Recognizing the SOS Flare rising high into the sky, the Hunters who had been on standby at the camp immediately sprang into action.
The first to charge out of the camp was, naturally, Nymera, riding atop her Palamute.
Palamutes were experts at traversing any terrain. When necessary, they could even carry a fully armed Hunter up nearly vertical rock faces; running at full speed through the lush, dense foliage of the Jungle was no challenge for them at all.
However, arriving at the scene even before the Hunters were the nearby Gajalaka.
Barely minutes after Sajji had fired the SOS Flare, two Gajalaka leaped out from the underbrush.
After glancing left and right to assess the situation, they immediately hoisted their bone clubs and battered Iron Katanas, rushing toward the beautiful insect bound by the One-shot Binder while letting out frantic "Gaw-woo!" cries.
Seeing the Gajalaka's aggressive display, Sajji, who was currently wrestling with the struggling Star Butterfly in the air, controlling the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2 like he was flying a kite, shouted in a panic:
"Don't be in such a rush, meow! Wait, meow!"
His goal was to detain the Star Butterfly so it could lead the arriving Hunters to their target, not to harm it, and certainly not to kill it.
He was genuinely terrified that those two hot-tempered Gajalaka would simply swarm forward and hack the hard-found Star Butterfly to death. If that happened, there was no telling how long they would have to wait to encounter another one.
Fortunately, though the Gajalaka appeared frenzied, they were not brainless. They came to a halt about seven or eight meters away from the mid-air Star Butterfly.
One of the Gajalaka pulled out a bamboo tube about the thickness of a thumb from its back, this was the blowgun, the most common ranged weapon used by Gajalaka in the Old World.
To Hunters who had suffered Gajalaka ambushes, these insidious, silent blowguns, often tipped with various toxins, were far more dangerous than the crude blades the small creatures carried.
If one were unfortunate enough to be struck by a paralysis blowgun and collapsed, the sight of a swarm of Gajalaka rushing in to capitalize on the paralysis was no laughing matter.
The Gajalaka raised the blowgun, aiming at the Star Butterfly as it fought against the cable in the sky for a long moment before giving a sharp, powerful puff.
With a faint hiss of air, the tiny dart shot straight toward the target fluttering wildly in the air.
Sajji also prayed, hoping this shot would hit its mark.
The Star Butterfly was not a thick-skinned Large Monster; its size was similar to that of a Vespoid or Bnahabra.
To avoid the One-shot Binder dealing fatal damage to the Star Butterfly, he had specifically adjusted the power of the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2. Consequently, the barbed warhead of the One-shot Binder had only embedded itself shallowly, barely wedged into the carapace. It could be shaken loose at any moment by the Star Butterfly's frantic maneuvering.
If the Gajalaka's dart could hit the target and paralyze it, they wouldn't even need to wait for Nymera to arrive with the sniper paintball S; they could simply smash a Paintball against the immobilized Star Butterfly to achieve the same effect.
The Gajalaka's skill with the blowgun was truly superb, as the dart actually managed to strike the Star Butterfly while it zig-zagged through the air. But before they could celebrate, the dart was deflected by the Star Butterfly's elytra and fell to the ground.
The appearance and attack of the Gajalaka caused the already panicked Star Butterfly to struggle even more violently. Sajji could feel the One-shot Binder fired by the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2 starting to slip. In perhaps only a few seconds, the One-shot Binder would slip off, and there was no telling how long they would have to wait to find another Star Butterfly.
While Sajji manipulated and adjusted the ropes, he fished a Paintball out of his Item Pouch, though he did not use it immediately.
A hand-thrown Paintball was far less accurate than a Paintball fired from a Bowgun. Given that the target was a small insect adept at flying, a hand-throw was very likely to miss.
Paintballs themselves were of very low value and there was no need to conserve them, but the pungent scent emitted by the splashing paintberry juice upon impact would cause serious interference with the scent-tracking plan if it occurred in too many places.
Therefore, before the operation began, the Professor had issued orders to avoid hand-throwing Paintballs to mark the Star Butterfly if at all possible, and to at least use a Slinger if necessary.
But Palicoes did not have Slingers.
Sajji gritted his teeth and decided to take the risk the moment the Star Butterfly broke free from its restraints. If he missed this opportunity, who knew when they would encounter another?
With a faint "clack," the winch on the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2 went slack, and the teetering One-shot Binder fell away completely.
The Star Butterfly, which had been flapping its wings with all its might to fight the rope, lost its flight stability for a moment, nearly crashing into a nearby tree trunk.
Now's the time, meow!
Sajji decisively let go of the Rakna-Kadaki No. 2's handle and hurled the Paintball with all his strength toward the Star Butterfly in mid-air.
At the exact same moment, a Paintball whistled through the air.
The hand-thrown Paintball and the fired Paintball hit the target one after the other. In terms of timing, the hand-thrown Paintball arrived a split second earlier, drenching the Star Butterfly in pungent, bright pink juice.
The panicked Star Butterfly accelerated the vibration of its wings and vanished, wobbling, into the shadows of the forest.
But it could no longer escape; a clear scent trail had been left behind in the Jungle.
Nymera, riding her Palamute, slowed to a steady halt beside Sajji. She lowered the Royal Torrent in her hands and gave him a thumbs-up.
"A direct hit. It seems I wasted a Paintball."
Sajji scratched his ear, feeling a bit embarrassed. If he had known Nymera would arrive in time, he wouldn't have taken the risk.
The two Gajalaka began dancing and gesticulating, wanting to give chase, but Nymera quickly called out to stop them.
Though they could not communicate through speech, simple hand gestures like "stop" were always understood.
The leader of this Gajalaka tribe must have given them orders to obey the Hunters' commands; though the two Gajalaka were restless and somewhat reluctant, they obediently halted their steps.
They waited where they were. Ten minutes passed, and the rest of the Hunters arrived, with the Professor and Erik reaching the scene alongside them.
"How did it go?" the Professor asked hurriedly upon arrival.
"The marking is complete. This was all thanks to Sajji," Nymera answered with a smile.
"Well done!" Altaïr ruffled Sajji's head. After offering the praise, he looked toward the Professor. "The Star Butterfly has nowhere left to hide. Shall we begin the tracking immediately?"
After a moment of silence, the Professor shook his head slightly. "A frightened Star Butterfly has a high probability of returning to its host, the location of the Estrellian. If we are lucky, it might even rub the Paintball juice onto the Estrellian itself." "The scent of the Paintball won't dissipate anytime soon, so there is no need to rush the tracking. I suggest waiting at least half an hour before we begin our move, lest we follow too closely and alert the Estrellian.
Furthermore, there are too many of us." The Professor pointed to their surroundings.
In the time they had been speaking, several more Gajalaka and a few field scholars from the investigation team had arrived on the scene. Such a large group was ill-suited for tracking.
"Return to the canyon camp for now. Have the Airship prepared for takeoff and wait for our signal."
The Professor first issued instructions to the members of the investigation team, then turned toward the leader surrounded by the Gajalaka.
Communicating in the Gajalaka language, he said: "Arrange for one or two of the cleverest Gajalaka who are most familiar with the terrain to follow us as guides. That will be enough."
"We can... help... fight."
"It's not combat power we lack at the moment. We must first ensure we find the creature. If we cannot find it, it doesn't matter how many people we have."
The Professor's words convinced the Gajalaka leader. It nodded and selected two of the physically stronger Gajalaka to go with it.
Among them was "glass bottle," whom Altaïr and the others recognized. Perhaps due to his merit in establishing contact with the humans, he was now highly regarded by the leader.
Leading two of his kin, the Gajalaka leader shouldered his bone axe. "I will... lead the way... for you."
This time, the Professor did not refuse. After finalizing the members for the capture operation, he glanced back at his disciple, who had followed along of his own accord, and warned in a cold voice:
"You will assist me with photography and recording. If you dare run off again this time and disrupt the battle plan, don't even dream of coming out into the field again for the rest of your life."
"Al-alright."
The redundant personnel departed one after another. The Hunters checked their equipment and recovered their stamina on the spot. After a period of rest and reorganization, they followed the marks and scent left by the Paintball and officially began the track.
(Translated by yourtl.app)