A downward pounce from above, this was the most formidable hunting tactic of the Khezu that inhabited the cave ceiling!
The sky above was completely obscured, and the sight of a massive monster, like a mountain of flesh, plunging down would send a shudder of fear through anyone who saw it.
Altaïr forced himself to stay calm. While slowly shifting his feet to adjust his stance, he continuously gathered strength, refining his Spirit Gauge.
At the moment when the Spirit Gauge was condensed to its limit, he swung the sword horizontally and, leveraging the momentum, rushed forward simultaneously.
The Khezu in its pounce noticed the target had dodged away from its original position. Unable to adjust its landing posture, it extended its head to bite at him.
Altaïr seized that fleeting instant, adjusted his sword path, and the Bone Katana "Wolf" drew a perfect arc around him.
The two crossed past each other. A great spray of blood erupted from the Khezu's neck, splattering all over the Arena.
This slash had completely opened the Khezu's throat. No creature could withstand such injury. It collapsed weakly onto the ground, its life entering the final few seconds of countdown.
Just as everyone thought the young Long Sword user had secured the final victory, the Khezu seemed to rally with a last surge of vitality. Its neck, riddled with wounds, elongated instantaneously, twisting to bite at the hunter behind it.
This was its final counterattack as life was about to end.
The sense of danger assaulting from behind made Altaïr's hair stand on end all over his body.
The Charged Spirit Roundslash was powerful, but its massive inertia made it difficult to follow up with other sword techniques afterward, whether basic sword moves, Foresight Slash, Iai Slash, or even the most basic roll.
At this critical moment, Altaïr, with no other options, chose to follow the guidance of inertia.
As he had learned when studying the Hammer from Madam Marydan, he stopped thinking about how to interrupt the motion. Instead, leveraging the significantly enhanced physical capabilities under the Red Gauge state, he accelerated further along with this inertia.
Spinning like a whirlwind, his feet couldn't even match the speed of his body's rotation. He simply let himself leap into the air, spinning and swinging his sword diagonally in midair.
The crimson sword gleam flashed and vanished.
The Khezu, in its desperate counterattack, stiffened. A blood line appeared across its neck, and the blood-drenched head slid off.
Altaïr staggered two steps upon landing before steadying himself again. He glanced at the Khezu head rolling beside his feet, grinned, and shook the sword to flick off the blood stains from the blade.
He seemed to have unintentionally created something new again.
Looking up toward the other battlefield across the iron bars, the roar of the Wyvern's Fire was deafening, and the other Khezu's screeching and wailing abruptly ceased with that thunderous sound.
Altaïr exhaled and chuckled lowly, "Heh, this time I won."
─────────────────────────────────────────
The People's Tavern at night was bustling as always.
A large table at the edge of the tavern was piled with all kinds of delicacies.
Not just "ordinary" fare like grilled Aptonoth steak or stewed Popo Meat, but also premium ingredients like Highland Shrimp, King Tuna, Boat Oyster, Quality Crab Milt, Choice Deep Mushroom, and so on, all pricey.
There were even quite a few monster-based ingredients that required a fairly high Hunter rank to order, such as Gigginox larvae and Basarios tails, quite extravagant!
The hunters' celebration banquet naturally couldn't lack alcohol.
Even though they hadn't specifically ordered drinks, the enthusiastic and busy guild receptionist still automatically carried a wooden tray laden with large tankard cups and placed it "thump!" beside the dining table before darting butterfly-like to the next table.
Haifa eagerly grabbed two massive tankards and placed them before herself and Karin. Francesca also took cups for herself and Amos. She wasn't too fond of drinking and had poor tolerance, but on such a feast occasion, she had to join in a bit, right?
Altaïr also grabbed a cup from the tray. Before he could bring it to his lips, he met Karin's gaze.
"..."
After a few seconds of eye contact, Karin sighed slightly helplessly, "Drink moderately, don't overdo it."
"Heh heh!" Altaïr grinned, raising the cup and gulping a large mouthful.
Isis bit her tongue and leaned forward, wanting to pick up a cup too, then met Amos's stern gaze.
Isis pointed at Altaïr somewhat aggrievedly, "He can drink..."
"He's an adult."
"My birthday is just these few days away!"
"That's still a few days away."
Isis: "..."
Although her alcohol tolerance might likely be the best among everyone at this table, she could drink the entire tray and it would only be an appetizer level for her, but with a parent watching, what could she do?
"Order some low-alcohol fruit wine then," Francesca smiled and proposed a compromise. "Speaking of, where are Clawdia and them? I thought Pawdrick had gone out to play on his own, but why are Sajji and Clawdia also missing?"
"Pawdrick took them hunting Rathalos," Amos casually explained.
"... huh?"
Francesca, who knew her partner's capabilities and temperament intimately, was full of confusion.
─────────────────────────────────────────
Right then, the door of the People's Tavern was pushed open.
Sajji, looking utterly disheveled, with patches of fur scorched and burnt off, ran in holding a huge Wyvern Egg, with Clawdia chasing closely behind.
Sajji jumped onto an empty table, glanced around, spotted Altaïr's table's location, and excitedly scampered over.
"Finally caught up meow!" Sajji hopped and bounced, holding the Wyvern Egg almost bigger than himself.
Francesca stared at the egg, somewhat uncertainly asking, "This is... a Wyvern Egg?"
Clawdia, also bearing obvious burn marks, jumped onto Isis's lap, "Yes-miau, originally there was little gain in the nest, we should have returned two days ago-miau.
But Sajji saw this egg and insisted on bringing it back as a gift miao. Then the Rathalos returning to the nest discovered it and chased us all the way, running around for two days before escaping miao."
Taking the heavy Wyvern Egg from Sajji's hands, Altaïr movedly rubbed Sajji's head, "Thank you, I really like it."
"So where's Pawdrick? Didn't he go with you?" Francesca puzzledly asked.
"Senior Pawdrick..." Sajji hesitated.
"Alright, you don't need to say it, I know."
Francesca waved her hand, "Clawdia ended up like this; that guy's skills probably got him half-burnt bald, so he must have gone home hiding. Let's not worry about him, first look at this egg!"
The gazes of the people around the table, even from nearby tables, involuntarily lingered on this enormous egg.
Haifa bit the rim of her empty tankard, "This thing, can only be used as ingredients, so the Guild's purchase price isn't too high.
But sending it to a higher-end restaurant could sell for at least several thousand z."
"Eh, sell it?" Isis seemed somewhat regretful.
"No selling."
Altaïr moved plates, clearing a bit of space on the table, then gently placed down the Wyvern Egg. "Senior Francesca, how do we eat this?"
She was the eldest daughter of a wealthy family, likely having eaten such premium ingredients often.
"Just whatever ordinary eggs can do, it's the same? Add milk for stir-fry, make omelet rice, make soufflé, make pudding..."
Haifa also added from the side, "Had it once before, fried fluffy in hot oil then doused with spicy sauce, also really tasty!"
"Since it's a birthday, let's be a little extravagant," Altaïr smiled and stood up. "I'll go call the chef over. Such a huge Wyvern Egg should be enough to make all the dishes mentioned just now!"
This feast lasted from evening until late night. The massive table full of delicacies, plus later six or seven unusually large Wyvern Egg dishes, and an enormous cake.
Even after sharing much with hunters and patrons from surrounding tables, it still nearly made Isis burst from fullness.
Once drinks were satisfied and meals filled, Amos excused himself as elderly and left first, taking the two Felynes. Francesca also pulled Isis along, hauling away Haifa who was half-dead from drinking.
─────────────────────────────────────────
Only Altaïr and Karin remained, standing at the entrance of the People's Tavern, breathing the night breeze.
"A kind of familiar déjà vu," Altaïr muttered.
Karin didn't respond, speaking on her own, "I and Haifa leave tomorrow."
Altaïr looked at her surprisedly, "So soon? Not staying a bit longer?"
"No, this vacation break has been long enough." Karin glanced at the Guild flag at the Guild Hall entrance. "We're accepting Guild deployment, preparing to station in Loc Lac City for a while. Things there recently seem not too peaceful."
After a brief silence, Altaïr nodded, "I understand, be careful."
Karin stared at Altaïr for a moment, then suddenly smiled. She reached out wanting to pat his head, but seeing her disciple taller than her by more than half a head, she ultimately changed to patting his shoulder.
"Really grown up now."
(Translated by yourtl.app)