The sonic wave sent Morgan flying. He hit the ground in a roll and staggered to his feet.
His chest felt tight, and his head was spinning, but compared with taking Deadeye Yian Garuga's diving attack head-on, this shock damage did not even amount to a scratch.
Morgan shook his head hard a couple of times, hoping to clear the disorienting vertigo. Truthfully, he still had not quite figured out what had just happened.
How had he suddenly been sent flying?
He had braced himself for searing pain, severe injuries, and unconsciousness, only to escape danger without even knowing how.
Lambert?
When had she come out here? Had she done that just now?
Pulling its beak from the ground, the Yian Garuga turned toward Lambert, ferocity flashing in its single eye.
The burst of "Sonic Barrier" had been pitched beyond the range of human hearing, so the Hunters had felt nothing. To the sharp-eared Yian Garuga, however, it was like having a brass gong struck beside its ear. The sound caused no real damage, but it certainly left the Monster's head ringing.
That single note successfully diverted the Yian Garuga's attention.
Faced with Deadeye Yian Garuga's glare, Lambert felt no fear. Instead, excitement blazed in her eyes.
She had already suffered more than one crushing defeat at its claws, yet she still could not resist the urge to trade a few moves with it.
There was the purple, black, red, and white color scheme, the battle scars crisscrossing its body like tattoos, its lone eye gleaming red, and its personality, born for battle and destined to burn until death.
Every bit of it was just too, too, too, too, too rock 'n' roll!
How could such a cool Monster exist in this world?
Ning-Ning, who had chased Lambert out, stopped shouting about dragging her back. The Felyne stared fixedly at her hated enemy, a strange grin spreading across her face.
She took out the rocket Sajji had given her and pulled out the safety.
"Can that move you just used blast you into the air, meow?"
"Of course. Just strike the ground with it."
"How far, meow?"
"A dozen meters or so?"
"That's far enough, meow." Ning-Ning raised the rocket high and pointed its tip at the enemy. With the safety removed, the warhead would now explode on the slightest impact.
Lambert instantly understood what she intended. A wicked grin crossed her face as she plucked the strings of her Hunting Horn and began weaving a melody.
Just as the pair was about to carry out their insane plan, the roar of rapid Bowgun fire erupted beside them.
Morgan, who had been unsteady on his feet only seconds earlier, had already shouldered his Heavy Bowgun and entered the Crouching Shot stance.
The Barioth Heavy Bowgun could not load Spread Ammo for close-quarters combat, and taking the Crouching Shot stance at such close range was practically suicidal.
Even so, he was a senior Hunter ranked two full stars above Lambert. He could not let a junior risk her life to shield him.
The Bowgun's relentless barrage drew the Yian Garuga's attention back and reminded it of its original target.
Its legs were not particularly thick, but they were immensely powerful. Deadeye Yian Garuga kicked hard off the ground, swinging its head from side to side and screeching as it lunged toward the nearby Gunner.
This time, Morgan did not stow his weapon and flee. He kept his sights locked firmly on the Yian Garuga's head.
The Yian Garuga's piercing screech was almost loud enough to burst his eardrums. The Monster barreled toward him, forcing its way through his fire. Even as it closed in to trample him, Morgan did not flinch.
In his peripheral vision, a figure was closing like a chariot through Deadeye Yian Garuga's blind spot. The cannon blasts and the Bowgun Ammo hammering its head disrupted the Monster's senses. Just as it was about to crush the hated Gunner and tear him apart, tremendous force slammed into the back of its thigh.
For an instant, Deadeye Yian Garuga could have sworn a Diablos had ambushed it from behind. Had it not braced itself with its wing claws, the impact would have nearly knocked it flat.
Isis charged in with Shield Assault and roared as she heaved her shield upward. A Wide Sweep carrying the full momentum of her rush followed, its dark red, horn-shaped blade cleaving through the carapace on the Yian Garuga's thigh and tearing away a huge chunk of flesh.
Immediately afterward, she brought the weapon down in a full-force smash. A barrage of Wide shells blasted several ragged, bloody wounds into the Yian Garuga's flank.
From another direction, Altaïr, already in Demon Mode, cut in diagonally and planted himself directly in front of the Yian Garuga.
He glanced back over his shoulder and felt his blood pressure spike.
Lambert and Ning-Ning stood there, one holding a Hunting Horn aloft and the other clutching a rocket, both staring at him in a daze.
Their actions had been reckless, but their timely support had indeed saved Morgan's life and bought the others a precious dozen or so seconds to cross the battlefield.
This was clearly not the moment to praise them for a job well done. "Get back!" Altaïr barked, then launched a furious assault on the Yian Garuga before him.
Lambert and Ning-Ning exchanged a glance and saw the same regret in each other's eyes.
Now that Altaïr and Isis had arrived and joined the fight, however, continuing with their previous plan would no longer help. It would only get in the way.
The two retreated dejectedly. Lambert wove the melodies she had accumulated into a rousing score and performed it, at least offering the senior Hunters some support.
Ning-Ning, meanwhile, clutched the rocket whose safety she had already removed. Her smile had vanished.
According to Sajji, once the safety was pulled out, it could not be put back. Am I really going to have to waste this precious rocket, meow?
Unfortunately, no one had attention to spare for the Felyne's dilemma.
Isis roared in fury. She swung Demon King Tyrant, heavier than many Great Swords, so fast that it almost blurred, slamming it into the target again and again.
Every heavy blow rocked the Yian Garuga's body.
She was truly enraged. Had Lambert not intervened to break the deadlock moments earlier, Morgan could easily have died beneath that diving charge.
She knew Morgan trusted the others and often sacrificed defensive options to improve the team's coordination.
As the team's shield, failing to stop the Monster and block its attack for a teammate, whatever the reason, was the greatest possible dereliction of duty.
She completely ignored the searing pain of her burned skin chafing against her clothes and armor. All she wanted was to beat the Monster in front of her to death as quickly as possible.
Altaïr's expression was equally grave.
Deadeye Yian Garuga had already identified the weak point in their formation. Given any opening, it would certainly attack the slow-moving, lightly defended Gunner again.
They had to pin it down for good, no matter what!
"Morgan! Fire from mid-to-close range!" Altaïr shouted.
Morgan had been about to put some distance between them, but he stopped and quickly grasped Altaïr's intent.
Retreating to snipe from afar seemed safer at first glance, but if the target shook off the frontliners and came after him, they would never reach him in time.
At medium to close range, the situation was different. A tight formation made it far easier for his teammates to cover him quickly. With no need to account for travel time or awkward firing angles, he could also fire faster and intensify their suppressive fire.
"Got it!" Morgan opened the ammo chamber and loaded custom high-explosive gunpowder.
The earlier ambush had left him drenched in cold sweat. Now he would show that thing what he could do!
When only one Blademaster had been fighting at close range, the battle had swung back and forth. Once Isis rejoined the fray, however, Deadeye Yian Garuga found itself caught between two Blademasters and hammered by the Gunner's uninterrupted volleys. It was driven onto the defensive almost immediately.
Shrieking, it flapped its wings and lifted its feet from the ground, preparing to repeat its earlier low-altitude flight trick.
This time, however, the same tactic would not work nearly as well.
Some Monsters learn during battle, but Hunters learn even faster!
Altaïr did not waste time worrying about high or low hit zones. He broke off his attack, stepped back, and sheathed his weapon to switch it into Great Sword mode. Hoisting the colossal blade onto his shoulder, he entered a charging stance. Meanwhile, Isis raised her Gunlance high with a furious grin.
Ten meters up, and I really can't touch you. But two or three meters? Do you think I have the stubby reach of a Sword and Shield?
"AA Flare!"
Explosive shells burst into bloody craters across the Yian Garuga's soft underbelly.
Realizing the danger, the Yian Garuga tried to climb higher. Sajji burst from the ground with a sharp cry of "Meow!"
"Don't you dare run, meow!"
The One-shot Binder's massive, barbed warhead drilled into the Yian Garuga's abdomen. The rope pulled taut, abruptly halting the Monster's ascent.
Bracing the Gunlance against the recoil from its sustained shelling, Isis pulled the trigger all the way back. At the same time, she drove power through her waist and legs, wrenching the muzzle, now glowing with dangerous heat, upward at the target hanging in midair.
"Wyvern's Fire!"
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