Chapter Fifteen: Taking the Initiative

Oran silently sheathed his weapon.

The so-called Dragon Strike Cannon is the most powerful attack move of the arquebus-type weapons, bar none. Its principle lies in unleashing all the accumulated energy and heat within the barrel in one explosive burst, delivering astonishing power.

The downside is the long preparation and charging time, making frequent use impossible.

To have such an attack detonate deep within the oral cavity — even the Sand Dragon King would scarcely endure it. This ordinary sand dragon before them was blown apart in its mouth at the instant the Dragon Strike Cannon fired; its throat was ripped open with a gaping hole the size of a plate, already utterly dead.

Asa slung his heavy crossbow, sliding down from the dune top with a speechless expression. “Hey, big bro, I haven’t even fired a single shot yet?”

Oran couldn’t help but reply, “I only made one slash.”

Nuri ejected a heated canister, the hissing iron knight’s arquebus leaning nearby. Shrugging, he said, “No choice. That’s how we arquebus users are—if we don’t kick off a battle with a Dragon Strike Cannon, it feels like a loss.”

“You damn—!” Thorn jumped up in frustration, kicking Nuri in the thigh. “We were so careful to lure it over alone; what if your shot had alerted the other sand dragons in the hollow?!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Nuri chuckled awkwardly. “Got a bit excited. Next one won’t be a Dragon Strike Cannon. No more of those.”

“You don’t want to use it? You’re just waiting for the barrel to cool down!”

“Ahem, that was my mistake. Anyway, let’s be more cautious moving forward. No big commotion.” Nuri smiled wryly. “Asa, go back to the dune top and keep watch. Oran, we’ll hurry with the skinning. Thorn, take a break for now.”

“Be careful with the ichthyosaur liver. Handle it well and bring it back; it can fetch a good price,” Asa reminded as he climbed the dune.

“Got it.” Nuri made a gesture meaning “understood.” “Oran, you take care of the scales and fins; the rest isn’t valuable.”

“Leave the liver to me. I’m more experienced with that.”

“Alright.” Oran nodded and drew his small knife for skinning.

The sand dragon’s liver—known as ichthyosaur liver—is a delicacy coveted by gourmets and wealthy buyers. Bringing back a fresh whole liver can yield a handsome profit.

However, that usually requires the refrigeration on a fishing vessel. They were in the scorching desert with tasks to complete; keeping it fresh was unlikely.

What they could do was finish skinning quickly, extract the liver, then bury it in the sand to absorb the blood and excess moisture. If possible, they could use smoking or salting methods to delay spoilage.

Even so, after the mission, many of the livers brought back would be unsuitable for eating and the taste would suffer compared to fresh ones. Still, they could sell for hundreds of zeni per piece.

If they managed to properly handle and bring back every sand dragon’s liver, the income from selling them would nearly match their mission pay.

After some time, the skinning was done. The three moved to another spot to lie in wait again. The golden-badge bait Thorn grumbled as they set off once more.

The second sand dragon died just as decisively.

Although Nuri did not use the Dragon Strike Cannon this time, the sonic blast bomb stunned the dragon, and the combined assault by the three hunters and a hunting cat pressed its head down until it never rose again.

Having dealt with the corpse, Oran looked to Thorn. “Shall we continue?”

This was his first real experience of the value of hunting partners. Since the mission began, they had easily and safely taken down two sand dragons, but the real credit belonged not to any of the three, but to Thorn.

Thorn shook his head. “This trick might not work anymore. The sand dragons are alert now. When I brought the second one over, the others almost came out too.”

“Bringing a third might be impossible.”

“How many sand dragons remain in the hollow?” Nuri asked as he approached.

“Should be two left.”

“Understood.” Nuri looked to his two companions. “Two sand dragons. The three of us together should manage, no problem. What do you two think?”

“Piece of cake!” Asa gave a thumbs-up.

Oran nodded. “I think it’s fine too.”

“Hm...” Nuri pondered for a few seconds. “Here’s what—I'll take down one, and you two cooperate on the other.”

“Sounds good!” Asa agreed enthusiastically. He hadn’t even fired many shots yet and was still pumped.

Oran then voiced a different opinion. “You two work better together. How about I tie up one dragon alone, and you two quickly finish off the other, then come help me?”

“I’m light-armed and nimble. I might not kill fast, but I can at least protect myself.”

Nuri frowned, considering. There was truth in Oran’s words. The brothers’ coordination was smooth; interference was minimal.

But Oran was different from Asa. Just now, they fought a ‘fixed target’ with no issues, but to coordinate a pincer attack on a mobile sand dragon could lead to awkwardness where one plus one was less than two.

After a moment’s hesitation, Nuri agreed to Oran’s plan. “My Dragon Strike Cannon has cooled down. We’ll take down one sand dragon as quickly as possible. You focus on your one and don’t take risks.”

“Got it.”

Having settled their next moves, the three and the hunting cat approached the hollow.

As Thorn had said, the disappearance and absence of their companions had made the sand dragons in the hollow wary.

They crawled from beneath the sand, pacing and scanning the hollow, seemingly waiting for their missing comrades to return.

“Indeed two dragons, but they’re out of the sand now. No chance to use sonic bombs.” Nuri squinted at their prey. “We’ll assault head-on.”

Exchanging glances, the three nodded together. The next moment, they rose and charged down the dune.

Oran, the light-armed, was considerably faster than the other two. While Nuri and Asa slid down half-squatting, Oran had already reached the bottom.

Using the momentum from the slope, he leapt up and with a single powerful downward slash struck the head of one sand dragon.

“Screech—”

The dragon howled in pain and stepped back twice, shaking its bloodied head. Its dull, small eyes fixed on the sudden attacker.

Though its eyesight was degraded, its acute sensitivity to electric fields and vibrations let it instantly pinpoint Oran’s position.

It spread its fin-like limbs and let out a roar, opening its massive shark-like jaws to lunge.

Prepared, Oran rolled aside to dodge, then sprang up and sprinted toward the dragon’s side and rear.

He needed to draw this sand dragon away.

Besides the one he struck, the other sand dragon also focused on this new intruder. Just as it prepared to pursue, Nuri arrived.

As the defender, his way of attracting the monster was wilder and more direct.

“Ugh oh oh oh!!”

He raised his large shield and roared, crashing shield-first into the side of the second sand dragon, staggering it while firing his arquebus repeatedly.

At this moment, Asa joined the battle.

To improve his attack efficiency, he didn’t stay hidden to snipe but came closer wielding his heavy crossbow.

Using buckshot would have gotten him beaten by big bro, so he used standard bolts, which were still effective enough at close range.

Under their combined assault, the second sand dragon was held down, which reassured Oran.

Now, he could focus solely on his opponent.

Tying it up? Buying time for reinforcements? Sorry, that was just talk.

What he truly wanted was to kill his opponent before his companions could.