511 511 Hunter or Hunted
As they moved through the trees, it became clear to Max that they weren’t only hunting for something, but some not-so-friendly residents of this jungle were also following them.
His targeting system didn’t identify between species that were watching from the woods, but he had a wide variety of targeting boxes to choose from, and some of them were clearly following the group as they traveled.
Max signaled to the Canis team about some of the larger targets that he had spotted, and they nodded that they had seen them as well, but seemed intent on ignoring them for now, so Max assumed that they were either very low on the threat list, or very low on the target priority, so they could simply be ignored until they attacked.
Nico stopped them a few minutes after Max had signaled to the group about a large cat he had seen and bounced down to rejoin the group.
“Are goliaths a form of primate, roughly fifteen meters tall?” She whispered.
“Yes, those are them. Did you find an adult?” Rill asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.
“I did. What’s the hunting strategy? That thing is larger than a Crusader Class Mecha, and I really want to shoot it.”
“They are just as mean as they are large, so we usually surround it so that it can’t focus on the whole group at once, and then target the knees and head with heavy weapons.” The leader of the Canis team replied, pointing to the appropriate spots on herself.
The beast had also detected them, and the sound of breaking wood signaled its approach at high speed toward the hunting team.
“Everyone spread out. Make a half moon and begin to fire at a slow rate as soon as you have a clear target. Don’t go too fast. Let the others take some of the creature’s attention away before you fire again.”
“Excellent plan. Will you go first, or will I?” Nico asked, pointing a pair of plasma cannons through the trees toward the sound of the approaching Goliath.
“Since it is your first hunt, please, have the honors.” Rill laughed while Nico hopped back up into the trees to wait for the creature to approach.
Max wondered what her plan was, as she had only gone to the lowest branch, a mere five meters off the ground, to target a fifteen-meter-tall monster. Normally, she would take advantage of elevation and try to shoot down at it from above to confuse it and make it look up and away from the rest of the group.
“Now,” Rill called as the beast appeared through the trees, and two light blue plasma balls flew out from Nico’s weapons as she launched herself up in the air.
Both shots were perfectly targeted, hitting the creature in the groin and bringing a howl of rage, despair, and immense pain all rolled into one noise.
It spotted her immediately, and Nico flew up and over its head, turning it ninety degrees to its previous course so it was no longer charging at the team but futilely swinging its arms at the flying menace.
Rill fired next, hitting it in the side of the head with a Plasma shot and burning much of its face away. Max followed a split second after, aiming for the same spot now that he had confirmation that it was correct, and then a barrage of fire from the others slammed into the back of the creature’s knees.
It collapsed to the ground, legs severed, and Nico finished it off with a pair of Plasma shots through the eyes. The mighty beast crumbled as its brain melted, and the collapse of its body shook the ground all around them.
The fierce but short battle had scared away every other creature in the vicinity, and the forest fell deathly silent as the Goliath breathed its last breath.
“You know, I am starting to think these Plasma Cannons aren’t really sporting. One volley to take out a Goliath was way too fast.” Nico muttered as she inspected their trophy.
“You have a point. They are much more powerful than anything that we have here on Canis. Such a battle usually lasts ten or fifteen minutes.” Rill agreed.
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“Says the guy who never misses a shot. Maybe we should make the next one a melee-only attack and see how it goes?” Nico suggested, but Ramba waved off that suggestion.
“You might be crazy enough to try, but they are surprisingly fast when you aren’t flying up out of reach. Melee attacks against a Goliath are generally considered suicide.” The big man informed them, with his tail tucked down behind him, showing just how afraid he was of the concept.
“You have a point. But there is a Tree Viper coming for your head.” Nico replied, pointing to his right.
Ramba turned in a split second and fired at the approaching snake, blowing its head off while it was in flight before taking the impact of its body and being thrown through the trees for a dozen meters, rolling along the ground.
“You could have told me that a half second earlier.” He grumbled, dusting the dirt and leaves off his body.
“Sorry, I was distracted. But hey, it didn’t eat you, and that’s a good start.”
“Let’s drain the blood from this one, and we can look for another Goliath. This time we can use our light weapons and only switch to the Plasma Cannons if it gets too dangerous.” Rill announced.
It was possible that only she and Nico were actually enthusiastic about the idea, but somehow they had made themselves the deciding votes, and the Plasma Cannons were put away while the Ion and Laser Rifles were taken out.