Bouncing once more like a rubber ball, the rotund Zamtrios lunged downward toward Altaïr.
Altaïr retreated at top speed, finally managing to reach a safe distance just before the fat sphere landed.
"Rumble!"
The ice surface shuddered violently again, making it nearly impossible to stand. Cobweb-like cracks rapidly emerged; if this continued, the ice, which wasn't particularly thick to begin with, would be completely shattered.
The Zamtrios was an Amphibian, so falling into the Frozen Seaway was no problem for it; in fact, because it had lost a back leg, it would be even more agile in the water than on the ice.
But if he fell into the sea, it would be trouble. Although he knew how to swim, he lacked underwater combat experience, and the freezing water would rapidly drain his body heat. At that point, he would be at an absolute disadvantage, and his life might even be in danger!
He couldn't retreat anymore. He had to suppress it with an offensive to prevent it from continuing to jump and destroy the ice layer!
Altaïr closed in by taking a circular route.
The ice surface within a thousand-square-meter radius of the Zamtrios had already shattered, but fortunately, the ice floes had not yet been completely scattered. They were joined together like puzzle pieces, bobbing up and down unsteadily as he stepped on them.
Relying on his nimble footwork, he hopped between the large ice floes and quickly reached the side of the Zamtrios.
The Zamtrios currently had to hop repeatedly just to turn and adjust its direction. Altaïr took the opportunity to deliver several consecutive slashes. His target was clear: he wanted to slice open that balloon-like belly!
The blade entered the flesh, successfully carving out several bloody gashes.
Through the sensation transmitted back through the sword hilt, he could feel that the hitzone of the Zamtrios's abdomen was excellent in its inflated state, but Altaïr's expression did not improve because of this.
Peering through the cuts in the belly, Altaïr noticed that what was holding the gas was not the Zamtrios's abdominal skin, but some kind of highly elastic organ.
No wonder.
His previous Spirit Helm Breaker had already ripped a large hole in the Zamtrios's flank; if the Zamtrios used its belly skin to hold gas, it would have leaked long ago.
As for what that organ actually was, he couldn't be sure.
A lung? A stomach sac? Or perhaps a swim bladder? Regardless, the resilience of the thing was staggering, and the surface was covered in thick connective tissue and fat, making it easy for a blade to slide off during a slash.
Realizing that it was turning sluggishly and couldn't keep up with the Hunter's speed, the Zamtrios changed its strategy and began rolling toward the Hunter.
Watching the massive ball rolling to crush him, Altaïr didn't dare be careless for a second.
This fellow's weight couldn't be compared to a behemoth like a Duramboros, of course, but it was at least ten tons or more. If he were run over, there would be no outcome other than turning into a meat pancake.
He immediately interrupted his offensive and used a Foresight Slash to pull back and create distance.
Ignoring everything else, the Zamtrios continued to roll and crush, chasing after the Hunter.
Setting aside its somewhat comical appearance, perhaps this also counted as a type of charge attack?
The few meters of distance gained by the Foresight Slash were quickly closed by the rolling Zamtrios. Altaïr did not choose to counter with a Foresight Slash follow-up.
After all, the power of the Foresight Slash wasn't high. If he couldn't burst the Zamtrios's belly in one hit, he would still be run over. Thus, he chose to swing his blade to the side, converting his attack into movement. With a ninety-degree lateral dash, he cleared the crushing path of the rolling Zamtrios's charge attack.
The Zamtrios, its charge attack having missed, continued to tumble forward for several more revolutions before finally coming to a clumsy halt.
Bouncing in place, it turned around and pried its massive jaws open. As its rounded body spasmed and contracted, it spat a massive glob of ice into the air.
The ice mass traced a high parabola through the sky, plummeting toward the Hunter.
Any Hunter capable of free movement would not be hit by such an attack; Altaïr surged forward a few steps, easily dodging the impact.
However, the Zamtrios's assault did not end with a single shot. No one knew exactly how much ice was stored within its belly; glob after glob of ice erupted from its mouth like a fountain, nearly cutting off all of the Hunter's offensive routes.
Faced with such a wide-area attack, most Hunters would choose to retreat and weather the storm. A heavily armored hunter like Isis, built like an iron wall but slow to move, might choose to stand her ground.
Altaïr, however, chose the most aggressive response possible: he continued the assault!
He entered Demon Mode, his gaze darting between the giant ice blocks falling from the sky and the cracking, heaving floes beneath his feet, his sprinting speed never wavering for a second.
He leaned to the side to slip past a crashing ice mass, then pushed off with his toes, nimbly leaping onto a relatively stable floe just before the one beneath him flipped over.
By leaping and maneuvering in this fashion, he actually managed to find a path, forcing his way through the zone of falling ice to reach his target's side.
The Zamtrios was still spitting ice, an attack similar to a breath attack that could not be interrupted the moment the monster wished it.
Altaïr took the opportunity to circle to its flank, locking his sights on the wound previously carved by his Spirit Helm Breaker.
The originally long, narrow gash had been stretched over a meter wide by the swelling of the Zamtrios's abdomen. If one wanted to puncture this "giant ball," this was undoubtedly the best offensive window.
A Crimson Blade Slash? A spirit blade? Or a Charged Slash?
No. Just as one wouldn't use the edge of a blade to hack at a ball they wished to pop, they would use the tip to pierce it.
An attack focused on a single point of penetration was best suited for the current situation!
Altaïr lowered his center of gravity and assumed the Middle Guard.
This was no high-powered sword technique, but merely the most basic Thrust. Yet, as his focus reached its peak and his Spirit coalesced, his muscular power transferred through his body in waves, infusing this single strike with force far beyond that of a normal thrust.
Within the gap of the stretched wound, beneath the sliced fat and layers of connective tissue, a translucent membrane about the size of a palm was faintly visible.
Without a doubt, that was his target.
As Altaïr's vision narrowed, it felt as though the entire world had converged and shrunk down into that single point.
"Hah!"
Altaïr lunged forward.
There was no brilliant arc of the sword, nor any dazzling flash of light. A seemingly mundane strike pierced straight forward, unerringly hitting the point at the center of his vision.
With a soft squelch, the blade successfully punctured the translucent membrane, sinking in nearly halfway.
As if sensing that such a small hole would be insufficient to rapidly vent the gas, Altaïr gripped the hilt with both hands and wrenched the blade downward with a violent, diagonal tear. Stabbing a smooth, round ball with a dagger can be tricky, as the blade might slip away due to the angle; however, once the point actually pierces the surface, tearing the ball open is the easiest thing in the world.
Altaïr effortlessly ripped a gash nearly a meter long through the membrane.
A white haze of freezing gas erupted from the rupture. Altaïr immediately sheathed his weapon and retreated at top speed to avoid being injured by the blast of sub-zero air.
As the gas rapidly escaped, the bloated Zamtrios quickly deflated back into its original, streamlined form.
With its final trump card played and ruined, the Zamtrios realized things were going south. It used its thick foreclaws to shatter the ice surface, attempting to burrow back into the sea beneath the frozen crust.
But having fought so hard to reach this stage, how could the Hunter possibly let his prey escape?
Altaïr raised his slinger without a second's delay and fired the Sonic Bomb he had loaded before the battle began.
Whirring!
Under the blast of high-frequency noise, the Zamtrios, which was just about to vanish beneath the ice, was sent flying backward. It tumbled onto the ice surface, its entire body twitching violently as if it had been electrocuted.
Without a moment's hesitation, Altaïr charged in front of the Zamtrios, swinging his Long Sword at full speed.
Under the Hunter's relentless assault, the Zamtrios's head, already fragile and stripped of its ice armor protection, was quickly reduced to a bloody mess.
And with this fierce offensive, the Hunter's momentum surged level by level.
"It's about to end," Haifa said from a distance, lowering her binoculars.
The outcome of this hunt was no longer in doubt.
Karin remained as expressionless as ever. "A Zamtrios isn't the type to go quietly. Let's see if he can keep his composure until the end."
Spurred by the threat of death, the blood-soaked Zamtrios tapped into its final reserves of ferocity. It lunged upward, snapping its jaws in a frenzied flurry of bites.
Ever vigilant, Altaïr immediately used a Foresight Slash to retreat, dodging the attack.
Seeing the Zamtrios use the opening to scramble back to its feet, Altaïr did not rush to counter with the follow-up strike. Instead, he chose to Sheathe Weapon directly, dropping into an Iai stance.
"Gah-aoooo!!"
The moment the Zamtrios let out a desperate, final roar, he swung his blade and surged forward.
Great Iai!
This single strike cut the Zamtrios's roar short, carving a massive gash through its gills. Blood gushed out like a waterfall.
Using this to push his Spirit to the limit, Altaïr, now in a red Spirit Gauge stat, did not stop. He followed up immediately with a Spinning Crimson Slash, following the previous wound to completely rip open the Zamtrios's belly.
Dragging its broken body, the Zamtrios let out a low growl, freezing mist swirling around it as it tried once more to form its ice armor.
If it could just solidify its ice armor, it could still fight!
But the Hunter had no intention of giving it another chance at a desperate struggle. Taking advantage of the moment it released the freezing gas, he leveled his blade and lunged forward with a sharp Thrust.
The blade pierced through the Zamtrios's gill slit. Using the momentum, the Hunter leaped high into the air.
A crimson flash flickered, and the blade hacked downward.
Before the frost could solidify into ice armor, the blow split the Zamtrios's head clean down the middle.
(Translated by yourtl.app)
─────────────────────────────────────────
TL NOTES — LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
PLACES
Frozen Seaway — The body of frigid seawater lying beneath the ice shelf of the Frozen Coast. While the surface serves as the primary hunting ground, the Frozen Seaway below poses an extreme hazard to human hunters: the near-freezing water rapidly drains body heat and offers no solid footing, creating a lethal environment for those without the Zamtrios's natural aquatic adaptations.
SKILLS & TECHNIQUES
Middle Guard — The basic neutral guard stance of the Long Sword, held with the blade leveled at mid-height. While not a powerful offensive technique in itself, it is the ideal stance from which to execute a precise forward Thrust, concentrating all force into a single point rather than a sweeping arc.