Chapter 26: Skeletons

(A cat made by my girlfriend..)

Although he had simply said those few words, and although the listener was not even human but an Airou Cat.

Yet it was as if he had found an outlet for the emotions pent up in his heart; Aolang, who had nearly been swallowed by loneliness, suddenly felt much better.

As for Shaji, its ears, which had been standing straight up, now drooped down.

Aolang smiled slightly, reached out, and rubbed its small head. "Thanks for your concern. I'm fine, really.

But before we officially begin the hunt, could you accompany me to a place?"

"Of course, meow." Shaji nodded vigorously. "No one else is watching here, meow. If you feel bad, it's okay to cry, meow!"

"No need." The numbness on Aolang's face gradually turned to calm. "After so many years, returning to see everyone for the first time, it wouldn't be good to wear a grieving face. Follow me."

They walked slowly forward, circling that Great Lake which was about to dry up completely.

Suddenly, Aolang stopped, walking toward a pile of long-dead reeds. Scattered around the withered grass were a few weathered bones—human bones.

Shaji looked at Aolang with some tension; these bones might belong to one of his relatives or friends.

Aolang walked to the side of the remaining bones, squatted down, reached out, and gently stroked them.

Many bite marks remained on the bones. This was not strange; in this resource-scarce Desert, it would be strange to find a complete skeleton.

Shaji had expected Aolang to gather these remains, but he did not. After rubbing them for a while, he stood up and continued walking forward.

Shaji quickened his pace to catch up. "Not collecting them, meow? Time and supplies are plentiful, meow. No need to rush, meow."

"No need." Aolang's tone was so calm it made Shaji feel a bit afraid. "Bodies buried in the sand will be dug up and eaten by wild animals; cremation disrupts the natural cycle.

Sand Nomads have no funeral customs. We are born in the wilderness, so naturally we should end in the wilderness. Death deserves sorrow and remembrance, but there is no need to pour excessive emotion into corpses."

"... I'm glad you can think that way, meow."

As they continued forward, they occasionally found a few scattered bone fragments.

Although Aolang said "no need to pour emotion into corpses," whenever he saw these bones, he would stop, touch and stroke each one individually, and only then continue forward.

Until they arrived before an exceptionally massive skeleton.

Clearly, this was the skeleton of some large Monster. On the giant skull, which resembled a small house, two curved large horns were still attached.

"This... what is this, meow? An Angil?" Shaji stammered. "The culprit, the main culprit, is it, meow?"

Aolang approached the overturned skull, patted that pair of pale, dry, yet still imposing large horns. "No, this is the skeleton of a Tail-Axe Dragon. It was once the guardian of this Oasis. Back then, everyone called it 'Big Guy'.

As for the Monster that caused all of this, to be honest, I also want to know where it went, but..."

Aolang's gaze swept across the surroundings. Between the wild grass and the ruins of the Village, faint dark yellow figures could be seen, quietly lurking and slowly approaching.

"Even if they aren't the same group from back then, since you are the ones occupying this place now, venting my anger on you shouldn't meet any complaints, right?"

Aolang tightened the straps of his Shield, then drew the Hunter Dagger from behind his back, which reflected cold light.

Seeming to realize that the "prey" had discovered their presence, the Desert Bandits lurking in the shadows stopped hiding. Growling low, they emerged from the ruins of the wild grass and slowly surrounded them.

"One, two... five Yellow Velocidromes, meow?!" Shaji's voice trembled slightly. "Isn't that number too high, meow? We should retreat quickly, meow! Breaking them apart would be better, meow!"

Before Aolang could reply, two Yellow Velocidromes moved their legs, screeching as they accelerated, rushing forward impatiently.

"You can't run. Protect yourself."

Glancing back once, leaving those words behind, Aolang charged forward, meeting the fastest of the Yellow Velocidromes head-on.

That Yellow Velocidrome seemed not to have expected that this prey, whose size was not large and whose aura was quite ordinary, would so decisively launch a counterattack.

In the blink of an eye, he was already before it.

In group combat, Velocidromes even dared to actively attack large Monsters; naturally, it would not be scared by the prey before it. Without thinking, it opened its bloody mouth, raised its front limbs—which were small but also possessed sharp claws—and tore forward.

At the instant just before collision, Aolang shifted his footwork, turned sideways, raised his Shield, and deflected the Yellow Velocidrome's pounce and bite. Immediately after, he smoothly swung the Hunter Dagger in his left hand.

Reinforced by the addition of large quantities of high-quality ore and remelted, the Hunter Dagger's destructive power was far beyond its initial state from several months ago.

The blade easily cut through the Yellow Velocidrome's trachea and carotid artery. The creature, which had been fierce just a second ago, suddenly weakened in its hind legs and rolled onto the ground.

Although it did not die immediately, it clearly did not have much time left to live.

He had eliminated one opponent at extremely high speed, but the situation had not improved much because of it. The second Yellow Velocidrome had already reached a position only a few meters away from him, preparing to leap and pounce, while the others were surrounding from the sides.

Worrying that Aolang would be attacked from both front and back, Shaji also drew his Cat Sword, gritted his teeth, and rushed up, wanting to share the pressure for him.

But just then, Aolang's movements, which had previously been in a desperate stance, suddenly changed. He lowered his Weapon, pushed off the ground with both feet, and retreated rapidly. His decisiveness was such that Shaji could barely react in time, nearly crashing into his back.

The second Yellow Velocidrome's leap and pounce missed completely. It shook its head and continued to accelerate in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Aolang had already retreated to the side of the Tail-Axe Dragon's remains, leaning his back against a massive rib bone that was as thick as a person and three or four meters high, looking like a house pillar.

Seeing the prey no longer retreat, the Yellow Velocidrome bit down without hesitation.

Aolang seemed frozen in place, staying where he was, until the moment when its hooked sharp teeth, covered in Paralysis Venom, were about to touch him, he suddenly turned, circling behind the rib bone.

"Bang!" The impatient Yellow Velocidrome crashed solidly into that rib bone, shattering several of its fangs.

Aolang's footwork crossed, his movements unceasing. While the Yellow Velocidrome was dazed from crashing into the rib bones of the remains, he had already circled out from behind the rib bone.

Raising his hand, he thrust his sword, piercing into the Yellow Velocidrome's armpit, avoiding the bones, and driving straight into the chest cavity.

Twisting the sword hilt to crush the Yellow Velocidrome's heart, he pulled out the Hunter Knife. The second Yellow Velocidrome also fell to the ground, becoming a lifeless corpse.

Shaji finally began to react.

Aolang had not lost his rationality as Shaji had feared. On the contrary, he was very calm.

If they were on open flat ground, simultaneously dealing with the siege of five Yellow Velocidromes would indeed be dangerous.

But if backed against cover, relying on familiarity with the Yellow Velocidrome's attack habits, plus his own agile footwork, the room for maneuver was much greater.

As for where the cover was? The Tail-Axe Dragon's skeleton was the best cover!

After years of being gnawed by scavengers, rotting and weathering, the flesh and blood on the skeleton had long since disappeared completely, but the rib bones and spine, as the main body, still maintained basic integrity.

The gaps between the ribs were only one person wide; a Hunter could easily pass through by slightly turning sideways.

The Yellow Velocidrome had a slender body; squeezing through hard was not impossible, but due to its body structure, while crossing the rib gaps, it could not turn around.

This made it completely unable to bite the agile Hunter and Elu.

The battle turned into a one-sided mockery; in merely a few dozen seconds, the remaining three Yellow Velocidrome also collapsed beside the wreckage of the Tail-Axe Dragon.

Flowing blood stained the dry bones red.