Altaïr silently sheathed his weapon.
The so-called Wyvern's Fire was the most powerful attack of the Gunlance, bar none. Its principle was to unleash all the energy and heat accumulated in the chamber in one go, resulting in astonishing power.
Its drawbacks were a long preparation and charging time, making it impossible to use frequently.
If such an attack were detonated deep within its mouth, even a Cephadrome probably couldn't take it. This ordinary Cephalos before them had its mouth blown apart the instant the Wyvern's Fire was discharged. A bloody, plate-sized hole was blasted through its throat, leaving it thoroughly dead.
Asa, clutching his Heavy Bowgun, slid speechlessly down from the top of the dune. "I say, old bro, I haven't even fired a single shot yet?"
Altaïr couldn't help but add, "I only got one slash in."
Nuri ejected the hot shell, stuck the hissing Eizenlitter into the sand beside him, and shrugged. "Can't be helped. That's just how we Gunlance users are. If we don't start a fight with a Wyvern's Fire, it feels like we're losing out."
"You son of a–!" Sajji leaped to his feet in a fury and kicked Nuri's thigh. "We were so careful luring it over here alone! What if that shot of yours alerted the other Cephalos in the sandy hollow, meow?!"
"Sorry, sorry." Nuri chuckled sheepishly. "Got carried away for a moment. I won't use Wyvern's Fire on the next one. I won't."
"It's not that you don't want to use it, meow! It's because you're waiting for the barrel to cool down, meow!"
"Ahem, that was my bad just now. Anyway, let's be more careful from now on and not make too much noise," Nuri said with a dry laugh. "Asa, get back to the top of the dune and keep watch. Altaïr, let's hurry up and carve. Sajji, you can rest for a bit."
"Be careful with the Piscine Liver. Process it properly and bring it back, and we can earn quite a bit more," Asa reminded them as he climbed back up the dune.
"Got it." Nuri made an 'okay' gesture. "Altaïr, you carve the scales and fins. The other parts aren't worth much. I'll handle the liver; I'm more familiar with this work."
"Alright." Altaïr nodded and drew his carving knife.
The liver of a Cephalos, the so-called Piscine Liver, was a high-class ingredient sought after by gourmands and the wealthy. If they could bring it back fresh and whole, they could earn a lot of money.
But that usually required the cold storage of a fishing boat. They couldn't forget that they were in a scorching desert with a mission to complete; bringing it back fresh was nigh impossible.
The best they could do was to finish carving quickly, remove the Piscine Liver, and bury it in the sand. The sand would absorb the blood and excess moisture. If conditions allowed, they could also use methods like smoking or salting to slow its decay.
Even so, a large portion of the Piscine Liver brought back after the mission would still be unsuitable for consumption, and its taste would be far inferior to fresh ones. Nevertheless, it could still be sold for several hundred z per portion.
If they could properly process and bring back the liver from every Cephalos, the income from selling Piscine Livers would almost match the mission reward.
After spending some time finishing the carving, the three of them moved to a new location and hid themselves again. Sajji, the gold-grade bait, set off once more, cursing and muttering under his breath.
The second Cephalos died just as cleanly and swiftly. Even though Nuri didn't use his Wyvern's Fire this time, the Cephalos, stunned by a Sonic Bomb and then swarmed by three hunters and a Palico who pinned its head down, never managed to get back on its feet before it died.
After dealing with the carcass, Altaïr looked at Sajji. "Shall we continue?"
This was the first time he had personally experienced the value of hunting partners. The biggest reason they had managed to take down two Cephalos so easily and safely since the quest began wasn't any of the three of them, but Sajji.
Sajji, however, shook his head. "This trick probably won't work anymore, meow. The Cephalos are on alert. When I lured the second one over just now, the others almost followed it out too, meow.
Trying it a third time probably won't be successful, meow."
"How many Cephalos are left in that hollow?" Nuri asked as he walked over.
"There should be two left, meow."
"Understood." Nuri looked at his two companions. "Two Cephalos. The three of us together shouldn't have much trouble. What do you two think?"
"We can do it!" Asa gave a thumbs-up.
Altaïr nodded as well. "I don't think it's a problem either."
"Hmm," Nuri mused for a few seconds. "Alright, how about this: I'll take care of one, and you two work together to deal with the second."
"Deal!" Asa agreed readily. The last fight had ended before he even had a chance to fire many shots, and he was raring to go.
At this moment, however, Altaïr offered a different opinion. "You two brothers are more practiced at coordinating with each other. Why don't I keep one busy while you two seniors quickly finish off the other, then come help me?
I use a light weapon, so I'm more agile. I can't say I'll kill it quickly, but I can definitely protect myself."
Nuri frowned in thought. Setting other things aside, Altaïr had a very good point: he and his brother were a practiced pair, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting in each other's way.
But Altaïr and Asa were a different story. They had been fighting a 'stationary target' just now, which was fine, but if the two of them had to coordinate a pincer attack on a freely moving Cephalos, they might truly run into the awkward situation of one plus one being less than two.
After a moment's hesitation, he agreed to Altaïr's proposal. "My Wyvern's Fire has finished cooling down. We'll take out one Cephalos as fast as we can.
When you're fighting the other one, focus on protecting yourself. Don't be reckless."
"Got it."
—--
Having decided on their next battle plan, the three men and one Palico approached the sandy hollow.
Just as Sajji had said, the successive disappearances of their kin had put the Cephalos foraging in the sandy hollow on high alert.
They had crawled out from under the sand and were now pacing around the hollow, looking about as if waiting for their companions to return.
"It really is two of them. But they're out of the sand now, so we can't use Sonic Bombs." Nuri squinted, sizing up the prey in the hollow. "Let's go with a frontal assault."
After exchanging glances with his companions, the three of them nodded in unison. The next second, they all stood up and charged down from the sand dune.
With his light weapon, Altaïr was much faster than the other two. While Nuri and Asa were still half-crouching and sliding down the slope, he had already reached the bottom.
Using the momentum from his charge down the slope, he leaped into the air and brought his sword down in a jumping slash with all his might onto the head of one of the Cephalos.
"Scree..."
The Cephalos cried out in pain and took two steps back, shaking its blood-soaked head. Its small, dull eyes fixed on the hunter who had launched the surprise attack.
Though its sight had degenerated, its keen perception of electric fields and vibrations allowed it to instantly and accurately pinpoint Altaïr's position.
Spreading its fins with a screech, it opened its shark-like maw and lunged.
Already prepared, Altaïr immediately rolled to evade. He got up and accelerated toward the Cephalos's rear flank.
I have to draw this Cephalos as far away as possible.
In addition to the Cephalos he had struck with his surprise attack, the other one's attention was also drawn to the sudden intruder. Just as the second Cephalos was about to give chase, Nuri finally arrived.
As the defender, his method of drawing a Monster's attention was wilder and more direct.
"Woooahhh!!!"
He roared, holding his greatshield high, and slammed into the side of the second Cephalos, shield and all. As he sent it stumbling, he fired his Gunlance repeatedly.
Asa joined the battle at this moment as well.
To increase his attack efficiency, he didn't snipe from a distance. Instead, he carried his Heavy Bowgun and moved in close.
Using Spread Ammo at a time like this would get him a beating from his big brother, so he used Normal Ammo. At a close enough range, Normal Ammo could also produce a respectable amount of damage.
Caught in their pincer attack, the second Cephalos was held back, which greatly reassured Altaïr.
Now, I just need to focus on the opponent before me.
A drawn-out fight? Stall for time until his companions could provide support? Sorry, but he was just saying that.
What he truly wanted to do was kill his opponent before his two companions could.