Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1563: Picnic Prep

=Well...isn't that rather convenient? =

<The fact that our Lord is incredibly close to our major planned stop and all it took was him craving Korean BBQ?>

=And that it was suggested by Olstenna of all people. =

<Karmic Void at work, I guess?>

= That appears to be the case, yes. =

...Ominous little shits...

The hunt competition for the Long-Horned Molten Iron Buffalo started and ended without any surprising interruptions.

As Zhen Liu and his friends hunted down their intended targets, they each showcased their own unique approaches when it came to hunting down their prey. Or at the very least showcased their strengths.

...

Note that the kaijin will not be detailed in this event due to them being the most familiar with readers

...

"You go high and I go low?"

"Of course."

As members of the Zhen Clan, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai were more than accustomed to hunting down aether beasts not just for their customers but for their own larders as well.

While the Long-Horn Molten Iron Buffalo looked rather intimidating with its glowing red horns and molten iron skin, the two scions of the Zhen Clan had taken down similar beasts before and knew exactly how to approach these beasts.

"That one has a bum leg."

"I see it!"

"Moo?"

The moment they saw their target, Zhen Tai was the first to charge in.

[Viper Stride!]

Encased in aether, Zhen Tai began to move across the ground like a viper on a hunt.

"Moo!"

Even though it was injured from a prior bout with a predator, the Long-Horn Molten Iron Buffalo was still a dangerous opponent and proceeded to try and stomp Zhen Tai into the ground.

Unfortunately, Zhen Tai proved to be too slippery for the lumbering bull and missed as Zhen Tai proceeded to climb up the buffalo's leg and get on to its back. Once there, he took out his aether treasure brass knuckles and proceeded to empower them.

As aether flowed into them, they transformed into a pair of burning katars.

Snik!

"Mooo!"

One quick stab to the back, and the buffalo reared its head back to scream in pain.

"Zhen Xing, now!"

While this was happening, Zhen Xing had closed the gap and was preparing to try out the brand new aether art he received from Logos and Pathos.

One that caused the foxfire wheels on his feet to glow with intense heat and light, like the surface of the sun.

[Divine Solar Wheel!]

Kicking upwards, Zhen Xing launched one of the foxfire wheels on his feet upward and decapitated the buffalo in a single strike.

No blood was spilled as the point of decapitation was fully cauterized.

Once the beast had fallen, both Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai looked mildly shocked at how fast and easy that kill was. It was a testament to their growth. Then again, it could've also been the overpowered treasures and arts that they were bestowed through circumstances outside of their control.

"Well…that was fast," Zhen Tai commented as he extracted his katars and stared at his cousin. "Good job on the decapitation strike. Hell, I think we can keep the head as a trophy…or we can eat it, either or."

"Yeah," Zhen Xing trailed off as he realized that he only tapped into a shallow part of that new aether art he learned. That, and he realized something mildly annoying at the same time.

"Oh fuck, how are we going to drain the blood out of this thing? I think cauterized the major arteries in the neck."

"Oh…fuck."

…

"Hmm."

Rianna and Jinju Ren eyed the buffalo herd and tried to see which among them would make for the best meal.

There had been an initial idea of simply blowing up the lot of them with a big coordinated attack, but since this contest was more about speed and size and not the number of kills, then the girls had to be a touch more strategic. Thankfully, Jinju Ren had draconic instincts, and Rianna was one of the best hunters amongst their group. Granted, she usually hunted giant insects, but a shot to the brain was a shot to the brain.

Combining their respective prowess, Jinju Ren scoped out the targets while Rianna prepared herself to kill the beast in one hit. Unfortunately, this required her to use a bow and arrow that were a touch smaller than what she was used to handling.

"I really hate how small this so-called longbow is," Rianna grumbled as she weighed the bow and arrows. "Also, why are these arrows so flimsy?"

"Because they're designed for targets softer than chitin shells," Jinju Ren retorted. "Now hush, I need to focus."

Jinju Ren directed her attention back onto the herd of buffaloes and mumbled her observations to herself, deciding which of the beasts looked the tastiest.

"Too small…that's a child…that one looks weird…ah-ha! Over there," Jinju Ren declared as she pointed out a fat-looking buffalo that was lying in the grass a little ways away from the rest of the herd. "That one looks the fattest. Now, should I go and run distraction while you—"

BANG!

As soon as Jinju Ren pointed out the target, Rianna notched an arrow to the longbow and fired it, releasing a sonic boom in the process. Surprisingly, the arrow didn't cause the buffalo to explode, but it did hit it right between the eyes and killed it instantly.

Jinju Ren looked absolutely shocked about the sudden swiftness in which Rianna killed their target; Rianna, however, looked kind of grumpy about the successful kill.

"I still don't like how light this stupid bow and arrow is," Rianna stated. "Why couldn't I have used my regular bow again?"

"Same reason why I wasn't allowed to use my saber; we would've blown up the entire herd," Jinju Ren retorted. "Now, let's get over there before the scavengers come and ruin our kill."

"Is that what those weird birds are doing?"

"SHIT!" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

…

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

"MOOO!"

Antonio had teamed up with Olstenna, and their plan for this hunt was kind of…dumb.

"Looks like everything is going according to plan," Olstenna observed as he began preparations for his part of the plan. "And that bull is looking tired already."

Their plan was to have Antonio intentionally piss off and lead the buffalo on a wild goose chase until it had exhausted itself. After that, Olstenna would jump in and finish the beast off.

Unfortunately, this method required Antonio to occasionally slow down just enough that the buffalo would think it would have a chance of killing the poor bastard if it just kept running a little longer. It was a good thing Antonio was only raised by a cat kaijin and not actually related to cats in any physical way; otherwise, his hypothetical tail would've been stomped multiple times by now.

"Alright, it looks exhausted enough. [Violet Fire Hammer]!"

As soon as Olstenna thought the buffalo had exhausted enough of its stamina, he leaped into the air and slammed a heavy flaming fist directly on its back, shattering one of its vertebrae and paralyzing it in an instant.

The buffalo crashed and slid off the side, which gave Antonio time to slow down and catch his breath as well.

"Holy…fuck…" Antonio panted as he looked at the buffalo that he and Olstenna had secured. "Wait, why was I the distraction again? Couldn't we have just used an aether art dummy or something?"

"Because you're faster than me and know how to be a slippery bastard if needed," Olstenna answered his cat-like companion. "Besides, running like that builds up your appetite and makes the eventual meal all the sweeter."

"I…kind of doubt that," Antonio retorted as he finally caught his breath again. "Man, dragging this thing back is going to…wait a minute…what the fuck is that?"

…

"So…what is our plan?" Lythero asked.

"Well, I was going to see if I could just charge at one of those big-ass buffalos and bank on me being stronger and tougher to try and crack their skulls during the process, but…I'm kind of afraid of it going splat in the process," Zhen Liu admitted as he eyed up the buffalo in the distance. "And as much fun as that sounds, I'd rather eat hamburgers if I had some ground pork to mix in."

"That…is oddly specific but also understandable," Lythero agreed while remembering that one place back in his old town that actually served such a dish. "So if we're not going to be doing that, what are we doing?"

"Well, for starters..." Zhen Liu trailed off as he took several steps forward and drew out his [Hammer of the Dearly Departed]. "We need to piss off one of them."

Cursed weapon in hand, Zhen Liu channeled [Chaos] and aether and willed the hammer to take on the form of a bow made of sun-bleached bones, with a bowstring made of reinforced tendon.

With the evil-looking bow in hand, Zhen Liu pulled the string and concentrated in its pull an arrow made of ghost flame.

He then took a deep breath and let it loose.