"In your dreams! Fire!"
As Guanzorumu raised its head and drew breath for another roar that only High-Grade Earplugs could withstand, Kane, who had been silent for some time, shouted and pulled the lanyard.
At his command, Nymera and two other Gunners pulled their lanyards in unison. Four concealed Rapid-fire Cannons, positioned on nearby rooftops or hidden among the shrubbery, fired as one.
"Boom-ba-ba-boom!"
Shells rained down on Guanzorumu. Bursts of flame and smoke instantly swallowed its body.
"Roar!" Guanzorumu howled in pain beneath the barrage.
Caught in the middle of preparing its roar, it could not fold its wings over itself in time. In that brief window of two or three seconds, at least a dozen shells slammed directly into its torso.
Its scales and carapace were exceptionally resistant to heat and impact. Even a direct hit from a cannon shell could barely inflict any serious damage.
But there were simply too many shells. Several struck just as it reared its head, slamming directly into the massive wound across its chest and abdomen.
Those few shells struck home and grievously wounded Guanzorumu.
Nearly black dragon blood sprayed from the wound, now torn even wider, and splattered across the ground with a "sizzling" sound like boiling oil.
Once the volley ended, the Gunners followed the commander's pre-battle orders and immediately abandoned their cannon positions.
"Roar!"
Still shrouded in smoke, Guanzorumu loosed a furious howl. One wing swept sharply upward, hurling a storm of wind and shattered masonry at one of the Gunners.
Too late to dive for cover, the Gunner could only throw himself flat against the ground. Countless chunks of rubble buried him in an instant, leaving his fate unknown.
Guanzorumu whipped its head around and unleashed another torrent of dragon flame, this time targeting Nymera.
Just before the pillar of flame engulfed her, Nymera launched a Wirebug into the air. The Ironsilk hauled her onto the roof of a nearby building, and she kept sprinting.
The torrent of dragon flame continued to sweep after her.
This was no ordinary fire. Wherever the dark red pillar swept, wood, brick, and tile alike burst apart in an instant.
With the Wirebugs' aid, Nymera darted nimbly from roof to roof. Guanzorumu seemed determined to track her, its dragon flame following her every step and destroying several luxurious mansions along the edge of the square without pause.
At that rate, the Wirebugs she cycled through could not return to her quickly enough. She was about to run out of room.
A dense stream of fire streaked in from another direction and lashed across Guanzorumu's body like a long whip.
Machine Cannon fire! As the stream of conical shells swept across Guanzorumu's flame-spewing head and the ceaselessly bleeding wound across its chest and abdomen, its body convulsed. The breath attack finally broke off.
Guanzorumu glared toward the source of the Machine Cannon fire. The rapid-firing, highly penetrating mounted weapon posed a greater threat than even the heavy Rapid-fire Cannons.
"ROAR!"
It bellowed an order, and the Egyurasu circling nearby immediately swarmed toward the Machine Cannon, intent on destroying it.
Atop the Machine Cannon's mount, Kane maneuvered the weapon along its track while holding down the trigger. He fired until the magazine was completely empty, then leaped clear.
He abandoned the exorbitantly expensive Machine Cannon and its ground-level track to the flames of the Egyurasu's breath attacks.
Still, the Machine Cannon had fulfilled its final purpose. While those few Egyurasu swarmed the weapon, the nearby Gunners seized the chance to raise their bowguns and shoot them down one by one.
At the center of the battlefield, the Gunners' coordinated barrage not only dealt considerable damage to Guanzorumu but also bought Altaïr and Isis a brief chance to catch their breath.
Isis popped a Max Potion into her mouth.
These small pills, far more potent than ordinary Potions, were rare and expensive. Under normal circumstances, Isis and the others could scarcely afford them, and even having the money did not guarantee they could find a supplier.
This time, to intercept Guanzorumu, the mustachioed Guild Master had released the warehouse's entire stock, distributing the Max Potions as Supply Items to the Hunters fighting on the front lines.
Their high price was justified. Once Isis crunched and swallowed the Max Potion, the internal bleeding, concussive injuries, muscle bruising, and other damage she had suffered while forcibly blocking Guanzorumu's Claw Swipe healed in remarkably little time. Even her stamina recovered significantly.
Isis bared her teeth, then immediately downed a bottle of Mega Armorskin. She swung her Gunlance around, reloaded swiftly, and charged at Guanzorumu once more.
Altaïr was already far ahead of her.
More than ten seconds earlier, while Guanzorumu had its attention fixed on Nymera and was unleashing a sustained torrent of dragon flame, Altaïr had recognized the perfect opening.
Altaïr ignored the Machine Cannon shells screaming overhead. A single shot straying off target could send him straight to hell. He ducked low, circled through Guanzorumu's blind spot, and reached its flank.
That was also where the massive claw wound ended.
From there, he could clearly see the torn scales and hide, the exposed dark red muscle, and the dragon blood, so dark it was almost black, seeping steadily from the wound.
If Guanzorumu would only stand still for three to five seconds, he would immediately shift his weapon into Great Sword form and ready a Charged Slash.
That was plainly impossible, so he gripped his Long Sword in a reverse hold and settled into its charging stance instead.
A Long Sword could not build nearly as much power as a Great Sword, but it required less preparation and offered greater flexibility.
The instant Guanzorumu roared its command and the Egyurasu swarmed toward the Machine Cannon, Altaïr knew his chance to strike had come.
Channeling every ounce of strength in his body and what little Spirit Gauge he had accumulated into the blade, Altaïr gave a low shout and shot forward in a blur.
The strangely shaped blade cut diagonally through the wound in Guanzorumu's abdomen, spraying blood as it reacted to the unique energy coursing through the Elder Dragon's body.
An unprecedented surge of Dragon Element energy erupted from Tyrant Blade [Solar Eclipse], staining the arc of the Charged Spirit Roundslash an ominous dark crimson.
"Roar!"
A pained howl tore from Guanzorumu.
Even with Dragon Element energy erupting inside the wound, an attack of this caliber could not seriously injure it.
Still, it was like dragging a small knife coated in salt through an open wound. It hurt badly.
Guanzorumu's keen senses had detected Altaïr's stealthy approach long before, but it simply had not considered him worth its attention.
To Guanzorumu, the Machine Cannon's fearsome rate of fire and power made it the first threat that had to be eliminated.
It had never expected such an unremarkable little creature's scratch to sting so badly.
Enraged, it wheeled around to strike the annoying little creature, but Isis charged in from another direction with her Gunlance and shield braced.
This time, Isis gave no battle cry. She reached Guanzorumu's chest in silence, drove the blade beneath her Gunlance's muzzle into its wound, and activated Wyvern's Fire at the same instant.
Terrifying energy gathered in the Gunlance's muzzle. Sensing the danger, Guanzorumu started to turn on Isis, but Altaïr immediately entered Demon Mode and assaulted its flank with everything he had, trying to buy her a little time.
Any ordinary monster would have been trapped between attacks from the front and rear.
But this was an Elder Dragon! Guanzorumu opened its bloodstained maw and prepared to wash the ground in dragon flame, spreading the blaze to incinerate both annoying little creatures.
Suddenly, a series of dazzling shots streaked in and converged on its head. The other Machine Cannon had opened fire!
Nymera stood at the source of the barrage, covered in soot, her clothing scorched black along much of the hem, steadily keeping the Machine Cannon on target.
Armor-piercing shells poured out at a terrifying rate of nearly ten rounds per second, forcibly interrupting Guanzorumu's breath attack.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat," she murmured softly as she fired.
It was a habit she had "inherited" from her teacher.
Under this timely covering fire, Altaïr decisively shifted his stance, completed an entire Spirit Blade Combo, and used the Spirit Roundslash to rush straight to Guanzorumu's front.
Isis also seized the opening to unleash the immensely powerful Wyvern's Fire, forcing Guanzorumu back half a step and leaving a fresh patch of scorched, reddened wounds across its chest.
Thoroughly enraged, Guanzorumu raised its head to the sky and loosed a prolonged howl.
Several Egyurasu immediately dove toward the Machine Cannon, using their bodies to block the bright lines of fire.
Another four or five Egyurasu rushed to Guanzorumu's side. They opened their mouths in unison with it, trapping the two Hunters before it in a web of intersecting pillars of flame.
At the sight, Kane forced a Supernova from his Heavy Bowgun before it had cooled, hoping to interrupt the breath attacks of Guanzorumu and the Egyurasu swarm.
"Second reserve team! Push forward!" Kane flung out an arm, forcing the words through gritted teeth.
Those were two outstanding young talents who had both reached 5★ at only twenty years old. Barring any accidents, they were all but certain to reach High Rank, and now their lives hung in the balance.
He had no time to check on the wounded. The battle was still raging.
(Translated by yourtl.app)