Chapter 162: Blazing Pale Radiance

"We have the seeds of the Great Tree, meow! For generations, our kind has collected the seeds of the Great Tree to make all sorts of things, meow."

"But we have an important matter to attend to this time, meow."

"Our companion is lost, meow! They must be in danger, meow!"

The three Bugtrapper Palicos spoke one after another.

"How about this? We will help you find your companion, and you trade seeds with me. How does that sound?" Su Yi proposed.

That way, they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of searching blindly. The Ancient Forest was so vast; who knew how long that would take?

"Meow! If you help us find our companion, we'll give the seeds to you for free, meow," said the leader of the cats.

"My name is Su Yi, and this is my companion, Dewgrass. Leave the search to us," Su Yi said.

"My name is Dewhoney, he's Dewsugar, and he's Dewricecake, meow," the leader, Dewhoney, introduced.

"Oh? You all share the 'Dew' surname," Su Yi said, somewhat surprised, though he knew it wasn't really a surname for Palicos.

"Do you have anything belonging to your companion?" Su Yi asked.

Among the three cats, Dewricecake, who had appeared the most frightened earlier, took out a string of beast-fang pendants and said, "This is the pendant of one of the members of their squad, meow."

Su Yi took the pendant with its snapped cord, took out his scoutfly canister, and let the scoutflies memorize the scent to begin tracking.

"Come with us so we can explain things to them later."

The three cats readily agreed.

Su Yi put away the Anjanath and switched to the Tobi-Kadachi, which moved with greater agility.

The Bugtrapper Palicos were naturally cautious. At the slightest sign of trouble, they could slip away very far in the blink of an eye. If the Anjanath's commotion startled them, they would quickly vanish into the dense and complex forest.

The Tobi-Kadachi had a broad back, and once Su Yi and the four cats mounted it, the beast deftly navigated through the trees, guided by the scoutflies.

As they tracked, Su Yi chatted with the Bugtrapper cats and asked them a few questions.

He learned that the three cats were siblings: Dewhoney, the eldest sister; Dewsugar, the second brother; and Dewricecake, the third brother.

Like the missing squad, they were part of the Bugtrapper patrol unit, primarily tasked with scouting the area surrounding their tribe.

"Recently, we found a Rathalos returning to its nest with injuries, meow. We believe something powerful has appeared in the forest, so we wanted to gather intelligence, meow."

"But the scouting squad hasn't returned, which is why we came out to search, meow."

"And near that area, we only found the snapped pendant; they must have encountered danger, meow," Dewhoney said. Despite her worry, she remained calm and collected.

Dewhoney analyzed, "Great Jagras have become more frequent lately, meow, and members of their kind have been frequently competing for territory. It's possible they got caught up in that, meow."

Su Yi asked, "The Rathalos was injured? What kind of injuries?"

Dewhoney thought for a moment and replied, "It seemed to be some deep claw marks, along with some scorched marks, meow. The Rathalos was agitated because of its injuries, so we didn't dare get close enough to look closely, meow."

"Claw marks, scorch marks, skilled with claws, and uses fire-element attacks?" Su Yi murmured. Yian Garuga? Azure Rathalos?

As the scoutflies led the way, more and more signs began to appear along the path.

Some sturdy trees were covered in deep claw marks. Just like the marks found earlier, these claw marks had been gouged over by other claws, and some areas were covered with pale-colored fur.

"It looks like this is a fierce territorial dispute," Su Yi said.

Following the scoutflies, they arrived near a stream. As they continued following the guidance, the stream gradually widened, indicating that a pool of water lay ahead.

"If there's a water source ahead—" Su Yi muttered.

"Then there might be monsters coming to drink water, meow!" Dewgrass warned vigilantly.

Su Yi and the cats dismounted the Tobi-Kadachi, put the monster away, and prepared to approach cautiously.

The scoutflies drifted forward, leading the group to a small forest pond.

"Careful!" Su Yi caught a glimpse of something, stopped everyone in their tracks, and quickly ducked behind a large tree.

Dewhoney's eyes held a cautious look, Dewsugar cleverly followed Su Yi to take cover, and Dewricecake was shaking so hard his cat paws trembled.

Su Yi cautiously peeked out with half his head, looking toward the pond.

By the water's edge, a red figure stopped drinking and spread its wings to stretch them.

"Rathalos..." Su Yi took out Nargacuga's capture ball while scanning the surroundings, searching for the missing Bugtrapper cats.

"Where are they? Or have they already left?" Su Yi muttered.

The scoutflies' guidance ended here, meaning the cats were nearby, but the Rathalos was interfering with the scoutflies' tracking.

"Over there, meow." Dewhoney also peeked out half her head and spotted them, using her Bugtrapper hiding skills.

Following Dewhoney's gaze, high above the Rathalos, on a suspension bridge woven from vines, three cats were huddled together in absolute silence, trying to conceal themselves with the sparse leaves on the vines.

The Rathalos finished drinking, flapped its wings, and took off. Just a little higher, and it would have a direct line of sight to the cats on the vines.

Dewhoney's expression flashed with panic, and gripping something in her paw, she prepared to charge out.

At that moment, the Rathalos turned around and began scratching the nearby tree trunk with its claws to leave a mark. It turned out to be the owner of the scratched marks they had discovered all along the way.

"Should we rush in and suppress the Rathalos directly?" Su Yi wondered, fearing that the Rathalos or its companion monster might accidentally injure the cats who were mere moments away from danger.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

The Rathalos glanced with satisfaction at the mark on the tree trunk. Amidst the sound of its flapping wings, the noise of running footsteps mixed in, coming closer and closer.

*Rustle, thump, thump...*

The strange sound suddenly became crystal clear, and the Rathalos let out a fierce, piercing roar as it looked around.

The three cats above huddled together. The scanning Rathalos quickly spotted the shivering felines. It opened its mouth slightly in irritation, flames brewing within. The three cats on the vines could vividly feel the searing heat of the flames.

"Charge!" Just a moment before, Su Yi had already dashed forward quickly, holding Nargacuga's capture ball, ready to throw it.

*Whoosh!*

Right at that instant, a lightning-charged figure burst out from the forest, leaped into the air, and pounced straight onto the Rathalos.

*Thump!*

Before the flame breath could be exhaled, the Rathalos was tackled straight to the ground from the air.

"Roar!" The Rathalos used its sharp claws to fiercely shove the attacker away, quickly leaping back to its feet and letting out an enraged roar.

The newcomer landed steadily, showing no weakness as it threw its head back and howled toward the sky.

"A-a-a-w-u-u—"

A pale-yellow shell of electricity unfolded. Amidst the pale fur, arcs of lightning surged brilliantly, illuminating several parts of its body with a brilliant azure glow.

*Crackle, crackle...*

Countless bolts of lightning danced around its body, exploding with every step like the descent of the Thunder God.

"The Peerless Hunter—Zinogre!" Su Yi exclaimed in absolute awe.

Zinogre's beast-like pupils, seemingly exuding lightning, cast a quick glance at Su Yi standing not far away before shifting their focus right back to the Rathalos.

"Everything matches up! The claw marks, the pale fur, the scorch marks on the Rathalos—they were blasted by lightning!" Su Yi suddenly understood.