Altaïr arrived with his sword in hand just in time to see the Monoblos erupt in rage, lower its head, and launch a straight-line charge.
He also saw Isis, acting completely out of character, forgo a head-on confrontation, stow her shield and weapon, and run for her life.
Like Clawdia, Altaïr's first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief.
Among 5★ Threat Level Monsters, the Monoblos already ranked among the most dangerous, and when it came to the sheer power of a head-on charge, it was unquestionably number one.
Tigrex, infamous for its ferocity? Glavenus? Even Diablos, a close relative famous for the force of its charge, would never choose to clash head-on with a Monoblos.
The blood staining the Crimson Horn red was not only Hunters' blood. "The fleet has already passed through! Find a chance to withdraw!" Altaïr roared at the top of his lungs.
Their mission was to safeguard the fleet and the participants, not to Hunt a Monoblos. There was no need to stubbornly fight a life-or-death battle against it.
"I'd like to run!"
Already targeted by the enraged Monoblos, Isis dived aside to dodge one straight-line charge, and before she could even get up, she rolled away again at top speed.
The next second, the Tail Hammer, bristling with sharp bone spines, slammed down and blasted a crater several meters wide into the sand.
Had her reaction been even half a second slower, the Basarios Armor's excellent protection might have saved her from being flattened, but she still would have been grievously wounded instantly.
And after that, what awaited her would have been the Monoblos's merciless follow-up attacks.
"Meow!"
Seeing Isis plunged into dire peril, Clawdia immediately activated Beast Mode, climbed onto the Monoblos's face, and clawed frantically.
The Monoblos's head was covered in thick bone plating, and even its mouth was a hard keratinous beak, so Clawdia's attacks could not inflict any meaningful damage.
But the sensation of something crawling onto its face infuriated the Monoblos, and it began shaking its head violently, more irritated than hurt.
Altaïr also activated Demon Mode and sprinted past the Monoblos at full speed, slashing his blade along the way and cutting a shallow gash in the Monoblos's thigh.
Under their disruption, Isis seized the moment, pushed off the ground with both hands, and escaped the danger zone beneath the Monoblos.
Only then did she notice that Altaïr was carrying only his sword and had not equipped any Armor.
In that state, forget the Monoblos, even a Bullfango's charge could gravely injure him.
"You withdraw first!" Isis said urgently. "Without Armor, it's too dangerous!"
But Altaïr had no intention of doing as she said.
He was certainly not arrogant enough to believe he could defeat the Monoblos in such a state, but one undeniable fact remained: without Armor, he was much faster and more agile.
The Monoblos was not a Monster like Nargacuga or Zinogre, both known for their agility; its attacks were always straightforward and direct.
He believed that, in his light attire, he was better suited to circling and skirmishing with the Monoblos. Later, when they needed to break away, that same light attire would give him more confidence than Isis, clad in ultra-heavy armor and still carrying a Gunlance and Large Shield.
Without wasting breath arguing with Isis, Altaïr put a safe distance between himself and the Monoblos, then whistled sharply, calling over Hibiki, who had been circling nearby while waiting for an opening to attack.
"Get her out of here!" He pointed toward Isis.
"Hey!" Isis shouted angrily. "Hibiki! Don't listen to him. He's not wearing Armor, get him out of here!"
Hibiki hesitated, looking between the two of them, but ultimately chose to obey Altaïr's command.
The Palamute dashed over to Isis, seized the belt at the back of her waist, and tossed her onto his back. Then, with all four legs pumping, he sprinted away, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
The Monoblos snapped its head violently, flinging Clawdia off its head armor, and its gaze shifted toward the cursing Isis and Hibiki as they sped away.
Just as it was about to give chase, Altaïr charged in at an angle, stopped in front of it, and shouted wildly, drawing the Monoblos's attention onto himself.
Hot breath blasted from the Monoblos's nostrils. It lowered its center of gravity, its Wingtalons bracing against the ground, while its stout hind claws churned the yellow sand. Its single horn aimed forward, storing power, ready to strike.
Thrown far away, Clawdia bounced up from the soft sand and shook the grit from her fur. "Meow! If you've got some trick, now's the time to use it, meow! How much longer are you going to hide it, meow!"
Sajji, who had yet to directly join the fight, galloped on all fours, carrying on his back a cylinder far thicker and longer than his entire body. He yowled loudly, "We've only got one shot, meow! It's not time yet, meow!"
"ROOOAR!"
The enraged Monoblos let out a thunderous roar. Its Wingtalons and hind claws launched forward simultaneously. Its massive, mountain-like body, more than twenty meters long, exploded into shocking speed and hurtled straight toward the Hunter in front of it.
In that instant, every hair on Altaïr's body stood on end.
Facing the charging behemoth and that crimson horn, which could pierce his chest in the next second, the pressure was no joke.
A single crack in his focus, and even an attack he was confident he could dodge might make him hesitate in fear and panic.
Countless Hunters had met their end that way.
Facing that death-dealing horn, Altaïr certainly felt fear, but more than that, he felt excitement.
His body moved before his mind could catch up, his feet accelerating. The distance between the two shrank to nothing in an instant.
At the very moment the bloodstained horn tip was less than two meters from him, Altaïr dropped low to the ground, sliding feet-first through the gap of less than a meter between the Monoblos's lower jaw and the sand.
At the same time, he slashed his Long Sword diagonally, carving a wound several meters long across the Monoblos's belly.
The two figures flashed past each other. The wyvern blood spraying from the wound dyed his clothes and the yellow sand beneath him crimson.
In that moment, Altaïr felt his fighting spirit boil over; even his senses seemed to sharpen.
He scrambled to his feet, wanting to savor this strange sensation, but his opponent clearly had no intention of giving him the chance.
The Monoblos, having suffered a minor setback in that exchange, turned around, already charging power for another rush.
"Tweee!"
Just then, a sharp whistle rang out from the distance.
Altaïr glanced over. A small crimson Sandship, its sails fully billowed, was racing toward them at top speed.
Asa? Does that guy have a death wish?! Altaïr was about to yell, to shout at him to stay away, when the Monoblos, its attack preparations complete, charged out with a low roar, locking onto him and launching its charge.
"Now, meow!" Sajji, who had seemed to be running around aimlessly this whole time, cut diagonally into the path of the fully accelerating Monoblos.
"Time to show you something awesome, meow!"
He braced the unmounted cylinder against the ground at an angle, then yanked hard on a lever attached to it.
"Bang!"
With a muffled report that might have been gunpowder or some spring-loaded mechanism firing, the unremarkable black cylinder telescoped outward instantly like an extending fishing rod, transforming into a massive Lance a full five or six meters long.
"A Dragonator, meow?!" Clawdia was so shocked she nearly leaped into the air.
Compared to a real Dragonator, this thing looked crudely made to the point of absurdity.
The shaft was hollow and wobbled as if it had no structural integrity at all, while the mechanism's force was nowhere near sufficient, barely enough to extend the weapon's body. It completely lacked the terrifying power of a true Dragonator driven by a massive steam engine, which could pierce a Large Monster's body in an instant.
If this toy-like contraption were used against a Monoblos standing still, its iron-sheet spearhead would certainly fail to penetrate the Monoblos's shell. The thrust would probably not even make the Monoblos sway.
But against a Monoblos charging at full speed, the effect of this "toy Dragonator" was entirely different.
A fragile reed stalk, whether used to stab or strike, cannot harm a person. But what if you hold a sharpened reed stalk in front of someone sprinting at full speed?
It would cause at least a little damage.
The crudely made shaft and spearhead deformed the instant they touched the Monoblos's body, but the immense force of the charge drove the spearhead into the Monoblos's chest before it could completely warp.
The resistance generated as the shaft bent and snapped also disrupted the Monoblos's charging balance, sending it tumbling sideways to the ground.
"Beautiful!" Altaïr couldn't help but cheer.
He knew Sajji had been tinkering with that cylinder lately, but he never imagined it would be a Dragonator.
A crudely made Dragonator, but still a Dragonator!
Seizing the opportunity, Asa steered the small Sandship into a turn and headed their way.
"Sajji! Clawdia!"
The two Felynes, knowing exactly what needed to be done, dashed over on all fours and scrambled up onto Altaïr.
Altaïr sprinted a few steps along the path of the crimson Sandship, and the moment it skimmed past him, he leaped, hurling himself into the hold.
"Go!"
After picking up the one man and two Felynes, Asa let out an exhilarated shout, hauling on the rigging until the sails bellied full. In mere seconds, he pushed the Sandship to its maximum speed.
The Monoblos scrambled back to its feet and tried to pursue, but even it could not catch a small Sandship running at full speed in a high wind.
It could only watch helplessly as the distance between itself and that crimson Sandship grew ever larger.
"GROOOAAARRRHHH!"
A roar filled with fury and frustration echoed across the dunes.
(Translated by yourtl.app)