Hunting target

The Kecha Wacha was using its hooked claws to try to shake the ball of silk loose.

It noticed movement approaching from beside it.

Its enormous, foxlike ears drooped forward, covering its face.

It let out a loud, vicious roar, threatening the intruder with the fur patterns behind its ears that resembled enormous round eyes.

But when it glimpsed six round eyes glowing an eerie blue in the darkness,

the Kecha Wacha's roar cut off at once, and its ears shot upright.

Tap-tap...

The insect legs quickened their pace.

The rubbery Gypceros hide draped over the Nerscylla began swaying violently.

Since it had already been exposed, the Kecha Wacha simply switched to using both hooked claws, gripping the silk tightly and shaking it with all its strength.

Rip!

The silk suspended from the ceiling snapped, and the Kecha Wacha fell along with the wrapped corpse.

"Did it get away, meow?"

Kaluo sounded a little surprised.

"That'll still be difficult."

Li Le gave his assessment.

If it only wanted to escape, then judging by the agility and condition this Kecha Wacha had displayed,

it actually had a chance. But if it insisted on taking its companion's corpse along, Li Le thought it had practically no chance at all.

The outcome was just as he had expected.

The moment the Kecha Wacha landed, it dragged the silk, trying to take it away.

Without its agile swinging movements, it had barely run a few steps before a wad of silk fell from above and plastered its feet.

The Kecha Wacha toppled sideways and had no choice but to release its grip.

But trapped in the web, it could no longer put any distance between itself and its pursuer even if it tried to flee now.

As more and more silk stuck to its body, it was soon bound to the web.

Crrrk!

A splitting sound rang out.

A pair of enormous jawlike organs shaped like extra-long shears protruded from the Nerscylla's mouthparts.

Seeing the two rows of pointed teeth coated in thick venom along their inner edges,

the Kecha Wacha let out a roar filled with fear.

Boom, boom...

Just then, a series of rumbles came from behind, making the web shudder violently.

"Sisi's here, meow!"

"Hmm... where's the Ahtal-Neset's roof? There's venom left in the cockpit. Looks like she just had a fight."

After observing it, Li Le offered his deduction.

Having just experienced an ambush, Sisi had no goodwill for the Nerscylla ahead.

Besides, the insect-bait scent from Li Le's Paintball was also drifting over from where the Nerscylla stood.

Boom! Boom!

The insect legs abruptly picked up their pace.

The Nerscylla hesitated, but decided to turn and check the situation first.

After all, with such weight pressing down on the web beneath its feet, the approaching monster certainly could not be small.

But by the time it had turned halfway and seen the approaching monster clearly, it was too late to react.

Boom!

The Nerscylla was knocked flying, falling onto the web and rolling several times.

Before it could steady itself, the stomping pillar-like insect legs followed.

The Nerscylla flipped upright and arched its body, thrusting its venom-coated crystal spikes diagonally forward to defend itself.

Crack! Crack!

As Sisi rapidly worked her silk,

the two pillar-like hind legs lifted the body, while the two forelegs rose and stomped and kicked at high speed.

Large sections of crystal spikes shattered, and the Gypceros rubber hide sewn over its body split and slipped off in pieces.

"Awesome, Sisi!"

"The Kecha Wacha went underneath the web, meow!"

If Kaluo had not reminded him, Li Le would almost have forgotten the Kecha Wacha while cheering.

"With Sisi keeping it occupied, it's time for us to act."

The human and cat slid down the slope and landed on the web.

The Kecha Wacha, its lower body wrapped in webbing, was swinging along with one arm.

Its other hooked claw held the end of the silk attached to its companion's corpse.

Bang!

The Sonic Bomb Li Le threw burst in midair.

Under the sonic assault, its fox ears abruptly stood stiff and upright.

The Kecha Wacha's hooked claw lost its grip, and it fell to the ground.

The silk around its feet still restrained it, preventing it from getting up in time.

Instead, it dug its hooked claws into the ground and crawled toward its companion's corpse.

"Uh... it's in such a miserable state. Are we really going to keep hunting it, meow?"

Kaluo spoke with some reluctance.

"We have no choice. This individual is extremely hostile to humans, and it's a three-star-threat monster... Kaluo, don't let your guard down just because it's in this state."

"Got it, meow!"

Since his bone club lacked sharpness, Li Le approached, wanting to circle around and find a softer, weaker spot to attack.

But after observing it with great vigilance, he found that even after the Sonic Bomb's assault, this Kecha Wacha still showed no desire to attack.

Didn't the commission say this individual was extremely hostile...?

Thinking it over, Li Le followed the silk along the ground with his eyes toward the Kecha Wacha corpse wrapped in webbing.

Could the actual hunting target have already been killed by the Nerscylla?

Li Le put away his club and moved back, deliberately appearing in front of it.

The Kecha Wacha merely tilted its head to give him a puzzled look, then continued crawling forward.

"It really doesn't seem to be the hunting target..."

Drip...

A trickle of dark venom seeped through the web a short distance ahead.

Above the web, the Nerscylla had suspended itself with silk and escaped Sisi's stomping blows.

It had no intention of lingering in battle, however, and began fleeing rapidly, crawling upside down along the ceiling.

Only after the distance widened did Sisi realize the Paintball's scent was not on the Nerscylla, but coming from below, leaving her hesitant.

"Don't chase it, Sisi! Come down here!"

Hearing Li Le call, the Ahtal-Neset turned and rammed the rock wall, tearing open large sections of the web anchored to the rock.

Through the opening, Sisi maneuvered the Ahtal-Neset beneath the web.

The Kecha Wacha seemed to sense immense danger, and immediately began crawling much faster.

"You... can't get it out... at the cave entrance... they're already building... a public hunter camp."

Gesturing with both hands, Li Le attempted to communicate.

The construction of the public hunter camp presented a barrier the Kecha Wacha had no way of crossing.

The Kecha Wacha stopped crawling and glanced at the approaching Ahtal-Neset, which could knock even the Nerscylla flying.

Its fox ears drooped, as though it had accepted its fate.

Just then, it glimpsed the shadow of the suspended corpse slowly swaying across the ground.

Roar!

The Kecha Wacha suddenly gave an unwilling roar, heaved itself up, and started crawling again.

"It seems it's not that it can't accept its companion's death, but that it can't stand its companion's corpse being eaten by the Nerscylla like this."

Looking up, Li Le offered his guess.

"What a complicated situation, meow. What's the right way to handle this?"

"Hunt it too, and let it reunite with its friend."

"Huh? Do we have to be that brutal, meow?"

Kaluo cried out in surprise.

"Just kidding... Sisi, don't attack yet. Tie them up and hang them from your full-moon tail."

The Seltas Queen Ahtal-Neset lowered its body, and Sisi raised her clawed tail.

The Kecha Wacha, previously bound only around its lower body, now had its entire body wrapped up.

It tried several times to break free, but every attempt failed.

Yet because it was tied together with its deceased friend, the Kecha Wacha actually became more docile.

After reuniting with Spade and the other two Felynes and cleaning up the remaining venom,

Li Le squeezed into the cockpit with the cats and began withdrawing from the spider nest area.

"Sisi, how did the roof get broken?"

Li Le patted the jagged edge of the wooden boards as he asked.

Sisi gathered a ball of silk, raised her scythe claw, and made a pendulum motion.

"A pendulum charge while hanging from silk... that really is a powerful move in a cave. It's understandable that it could break the roof."

Just after Li Le finished his assessment, the Seltas Queen Ahtal-Neset suddenly lowered its body.

All four insect legs simultaneously drew inward toward the crab-shell body.

Whoosh! Splat!

The ball of silk stuck to a stone spike on the ceiling.

As Sisi pulled with her scythe claw, the Seltas Queen Ahtal-Neset slowly rose.

Sisi seemed to be demonstrating that she could do it too.

Creak...

Cracks began appearing in the raised wooden boards hooked beneath her feet; clearly, they could not withstand this pulling force.

"That's enough, Sisi! I know you can do it too, but if you keep trying, the bottom shell will fall apart as well."

Having received his acknowledgment, Sisi stopped attempting the pendulum strike, and the Ahtal-Neset landed on the web.

"Sisi's so competitive, meow."

Kaluo spoke quietly.

"She probably learned that from me."

After his remark, Li Le looked at the protruding nailed-on slats and promptly came up with another improvement.

"The load-bearing grips inside the cockpit need stronger materials. I just don't know whether the Wyverian smith Laude can take on that sort of work."

Forging the entire Ahtal-Neset out of metal was indeed an expense he could not bear.

But he could still try replacing some of the critical load-bearing parts.

After noting down this forging idea, Li Le began writing an ecological report as well.

As he reviewed the course of this hunt, a question surfaced.

"Wait, why did that injured Nerscylla take the initiative to attack?"

"Could it have mistaken Sisi for a Seltas Queen, meow?"

Kaluo offered a guess.

"No, if it were a Seltas Queen, it should have... could this be the one that got beaten up by the real Seltas Queen on the Ancestral Steppe?"

Getting beaten up by you on the Ancestral Steppe was one thing.

But chasing me all the way into the spider nest was going too far.

Yet even after striking first, I still got beaten up.

"That's quite a grudge... this injured Nerscylla might end up holding an extreme grudge against Sisi. I'll have to pay more attention."

With that, Li Le lowered his head and began writing his notes.

"Let's give her a nickname to tell her apart... Grudge-Filled Spider Sister will do."

A day later, on a dark, rugged slope.

A large four-wheeled cart carrying a Gypceros corpse

was struggling forward under an investigator's guidance.

"Stop! There's no more road up the slope ahead. Prepare to hoist it!"

After the female investigator called out, the middle-aged male hunter escorting the cart and the dozens of Felynes on the transport team let out long breaths and slumped down around the cart.

"Working on an underground cave transport team really is tough! But keep your spirits up, everyone! We're very close to the entrance!"

Encouraged by the female investigator, the hunter and cats rallied again and began preparing to hoist the load.

But before they could assemble the hoist, a series of ground-shaking rumbles came from behind.

Watching warily, the male hunter reached for the hilt of his Great Sword.

"Beyond those mountains, beyond that sea, there's a band of old hunters. Their Great Swords need no charging, their Spirit Blades need no spirit..."

"Why is there singing too?"

The male hunter, listening closely to the sounds, suddenly felt rather bewildered.

A monster's heavy footsteps accompanied by human singing-this situation was truly bizarre.

"Why are the lyrics completely different from what you used to sing, meow?"

Hearing a cat speaking, the cats of the transport team grew puzzled too.

A moment later, the Seltas Queen's Ahtal-Neset emerged from behind the rock strata, carrying two Kecha Wacha on its crescent tail, one dead and one alive.

"So it's a transport team... No wonder the Guild takes such a big cut of the materials. The conditions really are rough."

Li Le sighed.

As long as the gap in strength between them and the monster wasn't too great.

After completing a hunt, a hunting party basically had no energy left to transport a large monster's corpse back to base.

After all, in many wilderness areas, never mind pushing a cart-just getting through on foot was difficult.

That was where the importance of the Hunter's Guild's logistical support came in.

But keeping this system running was also frighteningly expensive.

"Hello! Do you need any help?"

Li Le stood up and waved from the cramped cockpit.

The investigator and the hunter exchanged a look, both finding it unbelievable.

Thud~

Suspended by Sisi's silk, the cart carrying the Gypceros descended smoothly from the landslide cliff to the ground.

Whenever she encountered a hunting party, the female investigator would usually give them a scroll advertising the transport team.

That gave them a chance to receive more requests specifically assigning them to a party.

Given the current situation, she clearly wouldn't be handing a scroll to Li Le.

"Thank you! Please be careful on the road!"

As the female investigator called out, everyone in the transport team waved goodbye to the party.

Awoo, awoo~

The suspended Kecha Wacha gave two urgent howls.

Li Le picked up a melon and turned around.

The Kecha Wacha opened its mouth, and the melon was tossed inside.

"What are we going to do with Little Fox, meow?"

Kaluo asked curiously.

"We'll take it through the public base first, then release it back onto the Ancestral Steppe. After that, it'll all be up to it."

Several hours later, the Ahtal-Neset reached the bottom of the enormous entrance pit.

After days of rushed construction, the large lifting platform capable of carrying monster corpses and large quantities of supplies was complete.

Unfortunately, even so, the Seltas Queen's Ahtal-Neset was still too heavy.

Li Le wasn't particularly concerned, because Sisi only needed to ride the lifting platform to the top of the pit first.

With someone below securing the silk, Sisi could then hoist it up unaided.

But rather than use that plan, Sisi wanted to try a method of its own first.

After everyone had evacuated, two pillar-like insect legs rose with the body and braced against the nearly vertical rock wall.

Thud! Thud!

As the insect feet pressed down, two deep holes appeared.

"Is this copying a Nerscylla?"

"It's a great idea, but there's no way it'll work, meow."

Kaluo also wanted Sisi's attempt to succeed, but a glance alone was enough to tell that it was bound to fail.

Rumble~ Crash~

Before it had climbed very far off the ground, the Ahtal-Neset slipped and fell back down.

Sisi jumped down and began circling the Ahtal-Neset, examining it.

Awoo, awoo~

Lying on its side, Little Fox gave two urgent cries.

It extended a hooked claw and waved it rapidly.

"Ah... Is the silk too loose? It can even stick its claw out."

"Then why isn't Little Fox looking for a chance to escape, meow?"

"Maybe it's realized we not only mean no harm, but are helping him too."

The man and cat speculated as they watched.

But to Sisi, the waving of Little Fox's hooked claw provided tremendous inspiration.

An enormous exclamation mark, visible only to Sisi, popped up overhead.

Sisi immediately looked around.

But inside the pitch-black cave, there were no materials at all that could be used for modifications.

Besides, a component like this had very demanding requirements for both material strength and shape.

Still, Sisi wasn't discouraged and raised its sickle claws, running toward the lift.

"Sisi and I will head up first. I'll leave tying the silk to you."

"Leave it to me, meow!"()