The cave containing the Espinas's nest was as peaceful as it had been when they visited the day before.
The giant beast, fearsome in appearance but peaceful by nature, still lay sleeping soundly in its nest. Even its posture was exactly the same as when the Hunters had slipped inside to scout it the previous day. Clearly, it had not gotten up once in the meantime.
Now that was a heavy sleeper.
Once inside the cave, the two Hunters exchanged hand signals, split up, and crept closer without a sound.
Altaïr approached the Espinas from the front.
The sheath and blade of Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] were already locked together in its Great Sword configuration. As a Great Sword user, how could he pass up the chance for a Wake-up Slash?
He knew the Monster's tightly interlocking carapace provided astonishing defense, but he still wanted to try. With the Espinas sleeping this soundly, the opening was practically free.
After judging the distance, he stopped about six meters in front of its head.
The Great Sword might not be his main weapon, but he trained with it often enough. He was not about to make the rookie mistake of misjudging the distance needed to prepare a Charged Slash.
He shouldered [Heaven Swallower] and was just beginning to tense his muscles for the charge when the sleeping Espinas suddenly stirred.
Startled, Altaïr immediately rolled sideways to cancel the charge and braced himself for the Espinas's fury upon waking.
When he regained his feet, however, he realized the Monster had not awakened at all. It merely grunted a few times in its sleep, as though dreaming, and swished its enormous, venom-spined tail from side to side like a cow warding off flies before sinking back into deep slumber.
Altaïr was speechless.
You scared me.
He crouched low and held his breath for several seconds. Only after confirming that the Espinas was truly fast asleep did he heft the Great Sword again.
Gathering his strength, he shifted his stance and began charging a True Charged Slash.
After several seconds of preparation, Altaïr twisted and sprang into the air. He brought the True Charged Slash crashing down with enough force to cripple an ordinary Large Monster in a single blow. His target was, of course, the Espinas's head. Clang!
The harsh impact rang through the cave.
The instant the blade struck, Altaïr wondered whether he had just brought his weapon down on a boulder.
No. Even a boulder as large as the Espinas's head should have split apart under a True Charged Slash from Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower].
Yet the Espinas was nowhere near critically wounded. The blade had failed to penetrate the carapace on its head, leaving only a shallow scratch across the dark green armor. It looked no worse than fingernail marks raked across a forehead and did not even qualify as a wound.
Similar marks covered the Espinas's body, probably left by other Monsters.
Altaïr gripped the hilt with both hands to keep the tremendous recoil from tearing the weapon away, staring in disbelief at the spiny giant before him.
Even though he had prepared himself for this, wasn't the thing absurdly tough?!
The Espinas had not even awakened. It gave a low rumble, shifted its body, tucked its head farther beneath one wing, and went right on sleeping.
Beside the Espinas's thigh, Isis stood ready with Gunlance and large shield in hand, prepared to unleash Wyvern's Fire the moment it rose. Instead, she lowered her weapon, spread her hands, and gave Altaïr a baffled look.
Can you manage this or not?
You didn't even wake the Monster with a Wake-up Slash. If Dad hears about this, he'll look down his nose at you for the rest of your life. You know that, right?
Altaïr clenched his jaw. He was debating whether to swallow his pride and try again or let Isis have the Wake-up Slash so she could discover for herself just how hard the Espinas's head was when a series of shrill cries sounded outside the cave.
The Hunters instantly went on alert. Those were the cries of a raptor pack.
Moments later, three Velociprey cautiously poked their heads into the cave. They sniffed all around as though searching for something.
Fighting several Monsters at once was extremely dangerous, even when the extras were merely small Monsters like Velociprey. That was especially true when their primary target was an Espinas, a formidable opponent even among Monsters with a 6★ Danger Rating.
Isis's first instinct was to dispose of the troublesome Velociprey while the Espinas remained asleep.
Ordinarily, that would have been a sound decision, but Altaïr quickly signaled for her to stop.
Something felt wrong.
Velociprey were not especially intelligent, but any creature that survived in the brutal wild possessed an instinct for seeking opportunity and avoiding danger.
For them to enter an Espinas nest voluntarily made no sense.
Velociprey were highly aggressive, especially toward humans, prey smaller than themselves. Under normal circumstances, they would have attacked on sight.
Yet these three did not seem to notice the Hunters at all. They simply kept sniffing the ground.
Altaïr immediately decided to suspend the Hunt. He was about to lead Isis out of the Espinas's nest to assess the situation when the sound of rustling vegetation came from beyond the cave.
Some Large Monster seemed to be prowling outside.
Charging out recklessly would no longer be wise. Altaïr thought for a few seconds, then made a rapid series of hand signals.
Isis nodded. The two quickly slipped on their Ghillie Mantles, skirted the Velociprey pack as it continued its mysterious search, and moved to the edge of the cave. There, they crouched behind a boulder large enough to conceal them.
Isis hurriedly draped a few handfuls of leafy vines over their shields as makeshift camouflage, then whispered, "Is that thing outside going to come straight in?"
"The Espinas occupies the top ecological niche in the Jungle. In theory... the chances of another Monster charging directly into its nest are low."
Yet Altaïr was less confident than he sounded.
Velociprey had entered an Espinas nest and begun sniffing everywhere, while a Large Monster prowled just outside. Nothing about the situation made sense.
According to the Meowcenaries' intelligence, corroborated by their own reconnaissance the day before, the only other Large Monster within a ten-kilometer radius was a Nargacuga.
Whatever was outside was probably that very Nargacuga.
But why had it left its own territory to prowl around the Espinas's nest? Was it trying to seize the territory? Was it really that bold?
As he pondered the question, a small, fluffy white animal appeared out of nowhere.
Long, soft fur covered its body like a creature adapted to snowy terrain, and its bushy tail was nearly as long as the rest of it.
"Is that... a Stinkmink?" Isis recognized the adorable little creature at once.
The Stinkmink moved with astonishing agility, bounding over to the three Velociprey in only a few leaps.
As though they had finally found their quarry, all three Velociprey fixed their gazes on it at once.
The Stinkmink waved its great bushy tail and, with a soft puff, sprayed them with a cloud of white mist. Then it darted beneath the sleeping Espinas and hid.
Something in the white mist both agitated and attracted the Velociprey. They lowered their bodies and released a chorus of vicious, threatening hisses, readying themselves to attack.
At the same time, the special pheromone dispersed with the mist. The Monster prowling outside finally cast aside its unease and caution, then charged into the nest with a roar.
A jet-black body, lithe limbs, and a long, supple tail lined with razor-sharp feathered spines.
Without a doubt, it was the Nargacuga the Hunters had discovered the day before!
In a single bound, it crossed the distance from the cave entrance to the three Velociprey and swatted one of them away with a claw.
The Velociprey hurtled through the air like a kicked ball, flying straight toward the sleeping master of the nest deep inside the cave.
At that moment, the Espinas opened its eyes.
Compared with "small animals" like the Hunters and Velociprey, which could do it no harm, a Large Flying Wyvern of the Nargacuga's caliber was far more likely to put it on alert.
Its enormous, venom-spined tail flicked, smashing the unfortunate Velociprey into bloody fragments in midair.
The Espinas shifted its body and slowly rose, turning its gaze toward the uninvited guest in its nest.
The Nargacuga spread its wing-blades and flared the spikes along its tail, unleashing a succession of threatening growls. A moment later, it pounced.
As the Nargacuga lunged in with a swipe of its claws, its long, blade-shaped wings slashed viciously at its opponent.
The Espinas responded passively, curling inward and presenting its back to the attack.
Screeech! The jet-black wing-blade struck the armor on the Espinas's back with a grating scrape that set teeth on edge.
Yet even that powerful blow failed to fully penetrate the Espinas's back armor. Instead, the Nargacuga itself suffered several bloody punctures from the spines covering its opponent's body.
"Whoa! They're fighting!" Isis whispered excitedly.
That was naturally good news for the Hunters. Although the Nargacuga would probably lose to the Espinas, it was still one of the Jungle's dominant predators.
Whatever the outcome of their clash, the Hunters stood to gain.
Altaïr had made the right call in pulling her into hiding. If both Monsters had set their sights on them, they would have been in serious trouble.
Isis had just begun to relax when she noticed that the Stinkmink had somehow climbed onto the boulder sheltering them. It tilted its head and studied the pair.
"Mee~"
Isis blinked.
With a soft puff, a cloud of white mist engulfed the Hunters. It did not smell especially unpleasant, but it caught in their throats.
The green Espinas and black Nargacuga, still facing each other down, turned in unison and fixed their gazes on the Hunters.
(Translated by yourtl.app)