At present, only the last of the five Cephalos for the quest objective remained, and only half a day had passed.
The three of them glanced at the sky, all feeling that it wouldn't be a problem to deal with the last one before sunset. If they hurried, they should even be able to make it back to Loc Lac before nightfall.
That way, the Piscine Livers they had gathered earlier would stay relatively fresh, and they could sell them for a better price back home.
With this prospect in mind, the three humans and one Felyne began searching more actively for traces of Cephalos, preferably a lone one.
But perhaps their earlier success had used up all their good luck. They searched a large area around them but couldn't find a second gathering spot for Cephalos, let alone a lone one.
"What the hell? Weren't there supposed to be a lot of Cephalos around here? Weren't there supposed to be ten or twenty of them in total? Where'd they all go?!" the somewhat impatient Asa cursed.
"Hold on, meow," Sajji said, seeming to have discovered something.
He ran on all fours to the base of a sand dune. Here, there were some inconspicuous patterns on the sand's surface, looking like marks left by a crosswind.
But he didn't think that was it.
He sniffed at the patterns, then buried his head in the sand, as if trying to sense something. After a good while, he returned to the hunters.
"A few Cephalos passed by here not long ago, meow. Those should be the tracks left after they swam through the sand, meow."
As a 'native Felyne' who had grown up tumbling through the desert, the three hunters naturally wouldn't doubt Sajji's expertise in tracking.
Nuri quickly asked, "Can you tell which direction they went?"
"The tracks run north-south, meow. They could have gone from south to north, or from north to south, meow," Sajji gave a rather uncertain answer.
"I think they probably went north," Altaïr spoke up. "Aren't the seniors from the Desert Fins hunting a Cephadrome to the north?
If the Cephadrome is in a tough fight, it would definitely summon its kin for help. So, apart from the four we took care of, the other Cephalos have likely already rushed over."
"That's true," Asa said, a hint of worry on his face. "One Cephadrome, plus a large group of Cephalos in a chaotic siege... you think the old-timers will be okay?"
"It probably won't be a big problem," Altaïr said, looking at Nuri, the squad leader. "Should we go over and take a look?
Given the size of a Cephalos, it's unlikely for a dozen of them to attack all at once. It's more probable that they're circling the battlefield, looking for a chance to ambush.
We might be able to find a wandering Cephalos while still some distance from the fight. If we can take out a few, it'll ease the pressure on our seniors."
Nuri pondered this.
He had more faith in the strength of the Desert Fins hunting party than Altaïr and Asa did. If they were thrown into disarray just by being attacked by other Cephalos during a hunt, they wouldn't have become experts at dealing with the Cephalos problem.
The safest plan would be to wait for the Desert Fins to finish their hunt and give the agreed-upon signal. Then, they could approach the northern area, find an opportunity to hunt a fleeing Cephalos, and complete their quest objective. The advantage of this plan was its absolute safety, but the downside was that if they were unlucky and failed to intercept a single fleeing Cephalos, the quest would be impossible to complete for the time being.
They might even have to eat sand in the desert for a few days, searching everywhere for the frightened, hidden Cephalos. Just thinking about it was frustrating.
With this in mind, Nuri made a decision. "We'll head north. Let's be cautious. If we can't find a suitable opportunity, we can't cause trouble for the senior hunters, even if it means we can't complete the quest."
"Okay."
"Understood."
"Meow!"
The two humans and one Felyne agreed in succession, and the party proceeded north.
As they approached the area north of the camp, the faint, almost imperceptible smell of a Paintball in the air gradually grew stronger.
The small item, made from Paintberries, could emit a pungent and long-lasting special odor. Professionally trained hunters could distinguish this scent from several kilometers, or even tens of kilometers, away, allowing them to determine the movements of a Monster marked by a Paintball.
Altaïr crouched down, examining the bright red pigment dripped onto the sand. "It's the juice from a Paintberry. That Cephadrome passed through here. We're already near the battlefield."
"Then let's stop advancing and search the vicinity," Nuri decided.
"Speaking of which, don't you think we're a bit like the Cephalos?" Asa said with a chuckle. "The senior hunters are like the Cephadrome. When the Cephadrome can't win, it calls its underlings. The seniors have us, and we're in charge of dealing with the underlings."
"There's no way the seniors can't beat the Cephadrome. We're just here to complete our own quest objective. Don't cause them any trouble."
"I know, I know!"
"Meow?!" Sajji's ears, which were a size larger than a typical Felyne's, perked up.
After making a 'quiet' gesture and listening for a few seconds, he lay down again, pressing his ear to the sand.
"Something's coming, meow! A whole group of them, meow!"
"Prepare for battle!" Nuri barked, unfolding his Gunlance and raising his large shield to stand in front of his companions.
Altaïr drew his Sword and Shield, Asa worked the bolt on his weapon to chamber a round of Bowgun Ammo, and even Sajji gripped his Felyne Pickaxe tightly.
Soon, several grayish-yellow dorsal fins appeared at the edge of their vision, approaching them at a considerable speed.
"Cephalos? So many!" Asa peered through the scope of his Heavy Bowgun for a few seconds and couldn't help but exclaim, "At least five... no, at least six dorsal fins!"
Nuri's expression was grim.
He had assumed the Cephalos would stay near the Cephadrome, but he hadn't considered the possibility of a cluster of them charging toward them.
"Sajji! Use a Sonic Bomb only after they get close!" he roared, issuing the command. "We have to take out one or two of them first! The two of you, retreat as soon as you get the chance!"
"I can't listen to you on this one." Asa removed the Normal Ammo magazine and swapped it for Spread Ammo, which was more powerful but required close-quarters combat.
This ammunition's attack power was questionable beyond twenty meters and a liability to teammates beyond ten, but if fired point-blank at a Monster's face...
Aside from the risk the Gunner themselves had to bear, it had no drawbacks!
Altaïr also chugged a Stamina Potion.
His stamina was still insufficient to sustain Demon Mode for long, and the Stamina Potion, which could unlock the body's potential and allow the user to feel no fatigue for a certain period, could largely compensate for this.
Though they were expensive, for his and his companions' safety, now was not the time to be frugal!
One hundred meters, fifty meters, thirty meters…
The pack of Cephalos drew closer and closer. When they were less than ten meters away, Altaïr unleashed his fighting spirit and activated Demon Mode.
Simultaneously, the Sonic Bomb that Sajji had thrown a few seconds prior detonated amidst the burrowing Cephalos.
"Bzzzz..."
Under the high-frequency noise, the entire pack of fast-burrowing Cephalos was blasted out from beneath the sand.
With Demon Mode active, Altaïr charged toward a Cephalos on the edge of the group at a speed unimaginable to an ordinary person.
Although he wanted to try the charged Perfect Rush combo from before, now was clearly not the time for experimentation.
Arriving at the side of the Cephalos's head, he swung his hunting knife and shield into a blur. In an awkward posture that would make any normal Dual Blades user cringe, he unleashed a full-power Demon Dance.
Nuri and Asa had no time to pay attention to the "bizarre event" happening there. The former was busy replicating his previous success, shoving his Gunlance into a Cephalos's mouth and firing a Wyvern's Fire. The latter held his Heavy Bowgun level, unloading spread ammo at full speed into another Cephalos from nearly point-blank range.
Even Sajji was swinging his Felyne Pickaxe, methodically striking a Cephalos's head. His well-practiced form was clearly the result of much hard work.
If this momentum continued, they had a chance to finish off two, or even three, of the Cephalos before they could recover their mobility.
The remaining few would still be a threat, but no longer enough to cause them to panic.
But just then, a vertical fin, larger and darker in color than a normal Cephalos's, broke through the waves of sand, rapidly approaching them.