Chapter 32: Stubborn

"Um?"

Upon hearing Tarin's words, Qiyana raised an eyebrow slightly.

But then, before Qiyana could react, the flesh and blood on Tarin's body in front of her surged and writhed.

Although its face still retained its human form, scales and fangs appeared.

Qiyana's head used to barely reach Tarin's chest, but now, with her sudden increase in height, by the time Qiyana realized what was happening, she found herself looking up at Tarin.

Looking down and straight ahead, I realized that my head only reached the outsider's waist and hips!

Upon reflection, Qiyana's first reaction wasn't even to Tarin's power transformation, but rather to her own height disadvantage—"You're holding your head too high!"

With a disgruntled rebuke, Qiyana unleashed a burst of intense elemental magic from the Oretar Ring Blade in her hand. The surging energy flowed continuously through the crystal lines formed by the gem solution on the ring blade, outlining precise arcs and guiding and aggregating even greater elemental potential energy to crash down upon Tarin.

Feeling the sudden increase in gravity around him, Tallinn knew that this was still the use of the sixteenth axiom, the axiom of rock, by applying the influence of rock and soil gravity to the earth veins, which rewrites the material realm.

Unfortunately, it's not very useful.

Without the slightest hint of emotion in his eyes, and to Qiyana's incredulous gaze, Tarin simply flicked his hand, sending Qiyana and her blade flying together.

At first, Qiyana wasn't too nervous when she made contact with the blade that Tarin had thrown. However, as she touched it, she felt the immense, yet hidden, force. Qiyana felt a sharp pain in her hand, and then her body was uncontrollably blasted backward.

Even so, Qiyana still gripped the ring blade tightly in her hand.

Landing on the ground, her muscular thighs bent low, the thighs and calves pressing together to create a full, rounded shape. The tight muscles, cushioned by the elemental winds, continuously reduced the impact she received. Even so, Qiyana felt a profound sense of humiliation—she had actually been repelled!

Despite her thoughts, Qiyana's gaze did not show much emotion. Instead, she became more serious and solemn as she sensed Tarin's power.

As he sensed Qiyana's condition, Talin nodded inwardly.

Qiyana probably doesn't have much real experience in deathmatches... but she learns very quickly.

No wonder its E skill in the game is named "Unparalleled Courage," it truly possesses an instinctive combat intuition...

Thinking this, Tarlin gripped the knife with both hands and raised it to his side.

Qiyana is studying, and so is Tarin.

Previously, Tarin was good at using dual blades, mainly because the high-speed metabolism and high-speed recovery of the Odogaron ecosystem, combined with the decoration equipment, allowed Tarin to maintain his Demon form for a long time - that active physiological state, whether in battle or escape, was extremely powerful.

While the katana's elemental damage build differs from that of the dual blades, its core principle remains the same: high burst damage and high critical hit rate.

Similarly influenced by the Angyang Jewel, the core of the katana is the Spirit Gauge.

By slashing, the hunter continuously adds their spirit to the blade of the katana, creating a three-colored spirit blade of white, yellow, and red, thus greatly increasing the katana's damage. In the wilderness, upon entering the red blade state, it's like becoming a demon, altering the subsequent attack pattern.

Essentially, when the force is compressed to its limit, the weight and potential energy of the katana itself change accordingly, thus enabling it to unleash a more rapid and swift slash.

In the game, the core of the katana is to quickly sharpen the blade through the Piercing Slash, Iai Slash, and Spirit Blade Great Spin, thereby increasing the weapon's damage multiplier. After maintaining the Spirit Blade to a critical point, the accumulated Spirit Blade Heave Slash is used to unleash the full power and deal massive damage.

In reality, if the essence of a spirit blade is the blood and energy compressed onto the blade...

Taking a deep breath, Tarin's blood surged. His strong arms gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, veins bulging, as if he wanted to crush the hilt.

And immediately afterward, as the blood energy rose, the blade of the katana became even brighter.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

As its power surged, the serrated blade of the Odogaron Greatsword, which was originally a pale white bone and claw sheath, was first coated with a layer of pure white, then that pure white turned into a bright yellow, and finally into a restrained dark red.

As the energy was compressed to its limit in the red blade state, the blade, which was originally finely serrated, seemed to enter a kind of activated state. The layered claw sheaths opened on their own as if they were alive, transforming from simple serrations into a living blade with countless crisscrossing fangs and chaotic blades.

The ecosystem is complete.

As he felt the Odogaron Greatsword come to life, Tarin nodded thoughtfully.

If it's not off, it's not on!

In Monster Hunter, weapons similar to those that consume Power Jewels will exhibit noticeable deformation on some rare equipment once they reach full charge.

For example, some ancient dragon-themed katanas will have bony spines or living flesh and blood, and other biological characteristics of the creatures they are made of.

Similarly, dual blades are also like this. For example, the dual blades of the Chain Blade Dragon become a combination of scythe and chain blades after entering Demon Mode. The dual blades of the Black Eclipse Dragon are more like clawed arm armor than dual blades, and the arm blades will fully unfold after entering Demon Mode.

It's evident that similar transformations primarily focus on the weapons of Elder Dragons or unique, dominant creatures. For example, the Odogaron... while it was a top-tier Fanged Wyvern for a time in Monster Hunter World, became the 'Odogaron Greatsword' after the introduction of Deviljho and Iceborne...

It refers to something being held in the mouth of a Deviljho and used as a weapon.

But now, Tallinn doesn't have to worry about that anymore...

Forged entirely from its own materials, it is ecologically compatible. The Odogaron Greatsword is now less a weapon and more an extension of Tarin's limbs.

As it is now, Tarin lands directly on the blade, and the jagged, protruding fangs even deflect the blade to avoid self-injury.

"bring it on."

Tarin turned his gaze to Qiyana and said calmly, "Now, let's end all of this."

Upon hearing Tarin's words, Qiyana narrowed her eyes, then nodded and said, "Alright, then I will grant you this honor to witness Qiyana's full power."

As she spoke, Qiyana also gripped the Oretar Ring Blade in her hand.

The next moment, the entire ring blade lit up. But it was different from before.

Before this, Qiyana's Orethal Blade had only partially illuminated its blade, activating a primordial axiom of a certain element.

And now, the entire Oretar Ring Blade lights up.

Unlike the three elements commonly seen in games, the real-life Qiyana possesses more primordial axioms.

but.

Rock, water, wood, wind,

This is by no means all the primordial axioms that Qiyana has mastered, but it is definitely the four elements that Qiyana has mastered most proficiently and has integrated into her understanding—even one more than what is presented in the game.

"I bestow upon you the honor of being conquered by me!"

Qiyana revealed her undisguised arrogance and domineering nature.

"Experience Qiyana's breathtaking brilliance!!"

With a flash, Qiyana vanished into the wind. Reappearing before Tarin, Qiyana swung her ring blade with a sudden burst of power. Dense elemental magic erupted, forming swirling patterns on the blade.

Following closely behind, the geometric patterns formed by the styloses spread outwards from the wheel blades, soon filling the entire space.

In an instant, the four intertwined axioms formed a terrifying torrent—the third axiom, the axiom of water, creates undercurrents; the fifth axiom, the axiom of wind, amplifies vibrations; the eleventh axiom, the axiom of wood, strengthens growth; and the sixteenth axiom, the axiom of rock, causes energy to erupt.

Four different axioms of energy intertwine and circulate with each other. An invisible energy current suddenly arrives with a gust of wind. Every moment, the energy within is constantly being absorbed, growing, and accumulating, rushing toward the critical point, as if it will explode at any moment.

As he felt the overwhelming, intangible torrent of elements rushing towards him, Tarin sheathed his longsword at his side.

Hormones surged, the pre-synthesized and stored clairvoyant drug was rapidly injected into the body, the bio-electric current of the Thunderbug stimulated the nerves, and the surrounding space and time seemed to slow down for a moment. Tarin's perception also exceeded the boundaries of thought, and he began to consciously touch Qiyana's spreading soul shimmer.

Unlike Neeko's radiant shimmer, in Tarin's perception, the shimmer of most humans, or rather, beings other than the Misttail, was relatively dim, unlike the vibrant shimmer of the Misttail. Even so, it was enough for Tarin to use his perception of shimmer to make simple predictions of moves.

In the midst of battle, Qiyana's mind is currently filled with the formulas that constitute the so-called "brilliant genius"...

To be honest, just reading it gave Tarin a headache... Mathematics was his weakest subject. But it didn't matter; although the Primordial Axioms leaned towards rationality, depending on the user, there were still many mental variables within the power.

Soon, combining the information missed in Qiyana Shuma, Tarin also quickly detected the intertwined flow of many energies within it.

If you can see it... then you can cut it open! A cold glint flashed in his eyes as Tarin rapidly channeled a large amount of life energy into the Odogaron Greatsword in his hand.

There's no need to be bound by fixed stances like in the game, even if what you're facing now isn't matter but an attack of energy—although there's no such thing as magic in the Monster Hunter world, the life energy that constitutes life activities is the same.

The next moment, as the blade slashed out, Tarin moved with the sword. The instant the blade cut into the energy gap, life energy erupted. The sudden burst of life energy tore apart the elemental cycle formed by Qiyana. The originally intertwined power was disrupted and turned into two torrents of energy that exploded to the sides.

The earth and rocks trembled, and gravel flew everywhere. The high-density elemental energy rapidly heated the soil, and in the intense flames, the fragments of rock melted.

Standing there, feeling the scorching wind, Tarin kept his gaze fixed on the astonished Qiyana behind him. Then, he took a step forward, his crimson blade slashing horizontally.

There's no need to be as rigid about the Dragon Leap Slash as in the game—or rather, Qiyana is too small, so there's no need to increase the power and area of ​​the Dragon Leap Slash.

As Tarin slashed horizontally, the compressed air blade, encircling the sword, exploded at its limit. The compressed air wave created a violent air backflow during the slash, swirling around layers of fine blade wind as it hurtled towards Qiyana.

The series of events happened so suddenly that Qiyana could only instinctively raise the Orthal Ring Blade in front of her.

The axiom of the wind formed a barrier to block it, but even so, countless chaotic wind blades still flew past his body. Along with the torn clothes, his tight skin was cut by the invisible wind blades, revealing countless scars of all sizes!

This was clearly the first time they had engaged in such an intense battle, and the first time they had suffered such severe injuries.

However, despite the intense pain, Qiyana did not show any weakness. Instead, her beautiful face revealed a fierce and domineering fighting spirit, showing no willingness to be inferior.

"Come on, let Qiyana see what you've got!!"

To this, Tallinn did not reply, but instead, after his horizontal slash, he swept his blade back with tremendous force. The blade, which had turned from red to yellow, recoiled violently.

Unlike the previous slashes, this one was more like a strike with the blade. The jagged, horizontal blades unleashed the remaining two sections of energy blades during the strike, crisscrossing and leaving a clearly visible trail of chaotic blade winds in the air—the Unparalleled Release Slash of Qi Refining!

Unexpectedly, the previous air blade slash had a follow-up attack. The simultaneous release of the yellow and white blades shattered Qiyana's wind barrier in an instant.

The chaotic wind of blades swept in again, this time with even greater speed and ferocity. It didn't just strike the outer layer of flesh as before; it struck her flesh directly. Qiyana's body immediately exploded with streaks of blood, her skin torn open and bleeding profusely.

All that was heard was a mournful cry from the proud princess before she was slashed several meters away and fell to the ground, barely breathing.

"Your Highness!!"

The series of exchanges happened so quickly that the servants and Lupe were caught off guard. When they finally came to their senses, their faces immediately contorted with terror, and they cried out.

But just as the two were about to rush forward, Qiyana gritted her teeth and sneered, "Shut up... I haven't lost yet..."

As she spoke, Qiyana made a move to get up again. But as soon as she moved slightly, she felt a sharp pain all over her body.

Looking down, amidst the crisscrossing scars, fragments of claw sheaths were scattered. They were like shards of glass embedded in flesh, causing intense pain with the slightest movement.

Gritting her teeth, Qiyana tried to stand up despite the pain. But she could only lift herself up a few centimeters before feeling a weight on her chest.

Looking up, she saw that Tarin, now in human form, was sitting directly on her chest, pressing down on her so she couldn't get up.