At the agreed-upon meeting point,
Gordon was startled when he saw the two huge packages behind Oshura.
Out of politeness, he and Zhu Pa walked forward, ready to help carry some, but unexpectedly, Oshura stepped back, glared at him, and loudly refused him:
"No, no, no, don't come over. There are many dangerous goods inside. You swordsmen are clumsy; don't blow them up."
Gordon raised his hands to show that he wouldn't touch anything, and just watched the female hunter carefully load the pile of items onto the cart heading for the Hunting Field.
As for what was in the packages, Gordon didn't need to guess. Although he had never directly cooperated with Archer-type hunters, he hadn't eaten Great Wild Boar meat, but he had seen Great Wild Boar run, right?
It was nothing more than ammunition and corresponding blending materials.
Compared to melee hunters, also known as swordsmen, Archers who use ranged weapons have a safer hunting environment, higher damage output, and more flexible tactical choices.
The cost, however, is a large consumption of various types of Bowgun rounds and arrows.
In other words, it would be very expensive.
Oshura was a very outgoing, even overly talkative, person. On the way to the Hunting Field, she constantly complained and grumbled about various things, indirectly imparting a lot of Archer-related knowledge to Gordon.
For example, the Heavy Bowgun has the highest damage among all ranged weapons, but due to the Heavy Bowgun body, hunters move slowly and often require team cooperation.
For example, Archers need to return to the Hunting Camp more than once during a hunt to resupply ammunition.
And for example, Archer armor is designed to prioritize flexibility, and its defensive performance is significantly worse than melee equipment.
Gordon didn't find it annoying. Coming from a remote village, he had no way of knowing these so-called "common sense" things, so it was like getting an extra lesson.
"Hey, kid Gordon, you're not really teaming up with an Archer for the first time, are you?" Oshura, who had been chattering for a long time, finally noticed something was off.
Gordon gave a silly smile but didn't hide it for the sake of face, "Yes, Eshu La Senior, actually, you are the first Archer hunter I've ever seen in person."
".?!"
Oshura was so shocked that she accidentally pulled out a strand of her own hair.
"Are you serious?"
Gordon shrugged, his tone helpless as he said, "Before coming to Minagarde, I only knew one hunter, my master and instructor, Ernest. He is a Five-Star Hammer User.
Oh, right, if you count retired old-timers, there's also a 'Kokoto Hero.' Hmm, but he's also a swordsman, you know, Dunjian (Shield Sword/Sword and Shield)."
Oshura rubbed her forehead, looking a bit troubled, "This is a bit troublesome. It seems I'll have to teach you from scratch."
Gordon gave an embarrassed dry laugh.
This was also the main reason why he temporarily didn't want to team up with others and participate in Three-Star quests.
Compared to a regular Three-Star Hunter, his direct combat ability might be up to par, but in terms of hunting experience and relevant knowledge, he was still far behind.
It was fortunate that although Oshura was usually carefree, she was essentially a very enthusiastic and easygoing person. If it had been someone more serious, they would probably be rolling their eyes at him and demanding to cancel the quest by now.
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, a serious Oshura stopped talking nonsense and instead earnestly explained to Gordon various precautions when teaming up with an Archer hunter.
"Do you know about the line of fire? The line of fire!"
"I guess so. Is it roughly the range where Bowgun rounds and arrows can be fired?"
"That's pretty much what it means. Inexperienced and unaware swordsmen often neglect their positioning during combat, thereby blocking the line of fire for Archers behind them.
This is a very troublesome situation.
Archers will be unable to shoot smoothly due to concern for their teammates' positions, and swordsmen may also be injured by accidental friendly fire from Bowgun rounds from behind."
Although Gordon had never known about these things, he wasn't stupid and quickly understood Oshura's meaning.
"So I should try to stand on the other side of the monster within your line of fire to avoid blocking it, right?"
"Smart!"
Oshura snapped her fingers, "If you can do that, then our cooperation will at least not result in the frustrating situation where one plus one is less than two."
"Besides that, is there anything else I can do? Although I don't have much experience, I'll try to pay attention."
Oshura was very satisfied with Gordon's humble attitude. She continued, "When hunting large targets, small monsters are a very annoying presence for us.
If possible, try to help us clear out these guys, Blue Velocidrome, Great Wild Boar, Peach-hair Beast, and so on. Archer ammunition is very precious and shouldn't be wasted on these small fries.
If you can do this well, our cooperation will already be quite pleasant, and most Archers will be happy to team up with such a teammate."
"That sounds easy enough."
"Sounds easy?"
Oshura scoffed, "When I say 'clear out,' I mean while you are careful to leave the line of fire open, and at the same time, keep the large monster engaged so it doesn't run directly to attack the Archer.
Otherwise, what's the point if you go off and kill the small monsters, but the Archer is being chased by the large monster, screaming and yelling?"
"I see." Gordon rubbed his chin, falling into thought.
"Beyond that, there's a type of swordsman we jokingly call 'god-tier teammates.' You can just listen to this; generally, only extremely experienced veteran hunters can achieve these things.
They deeply understand the monster's habits and weaknesses and can firmly grasp the monster's attention, and by adjusting their own position, guiding, and forcing the monster's movement, they 'deliver' the monster's weak points to the direction most convenient for us to shoot.
In this situation, even if the Archer is a novice, as long as they can aim and pull the trigger, they can deal considerable damage."
Upon hearing this, Gordon immediately realized that this was not something he could consider at the moment.
He wasn't even very clear about the King Yian Kut-Ku's weaknesses, so what was he talking about guiding? It would be good enough if he didn't cause trouble for Oshura.
Perhaps, he should ask about the King Yian Kut-Ku's intelligence.
"Eshu La Senior, could you tell me more about the King Yian Kut-Ku monster? I've encountered and hunted regular Peach-hair Beast, but the King Yian Kut-Ku..."
"Then you've really asked the right person. The King Yian Kut-Ku, hehe, I'm very familiar with them."
Oshura gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"King Yian Kut-Ku are quite large. When standing, they generally reach five to six meters tall, and they're very strong. I know you Great Sword Users like to work wonders with brute force, but trust me, don't compare strength with them. Your whole body might not even be as thick as their arm.
Also, compared to regular Peach-hair Beast, King Yian Kut-Ku have a powerful weapon: their tail. The King Yian Kut-Ku's tail is flexible and strong, and sometimes it even has a large Mushroom wrapped around it.
When fatigued, the King Yian Kut-Ku will eat the Mushroom it carries on its tail to regain stamina, like it's carrying a bento box."
Gordon's expression became a little strange.
How come it feels like...
So many monsters have a preference for Mushrooms?
Great Wild Boar like Mushrooms, Xianggu Pig like Mushrooms, Qimian Tribe like Mushrooms, and King Yian Kut-Ku also like Mushrooms.
--+--
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.
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