The Gajalaka leader readily agreed to search for the Star Butterfly.
To ensure information stayed current, the Professor gave the Gajalaka leader several SOS Flares and taught him how to use them.
As soon as a Gajalaka discovered tracks of the Star Butterfly, they were to fire an SOS Flare immediately to mark the location. Nymera would then ride Hibiki to reach the scene as fast as possible, sniping it with a Paintball to tag it.
Altaïr and the others would follow close behind until they located the Estrellian's hiding place.
Beyond that, the Hunters were also actively making preparations.
They hadn't come here with the intention of a cull. According to the Professor, there likely wasn't just one Estrellian in the Jungle, but an entire group.
Under such circumstances, killing that Estrellian was far less meaningful than capturing it to gather more information.
This, however, did not seem easy.
Estrellians congregated in clusters at Esther Lake, but even if a Large Monster is social, most tend to act alone for the sake of foraging efficiency.
Consequently, the Guild had attempted to capture a lone Estrellian before, intending to study it and then release it back into the wild.
Yet, several attempts had ended in failure.
The Estrellian was an unexpectedly intelligent Monster. They could recognize the danger of a Shock Trap, and could even detect slight ground abnormalities where a Pitfall Trap had been set, carefully bypassing them.
Thus, traps were useless against an Estrellian.
In this regard, they were similar to the Elder Dragon species. Some scholars believed they possessed a high intelligence that rivaled Elder Dragons, which was extremely rare for a non-Elder Dragon Monster.
However, aside from using traps, there was one other way to capture a Monster. (Note)
This method was extremely dangerous: using Sleep Ammo, drugged meat, or a weapon containing sleep toxin to force the Monster into a sleeping state, and then applying Tranq Ammo.
Unlike the paralysis caused by a Shock Trap or the physical restraint of a Pitfall Trap, even the slightest noise could startle a Monster awake from a sleeping state.
Furthermore, because a Monster's breathing and heart rate slow down during sleep, and blood flow decreases, the effectiveness of Tranq Ammo is greatly reduced.
To put it simply, they wouldn't be "drugged" deeply enough.
The Monster might suddenly wake up while the ropes were only halfway tied. Every step was fraught with danger, and under normal circumstances, no Hunter would ever consider completing a capture this way.
But this time, to obtain as much information as possible, as well as for the extra reward promised by the Professor, they had to take the risk.
Fortunately, the Estrellian was mild-tempered and not particularly strong in combat, unlike those terrifyingly fierce creatures like Diablos, Glavenus, or Tigrex.
Otherwise, no matter how high the reward, Altaïr and his team wouldn't have dared to try such a thing.
As for how to force the Estrellian into a state of sleep:
Considering the Estrellian's high intelligence, it would avoid traps. If they marinated raw meat with sleep toxin until it turned a bizarre color and threw it in front of the Estrellian, it likely wouldn't eat it.
They could only tackle the problem through their weapons.
There was no issue on Nymera's end; her Royal Torrent was already capable of firing Sleep Ammo.
Although she hadn't prepared any when they set out, Sleep Herb could be gathered in the Jungle near the camp, so crafting a batch of Sleep Ammo would not be difficult. Altaïr pulled out his Nerscylla Shield & Sword; it was a stroke of luck that the Airship they took this time was spacious enough to carry extra cargo.
He had brought along several weapons just in case of an emergency, and hadn't they come in handy now?
Olivia continued to use her Nargacuga Hammer. Even if it was a purely raw weapon, in Olivia's hands, it was capable of inducing the effect of "physical general anesthesia" on any target.
Isis lacked the skill to consistently lock onto a monster's head, and she had few options other than her Defender Gunlance. Consequently, Altaïr sought out the Professor and filed a request.
Given the special circumstances, could Isis temporarily borrow his Nerscylla Long Sword "Blood Cry"? (Such occurrences were not actually rare; official novels had even depicted hunters using someone else's weapon.)
Doing so was, of course, against the rules. If someone reported it and the Guild found out, there would be disciplinary action.
Fortunately, while the Professor appeared stern, his moral boundaries were actually quite flexible. Facing Altaïr's application, he simply took off his glasses and acted as though he hadn't seen a thing.
Olivia was also in the know. As a direct affiliate of the Guild, she repeatedly weighed the gravity of breaking the rules against the importance of capturing the Estrellian, and she likewise chose to turn a blind eye.
This matter could be considered big or small. Under normal circumstances, confiscating the illegally borrowed weapon would be the minimum punishment, but considering the gravity of the situation, even if His Immenseness found out, he would likely just grumble a "hmpf" and let it slide.
As for the others...
If Altaïr didn't say anything, who would know whose Nerscylla Long Sword that was?
Altaïr could switch from Dual Blades to a Sword and Shield, so no one would suspect anything if Isis switched to a Long Sword; they would simply assume Isis was a multi-talented all-rounder like Altaïr, proficient with various weapons.
Though from a certain perspective, that wasn't entirely wrong.
Having switched back to the Long Sword after so long, Isis did feel a bit out of sorts, but after years of rigorous training, she quickly regained her feel for the weapon.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, she performed a few standard basic swings.
Smacking her lips, she switched to a single-handed grip and found she could hold it perfectly steady. The tip of the blade didn't tremble in the slightest, and she immediately began swinging it one-handed with an audible whoosh, just as if she were holding a Sword and Shield.
Was a Long Sword always this light? I'm so not used to this... a Long Sword really isn't for me...
Sorry, Mom!!
While the Hunters were making their various preparations within the camp, several scholars experienced in field operations, along with the Palicos, followed the Gajalaka as they fanned out into the surrounding Jungle.
To track down the Estrellian as quickly as possible, every extra person meant more strength for the search.
Sajji really wanted to take his Rathalos Model-09 out for a spin, but Engine No. 2 refused to agree. It argued that the Rathalos Model-09 made too much noise, which could easily startle the target, and that it wasn't nimble enough for this kind of stealthy tracking mission.
This was the truth. Sajji not only failed to convince Engine No. 2 to get on board but was instead convinced himself and chose to proceed on foot.
As an Assist Cat who focused on using various gadgets, not bringing any machinery would cause its combat effectiveness to plummet. Considering the nature of this mission, it strapped on the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2, which it rarely used.
In other words, a Portable Binder Bowgun.
This thing had a simple structure and a clear purpose, the product of the accumulated experience of countless predecessors. But in exchange, there was very little room for improvement. While even the most recent Zinogre Set models had already progressed toward a Model-04, the Rakna-Kadaki series was still stuck at Rakna-Kadaki No. 2.
Lately, however, Sajji had developed some ideas for improvement.
Ordinary ropes simply weren't strong enough, and steel cables weren't portable enough. Spider Webs were both strong and light, but they were too sticky and difficult to process.
Thus, he set his sights on Nymera's Wirebugs.
As a species unique to Kamura, Wirebugs were originally unable to survive in other regions. It was only through the selective breeding and refinement efforts of a certain Lady Rondine that a special breed capable of surviving elsewhere finally appeared.
However, breeding this special variety was extremely difficult and costly, making them incredibly rare. Nymera only had two of them, and she pampered them like precious treasures; there was no way she would ever lend them to Sajji to use as Binder Ammo.
Furthermore, the incredibly tough Ironsilk spat out by Wirebugs would degrade within a very short time, its elasticity and strength diminishing greatly.
Yet even then, the strength of that silk still far surpassed ordinary thread.
Sajji's plan was to collect as much silk as possible and weave it into thin cords. This way, he could balance both strength and portability.
The process of collecting the silk, however, had been rather rough.
There was no time to collect it during battle, and Wirebugs didn't just spit silk for no reason during their daily lives. Consequently, he had to wait for moments when Nymera wasn't paying attention and use food to entice the Wirebugs into spitting a little silk for him, saving it up strand by strand.
At this rate, it would likely take a while longer before he gathered enough to make a functional rope.
"Sigh, meow..." Sajji sighed. "If only I could find a chance to visit Kamura Village, meow. I hear Wirebugs are cheap as dirt there, meow. I could find a whole swarm and make them spit silk to my heart's content, meow."
As he was muttering, a magnificent "butterfly" nearly a meter long, shimmering with brilliant colors, drifted past him.
Sajji froze for two seconds. Seeing the beautiful insect about to vanish into the overly lush thickets of the Jungle, he hurriedly unslung the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2 from his back.
"Take this, meow!"
Note: I've heard others say that Estrellian might have had a bug where it could be captured after being put to sleep? I haven't tried it myself, but the rumor exists, so I'll borrow that setting for this story.
Even without the bug, being able to barely capture something during sleep seems reasonable enough.
(Translated by yourtl.app)