A raptor with grayish-white feathers moved like a ghost through the night forest, eventually landing on the Hunter's outstretched arm.
It rubbed against the Hunter's cheek, cooing softly for a while.
"I see, good work." Letting the Cohoot rest on her shoulder for a moment, Nymera took out the map. Mapping the coordinates based on the Cohoot's description, she marked several points on the paper.
These points could be faintly connected into an arc; even if the curve wasn't smooth, it roughly outlined an incomplete circle.
"It seems the scholar's hypothesis is likely correct." Talking to herself, Nymera tucked away the map and pulled a large piece of jerky from the Palamute's saddlebags.
She tore the jerky into three portions. The largest piece, making up seventy to eighty percent of the meat, was stuffed into the mouth of Hibiki, who was panting with his tongue out. The smallest strip was held up to her shoulder for Mochi to snatch, and the rest she popped into her own mouth.
"At this speed, we can completely plot the boundaries of the Yian Kut-Ku's activity zone on the map in another three or four hours." Nymera released the Cohoot back into the air, flipped herself onto the Palamute's back, and patted the creature's thick neck. "Let's keep going!"
"Howl!" Hibiki let out a low bark and bolted forward.
He had been cooped up in Minegarde for so long that he was bursting with pent-up energy. Although he didn't quite understand why his master was taking them for a frantic run through the Jungle in the middle of the night, he was going to run to his heart's content!
However, they hadn't traveled far from their restart point when a sharp cry suddenly rang out from the sky.
"Screee–!"
Crouched low on the Palamute's back, Nymera jerked her head up and called the Palamute to a halt. In one motion, she grabbed the Valkyrie Fire hanging from the side of the saddle and pulled the bolt to chamber a round of Bowgun Ammo.
Was a Large Monster nearby? No, it was more than that! If it were just a warning, the Cohoot would have provided more information through its cries, rather than just letting out a single scream like this.
It was under attack!
As if to confirm Nymera's suspicion, the light-feathered Cohoot, conspicuous in the dark forest, dived down from the sky.
Chasing closely behind it were two dark shadows, roughly the same size as the bird, which blended almost perfectly with the night.
They darted up and down through the branches and vines. Wherever the shadows passed, branches as thick as a human wrist snapped as if sliced by a sharp sword.
Nymera's pupils constricted. Her dynamic vision, exceptional even for a Gunner, allowed her to faintly discern that the dark shadows appeared to be two large insects.
Their body shapes were very similar to Star Butterflies, but their Chitin was darker in color, and their flight speed was much faster.
Nymera didn't need to guess to know that these shadows were certainly related to those Estrellian, but she couldn't worry about that right now.
Propping the Bowgun with one hand, she put the other to her mouth and let out a sharp whistle.
The panicked Mochi received the signal, banked hard, and flew rapidly toward her.
The two creatures resembling Star Butterflies were hot on its heels. Their straight-line dash was far faster than the Cohoot's, and it looked as though Mochi was about to be overtaken.
"Get down!" Nymera suddenly shouted.
Mochi, having long since developed a perfect rapport with its master, immediately folded its wings and executed a barrel roll to the side. This move exposed the two mysterious insects chasing it directly into the Hunter's line of fire. Nymera pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation, emptying the magazine in an instant.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The successive blasts of Spread Ammo formed an invisible net in mid-air, catching the two mysterious insects right as they attempted a sharp turn to pursue the Cohoot.
At a distance of less than ten meters, the shrapnel, capable of piercing even Monster scales, shredded the wings of the two strange insects instantly. Their relatively soft abdominal Chitin was easily punctured, and thick insect blood sprayed through the air.
The two strange insects crashed to the ground, buzzing as they struggled, still alive despite the impact.
Furious that its companion had been attacked, Hibiki charged forward with a roar, tearing the two insects to pieces in the blink of an eye.
The shaken Mochi banked around and returned to Nymera's shoulder, rubbing its round head against its master's cheek.
"It's okay, it's okay," Nymera comforted it in a soft voice.
Once its emotions had stabilized slightly, the Cohoot, its feathers still a mess, let out a series of frantic, low hooting sounds.
Nymera's expression became extremely grim. "You're saying a lot of Yian Kut-Ku are closing in on us?"
"Goo-aaaaah–!"
There was no need for the Cohoot to respond further; the faint cries of Yian Kut-Ku echoing in the sky said it all.
Nymera's first instinct was to fire an SOS Flare for help, but she immediately realized she couldn't do that.
She couldn't possibly hold her ground under siege by a flock of Yian Kut-Ku. Using an SOS Flare to call for help wouldn't just fail to save her; it would lead her companions into a deathtrap.
The only way to escape was to use Hibiki's speed and endurance to break through the encirclement and outrun the flock.
Thinking quickly, she reached out and grabbed the map marked with the boundaries of the Yian Kut-Ku's activity zones. She then retrieved a few fragments of the strange insects' Chitin from Hibiki's mouth, rolled them into the map, and stuffed it into Mochi's talons.
"Take the map back to camp. Fly as high as you can. Those insects climb slowly and have poor high-altitude flight capabilities. You'll be safe once you're high up. Go!"
With that, she swung her arm, releasing the Cohoot. Understanding its master's intent, Mochi beat its wings with all its might, climbing at full speed.
Just then, several more strange insects flew out from the tree canopy, vibrating their wings in a sprint to intercept the bird.
However, with a muffled "Bang!", a shot of Pierce Ammo shrieked through the air, shattering the insect closest to Mochi.
The Cohoot took the opportunity to break through the insects' blockade, soaring into the high sky until it disappeared among the clouds.
On the ground, Nymera lowered her Bowgun, glanced at the several orange-and-red giant birds landing in the woods, and lightly squeezed the Palamute's waist with her legs.
"Hibiki, break through!"
Flying at full speed, it took Mochi less than half an hour to cross more than twenty kilometers of mountain forest and arrive at the Hunters' camp.
It circled low, letting out sharp, piercing cries.
Startled from their sleep, the Hunters emerged from their tents one after another. The circling Mochi banked and landed on Altaïr's arm.
Altaïr noticed the map in Mochi's talons immediately. He knew something had happened; otherwise, Mochi would never have flown back alone with the map.
Passing the map to Olivia and Sheila as they ran toward him, Altaïr asked Mochi urgently: "What happened? Where is Nymera?" Mochi let out a series of frantic, rapid hoots.
Altaïr felt a wave of helplessness.
Cohoots were highly intelligent, and those specially trained could understand human speech almost perfectly; conversely, only someone specifically trained could understand the hoots of a Cohoot.
He had to switch to a simpler method of communication. "Hoot once for yes, twice for no. Was Nymera attacked?"
"Hoot!"
Everyone grew tense immediately.
"Where?!" Altaïr asked in his desperation, only to realize that was a question a Cohoot couldn't easily answer. He corrected himself instantly. "Can she get away safely?"
Mochi hesitated for a moment, then gave a single "Hoot" in the affirmative.
Her master had told her she could get away, so she should be able to, right?
"Was the attacker only a Yian Kut-Ku? Or did an Estrellian appear? Hoot once for the former, twice for the latter."
"Hoot!"
Altaïr felt a slight sense of relief. Just as he was about to continue his questioning, Sheila spread the map out, and a dark fragment wrapped inside fell to the ground.
Olivia immediately bent down and picked up the fragment, which was no larger than a fingernail. "This is..."
Under the glow of the camp fire, the dark fragment reflected a deep, obsidian-like light.
"A fragment of some kind of insect shell," Kagetsu said without a second thought. "I'm intimately familiar with the texture of this kind of Chitin."
"A Star Butterfly? But the color is different," Olivia mused, her mind immediately making the connection. "Could this be the 'anomaly' we've been looking for?"
"The information Miss Nymera sent is critical." Sheila smoothed the map out on a wooden crate. "Look at this arc she marked. The end of the arc should be right near where she was attacked. Though the curve is incomplete, it's just enough to be considered a semicircle..."
As the scholar spoke, she took out a charcoal pencil and, with a quick stroke, followed the curve of the arc to complete a perfect circle, as if drawn by a pair of compasses.
"The center is here. This means the Estrellian's hiding place is most likely in this vicinity. We have two choices: go toward the location where Miss Nymera was attacked, or head straight for the center of the circle. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter. After all, even if Estrellians were involved in the attack, it's unlikely the entire swarm would mobilize. The probability of finding the swarm at the center is much higher."
"Then we go to the center," Olivia, the mission leader, decided instantly.
"There is one more thing." Sheila looked at Olivia. "There are still a few hours until dawn, and the large airship carrying the support team will arrive in the morning. Do we wait for them and move together, or set out immediately?"
"The targeted attack on Nymera means the Estrellians are aware of our presence and movements. They could leave at any moment. Furthermore, if the Estrellians are controlling the Yian Kut-Ku to attack Nymera, the defenses at their nest should be relatively thin, which works in our favor. If the Estrellians choose to recall the Yian Kut-Ku, it will also help Nymera escape."
Olivia scanned the group and raised her voice: "Everyone, gear up immediately. We move out in ten minutes!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)