Chapter Thirty-Eight: A New Police Story

The Valley of Miasma was shrouded in toxic fog throughout the year, the rocks bleak and gray, offering nothing in the way of beauty—nothing worth mentioning, certainly not when compared to the ancient forest.

Weaving his way through a landscape of jagged stones and scattered bones, Su Yi watched the dim, murky surroundings with constant vigilance.

In his ears, the shrieking winds carried with them the lingering echoes of strange, terrifying roars.

Su Yi kept in mind the story of how he had once reaped the rewards while others fought—he was determined to look for any opportunity, perhaps even pick up something left behind.

His team, for Pokémon battles, was of quite a high quality by now, but when it came to facing most of the monsters in the Monster Hunter world, they were still far from sufficient.

Besides, if Su Yi wanted to quickly establish himself in the Pokémon world, true strength was indispensable—formidable monsters were his shortcut.

So he had to seize every chance, every opportunity to add powerful creatures to his retinue.

...

As Su Yi passed the small valley where he had once carved up the corpse of the Windrider Dragon, he suddenly noticed that the meat and broken bones he had sliced off days ago had been gnawed clean, the ground a mess of tracks and chaos.

The guiding insects at his waist drifted down, clinging to the spot.

“These marks…”

Su Yi crouched down and, among a cluster of scratches, found a fragment of tooth embedded in the tracks.

“No mistake, it's that gluttonous tyrant—the Deviljho!”

He also found three-pronged footprints belonging to a brute wyvern, leaving little doubt.

“All right, now we've got both Bazelgeuse and Deviljho—old and new enforcers in one place. This really is a new kind of police story.”

On the other side, Lucao seemed to have discovered something as well.

“Su Yi, nyan! These scales look like those of an Anjanath, nyan!” Lucao cried, picking up a few shattered, dark red scales among the bones and rocks.

On closer inspection, Su Yi agreed—they were unmistakably from an Anjanath.

“Traces of Deviljho, fragments of Anjanath scales—did they clash?”

Knowing Anjanath’s fearless nature—one who would dare attack even an Elder Dragon—it wasn’t hard to imagine it standing up to Deviljho.

A savage howl suddenly echoed along the cold wind, reverberating through the valley.

“Let’s go!” Su Yi immediately called to Lucao, racing toward the source of the sound.

...

But before long, the battle sounds abruptly ceased. Su Yi, following the trail, couldn’t help but worry—had the Anjanath already been killed?

He had hoped to capture it himself.

With no more sounds to follow, he could only rely on the guiding insects, faintly and intermittently leading the way.

As the miasma thickened, Su Yi again set foot in a small valley piled high with bones.

Yet now, the place was unnaturally still—no insects, no Jagras, no Paolumu, only the crunch of Su Yi’s boots on dry bone and rotten flesh.

Thud!

Suddenly, a muffled sound echoed from above.

Su Yi jerked his head up, scanning the surrounding cliffs.

Thud!

He spun toward the source—on a broken ledge, several pebbles came tumbling down.

Whoosh!

A dark red figure flew out violently, slamming with a crash into a pile of bones some distance away.

“It’s the Anjanath, meow!” Lucao cried out.

Focusing his gaze, Su Yi saw the Anjanath’s flank and belly torn open, the wounds deep enough to expose bone; white fangs were still embedded in its dark red flesh. The creature lay collapsed, barely alive, its deadly claws twitching feebly—a breath away from death.

A deafening roar made Su Yi look up again.

On the cliff stood a massive, ink-green tyrant, golden dragon eyes peering down like a top predator sizing up a helpless prey.

“Now that’s a gift crab…” Su Yi muttered.

Thud! The monstrosity, twenty meters long, leaped down with an earth-shaking crash, rattling the valley and sending bones flying in every direction.

Thud, thud, thud...

Deviljho strode forward, each ponderous step echoing like a drumbeat in Su Yi’s chest. He stepped back, heart hammering, Lucao pressed against his side, every hair bristling in terror.

Can you imagine it?

A behemoth less than twenty meters away—just a couple of strides and it could snap you up. You barely came up to its knee; it could swallow you whole, crunch you to bits like a crisp cracker.

To Deviljho, Su Yi was nothing but a snack—barely worth a few chews.

Su Yi instantly raised his projector, already loaded with a flash grenade, and aimed at the monster’s ferocious head.

But as he squeezed the trigger—

A piercing roar rang out behind him, vast wings beating as the miasma swirled.

Deviljho immediately shifted its gaze to whatever was approaching from behind Su Yi.

“Oh, great…” Su Yi muttered, turning to see Bazelgeuse’s colossal form descending, its shadow blotting out the path.

At last, old and new enforcers met face to face.

...

Thud!

Bazelgeuse landed heavily, blocking Su Yi’s only escape route. In front, Deviljho; behind, Bazelgeuse. Su Yi and Lucao were suddenly sandwiched between the two titans.

Deviljho instantly fixed its attention on its peer, while Bazelgeuse let out a high, furious roar of its own.

The two found themselves caught in the middle, clamping their hands over their ears and gritting their teeth.

“Aibo, use your size to find a chance to escape when you can; I’ll distract them if needed,” Su Yi said, adjusting his projector, muscles tensed and ready for action.

The signal for battle came—the Bazelgeuse Express.

With wings spread wide, Bazelgeuse charged forward on two feet.

Su Yi and Lucao dove aside, the massive wings slicing overhead, the wind buffeting their bodies.

Deviljho met the challenge, rearing up and lunging with its jagged jaws at Bazelgeuse’s throat.

Crash!

Bazelgeuse rammed Deviljho aside, but Deviljho quickly steadied itself and bit down on Bazelgeuse’s neck.

Steam blasted from Deviljho’s nostrils as its muscular neck tensed, and with a violent twist, it lifted its rival—nearly its own size—clear off the ground.

Su Yi, having just scrambled to his feet, gaped in shock.

To witness this scene in a game was one thing, but in person the impact was indescribable.

A creature longer than a city bus was being hurled about with brutal force, hurricane winds roaring past, forcing Su Yi to squint against the blast.

This was Deviljho’s purest fury—no wonder it was the disruptor of the food chain. Ordinary monsters stood no chance against such ferocity.

“Now’s not the time to be amazed! Aibo, run!” Su Yi shouted, dragging Lucao along the path Bazelgeuse had cleared.

But Bazelgeuse was not so easily cowed. The seams between the scales along its body began to glow red-hot, and the explosive scales beneath it grew incandescent.

In the next instant, those bombs detonated in unison. Deviljho roared in pain, forced to release its grip as Bazelgeuse beat its wings and retreated.

With a thunderous crash, Bazelgeuse’s claws slammed down right before Su Yi, its looming shadow swallowing him whole.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Su Yi cursed, yanking Lucao back and skidding to an abrupt halt.