Realizing the attack was imminent, Altaïr immediately chose to retreat.
A wide-area discharge attack could not be avoided through nimble movement and agile footwork alone. His armor had extremely poor lightning resistance, so creating distance as quickly as possible was his only option.
Isis responded in a completely different way.
Taking advantage of the second or two the electric charge needed to build before erupting, she swiftly swung her Gunlance, reloaded, and raised the Large Shield in her right hand, stabilizing her center of gravity into a Defensive Stance.
To counter the possibility of various elemental attacks, a Tank's Large Shield generally had heat-insulating, electrically insulating, and similar properties. Coupled with her Basarios Armor Set's naturally excellent lightning resistance, tanking a discharge attack head-on was not particularly dangerous for her.
But the Lagiacrus did not know that.
In its mind, no creature, especially no small creature, could survive its discharge attack.
"Bzzzzt!"
The arcing electricity leaping across the Lagiacrus's dorsal spines grew brighter and brighter, finally transforming into a web of electricity that radiated outward in all directions.
Altaïr, who had stopped attacking and retreated early, got clear of the discharge attack's range.
Isis stood firm within the electric net, shield raised. Arm-thick pale blue arcs danced across the shield's surface, producing a grating, teeth-jarring crackle and a shower of sparks.
Fortunately, the painstakingly crafted Glavenus Large Shield was reliable enough to block the vast majority of the electric shocks for her. The few tiny residual arcs that slipped past the Large Shield and landed on her body also failed to penetrate the Basarios Armor's granite-like plating.
Aside from a slight tingling numbness, Isis took no damage from the attack.
For the Lagiacrus, sustaining a discharge was also an extremely stamina-intensive activity.
In barely two or three seconds, the lightning enshrouding its entire body gradually faded away.
Altaïr seized the moment and immediately charged back in, returning to the front of its chest, one of the Lagiacrus's weaker spots. His Spirit Blade combo erupted like a gale.
Isis, who had finished reloading early and had never left the Lagiacrus's side, launched her attack a step ahead of him.
The Glavenus Gunlance, heavy as a Great Sword, swung continuously, a mix of slashes and shelling relentlessly striking the Lagiacrus's face.
The previous discharge attack, aside from wasting stamina, had produced no meaningful effect, and the two frontliners had fallen back into their previous rhythm of alternating fierce assaults. That infuriated the Lagiacrus.
It let out a low growl, twisted its body sideways, and the muscles in its limbs, torso, and even tail tensed in sequence.
Judging by the Monster's muscle movements, this was clearly the telegraph for some kind of charging attack.
Altaïr, who had just carved a long, narrow gash across the Lagiacrus's chest with Spirit Roundslash, dared not be careless. He immediately stepped forward and added a swift thrust.
This was not out of greed for extra hits but in preparation for the evasion that would follow.
Isis also raised her Gunlance and pulled the trigger on its grip. The glow of intense heat and high energy gathered at the muzzle as Wyvern's Fire began to prime.
"Roar!"
The Lagiacrus, every muscle tensed, suddenly surged forward. Its massive body, weighing dozens of tons, barreled toward them like a moving hill.
A tackle! At the very moment the attack launched, the foot Altaïr had planted for his thrust exploded with power, driving his body into a spinning retreat. Moving almost in perfect sync with the Lagiacrus, he slipped past the heavy, momentum-driven impact.
Foresight Slash!
Isis's "evasive maneuver" came just a fraction of a second later.
Just as the Lagiacrus's body was about to slam into her, the Glavenus Gunlance in her hands finally erupted.
Wyvern's Fire detonated at point-blank range, forming a scorching jet that bloomed into a dazzling ring of fire on the Lagiacrus's shoulder. Had the Basarios Armor's protection not been so thorough, the expanding blast wave alone would have seared her skin.
Even so, the impact of Wyvern's Fire could not possibly halt a Large Monster's tackle by brute force.
Under normal circumstances, she should have been sent flying violently backward the moment Wyvern's Fire discharged.
But reality unfolded differently. Isis did not do what would normally be expected; she did not brace her Large Shield, lower her center of gravity, and fire Wyvern's Fire in a recoil-absorbing stance.
Instead, she leaped backward just an instant before the shelling erupted.
With her feet off the ground and no friction to anchor her, the powerful recoil from Wyvern's Fire propelled her backward three or four meters.
That distance might not sound like much, but it was enough to evade the Lagiacrus's short, close-quarters body slam.
Recoil is, after all, an external force. In some ways, this evasion method was no different from being knocked back by a Monster, which was why her landing was somewhat awkward. She nearly fell flat on her backside and only managed to steady herself after staggering several steps backward.
Even so, it was still a successful counterattack and retreat.
The inspiration for this unconventional "evasion" technique, one that would send a traditional Gunlance user's blood pressure soaring, came from the battle against the Mizutsune a few days prior.
That fight made her realize it was not just regular shelling; Wyvern's Fire, with its even greater recoil and unruly nature, also had the potential to be used as a repositioning move.
It was simply risky and needed more practice.
The point-blank Wyvern's Fire blasted open a massive wound, nearly half a meter in diameter, on the Lagiacrus's shoulder and neck. Blood continuously seeped from the charred, blackened gash.
Fire and high temperatures were the Lagiacrus's greatest weaknesses, and Wyvern's Fire naturally fell into that category.
This risky shot had dealt massive damage to the Lagiacrus.
The Lagiacrus shrieked in agony, its body slithering backward to open a gap of several body lengths between itself and the two frontliners.
But its retreat was not merely a retreat.
A pale blue electrical glow shimmered once more, but it was no longer the somewhat rigid discharge attack from before. It was now using the network of streams and rivulets found everywhere in the valley to channel its electricity.
Almost immediately, countless tiny arcs of lightning flickered to life beneath the feet of Altaïr and Isis.
A prickling sense of danger shot through them, raising the hairs on their bodies.
Altaïr did not even think; he immediately threw himself aside to dodge.
Facing this kind of attack from below, Isis could not exactly throw her shield on the ground and stand on it; she could only keep hopping backward, trying desperately to widen the distance.
"Bzzz!"
In the next instant, dazzling pillars of lightning erupted one after another from where the electric arcs had flickered.
Even though he had lunged as far as he could, clearing three or four meters in a single bound, the damp ground caused the spreading surge of electricity to reach him, still scorching Altaïr with burning pain all over his body.
Isis was in slightly better condition. Her ultra-heavy armor severely hampered her mobility, but it also provided her with powerful protection.
Coupled with the decent lightning resistance of the Basarios Armor Set, even though the residual current she endured was stronger than the current Altaïr had taken because she had not dodged far enough, her injuries were actually considerably lighter.
However, the Lagiacrus's lightning pillar attacks did not end there.
Realizing how effective this method was, the Lagiacrus let out a long howl, and lightning flickered to life once more on the ground beneath Altaïr and the others.
Sajji, acting as the team's Assist Cat, noticed all this and immediately threw a Flash Pod, trying to interrupt the Lagiacrus's attack.
But unfortunately, the Flash Pod that landed in front of the Lagiacrus was struck by the electric arcs wreathing its body and turned to scorched ash before it could detonate.
With his whole body numb and convulsing, Altaïr realized he could not escape the pillar's attack range in time and was about to be swallowed by the light. Then Isis, who was not too far away, suddenly shouted.
"Altaïr! Over here!"
Altaïr turned his head and saw Isis raising her Large Shield toward him. He immediately understood what she had in mind.
Fighting against his paralyzed, twitching muscles, he gritted his teeth and raised his left arm, firing his Clutch Claw at the Large Shield in Isis's hands.
The steel claws latched firmly onto the flame-like ornamentation on the shield. With the mechanism's high-speed reel, it dragged him flying toward Isis.
The pull worked both ways. Isis, holding the shield, felt it yanking at her as well.
She did not force herself to stabilize her center of gravity and stand rooted to the spot; instead, she let herself be pulled by the Clutch Claw.
This let them both escape the dangerously charged areas beneath their feet just before the lightning pillars erupted.
Although the lingering electrical surge from before had left Altaïr's muscles paralyzed and somewhat unresponsive, his reaction speed had not slowed because of it.
Once he was out of the pillars' attack range, he released the Clutch Claw in time while still being dragged through the air and twisted his body to adjust his posture, turning so his back, the safer surface to take the impact, slammed against Isis's Large Shield.
The two of them tumbled together.
"Are you okay?!" Isis, who was largely unharmed, sprang to her feet.
"Thanks, I'm fine."
Altaïr pushed his hands against the ground and stood up a little unsteadily.
The impact against the Large Shield, though heavy, had also jolted his paralyzed, convulsing muscles loose, helping him regain control of his body.
The Lagiacrus was channeling its electricity, just about to continue chasing them both, when...
A plump yet agile figure weaved through the rising pillars of lightning, forced its way in, and reached the Lagiacrus's side.
(Translated by yourtl.app)