Just as mentioned at the start, once you figured out the strategy, Daimyo Hermitaur was just "a bit" disgusting—mostly because of its high defense and irritating habit of burrowing and running away...
When the Daimyo Hermitaur finally fell, Lancer and his three Palicoes were already utterly exhausted. Especially Lancer, who'd been forced to repeatedly use "Weapon Overload" due to his weapon's limitations, just to inflict enough damage.
Fortunately, he'd injected relatively little energy, and the Quinque itself was sufficiently sturdy, so durability wasn't significantly affected. But he himself was on the verge of collapse. If he hadn't eaten a hearty "Felyne Meal" beforehand, plus had a piece of stamina-restoring equipment, he would've collapsed long ago.
After this battle—which, although not particularly dangerous, had been exhausting and Spartan-level torturous—Lancer deeply realized one thing:
Reality is not a game. You must prepare thoroughly for every situation.
Take, for instance, his Quinque: excellent against smaller targets, but severely lacking against large monsters of equal level. After all, even though constantly stabbing with a sharp needle hurts, it's not lethal. Sometimes a sharpened pencil might not penetrate as deeply as a needle, but it could deliver a fatal wound.
Unfortunately, the so-called "Welfare World" didn't refresh his "Supplies"; otherwise, he'd definitely buy a proper Lance.
After Lancer and the three Palicoes leaned against each other for a break, Jack finally took out the flare gun and fired into the sky. About half an hour later, a "sand boat" appeared on the horizon, swiftly approaching. As it stopped, Lancer finally saw clearly who had arrived.
It was a squad composed of one armed Hunter, several unarmed workers, and a dozen or so Felynes.
"This Daimyo Hermitaur is really big, eh? At least Silver-class, I'd say. Anyway, won't waste your time, kiddo—alright everyone, get to work!!"
After the overly friendly Hunter casually chatted a bit with Lancer, he immediately called his team into action.
Over a dozen Felynes swiftly began dismembering the Daimyo Hermitaur's corpse with small blades, while several humans loaded the harvested materials onto the small wooden sand-boat. Whatever remained undismembered—the main torso—was carried by everyone working together.
Should we say their efficiency was impressive? The entire process—from arrival to departure—took only twenty minutes.
Shaking his head, Lancer quickly set off to look for the other Daimyo Hermitaur.
Indeed, Lancer's current mission was to hunt two Daimyo Hermitaurs—that's why the difficulty reached Five-Star.
Places where monsters coexisted were already dangerous, and zones where two similar monsters dwelled together were even more so. Still, Lancer felt luck was on his side this time, since the second Daimyo Hermitaur hadn't shown up unexpectedly during the first battle.
But just as he was feeling smug…
Rumble—!
The trembling beneath his feet suddenly filled him with dread.
BOOM!!
With a tremendous explosion of sand, Lancer desperately dove forward—and behind him, a massive bone-like dragon skull appeared in his vision…
Alright, Lancer finally understood why he'd only found one Daimyo Hermitaur earlier. The other one had begun its "shell replacement," and somehow, he'd been unlucky enough to encounter one that found a Monoblos skull!
What made Hermitaur equipped with Monoblos skulls truly despair-inducing wasn't the stronger defense, but the sudden leap in lethality!
If a Hunter relying on a robust physique and strong armor might lose half their health from a Daimyo Hermitaur's normal shell charge, getting struck by a Monoblos skull-equipped charge would almost certainly send them straight to the "cat-cart" (instant KO).
As Lancer ran for his life, he genuinely couldn't figure out whether he should consider himself lucky or unlucky...
Who would've imagined he'd run into a Daimyo Hermitaur wearing a Monoblos skull!?
...
"Hey kid, which district Hunter are you from? You're damn efficient, huh—taking down two Daimyo Hermitaurs by yourself in a single day. And one even had a Monoblos skull…"
The overly friendly Hunter tried making conversation with Lancer, but unfortunately, Lancer was currently sprawled out spread-eagled across the sand-boat deck, his three Palicoes collapsed around him.
The proudly laid-back Tiger mirrored Lancer's posture, though more of a "Y" shape than an "X," his long tail draped casually across Lancer's nose. Al slept more normally, curled up on his side next to Lancer. Meanwhile, Jack—usually the most aloof, but also the most exhausted (due to melee combat)—uncharacteristically curled up into a small ball on Lancer's chest. After all, sleeping with a cushion beneath was better than nothing.
Seeing how the one human and three cats fell asleep immediately upon boarding, the Hunter just chuckled lightly, familiar with this common sight.
When Lancer finally woke, the village was almost in sight. Gazing up at the brightening sky, he couldn't resist a huge stretch. He remembered defeating the Daimyo Hermitaur at twilight—still not fully dark—so he'd probably slept at least twelve hours straight.
But he couldn't blame himself—he'd been too exhausted.
Physical stamina could be quickly restored by compressed rations, but exhaustion was another matter. Continuous, intense battles had severely strained his nerves. After the support crew finished carving up the Hermitaur, he simply couldn't hold back the fatigue any longer and instantly fell asleep.
Glancing now at the neatly sorted materials behind him, a broad smile spread across his face.
Indeed—neatly sorted.
For example, the Monoblos skull—only its horn had practical use. Many parts of Daimyo Hermitaur that couldn't be made into weapons or armor were directly left behind at camp to be used as "building materials." Of course, the most delicious parts, like the crab meat, had been packed up to bring back, while the rest was immediately shared among the workers—fresh meat wouldn't last long anyway.
At this moment, staring at the approaching village, Lancer felt pure excitement. After all, with these materials, he could finally commission new gear!
Maybe he could even craft himself a full protective armor set…
"You hunted two Daimyo Hermitaurs… Very good. Mission completed. Here's your reward. You should rest a bit at the Gathering Hall first."
If the village chief hadn't been standing right at the village entrance, Lancer would've sprinted straight to the blacksmith. The shorter her speech, the happier he became. After snatching up the money, he dashed off immediately.
Because what came next was the moment he'd been truly looking forward to!