The term "fighting spirit" covers the usable energy within the body. It can heighten physical abilities and strengthen attacks while also producing a wide variety of effects.
It can manifest in many forms: a Long Sword user's Spirit Gauge, a Dual Blades user's Demon Mode, Beast Soul Possession, the spiraling air around a Lance user's shield during a shield charge, and more.
For Hunters, especially Blademasters, to clash and wrestle head-on with Monsters dozens or even hundreds of times their size, the few thousand kilograms of force their muscles could exert would never be enough. The use of fighting spirit was essential.
In practical combat terms, it was no exaggeration to call fighting spirit one of humanity's greatest trump cards in its struggle against Monsters.
Fighting spirit was not exclusive to humans, however. Lynians such as Felynes could also master its power. Sajji was not adept at it, but Clawdia was an expert.
Back when Isis and Altaïr were rookie Hunters, she would sometimes guide them in this aspect of their training.
Even some Monsters had learned to wield fighting spirit. The most famous example was Rajang. When infused with fighting spirit, a Rajang's arms possessed immense, inexhaustible strength, and its muscles became as hard as steel, allowing it to tear even a Deviljho's jaws apart by brute force.
No Flying Wyvern species, however, had ever been known to harness this kind of power.
Flying Wyverns were naturally more intelligent than ordinary beasts, but they still fell far short of true sapience.
Fighting spirit was not an easy power to master. Learning and inheritance both played crucial roles.
If an entire Rajang population could wield fighting spirit, then it could not be an isolated phenomenon. They clearly possessed some means of passing the ability on to their offspring.
But a Tigrex... From what Altaïr knew of the species, no Tigrex had ever displayed any ability related to fighting spirit. Learning or inheriting it should have been out of the question.
In other words, the Grimclaw Tigrex before them could only have mastered this power entirely on its own...
Its application was still crude. It could not simply shake its claws and activate Demon Mode out of nowhere, but the fact that it could use fighting spirit to amplify its strength and enhance its attacks was astonishing enough.
A human Blademaster could train in weapon techniques and fighting spirit until they were capable of battling Large Monsters. A Rajang that mastered fighting spirit could become a mortal rival to Deviljho. So what would happen when an already formidable Grimclaw Tigrex mastered it as well...?
"Boom! Boom!"
From the point where the Grimclaw Tigrex's massive claws struck the ground, a powerful shock wave comparable to the blast of a Large Barrel Bomb surged forward for dozens of meters before erupting beneath the Elderfrost Gammoth's feet.
The burst of fighting spirit could instantly inflict severe wounds on a fully armed Hunter. Even the thick-skinned, tough-fleshed Elderfrost Gammoth staggered when the blast struck its vulnerable underbelly.
That was precisely what the Grimclaw Tigrex wanted.
Once the staggeringly massive Elderfrost Gammoth lost its footing, it needed far longer to recover its balance. That delay created an opening.
Seizing it, the Grimclaw Tigrex lunged forward and bypassed the heavily defended front, protected by a sturdy skeleton and formidable tusks, to circle behind the Elderfrost Gammoth.
Its sharp claws and massive jaws tore viciously at the Gammoth's hind legs.
This was another of the Gammoth's weak points. Compared with its front, its rear defenses were considerably thinner.
That so-called thinner defense still presented an iron wall to most Monsters, but the Grimclaw Tigrex was different.
Its sharp fangs and claws were capable of tearing through the flesh of the Gammoth's hind legs.
For a Gammoth of such staggering weight, severe damage to its limbs would further cripple its already limited mobility.
The Grimclaw Tigrex had once bitten through a Gammoth's hind leg, forcing its prey to sit helplessly on the ground while it was slowly gnawed to death. It intended to repeat that feat.
Its massive azure claws raked across the Elderfrost Gammoth's thick hind leg.
The deep, bone-baring wound it expected failed to appear. Although the blow broke through the Elderfrost Gammoth's hide, its claws reached only the surface muscle.
This Elderfrost Gammoth had lived for countless years. Even its vulnerable hind legs were far tougher than those of an ordinary Gammoth.
The Grimclaw Tigrex had no intention of giving up. It clawed frantically, tearing several more ghastly, gaping wounds into the Elderfrost Gammoth's hind legs and rump.
It even tried to attack the Elderfrost Gammoth's backside. No matter how mighty a Gammoth might be, that spot was vulnerable enough that a single gouge could do serious damage.
But the Elderfrost Gammoth's short, thick tail remained pressed firmly over it like a shield, denying the Grimclaw Tigrex any chance to strike that vital spot.
The searing pain from behind alerted the Elderfrost Gammoth to the danger. It tried to turn and face its opponent again, but the Grimclaw Tigrex used its superior agility to keep circling around it.
The Grimclaw Tigrex bit into the Elderfrost Gammoth's bloodied hind leg once more and tore away another huge chunk of flesh.
The bellowing Elderfrost Gammoth suddenly changed tactics. It braced its forelimbs against the ground and rapidly drove its colossal body backward, trying to crush the Grimclaw Tigrex behind it.
If that massive backside landed squarely, it might not flatten the Grimclaw Tigrex into a pancake, but it would certainly leave the Tigrex half dead.
The Grimclaw Tigrex, however, possessed an extraordinary wealth of combat experience. The instant the Elderfrost Gammoth backed toward it, the Tigrex abandoned its attack and pushed off with all four limbs, leaping nimbly away from the mountain-crushing blow.
A human-sized creature could easily stop while moving backward, but the same was far from true for an Elderfrost Gammoth weighing more than a hundred tons.
The Grimclaw Tigrex seized the opening and lunged. It flashed past the Elderfrost Gammoth's side like lightning, its sharp claws carving a massive wound nearly ten meters long across the Gammoth's relatively soft flank.
Blood streamed down like a waterfall, and the Elderfrost Gammoth released a long, agonized wail.
If the earlier attacks had been mostly flesh wounds, this claw strike had dealt the Gammoth a truly devastating blow.
Driven by the intense pain, the Elderfrost Gammoth reared up and brought its forefeet down heavily toward its opponent.
Its massive, ice-armored feet shattered the ground. The Grimclaw Tigrex leaped back once more, circling into the Elderfrost Gammoth's blind spot as it searched for another chance to land a devastating blow.
The Hunters concealed among the shrubs watched tensely, praying that the two behemoths would not stray too close to their position.
Whether it was the Grimclaw Tigrex's fighting spirit-infused claw strike or the Elderfrost Gammoth's hundred-ton stomp, the shock alone could be deadly even if the attack was not aimed directly at them.
As the Grimclaw Tigrex settled into its offensive rhythm, it grew increasingly aggressive, while the Elderfrost Gammoth was inevitably forced onto the defensive.
Yet the Elderfrost Gammoth's vast combat experience, thick hide, tough flesh, and astonishing strength kept the Grimclaw Tigrex from finding an opportunity to land a fatal blow.
The battle reached a stalemate.
At this stage, two Large Monsters that had encountered each other by chance in the wild would most likely have chosen to withdraw.
But the Grimclaw Tigrex was not the sort to back down easily. Neither was the Elderfrost Gammoth. It had come to eliminate a threat to its herd and would not retreat so readily.
As Altaïr watched the two behemoths trade blows from his hiding place among the shrubs, an idea suddenly occurred to him.
He stealthily took a Flash Pod from his pouch and loaded it into his Slinger... He intended to tip the scales in the Elderfrost Gammoth's favor.
If he could seize the right moment and create even a slight opening, he was certain the battle-hardened Elderfrost Gammoth would not let it pass.
Noticing Altaïr's actions, Karin shot him a sidelong glance.
"I believe I told you not to interfere," she whispered, barely loud enough to hear.
Altaïr's expression turned serious. "The Grimclaw Tigrex has always been on the Guild's extermination list. The Elderfrost Gammoth isn't."
His meaning could not have been clearer. One was a vicious beast that had attacked humans repeatedly and killed many Hunters, including more than a few High Rank Hunters. The other was a herbivorous Monster that kept to itself and almost never strayed from the depths of the Snowy Mountains.
Wouldn't it be only right to help the latter?
Karin rolled her eyes and looked away. "You can write the report to the Guild yourself."
Altaïr bared his teeth in a grin.
If the person beside him had not been Teacher Karin but a conservative senior such as Julius or Master Amos, they would never have permitted him to act so recklessly.
"Do not interfere unless necessary." That was the conservative creed.
Teacher Karin, however, was no conservative. Her perpetually blank expression and rule-abiding conduct might easily give that first impression.
In truth, her attitude toward Monsters that endangered humans had always leaned toward the radical.
She would never kill indiscriminately, but neither did convention bind her too tightly. Clearly, a certain someone's habit of dancing back and forth across the line had not been inborn...
With permission secured, Altaïr raised his Slinger and aimed at the target with a ferocious grin.