Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 357 Jack and Rose Trapped
Two hours later.

At the docks of Lokrak, people come and go, with sand barges constantly entering the harbor while more sail out into the depths of the desert.

On a sand barge near the outer edge, Shion glanced around and finally nodded slightly.

Well, that should be enough to prepare everything.

Beside him, looking at the cramped cabins of the sand barge, where there wasn't even room to stand, Lin Lin twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a somewhat subtle expression:

"While being well-prepared is a good thing, isn't this going a bit too far?"

"Huh? Is that an exaggeration?"

Shion's gaze swept over the four massive barrel bombs, almost as tall as a person, lined up in front of her. She belatedly realized that she seemed to have used all the space to store items, leaving no room for the hunters on the ship.

Hmm...it seems like there's a tiny bit of that?

Is this what you call a little bit?
Bref smirked. Who taught you to carry four large barrel bombs at once, and they're G-class enhanced versions, no less! Two would have been enough!

"so……"

Ziyuan pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

"so?"

Yoko tilted her head to look at the other person. Just when all three thought that Shion was going to sacrifice the two large barrel bombs G to make room, Shion waved her small hand:
"So I've decided to order another sand barge! If one sand barge can't hold it all, two should be enough, right?"

Lin Lin and the other two: "..."

Is this the mindset of a chamber of commerce heiress? No, it's their mindset that's narrow.

They don't even need to rent sandboats, because they own countless sandboats and can summon them whenever they want...

"In that case, I have no objection."

Lin Lin was the first to express his opinion, and Bref and Ye Zi nodded in agreement, though their expressions were somewhat complicated.

"Wuhu! Let's go!"

So, after moving the two large barrel bombs G onto the newly arrived sand barge, Shion's excited voice announced the official start of the hunt.

……

The dominant color of the desert is always that withered yellow, symbolizing desolation. The hot wind blows, carrying the sand and gravel from the dunes to a bare rocky platform not far away that is almost completely covered by vegetation.

On the rocky platform, in the gaps formed by several weathered rock pillars, a piece of earthen-yellow canvas shielded the yellow sand brought by the hot wind.

"crash"

A corner of the canvas was lifted, and a pair of tired eyes peered out through the gap. Although all that could be seen was yellow sand and there seemed to be no living creatures, the owner of the eyes still dared not relax for a moment.

"So, has that guy left yet?"

A slightly hoarse voice, carrying a strong desert flavor, came from behind the waves. As if worried that the voice might attract some irresistible force, the voice was kept very low.

"Although I really wanted to answer yes, it was still waiting for us outside until ten minutes ago."

The young man in the leather suit also lowered his voice and turned to look at his companion.

It was a young woman dressed in a hunter's suit, but at this moment, she was lying weakly on the ground. Her originally healthy wheat-colored skin was noticeably pale, and one hand hung limply at her side, looking as if she had suffered a serious injury.

Beside her stood a large shield made of fine iron and a long spear of the same material.

"It's all my fault. If I had noticed that guy sooner, we wouldn't be stuck here..."

Looking at his companion lying helplessly, the young man's tired eyes were filled with self-reproach, and his fingers unconsciously flicked back and forth on the crossbow in his pocket, as if this could help him relieve his anxiety.

"Do you think we'll make it back alive?"

Compared to the young man who was unharmed but looked worried and pessimistic, the female hunter lying on the ground, though listless, had a faint smile on her face:

"Relax, Jack, it's not your fault, we were just a little unlucky."

As if speaking aggravated her injury, she paused, seemingly waiting for the pain to subside before continuing:

“We’ll definitely be fine. Judging from the timeline, we’re not too far from Loklar. Once the distress signal is sent out, someone will see it and come to our rescue soon.”

Jack was silent for a moment, then forced a smile. "I hope so."

They weren't too far away, that's in terms of the speed of the sandboats. To be honest, it was impossible for Loklak to see their distress signal. He could only hope that a sandboat happened to be heading in their direction and happened to notice the red firework that was not very conspicuous in the daytime desert.

Jack lowered his head and loaded the crossbow bullets one by one into the magazine, his mind racing.

Both of them were students from the Lokrak Training Camp, and they had just completed their assessment mission. As long as they returned to Lokrak, they could become official hunters and remove the word "apprentice" from their titles.

Unfortunately, the originally smooth assessment went awry on the return journey. A monstrous slug appeared out of nowhere and targeted them. While the two were looking at the map to determine their direction, it emerged from under the sand and snapped their sandboat in two. If they hadn't both been hunters and hadn't reacted quickly enough to the danger, they would probably have been swallowed up by the monster along with the sandboat.

Although they managed to escape with their lives thanks to their quick reflexes, the opponent of the level of the Flood Dragon was far beyond the capabilities of the two rookies. Moreover, Ruth was injured during the Flood Dragon's attack, and her right hand, which was holding the shield, was unable to exert any force, so she couldn't fight back at all. The two had no choice but to flee for their lives. Fortunately, there was a rocky platform nearby, which prevented the Flood Dragon from swimming on the hard ground, giving them a chance to catch their breath.

But it was only a brief respite. The Submerged Dragon moved extremely fast under the sand, and this guy had been lying in wait nearby. He had tried twice before, but each time, before he had even left the hundred-meter range of the rock platform, the Submerged Dragon would suddenly pop out and give him a fright.

However, staying on this rocky platform would also be a slow death. Since the sand boat was destroyed suddenly, they didn't have time to bring supplies. Needless to say, there were no healing medicines, and they didn't even have hot or cold drinks necessary for desert activities. If they just stayed on the rocky platform until night fell, the low temperature of the desert night would be enough to kill them without the help of the lurking dragon.

For now, their only hope is that someone in the direction of Lokrak will see their distress signal and come to their rescue...

Jack sighed heavily. If no one found them by evening, they would have to risk leaving the rocky platform and collecting supplies from the ruins of the damaged sand boat, hoping that the lurking dragon would lose patience and give up on waiting for them...

After estimating the time in his mind, and feeling that it was about time, he took out another signal flare, pulled the fuse, and launched it into the sky.

Thanks to the detailed instruction at the training camp, they usually carry these large red fireworks with them at all times. Even after a sudden attack, they can still send out signals, but there aren't many of them. Hopefully, someone will see them before all the fireworks are set off.

……

With sails billowing, the two sand barges sped forward, heading towards the location marked on the commission document where the client had been attacked. Although the mustachioed guild leader stated that the monstrous dragon was most likely no longer there, in the absence of other sightings of monstrous dragons, they could only try their luck.

"Look over there!"

As expected of an archer, Ziyuan has excellent eyesight. Despite the howling hot wind and yellow sand in the desert, she managed to spot a red dot on the distant horizon.

"It's a distress signal!"

Yezi looked over and instantly made a decision, "Let's go over there quickly!"

Without a word, Ziyuan immediately adjusted the angle of the sails, and the sandboat gracefully drew an arc, heading towards the direction of the distress signal.

Ye Zi turned around and gestured to another sand barge not far behind, signaling them to follow.

"what's going on?"

Because he needed to control the sails, Breve, who wasn't very skilled at it, didn't have time to carefully decipher Ye Zi's signals and could only ask Lin Lin for help.

"Someone has sent out a distress signal; we need to go check it out."

Lin Lin shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed into the distance, remarking with a sigh:
"This world is truly full of dangers; ordinary people might encounter peril at any time..."

Brave grinned confidently, "But they're still lucky, because they have us!"

……

With the wind at full speed, the sand rafts sped along and quickly arrived at the scene.

However, to Ziyuan's surprise, apart from the rocky platform in front of her, there seemed to be no living creatures here; all she could see was sand.

"There's nothing here, Yoko-nee. Are you sure that's really a distress signal and not just some kind of prank?"

Hearing Shion's words, Yoko couldn't help but feel an urge to raise her hand and knock her on the head. Seriously! Who would play such a prank!

"Let's get the boat closer first. Look at that canvas over there; the person calling for help is probably there."

"Also, stay vigilant, as many desert monsters are accustomed to lurking under the sand."

Ye Zi drew the dragon bone staff, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surrounding yellow sand. He had a vague feeling that something nearby was secretly observing them.

But for some reason, until the sand boat docked at the edge of the rocky platform, they were not attacked at all, and they stood on the rocky platform in peace and tranquility.

strange?
Yoko frowned. Was that feeling of being watched just her imagination?

She glanced around again, her gaze lingering for a moment on the small, protruding dunes. The shapes of these dunes always seemed a little unnatural to her, as if they were all carved from the same mold.

But after she remained vigilant for a long time, nothing changed in her surroundings. Instead, Shion had already arrived at the sheltered area enclosed by canvas and found the two people who had sent the distress signal.

They were two hunters, and judging from their equipment, they were probably novices. The female spearman had fallen into a deep sleep, while the male crossbowman, though exhausted, was still conscious.

Yoru waved her hand, signaling Shion to check on the spearman's condition and help treat him if necessary, while she herself went to the light crossbowman and inquired about the specific situation:
"What monster attacked you? How long ago?"

The light crossbowman's initial joy at seeing Shion's Blue Velociraptor armor set instantly faded, but upon seeing Yoko's unfamiliar gear, a spark of hope rekindled in his eyes.

Although he looks a bit too young, you can tell from his outfit that he's definitely a big shot.

Great! It's a high-level hunter, we're saved!
Immediately, Jack answered Yoko's question without any concealment, revealing everything:
"It was a lurking dinosaur. It was about three to four hours ago. That guy is very good at camouflage. Once it dives under the sand, it's impossible to tell it's there."

After a pause, he added:
"Before you seniors arrived, I tested it four times. Each time, as soon as we left the rock platform by less than a hundred meters, that thing would rush out and try to swallow us whole. I can confirm that it was still lurking around here until half an hour ago."

Now Ye Zi was finally certain that the feeling of being watched was not an illusion:

"It's probably still here."

Jack hesitated for a moment, then finally asked:

"Senior, are you capable of handling that guy?"

Before I knew it, I'd become a senior...

Yoko was slightly lost in thought, but then gave the newbie in front of her a reassuring look:

"Don't worry, it's just a Lurker Dragon, it can't cause any trouble. You guys rest for a while, we'll take care of that guy. Shion!"

"Hey! Sister Yezi?"

Just as he poured a bottle of recovery potion into the spearman's mouth, Shion heard the sound and jumped up, quickly responding.

"You're lucky. The monster that attacked them is the Flood Dragon you're looking for. Get ready for battle."

"Oh ah?"

Battle preparations? Me?

Ziyuan's heart pounded. Although she felt prepared after listening to her senior brothers' arrangements, she still couldn't help but feel nervous when the moment arrived.

This time she's not just a bystander; she's a key member of the fight...

"Don't worry, you can do it. Don't forget, you're Rachel's disciple! And we're here for you!"

Ye Zi pointed to the second sand barge that had slowly come to a stop not far away, where Lin Lin and Bref had just rolled off.

"breathe--"

Ziyuan took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then set up her heavy crossbow and loaded a colored bullet into the magazine. This way, she could mark the spot when the battle began, as her master had instructed, to prevent monsters from fleeing without her having time to reload and mark the spot.

"I can do it, I'm ready..."

(End of this chapter)