Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 488 Brave's Lifelong Rival

"A two-headed skeletal dragon? And it can destroy an airship with a single breath from hundreds or thousands of meters away?"

As Anxia listened to Celestina's description, her mouth gaped wider and wider, and the pen she was using to take notes froze in place.

After a long pause, she patted her cheeks and resumed taking notes, her brows furrowing in worry.

"I believe in your qualities as a hunter, Celestina, and that's definitely not an illusion, but I still have to say that what you're describing is just too unbelievable."

"As we all know, the brain is the central control center for monsters to control their bodies. Even if a few monsters have multiple brains, there will inevitably be a primary and a secondary one."

"Even if some monsters have an extra head compared to their kind due to genetic defects or environmental factors, it is only because two embryos have fused together. The two heads have different consciousnesses and often disagree in their actions. In the fierce competition for survival in nature, such deformed monsters are often killed in their larval stage."

"But this two-headed dragon you're talking about really sounds like it has two completely different brains with different consciousnesses. That's practically breaking the laws of ecology!"

Ziyuan, who was listening nearby, subconsciously spoke up upon hearing this:

"Wasn't it said to be a dragon made entirely of bones? It's just like the kind of undead spirits that bards talk about or that appear in novels. Maybe it doesn't even have a brain and is driven by something like 'soul fire'?"

Anxia and Celestina both looked at Ziyuan, then exchanged a glance, deciding to pretend they hadn't heard and continue their discussion.

Celestina offered her own conjecture:

"After all, it was an unknown monster we had never heard of before, and it possessed extremely high levels of dragon-attribute energy within its body. It was most likely an ancient dragon, and perhaps its two brains each had different functions and could cooperate with each other?"

Anxia nodded. Although she felt the guess was still a bit too far-fetched, she couldn't think of a more suitable explanation for the time being, so she had to put the topic aside for now and talk about another characteristic of the monster:
"Perhaps, but this guy's abnormality isn't limited to just his brain. Anyone with even a basic understanding of biology knows that skeletons can't move on their own."

"The most reasonable hypothesis I can think of right now is that it is actually an exoskeleton formed after the keratin hardens, with a bone-like texture. Like the Steel Dragon, it moves by muscles encased in an exoskeleton."

Celestina largely agrees with the idea that the skeletal dragon is driven by internal muscles. Judging from the flexibility and range of its neck movements, it is almost impossible for the spine to achieve that. However, she believes that the idea that "the skeleton is an exoskeleton" is debatable.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's skeleton. The texture is almost identical to the material from bone mounds in the wild, and it comes in all sorts of shapes, not just ribs or skulls. It's hard for an exoskeleton to grow into such a disordered shape."

Ziyuan looked left and right, puffing out her cheeks.

Ignored, she forcefully interrupted the conversation, spouting nonsense:

"What's so strange about that? Maybe that guy just wrapped himself in the bones when he passed by the bone mound, just like how a sand dragon would wrap itself in mud, a fire dragon would wrap itself in lava, and a giant beast would wrap itself in snow."

Celestina paused slightly, then finally turned her head and stared at Shion with an unfamiliar gaze.

Just as Ziyuan was feeling guilty, worried that she might have said something wrong again, she saw her clap her hands forcefully:

"A generous gift! Shion, you really are a genius!"

"That's it! That must be it! That guy stuck the skeleton to his body, which is why it looks so messy and disordered, and it doesn't look like the patterns that would appear during normal growth!"

Anxia wrote this information into the speculation section of the intelligence report with lightning speed. If they were to actually fight the other side, this might be a very useful piece of information.

"Tea bar, tea bar?"

Just as the three were having a heated discussion, a voice rang out from not far away.

Ziyuan turned her head and saw Chacha, who had just returned from visiting several wounded people at the clinic, gesturing wildly and shouting something at her.

"When did you arrive?"

Ziyuan asked curiously.

"Tea bar!"

It arrived right from the very first sentence!

Shion: ...

It was so barely noticeable that none of the three of them even noticed it.

"Tea Kaka Tea Bar!"

Shion's eyes widened immediately:

"Wait, you mean you saw what that guy looked like?"

"And it's not a two-headed dragon, but a giant squid?"

Chacha nodded vigorously. After all, it was being chased by the water dragon at the time. Just as it turned its head to observe the direction of the water dragon's attack, it clearly saw the action of suddenly stopping. Immediately afterward, a huge figure swam past it not far away, and the water it stirred up made it tumble two or three times on the spot.

Although it wasn't very clear, I could at least vaguely make out its outline, which looked very similar to the squid that fishermen occasionally catch.

Anxia: ...

Celestina: ...

Huh? A giant squid? What happened to the two-headed dragon? What happened to the skeleton?

This doesn't match Celestina's eyewitness account at all!

Shion glanced at the two who were deep in thought, then poked her cheek and pondered for a moment:

"So, is it possible that the dragon head you saw, Tina, was actually a mimicry of the giant squid's two tentacles?"

Damn! Shion, you really are a genius!
The group quickly pieced together the information about the skeletal dragon, and Anxia attached the information to the peregrine falcon's leg to send it to distant East Doruma. Having accomplished this, Ziyuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She had done what she could; the rest was for the guild leaders to worry about. She could finally return to what she was doing.

"So, Tina? Are you planning to leave with Coat Cat, or stay and help out? Lately, the frequent earthquakes in Moga Village have been a real headache for the villagers. Brave and I have been investigating for quite some time but haven't found any clues."

She wanted this five-star hunter to stay and help out; maybe he could make a discovery?
Celestina gave an awkward but polite smile:

"I'm sorry, although I would be happy to stay and help, I do have a client to work for."

Although the request issued by the Coat Cat was to recruit hunters to protect the airship rather than protect itself, the airship being destroyed by the Skeleton Dragon basically means the mission has failed.

But just like how she didn't abandon her companions and escape alone after the skeleton dragon was lured away by the water dragon, she has her own professional ethics. She can't just watch the coat cat head to Yuukoku alone. If something bad happens to her on the way, she will feel very guilty.

Besides, if she escorts him all the way there, maybe the client will consider her hard work and settle the commission fee as usual? That's no small sum!
Shion understood and naturally didn't try to stop her, simply smiling and waving goodbye.

Goodbye then!

"I hope that when we meet again, we'll have resolved the issues here, and we can sit down at a tavern, get together, and have a good drink!"

"Great! I'll treat you then!"

……

After seeing Celestina and the Coat Cat off, Shion resumed her investigation into the cause of the earthquake. She had previously encountered the skeletal dragon in the sea northeast of the Submerged Forest, but as powerful as it was, it was too far away from Moga Village.

In the past two days, another earthquake struck Moga Village, but Shion, who was in the Waterless Forest, did not feel much of it, which is enough to show that her investigation was going in the wrong direction.

So this time, she decided to explore further south.

If she remembered correctly, there should be a sizable volcano there, which had formed an island covered in lava due to the eruption. It was given a simple and straightforward name: Lava Island. Maybe there would be some clues there.

The main reason why Shion did not choose a closer isolated island as her target was because Breve was conducting an investigation there. For example, at this moment, just as Shion set her next target location, Breve, who was on the isolated island, was riding a dog at a fast speed, shouting "Damn it, damn it, damn it" as he ran.

He had already explored almost the entire mainland of the island and found nothing unusual. Even the occasional aquatic beasts or dragons that came to the island were normal migrations, not the kind of abnormal migrations caused by a large number of ancient dragons driving them out in a short period of time.

Therefore, in his next investigation, Breve decided to take his two dogs to search in the sea. However, not long after they got close to the shore, they encountered a very memorable and unpleasant creature—the Purple Water Beast.

Back in Jieyun, he had already suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of this guy once. It was Lin Lin, Ye Zi, and Da Kong who helped him avenge him and kill him. He really didn't expect to run into him again this time.

The last time they met, he was a four-and-a-half-star hunter, and the Purple Water Beast was a five-star monster. It wasn't so embarrassing that he lost. But this time, he became a five-star hunter, and the Purple Water Beast was still a five-star monster, but he still couldn't handle this guy. Fortunately, he had two Fang Hounds by his side, which gave him a chance to escape successfully.

There was really no other way. After all, this thing was just too, too, too disgusting. It was covered in poisonous liquid, and every time you swung your knife, you had to be careful not to get splashed by the mixture of blood and poison. You also had to watch your step so you didn't step into a puddle of poisonous liquid. It was a very restrictive fighting style.

If that were all, Brave would be confident he could handle the guy. He wouldn't kill him outright, but he could take advantage of the guy's slow movement on land and inflict several wounds on him. But what's even more disgusting is that he encountered it in the water.

Among hunters with naval combat experience, there's a joke that's been circulating for a long time:
"The water beast goes into the water and the little sea dragon comes ashore and the little water beast comes ashore."

This shows just how huge the difference is between the combat power of sea dragons in water and on land. The aquatic beasts that are bulky and inconvenient on land and can be easily toyed with become agile dragons in the water.

In addition, the sea is different from the land, and the way many moves are generated needs to be adjusted. Bref's favorite Iai and Kamui Iai both require the use of the legs in conjunction with the core to generate power. In the water, they are directly sealed and he becomes the old thing from the old generation again. The damage is all done by slowly scraping with that set of basic swordsmanship and spirit blade slash. If it weren't for Shion, it would be really difficult for him to complete the subjugation of the sea dragon on his own.

Water creatures become more agile underwater, while hunters become less agile. With this increase and decrease, the hunters become the ones who are outmaneuvered.

When the water beast was replaced by the Purple Water Beast, even without a direct hit, just spending a short time in the same water area with it would allow the ubiquitous toxins to enter the body through skin contact. This time, Bref was suppressed even more severely than when he encountered the Purple Water Beast last time.

It was entirely thanks to Cangxiang's desperate effort in pulling him out of the water that they were able to shake off the Purple Water Beast during the chase.

With a pale face, Bref pulled out a Chinese herbal medicine and put it in his mouth, which made him look much better.

He angrily slammed his fist down:
"Damn it, we have to find a way to stab it!"

"The Purple Water Beast is extremely harmful to water sources and will seriously affect the nearby ecosystem. We must eradicate it as soon as possible!"

"Wang Woo!"

With its pale blue fur, white paws, and agile, majestic form, the hound barked loudly in support of its master.

Beside them, the moon-white fanged hound, which appeared even more slender, rolled its eyes in a very human-like manner, quietly shook its head, and remained silent.

Young man, you're too short-sighted. Didn't you even notice this?

This guy is clearly resentful after being beaten and wants to get revenge!

This fanged hound is none other than Yoko's Shiro. She took Jumpy to the Unknown Forest, thinking it was just a normal exploration, and didn't bring her friends along. Little did she expect that it would later join the Phantom Troupe and embark on a thrilling journey with the Heavenly Dragon.

Bref and Shion were coming to Moga Village, so they naturally couldn't leave their friends at home. They brought them along. Guga went with Shion, while Shiro and Afu stayed with Bref on the island.

"Cuckoo..."

Suddenly, a series of rapid chirps came from above, and Little White's ears perked up instantly.

Looking up, I saw a large, fat orange owl circling overhead, constantly emitting warning calls.

"what?"

Bref looked bewildered. The Fukumo rabbit trained by Flame Fire could transmit information through chirping at a specific frequency, but the problem was that during his time with Flame Fire, he mainly followed Village Chief Puxian to learn swordsmanship and couldn't understand what kind of signal it was at all!

"Wang Wang Wang!"

(End of this chapter)