"Hyahhh!!" Isis roared, swinging her weapon with all her might.
Initially, she yelled during combat just to bolster her strength; exhaling with a loud shout helped when delivering powerful attacks.
But after receiving basic instruction from Instructor Altman in heavy armor hunting, she understood the importance of staying "noisy" in frontline combat.
The louder and more frequent the shouting, the easier it was to draw the Monster's attention to herself.
Top-tier Tanks like Altman and Fabius, even in their advanced years, still spoke with resonant voices; in their youth, they were all known for their booming shouts.
It was a skill honed in actual combat.
In this regard, Gunlance users even had an advantage over Lance users.
The reason was simple: unlike the Lance, which is purely a cold weapon, over half of the Gunlance's attack techniques came from various shelling attacks.
Unlike the Gunners' long-range shooting, the Gunlance user's shelling often erupted right beside the Monster's ear, hardly quiet at all.
Just like now, Isis was consciously aiming her Gunlance chops at the Duramboros's head, continuously pulling the trigger between strikes, shelling repeatedly.
This was the area around the Duramboros's ear canal. The shelling noise might not deafen it, but it was sure to leave the beast dizzy and disoriented.
After a fierce assault with a Full Burst, Isis planted the Gunlance upright, slammed the buttstock, quickly reloaded, and resumed the strong offensive.
—--
Nymera, the core and sole primary attacker in the team, was maintaining a distance of about twenty meters from the target, firing at full speed.
For Gunners, this distance already counted as close-quarters combat.
The benefit of close-range shooting was obvious: it ensured the Bowgun Ammo wouldn't lose too much kinetic energy during flight, which would cause its power to drop.
The downside was a lack of safety. If the Monster's attention shifted and attacked her, failing to react correctly in time would immediately put her in peril.
Logically, since this was her first formal collaboration with Isis and Altaïr, and they hadn't yet developed synergy, she should have been more cautious and maintained a safer, longer distance.
But considering she had Wirebugs, her self-preservation ability was actually stronger than most Hunters'. Plus, these two young juniors, not even twenty years old, seemed to lack experience cooperating with Gunners; they might easily make rookie mistakes like rushing straight into the line of fire.
Keeping the distance closer meant shorter trajectories and a relatively more focused line of fire, making it easier to handle such situations if they arose.
"Bang-bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang!"
The specially modified barrel and expanded magazine of the Rathalos Cannon displayed astonishing firepower suppression.
Each time Nymera pulled the trigger, the multi-barrel rotary muzzle would spew three Flaming Ammo rounds, bursting into large blooms of flame on the Duramboros's hump.
The moss and dirt clinging to the Duramboros's body were quickly scorched dry and flaked off under the high-temperature burns. The Gunner's attacks smoothly reached the target's main body.
In just a few breaths, all twelve (4*3) Flaming Ammo rounds in the magazine were expended.
As she swiftly changed magazines and reloaded, Sajji meowed wildly, driving his Rathalos Model-07 Cannon Cart into the fray. The cart's pedals were nearly worn to smoking from its frantic stomping, swiftly closing in on the writhing and struggling Duramboros, which momentarily found it difficult to rise.
At this moment, Sajji and the cannon cart obstructed Nymera's line of fire, but this was no accident; they had planned it in advance.
"Meow!"
With a sharp jerk of the vehicle's tail, the Rathalos Model-07 drifted into the space between the Duramboros's two tall, prominent humps. Before the vehicle even came to a complete stop, Sajji forcefully pulled the firing mechanism.
"Thump, thump."
Amid several consecutive muffled thuds, a few mechanical devices emitting sparks were launched from the specially modified barrel, lodging themselves into the Duramboros's two humps.
These were Wyvernblasts specially crafted through the joint efforts of Sajji and Nymera. To facilitate firing from the cannon cart, they were smaller in size and carried a reduced payload compared to the conventional versions used by Gunners.
Due to their non-streamlined shape and the inability to use large amounts of propellant, they likewise could not be fired over long distances, only at extremely close range, attaching directly to the Monster's body.
From the perspective of an ordinary Gunner, such modifications might seem entirely unnecessary, but for Sajji piloting the Rathalos Model-07, it was a completely different story.
The existence of the cannon cart allowed it to carry multiple Wyvernblasts simultaneously, while the cart's mobility also provided opportunities to press close to the Monster's side, planting numerous Wyvernblasts in one go.
As for how to detonate them, that was not something it needed to worry about.
"Your turn, meow!" Having completed setting the Wyvernblasts, Sajji spun the steering wheel, stomped the pedals with full force, and as the vehicle's nose reared high, it "whooshed!" out of Nymera's firing line.
By now, Nymera had also completed changing her magazine. Smiling, she pulled the Bowgun's mechanism, chambering Flaming Ammo, and then directly squeezed the trigger.
"Bang bang bang!" Three Flaming Ammo rounds shot out in rapid succession, forming a line.
The next second, blazing flames erupted across the Duramboros's humps. Under the triggering effect of high temperature and impact, those several Wyvernblasts were successively activated.
It was as if someone had hung strings of firecrackers on the Duramboros's humps; flashes of fire and continuous bursts of explosions lit up in a series, with rising smoke obscuring the Gunner's vision. But this did not hinder her shooting.
She only needed to aim the muzzle toward the direction of the flashing fires and continuously squeeze the trigger.
Nymera's eyes reflected the firelight.
She had always loved the sound of explosions, especially these kinds of continuous bursts. She couldn't quite explain why, perhaps because she was born in the Red Stronghold during the chaotic period?
The Wyvernheart of the Heavy Bowgun was her favorite. Using the Light Bowgun to perform a Fanning Vault, planting Wyvernblasts on the Monster's back and then continuously shooting to repeatedly detonate them, the crackling bursts likewise hit her pleasure points perfectly.
And Sajji using the cannon cart to plant multiple Wyvernblasts in one go, combined with the Rapid Fire of the Rathalos Light Bowgun, multiplied that exhilarating feeling several times over!
At this very moment, a trace of regret even surfaced in her heart.
If only she had met Sajji earlier than Altaïr...
—--
Altaïr had no idea that the Gunner lady they had brought along had, for a fleeting moment, entertained thoughts about his hunting partner.
He was currently focused on attacking the Duramboros's hind legs.
Although in this hunting operation, he had positioned himself as a support; even if he remained entirely on the periphery of the battlefield without ever drawing his sword, just continuously using various hunting items, he could still be considered fulfilling his duty. But as a hunter who had been praised by many seniors as having "an attack desire ingrained in his very marrow," seeing the struggling downed monster, he couldn't help but approach its side and launch a full assault.
The hump on its back, the Duramboros's main weak point, was currently being pounded by the Gunners' shelling. The area near its head was the heavily armored hunter's domain; barging in and distracting the monster would only cause trouble. The tail was this hunt's Subquest; it was best not to touch it if possible.
After looking all around, the hind legs seemed to be the only suitable, or rather, the only permissible spot for him to attack.
*Pathetic.*
Even though as a support, his attacks weren't expected, could even be considered irrelevant, Altaïr's offensive was anything but casual.
The Great Sword's Charge techniques, the Hammer's use of inertia, even a bit of the Long Sword's Spirit Gauge application; all were integrated into his Perfect Rush.
The rhythm of each swing was timed with extreme precision. The thin yet razor-sharp single blade cut again and again along the creases and gaps in the thick hide of the Duramboros's leg. A faint cyan sleep toxin flowed on the sword's edge, seeping bit by bit into the Duramboros's body with his continuous attacks, accumulating slowly.
Swing, diagonal slash, Descending Slash; just as Altaïr was about to finish this round of Perfect Rush, a figure barged into his sword's path, startling him into hastily retreating and turning, nearly wrenching his back.
"What are you doing?!"
"What are you doing, meow?!"
Altaïr, forced to halt his combo, and Clawdia, wearing steel claws, glared furiously at each other.
"This is my attack spot!"
"I was here first, meow!"
Altaïr couldn't help grinding his teeth. "Go attack the torso! There's so much space there!"
"Why don't you go, meow?"
Altaïr's face darkened. "Sword and Shield is too short; it can't cut through."
The keratinized hide on the Duramboros's torso region was over half a meter thick, not to mention the layer of soil and moss covering its body surface and the thick fat layer beneath the skin. Even plunging the entire Sword and Shield in would hardly deal effective damage.
Clawdia looked equally flustered and angry. "Meow, are my claws any longer than your sword, meow?!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
SKILLS & TECHNIQUES
Wyvernblast — An explosive charge exclusive to Light Bowgun users, fired at extremely close range so as to embed directly into a monster's body or adhere to a surface near it. Rather than detonating on impact, a Wyvernblast is triggered by subsequent gunfire or physical force, making it a tool of deliberate, layered attack. A single planted charge is capable of producing multiple successive explosions, each feeding off the energy of the previous strike.
Wyvernheart — A special firing mode available on certain Heavy Bowguns, during which the weapon unleashes a sustained, high-speed stream of rounds in the manner of a rotary cannon. Both damage output and recoil escalate the longer the trigger is held, rewarding hunters who can maintain stable aim under pressure.