[Discovered catchable ingredient: Hell Bovine]
[Capture Level: 70-90]
[Description: Ancient monsters buried deep beneath the ice hell, awakened en masse by the influence of Century Soup! Their forms are bizarre and twisted, resembling a combination of trees, reptiles, and elephants, with atrophied visual organs, relying on heat senses like snakes.]
[Description: Greedy and destructive, they devour and destroy everything they see.]
[Description: Little meat and foul-smelling, with low culinary value, though some peculiar individuals enjoy it.]
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The terrifying monsters, once subdued by Jiro's pressure points and sealed in a deep ice glacier in the original work, could contend with the parasitic king worms of Domolette.
They are monsters of incredibly fearsome combat power, peak among their level, capable of easily challenging those above them.
And in the original work, there was only one…
Here, there's a whole pack!
Xifeng exclaimed in shock, "This… when did such a pack of monsters make its den here!"
Zhang Wei asked, "Are there any other passages?"
"This underground passage is the only one; it was meant to serve as an escape route."
"If we must take this path, we'll have to clear them out," Zhang Wei said, his gaze falling upon the many gourmet hunters.
Then, he quietly asked, "Shall I leave them for you to practice on, or shall I deal with them?"
"I didn't realize Chef Zhang had hunting skills as well."
Doubt?
Heh!
Blue lightning surged around his body!
The lightning converged into his left fist, a ferocious aura attracting the attention of all the Hell Bovines!
Terrified roars!
Dozens of streaks of lightning flashed and vanished. The closest one was instantly riddled with holes, dozens of transparent openings glinting!
"Such penetrative power!"
"And this fist speed and force, is this truly a chef!"
In the blink of an eye.
Zhang Wei unleashed a full two hundred blasts of Azure Star Marks. The Hell Bovines had no time to react, their bodies torn and bloody by the armor-piercing drills laced with electricity.
Even with their tenacious vitality, they couldn't survive in such a sieve-like state.
Seeing Zhang Wei display his might, Xifeng puffed out his chest and proudly declared, "My boss is a man who has steered the course of wars. Subduing a few ugly monsters like this is child's play, isn't it?"
These were monsters of level 70-90, the pinnacle of existence on the human continent.
Even if these three hundred people were the most elite gourmet hunters on the continent, hunting Hell Bovines would still be an immense challenge!
A rough estimate placed the number of Hell Bovines at around thirty.
This meant about ten gourmet hunters would be allocated one each.
But clearly, this group of gourmet hunters possessed their pride and had no intention of fighting simultaneously.
The tragic deaths of their companions enraged the remaining Hell Bovines, and they charged towards Zhang Wei as a group.
The thundering footsteps of these ferocious beasts shook the ground, and small pebbles danced in the dust.
The gourmet hunter collective showed no fear. Although they had never fought on such a large scale and lacked intricate coordination, their extensive experience meant that a mere glance or a synchronized movement was enough to convey intent!
Step one!
Obstruction!
"Water Ripple Wave!"
"Earth Splitting Technique!"
"Stone Burst Eruption!"
"Iron Net!"
...
Over twenty different skills covered the entire area. Though they slightly conflicted with each other, the effect was astonishing!
"Fire Blast Impact!"
The fiery wave impacted the ceiling, causing large chunks of rock and dust to fall, greatly hindering thermal imaging!
Step two!
Separation!
Dividing the Hell Bovines, who acted as a unit, greatly reduced the chance of accidents and allowed for the concentration of superior forces for elimination.
Suddenly, various props flew through the air.
Ropes...
Chains...
Smoke bombs...
Repellent powders...
In short, anything that could cause displacement and chaos was thrown, with a considerable variety of methods.
Step three!
Weakness Search / Data Collection!
Backpacks and equipment pouches were opened. Some assembled spears and javelins, while others readied longbows and large crossbows, nocking arrows.
More directly, they pulled out hidden weapons and throwing knives!
Their combat methods were bizarre, but all were probing attacks.
"No major artery found in the torso; it's an insect-like internal structure!"
"After thirteen strikes to the hooves, no Achilles' tendon-like部位 was found; the blood is quite viscous!"
Upon seeing wounds appear, the second echelon focused on damaging them.
One person threw out a pouch of powder, saying, "This is the strongest anesthetic, it would put even a level sixty Mighty Vajra to sleep for three days… Damn it, it's only partially effective on this type of creature!"
The agitated Hell Bovines began to counterattack fiercely.
The ground trembled under their trampling hooves, weighing thousands of tons, or their flexible, twisted heads would tear and bite. The Hell Bovines' bite force was monstrous, capable of easily destroying any sword, blade, or armor.
Fortunately, the gourmet hunters were experienced and numerous. As soon as a teammate was in danger, they would rush to their aid, and so far, there had been no casualties.
One person shouted, "This guy has no eyes, its sensory ability is very strange, it doesn't seem to rely on vision!"
"That's right, it can often attack from blind spots, with over a dozen heads blockading from all angles, its assault is extremely dense!"
"Its skin is incredibly tough, like oil-soaked old tree bark, offering strong resistance to chopping or hammering."
Professional!
Completely different from Zhang Wei's brute force hunting method, all the gourmet hunters were feinting, and none launched a powerful surprise attack.
Through his electromagnetic wave perception, Zhang Wei could sense that many high-level gourmet hunters were holding back, not revealing their full strength.
"A battle of skill amongst gourmet hunters, I see…"
"They want to win through technique."
Hell Bovine.
In the original work, it was a boss-level threat, exuding immense pressure. Even the protagonist group might not have had a chance of victory upon its appearance. Without the parasitic king worm to distract it, the gourmet group at that time might have been wiped out.
However, they were now facing gourmet hunters with an average level of 65 and extremely rich experience, the cream of the crop on the human continent.
Since they had decided to join Zhang Wei's crew, they naturally had to show their worth.
"Hair Lock!"
A female gourmet hunter threw back her hood, and her long hair swept out, extending limitlessly!
These hairs shimmered with a metallic luster and were incredibly agile. They then separated into thousands of strands, wrapping around the Hell Bovines' hooves like poisonous snakes!
The enraged Hell Bovines tried to tear at the hair, but their necks were completely immobilized, rendering them unable to move.
The long-haired beauty laughed, "What are you all waiting for? Capture it alive!"
Zhang Wei was startled, "Is this a Hair Demon?"
No!
In the original work, Sani had rainbow-colored hair, and his attack range was limited by the length of his hair.
However, this girl's hair could extend infinitely, estimated to be hundreds of meters long. Clearly, it wasn't the same route as the power-oriented, attacking Sani.
Binding!
Immobilization!
Such skills were far more effective for the team than damage-dealing ones, making them ideal for gourmet hunters to capture ingredients alive.
Since someone had revealed their true abilities, the others no longer held back.
"Thousand-Hand Acupoint Strike, Body-Piercing Finger Force!"
Brilliant stars flickered at the fingertips, soaring high into the sky and descending vertically, like a meteor shower cleansing the hard earth.
Highlights flashed on the Hell Bovines' skin. The long-haired woman could clearly feel that the Hell Bovines had stopped struggling.
"Amazing!"
"This kind of creature can be acupointed… It's incredible!"
One person severed the head of another and held it up, saying, "Reptilian creatures have very primitive nervous systems. Especially this one, it has many low-level brains, and its bodily functions are mainly driven by instinct."
"Higher animals have sufficient intelligence and centralized nerve pathways. By disrupting these centralized pathways, anesthesia can be achieved, but the more primitive the creature, the more scattered its pathways…"
"This person can accurately acupoint a complex reptilian creature; their acupoint technique is too superb!"
Another person explained, "This individual is from the Senju clan of Wood Village. Legend has it that their clan has Buddha's bloodline and can manifest a thousand hands to resist enemies! This Thousand-Hand Acupoint Strike is his renowned ultimate skill!"
Star-Point Acupoint: Senju Kan!
Silver-haired, red-eyed demoness: Yuu!
Most of the people present were legitimate gourmet hunters who made a living by hunting, and they were more adept at binding, control, traps, props, and preservation.
The protagonist group in the original work, driven primarily by the desire to eat the ingredients themselves, had skill configurations that leaned towards frontal combat.
It was highly unprofessional.
After all, no employer would want to see their target ingredient eaten by gourmet hunters before they could even get to it.
All thirty-two were captured!
Not a single casualty!
Even when facing the guardians of treacherous lands in the original work, this lineup could easily crush them!
Zhang Wei hadn't expected this group of gourmet hunters to be of such high caliber!