22 Formation Four

Mikhail, Mog, Yargol, and Yatur were walking back to the camp, their hair having yet to dry off completely from the bathing they had just finished doing.

"Man, I still can't believe you and Glasha really hit it off like that…" Mikhail said, the trace of disbelief still flowing through his tone.

"And I still can't believe Mog almost fucked me over like that!" Yargol said, his head snapping over to Mog. "I mean, fuck, dude! That could've gone really badly!"

Mikhail nodded. "Yeah, what the hell was up with that? The look on your face back then almost looked like you had planned that outcome all along…"

"That's because I did, fools!"

Mog put his hands to his hips, in a sort of victorious pose as he simultaneously let out an over the top maniacal laugh.

"You see, it happened about a week before Yagnar stopped the caravan to pick up this fool…" He said while pointing to Mikhail using his thumb. "It was late at night and I needed to take a piss, so I did. And afterwards…"

Mog waited a bit, for dramatic effect, before continuing.

"That's when I saw it… Glasha was sneaking away from the clothing carriage with a pair of Yargol's underwear!"

"Wait, how did you know it was Yargol's, and not someone else's underwear?"

"Easy! This fool sews his name into every article of clothing he owns!"

Yargol flushed. "What, no I don't! Shut up!"

"Oh sure, sure…" Mog said as he casually walked over to pat his back. "I totally believe you… But wait! What's this?!"

Mog suddenly gave Yargol a wedgie, revealing that his name was indeed sewn into his underwear, causing Mikhail and the others to snort.

"Agh, FUCK! My nuts, you bastard!"

Mog then ran off while giggling deviously, and Yargol gave chase, leaving Yatur and Mikhail in the dust.

"Well, I guess Glasha and Yargol were made for each other, huh?" Mikhail said absentmindedly, having stopped walking to avoid getting entangled in the other two's malarkey.

Yatur nodded, having stopped for the same reason. "For sure, dude…"

The other two were out of sight in seconds, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"You think we'll find a Kryptodrakon today?" Mikhail asked as they began walking again.

"Fuck, man… I sure hope we do. I'm really fucking tired of Spinosaur meat after having dealt with it for more than a month at this point… Anyway, let's catch up with those clowns."

The two looked to each other before nodding, and began leaving behind a trail of dust of their own.

『Five Minutes Later』

Mikhail and Yatur spotted Yagnar reading his book as usual when they entered the camp, sitting in a chair near the armory carriage.

"Uncle Yagnar, we're back!"

"Ah, good to see that, runt. Give me a second while I get you and Yatur's stuff."

He continued reading, flipping the page of his book as a spear, a flamberge, two large leather pouches, and two sets of leather armor floated out of the carriage behind him.

Mikhail admired the bone-spear like he always did. It had been crafted using the bones of a strong, Evolver Tier Beast. Form and function were mixed together, making a fierce and functional spear.

Yatur's flamberge was of course crafted in a similar manner, though he did not share in Mikhail's fascination with aesthetics.

They both, however, quickly got to equipping their hunting necessities, putting on their leather armor as Yagnar told them where the young women were waiting for them.

They were just outside the camp to the east, behind the area with the tents.

The two made their way over, finding Yargol and Glasha casually cuddling against one of the many trees. Their love had bloomed beautifully in Mikhail's eyes, even if they were a couple of weirdos…

Mog meanwhile, was chatting up some random young lady.

The clearing was covered in a light-hearted and jubilant atmosphere, filled with goofy gossip and juicy jokes alike. Giggles and hearty laughs. This continued for a long while until the rest of the young men returned from their bathing.

After that, things got serious, and Glasha took center stage.

"We'll move to the southwest, before following the flow of the river a decent distance away from the banks. Whoever lands the killing blow gets to take the most valuable materials from the beast like usual!"

Everyone raised their left fist and let out a war cry, and Glasha began walking. The crowd followed, and the hunt ensued. It took about thirty minutes for them to reach the area near the river, and they started following the direction it flowed towards.

They all moved silently, each step carefully taken.

After an hour, the sun now at its zenith, they found their target. Much faster than they had ever managed in the past three weeks.

And what they found was a sight for sore eyes.

A hulking feathered beast standing on all fours was currently tearing apart the corpse of another beast — which seemed to be a Spinosaur— with its large and long beak. It had teeth towards the edges of the beak, helping its efforts.

It was covered in black feathers, with gray swirl patterns all over it. And its head had a small black frill. The flesh of its membranous wings seemed to drag across the ground as it violently tore at its food.

This was great!

With its defences down and its back turned to them, the group could take initiative!

And take initiative they did!

They slowly crept up, breaking their previous formation to form the more suitable Formation Four, careful not to enter its range of sight. And once the group was close enough, the first line of attack, the damage dealers, charged in!

Mikhail was in the second line of attack, and watched as they aimed for its wings. They wanted poultry, and they were gonna be damn sure it wouldn't fly away!

As its wings were torn through by multiple fierce attacks, an ear piercing screech resounded throughout the area. The ten initial attackers then moved to the front of the beast, encircling it and keeping its focus off the second wave of attack!

Mikhail rushed forward, his spear pointed at the right hind-leg of the beast. A few others joined his rush.

The beast, distracted by the strong presence of Glasha and the rest of the first line of attack, was quickly surprised when sharp pains spread all over its rear end.

Both of its hindlegs had been severely injured, and it had even been stabbed in the cloaca! The world in its eyes was spinning from all the pain. Yet, it wasn't going down without a fight!

It let out an elementally infused screech!

Visible gray winds spread outwards from the bird like a continuous shockwave, disrupting the flow of Shimmer Aether and making everything look distorted!

Mikhail felt a nigh insurmountable force slam into his body as he tightened his grip around his spear.

He felt a warm and wet sensation go down the sides of his neck as he lost his hearing.

And he gnashed his teeth together as he put his entire focus on enduring!