed another charged slash.*
*The dazed Great Jaggi, just lifting its head, took another fully charged strike.*
*Its head slammed into the ground, its massive beak buried deep in the earth, unable to be pulled out.*
*Seeing the Great Jaggi's struggles weakening, Li Fan called out, "Stop! Give me some face, stop fighting for now."*
*The relentless barrage of attacks ceased. Apart from heavy, wheezing breaths, the Great Jaggi lying on the ground had stopped struggling, resigned to its fate.*
*There were no visible fatal wounds, but the monster clearly no longer wished to resist. What should be done in this situation?*
*Li Fan felt a pang of doubt.*
*He didn't want to waste a Great Ball, but considering that similar situations would likely occur in the future, he decided to try capturing it without it being in a critical state.*
*He gently tossed a Great Ball, and the Great Jaggi transformed into a white light and flew into it.*
*Bang! The ball flew about five to six meters into the air, and upon landing, vibrated at high frequency, causing a visual echo.*
*The crucial third bounce was impressive. The ball actually began to hop and try to escape...*
*However, it didn't get far before the Great Ball shattered into colorful particles.*
*The Great Jaggi, not understanding what had happened, found itself miraculously free and happily hopped twice.*
*"It seems I held back too much,"*
*Li Fan commented.*
*Sensing movement behind it, its fan-shaped ears perked up, maximizing its hearing.*
*Turning its head, it saw the two humans and the bear behind it. The Great Jaggi let out a frightened roar and charged away at full speed.*
*Li Fan wasn't in a hurry.*
*Because the Great Jaggi's leg strength was still formidable for short bursts of acceleration, but much weaker when running away.*
*Especially with a Felyne tailing it!*
*They chased after it and beat it again. The Great Jaggi was practically rolling its eyes.*
*Li Fan called for them to stop and threw another Great Ball.*
*This time, the ball landed steadily on the ground and rolled about half a meter before stopping.*
*Seeing that the capture was successful, Eudora and Uragaan collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.*
*Clearly, this hunt had taken a significant toll on their stamina.*
*Li Fan opened his handheld device. Before he could check the Great Jaggi's stats, a notification popped up.*
*First successful capture of a three-star monster! Heal Ball and Full Belly Ball have been added to the daily selectable Ball catalog!*
*He clicked to view.*
*The notification essentially stated that in the future, he could choose between Heal Balls, which could rapidly heal monster injuries, and Full Belly Balls, which greatly reduced monster hunger.*
*The number of selectable balls remained two.*
*He opened the Monster Field Guide, and the Great Jaggi's data appeared on the screen.*
*[Great Jaggi] Male (Unnamed)*
*HP: 91/1383*
*Status: Severely injured, terrified.*
*Level: 6*
*Strength: 57*
*Agility: 22*
*Intelligence: 16*
*Skills: [Low-Interference Hearing] When the fan-shaped cochlea on its head expands, the quieter the surrounding noise, the stronger the Great Jaggi's hearing.*
*[Bird Car Crash] The first half of its charge is very swift. In the latter half, when its power wanes, to prevent losing balance, the Great Jaggi will slide close to the ground.*
*[Fireball Spit] Arcing projectile. Upon impact, the fireball creates a pool of high-temperature molten fluid within a certain range.*
*Description: A Bird Wyvern monster, fond of feeding on shield bugs and earthworms.*
*Its massive beak and fan-shaped ears are its distinctive features.*
*Its intense curiosity and neurotic personality often cause distress to creatures lower in the food chain.*
*"Ugh... I'm so hungry. Where's Tai Mei?"*
*Eudora, resting on the ground, suddenly sat up.*
*Li Fan whistled, and Tai Mei, carrying several backpacks, quickly emerged from the bushes.*
*Eudora rummaged through a backpack and pulled out several square metal cans.*
*"What's this?"*
*"Rations,"*
*Eudora said, pulling off the metal ring. Inside was an unidentifiable block of food resembling luncheon meat.*
*"Rations... Why does this sound both familiar and strange?"*
*"Of course it's familiar. Public hunting camps eat this if they don't cook their own meals, and you get some when you accept guild requests to travel into the wild."*
*"I remember now. These are supplies, along with emergency medicines like Potions."*
*Li Fan realized these were items from the supply box when undertaking quests in the game.*
*"Munch... That's right. Anything with the Guild's dragon mark on it is a supply,"*
*Eudora mumbled, chewing on the rations and showing an empty can.*
*"I'll have one too... Wait, don't you have to return unused supplies to the Guild after the quest?"*
*"That... Who told you that?"*
*Eudora blinked, looking surprised.*
*"It's nothing, I just felt it was different from what I remembered."*
*"Actually, a retired old hunter once told me that when he was young, the Hunter's Guild had a habit of recycling supplies because they were supporting investigation teams heading to the New World, leading to a shortage."*
*Eudora recalled.*
*Li Fan took a bite of the rations.*
*How to put it... it tasted exactly like luncheon meat...*
*When he was halfway through, Uragaan lumbered over, its gaze fixed on the can of rations.*
*Li Fan immediately opened two cans and placed them on Uragaan's paws.*
*Uragaan had played a significant role in this battle, and its level had increased from 3 to 4, gaining 3 points in Strength, bringing it to 52. Its performance was quite outstanding.*
*Unfortunately, there was no evolution in the Monster Hunter world. For Uragaan to break through its species' ability ceiling, it would have to become an exceptionally powerful individual, like a Crimson Fatalis or a Great Elder Dragon.*
*Or survive the Frenzy Virus and achieve an Apex state.*
*Although he hadn't mastered the relevant cultivation methods yet, he knew instinctively that these paths would likely require a near-death experience for Uragaan to achieve.*
*The only relatively safe cultivation path was the Elder Dragon system, which could be trained through frequent combat.*
*Li Fan watched Uragaan, which had finished the rations in two bites and was licking its paws, lost in thought.*
*Perhaps it just wanted to be a happy little bear?*
*After much deliberation, Li Fan felt he should pay more attention to Uragaan's own wishes.*
*After all, it was just a Felyne. If it was unwilling and lacked combat talent, trying to defeat monsters higher up the food chain would be unrealistic.*
*After eating and resting, it was time for the familiar process of crafting a beast cage.*
*The logs used for setting traps were quickly put to use.*
*"Kuku, go in for a little nap."*
*Kuku the Great Jaggi eyed its surroundings warily, lowered its head, and slowly walked into the cage.*
*This time, because they had prepared ropes to secure the cage in advance, its strength was much better than the bamboo cages bound with vines.*
*At least it looked quite stable.*
*Bang! A blue smoke bomb exploded high in the sky.*
*"I hope it's Investigator Chu Yan, the one with sharp eyes and no favoritism."*
*Li Fan stood at the top of a high slope, looking into the distance expectantly.*
*Twenty minutes later, Shirlen, dressed in a green Guild attendant uniform, appeared in the distance.*
*"Why is it her?"*
*Li Fan was a little surprised.*
*Felyne raised its monocular and explained, "Perhaps the signal flare's location was too close to Kalra Village, so Shirlen came, meow."*
*Li Fan understood.*
*Hunting a Great Jaggi was indeed quite difficult, but in terms of distance, this wasn't an extremely dangerous wilderness area.*
*Therefore, there weren't many requirements for the investigator who came to certify the hunt.*
*Besides, Shirlen had mentioned participating in the same hunter assessment as him, so she wasn't exactly a seasoned professional in this regard.*
*"Hiyah!"*
*Seeing Li Fan and the others in the distance, Shirlen greeted them energetically.*
*"Phew~~ I'm so tired."*
*When she reached them, Shirlen leaned on her knees, panting heavily.*
*"Take your time to rest. We're not in a hurry,"*
*Li Fan said, handing her a water bottle.*
*"Thank you..."*
*As Shirlen took the bottle, her gaze shifted to the wooden beast cage, and she froze.*
*"A Great Jaggi... and a capture hunt... You two accomplished this?"*
*Shirlen asked incredulously.*
*"I participated too, meow!"*
*Felyne wagged its paw.*
*"This one had a broken wing when it was spotted, and its condition didn't seem great. In short, it was a weaker individual."*
*Li Fan tried to make it sound more plausible.*
*"Is that so..."*
*Shirlen, forgetting to drink, walked around the cage.*
*"You're too strong. Everyone preparing for the assessment is a monster. I'm so stressed,"*
*Shirlen muttered, taking out a seal from her satchel, clearing her throat, and announcing loudly, "On behalf of the Hunter's Guild, I thank you both for your efforts in maintaining regional stability."*
*She raised the seal and pressed it onto the hunting contract for the Great Jaggi.*
*"I won't go into the subsequent procedures. If you wish to sell materials from the Great Jaggi, you can post information on the bulletin board on the first floor of the Guild branch. I need to get back to my post!"*
*After informing them, Shirlen had only taken a few steps before turning back and saying, "Li Fan, your outfit is very unique. I admire it."*
*Li Fan looked down at the female-style armor of the Yian Kut-Ku on his upper body, realizing he had forgotten something important.*
*"Wait, it's not what you think..."*
*"Don't worry, I won't say anything. Goodbye!"*
*Watching Shirlen's receding figure, Li Fan was speechless.*
*On the way back to the wooden cabin, Li Fan wanted Eudora to ride Tai Mei back, as she had expended too much energy in the battle.*
*She refused, saying it was too troublesome to remove her armor.*
*Li Fan suddenly understood why most hunters didn't have mounts.*
*A full set of five armor pieces, plus the bone greatsword.*
*The weight was such that among the tamable beasts, perhaps only a Pukei-Pukei could carry it, and even then, it would require a trailer.*
*Moreover, such trailers were fine for trade routes, but venturing into the wild, they would be completely immobilized in complex terrain.*
*"In that case... in the future, when I have armor and weapons, Tai Mei, you won't be able to carry me anymore."*
*Li Fan muttered.*
*"Goo goo!"*
*Tai Mei jumped in place, and the contents of its backpack clattered.*
*As if to prove its carrying capacity was absolutely fine.*