Just as they were speechless, another Vespoid flew by.
Isis unfolded her Gunlance while Erik hoisted his insect net, both ready to give chase, but Altaïr quickly pulled them back.
He felt like he was babysitting two children, if he didn't keep a close eye on them, they might stumble into danger or cause some trouble.
Sighing, he plucked the Vespoid still stuck on his sword and held it in his hand. "Let's head back first and hand this over to the Professor for dissection. If there are no issues, we won't need to hold back anymore."
He paused for two seconds, then added while looking at Isis, "But be careful not to destroy anyone's house. These sandstone walls aren't very sturdy, my Long Sword Thrust already left a small dent. If you slam your Gunlance down, the wall might collapse."
"Oh."
The trio, who hadn't even been out for fifteen minutes, returned to their residence. Upon entering, they found the Elder there as well, seemingly discussing something with the Professor.
"You've made progress so quickly?" the Professor exclaimed in surprise, looking at the three.
"Yes, would this one work?" Altaïr handed over the Vespoid in his hand.
"Of course!" The Professor took the Vespoid corpse with some delight, casually pushing aside the clutter on the table to clear enough space. He then said to the Elder, "You just asked if we needed anything else, please fetch me more oil lamps. Dissection requires a well-lit environment."
"No problem!" The Elder replied with a smile. The sight of these annoying Vespoid corpses made him happy!
"I caught one too," Isis said softly, like a child seeking praise.
"Where is it?" the Professor asked cheerfully, turning to her. Although one intact Vespoid corpse was enough to prove certain issues, having an extra sample would be more reliable, wouldn't it?
Isis raised her shield, displaying the smeared remains stuck to its surface.
"...Throw it away immediately."
Isis crouched to the side with a regretful expression, picking at the insect carcass. Seizing the opportunity, Altaïr stopped the Elder, who was about to leave to prepare the oil lamps.
"Elder, Vespoids become more active at night, so we'll continue the hunt shortly. There might be some noise during the process, and minor damage to the buildings, like a few sword marks or stray Gunlance shells embedded in the walls. I wanted to give you a heads-up."
The Elder smiled in response. "No problem, feel free to go all out. Everyone in town has been driven nearly mad by the Vespoids lately, no one will be upset about noise made to eliminate them. Don't worry about minor damage to the houses either; sandstone walls are easy to repair. Just try not to cause too much destruction, and be careful not to hurt anyone."
As he said this, the Elder couldn't help glancing repeatedly at the Gunlance behind Isis. Compared to the slender Long Sword on Altaïr's back, this cannon barrel thicker than an adult's thigh looked far more intimidating.
"Shall we leave the corpses where they are, then?"
"No problem. Someone will clean them up in the morning. Seeing Vespoid corpses, people might even stomp on them a couple of times to vent their frustration," the Elder joked lightheartedly. Who knows if he'll still be able to laugh when he sees the ground covered in thick green insect blood and shredded corpses tomorrow morning.
Reassured, Altaïr relaxed. Seeing that Isis had also scraped off the sticky insect remains from her shield, he said to the Professor, "Then we'll continue hunting the Vespoids."
The Professor, busy with pre-dissection work, waved his hand to indicate they should proceed as they wished.
Erik, who had been helping the Professor, picked up his insect net again and ran over.
"Aren't you staying to help the Professor?" Altaïr frowned at him.
"Live Vespoids are more interesting!" Erik exclaimed excitedly at first, then realizing the hunter didn't seem keen on bringing him along, quickly added, "I can help!"
"By swinging that insect net of yours?"
"No! I understand Vespoid behavior better, I know how to find their hiding spots. Otherwise, if they crouch in some dark corner, you might easily miss them, right?"
Altaïr let out a breath. The reason had some merit. After a brief hesitation, he decided to bring along this troublesome fellow.
The three continued their search along the town path. The experience of hunting within human settlements was indeed somewhat novel.
Worried that the hunters might not want him along in the future, Erik worked hard to demonstrate the value of his knowledge. "Vespoids prefer dark, narrow, and wind-sheltered spots. The desert has strong sandstorms, if we search more on the leeward sides of buildings, we're sure to find something!"
Altaïr paused. He had to admit, it was a good suggestion.
Although both he and Isis had experience hunting Vespoids multiple times, normally no hunter would specifically study their ecology.
If Erik was telling the truth, this one tip could save them a lot of effort.
Following this line of thought, the three soon found a motionless Vespoid resting at the corner of a building's leeward side.
"This one's mine!" Isis unfolded her Gunlance and raised her great shield.
This time, Altaïr didn't stop her. He had already reminded her several times, and Isis wasn't foolish, she would surely be cautious.
"Hey!"
Isis quickly dashed forward to close the distance. Hearing the noise, the Vespoid immediately spread its wings, vibrating as it prepared to take off.
Seeing this, Isis didn't hesitate and thrust out the Gunlance in her left hand.
Her thinking was similar to Altaïr's earlier approach, thrusting attacks might not have high destructive power, but they were fast, making them ideal for dealing with Vespoids.
Unfortunately, a Gunlance was no Long Sword. Despite her efforts to speed up the thrust, she was still a moment too late, allowing the Vespoid to take flight and evade the attack.
The only way to make the heavy Gunlance move faster was to apply more force. In her effort, this ordinary thrust carried an unexpectedly heavy and powerful momentum.
Driven by the weight of the heavy lance, the blade at its tip plunged deeply into the wall, embedding more than halfway.
A sharp scream immediately came from inside the house.
"Eeeek!"
Altaïr felt all the hairs on his body stand on end. The blade of Isis's Gunlance was nearly a meter long, half of that meant half a meter.
Which residential wall was half a meter thick? She had just pierced right through it.
Damaging the wall would be one thing, but what if someone was hurt? Whether intentional or not, a hunter injuring a human with their weapon was a serious crime, that would spell real trouble. Ignoring the Vespoid that had flown away, Altaïr hurried to the window of the house and knocked, asking loudly, "Sorry! Is anyone hurt?"
"..." No sound came from inside.
Anyone staying peacefully at home would be terrified when a blade wider than a palm suddenly pierced through the wall.
Isis, her face pale with fright, didn't even bother to pull the Gunlance out of the wall and rushed over to apologize, "I'm so sorry!!"
Altaïr quickly added, "We're hunters, commissioned by the Elder to exterminate the Vespoids. What just happened was an accident. If anyone's injured, we have potions."
"N-no one's hurt."
A voice finally came from inside, making Altaïr and the others heave a sigh of relief.
Whether it was their identity as hunters or the mention of the Elder, the person inside seemed to let go of some fear and caution, and the window was pulled open a crack.
"Y-you're dealing with the Vespoids?"
Unlike the earlier scream, this was a young man's voice. The homeowners seemed to be a young couple.
Erik leaned in and said, "Yes! A huge Vespoid landed on your wall and kept scratching at it. We had no choice but to...!"
Compared to the fully armed hunters, Erik, who was younger and dressed in ordinary clothes, clearly made people feel more at ease. The window was pulled open fully.
Sure enough, it was a young couple huddled together in fear.
"S-so, has the Vespoid been dealt with?" the husband stammered.
Isis drooped her head, about to say no, but Altaïr covered her mouth.
Erik pointed to the large shield in Isis's hand and said, "Of course! Look, the Vespoid's blood is still on it!"
"That's good, that's good..." The couple visibly relaxed.
Their focus shifted from "the wall has a hole in it" to "the Monster on their wall has been dealt with," and the situation was finally smoothed over.
After apologizing again to the couple and promising that someone would come to repair the wall the next day, the three of them left with embarrassed expressions.
"Well, if we see another Vespoid resting on a wall later, let's not attack it directly," Altaïr whispered. "Let's scare it into flying first. If it doesn't fly high, I'll take care of it. If it flies high, you can use your cannon to handle it, consider it practice for your gunnery."
"Okay."