Red Snow [Monster Hunter Story] /english ver.

Chapter 4

"Good thinking, Tess!" commended Donniel.

"Thanks!" she grinned back, "But what now?"

They had to decide fast, since the Blangonga's blindness was only temporary.

"I say we use this chance to get rid of these small fuckers! If we don't do something about it they'll have us cornered sooner than we'd like!"

Tess nodded and was already engaging the injured Blango. Her agility gave her the advantage and within a few swift strikes, the fight was over before it started.

Donniel likewise began his attempt to eliminate the lurking predator. He lifted his lance in front of him and started running like before.
He had to be careful to stay out of range of the raging Blangonga though.

Sure, the flash bomb disoriented it for a while, but that didn't stop the creature from wildly swinging its massive body around.
However, he still managed to evade the chaotic attacks with ease.

The Blango he was going for ignored him completely. Instead, all its focus was on Brandon, who only cared about reaching Runa in time.

It dashed forward on all fours, having seemingly no problem moving through the thick layer of snow. Donniel kept running at it, now curving in an arch to interrupt its path.

Mere seconds before the lance reached its target, the Blango jumped to the side. The beast landed right behind Donniel.
He reacted by turning himself around on his heel, swinging the lance along with full force. The impact tossed the Blango to the ground, immobilizing it.

Donniel quickly followed up with a shield bash to the head, cracking the beast's skull underneath. With two of them dead, the Hunters finally regained the upper hand again.

==========

Brandon ran as fast as he could. The snow slowed him down significantly, but thanks to his friends he at least didn't have to worry about any enemies on his way.

The Blango that pushed Runa down was still standing above the ledge, howling against the wind.

As Brandon came closing in, it set itself up for a jump. But not on him, as he would have guessed, but on the helpless huntress quivering on the ground.

Runa shielded her face with her arms and closed her eyes. She would have rolled out of the way if she could, but the fall on her back had forced all the air from her lungs so she couldn't move fast enough.

Brandon drew his greatsword and lunged himself forwards, with his feet stretched out in front of him. He kept sliding through the snow until he was lying right next to Runa.

The monster's claws met with the hard broad side of Brandon's sword. He was holding it above them with all his strength.

Confused about her still being in one piece, Runa opened her eyes.

"W-what? Where did you come from?" she kept struggling to breathe.

"You can thank me later!" he panted, "For now, just help me to get rid of this thing! These bastards are heavier than they look!"

With every passing second Brandon was fighting more and more to hold up the weight of his blade and the stumbling monster on top.

Runa realized that as well, so she thought of a way to help him. But she didn't know how. Her specializing on the bow rendered her almost completely useless in close combat.

"What should I do?" she began panicking, "I don't know where my bow is and even if I find it, how can I-"

"RUNA!" his harsh voice made her flinch, "Pull it together! I know you can come up with something, just hurry!"

Brandon's words startled her at first but it was exactly what she needed. Now she could concentrate again.

She looked around for a second when it finally struck her. Even though the fall made her drop the bow, she still had her arrows!

Runa managed to lean on her side, so her fingers could reach for her quiver. She fumbled around for a bit until she eventually got hold of an arrow.
She clutched it in her fist, took a deep breath and swung her arm around the sword, as hard as she could. To her relief she actually hit some resistance. The threat on the other side instantly collapsed on the blade.

Brandon used the opportunity to shift to the left and push his sword away from him with an abrupt jolt.
This caused the creature to fling away a few meters.

Brandon lifted himself up, using his weapon as support. This whole ordeal was already straining his muscles, but he hadn't reached his limit yet.

Brandon looked back at the hairy beast, which was trying to get back on its feet. He noticed Runa's arrow sticking out of the monster's ribcage.
Not exactly deep, but still impressive considering she wasn't even able to see her target.

The Blango was quickly up again. It shook itself while letting out a deep growl, before rushing in for another attack. This time Brandon didn't move from the spot. He hold his sword beside his waist, with the sharp edge facing forward.

The Hunter let his prey come to him.

The same moment the Blango went for the pounce, Brandon yanked his sword up in one fluid motion, tearing open the monster's underside.

The lifeless body landed behind him in a pool of blood.