“Woooo!”
Bazelgeuse let out a cry that sounded like a train whistle.
Countless scales fell from its body and were flung toward the mountaintop.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The moment the scales hit the ground, they exploded like missiles, blasting one huge crater after another into the mountain.
This was what made Elder Dragon-level creatures so terrifying.
They possessed the power to cause disasters on a natural scale.
“ROAR!”
A thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the mountains.
It sounded like the roar of a tiger, but it was far more majestic, violent, and enormous.
A purple, tiger-like monster appeared.
It stepped on purple Hellfire and shot into the sky, pouncing toward Bazelgeuse.
The purple tiger had long fangs resembling those of a saber-toothed tiger.
Its entire body was covered in dragon-like scales, while its tail resembled a long cross-shaped spear.
It was none other than the Elder Dragon-level monster—Magnamalo.
Magnamalo
Level: 89 (Lesser Deity Class)
This Magnamalo was around twenty-one meters long and roughly eight meters tall.
Beautiful purple flames burned across its body.
Although the flames were beautiful, they were extremely dangerous.
“Woooo!”
Bazelgeuse opened its mouth and spat a gigantic fireball more than a hundred meters across toward Magnamalo.
Magnamalo responded by swinging its tail, which was engulfed in purple flames.
A beam of purple fire shot from its tail toward the incoming fireball.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
Red flames and purple Hellfire ignited the entire sky, dyeing it a brilliant purple-red.
“Rathalos, let’s go.”
Zhang Tian immediately climbed onto Rathalos and hurried away.
Watching a battle between two Elder Dragon-level creatures was not something he could afford to do casually.
One careless moment and he could easily be caught in the crossfire.
For example, the mountain beneath Bazelgeuse and Magnamalo had already been engulfed in flames, turning into a veritable sea of fire.
Whoosh!
Rathalos spread its wings and carried Zhang Tian into the distance.
To avoid attracting the attention of Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse, Rathalos flew very low.
“We’ll come back for Nargacuga another day.”
“Whether it’s Bazelgeuse or Magnamalo, both are far too dangerous.”
Following his principle of keeping a low profile and developing safely, Zhang Tian had no intention of staying behind to watch the battle or trying to take advantage of the situation.
After all, he had a cheat-like system.
As long as he didn’t die, he would eventually reach the top of the world.
There was no need to risk his life for a little extra benefit.
“ROAR!”
The battle between Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse became increasingly intense.
Countless purple flames and blazing red scales fell from the sky, exploding like bombs and blasting huge craters into the ground.
Monsters of all kinds fled in panic, desperately trying to get away from the battlefield.
Looking at the river behind him, now covered by purple Hellfire and explosive scales, Zhang Tian felt extremely fortunate.
If he had stayed behind to watch the battle, there was a very good chance he would have been caught in the explosions.
“Lesser Deity Class… the power of Legendary Pokémon?”
“One day, I’ll capture you two and make you work for me.”
“Especially Magnamalo. I definitely have to capture one in the future.”
Looking at the distant Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse fighting in the sky, Zhang Tian silently made up his mind.
Zhang Tian really liked Magnamalo.
It looked cool, it was powerful, and it had both strength and appearance.
…
Kamura Village
Zhang Tian arrived in Kamura Village riding Arcanine.
If he hadn’t been worried about frightening the villagers, he probably would have ridden Rathalos directly into the village.
At the Guild Gathering Hub, Zhang Tian walked inside.
Unlike usual, when the place was almost deserted, there were actually four Hunters gathered together today, apparently discussing a hunt.
“Zhang Tian, you’re back!”
“You completed the quest? That’s impressive.”
Hinoa immediately noticed Zhang Tian walking in and greeted him with a smile.
“Is that a Rathian head?”
One of the Hunters nearby stared in shock at the Rathian head Zhang Tian was carrying.
“This is my first time seeing a Rathian this close.”
In the game, the player-controlled Hunter could hunt everything from small monsters to Elder Dragons.
But for ordinary Hunters in the real world, monsters like Rathian and Anjanath were already terrifying existences beyond their reach.
Most Hunters could only hunt monsters such as Great Izuchi, Arzuros, and Tobi-Kadachi.
Hunters capable of hunting Rathian were extremely rare.
As for Rathalos, a Quasi-Champion-Class monster, only the elite among the elite—the truly top-level Hunters—could hunt one.
“Hinoa, I completed the quest.”
“Did you miss me?”
Zhang Tian dropped himself into a seat in front of Hinoa and asked with a smile.
“How long were you even gone?”
Hinoa’s face became slightly red.
“But… I did miss you.”
“I missed you too. I brought you a gift.”
Zhang Tian raised his hand and took out a large bundle of flowers, handing them to Hinoa.
He had picked the flowers around the outskirts of the Shrine Ruins.
They were exceptionally beautiful.
“Thank you.”
Hinoa happily accepted the flowers.
After smelling them, she carefully placed them on the cabinet behind her.
Then Hinoa picked up Zhang Tian’s quest sheet, stamped it as completed, and handed him a large bag of gold coins.
The reward for hunting Rathian was 10,500 Zenny.
Converted into gold coins, that amounted to 1,050 gold coins.
I’m rich again.
At this rate, it probably won’t be long before I can even afford a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
I don’t need to train it from scratch.
Once I capture it, I can immediately put it into battle.
Looking at the gold coins in front of him, Zhang Tian’s thoughts began wandering.
“By the way, Hinoa, I encountered Bazelgeuse and Magnamalo.”
“For some reason, Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse got into a fight. They were fighting each other fiercely.”
“For the next few days, you should probably stop ordinary Hunters from going to the Shrine Ruins.”
Zhang Tian put away the gold coins and told Hinoa about his encounter with Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse.
“Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse fought each other?”
Hinoa frowned, a trace of worry appearing in her eyes.
Both Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse were extremely dangerous.
A single mistake could result in massive casualties.
Hinoa remembered that three years ago, a place called Dada Village had been destroyed by a Bazelgeuse attack, resulting in many deaths.
“I understand.”
“I’ll go notify Fugen later and have him make the necessary preparations, just in case.”
Hinoa nodded.
“Hinoa, since you’re not busy anyway, why not go now?”
“After all, no one knows whether an accident or tomorrow will come first.”
“So there’s nothing wrong with being careful.”
Zhang Tian gave his opinion.
“You’re right.”
Hinoa thought about it before nodding.
She then looked toward the Palico beside her.
It was a one-meter-tall humanoid cat.
“Cream, could you watch things here for a while? I’ll be back later.”
“Don’t worry, Hinoa, nya.”
“This matter concerning Bazelgeuse and Magnamalo is more important. I’ll take care of things here, nya.”
The Palico nodded, indicating that there was no problem.
“Let’s go, Zhang Tian.”
Hinoa stood up and led Zhang Tian outside.
Zhang Tian stored the Rathian head inside his Space Backpack before following her.
Unlike her usual leisurely pace, Hinoa was walking very quickly.
She was clearly in a hurry.
“What’s wrong, Hinoa?”
Village Chief Fugen looked toward Hinoa as she pushed open the door and entered.
Fugen was drinking at the time.
He knew Hinoa’s personality very well.
If something important hadn’t happened, she would never leave her post while she was working.
“Village Chief, Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse are fighting in the Shrine Ruins.”
“They may be fighting over territory.”
Hinoa walked over to Fugen and explained the situation.
“What?!”
Fugen immediately stood up.
Monsters fighting over territory might not sound particularly dangerous at first.
In reality, it was extremely dangerous.
Because Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse were fighting, large numbers of other monsters had already begun fleeing the area and expanding into surrounding territories.
During this process, the monsters could easily encounter humans and launch attacks on human settlements.