Monster Hunter: Wild Pointer

Right now, there is only the last of the five sand dragons left to defeat, and only half a day has passed.

The three of them looked at the sky and felt that it would be no problem to deal with the last one before sunset. If they hurried a little longer, they should be able to return to Rocklark before nightfall.

In this way, the ichthyosaur livers collected previously can remain relatively fresh and can be sold at a better price when they return.

With such hope, the three people and the cat began to look for the whereabouts of the sand dragon more actively, preferably a lone sand dragon.

But perhaps because their previous success had exhausted their luck, they searched a large area around them but still could not find the second gathering place of sand dragons, let alone a lone sand dragon.

"What the hell! Aren't they saying there are a lot of sand dragons around here? Aren't they saying there are more than a dozen sand dragons in total? Where did they all go?!" Asa, who was a little impatient, cursed.

"Wait a minute, meow." Seabuckthorn seemed to have discovered something.

It ran on all fours to the foot of a sand dune. There were some inconspicuous lines on the sand here, which looked like traces left by a crosswind.

But it felt that it wasn't.

It sniffed the lines, then buried its head in the sand. It was unknown what it was experiencing, and it returned to the hunters after a long time.

"A few sand dragons passed by here not long ago, meow. Those must be the traces left by the sand dragons after they stalked."

As "native Ailu" who grew up in the desert, the three naturally would not doubt Seabuckthorn's professionalism in trace judgment.

Nuri quickly asked, "Can you tell which direction those sand dragons left?"

"The traces are in a north-south direction. They may have gone from south to north, or from north to south." Seabuckthorn gave an uncertain answer.

"I think they should be heading north." Orlan said, "Aren't the Desert Fin elders hunting the Sand Dragon King in the north?

The Sand Dragon King would definitely call for help if he got into a tough fight, so other than the four we took out, the others are likely already there."

"Indeed." Asa's face also showed some worry. "A Sand Dragon King, plus a large group of Sand Dragons chaotically besieging us, are the old guys okay?"

"It shouldn't be a big deal." Orlan looked at Nuri, the team leader, "Do you want to go over and take a look?

Given the size of sand dragons, it is unlikely that more than a dozen of them would attack together. It is more likely that they would wander around the battlefield, looking for opportunities to launch a sneak attack at any time.

We might be able to find some wandering sand dragons some distance from the battlefield. If we can eliminate some of them, the pressure on the seniors will be reduced."

Nuri pondered.

He trusted the strength of the Desert Fin Hunting Group more than Orlan and Asa. If they were in a panic just because they were attacked by other sand dragons while hunting sand dragons, they would never become experts in solving sand dragon problems.

The safest plan would be to wait for the Desert Fins to finish hunting and give the agreed signal, then approach the area to the north and look for an opportunity to hunt a fleeing sand dragon to complete the mission objective.

The advantage of this plan is that it is absolutely safe, but the disadvantage is that if you are unlucky and fail to intercept a fleeing sand dragon, the mission will not be completed for the time being.

I might have to eat sand in the desert for a few days, searching everywhere for the frightened sand dragons that had hidden themselves away. The thought of it makes me feel nauseous.

Thinking of this, Nuri made a decision. "Let's go north and be cautious. If we can't find a suitable opportunity, even if the mission cannot be completed, we must not cause trouble to our predecessors."

"Okay."

"clear."

"Meow!"

The two men and the cat responded in succession, and the group headed north.

As we approached the area north of the camp, the faint smell of dye balls in the air gradually became more obvious.

The small props made of dyed fruit can emit a special pungent and long-lasting smell. Professionally trained hunters can distinguish this smell from several kilometers or even dozens of kilometers away, thereby determining the movements of monsters marked by the dyed balls.

Aolan half-crouched, examining the bright red pigment dripping onto the sand. "It's the juice of the dye fruit. The Sand Dragon King passed by here. We're already near the battlefield."

"Then stop moving forward and search around here." Nuri made the decision.

"Speaking of which, don't you think we're a bit like sand dragons?" Asa said with a chuckle, "The seniors are like the Sand Dragon King. When the Sand Dragon King can't defeat him, he calls him his younger brother. The seniors also have us, and we're specifically responsible for taking care of the younger brothers."

"Seniors, there's no such thing as being unable to defeat the Sand Dragon King. We're only here to complete our mission objectives. Don't cause any trouble for you, seniors."

"I know! I know!"

"Meow?!" Seabuckthorn's ears, which were slightly larger than those of ordinary Elul, stood up.

It made a "quiet" gesture and listened for a few seconds, then lay down again and put its ears to the sand.

"Something's coming, meow! In droves, meow!"

"Get ready for battle!" Nuri growled as he unfolded his musket, raised his large shield, and stood in front of his companions.

Orlan drew his one-handed sword, Asara cocked the crossbow, and even Seabuck grabbed his pick.

Soon, some gray-yellow vertical fins appeared at the edge of their sight and approached this side at a considerable speed.

"Sand dragons? That's a lot!" Asa observed through the crossbow's scope for a few seconds and couldn't help but exclaimed, "At least five, no, at least six dorsal fins!"

Nuri's face looked very ugly.

He had thought that the sand dragons would gather around the Sand Dragon King, but he had not considered the possibility of a swarm of sand dragons attacking them.

"Seabuckthorn! Wait until they get close before using the sonic bombs!" He shouted the order, "We must get rid of one or two of them first!

You two, you'll have a chance to retreat immediately!"

"I can't listen to you." Asa removed the magazine of regular bullets and replaced them with shotgun bullets, which were more powerful but required for close-range combat.

This type of ammunition has a limited impact at a distance of 20 meters, and teammates will suffer damage at a distance of 10 meters. However, if you stick it close to the monster's face and attack

There are no disadvantages except that the shooter needs to take the risk himself!

Aolan also drank a bottle of strong walking medicine.

His endurance is not enough to support him to activate the demon humanization for a long time, but the strong walking drug that can stimulate the body's potential and make the user feel no fatigue for a certain period of time can make up for this to a large extent.

Although the price is expensive, for the safety of yourself and your companions, now is not the time to save!

One hundred meters, fifty meters, thirty meters

The distance between the group of sand dragons was getting closer and closer. When there was only less than ten meters left, Aolan directly activated his fighting spirit and started to transform into a ghost.

At the same time, the sonic boom bomb that Seabuckthorn had released a few seconds in advance by pulling the fuse also exploded among the group of lurking sand dragons.

"Om-"

Under the high-frequency noise, the group of sand dragons swimming at high speed were all blown out of the sand surface.

Orlan, who had transformed into a demon, rushed towards a sand dragon at the edge of the group at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.

Although he really wanted to try the move of charging up energy and combining it with a fatal combo, now was obviously not the time to try it.

Coming to the side of the sand dragon's head, he swung his hunting knife and shield into afterimages, and with an awkward posture that made a normal double-knife wielder feel uncomfortable, he performed the Demon Dance with all his strength.

Nuri and Asa had no time to pay attention to the "strange events" happening here. The former was busy replicating his previous success, stuffing the gunpowder into the mouth of a sand dragon and releasing the dragon cannon, while the latter held the heavy crossbow horizontally and poured shotgun shells at another sand dragon at full speed at a distance almost close to its face.

Even Seabuckthorn was wielding a cat pickaxe, hitting the sand dragon's head again and again. The methodical look of the pickaxe clearly showed that he had put in a lot of hard work.

If this momentum continues, they will have the opportunity to eliminate two or even three sand dragons in advance before the sand dragons regain their ability to move.

The few remaining ones were still a threat, but not enough to make them panic.

But at this moment, a vertical fin that was larger and darker than that of an ordinary sand dragon was breaking through the sand waves and approaching them rapidly.

Chapter 18 Devastated

Sea buckthorn, which has the most acute sense of smell and hearing, was the first to detect the danger.

It screamed out, "Four o'clock, the Sand Dragon King is approaching, meow!"

At this moment, the young hunters felt their hairs stand on end. Why did the Sand Dragon King appear here? Shouldn't it be fighting with the predecessors of the Desert Fin?

It won't always be

Nuri gritted his teeth and pulled the gunpowder out of the mouth of the sand dragon corpse in front of him. "I'll stop him, you two, retreat quickly!"

"Why are you always thinking about covering your retreat?!" Asa emptied another magazine and shot the sand dragon in front of him in the chest into a sieve before it could recover.

Aolan, who had also quickly dealt with a sand dragon, temporarily released his ghost state and adjusted his breathing. "We can cover each other and go back together."

In just a short while, the Sand Dragon King had already arrived near them.

This giant beast, whose body length was almost twice that of an ordinary sand dragon, leaped up and pounced towards the young hunters.

"spread!"

Nuri roared and slid to the side.

Even if he was holding a large shield, he could not withstand the attack of a huge monster weighing tons. If he did not want to be crushed into a meat patty, dodging was the only option.

The remaining sand dragons that had fallen to the ground due to the noise of the sonic boom gradually regained their ability to move, screaming and rushing towards the nearest hunter.

The identities of hunter and hunted were reversed at this point.

The person in the most critical situation was the gunner Nuri. As the vanguard, he had to shoulder the responsibility of attracting the monster's attention. As the gunner fired continuously, the Sand Dragon King's "sight" really fell on him.

The danger did not end there. In addition to the Sand Dragon King, there was another sand dragon approaching from the side and rear with a staggering step.

An experienced defender can calmly deal with enemies and attacks from multiple directions, but Nuri, who was promoted to two stars not long ago, is obviously unable to do so.

Choosing the lesser of two evils, he could only focus more on the Sand Dragon King in front of him.

"Asa! Cover Nuri!" Orlan turned into a demon again, used his own speed to shake off the pursuit of the sand dragon behind him, and tried to support the vanguard.

Asa, the only shooter in the team, also started shooting rapidly, but the target he locked on was different from what Orlan had planned.

In Asa's opinion, the Sand Dragon King poses the greatest threat. If its attention can be distracted, Nuri's situation will be much safer.

But Orlan thought otherwise. He thought Asa should attack the sand dragon behind Nuri.

With Asa's current strength and equipment level, it is impossible to suppress the Sand Dragon King with firepower, but it should be possible for the Sand Dragon.

In this case, instead of launching ineffective attacks on the Sand Dragon King, it is better to help Nuri resolve the threat from behind and let him concentrate on the Sand Dragon King in front of him.

The situation was critical now, and there was no time to analyze or explain it through words. Orlan, who was charging at full speed, turned his feet and changed his target from the Sand Dragon King to the sand dragon behind Nuri.

If he could successfully intercept the sand dragon, the result would be the same.

No! That sand dragon is too close to Nuri, and we can't stop it!

Seeing that the sand dragon was about to launch an attack together with the Sand Dragon King in front, Orlan could only grit his teeth and speed up his pace, while praying that Nuri could survive this first round of attack.

At the critical moment, several ice-blue crossbow bullets shot from a distance and accurately hit the head of the sand dragon that was trying to attack Nuri from behind.

The frost filled with cold air spread out, and the sand dragon, fearing the low temperature, screamed in pain and stumbled back.

At the same time, another figure rushed over and inserted himself between the Sand Dragon King and Nuri. He lifted up the hammer with the force of the charge and hit the Sand Dragon King hard on the jaw.

The Sand Dragon King, who was so aggressive just a second ago, was knocked back by the hammer and his attack was stopped.

The dual-sword user, who had also activated his demon-human transformation, passed by the young hunters at a speed far exceeding that of this bizarre "one-handed demon-human".

The knife flashed, and the cold air lingering on the blade burst out. Almost in an instant, the throats of the remaining sand dragons were cut open and they fell to the ground, dead.

The dual-sword user eliminated several sand dragons at an astonishing speed and released his demon-like state.

He was too lazy to even look at the battle situation on the Sand Dragon King's side. He was absolutely sure that he could suppress the Sand Dragon King firmly with just the hammer.

"Didn't I tell you to guard the area southwest of the camp? Why are you running here?" The dual-sword user's tone revealed helplessness.

Ao Lang opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain. He couldn't just say "because we were greedy", right?

Looking at the extremely young little guy in front of him who looked so timid, the experienced old hunter could not help but guess what they were thinking.

He shook his head with a mixture of amusement and headache, "Let's get ready to go back to camp. This will be over soon."

The warm campfire illuminated the hunters' camp.

Because of the previous melee, the mission was completed early and the hope of returning to Rocklark before sunset and selling the fish dragon liver for a good price while it was still fresh turned into delusion.

The desert is very dangerous at night. To ensure safety, they can only choose to spend the night in the camp.

After all, this was entirely their own fault. The veterans of Desert Fins had actually made plans long ago.

With their strength, they could have killed the Sand Dragon King quickly from the beginning. The reason they didn't do that was purely because they were worried that the death of the Sand Dragon King would cause the sand dragon group to escape.

That would create more unknown risks for nearby trade routes.

According to their original plan, they wanted to force the Sand Dragon King to roam around by constantly driving it away, and summon the sand dragons wandering nearby in batches to deal with them together.

Considering that the number of sand dragons that the young people could subjugate might not be enough, they even planned to leave a few sand dragons for the young people to practice.

Unexpectedly, the situation was disrupted at the last moment.

Fortunately, they had almost cleared out the sand dragons in the previous battle, otherwise it would have taken a few more days to "clean" the nearby desert again.

The young people who learned about all this felt a little ashamed and regretful, but fortunately it didn't seem to be all bad.