I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

But before that, Ehaka has to take down one guy first...

As a dark figure darted out from a hidden spot, the target was Yuhaka, who was carrying a basket of berries. The sharp object made a whistling sound as it cut through the air, and Yuhaka, as if he had known he was being attacked, quickly dropped to the ground.

Snapped!

Just as Yuhaka crouched down, half of the basket he was carrying, laden with food and berries, was instantly sliced ​​off. The contents of the basket spilled out. Yuhaka looked up at the attacker who had suddenly appeared from the shadows with his orange-yellow eyes.

"Meow ho ho ho..."

A Swiftcat, uh... no, to be precise, a Nargacuga.

Zelus looked at the velociraptor that was staring intently at Yuhaka with some surprise and said:

"It's a velociraptor, but it's a pity it ran into Ehka. After all, Ehka's sensory organs are specifically designed to counter those creatures that like to hide."

However, looking at the Nargacuga slapping the ground with its tail, Zelus touched her chin, looked at the claw marks on the Nargacuga's back and its slightly burnt fur, and said with some confusion:

"Hmm... but this velociraptor looks a bit injured. What happened?"

No one answered Zelus's question. Ehaka immediately transformed into its third form, the Raider form. The Nargacuga saw Ehaka suddenly turn into an egg-like object, and then into a monster almost the same size as itself.

"Meow?!"

Faced with this unprecedented situation, the Swift Dragon was a little dumbfounded. At times, the Swift Dragon wondered if it was just too unlucky today. Today, when it saw the female Rathalos catch a Rainbow Bird to eat, it wanted to take advantage of the female Rathalos's meal to catch a Suzuka or a Fungus Pig to eat.

But to Nargacuga's surprise, just as it caught a Suzuka and was about to eat it, a female Rathalos, reeking of a foul stench like that of a Peach-furred Beast, descended from the sky and gave it a sound beating.

As a Nargacuga that is smaller than normal in size, it is naturally no match for an angry female Rathalos. Moreover, the Nargacuga's relatively cautious nature will make it try its best to avoid conflicts with monsters that are the same size or larger than itself.

However, it's quite unlucky that Nargacuga encountered a bizarre creature like Ehka that can transform today. If Ehka were in its third form, Nargacuga wouldn't have bothered to attack it at all.

"Meow ho ho ho..."

The velociraptor growled as a warning to Yhwach, but Yhwach mistook the growl for an attempt to steal its precious sweet berries.

Yuhaka was immediately angry. Today, when she was about to eat the bad bird, a big green bird stole it from her, and that green bad bird even kicked her!

Now there's another big black cat trying to steal my sweet fruit bush! You're all asking for trouble!

"Aaaaaaa————!"

Yuhaka let out a terrifying roar that was visible to the naked eye, and the huge roar made the Nargacuga's tail stand on end in fright.

Yuhaka grabbed a rock about the size of his head and threw it at the Nargacuga. Seeing Yuhaka throw the rock at it, the Nargacuga dodged it with a side jump. Then, the Nargacuga jumped again and ran away into the distance. In just a few seconds, the Nargacuga had run far away.

Yuhaka squinted at the direction the Nargacuga had fled, then quickly began digging a large hole in the ground. Yuhaka then disappeared little by little into the tunnel he had dug.

...Yohaka is in pursuit...

"Huh...huh..."

After fleeing for a while, the swift dragon stopped, panting, and looked back at the direction behind it.

There was nothing behind me, nothing to my left, nothing to my right. It seems I've managed to avoid that strange monster. Although I don't know what kind of strange monster it is, I probably can't stay here any longer. If I stay any longer, I'm afraid I'll encounter that monster again.

After resting for a while, the Swift Dragon noticed a small river not far away and felt a bit thirsty, since it had been running for so long without resting.

Just as the velociraptor was about to go over, a pair of giant claws emerged from the ground and grabbed the velociraptor's hind legs.

"Meow?!"

Before the velociraptor could react, it was dragged into the ground, but only half of its body was pulled in; its upper body was only prevented from being completely pulled to the ground thanks to its large wings.

"Meow!?"

The Swift Dragon struggled desperately, the sudden attack startling it. At the same time, it felt a tingling, stinging pain in its buttocks, which gave it a bad feeling. Just then, a strong numbing sensation entered its mind, and all the muscles in its body became uncontrollable.

Without a doubt, the Nargacuga was paralyzed by Ehka's Paralyzing Tail Sting.

Just as the Swift Dragon was paralyzed, Ehka emerged from the ground nearby. With heavy steps, Ehka approached the Swift Dragon, grabbed its head, and stomped on its back.

Ehka forcefully pulled the Nargacuga's head upwards, then used its other claw to pry open the Nargacuga's mouth. Ehka then unleashed a scorching flame breath into the Nargacuga's mouth, instantly illuminating the surrounding dim forest with intense flames.

"Hmph~ =w="

Yuhaka, who spat out a small spark, nodded in satisfaction at his masterpiece. After killing the velociraptor that had stolen his food, Yuhaka's mood improved immediately. Then, Yuhaka transformed back into his original second form and prepared to dispose of the velociraptor's corpse.

Where the velociraptor originally was, only a velociraptor corpse with its head severely charred remains, and a strong burnt smell still lingers.

Ehka approached the Nargacuga, intending to dismantle some of its wing blades to use as tools. After using its claws to remove the wing blades from the Nargacuga's arm, Ehka happily carried the two pairs of wing blades home.

After Yuhaka left, the surrounding forest returned to its quiet state. After all, it was getting close to night, and many animals had gone back to sleep, except for some nocturnal creatures.

"Hey! Lorota, did you see that?!"

In a thicket, a black and white Merlin was pulling another black and white Merlin and shaking it violently, asking, "These two Merlins are Rokubei and Rorota, who fed the female Rathian excrement not long ago... or are they two cats?"

"I-I-Of course I saw it, meow! Rokubei-chan! So stop shaking it, meow!"

After stopping shaking Rorota's hand, Rokubei looked at Rorota with an excited expression and said:

"That person can suddenly turn into such a huge monster, meow! And then he knocked that Nargacuga to the ground and breathed fire all over its face. It was so cool, meow!"

Upon hearing Rokubei's words, Rorota broke out in a cold sweat, unsure of what to say. After all, she had never heard of any other tribesmen or hunters ever mention a monster suddenly transforming into a creature that resembled a human.

Although Rorota had heard legends about Elder Dragons transforming into human form to interact with humans, these were just legends, and the monster in question didn't look like an Elder Dragon that could summon wind and rain or split mountains and overturn seas.

Could it be a Brute Dragon? Hmm... Rorota has never heard of a Brute Dragon monster with four arms.

Or perhaps it's an orc race? But Rorota had never heard of any legends or records of orcs turning into giant monsters.

"Hey! Lorota, are you even listening to me, meow!?"

As he spoke, Rokubei reached out and pinched Rorota's face, who was lost in thought about Yuhaka, and said with a displeased expression:

What were you spacing out for, meow?

"Sorry, meow! <!"

After Rokubei released his hand, Rorota rubbed his cheek, which had just been pinched, and said:

"I was just wondering what species that person was again, meow..."

Rokubei crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Rorota, saying:

"So, what are you thinking about, meow?"

Lorota scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed, and said:

"Um... there's no meow..."

"What the hell am I supposed to do without you, meow!"

As he spoke, Rokubei slapped Rorota's buttocks and shouted:

"What are you thinking, you little poop jerk, meow!"

Lorota, looking aggrieved, rubbed her little bottom and whispered:

"I've never seen a monster that can transform between two species, meow..."

Rokubei clapped his hands, looking determined, and said:

"I've made up my mind, I'm going to invite her to be our leader, meow!"

"Eh?!?!"

Upon hearing Rokubei's words, Rorota exclaimed in shock, even forgetting to utter her usual quirk.

Rorota quickly shook his head, dissuading Rokubei, who was determined to invite Yuhaka, from doing so:

"That won't do, meow! We don't even know what kind of personality or preferences she has. If we rush up and make her our leader, it will make her angry, meow. Most importantly, we are Meru Cats, meow!"

Upon hearing Rorota's words, Rokubei nodded solemnly, indicating that he understood. What Rorota said made a lot of sense. It was like how people always bring gifts when they ask someone for a favor. Of course, the gifts had to be something the recipient liked, which would at least increase the chances of success.

Another point is that they are Meru cats (black cats), unlike the honest Elu cats (white cats). Meru cats are relatively annoying beastmen.

Although Merlins are not a big threat to humans, they are relatively disliked by humans because they like to steal things and play pranks on others.

Even the Palicoes don't particularly like their fellow Palicoes, but they won't fight each other the moment they meet.

Merlins wouldn't risk offending Felynes by stealing their things, since they're of the same kind. The cat that understands you best is often your own kind. Most importantly, Felynes are incredibly fierce when they fight. (Bomb barrels will be used!)

"Mmm... Ahhh! So what do you suggest we do, meow?! You're the one who asked this question, meow!"

Hearing Rokubei's somewhat self-deprecating tone, Rorota's lips twitched slightly as she thought for a moment and then said to Rokubei:

"We can try secretly following that person around to see what they like and dislike. Then we can visit them with the things they like, meow. We'll see how things go then, meow!"

Rokubei's eyes lit up, and with an excited expression, he looked at Rorota, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Great idea! As expected of Rorota-da meow! Always comes up with good ideas, meow~"

To Rokubei's reaction, Rorota could only awkwardly chuckle. She couldn't very well say that Rokubei was too stupid, or she'd definitely get a spanking...

Afterwards, Rokubei followed the scent left by Yhaka in the air and went to find Yhaka's location, while Rorota glanced at the gruesome corpse of the Nargacuga and secretly wiped away a bead of sweat.

To be honest, Rokubei was firmly against her searching for that terrifying being, Rorota... but for their tribe, they didn't have many other options.

Having lost their village, if they don't find a new, safe haven, their tribe is likely to face threats from most of the dangerous creatures in the ancient forest. Therefore, they must find a new, safe haven...

...or rather, an entity that can protect them.

Of course, all of this is still unknown.

"If she can really drive away that female Rathalos and reclaim our home..."

What does it matter if their tribe offers everything in loyalty to that being...?

Chapter 06 [Summoning Seele 60 times and I'm done, so frustrating]

In the town of Kusla, nestled on the edge of an ancient forest, a hunter and his companion cat are crouching at the town gate, seemingly waiting for someone.

Actually, he's just waiting for someone, haha...

"Hey, Big Nose, do you think that newbie sent by the Hunter's Guild stood us up?"

Beside the hunter, a white-furred cat dressed in a chestnut suit looked at the hunter with a large nose and said this. The hunter with the large nose, instead of being angry at his cat's words, chewed on the hard jerky in his hand and looked at the hunters, merchants, and townspeople coming and going at the town gate, saying:

"Well... don't be impatient, Big White. As a patrol hunter, you can't be too hasty. If you don't even have this much patience, being a patrol hunter is very hard."

The follower cat, known as Big White, glanced at the pocket watch on his hand and said:

"I really want to say something, but that newbie is already 3 hours late, which is just outrageous."

The big-nosed hunter put the remaining jerky in his mouth, chewed it, and said:

"They probably encountered something on the road. It's getting closer to the monsters' breeding season, and many monsters are slowly leaving their own territory to go to the territory of the opposite sex. At this time, it is most likely to encounter monsters that wander in while hunting or trading."