Watching the Vespoid Queen crash down right in front of him with a "Boom!", Altaïr was momentarily stunned.
He remembered the Professor mentioning that Flash Pods were effective against Vespoids, but who would use a Flash Pod on ordinary Vespoids?
Having never seen Vespoids dropping from the sky in clusters after being flashed, he naturally couldn't have predicted the Vespoid Queen would fall so decisively.
But this moment of shock lasted only an instant. Regaining his senses, Altaïr immediately charged forward.
How could he, who prioritized offense, let slip such a perfect attack opportunity?
The heavily fallen Vespoid Queen was still dazed, lying on its back with its abdomen completely exposed. Altaïr, rushing in, naturally targeted its abdomen.
His previous strike had confirmed this area had exceptionally soft flesh, thin carapace and tender interior. Swinging his sword here splattered thick fluid everywhere, giving him a disgustingly satisfying sensation.
Even Isis, who was responsible for clearing the Vespoids, hurried over.
Among various heavy weapons, the Long Sword's burst damage wasn't particularly strong, especially before completing Spirit cultivation. Their available sword techniques were quite limited.
But the Gunlance was different. As long as it had ammunition and the barrel wasn't overheating, it could unleash astonishing damage at any moment.
Seeing Altaïr had already secured the attack position at the Vespoid Queen's lower body, Isis decisively moved to its head to avoid interfering with each other.
She bent her knees to stabilize her stance, slamming her greatshield into the ground like a cannon's spade while leveling her Gunlance, assuming a standard anti-impact posture.
Blazing light gathered inside the barrel. After a brief delay, explosive flames surged out with violent impact.
"Wyvern's Fire!"
"Boom...!"
The blast directly tore off a large chunk of the Vespoid Queen's head carapace.
A sizzling heat canister ejected, assisting with barrel cooling.
The powerful recoil pushed Isis back two to three meters, but she immediately stabilized and rushed forward to the Vespoid Queen's side. Twisting her waist for power, she thrust the Gunlance deep into its chest.
Then, she pulled the trigger again.
Wyrmstake Cannon!
Like the Gunlance itself, the so-called Wyrmstake Cannon utilized technology brought back from the New World survey team. It didn't fire conventional shells but rather an iron stake as thick as an arm.
Driven by mechanical and gunpowder force, this stake drilled deep into the Vespoid Queen through the wound opened by the blade, causing severe secondary damage.
Just as Isis prepared to steady herself and create distance after her burst attack, she heard Altaïr's shout.
"Reload! Keep attacking!"
"Right!"
Halting her retreat, Isis quickly reloaded and began continuous slashing and shelling.
Meanwhile, Altaïr had accumulated enough Spirit Gauge and started swinging his blade at full speed, executing his Spirit Combo.
He finally understood why the Professor emphasized the effectiveness of Flash Pods against Vespoids.
Against monsters unaccustomed to intense light, Flash Pods primarily caused two effects: depriving them of vision and stunning them, disrupting their balance.
For flying or moving monsters, balance is crucial. Therefore, Flash Pods can be used to interrupt the flight of many monsters or disrupt their attack animations.
Even Flying Wyverns are no exception. It's said that large Flying Wyverns like Rathalos will crash to the ground if flashed during takeoff.
However, whether it's Flying Wyverns or land-based monsters like the Barroth they hunted before, falling isn't a major issue for them, they can quickly regain their footing.
Even with their vision still impaired, they can prevent hunters from advancing by spinning with tail swipes, wild biting, or charging attacks.
But Vespoids are different. Their movement almost entirely relies on flight. When they land on rock walls, it's mainly for rest, they're rarely seen crawling with their limbs.
This creates a distinct situation: when dealing with other monsters affected by Flash Pods, hunters must prepare to retreat once the creatures stand up, as greedily continuing attacks often leads to counterattacks.
Yet when Vespoids get up, they remain almost as vulnerable as when lying down. Only when they take to the air do they become truly threatening. The more cumbersome Vespoid Queen follows the same pattern.
This significantly extends the hunters' attack window. The two hunters positioned themselves, one at the head, one at the tail, and pressed their assault relentlessly.
"Screeeech...!"
The Vespoid Queen emitted a piercing shriek.
This was a distress call. If it didn't summon reinforcements quickly, these two pesky creatures might just pin it to the ground and finish it off.
After several rounds of the hunters' cleanup, only about a dozen Vespoids remained. Heeding their queen's call, these last survivors swarmed in frantically.
Altaïr had just completed his Spirit Combo, using Spirit Roundslash to open a large gash on the Vespoid Queen's body while raising his Spirit Gauge.
Seeing the swarm approaching, he decisively sheathed his weapon, ceased attacking, and quickly moved to Isis's side.
Just as Isis was preparing to shell the gathering swarm, she heard Altaïr shout again, "I'll cover! Keep attacking the Queen!"
Hearing this, Isis once again leveled her Gunlance and assumed a brace position.
With Wyvern's Fire still on cooldown, she employed Charged Shelling, emptying her entire clip in an instant to deal massive damage to the monster before her.
Altaïr guarded Isis's rear. Facing the approaching swarm, he didn't draw his sword to engage them. Instead, he aimed his Slinger at the ground by his feet and launched another Flash Pod.
The Vespoids desperately trying to rescue their queen naturally had their attention fixed on the two intruders. As the Flash Pod detonated at Altaïr's feet, over a dozen Vespoids were simultaneously affected, tumbling to the ground with almost none escaping.
Altaïr didn't waste time finishing off the downed Vespoids. Instead, he simply took out his remaining Poison Smoke Bombs and tossed them into the struggling swarm on the ground.
As poisonous smoke spread, the Vespoids convulsed briefly before falling still.
With the swarm essentially cleared, all that remained was dealing with the Queen before them.
The battered Vespoid Queen realized this too. It let out another piercing, drawn-out shriek, whether expressing fury or sorrow was unclear.
Enduring the pain, it stubbornly weathered the hunters' attacks, desperately flipping itself over and accelerating its wing vibrations.
The nearly twenty-meter-long, rapidly vibrating wings created wind pressure that interrupted the hunters' assault. Seizing this opportunity, the Vespoid Queen attempted to take flight.
The two young hunters finally realized their mistake.
When the Vespoid Queen fell, one had targeted the softest part, the abdomen, while the other aimed for the head, a weak spot for most creatures.
Now it seemed clear that the true priority should have been those two pairs of transparent wings.
Destroying just one or two wings would have completely stripped the Vespoid Queen of its ability to take off, bringing an early end to the battle.
But regret was useless now. Bracing against the wind pressure, they simultaneously raised their Slings and fired Flash Pods, hoping to knock the Vespoid Queen out of the sky once more.
Yet whether the Vespoid Queen had truly learned to counter Flash Pods or it was mere coincidence, the violent gusts from its flapping wings easily blew the Flash Pods aside. Compounded by the poor ignition angles, a result of their recent exposure to flashes, the two Flash Pods failed to bring the monster down.
By the time they struggled through the wind pressure to reach the Vespoid Queen, it had already ascended halfway to the cavern ceiling.
Isis raised her Gunlance and fired rapidly, the scattered Shells peppering the Vespoid Queen's abdomen with dark green blood spots, but such attacks couldn't halt its ascent.
It slowly rose near the cavern's roof, turned to adjust its posture, then let out a piercing shriek as it dove toward the hunters below.
"Screee!!"
This time, they could be certain, it was a cry of rage.