Isis held her shield and sword, staring intently at her opponent.
Though not as proficient as with the Long Sword or Great Sword, she could still wield the Sword and Shield.
Or, to put it more accurately, aside from a few rare exceptions, most hunters could use the Sword and Shield, it was just a matter of varying levels of proficiency. This weapon could almost be considered the designated training weapon for hunter apprentices.
Glancing at Altaïr, who had already begun his assault, Isis simultaneously sprang into action.
To be honest, she hadn't initially considered borrowing Altaïr's Sword and Shield.
She simply felt that two Long Swords would easily interfere with each other. Moreover, as a weapon that included a shield, the Sword and Shield had an inherent advantage in frontal combat, which was why she had borrowed it.
She was well aware that, as the vanguard in this situation, she had to firmly capture the Monster's attention. A conservative defensive and counterattacking approach wouldn't suffice.
She needed to be more proactive in her offense.
Isis accelerated her pace, stepping ahead to intercept the Barroth as it attempted to turn toward Altaïr. With a swift motion, she swung the Sword and Shield.
The lightweight feel of the weapon left her somewhat unaccustomed. The sharp yet thin blade struck the Barroth's rock-hard head shell and, as expected, bounced off.
The Barroth didn't even bother to spare her a glance, continuing its turn. Such disregard stirred a flicker of anger even in the even-tempered Isis.
The Sword and Shield was light and short, making it difficult to leverage her strength advantage. Fortunately, there was still the shield.
She took another large step forward, generating power from her feet. The force traveled up her thighs, and her bent waist and back acted like tightly coiled springs. The moment she swung her arm, the accumulated energy was released in an instant.
The shield, swung upward from below, slammed violently into the Barroth's jaw. The screech of deforming metal mixed with the crackle of shattered carapace.
The Barroth's head was knocked backward. Before it could regain its composure, a second Shield Bash swept in from the side.
"Bang!"
As if struck by two heavy punches, the Barroth's massive body shuddered, staggering backward two steps.
Altaïr, who had been swinging his Long Sword behind the Barroth, nearly got stepped on and quickly retreated to create some distance, his eyes repeatedly darting toward the scene.
After this battle, that shield would likely be completely ruined. Well, that wasn't the main point.
With brute strength like that, why insist on using the Long Sword? Why not stick with the Great Sword! Even if you're not adept at seizing opportunities, couldn't you just fight with overwhelming force? Or switch to the Hammer!
And what about the Charge Blade or the Switch Axe? Any of those heavy weapons would play to your strengths better than the Long Sword!
Isis couldn't hear Altaïr's inner thoughts. All she felt was that swinging the shield to smash the Monster was far more satisfying than wielding that one-handed sword, which wasn't even as long as her arm!
Another hit!
"Ha!"
"Bang!"
Another heavy blow landed, and the Barroth swayed left and right as if drunk.
Stunned...
Altaïr's jaw dropped. While it was true that using a Sword and Shield to bash a Monster's head could potentially stun it, that usually only worked on Monsters like the Gendrome.
He had truly never seen anything like it, using an arm shield with a surface radius barely thirty to forty centimeters to smash a large monster over thirteen meters long into a dazed, disoriented state.
Watching Isis as if she had discovered a whole new world, standing right in front of the Barroth's head and relentlessly bashing her shield against it until the creature's face was twisted and covered in blood, Altaïr couldn't help but speed up his own sword swings.
He knew he didn't have much time left to practice his Spirit Blade Slash.
Staring at the pitiful Barroth lying motionless on the ground with its crown shattered and jawbone completely crushed, Isis finally snapped out of her inexplicable frenzy.
The shield on her right arm was no longer recognizable as what it once was, now just a blood-soaked, severely twisted piece of metal plate.
Altaïr stood nearby with his arms crossed, saying somewhat exasperatedly, "Finally come to your senses? I thought you weren't going to stop until you'd smashed its brains out."
"I-I'm so sorry!" Isis bowed so deeply it looked like she might throw herself forward.
Not only had she borrowed someone else's weapon without permission, but she had completely destroyed it. The shield was beyond "structural damage," if thrown on the ground, anyone would mistake it for scrap metal.
"Alright, it wasn't a high-grade weapon anyway, not worth much," Altaïr said, though he still felt a pang of regret, having used it for so long...
Wait, the shield I'd used for ages had been lost on Jhen Mohran's back. This was just a replacement I'd forged later.
Never mind then.
He handed Isis a Potion. "Drink this. With the shield in that state, your right arm must be badly injured too. Strains, bruises, maybe even hairline fractures, probably unavoidable."
Only then did Isis notice the excruciating pain in her right arm, which she could barely lift anymore.
Taking out bandages and gathering some dry branches nearby, Altaïr helped Isis wrap and immobilize her arm. His gaze fell upon the tragically mauled Barroth corpse, and he couldn't help commenting:
"Honestly, if you'd stop obsessing over the Long Sword and stick with Sword and Shield, or even throw away the sword and just keep bashing monsters' heads with your shield like you did earlier, I doubt many 3★ threat level monsters could withstand that."
He was joking, of course, but he genuinely felt that Isis's shield bashing was more effective than her Long Sword techniques.
Isis didn't respond, still staring blankly at the brutally slain Barroth.
Altaïr had to wave his hand in front of her eyes. "Hey, snap out of it. After catching your breath, let's quickly finish carving the materials and head back to camp."
Large monsters yielded plenty of materials, but only a small portion was actually suitable for equipment crafting. Dozens of minutes later, they completed the carving.
As they dragged the materials back to camp, Isis remained unusually quiet the whole way, seeming distracted and absent-minded.
Altaïr could roughly guess what she was thinking.
After spending so much time and effort continuously refining her Long Sword techniques, it seemed they couldn't compare to her reckless shield bashing relying on brute force, enough to make anyone question their life choices.
This line of thinking was wrong, of course. How could a single Shield Bash compare to the numerous schools of Long Sword technique? If that were truly the case, the Long Sword as a weapon would have become obsolete long ago.
Yet her feelings might not be entirely mistaken.
The Long Sword might not be a particularly suitable weapon for her.
Watching Isis squat blankly in front of the campfire, completely lost in thought, Altaïr pushed himself up from his knees and stood.
Based on his understanding of her from their time together, there was one simplest and most direct way to lift her spirits.
That was food!
He rummaged through the pack storing their ingredients, only to awkwardly realize that the large stock of supplies he had prepared before setting out had been completely consumed during their morning meal.
Now, aside from some seasonings, even basic ingredients like cheese and butter were gone.
"Stay put here. I'll go see if I can find something to eat."
"Mm-hmm!" Isis snapped out of her daze and hurriedly tried to stand up. "I'll come with you."
"Don't. Stay put, or you'll zone out again and fall into the mud." Altaïr waved his hand, stopping her from rising, and left the camp alone.
Unfortunately, this damned place had no oasis, only a patch of nearly dried-up marsh.
From afternoon until dusk, Altaïr wandered around, his expression growing numb. Forget prey like Aptonoth, he hadn't even spotted much green vegetation.
He did gather quite a bit of Fire Herb, Nitroshroom, and Carpenterbug, but there were hardly any items that could be considered edible.
A bit of wild honey, a few shriveled Sajji berries, and one wrinkled wild cabbage.
Altaïr sighed helplessly and pulled out his personal notebook, flipping to the pages with recorded recipes. "Let me see how this thing can be eaten..."