Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 484 Rescue
Ziyuan's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately turned her head to look in the direction Chacha had indicated.

As a heavy crossbow user, Shion's eyesight is undoubtedly excellent. Even without a telescope, she can still vaguely make out objects on the distant sea surface that rise and fall with the waves.

It was a pile of fragments of wooden planks that had drifted in from who-knows-where. On one of the relatively intact planks, there seemed to be a thin, small figure lying on it. Judging from the outline, it looked like an Ailu.
Huh? Where did this Ailu come from in this desolate wilderness?

Ziyuan rubbed her eyes hard, repeatedly confirming that she wasn't seeing things. It was indeed an Ailu, and it seemed to be wrapped in a wet coat, lying on the wooden board, its life hanging in the balance.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ziyuan waved to Chacha, then plunged into the water, like a nimble fish, quickly approaching the direction where the Ailu was.

A few minutes later, Ziyuan resurfaced, treading water to keep herself from sinking, and placed her hand on the chest of the Ailu, carefully feeling it for a moment.

"Phew—thank goodness, I'm still alive!"

Ziyuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then roughly checked its physical condition.

She was seriously injured and had swallowed a lot of water, but she had medicine with her, so it wasn't a big problem.

Just as Shion was performing emergency rescue on the Elf, Chacha, who had been following Shion around like a little follower, suddenly made a new discovery. She found a crest among the floating wooden planks and debris and quickly handed it to Shion.

"This is the guild emblem!"

Combined with the pile of wooden plank fragments and the injured Ellu, she quickly sketched out the general outline of what had happened in her mind.

The guild's ship was shipwrecked in a nearby sea area, and the crew members were separated and had to cling to the wreckage to survive. This Ailu must have been one of the crew members. She became increasingly weak as she drifted, but luckily, she found and rescued herself.

Since it was a shipwreck, there shouldn't be just one stranded Ellu. While adjusting the Ellu's sprained and dislocated joints, Shion gave Chacha a look.

"Quickly search the surroundings to see if there are any other survivors!"

"Tea bar!"

Chacha made a salute gesture with her little hand next to her mask, and then her limbs quickly flapped, following the direction from which the debris such as the wooden planks had drifted.

Meanwhile, after helping the injured Artoria vomit up all the seawater and giving it a recovery potion, Shion finally woke up.

Upon seeing the violet in front of it, it paused for a moment, then subconsciously touched its body with its paw:
"Am I dead, meow?"

"Yes, welcome to the afterlife."

Ziyuan rolled her eyes.

The cat in the coat was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that the person in front of it was a living hunter. In addition, its body was cold and numb from being soaked in seawater, and the sea breeze blowing in its face carried a salty smell. It was clear that it was still on the sea and had just been lucky to be rescued.

So it looked at the violet in front of it:

"Thank you for saving me, kind hunter."

Ziyuan grunted and tried to hug her shoulders, but since they were at sea, she knew that if she did that, she would sink into the water.

"Although it may be a bit much to say, I have another favor to ask."

"Ok?"

"I am a messenger from the guild delivering a secret message. My airship was attacked and crashed in the waters near the Ancient Forest by an unknown monster. I would like to ask for your help in searching for and rescuing the other survivors."

Ziyuan waved her hand: "You don't need to tell me that, my companions have already gone to look for it."

She paused, then asked curiously:

"Speaking of which, are you sure you're on an airship and not a sea vessel? To destroy an airship, you'd need at least a monster of Rathalos caliber, right? Don't you have any hunters accompanying you?"

Upon hearing this, Ziyuan saw the expression on the coat-wearing cat's face change, revealing fear, regret, and anger:
"I don't know. That monster's strength is definitely far superior to the Fire Dragon. Its true form was hidden under the sea surface. It completely destroyed our airship with just three breaths, and didn't even give us much time to react."

The cat in the coat lowered its head. If it hadn't chosen to risk crossing the river in order to save time, but instead listened to the navigator's advice to take a detour, this disaster might never have happened.

As Ziyuan listened to the description from the cat in the coat, she couldn't help but feel a little shocked. Being underwater, hundreds or thousands of meters away, and destroying an airship with a breath attack in a very short time—in her memory, only the description of the Storm Dragon that she had heard from Yezi could compare to this attack capability.

Could it be that the unknown monster is another super ancient dragon like the Storm Dragon?

She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"I understand. Here's what I'll do: I'll take you back to the nearest camp first, where you can rest for a while. I'll be as careful as possible while I search for your companions."

Unexpectedly, the cat in the coat looked around and then stubbornly shook its head:
"There is almost no land to be seen here, and the round trip is too far."

The implication is that going back and forth would waste too much time, and every minute and second is crucial now; they cannot let it delay Ziyuan's actions.

Ziyuan rubbed her temples again and conceded:
"Alright then, but if I go to do the search and rescue, are you sure you can handle it yourself?"

The cat in the coat forced a smile:

"I can still swim. Even if I'm too tired, I can still float while holding onto a plank!"

Ziyuan nodded, said no more, left it a bottle of recovery medicine and two pieces of food, and then chased after Chacha in the direction it had left.

……

Lin Lin and his group were completely unaware of what was happening at sea.

After delivering the intelligence, Lin Lin and the others were relieved of their burdens and began to enjoy their vacation in peace.

Since he had returned to his old haunts, he naturally wanted to see his old friends again. After catching up with the two signboard girls, the first old friend Lin Lin met was Iwata Hiroichi, who had rushed into the meeting hall in a panic upon hearing that a fire dragon had broken into the village.

Others might not know the origins of the Rathalos that frequently appears around the village, but how could Iwata not know? This guy was born on his own farm!
This guy is usually quite sensible, so why did he suddenly barge into the village so openly today?
Iwata's anxiety and confusion vanished instantly after he rushed into the meeting place and saw the hunter in dark green heavy armor.

"Lin Lin?!"

"I knew it! Why would Oozora suddenly barge in like this? Turns out it's you back!" Upon seeing Lin Lin's face, Iwata's smile instantly lit up. He opened his arms and gave Lin Lin a tight hug.

"It's been almost a year since we last met, hasn't it? Why did you suddenly decide to come back?"

Lin Lin laughed twice:

"I was a little homesick after being away for so long. It just so happens that the things I was busy with over there have come to a temporary end, so I took this opportunity to come back and visit."

"And it wasn't just me who came back."

Lin Lin released Iwata, took two steps back, revealing Yoko, Sophia, and two cats standing behind him.

Yezao simply lived with Lin Lin. Back when Yezi was in Yuyun, she would often go to Iwata's farm, so she was naturally familiar with Iwata. Although Sophia didn't come as often, she was not unfamiliar with Lin Lin either. Therefore, when Iwata saw them, he greeted them with great surprise.

"Let me introduce you, this is my hunting partner, Nialu."

Yoko pulled on Lania's little cat paw and briefly introduced this only unfamiliar cat present to Iwata.

"What about this one?"

After getting to know Nial, Iwata looked at the cub in Sophia's arms. No matter how you looked at it, it looked like a dragon.
"This is Boom, a little shattered dragon. Come on, Boom, say hello to Uncle Iwata!"

Iwata instinctively shuddered. What the hell? A dragon shatter?

The way this guy greeted me, was he going to throw a crushing punch at me?
"Don't worry, although Bao Bao is a bit naughty, he is still very sensible and won't easily blow you up."

Lin Lin chuckled and reached out to poke Bao Bao's cheek, then quickly pulled back before it could open its mouth to bite down, leaving it with a mouthful of air.

"Look, it's like this."

Having suffered a minor setback, Bao Bao immediately pointed its nascent airplane-shaped nose at Lin Lin:
"what!"

"Ha, Bull Demon! A cub of your level has no right to 'ha' me!"

Lin Lin flicked Bao Bao on the head, easily subduing him.

Iwata:……

How could a monster like the Shattered Dragon, known for its violent temper, turn into something like this? This world is becoming more and more unfamiliar; it must be because of Lin Lin's influence.

Lin Lin didn't give him much time to question his existence. After giving Ye Zi a look, he put his arm around Iwata's shoulder and walked towards the bathing area.
"Come on, come on, we haven't seen each other for so long, let's catch up!"

"How have you been lately? How are your aunt and uncle doing?"

"It's all good, it's all good. When Dad and Mom found out that you saved Jieyun last time, they were so proud of themselves. They were walking with their heads held high. It's just that they haven't seen you for a long time and they miss you. Come back with me later to meet your parents."

"No problem at all!"

When he first transmigrated, he was taken to Yukumo Village by his master Kevin. He was taken in by the Iwata family and received a lot of care from the two elders. Lin Lin was not an ungrateful and heartless person, so he had no reason to refuse.

During the last Lingfeng turmoil, the two elders happened to go on vacation to Lokrak. When they left Jieyun for Lokrak, they happened to be on their way back, and the two sides passed each other by. So for Lin Lin, it had been quite a while since he had seen them.

"I'll definitely see him, but I need to make some preparations first; I can't go empty-handed. Before that, let's chat a bit, brother. How many stars are on the cover of Hunter's Notes?"

Iwata:……

"I'm just a regular hunter who does gathering quests occasionally. I can't compare to a legendary hunter like you. Tell me about your amazing experiences lately!"

While Lin Lin was chatting happily, Sophia put down Bao Bao, stretched, and turned to look at Ye Zi:
"I'm planning to go see Teacher Mia, what about you, Yoko?"

Yoko chuckled and shook her head, her gaze drifting to the bathing area hidden behind the curtain:

"I just accompanied Brother Lin back. Most of the people I know in Jieyun are also acquaintances of Brother Lin."

So she didn't plan to go out and catch up with old friends like Sophia did. Instead, she'd rather use that time to think about how to introduce herself when she meets Iwata's parents later—hmm, she had a strange feeling of meeting the parents, and she was a little nervous...

……

Compared to Yoko's slight nervousness, Celestina was genuinely nervous, her heart practically leaping out of her throat.

When the airship crashed, she fell into the sea along with the heavy ballista, but as a well-trained and physically strong hunter, she was not knocked unconscious by the impact like the Coat Cat. After giving herself a dose of recovery medicine, she was basically back to full health and was fine.

But at this moment, the blood in her entire body seemed to be frozen, and she dared not move an inch.

Because a huge shadow was slowly approaching the crash site from beneath the sea, she knew very well that it was the culprit that caused the airship to crash—the creature with a head made entirely of bones, and seemingly two heads.

If they were on land, she could use her hunting experience and various tools to try and outmaneuver the guy, but this was in the sea. She wasn't a good swimmer, and she had absolutely no experience in water combat. At this moment, it seemed like she couldn't do anything except play dead.

We can only pray that the monster is just aggressive and has no interest in inanimate objects...

Celestina watched as two skeletal heads emerged from the water, slowly touching each fragment one by one, seemingly trying to determine if there were any edible parts.

As she watched the crimson light flashing in the eyes of the skeletal dragon's head, and as the two-headed skeletal dragon slowly approached her, Celestina could clearly feel her heart pounding in her chest.

Just as she slowly clenched her fist, about to fight desperately before her death, a violent surge of water suddenly appeared on the distant sea, followed by a fleeting glimpse of something resembling a dorsal fin.

The commotion it made was quite significant, attracting not only Celestina's attention but also that of the two-headed skeletal dragon. It abandoned its search for potential prey among the pile of wood scraps and instead set its sights on the creature causing the disturbance in the distance.

That was a water dragon.

Although it wasn't its favorite sea dragon hatchling, nor its second favorite sea dragon monster, this guy was quite large. Obviously, such a meaty creature was much more valuable than the bits of meat that might be mixed in with a pile of wood chips.

(End of this chapter)