Red Snow [Monster Hunter Story] /english ver.

Chapter 6

The Blangonga regained its sight and spotted the Hunters immediately.

It raised its upper body, standing only on its hind legs, before letting out a furious roar. The beast then smashed its fists down with full force.
Tess and Brandon managed to evade by rolling to the side, whilst Donniel blocked the attack head on with his shield.
The force of the impact was strong enough to push him a few steps back.

Runa was already out of the monster's reach, so she was the first to start the offensive. She drew her bow and started firing at the monster in quick succession.

The Blangonga flinched, which Tess used to slice at the beast's left hind leg. The stabs and swipes of her dual blades began chaining into a deadly dance that changed its pattern so rapidly; following her attacks was impossible to an untrained eye.

The monster howled in pain and leaped backwards to escape the sharp blades of the Huntress. This caused Brandon to miss the target with his sweeping greatsword . His opportunity was not yet lost however, as he watched the Blangonga fall on its side upon landing.
The bloody cuts on its leg proved to be too much to support the beast's weight.

Brandon quickly sprinted towards the struggling creature. He unleashed the blade from behind his back and burrowed the massive edge into the beast's right shoulder with all his strength.

A fountain of blood gushed out of the wound and painted Brandon's face as well as the snow around them in a dark red.

Brandon flicked his tongue. Even though he managed to get a solid strike, he actually planned to hit the monster's head. Which was easier said than done with the beast flailing around as much as it did.

Donniel immediately followed up with his charge. As Brandon was freeing his sword from inside the monster, Donniel came in with impressive speed. But just before his lance was in range to finish the job, the Blangonga rolled over on its other side, causing the Hunter to run past it.

He tried to make a quick turn to face the monster with his shield in front of him, but it was too late.

Faster than it should be possible for a creature with this kind of injury; the Blangonga got itself up from the ground and threw a massive punch towards Donniel.

Without his shield's protection he got hit right in the back. The hefty impact blew him off his feet and sent him flying through the air.
Donniel landed several meters away in the snow and kept lying there, motionless.

The other three froze on the spot, trying to realize what just happened. Brandon was the first to snap out of it.

"Everybody stay calm! He's got a robust armor, I'm sure he's just unconscious."

He was nowhere near being sure, but he knew he had to keep the group focused on the monster if they wanted to end this hunt successfully.
A panic was the last thing he needed right now.

"Runa!" he called out for his partner, who was still in shock and starring at Donniel, "Runa! Listen to me!"

She finally turned towards him.

"Now's the time for your coatings, you hear me? We need to make sure this damn thing can't move a single muscle!"

As she looked down at her bow she quickly remembered that the metal bar, used to hold the bottles in place, broke off in the Blango attack before.

"I-I'm sorry, but... my bow got damaged when I fell down earlier. I'd have to coat every arrow by myself."

In the meantime the Blangonga had already set its eyes on Donniel again. It was about run after him to attack him once more.

Brandon let out an angry grunt, "Fuck! We have to stop it somehow! You go and put that shit on as many arrows as possible and hurry up!"

The archeress nodded reluctantly, "O-okay..."

Brandon was already trailing the Blangonga, trying to reach Donniel before it was too late.

With shaking hands Runa tried to apply the neurotoxin to her arrows as best as she could.

Keeping up the pace on this frozen summit was getting harder and harder every minute. The ongoing snow storm had evolved into a full-on blizzard by this point.
Along with nightfall coming inevitably closer, it won't be long until it'll be nearly impossible to see your own hand before your eyes.

As Brandon closed in he noticed Tess following the monster from the other flank. But she was still a good bit behind him. At this rate he'd reach that Blangonga first. He fought his way through the storm, but he knew it would be a close call if he didn't pick up speed.

While he was dragging his greaves through the thick snow his foot hit something sturdy. He got stuck, lost his balance and landed head first on the cold ground.

"God damnit! What the-?" he cursed as he pulled himself out of the snow.

He looked behind him and had to realize that nothing other than Donniel's shield caused him to fall over. The enormous force of the Blangonga's attack must've ripped it out of his grip.

Just a second later Tess rushed past him.

"Don't worry! I'll catch that son of a bitch!"