Chapter 14: Bait Cat

After the few members of Desert Fin departed, Nuri waved at Aolang, Asa, and Shaji.

The three humans and one cat sat together to discuss the plan for subsequent actions.

Asa was the first to speak urgently, "Are they 'Desert Fin'? That hunter guild rumored to only hunt Sand Dragons?"

They indeed recognized them; in the desert regions where Sand Dragons frequently appear, this guild's name is quite renowned.

Aolang glanced at Asa and corrected, "Not 'only hunt Sand Dragons', but 'specialize in hunting Sand Dragons'."

"What's the difference..." Asa looked somewhat dismissive.

As the Captain, Nuri keenly sensed a hint of dissatisfaction in Aolang's tone and quickly interrupted his brother's words, "Of course there is a difference; your words are like saying the Fish Boat Team only catches fish in the Sand Sea."

"That seems true too." Asa finally realized his own words carried a flavor of "contempt".

There are more fish in the sea; why doesn't the Fish Boat Team go catch fish there?

Facing such questions, the people of the Fish Boat Team would probably be too lazy to explain; the few members of Desert Fin are the same.

"Ah, my words just now were not meant to look down on anyone." Realizing this, Asa waved his hands repeatedly, "I am just a Novice Hunter who has been promoted for less than a year; those seniors are definitely elites of Star Three or Star Four; how could I have the qualification to look down on them?"

"I just remembered their rumors and said it casually..."

"Don't say things casually again." Nuri felt deeply helpless regarding his brother's lack of filter on his mouth, "Luckily you didn't say this in front of them; otherwise, if you get beaten up, I won't take responsibility."

Asa smiled awkwardly, "I'll pay attention next time, I'll definitely pay attention next time!"

"Alright, let's discuss the tactics." Nuri took out a map; the eight eyes of the three humans and one cat converged.

"The seniors from Desert Fin have already scouted ahead; their intelligence should be reliable, so our tactics will revolve around their suggestions."

"After all, their mission is more important; we, the Citadel Guerrillas, are the supporting side." Nuri glanced at his companions.

Both Aolang and Asa indicated they had no objections.

"Using the current camp as the coordinate center, the Sand Long Wang should currently be active in the area from due north to northwest; according to the habits of the Sand Dragon Tribe, at least a few Sand Dragons will accompany it as guards."

"So our task is to lure those Sand Dragons away for the seniors and open a path?" Asa, whose temper is somewhat impatient, grabbed the word and asked.

Nuri pressed his palm down vaguely towards him, "Don't overestimate our role in this operation; the combined levels of the three of us might not even be higher than one of those seniors."

"The Sand Long Wang, including the Sand Dragons beside the Sand Long Wang, have nothing to do with us; our target is here."

Nuri pointed to an area southwest of the camp on the map, "Sand Dragons are quite large; to fill their bellies, they hunt separately."

"There are shadows of Sand Dragons patrolling in the dunes of this area; we go there, lure them one by one, and hunt them down."

"If things go smoothly, we won't even need to approach the area where the Sand Long Wang is located to complete the mission."

"Doesn't this mean we can't help at all?" Asa muttered, "It feels like it's the same whether we are here or not, just coming over to split the reward."

"I said long ago that the seniors don't need our help." Nuri strengthened his tone, "Except for the Sand Long Wang, the number of Sand Dragons in this tribe is roughly between ten and twenty."

"While the seniors hunt the Sand Long Wang, they will take care of a few along the way, and the rest will scatter and flee after the Sand Long Wang dies, leaving hidden dangers for the trade routes nearby."

"What we need to do is reduce the number of the Sand Dragon Tribe before the Sand Long Wang is hunted and the Sand Dragon Tribe scatters; do you understand?"

Facing his brother's somewhat harsh tone, Asa could only obediently agree, "Understood."

Aolang glanced at him and spoke, "Actually, we can't help at all is not entirely true; while the seniors fight the Sand Long Wang, the Sand Long Wang will summon the Sand Dragons that scattered to forage back to assist in battle."

"If we can eliminate some in advance or intercept some midway, the pressure on the seniors' side will be reduced."

Hearing Aolang's words, a smile bloomed on Asa's face, "You know how to speak!"

Shaji looked sideways at this easy-to-understand fellow, "Like a child, meow; still needs coaxing, meow."

"Who are you calling a child?"

Glaring at the one human and one cat arguing, Nuri walked to the supply box beside the tent and took out the supplies provided by the Guild.

"Five Sound Bombs; the high-frequency noise released upon detonation can blast Sand Dragons out from under the sand; they are also very effective against the Sand Long Wang; they are the most crucial item for this hunt."

"However, note that this thing is not very useful when Sand Dragons are on the ground; watch the timing carefully and don't waste them."

The three humans each took one Sound Bomb; the remaining two were handed to Shaji to use at the right moment.

The rest were emergency medicine, Whetstones, carried food, and other common supplies; they would naturally carry these themselves, but since the Guild provides them for free, it is natural to use the free ones first.

"The specific tactic is: the three of us ambush, Shaji goes to lure the Sand Dragons; after luring the Sand Dragons to the ambush location, we use the Sound Bomb to blast them out."

"During the fight, I will hold the front; Aolang will conduct Guerilla attacks depending on the situation, attacking the legs as the seniors suggested; Asa will attack from a distance and be responsible for vigilance."

"Any questions?"

"None."

"None, meow." Aolang and Shaji shook their heads together.

"If the bait has no objections, then of course I have no objections either." Asa said with a grin.

"Meow—" Shaji angrily scratched him with a claw.

"Alright, stop arguing." Stopping the childish actions of the one human and one cat, Nuri looked at Aolang, "Ahlun's Little Brother is cooperating with us for the first time; pay attention to the firing arcs of the Gunlance and Heavy Bowgun."

"Nothing else; stay calm; do a final check of Equipment and items; let's set off."

Among the rolling dunes, there is a low-lying area; vaguely visible, several gray-yellow fish fins appear and disappear in the fine sand of the depression.

People with only a superficial understanding of the desert might confuse those fish fins with Sand Fish.

But experienced Hunters know that what patrols in the sand depression is another, more dangerous creature.

Shaji tightened the Oak Acorn Cat Armor on its body, crouched down, stuck its butt up, and moved silently towards that depression like a leopard ambushing prey.

When it approached to within the last twenty or thirty meters, it dared not move forward any further.

Sand Dragons are very sensitive to vibrations; even Elu, who was born and raised in the desert, was not confident it could get closer without being detected.

It took out a small pebble the size of a nut, weighed it in its paw, and threw it with force.

The small pebble accurately hit a dorsal fin; the owner of the dorsal fin, which was originally moving aimlessly, paused its movement and turned its body towards this side.

Shaji was not panicked and quietly crawled back along the original path.

The other Sand Dragons in the sand depression were not alarmed; the Sand Dragon hit by the pebble turned its triangular head, and the sensory organs on both sides of its head (Lorenz Ampulla?) aimed at the direction where Shaji was located.

It caught a trace of the tiny vibrations caused by the friction of its paw pads against the gravel.

With eyes already degenerated and vision almost completely gone, the Sand Dragon couldn't be sure whether the disturbance was caused by prey or merely the white noise of wind blowing over the sand.

But regardless, it was worth moving closer to "take a look."

That Sand Dragon swayed its body like a fish, breaking away from its companions, swimming through the fine sand, and approaching from this direction.

Seeing the distance between itself and that Sand Dragon grow ever smaller, Sha Ji remained calm; it knew deeply that it had not yet left the alert range of the other Sand Dragons in the sand depression.

Jumping up and turning to run would only startle the other Sand Dragons as well, triggering greater danger.

Finally, it crawled to a place far enough from the sand depression, and the distance between it and that Sand Dragon was now less than ten meters.

It was about time.

Sha Ji no longer lay prone; supporting its body on four limbs, it began to run lightly.

That Sand Dragon finally confirmed the prey's presence; excitedly, it swayed its fin-tail and fin-limbs, accelerating its pursuit of the prey.

Thus, one fled and one chased, constantly moving away from the sand depression where the Sand Dragons gathered; when they arrived near an inconspicuous sand dune, an unremarkable small round ball was thrown in front of it.

"Vrrrrm—"

A high-frequency noise exploded; the Sand Dragon, which had been excitedly pursuing the prey just a second ago, leaped out of the sand surface like an electrified fish, its whole body convulsing as it lay on the ground twitching uncontrollably.

"Ee-yah-ha!" Asa, hidden atop the sand dune, let out a strange cry as he stood up and raised his Heavy Bowgun.

Aolang and Nuri, lurking in the sand, rushed at top speed to the fallen, struggling Sand Dragon.

It had to be said that although the Sand Dragon, with a body length of six or seven meters, was classified as a small Monster, it still looked quite intimidating; even the Yellow Velocidrome King might not be as big as this thing.

Arriving before the Sand Dragon's head, Nuri raised his Great Shield and Gunlance, while sparing a glance toward Aolang.

The latter's movements held not a shred of hesitation; completely unafraid of the Sand Dragon's size, he took a swift step, drew his blade, and the Hunter Dagger struck the Sand Dragon's hind leg with a vicious chop, cleaving open a bleeding wound.

Seeing this, Nuri smiled with relief, thrust the barrel of the "Iron Knight" Gunlance into the Sand Dragon's mouth, and his finger locked onto the trigger.

"Dragon Cannon!"

"Boom-boom-boom—"

At his low shout, the Gunlance's barrel spat forth scorching flames, and a deafening roar echoed through the surroundings.

Aolang: "......"