A crisp crack rang out.
The feedback through his blade told Altaïr that the thrust had pierced the absurdly thick layer of rock carapace and reached the Monster's true shell beneath.
Yet that shell was sturdy too, and the Monster barely reacted.
"Theo! Are you done yet?!" Altaïr pulled back his blade and shouted over his shoulder.
"I'm waiting on you, aren't I?!" Theo vigorously shook the Maca Alchemy Barrel in his hands and muttered without pause, "Our alchemical explosives don't have fuses. They'll detonate a few seconds after I pour them out.
In a moment, I'll pack one into the crack, and you use your sword to drive it deeper. The farther in, the better!"
"Got it."
Altaïr stopped attacking and waited for Theo to finish crafting the alchemical bomb. A few more strikes would make no real difference. In fact, stopping was better. There was no point irritating the Monster and drawing its attention away from Isis, which would only disrupt their strategy.
Theo soon finished his preparations. He stopped shaking the alchemy barrel and shouted, "Miss Isis! Keep it still for a few seconds!"
"Roger that!" Isis halted her retreat and launched an aggressive assault.
Slashes interwoven with shelling created a fierce offensive that forced the crab Monster to a standstill. It raised its hammer-like limb high, ready to smash the Hunter before it into a pancake.
This time, Isis did not rush to retreat. Instead, she held her ground and let the crab Monster wind up its attack.
The Monster reared back, raising its hammer limb even higher, clearly intent on ending the fight with a single blow.
Isis still did not move. She even sheathed her weapon and waited until the hill-sized hammer limb came crashing down, about to crush her flat. Only then did she hurl herself sideways and roll clear by a hair.
"BOOM!"
The hammer limb slammed into the ground. Countless cracks spread outward like a spiderweb, and the entire cave shook violently. The impact burst numerous spore sacs attached to the crab Monster's rock carapace, releasing clouds of gray-green mist.
Dense fog instantly swallowed the already dim cave floor. Even Morgan, firing from the cave entrance, had to stop shooting to avoid hitting his comrades.
Theo and Altaïr seized the opening and rushed forward.
They were less than ten meters from the Monster, yet could barely make out its hazy silhouette.
Theo practically groped his way to the crack behind the crab Monster. He poured a large glob of gelatinous material from the alchemy barrel and packed it into the crevice.
Altaïr stood ready beside him. He raised his Long Sword and used it to drive the violently reacting alchemical bomb deep into the crack. As he withdrew the blade, he twisted the hilt to keep the sticky explosive from clinging to the steel and coming back out with it.
With that done, Altaïr and Theo turned and fled. Isis, who had already witnessed the power of Theo's alchemical explosives, scrambled to her feet and sprinted away at full speed.
Only the crab Monster, unaware of what had happened, remained in place. It raised its two bizarre forelimbs and released a piercing screech like metal scraping against glass.
The thick spore mist kept Altaïr and the others from seeing anything at the center of the cave. They heard only a muffled, rumbling detonation as a blaze flared deep within the fog. The resulting shockwave swept the spores outward in every direction, finally clearing their view.
A large section of the layered, tower-like coral reef shell on the Monster's back collapsed and broke loose in the blast, exposing the vivid orange carapace beneath.
The house-sized chunk of coral reef rock crashed to the ground with another roar.
Badly hurt by the explosion, the crab Monster staggered as it tried to regain its footing. Without the weight of its rear shell to balance it, however, its center of gravity pitched forward beneath the mass of its malformed hammer limb.
Top-heavy, it toppled forward onto the ground. Its two pairs of short legs could no longer reach the floor and flailed uselessly, leaving it temporarily unable to move.
"Attack!"
The Hunters did not waste such a perfect opportunity. All three surged forward and launched a fierce assault on the crab Monster's back, now exposed without its protective rock carapace.
Their weapons told them that the orange-red shell was harder than the coral reef armor. One, however, was part of the Monster's body while the other was merely a layer of rock, and striking them felt entirely different.
After being hounded and battered for so long, Isis had built up plenty of frustration. Now that she finally had an opening, she went all out with a "Gymnastic" combo against the Monster's exposed underside. Each Gunlance strike landed heavier than the last, the massive blade tearing through the air with bone-chilling howls.
Theo had never seen a Gunlance user fight like this. He dared not come within several meters of Isis, afraid she might cut him down along with the Monster.
Altaïr faced the same problem. Most of the Monster's body remained encased in thick rock armor, leaving only a small area open to attack.
Both Isis's Gunlance and his Great Sword and Long Sword had a wide attack range. If they crowded together, they could easily hit each other.
He was considering stepping back and yielding the opportunity to Isis so she could cut loose when an idea struck him.
Knowing Isis as well as he did, he decided it was worth a try.
"Keep attacking! Don't worry about me!" he shouted. Then he dragged the Tyrant Blade [Solar Eclipse], combined into its Great Sword form, straight into Isis's attack range.
"Do you have a death wish?!" Theo had already withdrawn to give the two heavy-weapon Blademasters room, knowing his own attack power could not compare to theirs, and had begun crafting support medicines. At the sight of Altaïr forcing his way in, he could not help crying out in alarm.
Who would barge straight into another Hunter's weapon range like that? Even a training camp rookie knew better!
Isis was startled too, and her attack faltered for a moment. But Altaïr's words, "Keep attacking! Don't worry about me!" still echoed in her ears. She instinctively chose to trust him. With a low shout, she brought her Gunlance smashing down once more.
At the same time, Altaïr, barely two meters away, swung his Great Sword down. Both weapons struck the Monster's orange-red carapace, splattering crimson body fluid across the ground.
A Wide Sweep would come next.
Hooking the Great Sword upward with his foot, Altaïr used the Surge Slash Great Sword's Vortex Slash to pivot through a sweeping strike.
The Gunlance in Isis's hands swept past, nearly grazing his body, while both weapons once again struck the Monster in perfect sync.
Altaïr grinned, excitement flashing across his face.
Isis swung her Gunlance a little differently from other Gunlance users, incorporating many techniques and nuances from the Surge Slash Great Sword. Altaïr was the one who had taught her that style.
If they both wielded Great Swords, he was confident that his exceptional coordination would let him mirror Isis's movements perfectly, like her reflection.
Isis wielded a Gunlance, however, so matching her movements exactly was impossible. Even so, Altaïr did not consider it too difficult a problem to solve.
A Full Burst followed by a Wyrmstake Cannon would come next.
Altaïr anticipated the sequence. A Great Sword could neither shell nor fire a Wyrmstake Cannon, but that did not matter. All he had to do was stay out of Isis's way.
As Isis rapidly pulled the trigger, Altaïr shouldered his Great Sword, lowered his center of gravity, and began charging.
When Isis thrust her Gunlance forward to fire the Wyrmstake Cannon, he interrupted his charge with a Tackle and transitioned into a Strongarm Stance.
"Wyvern's Fire!" Isis shouted, raising her Large Shield after expending all her shells.
I knew it.
Relying on his extraordinary coordination, Altaïr twisted his body in the middle of his charge and used another Tackle to cancel it. He transitioned into a True Charged Slash stance while using the movement to sidestep and reposition behind Isis.
"BOOM! RUMBLE!"
Explosive flames erupted from the Gunlance's muzzle and blasted a charred crater into the crab Monster's orange-red carapace.
Having completed her shelling, Isis immediately sidestepped to make way. Altaïr targeted the wound she had opened only a second earlier and unleashed a True Charged Slash.
The two consecutive blows shattered large chunks of the orange-red carapace, sending brilliant red body fluid spraying in every direction.
"SKREE!" Repeated strikes hammered into the vulnerable area on the Monster's underside, and it released an agonized, piercing shriek.
From a distance, Theo kept shaking his Maca Alchemy Barrel and stared wide-eyed, feeling rather superfluous on this battlefield.
(Translated by yourtl.app)