Val Habar

Bang! Bang! ...

Colored smoke from matching signal flares swirled into view overhead up ahead.

An array of several large sandships followed the lead of a conspicuous golden sandship.

They broke through the shroud of dust, coming fully into view.

The purple spots in Sisi's compound eyes converged into lines at their centers, then Sisi turned toward Li Le.

"I didn't arrange this. This is part of the joint operation."

Li Le offered an explanation.

Sisi's compound eyes blinked slowly, seemingly not entirely convinced.

It was a combat formation of sandships dispatched from Val Habar as reinforcements.

With their cargo already unloaded, both their combat readiness and maneuverability had improved considerably.

The entire formation swung their hulls sideways, executing a sharp U-turn.

They approached Dah'ren Mohran from the other side, forming a pincer attack.

Bang! Bang! ...

The sandships on either side of Dah'ren Mohran simultaneously fired several ballista binder rounds.

Flashing with a dark sheen, the metal projectiles, tipped with barbed spikes, shot into its shell.

The ropes connecting them to the ballista mounts on the ships instantly pulled taut, establishing firm connections.

"Those are called binder rounds. They use the pull of the ropes to temporarily restrict large monsters' movements."

Seeing how intently Sisi watched, Li Le began explaining.

After watching for a moment, Sisi turned to scan the deck.

Aside from being packed with people, it had no weapons installed at all.

Sisi's gaze soon returned to Li Le.

"Binder emplacements are expensive to install, and their specialized ammunition costs a ridiculous amount. Generally, only the Guild can afford to use them. Besides, with the Sandworm's tonnage, even if we installed one, it wouldn't do much to hold anything back."

Sisi's body sank.

The purple spots in the compound eyes slanted downward in unison, forming an inverted V and looking utterly dejected.

"Who taught you all these eye expressions...?"

Li Le was speechless.

"I did, meow!"

Kaluo, who was distributing herbs to the injured, raised a paw and called out.

"Uh... how exactly did you teach that... it's about to roar! Everyone, cover your ears and take cover!"

Li Le clamped his hands over his ears in demonstration, then lunged forward and dropped flat.

Dah'ren Mohran raised its body and opened its enormous mouth as wide as it could.

ROOOAR!!!

Piercing sound waves swept over the ship, immediately followed by a dense barrage of clods of sand and earth.

Li Le got up and looked ahead.

At the desert's boundary, with the plains behind it, Val Habar stood ahead beneath a fluttering array of colorful flags.

If the crew and hunters fell off here, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Besides, the Sandworm was nearly at capacity, and there was a sandstorm behind them...

Getting everyone they'd picked up safely to their destination was the top priority now!

After assessing the situation, Li Le stood and shouted, "Head for Val Habar! Full sail, full speed ahead!"

"We can't pick up speed! The Sandworm's hull is too heavy, meow!"

The Felyne captain, standing on a cargo crate and spinning the helm hard, called out a warning.

"Too heavy..."

Li Le couldn't understand it.

They had certainly picked up a lot of people, but it shouldn't have been enough to prevent the Sandworm from accelerating.

"Turn off to the side! Get away from the battlefield first!"

The Sandworm shifted to a diagonal course, approaching Val Habar from the side.

Clang! Clang! ...

The thunderous strikes of an enormous gong rang out through the surroundings.

Under the intense provocation, Dah'ren Mohran leaped entirely out of the sand.

Driven by its immense body, glittering chunks of ore and leaping Cephalos filled the air.

CRASH!

Dah'ren Mohran hit the ground, panting heavily several times through its enormous mouth.

Its great horn swung sideways, turning its body, and it swam off into the distance.

Cheers rose from the settlement ahead.

They celebrated having driven off Dah'ren Mohran once again through their combined efforts.

"Not bad. At least we made it here alive."

After being tense for so long, Li Le relaxed and lay flat on the deck.

The approaching gray sandstorm soon swallowed the sky.

When the sandstorm cleared, the sunset's lingering light shone through.

Val Habar's sandship docks bustled with activity.

The many sandships gathered at their berths began unloading cargo.

The people they had picked up now offered gifts in thanks for their rescue.

These things might not have been particularly valuable in other villages and towns.

But once transported to Val Habar, even basic supplies became quite expensive.

After collecting them, Li Le took Kaluo to assess the damage to the Sandworm's hull and the cargo losses.

"Hopefully the damage isn't too bad... let's start with the deck. Most of the port bulwark is gone. It needs repairing."

As Li Le spoke, Kaluo lowered his head and took notes.

"Two ropes on the mast snapped, and the sail has holes in it. Those need repairing."

"The starboard deck... has an extra binder emplacement mount?"

The man and cat blinked in unison, both stunned as they stared at the emplacement mount lashed to the hull with sticky silk.

Hiss, hiss~

Sisi's scythe claws reached over the bulwark, working rapidly to wind the silk, and another cannon mount was hoisted from the sand and set on the deck.

"Uh... so that's why the Sandworm couldn't accelerate. We'd been hauling extra weight all along."

"Ah! So this is a binder emplacement, meow!"

Kaluo hurried over to examine it.

"Sisi must have salvaged this after a large sandship broke apart."

As he spoke, Li Le walked toward the stern and discovered another dozen or so silk threads with various objects stuck to their ends.

"Do we have to give these back, meow?"

Amid his delight, Kaluo suddenly thought of a problem.

"No. The bowstring is snapped, and the cannon barrel is bent. They're not worth much anymore. Besides, all the large sandships involved in the battle were insured through the Guild. If you returned the damaged parts you salvaged now, their owners would be very unhappy."

"That's good, meow."

Hearing they didn't need to return them, Kaluo relaxed.

"But this damage doesn't make much difference to Sisi. The only problem is..."

Li Le lowered his head and looked at the deck, which the two emplacement mounts had filled.

"Right, the Sandworm is too small, meow."

Kaluo understood.

"I saw that Sisi brought back quite a bit of hull wreckage too. Why don't we use those materials to try expanding the Sandworm?"

"Oh! Leave it to us, meow!"

"I need to visit the Guild gathering hall, and take a look around the trade market too... let's unload the pedal cart and insect cages first."

They transferred the insect cages and the supplies to be unloaded onto the three-compartment pedal cart.

Li Le pedaled through the docks and into Val Habar's noisy, bustling trade market.

The shops, hunters' residences, and all the other facilities here were housed in mobile, wheeled carriages.

Every part extending outward from those carriages could be quickly folded away.

Even the local Guild gathering hall was an enormous sandship.

This setup, which made relocation and escape easy, was closely tied to both the threat of Dah'ren Mohran and the development of the surrounding region.

Li Le had intended to buy two carriages, one for everyday living and another as a branch of the Kinsect Research Institute to receive visitors.

But the price of 19,000z meant he could only buy one for the time being.

Night soon fell, but the trade market only grew livelier.

Li Le didn't rush to report to the Guild next. Instead, after finding somewhere to park his cart, he began wandering the streets.

Before long, the caravan leader wearing an orange cowboy hat came into view.

He was speaking animatedly to a young hunter.

Li Le approached and listened.

"Say, Disi, if I'd known you weren't a full-time sailor but a hunter, I wouldn't have had to go to all the trouble of looking for a suitable candidate."

"Captain Joda, I never said I wasn't a hunter."

The young man called Disi spread his hands.

"All right, I didn't ask clearly enough. Then let me formally invite you to join my caravan. Do you accept?"

"Sorry, I can't accept your invitation."

"Why? My Hunter Caravan already has Guild approval, and they've even assigned Sophia as our quest receptionist to hand out contracts. My Wyverian brother Laude can serve as our traveling craftsman. Although there are still gaps in our lineup, we're already a step ahead when it comes to putting a caravan together."

Joda couldn't understand.

"Cough, cough... I've been in poor health since birth. I'm afraid I wouldn't be up to it."

Disi covered his mouth and coughed softly twice as he explained.

"No wonder you were coughing the whole way. I thought it was just a minor illness... then what brought you to Val Habar?"

"I wanted to ride this wave of exploration and make some money, then hire a renowned doctor to treat me."

As Disi spoke, he looked toward the flourishing trade market.

From Disi's account, he didn't seem like a caravan hunter at all. No, wait...

Li Le soon noticed something very unusual.

"Wait, you said you've been in poor health since birth, but you passed the hunter exam at your age?"

Looking at the hunter's badge on Disi's chest, Joda also noticed something was off.

"To be precise, it wasn't at my current age. I passed the hunter exam two years ago. Back then, the villagers said hunter training could improve my constitution, so I gave it a try. Later, I heard you could take home the meat you cooked during the exam, so I entered."

Disi recounted his experience.

"And then?"

"Then I passed."

Disi's matter-of-fact answer left both Li Le and Joda stunned.

Born sickly, yet he had passed the hunter exam with that ailing body...

What kind of heaven-defying human was this?!

"I've made up my mind! You're going to be my caravan's hunter!"

Rip, rip~

As Joda spoke, he tore the recruitment assessment criteria in his hand to shreds.

"But we still need to go through the assessment process... just cook a piece of meat or something."

Disi raised a hand and quietly reminded him, "Captain Joda, I haven't agreed to join yet."

Clatter~

Without another word, Joda took the money pouch from his waist and slapped it into Disi's hand.

Then he removed his cowboy hat and took an unblemished white fragment from its brim.

"If we can find it, we'll have more than just riches. The names of everyone in this caravan will be remembered by the world."

Disi stared at the shining fragment, momentarily dazed.

"All right... I hope I won't hold you back."

After his brief surge of enthusiasm, Disi didn't show much confidence.

"That's the spirit! That's the caravan's carriage. I'll go get some raw meat."

With that, Joda hurried away.

"Hey! Hello."

Hearing the greeting, Li Le turned.

He saw a black-haired girl holding a sewing box looking at him.

"Hello."

"The noticeboard is empty. What are you looking at?"

The girl pointed at the noticeboard on the carriage.

"I'm looking at this noticeboard. Since my teaching needs are expanding, I wanted to buy one about this size."

"Oh, I see. I thought you were listening to the captain talking with Disi. This foldaway noticeboard was bought from the mobile general store, from that dark-skinned auntie."

As she spoke, the girl pointed the way.

"Thank you."

"The fragrance on you is very unusual. Did it come from some kind of insect?"

"That's right."

"An undisguised, delicate fragrance. What sort of monster would an insect that dared release such a scent be...?"

The woman seemed to forget Li Le was there as she sank into thought.

"Sorry, I got distracted. We've talked so much, and I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Sophia. I'm the receptionist assigned by the Guild to the Hunter Caravan. Given the caravan's unusual nature, I also work part-time as a field observer, accompany hunts to certify contracts, and handle similar duties."

"My name is Li Le. I'm the director of the Kinsect Research Institute."

"Oh! I see. That strange wagon covered in insect cages is where you live, then."

Understanding dawned on Sophia.

"That's right. If we're exploring the same area, can I come to you for hunting contracts?"

"Of course. That's exactly what a mobile Guild outpost is for."

As Sophia spoke, she stepped aside, fully revealing the Guild's dedicated wagon, which had a noticeboard mounted on its side.

"Thanks, then."

Sophia pushed up her glasses, leaned closer, and asked quietly, "I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to help?"

"Go ahead."

"If you ever spot a monster with this scent, could you submit your ecological observations to me once you're done? I'd like to be the first to see them."

"Uh... how should I put this, Sophia? This scent doesn't come from a monster. It comes from my Kinsect."

Sophia glanced at the empty Kinsect perch strapped to Li Le's arm and shook her head firmly. "Impossible."

"Sisi is a ground-dwelling insect, and she's also very large... Anyway, Sisi is at the docks, modifying the sandship. If you really want to meet her, you can just go take a look."

"Hehe, Li Le, it looks like you have it even worse than I do..."

Sophia gave a faint smile and sighed, a knowing look entering her previously clear eyes.

"In what way... oh!"

Li Le suddenly remembered that Sophia was a monster fanatic, particularly fond of Brachydios.

Sisi's ecology was so outlandish that Sophia had assumed he was a kindred spirit.

Only his obsession was more intense, to the point that he had fallen into fantasies about monsters.

"As a hunter, you need to practice moderation."

Thinking she had guessed correctly, Sophia offered him a reminder.

"Mm... it's getting late. I need to report to the Guild."

Li Le felt that Sophia not having discovered Sisi yet might be a good thing.

"All right. Let's talk again when we have time."

With that, Sophia sat on the ground and opened her sewing box.

Besides sewing supplies, it contained all sorts of unfinished stuffed monster dolls.

Before long, a wagon bearing the Guild's emblem arrived in front of the Guild wagon.

"Sophia, the ecological reference materials you wanted have finally arrived. Please sign for them."

After speaking, the male driver climbed down and began unloading the crates.

"Thank you. What about the needles, thread, and fabric?"

"Those have been confirmed lost. They definitely won't be coming."

"All right. The Guild's catalog of newly discovered species hasn't been successfully delivered in ages. Hopefully it's here this time."

Speaking excitedly, Sophia began searching through the crate.

Her eyes lit up when a familiar cover appeared, and she took it out.

"What new species has the Guild discovered now?"

Sophia rubbed her hands together and opened it to the first page.

"Ahtal-Ka, Neopteron..."

The happy expression on her face promptly froze.()