Red Snow [Monster Hunter Story] /english ver.

Chapter 3

Tess didn't need to be told twice.

After a quick vault down the ledge she was ready to engage, with both blades in her hands. Donniel followed her immediately. He readied his lance and shield and within a few seconds he stood beside her like a bulwark.

Before Brandon joined his partners, he gave one last instruction to Runa.

"You should stay here. From this spot you have the best overview you can get around here. Just do me a favor and keep an eye on the area."

With those words he also jumped down the ledge.

The monster finally noticed the entrance of the Hunters and turned to face them. Before the creature could attack them, they split up, dashing at their target from three directions.

Tess flanked the monster from the left, while Brandon did the same on the other side. Donniel began sprinting straight towards the fanged beast, holding his lance in front of him.

Unsure how to react to their combined assault, the monster made an attempt to escape. It tried to jump backwards to doge the attacks, but Tess was faster.
She lunged after the beast and managed to slice its arm. The monster hissed in pain.

In the same moment a crushing greatsword blow came smashing down onto the monsters back. It instantly went down with an almost silent screech.
Donniel continued his rush towards the beast and pinned the tip of his lance right between the eyes of the monster.

"That... was easier than expected," remarked Tess.

Brandon removed his greatsword from the monster's spine.

"That's what I thought. This can't be it. I think-"

An arrow zoomed right past him.

"Guys watch out! There is another one!" Runa tried warning her friends back from the ledge.

Everybody's eyes followed the arrow's path to discover another monster lurking in the storm, just a few meters behind Tess. It probably would have already pounced on her, if not for the arrow stuck in its shoulder.

Tess quickly scurried behind Donniel's shield, "Shit, where did that one come from?"

"Another Blangonga?" yelled Donniel, "That was not part of the deal!"

"It's not the only one!" Brandon pointed at yet another monster closing in from an uncovered angle.

Brandon almost didn't see that one. It was hiding in his dead spot. Runa should have been able to see it though. She had the perfect position.

'Why didn't she warn us from that one as well?'

Before he could even check on her, he already heard her scream.

A third beast had snuck up behind her and pushed her down the ledge. She landed on her back with a thud.

"Runa!!" Brandon called out for her but got no response.

He immediately started sprinting to come to her aid. He did not get far however, as a painfully loud roar forced him to stop and cover his ears. The three Hunters lifted their gaze to try and locate the source.

On a small cliff above them they managed to find the one responsible. One look at it was enough for Brandon to finally piece together what was happening.

'This is it...'

"That's it guys! That's the Blangonga!"

It wasn't hard to figure out, as the creature resembled the other ones in shape and body structure. Yet was it way lager than any of them.
The fangs poking out of the creature's maw made Tess's dual blades look like toothpicks in comparison.

With a mighty jump the beast landed right beside Donniel and Tess. Donniel was able to raise his shield the last second to prevent worse. The Blangonga overshadowed everything around him. Its size doubled that of a grown man.

Brandon hurried over to them.

"This is our real target! The small ones must be its troop – they alarmed their leader!"

He had observed similar behavior before, on a hunt against a bunch of Velociprey. They also called for the aid of a stronger alpha male.
The same was true in this scenario, with the difference that even a small group of Blangos can become very dangerous when coordinated by their leader.

"Nobody warned us that Blangonga hunt in packs!" Tess shouted.

Brandon looked her in the eyes, "I know. I had no idea either. But we don't have time to complain about that now.
We need to help Runa first! One of those apes got her and this Blangonga is cutting us off! You guys distract it and I'll make my way to her. Don't care how you do it, just hurry! I'm counting on you two!"

Without even waiting for an answer Brandon started dashing for his injured comrade, where he was promptly met with the gaze of the angry pack leader.
Looking at his massive opponent Brandon couldn't help but feel nervous. He had to avoid getting between those sharp teeth at all costs.

But there was no turning back now, the monster had already set its eyes on him, so he kept running. In the corner of his eye he could see the Blangonga getting ready to jump on him.

But before the beast could crush him, a bright flash of light made it flinch.

'The flash bomb – not bad!'