Chapter 55: So This Is a Tachi!

To discard a familiar weapon and take up an unfamiliar one—he would never have come up with such a crazy idea if he had any other choice.

Not to mention that he had never even learned how to use a longsword...

But! He knew how to use a greatsword.

The two might sound unrelated, but he once heard Madam Marildan tell a story.

She said that many years ago, back when she was still just a young apprentice, the longsword did not exist as an independent weapon, but rather as a branch of the greatsword. (During the MH1 era)

Some greatsword users gave up the immensely powerful yet sluggish charged slash, pursuing quicker and more fluid sword techniques instead. They gradually developed a technique called "Spirit" and became the first generation of longsword users.

After years of further evolution, it eventually developed into a wide variety of longsword techniques completely detached from the framework of the greatsword.

Putting aside these sword techniques specifically crafted for the longsword, wouldn't it theoretically be possible to "return to the origins" and use the longsword as a greatsword?

Others might find this difficult, after all, a longsword weighs less than half of a greatsword, but he was someone who could even use a sword and shield for a charged slash.

Why wouldn't it work with a longsword?!

Having figured this out, Auron hesitated no longer. Tossing aside the sword and shield in his hands, he lunged and rolled to dodge an attack from the Barroth, reached the longsword, and snatched it up.

As he rose, without a moment's hesitation, he hoisted the bone-crafted curved blade onto his shoulder and began to charge.

Hah, this feeling—although not as steady as a proper greatsword, it was at least vastly more powerful than a sword and shield!

He used a shoulder tackle to interrupt the charge, shifted his stance, twisted his waist, and held the longsword vertically behind him, entering a strong-charge posture.

This move could never be pulled off with a sword and shield, but it seemed possible with the weight of a longsword. A force completely out of league with using a sword and shield gathered within his body.

"Hey!" he shouted at the Barroth, which had missed its charge and taken a few extra steps forward. "Look over here!"

The Barroth certainly couldn't understand what he was saying, but having missed its attack yet again, the already irritable beast subconsciously turned around upon hearing the commotion behind it.

Auron chuckled, and the power stored to its absolute limit was released in that instant.

The longsword in his hand slashed downward vertically, lacking the sheer overwhelming heft of a real greatsword, but far swifter and cleaner.

A flash of light, and the tip of the longsword had already reached the ground.

After a delay of less than half a second, a massive gash ripped open across the neck of the Barroth, which was only halfway through turning around. Dark red blood gushed forth, washing away much of the remaining mud around its chest and neck.

The longsword user, who had staggered to his feet, looked up and stared at this scene in a daze for two seconds before vigorously shaking his head.

*A sword and shield user is using my longsword to unleash a strong-charged slash? How could I hallucinate such a thing? Did I knock my head too hard just now?*

Struck heavily and suddenly, the Barroth wailed in pain and staggered back several steps.

The frustration from earlier when his sword and shield barely managed to scratch the monster's defense had completely dissipated. In high spirits, Auron held the longsword vertically in front of him like a greatsword and took a steady step forward.

Immediately after, he sensed something was amiss.

A greatsword was so heavy that one had to hold it this way, otherwise the body would likely lose its balance under the weapon's momentum.

But what he held in his hand was a longsword, wasn't it?

Realizing this, Auron decisively changed his stance, holding the longsword diagonally at his side as he charged.

He didn't charge directly at the front of the Barroth, because the hardness and thickness of that armor were simply outrageous; a longsword would bounce off just like a sword and shield.

Therefore, he chose to leverage his speed and circle around behind the beast.

The Barroth's attention was completely fixed on him, and as Auron swept past its flank, the monster struggled to turn around.

Auron didn't mind; he just needed to reach striking position a fraction of a second before the Barroth could.

Although greatswords and longswords had long since diverged into completely independent weapons, there was one move where the motions of both were almost identical—the vertical slash.

Recalling the stepping slash the longsword user had used for a sneak attack earlier, Auron successfully channeled a portion of the charge's momentum. However, instead of immediately bringing the longsword down in a vertical slash, he entered a charging stance.

In less than two seconds, the Barroth had turned around, and Auron's charge preparation was complete.

Charged Slash!

This strike landed on the side of the Barroth's head. The shell here was quite thick, so the effectiveness of the attack was rather limited.

Auron didn't care. After rolling to dodge the Barroth's counterattack, he started running swiftly again.

When all was said and done, this was his first time using a longsword. At most, he could only strike a few vague poses resembling longsword techniques; as for how to generate force, he was completely clueless.

Rather than trying to figure out things he didn't understand, he decided to stick to this one tactic—use the relative lightness of the longsword to move quickly, and unleash a charged slash the moment an opportunity arose.

The damage dealt earlier by focusing attacks on the wound on its leg was now playing a crucial role.

The Barroth's turning motion had visibly slowed down, allowing him to find opportunities to circle behind and unleash charged slashes more frequently.

Another stepped charge slash, reinforced by a charge, landed on the Barroth's flank. The beast, nearly dizzy from being circled around, swayed uncontrollably.

"So this is the longsword..."

Auron couldn't help but sigh with emotion as he twisted his body into a strong-charge posture.

Caked in blood, the Barroth endured the excruciating pain to steady its footing, violently jerked its head, and snapped sideways at the charging hunter.

Seeing this, Auron immediately prepared to release the strong-charged slash early to clash with the Barroth's attack.

Yet, to the astonishment of both him and the Barroth, another figure rushed in from the side.

"This is not a longsword!!"

Amidst an indignant and angry roar, she swung the shield in her hand and smashed it heavily against the side of the Barroth's head, actually knocking that rock-hard, heavy skull reeling to the other side.

"Nor is it a greatsword!"

Watching the female hunter return to the battlefield with her own weapon, Auron's eyelids twitched fiercely.

What kind of monstrous strength is this? That Barroth's eyes even rolled back...

Under the furious and protective cover of his teammate, the preparation for the strong-charged slash was complete. The moment the stored power reached its peak, Auron brought the longsword down.

The dimly gleaming bone blade carved a striking arc of light through the night sky, and the next second, a massive torrent of blood erupted.

"Gua-ao-ao-ao—"

Amidst the agonizing howl, the Barroth, finally terrified, managed to steady its body and turned to flee.

Auron lowered the bone-crafted curved blade and let out a long breath.

The female hunter looked at the dense notches along the blade's edge and puffed out her cheeks as she glared at him.

*Who uses weapons with such reckless hacking and smashing!*

Auron's gaze fell upon the large dent on the shield strapped to her right arm.

Lowering her head to take a look, the female hunter let out a startled "Eek!", and her puffed-up cheeks instantly deflated.

"We'll call it even regarding our weapons," Auron wiped the blood off the longsword, held it level with both hands, and extended it toward the female hunter.

"Also, thank you very much," Auron gave her a deep bow as she took back her weapon. "If it weren't for your timely support, I might have perished right here in front of that Barroth."

"No, no, you exaggerate," Seeing Auron's solemn attitude, she quickly bowed in return while untying the straps of the shield on her right arm.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Auron properly appraised the person opposite him.

She looked even younger than he had initially thought, definitely under twenty, and it was entirely possible she was even younger than him.

She was very tall—roughly estimating, she must have been around 190 centimeters. Her shoulders were broad and her frame was substantial, but unlike Master Haifa or Madam Marildan, she wasn't heavily muscled. Instead, she appeared tall, slender, long-limbed, and gangly.

Her hair, which barely brushed past her shoulders, was tied into a dorky little ponytail at the back of her head, giving her the honest appearance of a simple, earnest kid.

Within the few seconds he spent observing her, the young female hunter had also undone the straps and handed back his sword and shield.

"You're amazing. You handled almost the entire second half of the fight by yourself. Even without me, you surely would have successfully driven that Barroth away."

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Auron rubbed his tense face. "We shouldn't have much of an age gap, so there's no need to use formal honorifics with each other. I'm Auron, a two-star hunter from Loc Lac, currently traveling."

The female hunter nodded, her expression relaxing somewhat. "I'm Muti, from Dundorma. I suppose I'm a two-star hunter too."

...

*P.S. When I played MH2 in junior high, I didn't really know how to play back then. The greatsword was too slow and I couldn't handle it, so I used the longsword. But I didn't really know how to use the longsword either; I just liked sheathing my weapon, running up to the monster, drawing it for a vertical slash, and then sheathing and running away again, repeating the cycle. I could still manage to kill a monster after forty minutes...*