Chapter 87

As expected, the collision of the giant bird was easily blocked by Catherine. Although the giant bird's level was higher than that of the Great Boar King, in terms of the force of a charge, the giant bird was not necessarily stronger. Therefore, it wasn't difficult for Catherine to stop the giant bird. Moreover, as a bird wyvern with the ability to fly, the giant bird had poor balance on the ground. After blocking the giant bird, Catherine took advantage of the momentum to push it, causing it to fall to the ground.

Immediately, Catherine raised her greatsword, the entire process seamless and unobstructed, undoubtedly the result of her hard training over this period.

"Great opportunity! It's all about whether we can seize it. If we can hit its head with one strike, this hunt can be ended early! Meow!"

The giant bird was still lying on the ground, struggling to get up, while Catherine's greatsword came down with a slash.

Although it was just a regular vertical slash, with Catherine's immense strength, it was powerful enough to be astonishing. Wenlong even thought that this ordinary vertical slash had reached the level of a charged slash that ordinary hunters would use their full strength to perform!

The giant bird on the ground seemed to sense the incredible destructive power of the attack. It let out a disturbing cry and struggled to turn its long neck, trying to avoid Catherine's strike.

"Ugh... so noisy..." Catherine's movements hesitated for a moment, and this hesitation gave the giant bird a brief chance to save itself.

In the end, the giant bird succeeded, at least partially.

Catherine's heavy greatsword, with a whistling sound, came down but did not split the giant bird's head in two. Instead, it narrowly missed and cut off one of the giant bird's ears!

Blood splattered! The giant bird let out an even sharper cry and struggled violently, standing up more quickly than before.

"Just a bit off. Although I cut off its ear, it's going to be more troublesome from now on... meow."

Unlike previous monsters, the giant bird, as a bird wyvern with some characteristics of a flying wyvern, would enter a state called "rage" after being attacked to a certain extent.

In this state, the giant bird's attack power and agility would significantly increase, and some of its moves would be enhanced.

If Catherine had managed to split the giant bird's head with one strike, this unfortunate giant bird would have lost its life before it could enter the rage state. But now, the giant bird in rage mode immediately displayed even more terrifying strength.

First, it stood up much faster than before, so fast that Catherine's greatsword had just been retracted when the giant bird was already back on its feet. This prevented Catherine from immediately following up with a second strike after the first one missed.

The giant bird, having just stood up, immediately used one of its special moves, "Peck," to counterattack Catherine.

The giant bird's large beak was quite lethal when used to attack, and "Peck" was not a single strike but a series of continuous pecks. Like a boxer throwing a rapid series of punches, it created a dense pressure in a short time.

Catherine immediately used her greatsword to defend, but the giant bird in rage mode seemed to have gained more strength, and the continuous pecks forced Catherine to retreat step by step!

"Such incredible strength, this is the difference between rage and normal state..."

While defending against the giant bird's pecks, Catherine noticed another characteristic of the giant bird in rage mode: its mouth was clearly emitting hot flames.

Catherine knew that this meant the giant bird's metabolism had increased, and its internal organs had been greatly enhanced. For example, the fire sac that allowed the giant bird to spit fire was now overflowing with flames, allowing it to continuously spit out fireballs.

"Can it continuously spit out fireballs... I need to be careful... try not to let it gain distance and resolve the opponent at close range! After this round of pecks, there will definitely be an opening..."

Catherine continued to defend against the giant bird's pecks while carefully looking for an opening.

Soon, the opening came.

After two rounds of about ten pecks, the giant bird seemed to realize that Catherine's sturdy greatsword was not something it could break with its beak and finally stopped its attack.

"Chance!"

As soon as the giant bird stopped attacking, Catherine immediately assumed a counterattack stance, and her greatsword, which was already in a horizontal position, swept across.

"Stupid, still too slow... meow."

From defense to a horizontal slash, Catherine's attack was not poorly connected. In fact, if it were a regular giant bird, Catherine's horizontal slash would have hit. But this giant bird was not in a normal state but in a more agile rage mode!

As Catherine's horizontal slash came, the giant bird suddenly turned, and its whip-like tail immediately swept toward Catherine at a faster speed. Clearly, the giant bird was faster than Catherine!

Catherine's greatsword had not even hit the giant bird when it was struck by the giant bird's tail. Due to her height, the tail hit Catherine's shoulder, throwing her three meters away!

Seeing this, Wenlong, who had been watching from a distance, closed the distance to Catherine and drew the dual blades on his back, ready to intervene if Catherine encountered a danger she couldn't handle.

"Her shoulder must be injured. Even with the Great Boar King's suit, being hit by the giant bird's tail on the shoulder can't be without consequences..." Wenlong thought.

However, Catherine seemed to notice Wenlong's readiness to intervene and said, "Mr. Cat, please don't interfere this time. I'll handle it myself... After all this training, I believe I can do it..."

"Alright... let me see your strength! Meow!" Seeing Catherine's determined eyes, Wenlong nodded and put the dual blades back into their sheaths.