"Ah, Kishuu, you've worked hard!"
The Great Leader huffed out a breath, wolfed down the stew in a few bites, then took the report Kishuu had brought and examined it closely by the campfire's light.
The Wilderness Master made room for Kishuu, and a Felyne immediately came trotting over with hot water and food.
"Thank you!"
Kishuu accepted the food, thanked the busy Felyne, then spoke with a grave expression.
"The Herbivore Dragons near us migrated today. The distance was too great, and the route was simply too dangerous, so the investigators assigned to track them couldn't keep up. At our current food reserves, we can last three days at most."
That was still a conservative estimate. Hunters possessed formidable combat power, but their appetites were directly proportional to it. It was no exaggeration to say that some small carnivorous dragons three or four meters long ate less than hunters. The three-day estimate was only possible because Aunt Cat had developed new recipes using cactus balls to replace some vegetables and mushrooms.
"Besides food, we're also running out of medicinal herbs, bandages, and Guide Bug fruit. At the very least, we can't use Guide Bugs as freely as we did before over the next few days."
"Of the sixteen hunters, eleven have already been injured. Odeno's injuries are severe enough that he can no longer continue the investigation. We've gone too deep into the Great Antlion Desert and have never contacted the Beastkin here. The Cat Car from the forest can't make it here either."
Hearing that, the Great Leader nodded. This was a serious problem. Hunters might have exceptional constitutions, but when Odeno had tried to save a scholar beside him, he had taken the full charge of an enraged Barroth. Several of his ribs had fractured. If he was not treated quickly, his hunting career would likely end here.
That was something the Great Leader could not accept.
The First Expedition Team had only eighteen hunters in total. Losing an elite so easily would be far too great a blow to the Investigation Team.
Seeing the Great Leader's tightly furrowed brow, Kishuu sighed and continued.
"Actually, none of that is the most troublesome issue. Odeno's situation can be handled by assigning two additional hunters to take him back to Astera ahead of us. The real problem is our weapons and ammunition."
"Although we gathered plenty of fruit along the way that can be used to make ammunition, the bowgunners are nearly out of ammo, and the archers do not have many arrows left either. Every hunter's armor has suffered some degree of damage. Two longsword users' armor can no longer be used at all."
"Longsword users? That's normal."
The Sword Master across from them nodded. Though he used a greatsword, he was equally proficient with the longsword. The First Expedition Team's longsword users had all received his instruction and learned several extremely dangerous but highly rewarding techniques.
Reward was proportional to risk. When longsword users fought on the front line, they were often the members who sustained the most injuries.
"Armor is one matter, but the weapons are no better. The weapons of the three worst-off dual blade users are nearly scrapped. We've used up all the whetstones, so we can only gather materials again and reforge them. But..."
Kishuu did not finish his sentence, but everyone present was experienced enough to understand.
Reforging them would take even longer than gathering different materials and crafting new pairs from scratch.
"Mm, looks like Lubomir is going to scold me to death when we get back to Astera!"
The Great Leader gave a bitter smile.
Lubomir was a Dragon Person Blacksmith and also a Dragon Person Mechanist. He was responsible for crafting and maintaining the First Expedition Team's weapons and equipment, as well as constructing the base's defensive facilities.
Only he and his three Felyne apprentices in the entire First Expedition Team could handle that work.
Hunter equipment was made from biological materials and metal. It was an extremely meticulous craft.
Not only had this expedition yielded nothing, it had also pushed the hunters' equipment to its limit. Even if he worked day and night, it would probably take him a month to repair everything. Before then, Star Base's combat power would decline significantly.
"We can't delay any longer. This investigation has failed completely. We should return early, regroup, and lay the groundwork for those who may arrive in the future."
The Dragon Person Hunter spoke calmly, with little expression on his face. Those somewhat harsh words did not stir his emotions in the slightest.
The atmosphere around the campfire immediately turned cold.
It was a cruel fact.
The First Expedition Team had arrived in the New World five years ago!
Five whole years. It was as if the Hunter's Guild had forgotten them. Not a single Communication Ship had come to check on their progress, nor had a single Supply Ship brought them provisions.
Had everyone not prepared themselves mentally before coming to the New World, these five difficult years of survival alone would have been enough to crush most people's resolve.
"Hmph! Then we'll return! Just as you said, we need to preserve our strength and give those who come after us a good start!"
The Great Leader slapped his knee and stood up, then began shouting across the camp, informing everyone of the decision. They would begin the return journey tomorrow.
The next day, at Star Base in the New World.
As Nori looked through documents and compared the Moonstone in his hand to the images in them, he let out a sigh.
"Not this one either..."
The cool Moonstone in his hand reflected a faint purple sheen beneath the sunlight. He was one of the personnel left behind in Astera. These days, Nori had immersed himself in a sea of books, constantly searching for the secret of the stone he had named the Moonstone.
Unfortunately, he had still found nothing so far.
Just as he stretched and prepared to grab some fruit to fill the stomach that had gone ten whole minutes without food, the tip of a sail appeared over the horizon. Before long, a dragonbone ship emerged upon the sea.
The sight left Nori stunned for a moment, followed immediately by overwhelming excitement.
Five years! A full five years! A ship had finally appeared!
He bit into a large pear, pulled out his grappling hook from his waist, and rushed to the nearby rope. Hanging from the hook, he rapidly slid down to the shore at the foot of the mountain.
After some crude renovations and the use of broken sections from the Star Ship's wreckage, the place had been turned into a simple platform.
The Acting Leader who had also remained behind worked here.
"Acting Leader! Acting Leader!"
The excited cries made the Acting Leader, Carlos, sigh.
This Glutton was an exceptionally capable editor, but not only could he eat, he was also brimming with energy. He had once clung to the back of a frenzied Great Jagras for half an hour without being thrown off.
Carlos had recently developed some new ideas. He believed the duties handled by editors had already gone beyond what an editor should be responsible for and had become a new profession. Therefore, he planned to rename editors compilers, primarily responsible for recording everything they saw and assisting hunters with miscellaneous paperwork.
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