The number of reinforcements was slightly less than Altaïr had expected. Three Genprey, summoned by their leader, were lowering their bodies and rushing over at full speed.
Altaïr glanced at the bone cover not far away.
At this point in the battle, that cover was now difficult to use effectively.
The Gendrome had clearly realized that the bone cover would severely restrict its movements, so it was unwilling to approach.
The other Genprey might not be as smart, but under the Gendrome's command, they wouldn't be foolish enough to run over there either. Instead, they would fight while surrounding their leader.
Whether he could quickly deal with the arriving reinforcements became the key to ensuring the tide of battle wouldn't turn. Since he could no longer rely on clever tricks, it was time for a direct confrontation!
"Sajji! Try to keep it busy for another half a minute!" Altaïr shouted.
The Felyne, who was feeling a bit dizzy from being thrown around on the Gendrome's back, cried out with difficulty, "I'll... meow! I'll try my best, meow!"
Taking out a bottle of Dash Juice and downing it in one gulp, Altaïr surged with energy and activated Demon Mode.
He transformed into an afterimage, charging at lightning speed toward the three approaching Genprey.
This time, he didn't use his usual move of blocking with his shield to absorb the force before swinging his sword to slice the Genprey's neck, because blocking would slow him down.
Speed was essential to quickly eliminate the threat of the three attacking Genprey.
He turned sideways to dodge the first Genprey's lunge, swinging his sword at the same time to cut a gash in the side of its neck.
Due to his own incredible speed, the slash wasn't precise enough to be a one-hit kill.
But it was painful enough to make the Genprey stagger. Before the spurting blood could even splash onto him, the hunter, without breaking stride, had already rushed toward his next target.
The other two Genprey closed in from the left and right, attempting to pincer him. Perfect, Altaïr thought. He pushed off the ground, his charge accelerating further as he twisted his waist and legs in a flurry of steps.
Like a whirlwind, he swept through the narrow gap between the two Genprey, sending blood flying.
Demon Flurry Rush!
"Kree!"
"Awooo!"
Miserable howls echoed behind him. One of the two Genprey had been struck in a vital spot by the flurry of slashes and collapsed limply to the ground. The other looked as if it had been run through a meat grinder, one side of its body covered in wounds with flesh torn open.
Altaïr came to a sudden stop, but he didn't let the inertia that pushed him forward go to waste. Instead, he used that force to compress and tense the muscles in his legs.
Then, using the explosive power released by his muscles, he spun around abruptly, swinging his sword and shield once more.
Spirit Roundslash!
The Genprey that had just turned around to counterattack was struck squarely by the diagonally swinging hunter's blade and round shield, and it collapsed with a wail.
The second one was down.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, only one of the three Genprey remained... the one that had taken his first slash and was wounded but not dead.
To conserve stamina, Altaïr deactivated Demon Mode. He blocked his opponent's feeble lunge with his shield and thrust his hunter's blade into the weak spot on its chest, then pulled it out.
With that, all three Genprey that had rushed to their leader's aid had fallen, just one step away from reaching his side.
"Meow!"
Having used all his strength to hold on for so long, Sajji had reached his physical limit. His claws loosened, and he was flung from the Gendrome's back. He crashed to the ground, rolling in the sand and cutting a very sorry figure.
But he had already completed his mission beautifully.
While Sajji had been keeping the Gendrome occupied, Altaïr had preemptively dealt with the reinforcements. The situation had returned to a one-on-one battle.
Realizing this, the Gendrome howled in fury. It pushed off with its hind legs and leaped forward, preparing to deal with the small, furry creature first.
At the critical moment, Altaïr charged in from the side at full speed, raising his shield to block the way in front of Sajji.
"Clang!"
The Gendrome's sharp claws landed on the shield's surface, scraping against it with a piercing screech.
Possessing the powerful weapon of paralysis poison fangs, the Gendrome didn't often use its claws to attack prey. As a result, its claws were not as long or sharp as those of its close relative in the 'drome family... the Velocidrome.
Even so, the Gendrome's strike still left several vicious scratch marks on the alloy shield.
The impact from the pounce sent Altaïr sliding back several meters. If he hadn't angled himself to deflect the force instead of taking the full brunt of the impact head-on, his defensive stance might have been broken.
"Meow!" Sajji cried out in alarm.
"I'm fine!" Altaïr shouted to reassure Sajji, but he wasn't nearly as composed as he appeared.
The Gendrome weighed over a ton; its leaping kick was not so easily withstood.
His shield arm throbbed with excruciating pain. While it wasn't broken, the contusion was severe, and there might even be a hairline fracture. A dull ache pulsed in his chest and abdomen; a symptom of his internal organs having sustained a shock.
But this was no time to show any weakness. Altaïr let out a great roar and charged toward the Gendrome.
His ferocious momentum stunned the Gendrome.
It had been on the losing end throughout the fight. The kin it had summoned were dispatched in the blink of an eye, and its own successful attack seemed to have had little effect.
All of this made the Gendrome, which had initially looked down on the hunter, feel a sense of unease.
Faced with its opponent charging at it once more, it chose not to meet the attack. Instead, it pushed off with its legs and leaped backward, creating a safe distance of several body lengths.
Then, it opened its great maw, baring its fangs, and let out a threatening roar at the hunter before turning to flee.
Altaïr shouted as he ran, chasing after it for a short distance. He took a moment to pull out a Paintball and hurled it at the fleeing Gendrome.
The Paintball struck the Gendrome squarely on its back, and the strong-smelling dye splattered everywhere. This panicked the fleeing Gendrome even more. Thinking its pursuer possessed some kind of long-range attack, it quickened its pace.
Only after the Gendrome's figure disappeared behind a sand dune did Altaïr gradually slow his steps.
Having recovered, Sajji hurried to catch up. He had seen through Altaïr's bluff and was extremely worried about his injuries.
Altaïr regulated his breathing, took a Potion from his pouch, and chugged it down. Then, with Sajji's help, he removed the vambrace from his right arm to check the injury.
"Your bones should be okay, meow, but your shoulder and elbow joints are bruised and sprained, meow. It'd be best if you rested for a bit, meow," Sajji, who had some basic first-aid skills, said after examining him.
"As long as my bones are fine, that's all that matters. A Potion will take care of these minor injuries in no time." Altaïr clearly had no intention of returning to camp to rest.
After chugging a second Potion, he took out a whetstone and began to sharpen his weapon. "The Gendrome isn't weak enough yet. We can't give it too much time. It'll be a hassle if it gets another chance to call more Genprey for backup. We have to catch up to it as soon as possible."
Seeing how determined Altaïr was, Sajji didn't raise any more objections.
He nodded his little head. "I brought this, meow. If we find a good chance to use it, it should increase our odds of success, meow."
Sajji opened the Item Pouch on his back, revealing a flat, cylindrical item about thirty centimeters in diameter.
"A Pitfall Trap? You brought one of those?" Altaïr was pleasantly surprised.
For a novice hunter like him, these quickly deployable traps were complicated to make, and buying them directly was expensive. They weren't part of his standard kit.
If he had prepared properly before the hunt, he might have considered gritting his teeth and buying one.
But this time, his emotional state had been a bit off in the period between accepting the quest and setting out for the hunting grounds, so he had only prepared basic items like Potions, rations, and Paintballs.
"You're so thoughtful! When we get back, I'll treat you to a huge meal!" Altaïr vigorously ruffled the fur on Sajji's little head. "Order everything you like from the menu, eat until you're stuffed!"
Sajji scratched his ears, looking rather embarrassed. "Actually, I was just trying to make one for fun following the steps in the Crafting book, meow. It took several failures to make this one, so I just brought it with me, meow."
"Do you have any Tranq Ammo?" Altaïr asked tentatively.
"I didn't prepare any of that, meow." Sajji shook his little head. "But I did gather some Sleep Herbs near the camp, meow. If we have Parashrooms, I should be able to craft some Tranquilizers, meow."
"I know where to find Parashrooms nearby."
Altaïr put away his whetstone and took out his map. "Right at this spot. Could you please go take a look? If you find any, craft some Tranquilizers. I'll go after the Gendrome. I'm leaving the capture preparations to you."
"You got it, meow!"
With their tasks assigned, the man and cat split up and went their separate ways.