Night fell faster in the Mist Swamp than anywhere else.
The faint scent of Drunken Sedge still lingered on Leorio's tongue. He leaned against a broken stump, eyelids drooping and cheeks flushed an unnatural red.
He hadn't drunk too much.
He had inhaled too many alcoholic fumes when he trampled that patch of Drunken Sedge.
"Can you still walk?" Killua flicked mud from the toe of his shoe. His tone was casual, but his eyes were wary. "The farther in we go, the more muddled the auras get."
Gon gripped his fishing rod and nodded. "If you're not feeling well, Mr. Leorio, we can rest for a bit."
Kurapika said nothing. The chain at his fingertips trembled beneath his sleeve.
He had sensed it.
The ground was shaking.
It wasn't an earthquake. Something enormous was charging toward them.
"Scatter!"
The moment Kurapika barked the warning, the reeds to the left of the swamp exploded outward.
A massive, dark-red bull smashed through them and charged out.
It stood nearly four meters at the shoulder, with horns curved like blades. The white steam blasting from its nostrils reeked of alcohol. Its cloudy, bloodshot eyes looked utterly crazed.
[Drunken Rampage Bull]
Base Capture Level: 24
Current status: Alcohol-fueled frenzy; instantaneous power approaching level 30
Weak points: Lateral neck vein; abdominal fermentation sac
Blue scanning light flashed across Genos's palm, and he rattled off the data:
"Base level 24. Eating Drunken Sedge has sent it into a frenzy, temporarily doubling its impact force. But its stamina is poor. It can keep this up for ten minutes at most."
Before he finished speaking, the bull lowered its head and charged at Gon, the closest one to it.
Bang!
Gon crossed his arms to block, but the impact sent him sliding three or four meters. His