After learning that the shell of the crab-like Monster before him was not part of its actual body, Morgan, stationed at the cave entrance, slowed his rate of fire.
Sticky Ammo packed tremendous power, but the rounds were bulky, so he could carry only a limited supply.
Unless he had a clean shot at a vulnerable point, such as its mouthparts or a limb joint, there was no sense wasting precious Ammo.
The situation left him both frustrated and helpless.
The "Piercing Crab" Heavy Bowgun in his hands, crafted from Shogun Ceanataur materials, was widely regarded as an exceptionally versatile weapon. It could fire multiple levels of Normal, Spread, Pierce, and Sticky Ammo, and could even handle the relatively niche Slicing Ammo without issue.
Its Elemental Ammo options included Water Ammo and Freeze Ammo, while its Status Ammo options included Poison Ammo and Sleep Ammo. When necessary, it could also load support rounds such as Demon Ammo and Recovery Ammo.
Ever since its completion, the Piercing Crab had been his primary weapon, and he had never encountered a target it could not handle.
Until now. Against that absurdly thick rock carapace, conventional rounds could not deliver their full power. Even Pierce Ammo, with its exceptional penetrating ability, could not bore through nearly a meter of rock to inflict meaningful damage on the Monster within.
Flaming Ammo might have burned away the fungal hyphae anchoring the coral rock, while Thunder Ammo, generally effective against Carapaceons, was also worth trying. Unfortunately, those were among the few types the Piercing Crab could not load... Damn it! From now on, I'll have to find a way to carry two Heavy Bowguns on every hunt!
While the Gunner racked his brains for a way through the Monster's defenses, the Blademasters faced the same problem.
Isis kept circling her opponent, the thunderous reports from her Gunlance's shelling effectively drawing the crab Monster's attention.
It repeatedly swung its massive, hammer-shaped right limb, trying to crush the irritating creature before it, but Isis circled to its left each time and slipped into its blind spot.
Frustrated by her maneuvering, the crab Monster raised its scythe-like left limb and brought it down toward Isis in an overhead smash.
This time, Isis did not evade. She raised her shield to meet the blow, caught the Monster's scythe limb, and turned the clash into a contest of strength.
She knew full well that she could not match the raw power of a Large Monster dozens of times her size. When it came to technique, however, she held the absolute advantage.
"Haaah!"
With a fierce roar, Isis drove forward behind her shield, then tilted its face slightly outward. The point of leverage between the scythe limb and her shield shifted in an instant.
Before the crab Monster could understand what had happened, its scythe-like left limb scraped across the shield in a shower of sparks, then slammed heavily into the ground beside Isis.
Seizing the opening, Isis brought her Gunlance down in a smashing blow. The strike tore a large chunk of rock carapace from the "blunt side" of the scythe limb, along with a mass of fungal growth clinging to it.
Just then, she heard a rush of wind behind her. Without hesitation, Isis abandoned her follow-up attack and sidestepped, firing a shell at the same time to use the recoil to carry herself farther out of danger.
The huge hammer limb tore through the air past her with a terrifying howl. Had she reacted even a second later, it would have sent her flying.
That was battle. A split second could make all the difference.
Isis's deft evasion left the crab Monster's sweeping right hammer limb to crash mercilessly into its own left scythe limb, which was still embedded in the ground.
The blow carried such force that it snapped the left scythe limb clean in half.
"Skreee!" the crab Monster shrieked.
Dark red blood flowed from the broken end of the limb, and as the rock carapace crumbled away around the wound, it exposed a layer of golden-orange shell beneath.
"It's bleeding!" Isis shouted in surprise. "The body under the rock carapace is orange!"
At Isis's shout, the others turned their attention toward her side of the fight.
Carapaceon blood is red too? The question inexplicably flitted through Altaïr's mind, but he immediately dismissed the distraction.
Taking advantage of the moment while the crab Monster writhed in agony, Altaïr completed his Charge and brought a Charged Slash down on the rock carapace at its rear.
His repeated attacks had already opened a pronounced crack there.
The rock carapace was exceptionally thick at that point, perhaps the densest accumulation anywhere on the crab Monster's body. A massive mound of coral reef rock rose behind it like a cluster of mushrooms, almost forming a turtle's shell.
Ordinarily, he should have avoided that spot and attacked a relatively vulnerable area, such as a limb joint.
But after seeing how laboriously the crab Monster swung its massive right hammer limb, sometimes even having to drag it sluggishly along the ground, a different idea occurred to him.
Every creature had to contend with the need to balance its body. Evolution could not simply bypass it.
Some Carapaceons, however, appeared to be exceptions. Daimyo Hermitaur and Shogun Ceanataur, for example, used other Monsters' skulls as shells to protect their vulnerable bodies.
To counterbalance the huge, heavy shells on their backs, those Carapaceons developed thicker, heavier forequarters. Once separated from their shells, they could barely walk steadily.
Altaïr suspected the crab Monster before him suffered from the same problem.
Blowing apart its entire rock carapace in a single explosion was unrealistic. But if he could blast away the largest mound of reef rock at the rear of its body, its center of gravity would inevitably shift forward. The weight of its malformed hammer limb might even lift its feet clear off the ground.
That would be far more effective than merely damaging one of its limbs.
As both a Hunter and an Alchemist, Theo was exceptionally quick-witted. When it came to knowledge, only Altaïr could probably rival him among the expedition's Hunters.
Altaïr barely needed to explain. Theo had already grasped his plan.
Since his Sword and Shield could barely damage the crab Monster through its thick rock carapace, Theo withdrew from the fight and hurried to a corner of the cave, where he focused on his Maca Alchemy Barrel.
In less than half a minute, he had brewed an alchemy bomb nearly as powerful as a Large Barrel Bomb G.
Now that he had more time to prepare, he intended to make something even stronger.
With one forelimb damaged, the furious crab Monster fixed its attention entirely on Isis. Its astonishingly heavy hammer limb and its broken but still sharp scythe limb came crashing down at her again and again.
Faced with the Monster's enraged onslaught, Isis was not reckless enough to meet it head-on.
She focused entirely on evasion, repeatedly backstepping away from the Monster's attacks while steadily wearing down its stamina.
Before long, the crab Monster was panting heavily.
Unable to catch its elusive opponent, the crab Monster stopped in place, spread its repulsive maw, and began gurgling up thick bubbles.
Isis immediately recalled the Daimyo Hermitaur's high-pressure bubble breath.
If that was what it intended, she was confident her Large Shield could block it. Out of caution, however, she chose not to test it.
For a Tank, stubbornly trying to weather an unknown Monster's attack was a serious mistake.
She raised her Large Shield to protect her front and leaped sideways with all her strength, trying to clear the area directly before the crab Monster.
A heartbeat later, a stream of thick, dark purple fluid sprayed from the crab Monster's mouth. It splashed across the ground and released a pungent stench, clearly laden with poison.
Cold sweat beaded on Isis's forehead. Thank goodness she had not been overconfident. Had she held her ground, that vile, viscous venom would have drenched her.
While the crab Monster kept its attention fixed on Isis in front of it, Altaïr worked relentlessly at its rear, deepening the cracks in the rock carapace.
The porous coral reef rock could not withstand the Great Sword's repeated Charged Slashes. By now, the crack had grown deeper than the length of the Great Sword's blade.
To drive the crack deeper, Altaïr separated the blade from the scabbard, returning the Tyrant Blade [Solar Eclipse] to its Long Sword form. Its hilt extended, increasing the weapon's overall length by another segment.
He raised the Long Sword and aimed its point forward. As his concentration sharpened, the Spirit energy built up through his previous attacks swiftly converged at the blade's tip.
Most Long Sword users overlooked this move, but during the battle against Guanzorumu months earlier, Altaïr had discovered its potential after repeatedly charging the technique before each strike.
Spirit Thrust!
The blade flashed, and he surged forward as though teleporting. The entire Long Sword, followed by half his arm, plunged deep into the crack in the rock carapace.
(Translated by yourtl.app)