Faced with such unmistakable hostility from a Hunter blocking its path and drawing his weapon, the Espinas showed no reaction. It simply continued on its way as though it had not even seen Altaïr.
By the Espinas's logic, a creature as small as a human posed no threat.
Its dismissive attitude sparked a flicker of irritation in Altaïr, but he did not immediately rush in and start swinging.
The wake-up slash from earlier had shown him firsthand just how tough this Monster's body was. Any attack that did not target a specific weakness would be meaningless.
He had only one target: the two wounds on the Espinas's leg left by its fight with the Nargacuga.
Altaïr stepped back a few paces and moved aside, seemingly clearing the way. The moment the Espinas looked away, however, he shifted to a reverse grip, angled his Long Sword across his body, and began charging.
The Espinas walked straight past him. As Altaïr gathered power, he shuffled his feet and adjusted his angle.
The instant his power reached its limit, he pushed off, spun, and lunged.
Charged Spirit Roundslash!
Given the Espinas's absurd defenses, even this charged slash might only barely pierce the extremely tough hide on its leg and leave a minor, inconsequential wound.
But Altaïr was aiming at an existing wound.
The Nargacuga might have been no match for the thick-skinned Espinas in terms of raw strength, but its wing blades, each four or five meters long, were nothing to scoff at. By striking the gash running across the Espinas's thigh, Altaïr bypassed its thick, hard scales and drove his attack straight into the wound.
The moment his blade bit into flesh, Altaïr realized that the Espinas was not merely tough on the outside. The muscles in its leg were incredibly dense as well.
Cutting into them felt like chopping into a thick wooden block. The blade could bite, but forcing it any deeper was extremely difficult.
To keep the blade from becoming trapped in the muscle, he gritted his teeth and growled as he hauled on the hilt, wrenching the wound back open after the dense muscle had pressed it shut and stopped the bleeding.
Dragon blood stained the blade, and Dragon Element energy erupted in response.
As a pure-blooded Flying Wyvern from an ancient lineage, the Espinas's blood reacted strongly to Dragon Element energy.
Crimson arcs of electricity leaped between the blade and the wound, then sank entirely into the injury, searing and corroding the Espinas's flesh.
Under the combined force of the physical cut and the burst of Dragon Element energy, even the Espinas could not shrug off the blow. It let out an involuntary cry of pain.
With his Spirit Gauge condensed by the Roundslash, Altaïr wasted no time. He leveled his blade before him and entered a focused stance.
The Espinas turned around.
Rage flickered in its dark yellow eyes. It spread its wings wide and unleashed a series of deafening roars.
"Gyaaooo!!"
The Talisman on Altaïr's wrist glowed faintly. Protected by its Earplugs Skill, he ignored the sound waves that threatened to rupture his eardrums and continued gathering power.
The Espinas was furious, but it had not yet entered the enraged state in which its muscles swelled and the blood vessels throughout its body became heavily engorged.
The Hunter's attack had taught it that the creature before it was no insignificant animal it could simply ignore. For now, however, it still saw no need to fight at full strength.
That reaction put Altaïr somewhat at ease. He had no desire to face the Espinas's full-power onslaught from the very beginning either.
As its roar subsided, the Espinas lunged forward to bite. At the same instant, Altaïr finished charging and darted in with a thrust.
He slipped past its jaws, and the trident-shaped tip of Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] sliced into the wound on the Espinas's leg once more, drawing a streak of blood.
Instant Slash!
The attack carried Altaïr beneath the Espinas again, and he swiftly followed with two more slashes, both aimed squarely at the wound.
The Espinas reacted just as quickly. Realizing that the Hunter had entered a blind spot beyond the reach of its attacks, it made no futile attempts to strike him. Instead, it lifted its body, beat its wings, and pulled back a short distance.
Altaïr tried to stay close.
Sheltering beneath a Monster and attacking its legs was a common tactic among Blademasters facing Large Flying Wyverns. At point-blank range, many of a Monster's movements became difficult to execute, making the space beneath it relatively safe.
But the Espinas had no intention of giving him that opportunity. It lowered its head to the ground and whipped it forward with tremendous force.
The move might not have looked impressive, but it was extremely dangerous to a Hunter.
Its execution was fast and its range wide, cutting off every escape route to the front and sides. Retreating was the only safe option.
Altaïr forced his forward momentum to a halt. He did not recklessly commit to an evasive maneuver with a long recovery, such as a backward roll or dive. Instead, he caught the Espinas's oncoming horn with a reverse fade slash and used the tremendous impact transmitted through his blade to leap backward, narrowly evading its sweeping head.
But the Espinas's assault was not over. The instant its first sweep missed, it lowered its head again, dug both wing claws into the ground, and propelled itself into another sweep in the opposite direction.
Carried by the momentum of the first attack, this second sweep covered a wider arc and reached even farther.
Had Altaïr used a roll or similar maneuver to evade the first strike, the second would have sent him flying before he could regain his feet.
Altaïr had only just landed when the Espinas came surging toward him. He immediately leaped, twisting in midair to clear the horn rising from below. As he turned, [Heaven Swallower] clashed against the horn once more.
A sharp clang rang out as Dragon Element energy and the Spirit gathered in his blade erupted together. Crimson arcs of electricity spread across the Espinas's shell, and Altaïr used the impact to spin even farther away.
Foresight Slash: Spin.
When he landed again, Altaïr did not dare remain in place. He immediately activated Demon Mode and broke into a full sprint.
The Espinas was said to have formidable defenses in its normal state, but little inclination to attack and relatively sluggish movements.
This was what they called "little inclination to attack" and "relatively sluggish"?!
Unlike the Taikun Zamuza, whose strengths were obvious but whose weaknesses were even more pronounced, the Espinas was far too well-rounded. Less than two minutes into the fight, Altaïr was already under obvious pressure.
The scarcity of vulnerable areas kept him from using his usual tactic of turning defense into offense and creating openings amid a relentless assault.
He could only rely on his superior speed to circle toward the blind spot behind the Espinas.
As he passed its flank, he snapped off a slash he knew could never pierce its defenses. The high-speed hit-and-run attack was meant to unsettle the Espinas, forcing it to turn repeatedly until it exposed an opening.
The Espinas did not take the bait.
Most creatures instinctively turn to look when attacked from behind, if only to assess the threat.
Creatures such as hedgehogs and turtles had no such habit because their backs already offered their strongest protection.
The Espinas was much the same. It showed no intention of turning, and its thick, powerful tail, covered in venomous spikes, was more than capable of dealing with almost any threat from behind.
As the tail swept toward him, Altaïr accelerated instead of slowing. Still in Demon Mode, he charged straight toward it, and the distance between them vanished in the blink of an eye.
The venomous spikes were about to pierce his body when, at the last possible instant, he sprang up, spun through the air, and vaulted backward over the oncoming tail.
He landed on both feet and kicked hard off the ground. Darting away like the wind, he pushed his speed to yet another level.
Blue demon mode activated.
Since he could not overpower the Espinas in a direct exchange, all he could do was push his speed to the limit!
—--
"Oh-ho? At that speed, forget the Espinas. Even a dog wouldn't catch him anytime soon, would it?" From the top of a large tree several dozen meters from the battlefield, Maki watched the fight with keen interest.
Unlike Maki, who seemed to be enjoying the show, Minoto stood beside her with worry written all over her face.
"But he can't maintain that speed for long. Once his stamina begins to flag, dodging the Espinas won't be nearly so easy. Besides, it hasn't shown what it can really do yet.
"Shouldn't we move closer? Then if anything goes wrong, we can intervene in time."
"No need. I never planned on rescuing him." Maki bared her teeth in a grin. "There are Felynes from the Meowcenaries nearby, and they're highly skilled. He probably won't die.
"With conditions this good, how is he supposed to break through and improve if he doesn't cart a few times?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)