Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 481 Genesis

The cat in the coat turned its head and glanced at the large reddish-brown whale next to the guild airship. It recognized that this was its other target this time, the guild's airship.

When Julius reported earlier, the group was still in Xinard Village and had not left. Coat Cat originally thought that after he finished his trip to Jiangbo Village, he would have to cross the sea to Xiqi Kingdom to find someone.

However, since the group's airships are now parked here, the person he's looking for is most likely staying in Jiangbo Village, which saves him the trouble of making another trip.

So, after taking that look, the cat in the coat naturally asked the same question.

However, the strange expression on the big-nosed village chief's face after hearing this really puzzled the coat-wearing cat.

Why that expression?
Could it be that they went hunting in the dense forest?

Then I'll just wait in the village, won't I?

They couldn't have gone somewhere super far away, could they? That shouldn't be the case, right? The troupe's airship is still parked here, where could they have gone?
Unfortunately, they just left.

"They just left not long ago? Then maybe I can still catch up with them."

The man in the coat pulled an envelope with sealing wax from his pocket and showed it to the village chief of Jiangbo Village:
"This is a confidential letter from the guild, and I need to deliver it to them personally as soon as possible."

"Then you'll probably have a hard time catching up..."

The big-nosed village chief's words intensified the uneasy feeling in the coat-wearing cat's heart.

What does it mean to be hard to catch up with?
Seeing the suspicious look on the face of the man in the coat, the village chief of Jiangbo Village sighed softly:
"You probably won't believe it, but they flew away on a fire dragon not long ago, and they flew towards the sea."

Coat Cat: ? ? ?

What does it mean to fly away riding a fire dragon?

Wait, if I remember correctly...

As the guild's secret envoy, the Coat Cat was aware of many undisclosed intelligence reports and quickly recalled a report about the battle to defeat the Storm Dragon that had been strictly controlled about a year ago.

It seems that it was mentioned that a fire dragon participated in the battle and inexplicably sided with the hunters, helping to delay the storm dragon for quite some time. Moreover, it seems that the two hunters it was looking for were both involved in that battle.

It suddenly remembered a strange incident the crew had mentioned: their airship had encountered a peculiar fire dragon while passing through the South Eld volcanic zone.

The guy chased after them from behind, making the crew very nervous. They thought they were about to be attacked and were prepared for a plane crash. But the guy just walked past the airship and went straight ahead, quickly leaving the airship behind.

If the Rathalos that encountered the guild airship is the same Rathalos that appeared during the Battle of Spirit Peak, then its seemingly illogical actions become quite understandable.

It was summoned by those two hunters using some unknown method! Their purpose was to take them away from Jiangbo Village!
Having seen it all before, the big-coat cat quickly sorted out her thoughts and politely bowed to the big-nosed village chief to express her gratitude.

Although it's still unclear where the male fire dragon is taking the two hunters, since it was summoned by Lin Lin and his companion, it will likely obey the hunters' commands. In that case, it's worth asking someone if they've mentioned their next destination.

As expected of a guild envoy, he was quick-witted and had a clear mind. He quickly found the brigade leader and learned Lin Lin's destination from him.

"Yukumo Village Meow..."

……

While Da Yi Mao was anxiously waiting for the airship to finish resupplying so they could hurry on their way to Jieyun Village, Lin Lin and the others had already crossed the azure sea and arrived above an archipelago.

To accommodate the passengers on its back, the plane flew very fast but was not bumpy at all, and was quite smooth.

Therefore, Lin Lin and the others did not need to hold on tightly to Da Kong's scales. They could free their hands and quietly enjoy the magnificent scenery below from its body.

Sofia pulled out a map, unfurled it against the strong wind, and her gaze lingered between the map and the scenery below, making comparisons.

A moment later, Sofia closed the map and stuffed it back into her backpack:

"If my calculations are correct, if we move a little further south, we will reach the territory of the Ancient Forest, and these islands are all extensions of the Ancient Forest's boundaries."

"Ancient Forest?"

Yoko seemed to remember something and turned around to ask:

"I think I heard the villagers say that Petty was picked up from this place by the village chief of Jiangbo Village?"

Sofia nodded vigorously; she was deeply impressed by Petty's story.

"That's right. Petty's hometown was an unknown village located inside the ancient forest. Unfortunately, it was targeted by some monster. Except for her, who escaped because she got lost, no living creature in the village survived."

"Is it a Deviljho?"

Yoko guessed.

As far as she knew, it seemed that only monsters like the Deviljho, known as the destroyer of the food chain, had such a voracious appetite that they would devour an entire village without leaving a single survivor.

If it were any other monster, even one as ferocious as the Golden Lion, which would violently kill any living thing within its sight, it wouldn't have such a big appetite to leave not a single corpse in the entire village, right?

“I’m not entirely sure, but I asked the village chief before. When he brought Petty to the village, he carefully examined the site and thought it was unlikely to be a Deinosuchus.”

"If it were a Deviljho, it should have left many distinctive marks, such as flaked teeth, marks from saliva and dragon-elemental energy corrosion, or huge footprints... But according to the village chief, he did not find any such marks."

Ye Ziqi said:

"What else could it be made of? I feel it must have been made by a large monster, right? Small predators like Velociraptors and Jaggi, as well as orc races like the Felynes, couldn't possibly have left no remains behind!"

"And since it's a large monster, it must have left some traces, right?" "Traces... there are indeed some."

Sofia pondered for a moment, recalling the scene of her conversation with the village chief of Jiangbo Village:
"According to the village chief, an unidentified substance was found at the scene. It looked like a fluorescent blue slime. It's uncertain whether it's toxic, but it's very sticky."

"He reported the information to the guild, but even the guild couldn't find any valuable clues by comparing the data with the database. The murderer who slaughtered the village seems to be a completely new and unknown monster."

At the very front, perched on Da Kong's neck, Lin Lin looked down at the scenery below while listening to the two women's conversation. At first, he was also wondering what other monster besides a Deviljho could do such a thing, until Sophia just revealed a new clue.

Blue slime!

It appears in the Ancient Forest and releases blue slime; it has a record of wiping out an entire village in one night... There's no mistake, it must be that guy!
Skeleton Dragon!

That Elder Dragon that preyed on Elder Dragons (the young Great Sea Dragon) even before Nergigante!
Lin Lin stared at the islands slowly receding below, trying hard to recall the relevant information.

Elder dragons are often considered to be powerful beings who have mastered certain concepts related to nature, such as the lightning of the Kirin, the fire of the Teostra, the wind of the Kushala Daora, the poison of the Chameleon, and the mad dragon power of the Celestial Dragon. These are more abstract, but they can also be seen as symbols of disease. The skeletal dragon also has its own representative concept, which is death.

The calamities that the Bone Dragon can cause are merely its "predatory activities," which may seem much weaker than thunderstorms, fires, or hurricanes. But if you think about it carefully from another perspective, the fact that predation alone can bring about natural disasters makes this creature far more terrifying than the Deviljho!
If Lin Lin remembered correctly, the Skeleton Dragon should be the monster unlocked in X. Like the Black Dragon and the Alatreon, it has its own exclusive battlefield. The Skeleton Dragon's battlefield is called the "Dragon Graveyard".

The Dragon Graveyard is the lair of the Bone Dragon, which has the habit of bringing its prey back to the lair to eat. In addition, the Bone Dragon has an astonishing appetite that far exceeds that of the Deviljho. Over the years, the bones in the Bone Dragon's lair have piled up like mountains, a scene even more impressive than the Rotten Vale in the New World!
After all, the skeleton dragon's true form is actually a giant squid, and its lair is in the sea. Strictly speaking, the Dragon Graveyard has no land at all. The reason hunters are able to fight the skeleton dragon there is entirely because the mountains of bones piled up in the lair, even from underwater to the surface, serve as the ground. You can imagine how high the density of the bones buried there is.

and many more!

The Dragon Graveyard is in the water!
Lin Lin was startled and turned to look at the continuous stretch of primeval forest to the south, which was more like a whole landmass than an island. He then looked down at the islands that had sprung up around the primeval forest.

I'm in trouble!
"Quickly! Open the air! Fly away from this area!"

The Bone Dragon is a monster of the unlocked level. Our small bodies really can't withstand it. Run, run!
Although Da Kong didn't understand why, in response to Lin Lin's urging, it changed its previous flight mode, which was more energy-efficient, and increased the frequency of its wing flapping.

As the sky accelerated, Lin Lin and the others could no longer sit steadily on its back. To stabilize themselves, they quickly grabbed the scales on its back with both hands.

As for Bao Bao, whose claws are not capable of gripping like humans and cats, Lin Lin and Sophia decided from the beginning that for the safety of flight, Da Kong would hold it with its claws and carry it, so there was no need to worry about it being thrown off.

—After getting used to it for a while, this mischievous little guy quickly grew to like the feeling of the strong airflow blowing over his body. Perhaps every wingless monster has a dream of flying in its heart.

"Boss! What's going on, meow? Why did you suddenly make the sky speed up, meow?"

Date gripped Lin Lin's shoulder armor tightly with its cat paws, which prevented it from being blown away by the suddenly increased strong airflow.

"My intuition tells me that this area is not safe."

Date squinted, her eyes barely open from the gust of wind, and looked him up and down, feeling that her boss's intuition might be a little unreliable.

"Da Kong is flying hundreds of meters in the sky right now, there isn't even a bird around, what danger could there be, meow?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Lin suddenly realized that the seabirds he had been able to see all around him since leaving Jiangbo Village had disappeared without a trace.

His bad premonition grew stronger.

Oh no! The Sky Piercer is the only flying creature in this area! Could the Dragon Graveyard really be nearby?!

Hopefully, that guy is asleep right now and hasn't noticed them.

Just as Lin Lin's unease was growing stronger, Nia Lu suddenly spoke up from the other side:

"Boss, and Senior Lin Lin too! I have a feeling that's not quite right, meow?"

Yoko was still very concerned about her hunting cat, and quickly asked:

"What's wrong? What's bothering you?"

"It's... really depressing, meow, it feels like I'm being watched by something, meow..."

Nia's fur stood on end as she looked around anxiously, but she couldn't find the source of the oppressive feeling.

No——

Lin Lin inwardly groaned. Nia Lu's senses were extremely sharp. Even if she herself didn't notice, her subconscious would still pick up the danger signals received by her senses.

Since it joined the team, it has been of great help in reconnaissance and guarding the surroundings. Now even Nia Lu has this feeling. He is almost 99% sure that they are being watched.

Nia was the first to sense it, and a few seconds later, Yoko's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly called out to Lin Lin:

“Niaru is right, I felt it too! Something is watching us!”

Without any hesitation, Lin Lin forcefully slapped Da Kong's body:

"Change direction! Fly higher!"

Da Kong had been listening to the conversation behind him, a faint unease creeping into his heart. Without hesitation, he flapped his wings, instantly changing his forward momentum to an upward one, gaining nearly a hundred meters in just a second or two. The heavy load made both him and the person on his back feel a tightness in their chests.

Almost the instant the sky shifted, a dark red beam of light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds at an angle. Its terrifying energy fluctuations sent a chill down everyone's spine.

If Ookora hadn't suddenly changed direction and continued at the same speed, that beam of light would have easily engulfed them all—this was calculated with lead time!

Looking at the clouds that had been torn open by the beam of light, Lin Lin had no doubt that if they had been hit by that attack, they probably wouldn't even have left behind any bone fragments!
so horrible!

Without a doubt, that was an attack launched by the Bone Dragon! A Genesis attack boasting the highest single-target attack animation value!
(Since some people have asked, here's a map. This book is based on this map with slight modifications. The locations of Yukumo Village and Yanhuo Village are below Tangia Port.)
(End of this chapter)