The chain of bullets that hung around Blue reaper's shoulder disappeared into thin air, but she wasn't bothered at all. She beat her chest three times with her right fist, each beat at a different location on her chest, forming a triangle. She whispered a chant,
"Hercules hunting bullets come forth!"
A chain of bullets appeared, hanging over her right shoulder.
"Reverend?" Blue's Tiger called his male colleague without sparring a look at him.
Reverend of the blade nodded.
The lion-head bison approached the crew with a calm gait. Its eyes also carried not a single doubt of calm. The bovine subtly observed the movements of the hunters before it.
The bovine was built like a water buffalo but way bigger. It was almost five metres tall, three metres long, and had brown fur around its face. The rest of the bovine's body was black in colour.
Blue's Tiger sprinted straight at the bovine. Reverend followed him behind on the left flank. Both men held their weapons, ready to swing at the target. Blue's Tiger suddenly changed flanks to the right, creating an opening for twins to make a surprise range attack with their flames.
Unfortunately, the bovine had anticipated their movements and had merely waited to confirm. The bovine was an earth bender. Without moving any of its muscles, it manipulated five thick pillars of soil to come forth from the soil. One pillar was erected to block the barrage of flame balls from the twins. A pillar knocked away Reverend of the blade farther left, and another knocked Blue's Tiger farther right. One very thick pillar sent the twins sky high before they crashed into a halved building that was farther from the bovine.
Blue reaper narrowly escaped the pillar aimed at her. She had jumped backwards, away from the rising pillar, at the right time. She used the pillar as a shield. With her gun in shooting position, she moved her upper body to the left and got a clear sight of the target. She unloaded three bullets at the target. Two bullets stuck into the bovine's forehead, but the third was stopped by a pillar of soil, which shattered under the impact of the bullet.
Blue reaper was shocked that the bovine's skull was very thick, as the two bullets merely lodged in the bone. But it was not over. As the pillar of soil shattered under the impact of the third bullet, the two bullets that lodged in the skull of the beast detonated one after the other. The beast shrieked in pain.
Dust covered the frame of the lion-head bison. Blue reaper was confident that the detonation would end the rank-A uncharted beast. She could hear the bovine's heavy breathing. She didn't want to shoot recklessly into the dust because her supply of Hercules hunting bullets was limited. A deep exhale from the beast cleared the dust. The first thing she saw was the face of the beast. It glared at her while the hole in its head healed; the skull bone was reforming layer by layer. Blue reaper was shocked, and the glare she saw after locking eyes with the beast frightened her. She lost her confidence and fled in the opposite direction.
The lion-head bison just stood in place, glaring at the scared huntress as its injury healed. The other hunters were still lying on the ground, unconscious.
Blue reaper ran faster than she had ever done in her entire life. She ran straight towards a building, planning to hide in it. Fright had made her lose some ounce of reasoning; hiding inside the building was useless because the beast would bring down the building on her. Some distance behind the house was the unscathed area of the southwest area of Blue Box Minicity.
The injury to the lion-head bison's head was fully healed. It frowned, causing pillars of earth to shoot out from the soil one after another before it. This phenomenon continued and quickly advanced in a straight line towards the building. Blue reaper didn't hide deep in the house; she was close to the entrance. The intensifying trembling of the earth made her steal a peek at what was happening outside. She saw the advancing pillars, and she instinctively dove out of the building before the final shoot through the building, ripping it to chunks. She was lucky not to have a chunk of the destroyed building fall on her.
As soon as Blue reaper descended on the ground, the ground became quicksand, and her limbs sank into the ground. The ground solidified, firmly holding her in place. She couldn't run as the bovine was quickly closing in, riding on the land beneath its hooves.
[You have a new mission!
Help in defeating the Lion Head bison, a rank-A beast.
Punishment: You will lose 300 evolution points!]
[You have a new mission!
Rescue Blue reaper from the clutches of death!
Punishment: nil!
Reward: You will gain 1 evolution point!]
Niklas heard two notifications from his system ring in his mind as he lay on the ground, unconscious. But the latter notification persisted, and it eventually woke him from his slumber.
As he woke up, his senses perceived the intimidating aura of the lion-head bison. His gaze went to the current location of the beast, and he saw the beast driving towards a hapless huntress. Adrenaline pumped into muscles, causing sustained lightning sparks to prevail all over his body, and he sprang away like a bullet released into the sky.
Boom! Niklas collided with the bison, stopping its advance to Blue reaper. The collision formed a crater, and the two lay in it, their bodies feeling sore, but the sensation was stronger on the uncharted beast. Niklas forced his sore muscles, and he climbed out of the crater. He was relieved to see that Reverend of the blade and Blue's Tiger were helping Blue reaper get out of her bondage. He failed to notice that Blue's Tiger was holding half of his sword. The rest of the blade was nowhere to be seen.
Niklas lay on the ground, wincing and waiting for the soreness to reduce.
[You have successfully completed a mission!
Mission: Rescue Blue reaper from the clutches of death!
Reward: You have gained 1 evolution point!]
Niklas was glad. He couldn't wait to have free time so that he could evolve his body.
Take down was supporting Knock down as they were approaching the crew. Suddenly, the twins stopped and gazed at something behind Niklas. Blue reaper was now freed. She had a horrified look as she stared at something behind Niklas. The men with her frowned as they set themselves ready for action.
Niklas's heart skipped a few beats as he thought about the worst. He leapt forward as he turned to look behind. The bison was standing on the side of the crater opposite him. Its gaze was fixed on him, but this time it was not a glare, as that would mean that it looked down on the lanky, red-haired man. If any of the hunters could read the beast's countenance, they would notice that it was wary of Niklas.
At this moment, Pension gunner had woken up. He thought that the beast was distracted and had left its back open. He aimed and tried to shoot. Unfortunately for him, a pillar shot through his belly, ending his life. He shrieked painfully before he died.
The members of the Knife edge looked over to the dead hunter, and their faces became pale. They foolishly lost concentration on the threat before them, but were lucky to still be alive.