Before this, three Arbiter Estrellian Subspecies had already been dealt with one after another.
The first to appear and be intercepted by Serl, the one Altaïr hunted down, and the one that was lured away by Nymera, then met Dawn's group and was taken down with their combined efforts.
So when facing this Monster, none of the Hunters could be considered unfamiliar with it anymore.
Olivia slammed a Charged Brutal Upswing into the chin of one of them, knocking its head high and far back.
Serl seized the opening with a Sliding Slash, slipping beneath the Estrellian Subspecies' neck and arriving under its body.
Though this Estrellian Subspecies' legs were tall enough that he couldn't quite stand fully upright beneath it, Serl didn't care. His Sword and Shield flashed in rapid slashes, carving wound after wound across the creature's vulnerable chest and belly.
The Estrellian Subspecies tried to lower its head and snap at him, but Olivia hammered it again, battering it into a dazed stupor.
While his two Blademaster companions kept the target suppressed, Brandley dropped into his Crouching Shot stance, hooked in the ammo belt, and worked the bolt to chamber a round. An instant later, countless spread ammo shards fell like a rainstorm, blanketing the target's back.
These fine shards might not inflict severe damage on the target itself, but they were shredding the wing membranes extending from the Estrellian Subspecies' body with terrifying efficiency.
The Estrellian Subspecies could use those wings to assist its movements. He deliberately focused his fire on destroying the wings on one side of its body, aiming to disrupt its balance.
Elsewhere, Isis bellowed a battle cry, "Hyaaaah!", ready to meet the other Estrellian Subspecies, only to discover that an armor-clad Lance user uncle, armored even heavier than her, had actually outrun her there.
Dawn reached the target first, planted himself right in front of it, and jabbed three rapid thrusts at its head, successfully drawing its attention.
"Old girl Isis! We'll be taking this one!" The boisterous Great Sword user Niro taunted as he shifted into a charging stance, somehow still having the composure to tease her.
Isis puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
The Light Bowgun user Heath was nowhere near as lively. He glanced at Altaïr and Nymera. "You two just came through a bitter fight. Catch your breath. Leave this to us."
Altaïr gave a small nod, checking his forward momentum.
He knew the intention was kindly meant. More importantly, having two squads gang up on the same Estrellian Subspecies would almost certainly lead to them getting in each other's way. It was better to do as Senior Heath suggested and take a brief rest.
Calling back Isis, who was still itching to charge in, the three withdrew to a safer distance. Altaïr retrieved his Whetstone and began honing his blade.
His Seregios set could indeed provide some sharpening effect, but it couldn't fully replace a Whetstone. That he'd only now drawn his Whetstone for the first time this entire operation was already impressive testament to its effectiveness.
Isis seemed restless.
Even before they'd set out, just the thought of her comrades fighting Monsters while she'd be stuck at camp playing with Estrellian hatchlings had made every muscle in her body itch.
The entire way here, she'd worked herself up into a full head of steam, ready to show her stuff the moment they hit the ground.
Now, having retreated for a breather before she'd so much as slashed a single blade or fired a single shell, she felt fit to burst from bottled-up energy.
But could she just drag Altaïr and the others straight back into the fight by force? That also seemed... not right. Altaïr's Armor was soaked through with Monster blood, and Nymera, too, looked battered and worn from the bitter struggle; they needed a moment to catch their breath.
Isis raised her shield to stand guard for her companions, her gaze turning toward the center of the battlefield.
Under the Hunters' cover, Fabius and the defense force knights advanced smoothly to the side of the Apex Estrellian.
Though past sixty, Fabius still stood tall and powerfully built, facing the Apex Estrellian's head alone. At nearly two meters in height, he still didn't reach the height of one of the beast's forelegs, yet he was like a reef in a vast sea, standing immovable as a mountain against the Apex Estrellian's onslaught.
As for those defense force knights, their attack pattern left Isis somewhat baffled.
They were all "crowding" against the left flank of the Apex Estrellian. Four knights raised shields and braced their Lances, charging forward with a roar in unison.
They were like a steel war chariot at full speed, slamming violently into the Apex Estrellian's side flank. Even a creature of its sheer bulk couldn't help but stagger from the impact.
The knights who delivered the blow did not linger in combat, immediately withdrawing to either side, as another pair of knights rushed in close and struck with yet another full-force impact.
The two squads of heavy-armored knights repeated these charges again and again. While they couldn't knock their target over for the moment, nor did it look like they were dealing any effective damage, their actions made the Apex Estrellian extremely uncomfortable, its footing unsteady as it roared repeatedly.
It tried to turn its head to attack those knights, but Fabius's Lance struck out instantly in a continuous flurry.
The needle-like tip thrust with lethal precision, aimed straight for the Apex Estrellian's eyes. If the beast failed to evade, that single thrust would blind one eye.
The Apex Estrellian was forced to break off its offensive, jerking its head aside so that Fabius's thrust skidded past the protruding carapace of its head.
Fabius struck out again with a string of thrusts, each one aimed unerringly at its eye sockets, nostrils, throat, and other vitals, making it utterly impossible for the Apex Estrellian to tear its gaze away from the Old Hunter before it.
The knights' charges continued, but just as the Apex Estrellian steadied its center of gravity to brace against the impacts, their attack target suddenly shifted.
Two knights bellowed as they slammed into its hind leg and followed through instantly with thrusts from their Lances.
The Apex Estrellian howled in pain, instinctively lifting its rear foot to kick out and send those two knights flying. Yet the very moment it lifted its leg, the other knights, long since prepared, launched a simultaneous full-force charge.
At the exact same moment, Fabius at the front dropped his center of gravity, drew his Lance back behind him into a Charge, and spiraling fighting spirit coiled around the weapon's shaft. In the next heartbeat, he thrust forward with explosive force.
Corkscrew Jab!
Amid the raging torrent of air like a tornado, the tip drove straight into the tip of the Apex Estrellian's snout. The dark gray carapace shattered under the blow, the tremendous impact forcing its head to reel back. The knights' impacts arrived at the same instant, utterly destroying what was already the Apex Estrellian's precarious balance.
Howling, the Apex Estrellian toppled over onto the ground.
But such a fall would not last long. The Apex Estrellian's physical condition was still excellent, and its quadrupedal body structure allowed it to regain balance and rise in the shortest possible time, meaning the attack window left for Fabius and the knights would be extremely brief.
Isis felt the urge to teleport straight over and unleash a full "Gymnastic" routine right then and there. But what she witnessed next left her utterly stunned. Instead of seizing this hard-won opportunity to attack, the defense force knights led by Fabius immediately pulled back, retreating at full speed to put distance between themselves and the Apex Estrellian.
Why would they do that?
The next second, a thunderous roar from the sky gave her the answer.
From the large airship circling at low altitude, Heavy Ballistas, Cannons, and Machine Cannons all opened fire at once.
Fully forged from steel, heavy ballista bolts as thick as a wrist, devastating Crag Cannon Shells, and Machine Cannons capable of shredding a Rathalos's wing membrane in an instant, all of it poured down upon the fallen Apex Estrellian.
The Apex Estrellian, just about to rise, was blasted right back down. Searing shrapnel and carapace fragments stained with blood flew in every direction. Continuous bursts of fire engulfed its body, and deafening explosions swept across the entire forest battlefield.
Altaïr, who had just finished sharpening his blade and was putting away his Whetstone, stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open.
He had been wondering: Lord Fabius brought two squads of defense force knights, nine Lances in total. That was an insane level of defense, but what about the offensive side? Were they supposed to poke the Apex Estrellian to death bit by bit with those Lances?
As it turned out, the sole purpose of these heavily armored knights was to topple the Apex Estrellian, buying firing time for the heavy firepower aboard the large airship.
The young Hunter finally understood. Both Guild Knights and defense force knights carried the title of "knight," but unlike people like Olivia, who only held the knight title while actually being Hunters serving directly under the Guild...
The Defense Corps was more military in nature. Their tactics were fundamentally different from those of a Hunt.
Cannons and other heavy firepower were immensely powerful, but reloading them was also cumbersome. After the volley, the barrage momentarily ceased.
As the flames and smoke cleared, the Apex Estrellian slowly rose. Its body was covered in craters and scorch marks, its carapace shattered in multiple places.
It might have looked battered, but its Spirit had by no means declined. Brilliant, blinding energy radiance flared from the gaps in its carapace, from its wings, and even from its pupils.
"GROOOOAAARRR–!!!"
The dragon, brimming with destructive menace, roared at the sky. A peculiar energy fluctuation swept out in all directions along with that rage-filled bellow.
Altaïr looked up in shock.
The lingering Spirit Gauge, accumulated over the course of the battle and not yet fully dissipated, suddenly vanished, snuffed out in an instant.
PS: The Arbiter Estrellian does have the ability to drain Spirit, but specifically the Arts Gauge (the bar you fill up to unleash Hunter Arts). This has been loosely adapted here into it draining all fighting-spirit-type energy.
(Translated by yourtl.app)