Located deep in the sand sea and almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world, Loc Lac had developed an extraordinary Airship industry to maintain communication and transportation with the outside.
Even with the city gates closed, a considerable number of Airships could still be seen coming and going from docks scattered throughout the city.
Their ability to ascend and descend vertically allowed Airships to climb directly above the clouds, reaching altitudes that were difficult for most large Flying Wyverns and completely inaccessible to smaller Flying Wyverns like Egyurasu. They therefore remained a relatively safe way out of the city.
With the city sealed and martial law declared, nearly all outsiders had already departed by Airship. The population had fallen to its lowest point, leaving the once-bustling streets cold and deserted.
This had also reduced the burden of maintaining order and carrying out any future evacuation as much as possible.
At that moment, Loc Lac resembled a fortress under military control more than a tourist city.
Before the sun had even risen, several Airships filled their air sacs and slowly rose into the sky, braving a morning wind that still carried a biting chill.
The scene looked no different from any ordinary day, but a careful observer would have noticed that the air sacs and mooring ropes of these Airships all bore the emblems of the Guild or the Royal Paleontology Scriveners.
These were not the cargo and passenger Airships commonly seen in Loc Lac, but observation Airships designed primarily for reconnaissance and scientific research.
Lamarck wore a short, practical Scrivener's robe. His chart-covered map board and sharpened charcoal pencils were secured within easy reach, and a large monocular telescope hung against his chest.
He gazed down in silence at the ground receding beneath them.
Behind him, a young Scrivener named Luga wore a pair of windproof goggles and rubbed his arms, which had gone numb in the cold morning wind. "Professor Lamarck, you didn't have to come up here yourself. High-altitude reconnaissance is something..."
"Something you could handle?" Lamarck interrupted him. "The Hunters carried out a surprise sweep yesterday. How will the Egyurasu swarm react? Will whatever is controlling them finally reveal itself? This reconnaissance mission is too important. I wouldn't feel at ease leaving it to you.
"Enough chatter. Watch the altimeter and anemometer, and prepare to start recording."
The young Scrivener pulled his cold-weather leather cap tighter, sniffled, and began reporting as he watched the instruments. "Altitude seven hundred meters, wind direction northeast, wind speed fourteen meters per second..."
Once they had climbed high enough, the observation Airships dispersed, each heading in a different direction.
After finishing a series of reports, Luga took out a telescope and scanned the sand sea, which had a grayish-blue hue before sunrise.
"Oh, the Hunters did quite a good job, didn't they? I can't see a single Egyurasu."
The young Scrivener chattered on as he peered through his telescope. "How many kills were reported yesterday? One hundred ninety-five, I think? They might actually have wiped them all out."
"Once the hunting quotas are lifted, Hunters going all out are like a plague of locusts! Hahaha!"
"Don't be so optimistic," Lamarck said flatly. "I believe the Hunters killed most of the Egyurasu, perhaps even the vast majority, but there is no chance they eliminated every last one.
"Finding a few scattered Egyurasu would be good news. Not seeing a single one is hardly a good sign."
The observation Airship remained at an altitude of nearly a kilometer for a long while. The sun rose and restored the desert's warm yellow tones, yet its observers still found nothing.
"Could the deaths of so many of their companions have frightened the remaining Egyurasu into fleeing the area?" Luga had clearly realized something was wrong as well, but he cautiously ventured a possibility tinged with wishful thinking.
Lamarck's once-calm expression had turned grave, even grim.
After a moment's thought, he lowered his telescope. "Change our reconnaissance direction. Head for the nearest medium or large oasis."
—--
Loc Lac Guild Hall.
"We have good news and bad news." The mustachioed Guild Master stood at the Quest Counter and called out to the room packed with Hunters.
If not every Hunter in Loc Lac, then at least seventy to eighty percent of them had gathered there. Now that information was being shared openly, there was no longer any need for secret discussions in a conference room.
"The good news is that Kane and Casa received the message and caught an Airship back to Loc Lac just in time. Together with Haifa, who returned earlier, that gives us three High Rank Hunters in the city. Round that up and it's practically a full squad. Everyone, give them a hand!"
"Oooh!" Hunters loved any excuse for a commotion, and the Guild Hall instantly erupted.
The two High Rank Hunters standing behind the Guild Master wore helpless expressions.
Kane, the Heavy Bowgun user, pressed both palms downward and called out, "Alright, alright! Everyone quiet down. We're discussing serious matters."
Only then did the Hunters gradually settle down.
"Now for the bad news." The Guild Master cleared his throat. "During yesterday's rapid purge, we eliminated most of the Egyurasu besieging the city.
"The survivors have vanished completely. The observation Airship expanded its search range and combed through several medium and large oases within a fifty-kilometer radius, yet found no trace of them."
"Isn't that good news?" a Hunter shouted.
Someone immediately chimed in, "Looks like they were scared out of their wits and flew away! Hahaha!"
Another uproar erupted.
"Quiet! Quiet!" The mustachioed Guild Master stamped his foot on the counter.
He was beginning to doubt whether gathering all the Hunters for a meeting had been the right decision after all.
Perhaps the quickest approach would have been to reach a decision with a small group, then issue orders directly to everyone else.
"The scholars believe the Egyurasu did not flee but hid somewhere, and that their hiding place is likely connected to 'that thing' behind all of this."
"We need to find them. Eliminating every last one would be ideal, but at the very least, we must determine how many remain, pinpoint their location, and keep them under surveillance.
"The 4★ and 5★ Hunters will handle this task. The rest of you, return to your posts. Patrol if you're assigned to patrol; rest and resupply if you're on standby. Make sure that when an attack comes, enough Hunters can mobilize immediately to neutralize the incoming Egyurasu swarm and minimize the damage.
"Any questions?"
"I have one." Casa, the Insect Glaive user, raised his hand. "Shouldn't locating the Egyurasu swarm and its leader fall to us High Rank Hunters? If one of the other teams actually encounters them, they'll be in grave danger."
"No. You three must remain stationed in the city." The Guild Master rejected the suggestion without hesitation, leaving no room for argument.
"That's all. Dismissed. All 4★ and 5★ Hunters, stay behind. This reconnaissance mission is highly dangerous, but it can only be entrusted to you."
The Hunters dispersed amid a clamor. Casa looked ready to argue further, but Haifa shook her head at him, then joined Kane in dragging him away.
The mustachioed Guild Master wasted no time. He divided the dozen or so elite 4★ and 5★ Hunters into several small squads and handed each group a few maps.
Clearly, everything had been decided before the meeting even began. This was less a discussion than a pre-mission briefing.
Altaïr, Isis, and Nymera already formed a well-coordinated team, so naturally the Guild Master had no reason to complicate matters by splitting them up.
Altaïr took the map the Guild Master personally handed him and nodded. Their task was to investigate a stretch of rocky desert roughly twenty kilometers from Loc Lac.
The map showed that the rocky terrain contained several sizable underground caves.
The scholars' reasoning was straightforward. Since the targets could not be spotted from the air, the remaining Egyurasu had most likely hidden in caves, underground passages, or other enclosed spaces beyond aerial view.
The Hunters' mission was to conduct close-range reconnaissance and find them.
"Everyone here understands how dangerous this mission is, so I won't belabor the point."
The Guild Master looked gravely at the elite Hunters. "Move as stealthily as possible. If you find anything, do not press deeper. Return immediately.
"Let's set a deadline. Whether or not your reconnaissance yields results, you must return to the Guild Hall and report before midnight tonight. Understood?"
"Understood!" the elite Hunters, including Altaïr's group, answered in unison before swiftly moving into action.
—--
"Altaïr, do you think the Egyurasu might really have fled?"
Isis spoke up as they boarded a small Sandship. "Could it be that there was never a Guanzorumu at all, and the Egyurasu were merely migrating together as a flock?"
"It's possible. Let's hope that's all this is." Altaïr pulled the reins, adjusted the sail, and steered the small Sandship out across the sand sea, racing toward their assigned reconnaissance area.
Whether the investigation had gone well or poorly was hard to say. In the caves across the stretch of rocky desert assigned to their team, they found nothing but a few Konchu.
All they had done was rule out one possibility.
—--
When the three returned to Loc Lac, the sun had not yet fully set. They were the first team back. Before midnight, the other squads returned one after another.
Except for one.
The Guild Master sat alone, cross-legged on the Guild Hall's Quest Counter, taking one draw after another from his water pipe as he waited until dawn.
The Guild Hall doors never opened again. As the morning light illuminated the hall, the elderly Wyverian closed his eyes in anguish.
"Found them."
(Translated by yourtl.app)