On the second day after arriving at the hunting grounds, the fully-armed party, having completed all necessary preparations, departed from this temporary camp.
The number of dango Nymera prepared yesterday was indeed a bit excessive, and eating too many of these things at once tends to stuff your stomach. Even Isis couldn't finish them all in one go, so in the end, they were wrapped in large leaves and carried along as rations.
These substantial Bunny Dango were small in size but high in energy density. If they weren't so prone to spoilage and easily crushed, they would be quite decent rations, at least tastier than the hard, dry rations.
Only Clawdia was displeased. She preferred dried fish and sausages for rations, not some Bunny Dango. But these dango had been personally packed into her bag by Isis, so she couldn't just discard them. Right now, the whole cat seemed rather irritable.
Thus, she started picking on Sajji.
"This thing of yours is way too noisy, meow! The Monster will notice us early, meow!" Clawdia bared her fangs at Sajji.
Sajji, who was stepping on the pedals excitedly, driving the Rathalos Model-07 rumbling forward, turned his head. "What are you saying, meow? I couldn't hear clearly, meow.
We need to hurry, meow. Don't get left behind, meow. Meow-hahahaha!"
As he spoke, Sajji put a bit more force into his feet, pedaling the cannon-cart to catch up with Altaïr, who was leading the way at the front of the group.
Altaïr could naturally see Sajji's excitement. Honestly, the noise the Rathalos Model-07 made while moving through the Jungle was quite significant. Fortunately, their operation's guideline this time wasn't stealth, so he didn't dampen Sajji's spirits.
He just told Sajji to slow down a bit and return to the rear of the group to bring up the tail, while calling Clawdia over and sending her ahead a distance to scout, to avoid the two little ones starting to argue again.
As previously discussed, Altaïr's role in this hunt was support, or rather, backup. Therefore, he didn't choose the Long Sword, which had become his main Weapon, but instead brought along that newly forged Nerscylla Shield & Sword.
The Slinger on his left arm was loaded with Flash Pods. Inside his right arm shield hung commonly used hunting items like Potions, Life Powder, Paintballs, and Smoke Bombs, ready for quick access when needed.
His Item Pouch held trap devices. The sword, being a single-handed Weapon with a small volume, could simply be tucked horizontally behind his waist. The freed space on his back could even be used to help the Gunner carry another Ammo box.
For some reason, he felt terrifyingly strong today. Perhaps this was the ease that came from putting down the burden of offense. (You never know what a Sword and Shield user who doesn't check DPS is doing.)
Besides using various items for support and providing emergency aid at critical moments, Altaïr had an additional task, on-site combat command.
Originally, he intended to leave the command work to Nymera, since she had experience hunting Duramboros. But Nymera declined, citing the reason that she would be concentrating her efforts on attacking the Monster's weak points and might not have the mental bandwidth to oversee the entire situation.
Isis went without saying. As the main frontline vanguard, her pressure was the greatest. One could even say that as long as she could steadily restrain the target, this hunt was already two-thirds complete, and the rest could be entirely left to the Gunner.
Compared to those two, Altaïr, the relatively "leisurely" support, was naturally better suited to take command.
Clawdia, who had gone ahead to scout the path, ran back. She shook off the fallen leaves and grass debris caught in her fur and reported, "After passing through this woodland ahead, we'll be within three to four hundred meters of the Duramboros's nest, meow.
That big guy is curled up in its nest sleeping, meow. We can approach safely, meow."
"Did you find any traces or scent of other Monsters?" Altaïr asked quietly in follow-up.
Clawdia confidently shook her head. "No, meow. There might be small monsters hiding somewhere, but there are no signs of Large Monster activity nearby, meow. We confirmed that yesterday, meow."
Clawdia's answer put Altaïr at ease. He made a few hand signals to his companions, and the three Hunters and two Palicos slowed their pace, moving forward gradually.
The one suffering the most was Sajji. The treaded cannon carriage adapted well to various terrains, but the slower the speed, the harder it was to pedal. However, giving up the cannon carriage was out of the question, so he gritted his teeth and advanced slowly.
A short while later, they reached the edge of the Duramboros's nest.
Contrary to what the Hunters imagined, a scene of lush, leafy foliage, the Duramboros's nest could be described as open and sparse. Trees large and small had long been uprooted and shoved aside by it, and even small trees as thick as a calf had been flattened by its hooves.
Rotten wood, branches, large patches of moss, and soil were piled haphazardly into a massive heap; this was the Duramboros's nest.
The bulky giant beast was curled up inside the nest, sleeping soundly.
It had a pair of huge horns somewhat similar to those of a bull, yet far more imposing than ox horns. The structure of its head and face also somewhat resembled that of herbivores like cattle or camels. Its limbs were short and thick, its back rose high like a Hump, and its body structure was very compact.
Just looking at it, one could tell it was both hard and tough. The astonishingly thick, keratinous skin layered like armor enveloped its entire body.
Soil had accumulated in the crevices of its skin, thin layers yet surprisingly fertile.
Large patches of moss, grass blades, even small shrubs grew upon it. Combined with its mountain-like solid build and skin whose color and texture closely resembled rock, at first glance it looked exactly like a small hillock. Especially when sleeping motionless like this, it was even easier to mistake for an actual small hill.
At a position less than a hundred meters from the nest, where they could clearly see every detail of the target's body, Altaïr raised a fist, signaling the companions behind him to stop.
"This area has been cleared of obstacles like trees and rocks; too open, not suitable for us to fight,
Altaïr, hiding behind a patch of shrubs, lowered his voice and said to his companions, "Don't show yourselves yet. I'll go wake it up and lure it to the battlefield we selected yesterday. We'll officially start the fight there."
Isis and Nymera nodded in unison.
In her heart, Isis felt a twinge of regret. As someone who had once trained with the Great Sword, seeing a sleeping Monster made her fingers itch. She really wanted to sneak over and give the Monster a point-blank Wyvern's Fire or something.
But as Altaïr said, doing that might cause the Monster to focus its attention on her during the luring process, disrupting the subsequent battle plan. She had to hold back.
"Crack."
"Scrape."
Though the fight hadn't officially broken out yet, the operation had already begun from this moment.
Isis, Nymera, and Sajji loaded their ammo one after another, ready to attack at any moment.
Altaïr alone stepped out from behind the concealing shrubbery, no longer needing to be cautious. He strode straight over to the slumbering Duramboros, took a Paintball from behind his shield, and smashed it directly onto the Duramboros's head.
Strong-smelling paintberry juice splattered all over the Duramboros's face. If it were any other Large Monster, it would have leapt up by now, angrily searching for the "troublemaker."
But the Duramboros simply snorted, "snuffle," stuck out its rough, large tongue to lick the paintberry juice that had dripped to the corner of its mouth, and went right back to sleep.
Altaïr: "?"
*Was this thing just too good-tempered? Or did something like Paintberries not register as particularly pungent to herbivorous Duramboros?*
Like rubbing chili sauce on a sleeping Isis's face, a bit nose-stinging, but just something to lick and forget about?
Since the Paintball was useless, they'd have to be more direct.
Altaïr drew his Sword and Shield, sped up a few steps, and arrived before the still completely unconscious Duramboros.
Under the envious gaze of Isis watching from afar, he leapt up and brought his sword down in a jumping slash onto the tip of the Duramboros's nose.
The sharp blade easily sliced through the keratinous skin on the Duramboros's face, but the thin blade was soon pinched between layers of skin and fat. Though it drew blood successfully, the wound was narrow and shallow.
For a creature of the Duramboros's size, such a wound hardly counted as a scratch, but the tip of the nose was a sensitive spot after all.
Startled awake from its slumber, the Duramboros let out a "woah" and opened its eyes a crack.
Altaïr hurriedly sheathed his Weapon, turned, and prepared to flee, only to find the Duramboros merely grunted twice, tucked its head into its chest, and fell back asleep.
Like a person woken by a mosquito's buzz, who, between swatting the mosquito and going back to sleep, chooses the latter.
Altaïr: "…"
He was starting to get a little annoyed.
"Shwoo..."
Just as he was planning to find a new attack angle, build up some power, and land a heavier blow, a whistle sounded from behind.
Altaïr halted his motion, turned his head to the side, and saw Isis stand up from the shrubbery where she'd been hiding, waving vigorously at him.
*Me! Let me wake it up! My Weapon packs more punch!*
Altaïr sighed and tilted his head slightly in her direction.
*Then you do it. I'll just have to work harder later to draw its attention when we lure it.*
*Give it a good hard hit!*
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
ITEMS
Life Powder — A consumable item carried by hunters to provide emergency healing during combat. When used, it releases a fine medicinal powder that restores the health of all hunters in the immediate vicinity. Unlike Potions, which are self-applied, Life Powder benefits the entire party at once, making it a staple support item for hunters taking on a coordinating role.
Smoke Bomb — A throwable item that, upon impact, releases a dense cloud of smoke covering a wide area. The obscured visibility causes monsters to lose track of nearby hunters, temporarily breaking their line of sight. Commonly used to disengage from combat, reposition safely, or buy time in a dangerous situation.