PFC 0045 White Rabbit Beast
0045 White Rabbit Beast
Li Ai knelt on one knee and struck the shield with his head.
The snowball's rolling trajectory shifted slightly, and the clear sky had already caused a significant change in direction.
The giant snowball whizzed past the car and continued rolling toward the top of the hill, growing larger and larger.
It was not until it crashed into the icy mountain at the bend that it exploded with a deafening roar.
Li Ai looked up at the top of the cliff, where a monster with white fur on its upper body and two upright rabbit ears was peering down.
Although it is still some distance from the final observation point on the hunting commission, the behavior here is exactly the same as that of the individual who needs to be hunted.
"Sunny day, don't let her get away!"
Li Ai shouted, and Qing Tian immediately stopped worrying about whether the flatbed cart was stable.
With its four hooves pedaling at top speed, the flatbed cart began to move rapidly up the winding hillside amidst a flurry of snow.
"Ah!...This is so exciting, meow!"
The high-speed stimulation caused the rescue team members to scream repeatedly.
After rushing to the top of the cliff, the white rabbit beast had already disappeared.
Li Ai got out of the car and checked. In addition to several huge snowballs, there were rolling and dense claw marks on the snow surface. One of the clearest claw marks extended all the way to the mountain wall.
Next are the claw marks left from climbing upwards.
"The weather seems fine for now, and the location isn't in a particularly dangerous or remote area... Kabu, you guys hide the flatbed truck, pile up some snow here as a buffer, and then rejoin us."
"Okay, meow!"
Kabu said, taking out a shovel and getting busy.
Li Ai took the lead in climbing upwards, followed closely by Qing Tian after her transformation.
After climbing to a higher platform, a pair of rabbit ears appeared from behind the rocks in the distance.
After watching the two for a moment, the white rabbit beast lay down, its belly pressed against the ground, and slid away at high speed on the snow.
"Isn't this her territory...? Why isn't she fighting?"
Li Ai was somewhat puzzled.
After all, her own weapon and armor materials weren't very powerful, and Qingtian wasn't some terrifying monster girl, so she couldn't figure out why the other party had fled.
After a long pursuit, by the time Li Ai climbed onto a platform, the white rabbit beast had already disappeared.
A cave, glowing with a blue light and composed entirely of ice crystals, appeared on the mountainside ahead.
"This is the lair, you've gone inside, haven't you?"
Sunny speculated.
"No, the White Rabbit Beast wouldn't lead the enemy into its own lair."
Li Ai felt something was amiss.
In snowy mountain areas, caves are indeed excellent nesting sites.
If the internal structure is suitable, it is also the first choice for hunter teams to establish camps and avoid harsh weather.
However, because of their scarcity and difficulty in guarding them, monsters will not run back to their lair knowing they are being chased.
"Let's rush in and take a look."
As Qingtian was about to transform into a wild boar, Li Ai stopped her.
"You can't just force your way into these kinds of caves."
"Didn't you say this wasn't a high-risk area?"
Qingtian was curious, since she hadn't seen Li Ai show any caution during the chase.
"That's right, but there's a monster in the snow mountain that, while not as dangerous as the Tigrex, is just as terrifying."
"What kind of monster is that?"
"Strange dragon."
"Strange Dragon, what a strange name... Do you have a picture on your phone? Send me one."
Sunny had no idea what kind of monster the Strange Dragon was.
"You don't want to see it... I'll go first. Don't transform unless the battle has started."
Seeing how seriously Li Ai took it, Qing Tian also became cautious and slowed down her pace.
The two entered the cave.
After a brief period of darkness at the cave entrance, the cave, which is entirely composed of ice crystals, gradually became bright.
The cave was unusually quiet; apart from the sound of the wind, the only other sounds were breathing and the echo of footsteps on the ice.
"Li Ai, why are you staring at the cave ceiling?"
"Because when the strange dragon is active in the cave, it usually attaches itself to the top of the cave."
"Well...that's definitely something to keep in mind."
Qingtian also became nervous.
Fortunately, the cave's structure was not complicated, and soon we arrived at the innermost part, where there was a huge pit and depression.
There are a lot of ice crystals around the pit walls that can be collected, but unfortunately, due to transportation difficulties and the huge output of local villages and towns, the collection is not possible.
Even if Li Ai carried a full load of harvested goods back to the village, she wouldn't earn much money.
Numerous white hairs of varying lengths were found in the nests formed by tree branches.
If the white rabbit beast hadn't developed alopecia, the large amount of hair would be inexplicable.
Then, on the innermost side, they found a pile of hard ice balls covered in snow on the outside but made entirely of solid ice on the inside.
The white rabbit beast likes to push snowballs, but the ice ball in front of it is clearly only suitable for monsters with strong arms to use as a throwing attack.
"This is definitely not the White Rabbit Beast's lair. Could it have been deliberately lured me here...?"
"There's a monster!"
Upon hearing Qingtian's reminder, Li Ai turned her head to look.
A creature with white fur all over its body, resembling a red-faced baboon, was baring its teeth at him from above the pit.
"Snow lions are social monsters! Evacuate immediately!"
After Li Ai finished speaking, she grabbed an ice ball from in front of the den and threw it at the snow lion.
Clap!
The ice puck shattered on its face, and the snow lion, knocked over, was enraged.
In the snow-capped mountains, it is always the animals that throw snowballs at humans; this is the first time humans have preemptively attacked like this.
The snow lion slammed its paws and the backs of its fingers into the ground, then raised its head and roared.
The cries echoed continuously inside the cave, followed by a cacophony of rushing and roaring sounds coming from all directions within the cave.
"I understand! This is a white rabbit beast that excels in strategy."
Li Ai, who was running, informed them of the situation.
"So what's the next step? Fight them all and take them down?"
"No, the cave is too narrow, and they are good at throwing things. Plus, the leader could arrive at any time."
As soon as Li Ai finished speaking, three snow lions grabbed the icicles on the cave ceiling and jumped down in front of the two to block their way.
Ouch! *smack!*
The first intimidating roar of the landing bird had barely been uttered when a puck hit its face, causing it to tumble and fall to the side.
The one behind hesitated for a moment, stopped roaring, and was about to throw back when it was too slow and was knocked over by Li Ai's ball again.
But in that brief moment of delay, several more snow lions landed ahead, followed closely by those chasing them on the icy slope behind.
"Sunny day! Humans and pigs charge!"
Upon hearing that the bond skill was about to be unleashed, Qing Tian shouted and transformed into a wild boar.
After Li Ai landed on its back and gripped it tightly, it charged forward at full speed.
Compared to its initial form, Sunny Day's monster girl form has only undergone minor changes, such as its fur growing longer to keep warm.
However, in its boar form, the monster's body was more than twice its original size, and its broad back arched upwards like a small mountain. Two large tusks protruded from its mouth, gleaming coldly in the reflection of the ice crystals.
Having witnessed the Great Wild Boar King's charge, the Snow Lion knew it couldn't withstand the attack head-on and hastily retreated.
Li Ai, the "Ice Pea" on his back, kept throwing ice balls at them, and the two of them successfully rushed out of the cave.
With the terrain no longer an obstacle, the snow lions were even less able to pursue, and could only gather at the cave entrance, roaring incessantly to vent their anger.
"To throw a good hockey puck, you need strong upper body strength, which you snow lions aren't quite up to. You'd better practice more... uh, that's it!"
Li Ai, who was turning her head to mock him, noticed a small black dot on the ground at the cave entrance that was rapidly expanding. She quickly looked up.
Then you see a huge snowball rolling down.
Pfft!
The snow lions were hit, and several snowballs were pressed into them and then rolled down the cliff.
Ouch!
After the remaining snow lions got back up, their roars became even more intense.
It seems this isn't the first time this has happened; some people start climbing upwards without even confirming their target.
Because Li Ai was far enough away, she could see it especially clearly.
The figure above the cave was undoubtedly the White Rabbit Beast.
This time, however, when faced with the snow lions climbing and chasing her, she did not choose to flee. Instead, she turned around and pushed a giant snowball to the edge of the cliff.
"Yes, the description on the commission is to smash past creatures, which is this white rabbit beast, and it has been attacking indiscriminately."
Thinking of this, Li Ai wrote down the information.
Thud~
As the snowball rolled, several more snow lions were knocked down.
The white rabbit beast turned around to push the ball again, when suddenly a fierce roar came from the hole.
The white rabbit peeked out and saw the Snow Lion King, who was a size larger and had extremely long fangs, glaring angrily at it.
With its belly flat on the ground, it began to escape again by gliding across the ice.
The Snow Lion King climbed upwards at an astonishing speed, and under the leader's guidance, the snow lions also became excited and fearless, chasing after him madly.
"So this is what you call turf wars?"
"It's sunny," Sunny asked.
"Yes, the White Rabbit Beasts seem to be outmatched right now because they don't have a clan. If we block their path and launch an attack now, we should be able to succeed easily."
"Don't wait any longer! Let's go right now!"
Sunny urged him on.
"No, with the Snow Lion clan involved, and their leader leading the battle, if we let the White Rabbit Beast fight to the point of near death, it might actually die."
Li Ai believed that even if the snow lion was successfully captured, it would not give up its attack.
Coupled with the harsh weather, slow arrival of investigators, and difficult transportation, the evacuation could not be carried out immediately.
"What should we do then? Once we get rid of the snow lion, we can forget about catching up with it either."
Sunny felt that this was a rare opportunity.
"How about we try a friendly approach? No need for combat, the status can be maintained, and the transformation into a monster girl will be faster if successful."
"Huh? Is that even possible?"
"Yes, and the other party just happens to meet the conditions of living alone and having difficulties."
"I see... If that's such a good method, why didn't you use it on me in the first place?"
Sunny frowned and asked.
"I didn't have any monster girls available at the time to make initial contact with you."
"So that's how it is..."
After Qingtian finished speaking, she seemed to have thought of something and looked around.
"So, since you're pregnant this time, you're not talking about me, are you?"
On a sunny day, I tentatively inquired.
"Yes, it's you."
"what?"
Qingtian let out a long, surprised sound.
During the pursuit, Li Ai began to teach some key points.
On this sunny day, some people listened absentmindedly.
She was quite confident that she could team up with Li Ai to defeat the White Rabbit Beast in battle.
But if she were truly skilled at establishing communication, she wouldn't be living alone as a wild boar.
"What if I mess it up?"
"No, you can use your phone to receive my remote guidance. As for the worst-case scenario, it's just a battle with the White Rabbit Beast. Capturing and taming it is impossible, but the commission can still be completed through hunting."
After listening to Li Ai's words, Qing Tian felt that even if she messed up, she wouldn't lose too much, and soon gained a little confidence.
It was midday.
As expected of the leader of the tribe, the Snow Lion King successfully surrounded and pursued the enemy several times by taking advantage of the tribe's numerical superiority.
After sustaining several injuries, the white rabbit beast was able to escape temporarily by falling off a cliff.
The scarlet bloodstains were particularly noticeable on the snow.
The snow lion pack did not give up and continued their pursuit.
The two who were following stealthily did not lose track of each other thanks to Li Ai's hunting skills.
Both of them thought that the white rabbit beast would definitely find a place to hide first, and as expected, the other party quickly arrived at another ice cave.
After observing and sniffing around the cave entrance for a while, the white rabbit beast did not enter but instead began to climb outwards.
It wasn't until white Velociraptors entered and exited the cave that the two realized this wasn't her lair either.
"There's another trick up his sleeve, a series of interconnected schemes... This is a Zhuge Liang rabbit!"
Li Ai was quite surprised to see this.
At this moment, at the top of the hillside, the white rabbit beast had already begun rolling snowballs.
The snow lion pack followed the trail of blood and soon arrived nearby.
The Velociraptor noticed this and immediately roared to warn its companions.
The leader, White Velociraptor, quickly led his clan out of the cave.
After exchanging barbs for a moment to intimidate each other, the two sides quickly broke into a fight.
A chaotic battle ensued on the snow.
Seeing that the time was almost up, the white rabbit beast began to push the three snowballs it had made downwards.
Boom!
After a series of cries of agony, there were more casualties at the bottom.
The White Velociraptor horde was clearly not the first to be attacked, and their reaction was equally swift. Although they lacked the ability to climb, they began to pursue the enemy up the slope.
Seeing this, the white rabbit beast fled again, and the sun began to set.
The roars of monsters in the mountains continued to echo, and on a secluded slope on the back of a mountain range, a white rabbit beast sat on the ground.
The long run had left him extremely exhausted; his eyelids were half-open, and saliva kept spilling from his mouth.
With its front paws outstretched, it groped around at the base of the mountain wall for a moment, then grabbed a few frost-covered snow mountain grasses and stuffed them directly into its mouth.
Just as the white rabbit was about to doze off while watching the sunset, a slow clatter of hooves sounded.
The rabbit's eyes widened, and it jumped up, looking warily in the direction from which the sound came. Soon, a robust wild boar appeared.
On a sunny day, it walked leisurely, sniffing intensely along the base of the mountainside.
He glanced up at the white rabbit beast, then acted as if it didn't exist and began to devour the snow mountain grass.
The white rabbit beast wanted to escape, but just as it was about to make a move, it heard the roars of the snow lion king and the white Velociraptor king in turn.
They could only lie prone on the ice, ready to pounce and glide at any moment, but Qingtian didn't care and continued to graze on the grass.
The other party's extremely relaxed demeanor eased the tense atmosphere.
When they reached a crack in the ice wall, the snow grass inside was fresh and tender, and not covered by frost or snow, but given the size of the wild boar, it was clearly impossible for it to enter and reach it.
hum~
Sunny hummed twice, then transformed into human form and crawled into the crevice.
The white rabbit blinked and froze.
Qingtian, however, did not take it seriously. While sitting cross-legged on the ground, he stuffed the tender grass leaves into his mouth and chewed them vigorously.
"Hmm... Will saying things like that really work?"
Qingtian muttered something, swallowed the grass leaf, and then chuckled, saying, "It's the same Snow Mountain Grass, but this kind of grass is enough to fill you up after just a little bit."