Tossing aside her Whetstone, Haifa flicked her wrist to retract the serrated blade, then slung the Tigrex Great Sword (King Tiger), a brutal weapon shaped like a dragon's maw, across her back.
She glanced at the sky, which was dotted with countless tiny black specks, then raised one leg and planted her foot atop the enormous Large Barrel Bomb standing over a meter tall before her.
"Finally, they're here." Looking down at the Large Barrel Bomb beneath her foot, Haifa muttered, "Is that old man's trick really going to work? Setting off a couple of bombs will draw the target straight to us? Sounds pretty dubious to me."
Beside her, Kane, the Heavy Bowgun user serving as both a member of the interception vanguard and the operation's on-site commander, glanced over. "Don't be so quick to doubt him. Professor Lamarck is exceptionally learned and widely respected. He wouldn't make a baseless claim. If he believes this will work, he must have a reason."
Haifa curled her lip dismissively. Around her mother, her father always acted rather "soft," making it hard for her to associate him with words like "learned and respected," even though he had served as Chief Scholar of the local Research Institute for nearly twenty years.
Seated atop another Large Barrel Bomb and stroking the Kinsect perched on his forearm, Casa, the Insect Glaive user, added with a smile, "Don't underestimate Barrel Bombs. Very few Monsters can ignore the detonation of a Large Barrel Bomb. They either become wary and timid or fly into a rage and take it as a provocative 'roar.' Well, as the Alchemists put it, the sound of exploding gunpowder is 'the roar of civilization.'"
"Fine, fine." Haifa took her foot off the Large Barrel Bomb, retreated a safe distance, and slipped into the shadows beneath a building's eaves.
Kane and Casa also fell back, leaving only the cluster of Large Barrel Bombs in the small plaza at the center of the affluent residential district.
As he retreated, Kane shouted, "Everyone, take cover inside the buildings! Do not show yourselves until you hear the signal! Remember what we told you earlier. Whether you're using Cannons or any other mounted siege weapons, the moment you fire on an Elder Dragon, do not hesitate. Abandon your position immediately! Elder Dragons are intelligent and react extremely quickly. They know how to neutralize threats!"
The elite Hunters taking part in the operation shouted their assent.
Each second dragged by under the mounting tension. Before long, the distant black specks on the horizon resolved into hordes of shrieking Egyurasu diving straight toward the desert city.
"These Egyurasu seem much fiercer than the ones we exterminated in the Desert," Nymera observed from a first-floor window in an absurdly luxurious villa. Her brow furrowed as she watched flock after flock stream through the sky overhead.
"Looks like it." Isis tightened her grip on her weapon's haft. "Are we really going to stay hidden and let those Egyurasu fly right into the city? We have all these Heavy Ballistae and Machine Cannons. If we opened fire now, we could definitely bring down quite a few, couldn't we?"
"Yes. That's the point," Altaïr replied simply.
Seeing the confusion written across Isis's face, he had no choice but to explain. "The Egyurasu aren't the real problem. More than two hundred Loc Lac Rangers and Low Rank Hunters are scattered throughout the city's streets and alleys. We might suffer some casualties, but dealing with this flock of Egyurasu won't be difficult.
The only true threat is Guanzorumu.
According to Kane and the others, whether our forces, fortifications, and weapons will be enough to repel an incoming Elder Dragon comes down entirely to luck.
Attacking now would reveal our position and the locations of our defensive weapons. It would also draw all those Egyurasu straight toward us.
We can't face an Elder Dragon and fight off that many Egyurasu at the same time."
Isis fell silent.
After hearing Altaïr's explanation, she understood the reasoning behind the plan. Even so, thoughts of the tens of thousands of civilians hiding in the refuges and the Low Rank Hunters locked in a desperate battle against the Egyurasu left guilt gnawing at her. She felt as though she were shirking her duty.
Every last Egyurasu flew past. Firelight began to flicker among the city streets, and the faint sounds of combat echoed from every direction, yet the signal they were waiting for still had not come.
Isis's face was taut. She desperately wanted to charge outside, but she still remembered the commander's warning.
Do not reveal yourself until you hear the signal.
She also understood why they were waiting. The Rangers and Hunters in the city first needed to engage the Egyurasu.
Only then could the threat the swarm posed to their position be reduced as much as possible.
Suddenly, the Hunters hidden throughout the affluent residential district raised their heads almost in unison.
They sensed a gaze from somewhere far above.
The sensation was difficult to describe. It felt as though an invisible weight were pressing down on their souls and settling over their hearts, trapping them inside a Monster's jaws just before they snapped shut. Even their thoughts froze for a fleeting moment.
What was that thing?!
"It's here!" Haifa's bellow answered the unspoken question in everyone's mind.
At that same instant, a single round of Bowgun Ammo streaked from a building's window and struck the cluster of Large Barrel Bombs in the center of the small plaza with pinpoint precision.
"BOOOOOM!!"
A concussive blast wave that made their chests constrict swept through the residential district, reverberating between the hillsides and buildings.
The explosion's echo had not yet faded when another tremendous roar from the sky completely drowned it out.
It sounded like a thunderclap. No, it was a bellow far louder and more ear-splitting than any natural thunder.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
Even the Hunters who had prepared Disposable Earplugs in advance could not help pressing their hands over their ears.
Every windowpane in the residential district shattered at once, along with fragile decorations such as the vases inside the homes.
"CRASH!!"
Another thunderous noise followed immediately. This time, it was the crash of some gargantuan object striking the ground, as though a colossal meteorite had plummeted straight into the small plaza.
The Hunters, barely recovered from the succession of deafening noises, instinctively looked toward the source of the crash.
A massive black-and-gold dragon stood there, spreading colossal wings that looked as though they had been stained crimson with blood.
The great dragon slowly raised its head and gazed down at its surroundings with contempt. Its intricately shaped horns resembled a crown forged from gold, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
It had detected the Hunters hiding in the surrounding buildings long ago, yet it did not attack immediately. Instead, it proudly displayed its form and deliberately radiated an overwhelming presence that made it difficult to look away.
Its bearing seemed to proclaim that these insignificant creatures, no greater than specks of dust, should gaze upon it in awe and count the sight as a blessing.
Several full seconds passed before Altaïr jolted out of his stupor. He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, and the sharp pain pulled his body and mind back to normal.
His hand instinctively closed around the hilt of the sword on his back, as though that alone could grant him some small measure of security and allow him to keep looking directly at the creature before him.
"So this is the legendary 'Elder Dragon'?" Beside him, Isis finally regained her composure as well. She took several deep breaths to steady her ragged breathing, raised the large shield at her side, and prepared to push open the gate and charge outside.
But someone was faster.
The first to rush into the small plaza designated as the battlefield was Haifa, bearing her Great Sword.
As she sprinted toward her target at full speed, she cursed furiously, "Why the hell are you preening like that? You think I can't see those ugly, ragged claw marks? Your belly was nearly ripped wide open, wasn't it? You couldn't beat the Grimclaw Tigrex, so you came here to strut around, huh?"
The High Rank Insect Glaive user Casa followed close behind. Unlike Haifa, he was not so talkative. He immediately brandished his Insect Glaive and commanded his Kinsect to fly toward the black-and-gold Elder Dragon.
For an Insect Glaive user, nothing was more important than extracting a Monster's essence.
Meanwhile, Kane, the Heavy Bowgun user, charged toward a heavy, five-barreled Rapid-fire Cannon that was fully loaded and concealed beneath a cloth cover.
"The target is badly wounded! An injury like that won't close anytime soon. If it keeps bleeding, it'll soon be exhausted! The advantage is ours!"
Seizing the moment before his two Blademaster companions reached the target, Kane yanked the firing cord.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" The launch and detonation of the heavy Crag Cannon Shells merged into a single continuous blast.
"Begin the attack!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)