That day, the Loc Lac Guild issued a State of Emergency Declaration.
Guided by the Loc Lac Rangers, all residents filed into the underground refuge in an orderly manner to take shelter. The streets, already feeling deserted, now stood completely empty.
The three High Rank Hunters who formed the core fighting force, along with more than a dozen elite 4★ and 5★ Hunters, were once again summoned by the mustachioed Guild Master.
"We now have fairly reliable intelligence." Usually brimming with energy, the mustachioed Guild Master looked dispirited and exhausted this time.
Most of the elite Hunters who had taken part in the previous day's reconnaissance had an inkling of what was coming, and their faces were equally grim.
Haifa rushed in and sensed the heavy atmosphere, but thought little of it. She assumed everyone was simply worried about the "reliable intelligence" the Guild Master had mentioned.
Hoping to lighten the mood and ease the tension, she looked around and said with a smile, "How come old man Jalal isn't here? Is he getting so old he's started sleeping in?"
No one responded to her joke. Finally realizing something was wrong, Haifa's smile gradually faded.
"So that's what happened..." Reading their expressions, she quickly guessed the truth, and her lips pressed into a tight line.
In all her years as a Hunter, this was hardly the first time she had experienced something like this.
"Damn it!" After several seconds of silence, she suddenly lashed out and kicked the chair beside her, smashing the innocent piece of furniture to splinters.
The old Hunter, Jalal, had helped her a great deal when she was just starting out.
The other missing Hunters were all familiar faces too. She had gone on Hunts with some and shared drinks with others.
She clenched her fists and paced back and forth. With nowhere to vent the rage boiling inside her, her eyes grew bloodshot.
All she could do was draw several deep breaths and force herself to calm down. When she finally spoke, her voice held a chill rarely heard from her.
"So what's this intelligence?"
The Guild Master's pointed ears drooped slightly. "I divided the 4★ and 5★ Hunters into five teams and sent each one to investigate a different location.
The first four locations yielded nothing. The last team, Jalal and his companions, did not return."
The Guild Master paused for a long moment. "Two 5★ and two 4★ Hunters, four fully armed Hunters in all, carrying ample supplies of Flash Pods and other equipment.
If they had faced only Egyurasu, even dozens or hundreds of them would not have stopped the team from firing an SOS flare.
Roughly thirty kilometers from Loc Lac as the crow flies, twenty degrees west of north, lies a rocky mountain plateau. There's 'something' there.
I cannot say for certain what it is or whether it is the 'Guanzorumu' mentioned in the letter from headquarters. All I know is that it is terrifying enough to annihilate an entire elite Hunter squad in an instant.
"That is precisely why I ordered the State of Emergency Declaration first thing this morning, even though we have yet to glimpse the threat."
Kane, the High Rank Heavy Bowgun user, said gravely, "If it truly is an Elder Dragon or something on par with one, it won't be lacking in intelligence.
The moment we discovered it, it surely realized we had done so.
It is highly likely to attack the city today. Issuing the State of Emergency Declaration and guiding the civilians into the underground refuge was undoubtedly a wise decision."
Another High Rank Hunter, an Insect Glaive hunter, added, "The battleground should already be prepared. Every Hunter planning to join the fight should be in position. The enemy could strike at any second."
Before Casa, the Insect Glaive hunter, had even finished, a Guild staff member rushed into the room.
He hurried to the mustachioed Guild Master's side, bent close, and whispered, "Guild Master..."
"Louder. Tell everyone directly."
"Yes." The staff member nodded and raised his voice so the surrounding Hunters could hear. "Several Egyurasu launched scattered raids against the city. The Loc Lac Rangers and patrolling Hunters dealt with them.
Fortunately, the evacuation to the refuge is nearly complete. No civilians were hurt, and the damage to buildings is minor. However, several Hunters and Rangers suffered burns from the breath attacks.
Those fiends were cunning. They never landed, instead launching breath attacks from more than ten meters above the ground. Thanks to the observation hot air balloon over the city, we received enough warning for the Gunner Squad to arrive in time and bring them down."
"Has the full-scale attack already begun?" a Hunter cried, turning to sprint outside.
If the attack had already started, this was no time for a leisurely meeting.
"No!" the staff member said urgently. "Only three Egyurasu took part in the raid. After they were dealt with, the observation hot air balloon over the city sounded the all-clear."
"What does that mean?" A Hunter looked confused. "Send a few Egyurasu here to their deaths?
Does this so-called Guanzorumu think a mere three to five Egyurasu can take down Loc Lac?"
"It wants to throw us into chaos." Standing beside the Guild Master, Lamarck, who had been invited as an advisor, answered at once, "Had the evacuation not been completed in advance, even a few Egyurasu could have triggered a severe panic.
That thing probably intends to use these attacks to keep us panicked and exhausted, then strike once we are vulnerable.
Genprey packs use the same tactic when hunting Apceros. They take turns harassing the herd, keeping it trapped in prolonged fear and tension, then launch a vicious assault once the prey is exhausted."
"That is very likely," the Guild Master said with a nod. "And it may actually be good news for us.
Send orders to deploy more observation hot air balloons and Airships, and extend our early-warning perimeter. Sound the alarm the instant any approaching Egyurasu are spotted.
With the civilians secure in the refuge and our defenses ready, these attacks will only waste its forces."
"With an Elder Dragon's intelligence, it will soon realize this tactic is useless and change its strategy." Lamarck frowned deeply. "That may be when the true all-out assault begins."
"Could we let the Egyurasu attack unopposed?" Kane, the High Rank Heavy Bowgun user, raised a hand and proposed a bold strategy.
"Most of Loc Lac's buildings are built from packed sand and stone, so the Egyurasu's breath attacks would struggle to set them alight or cause serious damage. We would only need to defend key sites such as the refuge entrance and the Research Institute. Let them burn the rest. A few breath attacks would exhaust them, forcing them to retreat after two or three blasts at most. Guanzorumu might then misread the situation and believe its harassment is succeeding, buying us another day or two."
Casa, the High Rank Insect Glaive user, knew Kane well and objected. "What would that achieve? Our interception preparations are nearly complete. Another day or two would bring no meaningful improvement, and this plan would not let us thin the Egyurasu's numbers. Besides, Loc Lac's houses are difficult to burn down, not fireproof. I see no reason to take the risk."
"Hmm..." The Guild Master considered it. "Personally, I agree with Casa. Letting the Egyurasu attack the city, even deliberately, would inevitably damage morale. If we are stalling merely for its own sake, the losses outweigh the gains."
"True." Even Kane, who had proposed the plan, seemed ready to drop it.
"What if we could accomplish something else during that extra day or two?" Altaïr suddenly asked.
Casa folded his arms and turned to look at him. "What, specifically?" He knew little about Altaïr, but could roughly judge the young Hunter's strength from his equipment. He did not dismiss Altaïr on account of his age and simply asked the question directly.
"The Grimclaw Tigrex should still be roaming the Desert near the city, correct?" Altaïr brought up a "name" no one had expected.
"The observation hot air balloon assigned to monitor it hasn't been withdrawn yet, has it?"
The Guild Master gave him a strange look. "It hasn't. According to this morning's report, it is currently roaming near a particular Oasis northeast of Loc Lac. What are you planning?"
"The stronger a Monster is, the stronger its territorial instincts should be, right?" Altaïr ignored the suspicious looks from Haifa, Isis, and Mr. Lamarck. In a sinister tone, he continued, "Could we lure the Grimclaw Tigrex to the rocky mountain plateau where the 'dangerous presence' lurks and let the two of them fight it out?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)