Hakucho took off first with Sajji aboard to scout the surrounding area, while the three Hunters rappelled to the ground and began searching the village, which had clearly been attacked by a Monster.
The cargo airship that had brought them there hurriedly took off again as soon as they disembarked.
The Hunters could hardly ask for more. The airship's captain was responsible for the crew's safety and the cargo entrusted to him. Taking a slight detour to bring them here was already a tremendous help; they could not ask him to take any further risks.
After a quick search of the small village, the Hunters studied the traces left behind and concluded that the attack had occurred between three and five days earlier.
They found no bodies in the village. According to Clawdia's keen nose, there was no distinct scent of blood at the scene either.
That was clearly good news. At the very least, it proved that the attack itself had not caused mass casualties among the villagers.
Considering that three Hunters, Lambert among them, had remained to protect the villagers, even the raptor packs most likely to pose a serious threat would have struggled to break through.
The villagers had probably escaped under the Hunters' protection.
Where they had fled, how many casualties they had suffered, and whether they had come under attack again were still unknown. The group would have to follow the tracks and find the villagers before they could get any definite answers.
Hakucho swept overhead, and Sajji jumped to the ground. "We made a quick circuit of the area, meow. No sign of any Large Monsters within a circle two kilometers across, meow."
Altaïr nodded and was about to speak when Clawdia suddenly turned toward a pile of rubble nearby and fixed it with an intense stare.
"Hah!" She bared her fangs and unsheathed her steel claws. "Who's there? Come out, meow!"
Isis instinctively quickened her pace, moved to the front of the group, and raised her Large Shield. Morgan also unfolded his Heavy Bowgun and aimed its muzzle at the spot Clawdia was watching, ready for trouble.
Altaïr studied the rubble for two seconds, then reached out and gently pushed down the barrel of Morgan's Heavy Bowgun, signaling for everyone to remain calm.
If it were a Monster, it would not be hiding among the ruins to spy on them. Besides, the collapsed hut was too small to conceal anything dangerous.
Altaïr guessed that Clawdia had sensed a villager who had stayed behind. "Come on out. We're Hunters from the Guild. We're here to deal with the Monster."
Reality proved slightly different from what he expected. After another few seconds, a figure really did crawl out from among the ruins.
It was not a villager, but a strange-looking Felyne.
Judging by its distinctive "fashion choice" of wearing no clothes and the wild temperament rarely seen among Felynes raised in towns, it was probably a wild Felyne.
Yet everyone's gaze settled involuntarily on its face.
There was no getting around it. This Felyne looked incredibly distinctive. The color and pattern of its facial fur made it seem as though it wore a sinister, mocking grin at all times, an expression practically designed to provoke others.
"So you're the reinforcements the lady with the dark circles mentioned, meow?" Despite being wild, the Felyne spoke the common language with surprising clarity and fluency.
The lady with the dark circles...
The same listless face, one that always looked starved for sleep, flashed through the minds of all three Hunters, both Felynes, and even Hakucho.
Without a doubt, it meant Lambert.
"You've got dark circles too, meow," Sajji muttered, staring at the ring of dark fur around the Felyne's eyes.
The wild Felyne's ears twitched. It ignored him and merely folded its paws as it looked the group up and down. "From the way she talked you up, I expected more, meow. You don't look very strong, meow."
The Hunters could not have cared less what a wild Felyne thought of them, but Clawdia's fur visibly bristled.
Before Isis could call out to stop her, Clawdia blurred into motion and shot forward.
Sensing Clawdia's hostility, the wild Felyne instinctively reached for the dagger at its waist, but it was already too late.
Before it could raise the blade, Clawdia's flying kick struck it squarely in the face and sent it tumbling backward.
The Felyne hit the ground and rolled several times. It scrambled back up, shaking its head, then looked up to find Clawdia standing atop the rubble where it had been moments earlier, arms folded as she stared down at it.
"You couldn't even react from that far away. You're nothing special either, meow. Pathetically weak, meow."
Having thrown the Felyne's own words back in its face, Clawdia did not spare it another glance. She trotted back to Isis's side.
As if worried that Isis might misunderstand, she quietly explained, "That's how wild Felynes communicate, meow. A hundred polite words won't do as much as showing a little muscle, meow.
"As long as your claws are sharp enough, they'll fall in line, meow."
"Oh, spare me, meow..." Sajji gave her a sidelong glance. "You were born and raised in the wild too, meow. You're just hotheaded, meow."
Violence could not solve every problem, but it could deal with most troublesome people.
Sure enough, after taking Clawdia's flying kick, the strange Felyne became much more cooperative. It wiped a trace of blood from the corner of its mouth and tilted its head.
"They're not far from here, meow. Follow me."
The Hunters exchanged glances and followed. Altaïr discreetly gave Sajji a meaningful look.
Clawdia only knew how to fight, not how to talk. It was up to Sajji to get them some answers.
Truth be told, Sajji did not consider himself much of a conversationalist either, but at least he was better at it than Clawdia. Urged on by Altaïr's stare, he had no choice but to quicken his pace, draw alongside the wild Felyne, and try to coax some information from it.
Sajji tried asking nicely, only to discover that this Felyne responded to force, not kindness. It remained aloof and dismissive despite his polite questions.
When Sajji offered it food, it accepted without hesitation and stuffed the food into its mouth, yet it still refused to cooperate. The mocking expression seemingly etched into its face was enough to make any Felyne see red.
A derisive snort came from behind. It was Clawdia.
Sajji's patience finally ran out.
The way wild Felynes communicated might not be quite as brutal as Clawdia claimed, but a well-timed show of force was still essential to smooth communication, meow!
He stopped and grabbed the uncooperative Felyne.
"See that tree over there, meow?" Mimicking Clawdia's angry tone, he spoke in a sinister murmur.
"?"
Under the Felyne's baffled gaze, Sajji unslung the Rathian Model-05 rocket launcher from his back, now fully upgraded with Master Purrcival's help.
He aimed at a distant tree with a trunk nearly a meter thick and pulled the trigger.
With a sharp, piercing whistle, a streak of fire shot from the launcher. The next instant, the tree dozens of meters away exploded halfway up its trunk and crashed down with a thunderous roar, sending flocks of birds scattering from the woods.
Sajji shouldered the rocket launcher and turned around. Backlit by the flames, his expression looked especially sinister.
"Don't make me stuff you into this barrel and fire you out of it, meow."
The Felyne fell silent for several seconds.
It looked at the rocket launcher on Sajji's shoulder, then down at the rusty, battered dagger hanging from its own waist. Suddenly, it felt as though a whole new world had opened before it.
"I'm sorry, meow. I was out of line earlier, meow. My name is Ning-Ning, meow." The Felyne rubbed the corner of its mouth, trying to make its naturally mocking expression look a little more normal.
"Please teach me how to do that, meow! I've saved a lot of money. I'll give you all of it, meow! Or I can be your follower or your servant. Anything is fine, meow! Teach me that, and I'll do whatever you ask, meow!"
The Felyne's abrupt change in attitude left even Altaïr at a loss for words.
It was not so much that Ning-Ning had been asking for a beating. Rather... how could he put it? Ning-Ning seemed to have the kind of extreme personality that would sacrifice anything in pursuit of power.
While Altaïr was turning that thought over in his mind, Isis suddenly sidled up beside him with a look of barely concealed tension.
"That Felyne is really young! She might even be younger than Sajji and Clawdia... and she's female!"
"?"
How could that possibly be what Isis was focusing on?