It wasn't just Altaïr who froze. The Hunters present, especially the Blademasters, wore expressions of disbelief and shock.
In an instant, the fighting spirit within them had dissipated.
When it comes to fighting spirit, most people's impressions linger on weapons with very obvious external manifestations, like the Spirit Gauge of the Long Sword or the Demon Mode of the Dual Blades.
In reality, as long as a Hunter has made their way, they've basically mastered the techniques of fighting spirit application. The Charge of the Great Sword and Hammer, the Perfect Rush of the Sword and Shield, the elemental attack of the Charge Blade, and so on, all involve the use of fighting spirit.
Even the Lance, a Defense-type weapon that appears "simple and unadorned," is no exception. The spiral thrust Fabius just used to force the Apex Estrellian into a clear stagger is a highly advanced fighting spirit technique; calling it a "Hunter Art" outright would not be an issue at all.
Otherwise, trying to battle Large Monsters tens or even hundreds of times one's own size with muscle strength alone probably wouldn't be so easy.
Yet just moments ago, the fighting spirit vanished.
The unease and terror this abnormal change brought to the Hunters was almost no less than discovering in the blink of an eye that the Armor on their bodies had disappeared.
After a brief moment of panic, Altaïr took a deep breath and attempted to enter Demon Mode.
The next second, the blood-red aura characteristic of Demon Mode blazed up from his body. He quickly and carefully sensed within himself, detecting no obvious abnormalities.
This let him breathe a long sigh of relief, and he hurried to loudly relay his findings to his companions.
"Re-refine your fighting spirit!"
The Blademasters, having received this reminder, tried it one after another, finally settling their nerves somewhat.
As the most senior, and also the most powerful, of all the Hunters, no, all the combat personnel present, though Fabius was encountering this situation for the first time as well, his wealth of experience allowed him to instantly judge the situation and devise a strategy to deal with it.
Disregarding the danger, he strode forward to face the enraged Apex Estrellian, recapturing the massive creature's attention, all while roaring: "It can plunder energy! Including fighting spirit! Don't draw out too much at once!"
This statement was phrased very succinctly, even a bit vaguely, but no one present was a greenhorn who had just picked up a weapon; they immediately understood his meaning.
In a nutshell, use sparingly the accumulation-type techniques, or moves that require refining and condensing a large amount of fighting spirit at once; they would be absorbed by the Apex Estrellian.
This caused Altaïr's expression to darken.
His specialty lay in his extraordinary coordination. This coordination wasn't just reflected in muscle control, but equally in the manipulation of internal energies like fighting spirit.
That was why he could pull off the Demon Mode Crimson Slash and the Long Sword Blue Demon awakening, operations that normal Hunters saw as a complete mess.
For the vast majority of Hunters, the Long Sword's Spirit Gauge is Spirit Gauge, and the Dual Blades' demonic aura is demonic aura, but for him, they could be interchanged.
Thus, the several types of weapons he excelled in were all types that demanded both muscular fitness and the quality of one's aura, in order to maximize his talent.
And the Long Sword and Dual Blades he used most often placed an uncommon emphasis on the application of "Spirit." At its core, opening the Spirit Gauge with the Long Sword is about accumulating and repeatedly refining sword aura, while Demon Mode uses an internal burst of energy to enhance mobility.
And the Apex Estrellian's ability to drain energy completely shuts down these two weapons.
Imagine a Long Sword that can't raise the Spirit Gauge, can't even execute a Spirit Blade slash, and Dual Blades that can't enter Demon Mode.
His combat strength wouldn't just drop by a notch or two.
Isis saw his unease, bent her arm, and patted her biceps. "Relax! It doesn't affect me much. Whatever attack power you're lacking, I'll make up for it!"
The corner of Altaïr's eye twitched. True enough, unless the energy was drained right in the middle of charging a Wyvern's Fire, the Apex Estrellian's ability really didn't have much impact on this guy.
"Keep up the attack!" Fabius, who was pinning down the Apex Estrellian head-on, shouted again.
The defense force knights who had scattered earlier regrouped around the target. Since Lord Fabius hadn't issued new tactical orders, it meant they would continue with the previous plan.
The defense force knights began their rotating charges once more. They didn't need to concern themselves with offensive matters; as long as they could force the target to stumble or expose an obvious opening, the heavy weapons on the Airship would handle everything.
The Apex Estrellian's behavior was almost identical to before: equally unable to defend both head and tail, equally jostled and swaying from the knights' charges, as if about to topple at any moment.
This situation lifted the knights' spirits. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they forced the Apex Estrellian to stumble again.
Only Fabius felt a certain unease growing within him.
Estrellian are highly intelligent. Against such a Monster, could the same tactic really work repeatedly? The answer is yes, but with a condition: the opponent lacks combat experience.
Even if it recognized the pattern, it couldn't find a way to break through.
But this massive Apex Estrellian lacked combat experience? Fabius would never believe that. From the countless times it had evaded his precise thrusts with minimal movement, it was clear this creature had ample combat experience.
Was it using the time to think up a countermeasure? Or was it... putting on an act?
Fabius couldn't be sure and could only shout a warning to his subordinates. "Stay sharp! This one isn't so easy to deal with!"
The defense force knights acknowledged in unison, tightening their formation to cover one another if the enemy counterattacked.
A glint of light flickered in the depths of the Apex Estrellian's eyes. Fabius, his unease surging to an extreme, couldn't help but roar, "Prepare to defend!"
Sure enough, the Apex Estrellian, which had seemed on the verge of collapse a second earlier, suddenly spread its limbs wide and steadied itself.
It drew its body inward, then raised its head high and let out a long, drawn-out howl, almost like the cry of a wolf.
The energy glow flowing through the gaps in its armor grew brighter and brighter. The next moment, a shockingly intense burst of energy erupted, transforming into a bright crimson energy tide that swept outward in an expanding ring.
Thanks to Fabius's timely warning, all the knights braced for impact, raising their Large Shields, lowering their centers of gravity, and anchoring their defense.
Yet against the Apex Estrellian's energy tide attack, such preparations were utterly meaningless. As the crimson radiance engulfed them like a tsunami, the heavily armored knights were flung away one after another.
Even their Alloy Large Shields and heavy armor could not withstand the corrosive force of that energy. Dark red arcs of electricity danced across the surface of their plate, then sank into it.
Only Fabius remained, still holding his Large Shield aloft, standing firm amidst the surging energy tide.
Having wielded the Lance his entire life, his defensive skill was leagues beyond those young defense force knights. And the weapon in his hands played an equally decisive role.
Forged primarily from super alloy harvested from a Hyper state Uragaan, with the addition of materials from multiple High Threat Level Monsters such as Gold Rathian and Rajang, this Lost Babel possessed a level of durability and energy resistance no ordinary Lance could hope to match.
It was this very Lance, which had accompanied him through half a lifetime and blocked the breath attacks of Elder Dragon species more than once, that shielded him from this terrifyingly powerful energy tide attack.
When the tsunami-like wave of horrific energy finally dissipated, the knights lay scattered across the ground. Two fully-manned squads of defense force knights had been wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Unleashing such an attack had cost the Apex Estrellian dearly. It seemed to have expelled all its energy in a single, explosive burst. The radiance spilling from its dragon eyes grew dim, and those flamboyant wings retreated back within the seams of its shell.
Fabius lowered the Large Shield before him, his expression terrifyingly grim.
A puff of hot breath slowly escaped his prominent nose, and from the depths of his broad chest came a low rumbling, like the growl of a Rajang.
He braced his Lance and continued advancing toward his target.
A short distance away, Isis and Nymera's gazes fell upon Altaïr.
After a few seconds of silence, Altaïr let out a soft breath. "Sajji, Clawdia, and Hibiki, head over and rescue the wounded. Right now, we're the only ones left who can support Lord Fabius. We'll go help."