Chapter 949: Palm Technique Descending from the Sky
As "Jianghu" officially began development, the players' journey in "Monster Hunter" continued as well.
[Yearning Black Blade: After intervening in the Elder Dragon migration, we finally located the mysterious Elder Dragon Nergigante that had been watching us from across the way for so long. Investigating them will hopefully bring us closer to the truth behind the Elder Dragon migration.]
"Wow, the first eight-star quest! I feel like Monster Hunter: Snow is getting more and more awesome. Alright, let's go meet this big hedgehog!"
Lin Xue happily accepted this quest, then chose to teleport to the eastern camp of the Elder's Recess.
She wasn't too worried about this dragon.
Because Nergigante had appeared during the two Zorah Magdaros story sequences, and players had already fought it. The first time, Nergigante was driven off by the story, and the second time, it was left alone the whole time without any issues.
You could say Nergigante's two appearances were completely insignificant. For many players, its size wasn't as imposing as Diablos, and unlike Rathalos or Pink Rathian, it couldn't fly and be annoying. It was just a professional background dragon.
"Hmph, today this hunter is going to teach this background dragon a lesson!"
Arriving at the Elder's Recess, blue scoutflies gathered at a pass blocked by white crystal clusters. Lin Xue walked over and curiously peered behind them.
"This should be the place, right?"
Just as Lin Xue was wondering, she heard a rumbling vibration from behind the white crystals. A group of small forest natives were chattering and fleeing toward Lin Xue's direction.
At that moment, a massive creature suddenly burst out from behind the white crystal clusters!
Lin Xue instinctively rolled to dodge, and saw the huge beast crash "BOOM" into the ground behind where she had been standing, kicking up a huge cloud of dust!
Its enormous wings slowly spread open, two thick, massive horns outlined a terrifying silhouette in the dust; its powerful front claws slammed heavily onto the ground, as if denting the hard crystal floor of the Elder's Recess; the spikes on its body, seen up close, gleamed with a chilling, heart-stopping cold light.
"ROAR!!"
Nergigante let out a dragon roar at Lin Xue, and she was frozen in place, unable to move.
Then, Nergigante flapped its wings and flew into the air, its right claw swiping down from above!
"Mommy!"
Lin Xue screamed in fright and quickly rolled to the side. The claw just barely missed her, slamming heavily into the spot where she had been standing.
"BOOM!!"
The ground of the Elder's Recess was made of hard crystals, clusters of white or dark gray formations as sharp as blades. But Nergigante's claw strike directly left a deep palm print in the ground. The flying crystal shards that hit Lin Xue even carried a slight tremor!
That one strike shook the earth.
Lin Xue broke out in a cold sweat: "What the hell! If that palm had hit me, wouldn't I have been instantly carted?!"
But there was no time to lament. Lin Xue could only back away while firing Slice Ammo at Nergigante's head.
"Good thing I joined the Slice Cult early. Is this kind of monster even something a melee fighter can handle?!"
As Lin Xue retreated, she saw Nergigante leap into the air again!
"Again? You have the same problem as Diablos? Diablos never stops charging, and your palm technique from the sky never ends either?!"
Lin Xue was shocked. How was she supposed to play like this? She quickly rolled again. This time, Nergigante's palm strike missed again.
But after that palm strike, Nergigante rolled on the spot, turning its spike-covered wings and back toward Lin Xue, then lunged forward with a sudden shoulder tackle!
This time, Lin Xue had no way to avoid it. Nergigante was huge, and behind Lin Xue was a cliff. That shoulder tackle pinned her directly against the wall!
Lin Xue felt a dense vibration across her entire front, from chest to feet, and the same on her back!
After Nergigante's shoulder tackle pinned her, it flicked its wings, tossing Lin Xue into the air!
Then, Nergigante tilted its head, and its two massive horns instantly caught Lin Xue as she fell from the sky, nailing her to the wall.
[Fainted!]
Lin Xue: "..."
The chat was also shocked. Wasn't this supposed to be a background dragon?
"Holy crap, that palm strike was insane! Ah Xue, do you want to try taking it and see if you get one-shot?"
"Haha, since Ah Xue joined the Slice Cult, she's never been this humiliated!"
"Did this dragon's AI get upgraded again? That combo was beautiful to watch, gave no room for any counterplay lol"
Back at camp, Lin Xue ate a Felyne meal and said, "Hmph, I wasn't buffed earlier and got careless. I'm telling you, my great Slice Cult is invincible. I can beat any dragon. Just wait and see!"
Five minutes later.
Lin Xue got off the cart, feeling completely defeated.
Even the Slice Cult couldn't beat this thing? How was that possible?!
It didn't make sense!
Lin Xue hesitated for two minutes, then said to the chat, "Forget it, I'll go check the forums..."
...
On the forums, several posts about Nergigante had already appeared. Players were all saying the same thing: This was too much, way too much!
They had tolerated Diablos and Rathalos, but was Nergigante even meant to be fought by humans?
As a streamer, Lin Xue played every day, but her skills were still mediocre. Since Monster Hunter had been out for a while, some top players had surpassed her.
The first players to encounter Nergigante were mostly those very confident in their skills, or those who had mastered the Slice Cult's "skip class" tactics. And all of them got absolutely wrecked by Nergigante...
"This Nergigante is basically lethal with every move, right? One palm strike and you're dead, no negotiation!"
"Yeah, but the problem is it combos even better than Diablos. It chases me the whole time. I'm too busy running to even counterattack!"
"Nergigante is practically a genius. It knows offense is the best defense..."
"Speaking of genius, did you know? Four of us went to hunt Nergigante in a group. In the final phase, it flew up. I saw its posture was aimed at me, so I ran. But then it did a huge turn and one-shot two of my teammates with a palm strike! That thing is way too cunning!"
"Hah, you guys haven't seen anything yet. I've failed four times. The fight was going fine, then it limped off to sleep. I thought it was in the bag. But when I woke it up, it triple-carted me instantly..."
"Nergigante's morning rage... don't even get me started. One moment, triple cart. Twenty minutes of careful fighting, all wasted..."
"I honestly don't feel like I'm hunting Nergigante. It chases me the whole time! I tried to climb a wall to escape, but guess what? It jumped up and slapped me to death!"
"In this 'Monster Hunter,' 'Hunter' is clearly a verb!"
"What the hell, Nergigante's damage is so insane, one touch and half your health is gone. Its AI is this high. How are we supposed to fight this?!"
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