"Hmm? That Gamelion..."
Rei had been searching for signs of Gamelions from the sky while riding on Seto's back for several minutes when he finally spotted one. It was in the middle of an assault, about to sink its fangs into a group of Goblins.
Goblins appeared nearly everywhere, and this prairie was no exception. To a Gamelion, Goblins were generally considered weak, foul-tasting prey. Whether the monster was attacking them now because it was simply in the mood or because it was hungry enough to settle for anything was a mystery.
Regardless of its reasons, the Gamelion continued its brutal offensive—tearing them apart with its fangs, slicing them with its ears, battering them with its tail, and crushing them under its massive weight. There was no way ordinary Goblins could stand against such a creature. Had they been able to coordinate, the outcome might have been different, but Goblins were creatures of habit; they would attack in a group, only to scatter and flee the moment the tide turned against them. Standing their ground to fight or acting as a rearguard was simply not in their nature.
"That Gamelion doesn't seem to be targeted by other adventurers yet. Seto, if you would."
"Guruuu!"
Responding to Rei's request, Seto began its descent toward the ground. Their destination was not where the carriage was parked, but rather the spot where Beast's Fang had been battling a Gamelion moments ago.
Normally, the proper course of action would have been to land by the carriage to guard against carriage thieves, but seeing the Gamelion actively hunting Goblins changed the priority. If they waited too long, the monster would likely finish its meal and move on. While it was eating the Goblins, there was also a high probability it wouldn't linger in such an exposed area for long. Furthermore, there was the risk of another Gamelion hunting party stumbling upon it and beating them to the punch, much like Beast's Fang had done earlier.
With those factors in mind, Rei decided it was best to inform the others of the new target's location as quickly as possible. Of course, he made sure to glance at the carriage from above before descending to ensure everything was still in order.
As they dropped through the canopy, the scent of blood wafted up. Knowing it was from the Gamelion he had previously bisected, Rei landed without hesitation.
The adventurers busy with the Gamelion dismantling were the ones who were truly startled. It was only natural; they had just finished processing the internal organs when Seto suddenly dropped out of the sky.
The members of Beast's Fang instinctively scrambled into combat stances, and Lento, who was still unfamiliar with Rei and Seto's habits, leveled his longsword in alarm. The members of the former Mobile Unit, however, tensed only for a fraction of a second. Once they realized it was Seto with Rei on its back, they immediately relaxed.
"Rei-san, does you coming back with Seto mean...?"
"Seto-chan, you worked hard, didn't you!"
A male member of the former Mobile Unit and Johanna called out to them. The difference in their greetings was quite pronounced.
"Yeah, I found another Gamelion. It's attacking Goblins right now. It's the perfect opportunity to take it down. So, how are things on this end?"
"Ah, yes. As you can see, the organ removal is complete. All that's left is the rest of the body, so..."
"Understood."
After a brief exchange, Rei approached the Gamelion corpse that Lento and the others had agreed to keep. The moment he touched it, half of the Gamelion vanished as if it had never existed. Because the other half remained on the ground, the surreal nature of the sight was even more jarring to the onlookers.
"This is..."
Chrono and the rest of Beast's Fang were particularly stunned. They had seen Rei pull his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring earlier, but the scale of the scythe compared to half a Gamelion was vastly different. They stared with wide eyes, looking back and forth between Rei and the remaining half of the carcass.
Rei paid no mind to the frozen beastmen and turned to the others. "Anyway, I assume we're done here. Is there anything else you need to say to these guys?"
"Eh? Ah, no, nothing in particular."
"I see. Then we'll take our leave. Come on, let's move. Seto, go back and guard the carriage."
"Gurururuuu!"
With a cry that seemed to say leave it to me, Seto took off without a word.
"Ah, Seto-chan! You're leaving already!?"
Ignoring Johanna's disappointed shout, Rei addressed the group. "Well? Aren't you going to hunt that Gamelion? If you take too long, another party will beat you to it. Are you okay with that?"
"Definitely not. Lead the way, then."
Lento snapped back to his senses at Rei's words, and the others nodded in agreement—everyone except Johanna, at least.
"All right, then we're off. Good luck if we run into each other again."
With that brief farewell, Rei led Lento and the others out of the grove. The members of Beast's Fang watched them go, only fully recovering their senses after Rei’s group had vanished from sight.
"F-For now... should we look for another Gamelion too? This is a bit meager on its own."
Chrono muttered as he looked at the remains of the carcass, and the others agreed. Despite the danger they had faced, they were happy to have secured a portion of the monster, but they truly wanted a whole one to call their own.
"I wish we could have kept working with Lento and the others," Jona said with a hint of envy. "We definitely would have found another one, and with an item box, bringing it back would have been so easy..."
"Jona!"
Shanto, who had been listening nearby, forcefully interrupted her. "Have you no pride? Asking for help from a little squirt like that? We are the proud C-Rank Party, Beast's Fang."
"...Listen to yourself. We might be a C-Rank Party, but Rei-san is a B-Rank adventurer. And a solo one at that. Regardless of how small or young he looks, you have to recognize strength when you see it. You saw what he could do, didn't you, Shanto? He cut that Gamelion—which is supposed to be resistant to slashing attacks—clean in half with a single swing."
"Guh... That may be true, but..."
In terms of having his pride wounded, Shanto was likely feeling the shock more than anyone. He had felt more than a little dismissive toward an opponent smaller than himself, yet that boy had easily bisected a monster they couldn't even defeat without Lento's help.
Chrono added his own thoughts to drive the point home. "Besides, I heard Johanna and her team are mostly C-Rank adventurers as well. Apparently, they were adventurers in the Bestia Empire's Imperial Capital."
Hearing that they were the same rank as himself, Shanto found he couldn't voice any more complaints.
"And besides, Gamelions only started appearing this year because of Rei-san, didn't they? If you consider that..."
"That's enough, Jona."
Jona still had more to say, but she fell silent when Chrono stopped her. She trusted him as her party leader, and he was also the man she was personally fond of.
"...Fine. Anyway, let's look for another one. We can't search from the sky without Seto, but if we use our sharp beastman sense of smell, we should be able to find them more easily than human adventurers."
Chrono agreed with Jona's suggestion and looked toward their thief, Grin. Receiving the look, Grin gave a small nod and began walking to track a new target. Shanto shouldered the remaining half of the Gamelion and carried it toward the cart. And so, the members of Beast's Fang resumed their hunt.
"There it is."
At Rei's murmur, Lento and Johanna followed his gaze. In the distance, the last remaining Goblin had just been sliced by the Gamelion's ear as it passed by, collapsing to the ground. Having finished off its target, the Gamelion immediately sank its fangs into the Goblin corpse.
"Ugh, Gamelions really are indiscriminate eaters. I can't believe they actually eat Goblin meat."
Lento muttered in a disgusted tone. Johanna and the others nodded in agreement.
"If they eat garbage like Goblin meat, why is Gamelion meat itself so delicious?" one of the men from the former Mobile Unit wondered aloud, prompting another round of agreement.
Rei nodded as well but took a step back. "Now then, I've found it as promised. Unlike the first one, no other party has beat you to it, so the table is perfectly set. I'll be watching from here, so do your best to take it down."
"Roger, roger. We didn't get to show off much in the last fight. Time to get fired up!"
Lento equipped his metal shield on his left arm and his longsword in his right. He remained vague about exactly who he was trying to impress. Johanna, the intended audience, didn't seem to notice his appeal at all as she gripped her spear.
The three men from the former Mobile Unit held their weapons: a battle axe, a halberd, and a hammer. Normally, they would use weapons they were more accustomed to, like swords or spears, but their opponent was a Gamelion. Its pelt was highly resistant to slashing. Unless one had Rei’s level of skill or a powerful magic item like the Death Scythe, trying to cut through a Gamelion was a futile effort.
For this reason, the plan was for Lento and Johanna to act as decoys while the other three used their heavy impact weapons to deliver the killing blows.
"Let's go! Uoooooh!"
A surprise attack would have been ideal, but a Gamelion never fully let its guard down, even while eating. Having evolved from rabbits, their hearing was incredibly precise. Unless they were profoundly distracted, a sneak attack was nearly impossible. Therefore, Lento, who had the highest defense with his shield, stepped forward with a loud shout to attract the Gamelion's attention.
"Gaaaaaaaah!"
The Gamelion let out an intimidating roar at Lento. Lento, however, welcomed the sound and shouted even louder.
"Come and get it, you beast!"
He brandished his shield, taunting the creature. Johanna stood ready beside him with her spear. For Lento, this was a moment of pure focus.
The Gamelion, naturally unconcerned with Lento’s feelings, kicked off the ground to close the distance. It moved with a speed one wouldn't expect from a body over three meters long, but to Lento, it didn't seem that fast. This was because the Gamelion that Beast's Fang had been fighting in the grove had been superior in every way to the one currently before him. Specifically, the previous one had been significantly more agile.
Charging straight ahead, the Gamelion attempted to sink its fangs into Lento as if to consume him in place of the Goblins, but just before its fangs could reach him, they were obstructed by the metal shield.
The high-pitched sound of fangs clashing with metal echoed through the air. Seeing the Gamelion's movement halt for a split second upon impact, Johanna immediately executed a thrust.
Her speed was impressive, but just as she thought her spear tip had pierced the Gamelion's right shoulder, the monster leaped to the side, leaving her with only the faintest sensation of contact.
"Tch! I knew it would be fast, but that reflex speed is annoying!"
Johanna quickly pulled her spear back, spitting out her frustration. The Gamelion had inadvertently used Lento’s position as a shield. Lento, too, found himself unable to swing his sword once the monster moved to his left side, where his shield blocked his own reach.
"Gaaaaaaaah!"
However, the Gamelion was not at ease either. It likely hadn't expected its fang strike to be stopped so easily. Realizing that the two before it were troublesome opponents, it was suddenly jolted by an impact on its flank and leaped away.
From mid-air, it looked back to where it had been standing and saw a human man holding a halberd. The Gamelion shrieked in rage, but as it moved to land, it saw another man with a battle axe running toward its landing zone.
"Gaaaaah!"
It tried to snap its fangs at the man with a battle axe who was aiming for the moment it touched down, but then it spotted the man with a hammer looming behind him. Sensing the danger, the Gamelion could only manage a slight twist of its body in mid-air as it plunged toward the men.