When Gordon finished dealing the finishing blow and gathering, and walked back to Amos with his blood-stained Great Sword, the latter's expression seemed a bit stiff.
It wasn't that Gordon's performance was so outstanding that it shocked Amos; it was simply that Gordon's increasingly barbaric fighting style severely challenged Amos's aesthetic of "precise and elegant" combat.
He opened his mouth, his eyes conflicted, but in the end, he said nothing.
There is no right or wrong in personal style; the Great Sword and Katana are inherently two weapons with very different styles. Forcing this child to copy his own style would only create a monstrosity that is neither one thing nor the other.
Amos patted Hayata's little face, which had once again turned pale, as a form of comfort, while smiling bitterly in his heart.
Gordon obviously hadn't yet grasped the true essence of "inertia."
However, if this wild fighting style were adopted by those Great Sword Users in the Gathering Hall whose muscles had grown into their brains, perhaps they would laugh and applaud loudly?
And Gordon, who had put away his Great Sword, also returned to his usual slightly shy youthful appearance. He scratched the tip of his nose and said somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Amos, is my understanding of 'controlling inertia' a bit incorrect?"
"There's no such thing as entirely correct or incorrect," Amos waved his hand.
"I've already told you the basic concepts. Whether you can form a style that suits you, and how to form it, is entirely up to you."
"I understand." Hearing Amos's words, Gordon also relaxed.
He glanced at the Qimian Tribe corpses not far away.
Including the five Amos had hunted, they had already hunted nine Qimian Tribe members, leaving about half of the twenty-target objective remaining.
The efficiency was good.
The three rested on the spot and waited for a while, but unfortunately, no more Qimian Tribe members came to them.
Unlike monsters like Blue Velocidrome, which are essentially beasts, the Qimian Tribe, possessing intelligence close to that of humans, would not simply throw their lives away.
According to Gordon's guess, these guys should have hidden deep within the dense forest.
After a slight hesitation, Gordon suggested continuing deeper into the Qimian Tribe's territory.
As for encountering a large ambush or siege by the Qimian Tribe, he wasn't too worried.
It's true that the Qimian Tribe lives in groups, but because they haven't mastered cultivation techniques, their populations cannot be too large due to food supply issues.
In this regard, Zhu Pa, who grew up in the mountains and forests, had a lot to say. According to it, a number of twenty to thirty was already the limit.
Excluding those already dealt with, even if the remaining ones swarmed them, they wouldn't pose too much trouble.
After all, they still had a High-Rank Katana User in their team.
However, what Gordon didn't expect was that after he told Amos his idea, the latter decisively refused.
"No, we can't go too deep. Let's just search and hunt in the vicinity." Amos's attitude was unexpectedly firm.
Gordon was stunned by the words, then remembered Hayata's presence.
Indeed, unlike him and Amos, Hayata, who had just begun her hunter training, had questionable self-preservation abilities. If they encountered a large group of Qimian Tribe in an ambush, an accident might occur if they weren't careful.
Just then, Amos's words once again surprised Gordon.
"It's not because of Hayata."
"Huh?"
Gordon was taken aback and couldn't help but glance at Hayata again. The latter pouted in dissatisfaction, but he didn't mind, instead asking curiously, "Then why?"
Amos frowned and hesitated for a few seconds, but finally told him the truth.
"Gordon, have you heard of the King of the Gajalaka?"
"The King of the Gajalaka?" Gordon blinked. "Is it like a tribal leader individual, similar to the Blue Velocidrome or the Great Wild Boar King?"
"That's not wrong to say," Amos leaned back against a nearby tree trunk and continued.
"However, to be precise, he is not the leader of a single tribe, but the king of all Qimian Tribe in the entire region."
"A king? Uh, so, is the King of the Gajalaka very strong?"
Amos looked up at him, exhaled, and said, "He is very strong, not on the same level as monsters like the Blue Velocidrome at all. Let me put it this way: quests involving hunting the King of the Gajalaka have a minimum Two-Star rating."
"Five-Star?!!!" Gordon couldn't help but exclaim, then remembered they were still in the Hunting Field and quickly lowered his voice, pressing, "There's really a Five-Star? Wouldn't that make him stronger than many Flying Wyvern?
How is that possible? This is completely a different kind of creature, right? Can he really be considered a member of the Qimian Tribe?"
Amos glanced at Gordon, raised his chin and pointed in Hayata's direction, then pointed to himself, "We are all humans."
Hayata: ".?"
Ignoring the little girl's increasingly puffed-up cheeks, Gordon continued to press, "So, there's a chance of encountering the King of the Gajalaka in a Qimian Tribe hunting quest? How can this be rated as a Two-Star quest?!"
Amos pursed his lips and explained, "Unlike relatively common leader monsters like the Great Wild Boar King, the King of the Gajalaka are extremely rare and generally operate in the core areas deep within the dense forest. It's usually impossible to encounter them in lower-rank Hunting Fields located on the outskirts of the dense forest."
"That's good then."
Before Gordon could sigh in relief, Amos continued, "Provided you haven't taken this quest at this time of year."
"Uh? What does that have to do with the season?"
"Early summer is a special period for the Qimian Tribe. During the 'Great Moonlit Night,' when the moon is most full and bright throughout the year, Qimian Tribe groups from nearby areas will gather together to hold the 'Qimian Clan Festival.'"
Listening to Amos's description, Gordon couldn't help but recall the detailed description of this quest commission.
— The Qimian Tribe are extensively attacking merchant caravans to prepare for the festival.
"But isn't the 'Great Moonlit Night' in June still half a month away?" Hayata, feeling left out, also chimed in, muttering.
Amos looked at the two of them helplessly, "If it really were the time of the Qimian Clan Festival, would I let you two little ones enter the Qimian Tribe's territory?
On that day, hundreds of Qimian Tribe would be enough to overwhelm you.
Furthermore, now is already a relatively dangerous period. The various Qimian Tribe groups are busy preparing for the festival, and the King of the Gajalaka will also wander around during this time. If our luck is bad…"
Gordon finally understood Amos's meaning.
It wasn't that the King of the Gajalaka was nearby, but that if they pushed deep into the Qimian Tribe's territory at this time, there was a chance of encountering the King of the Gajalaka who happened to be wandering there.
"What's the probability?" Gordon asked.
"Less than ten percent. There are at least dozens of Qimian Tribe groups in the entire Metabe region; it's not that easy to hit the jackpot."
"Hey! What's there to worry about!"
Gordon immediately felt he had worried for nothing. There's a chance of encountering Flying Wyvern even when hunting Herbivore Dragons to collect raw meat. If one had to worry about such low-probability events all day, there would be no point in being a hunter.
"Don't be careless. Too many hunters have died because of a Luck mentality ." Amos's tone and expression were unprecedentedly serious, even somewhat scolding.
"We will operate on the outskirts of the Qimian Tribe territory. It's fine to take more time. Only sufficiently cautious hunters can live to become stronger!"
"Oh…"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
If you guys wanna check it out.