Apceros

"Food and lodging there were too expensive, so I only passed by outside the city."

"I understand. Unless you're a hunter with temporary lodging provided by the Guild, Dondorma's daily expenses really are hard to afford."

Lan Rui looked as though he knew that all too well.

"Then shall we leave tomorrow?"

"Yes, but when we pass through Apceros territory, we'll still need to try hunting one. Otherwise, our food supplies won't last until we reach the sandship route."

Li Le realized he had made the right choice.

Real hunters really did plan clear routes for their journeys through the wild.

"If you two don't mind, how about eating these? They might save us some time."

As he spoke, Li Le took the blackened roasted insects out of his basket.

Lan Rui and Sanhua stared at them for a moment, then exchanged a look, their expressions turning somewhat strange.

"Have you been eating these insects all this time?"

"Yes. Almost a week now. Is there a problem?"

Li Le was a little baffled.

After the human and cat gave Li Le another careful once-over, Lan Rui finally responded.

"Li Le, you've heard of Felyne meals, right? Specially prepared food that activates abilities, eaten before hunters set out to fight."

"I have."

"But even when ingredients are combined strictly according to Guild recipes and the Felyne chefs follow the cooking procedures, there's still no guarantee the abilities will activate correctly. And you've been making ingredients that aren't even in the recipes your staple food."

Looking at Lan Rui's concerned expression.

Li Le also realized something was wrong.

One distinctive feature of the Monster Hunter world was that monsters' scales, armor, flesh, and blood all contained extremely high levels of energy.

As a result, weapons and armor made from them could activate various properties when humans equipped them.

This was also one of the main ways hunters improved their combat strength.

Felyne meals worked the same way, except food underwent digestion inside the body, allowing its effects to persist for a while as it was metabolized.

Unlike armor, whose effects vanished when it was removed.

But there was one prerequisite: the ingredients selected for Felyne meals had to meet the requirements.

Even if someone had a taste for strange foods and insisted on eating something that didn't qualify.

It at least had to be certified through a Shennong-style taste test, backed by scholarly literature acknowledging that it was something the human body could tolerate.

Otherwise, given the high-energy nature of monster flesh, eating the wrong thing could mean much more than simple food poisoning.

Judging by Lan Rui's and Sanhua's reactions.

Insects such as Vespoids, beetles, and Bnahabra clearly had no such certification.

"Could the consequences be serious?"

Li Le asked cautiously.

"When I was little, I heard the village elders say that a hunter, for some unfathomable curiosity, actually tried Congalala meat. Before long, everyone jointly demanded his expulsion. He was only allowed back once the effects wore off... and you've been eating insects for almost a week."

Lan Rui sighed.

"I think you're fine, meow. Aside from a really nice scent coming from you, there's nothing unusual."

Sanhua's outlook was rather optimistic.

"Once we're back in Dondorma, you'd better get checked at a clinic."

Lan Rui offered his advice.

"All right."

That night, Li Le not only slept inside the camp tent, but also had Lan Rui and Sanhua taking turns keeping watch outside.

With that strong sense of security, he slept extremely soundly.

Early the next morning, the sun shone high above the quiet, windless sandy plains.

It was good weather for a long journey.

After packing up the camp, Lan Rui and Sanhua shouldered enormous packs and prepared to set off.

Li Le moved aside a rock, retrieved the end of the insect silk pinned beneath it, and tugged hard several times.

Before long, Ahtal-Ka appeared atop the rolling dunes and hurried over.

"That's a Kinsect?"

Lan Rui raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.

"Yes. Doesn't it look like one?"

Li Le asked openly.

"I remember Kinsects normally cling to a hunter's arm while on standby. At that size, I doubt this one could manage it."

"For now, I classify Ahtal-Ka as a ground-bound insect. It doesn't need to cling to its hunter."

Li Le explained his understanding.

"But when you use an Insect Glaive, some of the weapon's functionality might be missing..."

"I don't have an Insect Glaive yet, so I probably don't need to worry about that... Lan Rui, have you used one?"

"No. I've just picked up some knowledge from occasionally running into Insect Glaive hunters."

A hunter, a gatherer, a Palico, and Ahtal-Ka.

The unusual group began its long journey through the desert.

Li Le soon realized just how formidable a hunter's physique was.

Despite carrying a great longsword almost as tall as he was, along with the enormous bundle of packed camping gear, Lan Rui's steps remained perfectly steady.

After sheltering from the scorching midday sun in a shady cleft between the mountains, the group reached an oasis that afternoon.

Six Apceros, their four feet planted low and the shells on their bodies bulging in rounded arches, were crawling idly around the area.

Lying prone in the bushes outside the oasis, Lan Rui lowered his binoculars and said helplessly, "This is tricky. Too many of them gathered together."

"That shouldn't be the case, meow. Are we just unlucky?"

"In that grassy nest under the tree by the lake... aren't there a lot of eggs?"

Li Le pointed them out.

"Hm?"

Lan Rui shifted his gaze and raised his binoculars.

"They really are eggs. But why would Apceros nest beside a water source? Isn't that dangerous... it was that sandstorm! It threw everything into chaos, so they had no choice but to lay their eggs here."

"What a shame. Apceros eggs are absolutely delicious. If we took one back, it would definitely fetch a good price."

"Uh... shouldn't we first think about whether to go ahead with hunting for food, meow?"

Sanhua reminded him.

Apceros were already highly aggressive.

If anything dared approach their nest, they would immediately fly into a rage.

With six Apceros guarding the area, never mind stealing eggs-even their original plan to hunt for food would be extremely difficult to carry out.

"Right. Six whole Apceros. Only a full four-person one-star team would attempt this."

Lan Rui also recognized the difficulty.

"But we already shared the last box of provisions at noon, meow..."

Sanhua sighed.

"Lan Rui, if you had a chance to fight one-on-one, you could definitely hunt an Apceros, right?"

Li Le looked at the oasis as he asked.

"Of course. But that wouldn't accomplish much. Even if we left all its materials and only cut off raw meat, it would still take a long time. The other Apceros would definitely attack and interfere."

"I know that feeling very well. But what if we took the corpse away before carving it?"

Li Le offered his idea.

"Hmm... you mean I should carry the Apceros away?"

"Ahtal-Ka's silk, meow! Ahtal-Ka helped bring those logs back yesterday!"

Sanhua answered first.

"Can it drag one at its size? And how would we create a chance for a one-on-one fight..."

Lan Rui raised his questions.

"It can definitely drag one. As for a one-on-one fight, male Apceros are extremely combative with each other. We can first provoke the two on the outermost edge into charging each other."

"Ahtal-Ka can handle the two in the middle. You take one alone, and the last one..."

"Uh... Li Le, why are you looking at me, meow?"

Sanhua had a bad feeling.

"Didn't you say yesterday that you'd made some progress with your kitty burrowing escape technique? It's time to show it off."

"All right, meow..."

Lacking confidence, Sanhua looked dejected.

"If you really can't hold out, run toward Ahtal-Ka."

"Hunting is dangerous. Wouldn't leading another one over cause trouble, meow?"

Sanhua had some concerns.

"Don't worry. It definitely won't."

"Then what about you, meow?"

"As for me, hehe..."

Li Le gave a greedy grin.

"Li Le's assignments go from the outside inward, and the innermost part of the oasis is where the nest is... a very good plan. But won't Ahtal-Ka be under too much pressure?"

Lan Rui approved of the plan, though he couldn't help worrying about Ahtal-Ka.

"Don't worry. Ahtal-Ka's performance will absolutely exceed your expectations."

"Good! For raw meat and Apceros eggs, move out!"

Lan Rui's gaze changed. He stood, stepped out of the bushes, and led the way.

Now it was Li Le's turn to be surprised. He had thought Lan Rui would give it some more consideration.

He hadn't expected him to become eager to put it into action as soon as he deemed the plan feasible.

Whoosh-smack!

A pebble struck the shell on an Apceros's back.

The Apceros flicked its tail and turned its head, spotting another male a short distance behind it, facing away.

After a moment's hesitation, it lowered its head and turned back, slightly irritated.

Smack!

Another pebble hit its shell. The Apceros turned its head again, indignation in its eyes.

After two low growls, the male facing away turned around.

As the two exchanged their friendly greetings, their roars grew higher and higher.

The one struck by the stones lost patience first, lowering its head and thrusting it forward as it launched into a charge.

The other didn't back down either, immediately charging toward it.

Crash!

A dull crack rang out. The two shook their heads slightly, backed away on all fours to put some distance between them, then collided head-on again.

Seemingly long accustomed to this scene, the other Apceros barely reacted, merely turning to watch.

Tap, tap...

Just as it was getting absorbed in the spectacle, the sound of insect feet tapping the sand came from beside it.

The first Apceros to notice turned its head.

An insect whose colors gleamed in the sunlight and whose scent was fragrant appeared before it.

The Apceros instinctively felt there was something bizarrely unnatural about this insect.

Because practically every creature it normally encountered concealed itself.

They either blended into their surroundings, pursuing visual camouflage through color, or found ways to erase traces of their scent.

Yet the insect before it, in both color and scent, seemed afraid other creatures might fail to notice its presence.

The Apceros froze in place, momentarily unsure how to react.

Psh!

A raised sickle claw stabbed downward, piercing its side shell like an awl plunging into a balloon.

Aooo!

The Apceros lurched sideways and fled with a cry of pain.

Another nearby Apceros clearly didn't think so much.

It simply lowered its head and ran, charging headfirst.

Clang-crack!

The hard horn jutting from its head collided with the golden tail claw, sending a few sparks flying.

Ahtal-Ka shifted slightly forward, its curled tail claw completely unscathed.

Crrrk!

A crack appeared in the hard horn on the Apceros's head crest, and several fragments of horn broke off and fell.

Aoo... aooo!

Realizing something was wrong, the Apceros immediately turned and fled.

"Haha, stupid Apceros! Come ram me if you've got the guts, meow!"

Beside the oasis lake, Sanhua stood with arms folded in an arrogant pose.

How could an Apceros tolerate provocation from a creature that size?

Its feet scraped the ground as it lowered its head, gathering strength.

"That should be about enough, meow... help!"

Sanhua cried out, turned around, and frantically dug at the ground with his paws before burrowing into the sand.

The Apceros missed, then raised its head and searched from side to side.

When it saw Sanhua poke his head out nearby, it charged again.

In front of the nest beneath the tree, only one Apceros still paced back and forth, standing guard.

Crouching low, Li Le slowed his steps and continued edging closer.

Bzzzz~

An extremely familiar buzzing of wings came from above.

"Uh... forgot about this one. Why are you hanging around me instead of going after Ahtal-Ka?"

Li Le raised a hand, trying to shoo the Vespoid away.

But it kept circling him, as though it had singled him out.

The noise and the rustling leaves caught the Apceros's attention. It turned its head and immediately spotted Li Le.

Sneaking toward the nest like that, what he intended to do went without saying.

It locked on, lowered its head, and charged.

The Apceros executed the entire charging sequence with remarkable fluidity.

"Hah!"

Whoosh~

The sound of a blade slicing through the air rang out.

A white half-arc slashed down from the side, landing on its head crest.

The downward slash failed to stop the Apceros's charge, but sent its course veering sharply to the side.

"Leave it to me!"

Holding the Iron Katana horizontally in both hands, Lan Rui stepped in front of Li Le, forming a barrier.

"Bro, I'm counting on you."

With that, Li Le ran over to the nest built from dry branches.

"These eggs are huge."

He looked at the nestful of giant eggs, which reached his waist standing upright.

Without hesitation, Li Le tugged hard on the insect silk and began weaving a carrying net around an egg.

"Help, meow!"

Pursued by the Apceros, Sanhua kept digging holes to escape.

But the feline burrowing escape technique consumed far too much stamina.

Meanwhile, after several charges, the Apceros's mounting anger had already begun driving it to pick up speed.

Knowing he could not last much longer, Sanhua remembered Li Le saying he could go to Ahtal-Ka. He pinpointed its location and ran toward it.

But when he reached the vicinity, the two Apceros that should have been kept occupied were nowhere to be seen. All he saw was blood splashed across the ground.

Sanhua had not expected the situation to be so favorable and immediately ran behind Ahtal-Ka.

"Come on, we're not afraid of you, meow."

After that taunt, Sanhua quietly warned, "Watch out, Ahtal-Ka! Its charge hits really hard, meow! Don't take it head-on!"

The Apceros raised its head with a proud cry, then lowered it, gathering momentum.

Ahtal-Ka's compound eyes flickered. Its four legs bent low and its body sank, as though it too had grown serious and cautious.

Thud, thud~ thud, thud~...

The ground churned and trembled beneath its feet as the Apceros closed in.

Ahtal-Ka swung both sickle claws down at once, slashing them across each other.

Whoosh! Squelch!

A mist of blood sprayed out.

The two sickle claws crossed inside the Apceros's skull.

Ahtal-Ka raised its forelimbs, lifting both of the Apceros's front feet off the ground.

Shhk~

The sickle claws slid free, and the corpse crashed heavily to the ground, already devoid of any sign of life.

Stunned with horror, Sanhua froze for a moment before remarking, "Li Le really wasn't lying to me, meow."

By the lake, Lan Rui panted heavily and swung the blade at the fallen Apceros's neck.

Squelch~

Blood spurted out, and the Apceros convulsed violently.

Though it was not dead yet, it had already lost the ability to resist.

"Li Le! It worked!"

"Leave it to me!"

Li Le pulled out the end of another strand of insect silk and began rapidly winding it around the fallen Apceros's leg joints.

"It's so quiet. We really didn't get interrupted at all."

Putting the blade away, Lan Rui looked around, still very surprised that the plan had gone so smoothly.