Red Snow [Monster Hunter Story] /english ver.

Chapter 9

When Brandon finally arrived he found the Blangonga crying and twitching on the ground.

He grinned when he realized that Runa had followed his call – and successfully at that.

The monster was lying in between the three, struggling to get its limbs back under control. Even though it was incapacitated it still put up a fight, thrashing around with its sharp claws.
Getting close now proved to be even more dangerous, due to the unpredictable movements.

Brandon stepped in before the beast could free itself from the paralyzing influence in its bloodstream. He lit the fuse of the first bomb and tossed it at the Blangonga in a high throw.

A loud bang went off and the creature got shrouded in thick smoke. It didn't last long however, as the strong winds quickly dispatched the dark clouds.
This made aiming the second barrel even easier, which promptly followed.

The fume cleared again, revealing the sight of a badly injured Blangonga. The once white pelt, ruined by sticky blood and scorched black fur.

The explosions weakened the monster significantly, but it still wasn't giving in. It slowly stood up, shaking itself while trying to catch a breath. Brandon called out to his partners on the opposite side of the Blangonga.

"Guys, this is our chance to finish this! Donniel will be with us in a minute. Until then we attack from two sides – Go!!"

Runa and Tess reacted in a matter of seconds and prepared for the engage. Brandon also unsheathed his greatsword and stormed towards the monster.

Tess was the first to reach the beast and jumped in with her twirling dual blades. She grazed its claws, but the Blangonga managed to pull its arm back in time.
It swiftly countered with its other fist, which Tess narrowly dodged.

Brandon came rushing in from behind, winding up for his attack. But he never expected this kind of reaction from the fanged beast.

It seemed like the Blangonga had already seen him coming, as it quickly turned around to stop the incoming blade with its massive hand.

'Did he just block my attack by purely grabbing into my sword..?'

The creature gnarled and licked its fangs as it was staring down the small Hunter in front of it.

The monster's blood dripped down the edge while Brandon desperately tried to free his weapon from the beast's tight grip.

But he was no match for the Blangonga's colossal strength. Instead, it clutched the sword even harder before it hurled it away with great force.
Even though he let go of the handle pretty fast, Brandon still got knocked off his feet and tumbled away a few meters.

He rolled on his back, trying to get back up as quick as possible. But before he even got the chance to move the Blangonga jumped after him, landing on his body with all its weight.

The enormous mass suddenly forced onto his chest made him scream.
Brandon felt a couple of his ribs breaking under the pressure.
Without his armor however, which greatly reduced the impact, this would have marked the Hunter's end right here.

Only the monster wouldn't stop there. It opened its maw, confronting Brandon with his demise, in form of its giant fangs.
Without any weapon in reach, he had no chance of resisting the horrid beast.

Just before the Blangonga could make use of its terrifying jaw, an arrow struck the monster's throat, causing it to flinch.

Usually such a hit would end in any creature's death. The thick pelt and skin of this fanged beast however were strong enough to lessen the piercing force of most projectiles to a non-lethal level.

It still startled it enough to give Brandon some breathing room. The only possible way of defending himself he could think of was the arrow that Runa just fired.

So he stretched out his arm to grab the arrow and rip it out forcefully, which caused a trail of blood in the snow.

He began using his newfound weapon on the monster. Brandon only managed to inflict minor cuts to the monster's face and neck, but it was enough to free himself from the Blangonga's deathly embrace.

When another arrow drilled its way into to beast's flesh, it let go of Brandon and angrily turned to face the archeress.

Brandon glanced over to Runa and thanked her with a nod.

She couldn't help but smile when she noticed. But there was no time to celebrate her saving a teammate.

The Blangonga had set its eyes on her, to finally get rid of those pesky arrows.

It was setting up for a sprint, but just before it took off, Brandon jolted up from the ground, ramming the arrow into the monster's ribcage.

The raging creature roared and slung its saliva everywhere, but continued regardless.

It rushed forward with its maw hanging wide open; its deadly fangs perfectly matching the movements of the fleeing Huntress.