Due to his unrefined technique and his body not yet being fully developed, among other reasons, he was unable to stably maintain Demon Mode.
After all, the Sword and Shield was not the Dual Blades; it was never suited for executing such a technique. The fact that he could maintain it for even a few short seconds was already outrageous.
His stamina drained rapidly under the intense burst of power, and Altaïr's breathing grew heavy and ragged.
The two Genprey, having recovered their senses, launched their attack. One of them leaped into the air, its powerful hind legs aimed straight at the hunter's chest.
If that blow landed, he would likely suffer several broken bones, even with the armor he wore.
Altaïr decisively curled into a ball and rolled to the side, evading the dangerous kick.
At the same time, the other Genprey circled around to his side, preparing to launch a surprise attack the moment he got back on his feet.
Already prepared, Altaïr used the momentum from his roll, forcefully twisting at the waist to spring back up.
He did not execute a Rising Slash while getting up, as was "standard procedure." Instead, he violently swung out the shield fixed to his right arm.
As a conventional "righty," his right arm was stronger than his left. A shield bash, delivered by swinging the relatively heavy shield, had a wider attack radius and a better stopping effect.
This rising shield bash slammed into the face of the Genprey that was trying to circle around for a sneak attack. As if struck by a heavy hammer, the Genprey cried out in pain and staggered back several steps, even losing a few of its sharp teeth.
Altaïr, of course, would not let such an opportunity slip by. He closed the distance with a quick step and followed up with two more shield bashes, leaving the Genprey dizzy and disoriented.
Just as he was about to press his advantage and finish off the Genprey, a foul wind assailed him from behind his ear.
Without time to turn and look, Altaïr's first instinct was to roll to the side.
CRUNCH!
A massive maw, reeking of blood, snapped shut beside his ear. He could even feel a fang graze his cheek and the outer rim of his ear.
Under the influence of the paralysis toxin, the entire side of his face and neck quickly went numb, and the affected area was already spreading toward his shoulder.
Altaïr broke out in a cold sweat.
Like many local hunters who grew up in the desert, he wasn't fond of wearing a helmet.
In the desert's scorching sun and swirling sandstorms, a headscarf and veil to filter out the sun and dust were necessities. But a veil was awkward whether worn inside or outside a helmet, so many hunters chose not to wear one.
His mentor had criticized him for this on multiple occasions, but he had never taken it to heart, simply thinking the old woman was too long-winded.
Now, it seemed his mentor had been right all along.
Rolling continuously to evade the Genprey's low bites, Altaïr got to his feet as quickly as possible.
Seeing the Genprey open its bloody maw and pounce again, Altaïr knew he could not retreat any further.
The other Genprey, which he had just stunned with his shield combo, was shaking its head and looked about to recover. Meanwhile, the paralysis toxin was taking effect, and the muscles in his own shoulder and neck were beginning to stiffen.
If he couldn't deal with the one in front of him in time, he would be caught in a pincer attack. Given his current state, an accident was highly likely.
Then he would attack!
Altaïr gritted his teeth, protected his shoulder with his shield, and charged forward.
BAM!
The shield clashed against a mouthful of sharp teeth. The hollow fangs couldn't pierce the iron surface, but the resulting impact was still a problem. Caught off guard, it would be easy to be knocked over by the heavier Genprey.
Fortunately, Altaïr's charge was less like a shield bash from a Sword and Shield wielder and more like a Shoulder Tackle from a Great Sword user.
He didn't come off worse from the full-body collision; in fact, the Genprey was sent reeling backward.
Seizing the opportunity, Altaïr tossed the shield in his right hand aside and gripped the hilt of his Hunter's Dagger with both hands, his muscles tensing as he gathered his strength.
The moment the Genprey recovered and charged again, he lunged forward. As if wielding a Great Sword, he brought the single-handed short sword, a standard hunter's weapon barely seventy to eighty centimeters long, down in a full-powered overhead slash.
The force of this strike naturally couldn't compare to a real Great Sword, but it was far beyond what a one-handed swing could achieve.
The iron blade embedded itself deep into the Genprey's skull, splitting its head open. Blood mixed with brain matter sprayed out.
No creature could survive such a wound. Without even a chance to let out a cry of pain, the Genprey died swiftly and cleanly.
Altaïr bent down, planted his foot on the Genprey's neck, and yanked with both hands. As he pulled the Hunter's Dagger free from the skull, he pivoted and swung it behind him.
"Hah...!"
The last Genprey, which had been pouncing from behind, was met squarely by the swinging blade. Its slender neck was sliced more than halfway through, and it collapsed to the ground in a gush of blood.
Tearing off his blood-soaked face covering and tossing it aside, Altaïr stood among the corpses of several Genprey, panting heavily.
Genprey pack, hunt successful.
He hadn't felt it during the fight, but now that it was over, a tide of exhaustion washed over him.
Forcing himself to focus, Altaïr finished carving for materials and the slaying proof, then began the heavy trek back to camp.
The camp wasn't nearby, but on a rocky flat several kilometers away from this oasis.
The reason he didn't hunt around the camp was to avoid attracting danger. The battlefield was now piled with corpses, and there was no telling what kind of carnivorous Monster it might attract.
If he did this at the camp's entrance, he probably wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly.
Altaïr trudged alone between the dunes.
The sun had already set and the sky had darkened. The wind howled louder in his ears; within a few hours, the night wind would carry away all the heat left by the sun.
By then, the temperature would have dropped by at least thirty degrees. In the coldest hours before dawn, it might even approach freezing.
Only when the sun rose again would light and heat return to this sand sea.
A warm bonfire, hot roasted food, and a comfortable tent, the thought of these things made Altaïr tighten his windproof headscarf and quicken his pace.
He was almost there. The camp was just ahead, visible once he crested the dune before him.
Climbing the dune on all fours, Altaïr suddenly froze.
Two or three hundred meters from the dune was a stretch of jagged, rocky flats.
Many wind-eroded boulders stood on the flats. In the nooks and crannies between them was a small space, accessible to humans but difficult for large Monsters to enter. That was the location of the hunter's camp.
At this moment, the campfire in the camp was lit, clearly indicating someone was there. This surprised him.
The camps used by hunters were funded, built, and maintained by the Guild, making them semi-communal facilities. Under the Guild's arrangement, it was rare for two groups of hunters to use the same camp at the same time.
Of course, there were exceptions. For instance, encountering hunters tracking their quarry to a new area, or passing merchants and travelers seeking a place to stay for the night, was not considered strange. The reason he felt surprised was simply his lack of experience; it was his first time encountering such a situation.
Gazing at the campfire, Altaïr was silent for a few seconds.
He wasn't an extrovert, a social butterfly who enjoyed interacting with strangers. Of course, he wasn't withdrawn either. It was just a bit of a shame that he couldn't enjoy the campfire and his tent alone under the tranquil, starry sky.
Sighing softly, Altaïr crouched down, lowered his center of gravity, and slid down the sand dune before continuing toward the camp.
Just then, the person in the camp seemed to notice his arrival.
The person ran out of the camp in a hurry, waving their arms and shouting at him in a panic.
"Danger in the sand!"
The wind was too loud and the distance too great for Altaïr to hear clearly what the person was saying.
But he caught the first word: "danger."
The young hunter placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon, his gaze sweeping warily across his surroundings. His line of sight was clear for a hundred meters in every direction, with nothing to provide cover, yet he still couldn't spot anything.
"Below! Watch out below!" the person who had run out of the camp continued to shout.
The ground began to tremble slightly. Altaïr's eyes fell on an inconspicuous sand mound in the distance. As the vibrations intensified, the mound began to close in on him at an incredible speed.
Realizing what was happening, Altaïr immediately broke into a full-speed sprint toward the rocky shore.
As he ran for his life, the sand mound also changed direction, continuing its pursuit.
The distance between them shrank rapidly. Just as the sand mound was about to reach his feet, Altaïr threw himself forward with all his might.
At the same instant, a terrifyingly giant maw, large enough to swallow him whole, burst up from beneath the sand, snapping shut on empty air.