Claws and steel clashed in a rapid flurry, scattering sparks in every direction.
Altaïr pressed the attack with swift swings of his Long Sword, but inwardly, he was shocked. The Monster's movements and reaction speed were terrifyingly fast. Its technique might not have reached the level of "Weapon Arts," but it was far beyond anything an ordinary Lolo Gougarf could manage.
Its massive paws, covered in thick fur, guarded its front like a pair of double-edged Large Shields. Even Altaïr's head-on assault could not break through its defense.
Just then, a loud bang erupted behind him.
Altaïr recognized the sound of Isis using shelling to propel herself forward, but her familiar roar of "Hwaaah!" did not follow.
Hmph. She's probably furious.
The thought made even Altaïr a little uneasy. He was about to disengage when he saw the Lolo Gougarf brace its foreclaws, preparing to leap backward and evade.
He immediately changed his stance, bending his knees and lowering his body. Then he thrust his blade diagonally upward, striking at the Lolo Gougarf's face from below.
This Lolo Gougarf was not carrying a cub, so "coercing" it by threatening its young was not an option. Targeting a vital point like its eyes, however, worked just as well.
The Lolo Gougarf instinctively raised its paws to shield its eyes, blocking the upward thrust and halting its retreat.
With his feint complete, Altaïr rolled aside. Isis shot past him like a cannonball, less charging across the ground than skimming over it.
Truthfully, Isis had not yet gained full control over this maneuver.
Chaining a second shelling burst into a charge was far more difficult than launching a stationary "Blast Dash." Even in the Training Area, she had managed it successfully only a handful of times.
Attempting it in real combat was, to some extent, a result of fury clouding her judgment.
Yet anger proved an excellent catalyst. In her fury, everything fell perfectly into place: the angle of the shelling burst, the adjustment of her posture as her feet left the ground, the balance of her center of gravity in midair, and even the timing of her final attack.
Unable to evade the Hunter hurtling straight toward its face, the Lolo Gougarf had no choice but to swing a claw to meet her attack.
Carried forward by the momentum of the shelling boost, Isis roared and swung her Gunlance. Its heavy blade collided with the Monster's massive claw.
It was nothing like Altaïr's deflecting parry. There was no struggle, not even a momentary stalemate. Isis swept the Lolo Gougarf's thick, powerful claw aside as easily as a light branch.
The Gunlance carried through into a broad horizontal swing. At that instant, Isis's feet struck the ground. The spikes on her battle boots bit deep into the earth, rooting her as firmly as the surrounding mangroves.
The large muscles in her thighs, waist, and back tensed. Like a human spring, her body stored the powerful momentum she had yet to expend. Then she erupted once more.
The Gunlance, thicker than a Lance and heavier than a Great Sword, burst forth with astonishing speed, sweeping back in the opposite direction.
With its enormous claws knocked aside, the Lolo Gougarf stood completely exposed. The reverse horizontal slash struck its chest without resistance.
No, it was more than a slash. As the blade swept across its chest, Isis instinctively pulled the trigger.
Full Burst!
Every Shell in the Gunlance's chamber erupted at once. The blade tore through the Lolo Gougarf's thick hide and muscle, opening a massive wound nearly two meters long, while the point-blank explosions left several charred black marks across the gushing flesh. Shrapnel from the blasts burrowed deep into the wound.
"Wroooaaargh–!!"
It was a truly devastating blow. Through the ragged, gaping wound, bone was faintly visible beneath the torn flesh and blood.
"Does that hurt?!" Isis bellowed, venting her anger.
Something sounded off about her voice. Altaïr, who had quickly regained his feet, glanced back instinctively and nearly choked.
The Antidote had not completely suppressed the allergic reaction to the insect venom, and the helmet of Isis's Lagiacrus Armor was not fully enclosed. Her face had swollen badly, leaving one eye squeezed completely shut.
"Fall back and get yourself sorted out," Altaïr said curtly before resuming his pursuit.
Fighting on with impaired vision was unwise. Besides, the Lolo Gougarf was not so formidable that he and Morgan could not handle it by themselves; Isis had no reason to take the risk.
That vicious blow had vented most of Isis's anger. Given her poor condition, she muttered a few complaints, then withdrew.
Clawdia hurried over anxiously and sprinkled several handfuls of Lifepowder over her.
The heavy blow to the Lolo Gougarf's chest inevitably slowed its movements and left it stiff. Under Altaïr's relentless frontal assault and Morgan's gunfire from the flank, it soon accumulated several more wounds.
Thoroughly enraged, the Lolo Gougarf gave a furious roar, lowered its head, and charged straight ahead, stubbornly forcing its way through the barrage of blades and gunfire.
Altaïr had no choice but to evade sideways with a Fade Slash.
This was the weakness of fighting without a heavy vanguard. Once a Monster committed to forcing its way through and leaving, an offensive frontliner like him had little chance of stopping it.
Altaïr was ready to give chase, but the Lolo Gougarf had no intention of fleeing. After sprinting some distance at full speed on all fours, it suddenly raised its foreclaws and shot out a strand of silk that wrapped around a thick red tree in the distance.
Using the momentum of its charge and the pull of the silk, it swung into a high-speed arc around the red tree.
For a moment, Morgan could not discern what the Lolo Gougarf intended.
Was it fleeing? If it truly wanted to escape, it could simply plunge into the forest. Why go through all this flashy nonsense?
Was it attacking? Neither Morgan nor Altaïr stood anywhere near the arc of its swing, and Isis had temporarily withdrawn. No matter how fast it moved, who could it possibly hit?
"Morgan, watch out! It's coming for you!" Altaïr shouted.
Altaïr had not recognized the Lolo Gougarf's true target so quickly because he had more experience fighting its kind. An ordinary Lolo Gougarf would not use this maneuver at all.
He recognized it because the Monster's technique looked uncannily like the spinning charge Nymera often used.
Nymera had used the same method more than once to close on opponents from unexpected angles.
The silk strand guiding the Lolo Gougarf suddenly caught against a large tree, abruptly shifting the pivot of its high-speed pendulum swing. Its path tightened from a broad arc into a sharp curve.
As the pendulum's radius contracted, its already formidable speed surged, allowing it to sweep around and flank Morgan from a direction completely unrelated to its original path.
Morgan reacted just as quickly. He had never seen such a movement pattern and could not predict the Monster's path in advance, but he saw through the display to its underlying principle. No matter who the Lolo Gougarf targeted or how elaborate its route became, one crucial factor would never change.
The silk strand guiding its swing.
Even before Altaïr shouted his warning, Morgan had already ejected his current magazine and replaced it with one loaded with Slicing Ammo.
This type of Ammo was made primarily from Slashberries, special berries with hard, blade-like husks. Once fired, the rounds spun through the air like high-speed blades, inflicting damage similar to a sword slash.
Ignoring the Lolo Gougarf hurtling toward him, Morgan raised his Piercing Crab Heavy Bowgun and fired several rounds of Slicing Ammo with barely any visible effort to aim. They shrieked as they tore through the air and struck the taut silk strand with unerring accuracy.
The silk possessed tremendous tensile strength but was vulnerable to slashing attacks. After several shots, deep tears appeared along the strand.
When the Lolo Gougarf abruptly changed direction and the strain on the silk spiked, the strand guiding its movement finally snapped in the middle.
Just as the Lolo Gougarf was about to ambush Morgan from the side, its claws already raised, it felt the silk go slack. With a startled screech, it tumbled sideways through the air.
(Translated by yourtl.app)