Every loaded shell, the Wyrmstake Cannon, and even Wyvern's Fire erupted in a single explosive volley.
The tremendous recoil generated in that instant not only counteracted the force of her descent, but also hurled Isis more than ten meters backward.
A less physically robust Gunlance user might have lost the weapon entirely or even dislocated a joint from the shock.
Even Isis's arms went numb, and she nearly lost her footing when she landed.
Still, there was no denying the power of that maneuver.
The nerve center of soft-bodied creatures like squids and octopuses lay between the eyes atop the head. Nakarkos was not a true squid, but the creatures shared certain anatomical features.
The massive dragon skull protecting that vital area did not shatter, but the force punched through its defenses and penetrated deep within.
Nakarkos had been sleeping soundly only a second earlier. Now its entire body convulsed as though it had been electrocuted, while the strange fluorescence spread across its flesh flashed wildly in waves.
"Stick to the plan! Suppress the target!" Dylan roared as he drew his sword.
The Hunters who had descended by cable charged at full speed, surrounding Nakarkos and launching a coordinated assault while Isis's wake-up barrage still had it rigid and dazed.
Altaïr and Dylan rushed straight toward Nakarkos's main body.
Nakarkos's primary weak point was its head. To facilitate feeding, only the top of its head was covered by a hard dragon skull, leaving much of its main body exposed and making it arguably the best place to attack.
Nakarkos was also so enormous that Altaïr and Dylan could both target its head without interfering with each other, provided they paid some attention to their spacing.
Altaïr's Long Sword and Dylan's sword slipped past the layers of bone armor atop Nakarkos's head and struck directly at the main body, which at least looked quite soft.
However, the blades did not bite into its flesh nearly as well as expected.
A thick layer of mucus coated Nakarkos's skin and easily deflected the blades.
Its hide was also far tougher than it looked. Striking it felt like hacking into a massive slab of rubber packed with mud and grease, making it extremely difficult to cut deeply.
Altaïr was not surprised.
If the creature's flesh had been as easy to cut and pierce as that of ordinary soft-bodied animals, the Knowledge Seeker's heavy weapons would have blasted it apart long ago.
Since it could withstand cannon fire, Nakarkos's main body had to be tremendously resilient.
Nor did Altaïr imagine he could kill this grotesque giant squid with the sword in his hands. Its main body alone was more than thirty meters long, and with its tentacle arms extended, it easily exceeded fifty or even sixty meters.
The true "attacker" was the Knowledge Seeker's heavy firepower. The Hunters only needed to keep the creature occupied and stop it from rampaging. That alone would mean success!
Just then, a pale shadow swept toward Altaïr and Dylan from behind, threatening to knock both of them aside in one strike.
It was one of the tentacle arms covered in monster bones!
The other two team members had not been standing idle. Ready for the attack, Isis charged forward behind her shield and braced herself against the sweeping blow.
The appendage resembled a skeletal dragon but was actually a tentacle arm, and it was extraordinarily flexible. The instant Isis blocked it, the limb curled around and tried to coil around her body and crush her.
This was also Nakarkos's most common method of predation.
Olivia approached in great strides, holding her Hammer at an angle as she continued charging.
With a fierce shout, she swung the massive hammerhead upward with brutal force and smashed it into the dragon-shaped head of the tentacle arm trying to ensnare Isis.
Charged Brutal Upswing!
The bone dragon's head snapped sharply backward. Then, as though it truly possessed a mind of its own, it shook its head, opened its jaws, and unleashed a silent roar at Olivia.
"Thanks!" Isis shouted as she sprinted toward the other bone dragon tentacle arm closing in and intercepted it.
This was their tactical plan.
Isis and Olivia, with their heavier weapons and superior armor-breaking power, would each engage one of the bone dragon tentacle arms and pin down Nakarkos's two most formidable weapons.
Altaïr and Dylan would attack the main body. Although the pair appeared to be the primary assault force, their true purpose was to draw Nakarkos's attention away from Isis and Olivia.
After all, most of Nakarkos's combat prowess lay in the two tentacle arms shaped like bone dragons. Its main body's options were comparatively limited, and it moved slowly.
As long as the Hunters kept those tentacle arms under control, the battle would remain manageable.
"Come on!" Isis swung her Gunlance through a Quick Reload and shouted a challenge at the bone dragon swaying before her.
The gesture looked a little foolish. After all, the bone dragon was merely one of Nakarkos's limbs, not a truly independent creature, and should not have been susceptible to provocation.
Yet whether the tentacle arm possessed a secondary brain or this was simply part of a "performance" meant to deceive its opponents, the bone dragon truly did lock its gaze on her.
Ghostly light flickered like will-o'-the-wisps in its hollow eye sockets. Its fleshless jaws clicked open and shut before suddenly smashing down toward her.
Isis showed no fear. She raised her shield to meet it, using Insta-Block to collide head-on with the bone dragon.
The impact drove Isis low, but with both feet planted firmly on the ground, she held fast. The bone dragon, attacking from above with nothing to brace against, was instead knocked reeling backward by her shield bash.
At the same time, Olivia swung her enormous Hammer and drove back the bone dragon before her.
Both bone dragons unleashed silent roars in unison.
Ignoring the Hunters' attacks, they plunged their heads into the mountainous heap of bones.
No one knew what the two appendages, or rather Nakarkos, intended to do, but taking advantage of the opening to attack with full force was clearly the right choice.
Downward smash, rising slash, Full Burst!
Isis unleashed an all-out assault on the bone dragon with its head buried in the heap, while Olivia hammered away with one heavy blow after another.
The bone armor covering Nakarkos's tentacle arms kept shattering, cracking apart...
Just as Isis prepared to press her advantage and completely destroy the battered bone dragon before her, it suddenly reared up and yanked its head out of the ground.
Immediately afterward, it whipped its head sideways and transformed into an enormous bone whip that lashed toward Isis.
Isis immediately raised her shield to guard, but a moment later, the blow sent both her and the shield flying.
The layers of bones blanketing the ground cushioned her fall. She did not land too hard, and after rolling twice, she quickly sprang back to her feet.
Searing pain surged through her right arm like a tide. The force behind that lash was almost impossible to believe.
How had the creature's attack suddenly become so much stronger?!
Gritting her teeth, Isis looked up at the bone dragon as it turned its head back toward her.
The bone dragon's head had changed. Its formerly triangular jawbone was now broad and massive, shaped like an enormous hammer.
That was... an Uragaan's lower jaw?!
Isis's eyes widened.
So it had just burrowed into the ground to swap out the bones covering its tentacle arm and gain greater offensive power?
Just like Hunters switching weapons?!
She flicked a glance to the side. Sure enough, the bone dragon fighting Olivia had also completed its own "weapon swap."
That looked like... a Glavenus skull?
Could it be...
"Fwoosh!"
Scorching flames erupted, blasting Olivia away after she completed her charge and launched into a spinning attack.
Stray flames caught on her armor and curled hair, forcing Olivia to roll across the ground and smother them.
The momentum behind her Hammer assault was broken as a result.
This creature knew how to select "weapons" that countered its opponents?!
It had answered Isis's superior strength with a "giant hammer," then used flames to break Olivia's relentless offense?
Isis watched the bone dragon sway from side to side before her as though taunting her.
She drew a deep breath. Her battle boots crushed the bones beneath her feet as she launched herself forward like a charging war chariot.
You think switching to a hammer is enough to beat me? Then let me show you. I'm more than just brute strength!