Chapter 27: The Bandit Chief Attacks!

"This method is brilliant, meow!" Sage appeared quite excited. "We could take on many more by using this skeleton as cover, meow! Perhaps we could even take down the Velocidrome using this same tactic, meow!"

"It isn't that simple," Oran replied, his expression remaining largely unchanged. "However, we should be able to fight alongside the 'big guy' for a while longer. Don't bother carving the corpses yet; the gain is negligible. Focus on sharpening your weapons and recovering your stamina."

"Understood, meow!" Sage pulled out a dried fish, chewed on it, and asked, "What did you mean when you said it wasn't that simple, meow? If it’s the Velocidrome, is there a way for it to bypass the constraints of this cover, meow?"

Rapport is something that takes a long time to cultivate; he and Oran hadn't reached the point where they could guess each other's thoughts at a glance. Since that was the case, clear communication was the key to successful cooperation. Oran realized that his previous instructions had been too vague. Being too taciturn wasn't a good habit in such situations, and he needed to correct it.

"After we took care of the first two, there weren't many Velociprey left, and we could easily handle them using the skeleton as cover. But if the number of Velociprey were to double, and they were under the command of a Velocidrome, some could squeeze into the chest cavity of the skeleton while others prowled the outside. No matter where we moved, we would be attacked. If we make a slight mistake and get injured, we risk muscle paralysis, and that would leave us in a passive position."

"So that’s how it is, meow..."

"As for why we aren't leaving immediately: the scent of blood will attract more Velociprey. We can take this opportunity to further thin out their pack, so we won't be interrupted when we eventually hunt the Velocidrome."

"But won't the Velociprey move in a pack once they realize the danger, meow?" Sage asked with concern. "What if the Velocidrome leads a large group to attack us later? Wouldn't that be dangerous, meow?"

"It shouldn't be. Going by the habits of Velociprey, a pack of three to five is normal. When they follow a Velocidrome, the number of guards moving in sync with it is usually only two or three. If there are too many subordinates, the Velocidrome can't command them effectively, so it’s unlikely that it would lead a dozen of them charging at us all at once."

"That's true, meow." Sage, who had also grown up in the wild, thought for a moment and found Oran's reasoning sound. "Then we’ll use this place as a base to thin out their numbers, meow. When you feel we should retreat, just give the order, meow. I'll use a flash bomb to create an opening and break through the encirclement, meow."

"You're truly reliable," Oran said, rubbing Sage's head. "When the time comes, we’ll run toward the rocky Gobi region to the north. The terrain there is complex, which will make it easier for us to fight a guerrilla war."

"Understood, meow!" Sage puffed out its chest and gave a salute of obedience.

Oran watched it with a faint smile and continued to hone his blade. It had to be said that the sharpness of the reforged and reinforced Hunter's Dagger had improved significantly. Previously, cutting through four or five Velociprey would have surely dulled the edge, but now it remained smooth and sharp, requiring only a little polishing to continue the fight.

The man and the Palico sat beside the massive skeleton, eating and resting. The corpses of the previous Velociprey had been dragged twenty or thirty meters away. This would not interfere with the upcoming battle and, to a certain extent, would distract the Velociprey, as the corpses of their own kind were also a source of food for the pack.

Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, and nothing appeared. But Oran didn't feel anxious. Sitting by this familiar lakeshore, leaning against the remains of the "big guy," his emotions were strangely calm. The restlessness and loneliness he felt when he first set out had long since been swept away.

Sage curled into a ball beside him. It looked as if it had fallen asleep, but judging by the rhythm of its breathing, it was likely just resting its eyes, one ear pressed firmly against the ground, alert for any approaching danger.

After a few more minutes, Sage suddenly lifted its head.

"Something is coming, meow."

"Very cautious, aren't they? We are ready."

Oran pushed off his knees and stood up steadily. Sage shook the sand and dirt from its fur and looked in the direction from which the sounds came.

Several figures walked across the dry, cracked lakebed, approaching their position. Velociprey were monsters with no "charisma"—they always walked with their heads low, glancing left and right from time to time, giving an impression of cowardly, cruel deviousness, like lackeys in a gang of bandits.

But the creature striding proudly in the center, surrounded by several Velociprey, felt entirely different. Its huge, bifurcated crest was as conspicuous as a crown. Its back stood over two meters high, its body length was nearly six meters, and it weighed over a ton.

Its scarlet eyes scanned the surroundings as its head turned, like a bandit leader carrying a great blade, surrounded by henchmen, using a critical gaze to hunt for the next target to plunder.

"The presence is completely different," Oran tightened his grip on his Hunter's Dagger.

Following the scent of blood, the Velocidrome turned its gaze toward them. It paused, tilted its head, and looked from afar at the hunter and the Palico standing beside the giant skeleton.

In the natural world, size is often an important measure of an opponent's strength. Compared to large monsters that were often over ten meters long, the stature of a human and a Palico had no deterrent effect. The Velocidrome didn't even consider them the killers of its kin, assuming they were merely some small predators attracted by the scent of blood.

The Velocidrome looked around again, but didn't see the other monsters it had expected. Had they already left? It was a pity it had been cautious enough to call a few more companions to come and check the situation.

Well, it wasn't a total loss; although those two "small animals" weren't big, they would be enough to fill its stomach.

"Gaa-rao!" The Velocidrome let out a low growl.

The four Velociprey beside it, having long been impatient, accelerated. Two charged from the front, while the other two fanned out to flank the hunter and his companion from behind to prevent their escape. The Velocidrome itself stayed in place, looking as if it couldn't be bothered to intervene.

"Take out the two in front at maximum speed," Oran said, his tone carrying a trace of excitement.

"Understood, meow!"

Oran and Sage charged out together.

Accelerating into a charge, Oran arrived before his opponent, sidestepped to deflect an attack with his shield, and then took advantage of the opening to slice the creature's throat. In the blink of an eye, he had finished off the first one. This was experience gained from countless Velociprey hunts over the past few months, and it was foolproof when dealing with a single Velociprey.

Sage, relying on its own agility and lightness, dodged the attack of the other Velociprey and leaped onto its back. It wielded a Palico dagger—similar in size to Oran's Hunter's Dagger but requiring two hands for a Palico—and slashed it fiercely into the back of the creature's neck.

As the Velociprey shrieked and turned its head, Sage jumped off its back, dived under its belly, and with a powerful swipe of its cat-sword, sliced the Velociprey's abdomen open.

Internal organs spilled out along with blood, and the Velociprey collapsed to the ground, its life fading rapidly.

Having dispatched their respective opponents, the hunter and the Palico quickly returned to the side of the skeleton. With the help of this perfect cover, they quickly finished off the other two Velociprey that had tried to flank them.

The Velocidrome, remaining where it was, stared blankly at the scene. By the time it realized what had happened, all four of its subordinates were already lying in a pool of blood.

Sage stuck out its little tongue and made a face at the distant Velocidrome. Oran, meanwhile, crouched down and, right in front of the creature, pulled out a whetstone to hone his blade.

"Gaa-rao!"

The Velocidrome's eyes turned blood-red, but it was not blinded by rage to the point of mindlessly charging at the "cover" that restricted its movement. Instead, it tilted its neck upward and let out a series of howls to summon more subordinates.