Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 479 The Arrival of the Great Sky
Lingrui readily agreed, and after Lin Lin's repeated instructions, it also said that it would restrain itself and not start a fight on the spot.

With that, Lin Lin was finally relieved and stayed in Jiangbo Village for a few days in peace.

this day.

An airship with a prominent guild emblem printed on its airbags was speeding across the clear sky.

This is an airship from the headquarters of the East Doruma Guild, heading towards Jiangbo Village.

However, since the steel dragon currently entrenched in the dense forest poses a serious threat to the airship's safety, approaching Jiangbo Village from land is too dangerous. Therefore, this time they did not take the relatively safer land route, but instead chose the sea route, which is more likely to encounter monster attacks.

This route starts from East Doruma, travels south along the Geokrug Sea, passes through Geovandrio, turns southeast, follows the Eld volcanic belt, passes the Cape of Good Hope, turns due east, crosses a sea area with islands, and finally arrives at the port of Jiangbo Village.

The reason it's said to be more vulnerable to attacks is mainly because the Eld region is mostly volcanic, and the monsters living there tend to have a stronger sense of territory than monsters in other places. If a wyvern discovers the airship passing by, then you should be prepared to be attacked.

However, so far, they have been quite lucky. They have now crossed the cape, which is also known as the "Dragon Horn" because of the frequent monster attacks, and are about to leave the South Eld region. Yet, they have not encountered a single decent attack, not even a single large monster bird.

The navigator stood at the bow, holding binoculars, observing the surrounding airspace with a slightly tense expression. As long as they successfully passed through the South Eld region, the large archipelago area covered with ancient forests would be much safer. This trip to Jiangbo Village could basically be considered a successful completion.

Especially at such critical moments, we must not let our guard down. If our good luck, which we have maintained all the way, is broken at the last moment, it would be quite heartbreaking.

At this moment, besides the navigator, there was a fully armed hunter standing at the bow of the ship. She was wearing a slightly bulky dark blue armor that completely covered the curves of her female body, and she also carried a sword and shield that were interlocked on her back.

Although most of the current airship routes have been established for a long time and avoid most monster territories, making them relatively safe routes, monster territories are not static. If an attack occurs, then monster hunters are the last guarantee for the safety of people on the airship.

Clearly, the female shield and axe user dressed in the General's Scythe Crab armor is the hunter responsible for guarding this airship.

As a relatively new weapon, the shield axe has far fewer users than older weapons like the greatsword and heavy crossbow. As for female shield axe users, they are even rarer. Therefore, ever since this hunter boarded the ship, everyone on board has been casting curious glances at this girl, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

She seemed unconcerned about the stares of the crowd, standing casually at the bow of the ship, but her eyes, ears, and even exposed skin were constantly alert to changes in the outside world.

"call--"

The female shield-axe user's ears suddenly twitched, keenly catching a faint noise hidden in the howling wind high above—the sound of wings flapping.

The female shield-axe user immediately raised her hand in a warning gesture, and quickly ran to the heavy ballista mounted on the side of the ship, pressed a bolt into the groove, and turned to aim in the direction from which the sound came.

She first glanced at the back and bottom of the airship, but did not see the monster. However, the strange sound in the wind was gradually getting closer.

This allowed her to successfully lock onto her target. She hurriedly looked up, and the dazzling sunlight forced the shield-axe user to squint, only then could she vaguely see the silhouette of the figure whose body was almost completely merged with the sun.

She was very familiar with this silhouette; she had seen it and even fought it several times during hunts. Without a doubt, it was the Rathalos, the king of the skies!

But... for some reason, Celestina felt that this guy was different from the male fire dragons she had seen before. Other fire dragons would block out the sunlight when they flew, and the shadows they cast would bring a strong sense of oppression. But this one in front of her was almost completely integrated into the dazzling sunlight, as if it had become one with the sun.

In that instant, she remembered a story her sister had once mentioned in casual conversation.

It is said that among the fire dragons, there exists an extremely rare individual, perhaps only one in several hundred. Because its carapace has a silvery-white metallic luster, it is called the Silver Sun and possesses combat power far exceeding that of ordinary male fire dragons.

Could it be that I have really encountered this legendary monster?

"Quickly! Increase speed!"

Celestina's heart sank. She yelled at her crew to try to shake off the pursuer while turning her ballista, trying to aim at the figure. However, the figure was flying almost directly overhead, which was beyond the ballista's maximum elevation angle. After trying for a while, she gave up in despair and took out a flashbang, clutching it tightly in her hand.

Fighting in the air is not the same as fighting on the ground. If the distance between her and the enemy is too great, she has no confidence that the flashbang will be able to interfere with them.

However, just as she was staring intently at the other person with her eyes narrowed, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.

This fire dragon does indeed seem different from ordinary fire dragons. Its body has a faint metallic sheen, but upon closer inspection, you can see that its color is still the same red and black as ordinary fire dragons, not the dazzling silver-white of legend.

Moreover, Rathalos's ability to control the sky relies not only on its powerful flight capabilities but also on its sharp venomous claws and scorching flames.

Given the airship's size and agility, it should be practically a sitting duck when facing Rathalos's breath, so why didn't this guy even try? Did he feel he hadn't entered effective attack range yet?

Celestina gritted her teeth, preparing to throw her flashbang when the dragon got a little closer, but at that moment, she suddenly noticed that the male fire dragon seemed to have lowered its head and glanced at her.

That guy's left eye looks like it's missing something?

Because she was facing away from the sunlight, and because of the metallic sheen reflecting off the opponent's scales, Celestina couldn't see clearly at a glance.

She only noticed that after taking that one look, the other party actually flapped its wings a few times in succession, and its flight speed increased again. In just a few breaths, it flew directly over the airship from behind and above, and quickly flew forward.

Celestina: ?

The tense passengers on the airship: ?
What's going on?
The Rathalos, which originally intended to attack them, discovered the airship's formidable weaponry and realized it was no match for them, so it abandoned the attack.

Haha, just tell it as a joke. Even if the crew believed it, Celestina would never believe it.

She had a clear understanding of herself. If her older sister were here, as a battle-hardened high-ranking greatsword user, she might very well have intimidated the Rathalos with her imposing aura and made it slink away. But she was just a self-taught hunter, having switched from scholar to hunter, and had only recently achieved five stars. If there was anything she was better at than other low-ranking hunters, it was probably that her past as a scholar gave her a more acute sensitivity to the changes in monsters.

Celestina watched the male fire dragon's figure gradually shrink in her sight, and her mind habitually began to analyze.

It couldn't possibly be fear. If it were afraid of the airship, it wouldn't have approached it so easily in the first place.

It didn't seem like he had any intention to attack; his attitude towards them was more like ignoring them or not caring.

However, that doesn't seem quite right. If they really didn't care, they should have treated the airship as nothing, maintained their speed, and slowly passed them overhead, instead of suddenly speeding up after glancing at them like this.

So why did they accelerate suddenly after just one glance at them, instead of earlier or later?

They probably only noticed her wary reaction and the panicked behavior of the crew members.
Thinking about this, Celestina had an idea that she herself found absurd:
"Could it be that the fire dragon chose to speed up its departure because it was afraid of scaring them?"

Could this be the kind of thinking a monster would have? Or is it a Rathalos known for its strong territorial instincts and high aggression?

Is this right?
"Ms. Celes?"

The navigator's voice came through, trembling with apprehension and a hint of doubt.

Celestina exhaled and waved casually:

"The danger is over. That thing wasn't coming for us. We can continue our voyage."

But a new question arose in her mind: why did that male fire dragon fly straight ahead? Was something there attracting it?
However, this doubt is destined to remain buried in one's heart for the foreseeable future, without finding an answer.

……

On the outskirts of Jiangbo Village, in a clearing that is close to the edge of the dense forest.

Lin Lin was wearing the Heavy Beetle Armor and carrying the Thousand Blade Dragon Shield Axe, while Ye Zi was wearing the Thousand Blade Dragon Armor and carrying the Heavenly Dragon Insect Staff. Apart from that, they only had some commonly used items in their item bags. Everything else was left in the Isana's cabin, so they were traveling light.

Nialu was similar; she only had one set of armor, a cat sword, and a few potions, nothing else.

There were only dates left. I looked left and right, reluctant to part with this one and unwilling to put down that one. In the end, after much deliberation, I still carried a big bundle out of the village.

There's no way around it; many of its inventions are still in the experimental stage. For example, recently, after seeing the crucial role that Dragonfighting Spear played in the battle against the Celestial Dragon, it has been trying to develop its own "Cat-type Dragonfighting Spear." If it just gives up like this, its development progress will have to start all over again.

Sophia was similar to Lin Lin and the others. Since she was on vacation, all her work documents and materials, as well as her familiarity with ecological research, were stored on the Isana. The only things she carried with her were her handwritten observation notebook and a certain amount of healing medicine and nutrients.

Well, the potions are for the explosion. Although it's been exploding itself less often lately, we still need to bring some just in case!
Lin Lin sensed that the distance between Da Kong and them was rapidly decreasing. To avoid causing panic among the villagers, he said goodbye to everyone and led them to the outskirts of the village, where they chose an open space to wait quietly.

At this moment, among everyone present, only Sophia was the most nervous.

After all, back in Jieyun Village, Lin Lin had entrusted her with the care of Da Kong, who was still an egg, for quite some time. So, she could be considered Da Kong's half-mother. Now that she was finally going to see her child whom she had never met before, she couldn't help but feel excited.

But beyond the excitement, she was actually more nervous.

After all, Da Kong is her child, and Bao Bao is the child she raised herself. If the two children don't get along when they meet, what should she do in the middle?
It's just that Lin Lin can't hear human thoughts; otherwise, if he knew what Sophia was thinking right now, he would definitely give a sharp critique:

Does Osora know that you are its mother?

Back in Yukumo Village, you took care of Da Kong, who was still in his egg, for quite a long time. But why is it that Da Kong broke out of his egg and ran out right after you left Yukumo?

Is it really just a coincidence?
Lin Lin had every reason to suspect that Da Kong was actually afraid of this dragon-loving creature, which was why he had been hiding inside the egg and hadn't dared to come out.

"call--"

The sound of wings flapping filled the air. Lin Lin turned his head to look at the horizon, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips. He quickly waved his hands at the figure.

\OR/
“Oi——”

The figure had excellent eyesight. Almost at the same moment Lin Lin waved his hand, it accurately locked onto Lin Lin's location, let out a long cry in the air, closed its wings, and swooped down rapidly towards Lin Lin's location.

The villagers on guard in Jiangbo Village noticed the Rathalos appearing in the sky and were preparing to issue a warning. However, they then realized that the Rathalos's dive direction did not seem to be towards the village. They breathed a slight sigh of relief, but kept their eyes fixed on the figure, ready to sound the alarm at any moment.

However, his worries seemed to be somewhat unnecessary. The figure swooped down into the dense forest like a shooting star. Although it appeared to be only at the edge of the forest, it was still some distance from the village.

Village guards finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, while this might not be enough to make him immediately sound the alarm, it is still necessary to inform the village chief or hunters of the Rathalos's appearance.

He turned to his companion and gave him a brief instruction, then quickly ran towards the tavern.

(End of this chapter)