In a secluded valley of the Star Dou Great Forest, Bai Mu and Zygarde quietly slipped inside. Before them stood a Special Spirit Beast resembling a wild boar, roughly six meters tall, with most of its brown fur covered by gray-white bony armor.
Savage. That was the first impression it gave.
But when Bai Mu's gaze shifted to its head, all his attention was drawn to its pair of diamond-pure eyes and two diamond-hard tusks.
An absurd sense of contrast washed over him.
At that moment, an eight-thousand-year-old Vajra Bear was pinned against the mountainside by it, its chest pierced through by tusks. Strange gray mist constantly drifted out, gradually absorbed by the unusual tusks and eyes.
The Vajra Bear's body aged and withered at a visible pace, shriveling like a flower as it wilted, while the Time Hunter's tusks and eyes grew increasingly radiant.
As he watched this scene, a sentence inexplicably surfaced in Bai Mu's mind—
I only wanted to kill you and plunder your time. What did I do wrong?
"This thing won't be easy to deal with!"
Bai Mu's expression gradually turned solemn.
It was not as though he and Zygarde had never hunted Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts before, but a formidable opponent with high offense, high defense, and special abilities was clearly not going to be easy to handle.
"I can fight it!"
Zygarde did not retreat. Its eyes were filled with battle intent.
"Hm?"
Just then, after finishing its meal, the Tusked Time Hunter casually tossed aside the bear's corpse and turned to look at Bai Mu.
"It found us?"
Bai Mu's pupils constricted sharply.
He and Zygarde were both hidden and suppressing their presence. Even Dugu Bo might not have noticed them unless someone told him they were there.
Yet the Time Hunter had seen through them at a glance.
For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze.
No, it did not merely seem that way!
Bai Mu could clearly feel the airflow around him slowing, falling leaves drifting sluggishly, even his own heartbeat seeming to be gripped by an invisible hand as every beat became slower.
"This is... Time Domain?"
The thought flashed through his mind.
Roar!
Zygarde roared, and a strange current of air suddenly burst from its body. Wherever it passed, the effects of the Time Domain instantly vanished, then were forcibly reversed!
Aura Break!
Slowing the opponent became speeding up the opponent!
"What an incredible ability."
Bai Mu now understood why this giant could so easily defeat other Spirit Beasts.
"Hm?"
What was going on? Had its domain turned on its master?
On the other side, the Tusked Time Hunter froze for a moment as it felt its domain slipping out of its control. Then a fierce glint flashed through its eyes.
Roar!
The next instant, the Tusked Time Hunter moved.
Its body flashed as though it had activated some acceleration skill, and its speed became astonishingly fast.
One second it was still two hundred meters away; the next, it had crossed a hundred meters. Its tusks gleamed with dangerous light as it charged madly at Bai Mu and Zygarde!
Substitute!
Without hesitation, Bai Mu and Zygarde used Substitute together, sending them forward to meet the attack.
Meanwhile, they frantically retreated in different directions.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the two Substitutes were pierced straight through and instantly vanished like bubbles.
"I'm counting on you, Xiao Ruan. Glare, Stomp!"
Bai Mu shouted as he ran away without looking back.
This Spirit Beast could see through his invisibility. He had to make a tactical retreat!
Roar~
Seeing this, the Tusked Time Hunter was about to give chase when Zygarde shot it a fierce glare.
In an instant, its entire body went numb, and its speed plummeted!
Awoo!
Seizing the opportunity, Zygarde raised its foot and Stomped, sending a shockwave sweeping out.
Seeing that the attack did not seem particularly powerful, the Tusked Time Hunter, which had no way to evade anyway, paid it no mind and charged straight at Zygarde.
The moment it rushed forward, its speed slowed again after being hit!
Aah!
Feeling its entire body go numb and stiff, the Tusked Time Hunter let out an enraged roar.
Its body flashed again as it accelerated time once more and slammed toward Zygarde.
You think that can hit me?
Disdain flashed through Zygarde's eyes. With a light leap, it dodged the attack, and a Dragon Pulse erupted from its mouth!
A purple, dragon-shaped wave howled forth and swallowed the Time Hunter whole.
Boom!
The explosion of energy and the shattered ground were enough to prove the power of that strike.
However—
Whoosh~
As a breeze blew through and dispersed the smoke, the Time Hunter inside showed no sign of injury apart from a few marks on its armor.
Roar!
The Time Hunter let out an angry bellow, opened its mouth, and actually spat out a cloud of strange gray mist.
Awoo!
Zygarde unleashed another Dragon Pulse, trying to disperse it, but the two attacks seemed to exist on different layers and did not affect each other at all!
Extreme Speed! Dodge it!
Bai Mu's voice suddenly rang out through Telepathy.
Whoosh!
Zygarde immediately turned into an afterimage and rapidly retreated, barely evading the gray mist.
Wherever the gray mist drifted, plants withered and rocks weathered away. It was extremely sinister.
A thousand meters away, Bai Mu hid in a tree with bated breath, beginning to direct the battle from outside the field.
"Don't let your guard down. Its defense is extremely high, and your attacks can hardly hurt it."
"Use Dragon Dance to strengthen yourself, and keep using Stomp to weaken its speed!"
"I understand!"
Zygarde immediately began an intense, mysterious dance. As its feet touched the ground, waves of shockwaves frantically surged toward the Time Hunter.
Roar~
The Time Hunter's enormous body could not evade the attacks at all. It could only activate Boar Charge again and rush at Zygarde.
Every time it was hit by Stomp, it felt its speed decrease by another fraction.
In the end, it felt as though it had sunk into a swamp, its speed reduced to only one-eighth of what it had been.
Meanwhile, Zygarde kept dancing to the rhythm.
"Attack now. Use Land's Wrath!"
After six Dragon Dances, Zygarde immediately erupted with its full power. The ground around it shattered in an instant, and bizarre green divine light surged wildly from beneath the Time Hunter's feet!
Boom!
The ground tore apart, and stones flew everywhere.
The power of the earth ruthlessly enveloped the Time Hunter completely, battering it without mercy!
However, when the attack ended, the Time Hunter looked disheveled, but its injuries were far lighter than expected.
"Seriously, why is it so tanky?"
"Did you use all that time you plundered to boost your defense?"
Bai Mu was nearly dumbfounded. At this rate, even if Zygarde attacked at full power for an entire day, it might not be able to kill the Time Hunter.
The Time Hunter also seemed to realize that this little bug's attacks could not truly harm it, and it let out a snorting laugh of mockery.
"Laughing? If you like laughing so much, laugh a little longer. You won't get the chance later!"
Bai Mu thought viciously before saying, "Substitute! Jungle Healing!"
Awoo~
Amid the green light of life, Zygarde created one Substitute after another, and Bai Mu took control of them!
"All of you, use Crunch!"
Under Bai Mu's control, every Substitute darted out from a different direction, opening their mouths and biting viciously at the Time Hunter.
Although the Time Hunter did not believe the attacks could hurt it, it did not have a habit of standing there and taking hits.
But with its speed greatly reduced, it could not block every attack.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Substitutes charged forward one after another, continuously inflicting minor damage.
Just as the Time Hunter was about to ignore them, a crack rang out. A piece of its seemingly indestructible armor actually shattered!
Its defense had been weakened!
At that moment, the Time Hunter finally understood Bai Mu's intentions!
If its defense was high, then they would weaken that defense!
Roar~
An emotion called fear surfaced within it. Like a mad beast, the Time Hunter erupted with power, scattered the Substitutes, and charged at full speed toward the valley entrance.
This dog was acting strange. It was done playing!
Before you continue