Monster Hunter: This Fire Dragon has characteristics

Chapter 40: Current situation of the first group, arrival of the liaison ship
"Oh, Kishou, thank you for your hard work!"

The captain swallowed all the stew in a few mouthfuls while breathing heavily, then took the statistical sheet brought by Jixiu and examined it carefully by the campfire.

Master Yuanye made a seat for Jixiu, and immediately an Elu cat came trotting over with hot water and food.

"Thank you!"

After taking the food, Jixiu thanked the busy Felynx and spoke with a serious face.

"The herbivorous dragons near us migrated today. Because the distance was too far and the road was too dangerous, the investigators responsible for tracking these herbivorous dragons were unable to keep up. With our current food inventory, we can only support them for three days at most."

This is still a conservative estimate. The hunters are powerful, but their appetite is proportional to their combat effectiveness. It is no exaggeration to say that some small carnivorous dragons of three or four meters in length cannot eat as much as the hunters. They can only last for three days. This data was obtained under the premise that Aunt Cat developed a new recipe using cactus balls instead of some vegetables and mushrooms.

"In addition to food, we have run out of medicinal herbs, bandages, and fruit for guiding insects. At least for the next few days, we can't use guiding insects as recklessly as before."

"Eleven of the sixteen hunters are injured. Odenno's injuries are so severe that he can no longer continue his investigation. We are too deep in the Great Anthill Wasteland and have no contact with the orcs here. The cat cars in the forest are also unable to arrive."

Hearing this, the Grand Commander nodded. This was a very serious problem. Even though the hunter had strong physique, Odenor was hit by an enraged sand dragon while trying to save a scholar next to him. His sternum was broken in multiple places. If he was not treated quickly, his hunting career might be over.

This was unacceptable to the Grand Commander.

There were only 18 hunters in their first group. Losing an elite soldier so easily was a huge blow to the investigation team.

Seeing the Grand Commander's frown, Jixiu sighed and continued.

"Actually, the above are not the most troublesome things. In Odenor's case, we just need to dispatch two more hunters to take him back to the stars first. The real trouble is our weapons and ammunition."

"Even though we collected a lot of fruits that can be used to make ammunition along the way, the crossbowmen are running out of ammunition, and the archers are also running out of arrows. Every hunter's armor is more or less damaged, and even the armor of two sword masters can no longer be used."

"That's normal for a swordsman."

The swordsmanship master on the opposite side nodded. Although he used a broadsword, he was also proficient in the katana. The katana users of the first group had all received his instruction and learned some extremely dangerous but highly profitable moves.

The benefits are proportional to the risks. When the sword users fight on the front line, they are often the members who suffer the most damage.

"Armor is one thing, but the weapons are also not optimistic. The weapons of the three most serious double-blade users are on the verge of being scrapped. The whetstones are all used up. We can only collect materials and reforge them. However..."

Jixiu didn't finish his words, but everyone present had a lot of experience.

It would be faster to collect other materials and create a new pair than to remake them.

"Emm, it seems that after I return to Xingchen, Lubomir will scold me to death!"

The Grand Commander smiled bitterly.

Lubomir, a dragon blacksmith and also a dragon mechanical scholar, is responsible for the creation and maintenance of weapons and equipment for the first regiment, as well as the construction of defensive facilities for the stronghold.

In the entire first group, only he and his three Felynx apprentices could take on this job.

Hunters' equipment is made of various biological materials and metals, which is a very delicate job.

Not only did they gain nothing from this trip, but they also damaged the hunters' equipment to the limit. Even if he worked overtime, it would take him a month to repair the equipment. Before that, the combat effectiveness of the Xingchen stronghold would decline significantly. "We can't delay any longer. This investigation has completely failed. We might as well go back early, regroup, and lay a good foundation for those who may come later."

The dragon hunter spoke calmly, without much expression on his face. These hurtful words did not cause any fluctuation in his emotions.

The atmosphere around the bonfire immediately cooled down.
This is a cruel fact.

It has been five years since their first group arrived in the New World!

For five whole years, they seemed to have been forgotten by the Hunter's Guild. No communication ship came to check on their progress, and no supply ship provided them with supplies.

If not everyone was mentally prepared before coming to the New World, the difficult survival in these five years would be enough to break the will of most people.

"Hehe! Then let's go back! Just like you said, we need to retain our strength and make a good start for those who come after us!"

The Grand Commander patted his knees, stood up, and began to shout loudly towards the camp, informing everyone of the decision and that they would start their return journey tomorrow.

The next day, the New World Star Base.

While looking through the document and comparing the 'Moon Stone' with the picture in the document, Nori sighed.

“Not again”

The cold Moonstone reflected a hint of purple in the sunlight. He was one of the people who stayed behind in Xingchen. These days, Norri immersed himself in the ocean of books, constantly exploring the secrets of the stone he named "Moonstone".

It’s a pity that so far, there is still nothing to be gained.

Just as he stretched and was about to pick up some fruit to fill his stomach that had not eaten for ten minutes, a little sail appeared on the edge of the horizon, and soon a keelboat appeared on the sea surface.

This discovery made Nori stunned for a moment, and then he became extremely excited.

Five years! Five whole years! Finally a ship showed up!

He bit the big pear, took out the hook from his waist, rushed to the cable beside him, and slid quickly to the coast at the bottom of the mountain with the hook hanging on it.

After some rough renovation, a simple platform was built here using the broken parts of the star ship.

The acting team leader who also stayed behind is working here.

"Acting Captain! Acting Captain!"

The excited shouts made the acting leader Carlos sigh.

This glutton, although he is a very good editor, is not only a big eater but also very energetic. He once rode on the back of a crazy Orodon for a full half hour without being thrown off.

Carlos recently had some new ideas. He believed that the current editors were responsible for more than an editor should have and had become a new profession. Therefore, he planned to change the name of editors to compilers, who would be mainly responsible for recording everything they saw and cooperating with hunters to handle some clerical chores.

(End of this chapter)