The stew pot swung with immense force, and as Li Fan felt the threat closing in, his stance with the blade and his prediction of the bird’s attack vanished. All that occupied his mind was the thought of escape!
If not for the grip training he’d undergone, he might have instinctively thrown the Jawblade I to make his body more agile for escape. No wonder Instructor Yin Tie forbade me from attempting the Foresight Slash and the Spirit Slash in actual combat. Li Fan now understood his instructor’s good intentions, while also feeling that Instructor Yin Tie overestimated him.
Setting aside the fact that he only knew the movements and not the underlying principles, these two techniques, only usable in direct clashes, required not just a top-tier understanding of the Great Sword but also the confidence and courage that ordinary people lacked.
"Waaagh!" Kuku roared, charging from behind with a Bird Wyvern Charge. The Pukei-Pukei, seeing how unusually weak Li Fan was, lost interest in pursuing and turned to face the charge.
With knees slightly bent and claws dug into the ground, Li Fan held the stew pot he was clutching close to his chest. Seeing the Pukei-Pukei adopt a defensive posture against the charge, Li Fan knew Kuku was in for trouble. Unfortunately, the Bird Wyvern Charge had already been unleashed, and there was no stopping it.
*Clang!* Kuku’s massive beak struck the stew pot, emitting a resonant hum. Although the Pukei-Pukei was pushed back by the impact, it didn't lose its balance or fall. Its body remained unharmed. As the Bird Wyvern Charge lost momentum and began to slide along the ground, the Pukei-Pukei could have delivered a powerful blow to Kuku’s head, which was close to the ground, by smashing down the stew pot.
"Back Hop Fireball! Back Hop Fireball! Back Hop Fireball!..." Li Fan repeatedly shouted. From years of playing Monster Hunter, Li Fan knew not only the hunters' attack moves but also, in order to predict various potential attacks, the signature moves of countless monsters had also been etched into his memory.
This led to a phenomenon that surprised even Li Fan when he began guiding monsters in combat training late at night. He could guide monsters to expand their own capabilities. While transforming into a monster to demonstrate was impossible, he could convey specific movements, execution sequences, and application scenarios to them. Through long-term training and communication, this was achievable.
The Back Hop Fireball was a product of this. The "fireball" was easy to understand. The "back hop" wasn't about making the Great Jaggi, which wasn't adept at jumping, leap. Instead, it involved forcefully flapping its wings when in an unfavorable situation on the ground, releasing a powerful gust of wind forward to achieve a rapid retreat and enter a state of extremely low-altitude hovering.
Kuku, naturally, was skeptical. It’s fine for a human to use intelligence to command battles. But to know monster moves? That’s preposterous! Li Fan, however, disagreed. Since their physical structures were the same, and neither were special individuals nor subspecies, their movements and moves should be adaptable. It was simply that Kuku lacked combat experience and hadn't grasped it.
Despite its inner reservations, Kuku practiced as Li Fan instructed. Hearing the human’s frantic shouts, it instinctively flapped its wings forcefully. A gust of wind, laced with rainwater, swept towards the Pukei-Pukei, pushing it back slightly. Based on its combat experience against Great Jaggis, the Pukei-Pukei believed that if it could withstand the Bird Wyvern Charge, it would have a high chance of landing a heavy blow on its opponent's head.
This sudden aerial, low-hovering flight posture was something the Pukei-Pukei had never seen before. *Whoosh!* Immediately, a fire-liquid fireball flew towards it. The Pukei-Pukei dodged to the side, but its claw accidentally stepped on the fire-liquid that had spread from the fireball.
"Goo goo! Goo goo!" Seeing the Pukei-Pukei hopping on one leg from the burn, Kuku let out a joyful cry.
*Sizzle!* The Pukei-Pukei stomped its claw into the wet mud to cool down, and a puff of smoke rose. Bloodshot veins appeared in its eyes, and with a fierce roar, a black mist began to seep from its sharp, dark beak.
Kuku paid no mind to the Pukei-Pukei entering its enraged state. It had completely forgotten that it hadn't fully mastered the low-altitude hovering flight that required a backward-leaning posture.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!* Kuku flew further and further back, and the more it leaned back, the more severe its posture became. The greater the lean, the more it felt the need to flap its wings forcefully to maintain balance and control its direction.
*Splat!* Kuku fell onto the muddy ground, landing on its back in a backward-leaning posture.
"It's over, meow!" Felyne exclaimed. Most flying wyvern-type monsters, when falling from the air after a heavy blow, try to land on their sides, close to the ground. This allows their strong, developed legs to provide support for a quick recovery. Landing on its back in a backward-leaning posture, unless unconscious, was pure idiocy. What made Kuku's situation even more absurd was that it fell backward without even being attacked.
The Pukei-Pukei stomped the ground forcefully and leaped in front of Kuku. As Kuku flailed its legs, trying to get up, it instinctively let out a cry. Kuku now deeply regretted that when Li Fan was teaching the Back Hop Fireball, he had indeed demonstrated this problem. He had warned that low-altitude hovering in a backward-leaning posture was difficult to maintain for long. It was better to change to a vertical ascent or land, and absolutely not to hover continuously close to the ground.
The stew pot, scorched black at the bottom, was raised high by the Pukei-Pukei.
*Screech!* A blade of air, slicing through the atmosphere, was reflected in Kuku's terrified pupils. The Jawblade I, enveloped in the blade of air, passed by the Pukei-Pukei's leg from right to left, the blade moving without any pause. A straight line of blood erupted from the densely stacked, fine scales. The superficial thigh muscles, encased within the scales, spewed out a large amount of blood, forming a series of bulging bubbles.
The Pukei-Pukei’s single leg bent, and it stumbled. Enduring the pain, it twisted its body and whipped its tail, its sharp beak pecking fiercely. Li Fan didn't have time to analyze how the extremely precise blade of air was executed. He immediately turned and ran, still holding his Great Sword.
"So cool, meow! But that move... it looks a bit strange." Felyne watched Li Fan practice the extremely standard Great Sword basic movements every day. Now, seeing him in combat, not sheathing his sword at all and just running wildly without any proper form, she felt a strong sense of incongruity. Li Fan didn't want to do this either. Sheathing his sword and running was indeed faster, and the combat martial arts were more agile, but the habit formed over a long time was difficult to correct.
With a leg wound and a blood clot, the Pukei-Pukei became even more enraged and gave chase without holding back. *Boom! Boom! Whoosh!* Leaping attacks, beak pecks, and forceful stew pot slams! The Pukei-Pukei pursued Li Fan, launching frequent attacks.
"Li Fan! This way!" Eudora waved and called out to Li Fan, who was darting around.
"Hoo~ hoo~ Can you really handle it?" Li Fan, panting heavily, didn't immediately lead the Pukei-Pukei towards Eudora. He first asked.
"Mm... I can!" Eudora's response wasn't entirely decisive, but she still drew the bone Great Sword from her back, raised it in front of her, and adopted a fighting stance.
Running wildly with the Jawblade I, Li Fan's legs were not only sore and strained, but his right arm was also losing sensation. However, the Pukei-Pukei didn't give him a chance to sheathe his sword. Li Fan now deeply understood the monster's mindset. A back-and-forth, superficial exchange was acceptable. But if you truly injured it, then sorry, you'll have to leave your life behind.
"It's up to you!" Li Fan said, running past Eudora. In that fleeting moment, he saw the beads of sweat on Eudora's forehead and her slightly pale lips, and his heart suddenly tensed.
"Okay!" Eudora shouted with great spirit, shifting her stance slightly to face the charging Pukei-Pukei. After observing the distance, she swung her sword forward with a powerful smash. The Pukei-Pukei raised its stew pot to block. The bone Great Sword carved a notch on the rim of the stew pot before coming to a halt. Logically, the Pukei-Pukei's forelegs, besides grasping objects, had no advantage in terms of strength, yet it stubbornly resisted this powerful blow.
Not good. Eudora had expended too much energy running to get here quickly. The situation Li Fan had worried about had occurred. The Pukei-Pukei's forelegs suddenly exerted force, pushing the stew pot outwards. To maintain her grip on the Great Sword, Eudora could only lean back, trying to brace herself with her leg strength. However, the contest of strength lasted only a moment. Eudora retreated three steps, and her posture with the sword was no longer sustainable.
"Run!" Li Fan shouted. Eudora remained silent, instead concentrating all her strength to push forward, gaining a small step. The bone Great Sword slipped out from the notch in the stew pot, and there was no time to gather momentum for another swing. Eudora shifted her shoulder and, holding the Great Sword with one hand, charged towards the Pukei-Pukei. The Pukei-Pukei, perhaps surprised by the hunter's ferocity, retreated several steps from the impact.
This was an excellent opportunity to sheath her sword and escape, but Eudora had no intention of creating distance. She dragged the bone Great Sword along the ground and charged forward. This method of moving while dragging a sword was devastating to the sharpness of the blade. However, considering that the bone Great Sword itself had little sharpness, Eudora's actions were somewhat reasonable. What Li Fan couldn't understand was her tenacity in fighting monsters. He remembered that the first time they met in the wild, when fighting a Great Ursadon, Eudora had already displayed this fearless combat style. Although this Pukei-Pukei was a three-star monster, its combat awareness suggested it had experienced many battles.
I need to quickly find a way. If this continues, Eudora will definitely be at a disadvantage. But if I just go and attract its aggro, I won't be able to confront the enraged Pukei-Pukei head-on, nor even maneuver effectively. I'll just fall back into the previous pursuit situation.
As Li Fan was contemplating a solution, Kuku trotted over. "Don't you dare spit fire-liquid fireballs again. What if you hit Eudora's feet... What is this?" As Li Fan cautioned, Kuku lowered its body, revealing its back, as if signaling Li Fan to climb on immediately.
"Stop messing around, okay? That combo move was just a joke demonstration I did for you guys." Li Fan suddenly understood Kuku's intention. In terms of hunting combat, the most successfully domesticated wild species in the Monster Hunter world was the Kinsect within the Insect Glaive. As for coordinated combat with monsters, at least according to the literature Li Fan had read, there were no precedents. Therefore, this combat system could only be developed and established by him. Starting from scratch, completely blank, with limited time and energy, and a limited variety of monsters, naturally yielded no practical results.
However, if we're not considering actual combat, but purely visual impact and coolness, Li Fan had indeed researched a move. And he had only demonstrated it once. For Kuku, who tended to doze off during training and lacked enthusiasm, Li Fan was surprised that it remembered this combo move at this time.
"Waaagh!" Kuku lowered its head again, still insisting.
"Fine... I guess." Li Fan responded with uncertainty, then climbed onto Kuku's carapace-covered back. He felt that this combo move, while perhaps not dealing much damage to the Pukei-Pukei, could easily alleviate pressure on Eudora. Furthermore, with him on Kuku's back, even if he participated in the combat, he could give clear commands in real-time and wouldn't accidentally hit an ally.
The Great Jaggi's back carapace was not flat, and there was no dedicated riding saddle, so Li Fan could only half-squat on it. Even in a standard sword-holding stance on the ground, he couldn't guarantee collecting Spirit Gauge with every strike. On his haunches, it was impossible to even think about it. However, Li Fan still drew the Great Sword from his back, changing his grip to a single-handed vertical hold, similar to a saber.
"I'm sorry, Instructor Yin Tie. I've somewhat failed your guidance, but my Great Sword skills are still refined enough, so this is all I can do for now." After speaking, Li Fan closed his eyes, sighed, and when he opened them, he shouted, "Eudora, dodge quickly!"
Eudora, somewhat exhausted, rolled backward and retreated to the side. Gazing at the Pukei-Pukei, she removed the wooden stopper from the opening of her healing potion. The peck on her shoulder earlier had been extremely painful. Suddenly, a thudding sound of stomping earth came from behind. *Whoosh!* Kuku, charging fiercely towards the Pukei-Pukei, flew past Eudora. Seeing Li Fan half-squatting on Kuku's back, holding his Great Sword, she froze with the healing potion bottle in her hand.
"What... is this move?" Eudora murmured.
"Goo goo?" The Pukei-Pukei blinked, also not understanding what was happening. But judging by Kuku's fearless charge, this move was likely not simple! So, it bent its legs slightly, pushed the stew pot forward, adopting a defensive posture.
*Clang!* Kuku's giant beak struck the stew pot, and the Pukei-Pukei began to slide backward. This was not unusual, but now Li Fan was on top.
"Pukei-Pukei, congratulations. You are the first monster to witness the combo move, the Human-Bird Unity: Chaotic Slash." Li Fan said with some satisfaction. He picked up the Jawblade I and began smashing and pounding it against the Pukei-Pukei's head.
"Stole my pot! Stole my pot! Stole my pot! Chasing me! Chasing me! Chasing me!..." Li Fan chanted.
"Wow, so this is Li Fan and Kuku's combo move, meow." Felyne looked on with longing.
"This..." Eudora was speechless. She thought, what combo move is this? It's just using the height advantage to quickly pound the Pukei-Pukei's head. After its head was smashed more than twenty times, the Pukei-Pukei finally endured the impact's weakening and tried to break free. However, it hadn't expected that the rim of the stew pot it was holding had already been bitten by Kuku. Black energy filled Kuku's mouth, and a large amount of fire-liquid, used to store fireballs, overflowed and flowed into the stew pot. The Great Jaggi's iconic giant beak could store fire-liquid fireballs and thus had extremely high heat resistance. The Pukei-Pukei's forelegs, however, had no heat resistance whatsoever.