Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 490 Hidden Spies
Something feels off...

Lin Lin had some understanding of the Hundred Dragons Night Parade, knowing that its essence was the ecological chaos caused by the large-scale migration of the Wind God Dragon and Thunder God Dragon. The frightened monsters fled for their lives and eventually gathered into a "beast tide" to attack the Jade Leaf Fortress.

Therefore, the monsters in the Hundred Dragons Night Parade should have been panicked, terrified, and running away in a panic.

However, the monsters gathered below, although they also felt fear, were far from being reckless in their pursuit of survival. They seemed to have been driven there by something that was not an ancient dragon, but whose strength was not to be underestimated.

What is hidden in the jungle behind us?

Lin Lin couldn't help but look up, but all he could see were shadowy trees, which were not clearly visible at all.

The horde of beasts gathering below began to approach the entrance to the Jade Leaf Fortress, but as soon as they entered effective firing range, bolts from the crossbows began to rain down upon them.

For these creatures, whose ecological niche is not very high, the crossbow bolts specially designed to resist the Hundred Dragons Night Parade were enough to cause considerable damage. Therefore, as soon as their charge began, they were hit hard and pushed back, and their already loose formation quickly broke apart.

Lin Lin pondered for a moment, then gently patted Da Kong's back. Da Kong immediately understood, slowed down the frequency of its wing flapping, and lowered its altitude, almost reaching the top of the group of monsters.

"Roar!!!"

Da Kong took a deep breath and let out a loud roar from his chest, which exploded like a thunderclap in the center of the beast horde. The aura of a preeminent figure in the food chain instantly made the monsters' instinct to flee take over their minds. Centered on Da Kong, they scattered like birds and beasts and disappeared back into the jungle.

Da Kong, still wanting more, shut his mouth, glanced at the almost vanished horde of beasts, slowly landed on the ground, and turned to walk towards the fortress.

"Shh!"

Before the sky could get close, a figure, pulled by the silk of the flying insect, leaped through the air and landed in front of them.

This is a female hunter wearing a Nargacuga set, with neat short silver hair and a healthy wheat-colored complexion. However, the style of this outfit seems to be quite different from the Nargacuga set that Lin Lin is familiar with, so it should be a female swordsman set.

The female hunter looked warily at the giant sky that stood quietly there, staring at her with its one eye, and then looked up at Lin Lin riding on its back.

If it weren't for the fact that the Rathalos had just landed and dispersed the beast tide, and that she had spotted someone on the Rathalos's back, it wouldn't be her flying over now, but rather crossbow bolts and cannonballs.

But before she could even ask "Who are you?", she was interrupted by Ye Zi, who was sitting behind Lin Lin and waving at her with a smile.

"Sister Changpu!"

The female hunter subconsciously rubbed her eyes, then looked again at the sweet-smiling little girl, somewhat unsure:

"You are... Sayoko?"

"It's me! It's only been less than two years since we last met. Don't you recognize me, Sister Changpu?"

Yoko flipped off Osora's back and jumped right up to Ayame, pressing her face close so she could get a good look.

After careful observation and comparison, Ayame realized that although her face had matured and she was no longer as innocent and naive as before, there was no doubt that this was Sayoko, without a doubt!

Wow! Joan of Arc is eating mud ducks!

A smile bloomed on Changpu's face: "Didn't the village chief say you went out to travel the continent? Why are you back so suddenly?"

"Come, come, let your sister see. Have you lost weight or gotten hurt while you've been wandering alone for the past two years?"

Ayame fussed over Yoko, showing concern for her well-being, and didn't even pay much attention to Osora standing to the side. However, there was one thing that Lin Lin felt was very necessary to correct.

He jumped off the back of the sky and came to Yoko's side, taking her small, fair hand in his and standing beside her.

"Don't worry, big sister! Ye Zi isn't wandering alone. I'll take good care of her!"

calamus:?
Her gaze fell on Lin Lin and Ye Zi's intertwined hands, and her mouth, which had just opened, suddenly stopped, forgetting what she was going to say next.

When he looked up again, he saw Ye Zi with a shy expression, giving Lin Lin a reproachful glare, but she didn't try to break free from his hand at all.

calamus:!!!
The village chief only said that Yezi went out to travel, but he didn't say that she was kidnapped by some random man!

How old is this girl?! She's clearly only...

Oh, I'm already twenty now, it seems like I really am at the age where I should be dating...

However, Ayame still felt a mix of emotions. In her memory, Yoko was still that adorable little girl from the village who would occasionally ask her to eat dumplings together, listen to her talk about her hunting life, and then express with longing that she wanted to be a hunter's child when she grew up.

In the blink of an eye, they've grown up so much...

With a strange feeling, similar to that of her own little darling being kidnapped, Changpu looked at Lin Lin with an inevitable hint of hostility. No matter how she looked at him, she felt that this kid was a delinquent.

"You are……?"

Lin Lin didn't release Ye Zi, but instead used his other hand to take out his hunter's notebook and showed it to Ayame:
"Lin Lin, a five-star shield and axe user, is twenty-two years old this year."

Five stars?

That's pretty good. He's a pillar of the guild, and his strength is enough to be sent to some villages as a resident hunter.

However, upon hearing Lin Lin add, "Twenty-two this year," her expression immediately changed.

Young Master? Twenty-two?
He became a five-star hunter at only twenty-two?
She originally thought that Yoko's hunting talent was unmatched, but she didn't expect that there was someone even braver than her. Where did this hunter come from?

This talent is incredible! As long as he stays humble and steady, becoming a high-ranking hunter is almost a certainty. He might even become one of the very few geniuses to achieve this before the age of thirty. If he can do this, he might even have a chance to reach the highest honor in a hunter's career, become a nine-star hunter, and be revered as a hunter master.

Ayame herself is a high-ranking hunter and knows that Lin Lin's talent is quite outstanding. Even she, at Lin Lin's age, was only fighting against creatures like the Kappa and the Barroth.

Upon realizing this, the initial hostility in Changpu's heart vanished completely, and her gaze towards Lin Lin softened, becoming more approving rather than scrutinizing. Only a genius like him was worthy of a girl as outstanding as Yezi.

The two clearly saw the change in Changpu's expression. Lin Lin couldn't help but curl up a smile. A little bit of showing off really does make people feel good. No wonder the Dragon King likes to smile crookedly. It really is satisfying!
Ye Zi glanced helplessly at Lin Lin, gave him a good eye roll, and then turned to look at Chang Pu:
"Don't worry, Sister Changpu, Brother Lin Lin is very good to me. Two years ago, it was thanks to Brother Lin Lin that I was saved, otherwise I would have been locked up by Grandpa Village Chief. And during our travels together, Brother Lin Lin has taken good care of me. I've lost count of how many times he's saved me..."

Ye Zi's words made Lin Lin blush, his smugness fading as he said embarrassedly:

"You can't say that. We support and help each other. Ye Zi, haven't you saved me many times? Back in Lingfeng, if it weren't for you, I'd probably be nothing but dust by now..."

Changpu looked left at Lin Lin and right at Ye Zi, and suddenly felt a little choked up, her stomach felt bloated.

Well, these two are practically glaring at each other, so Yoko probably hasn't suffered any injustice, so there's no need to hold a grudge.

She shook her head. Although she was quite curious about what Ye Zi had experienced outside in the past two years, it was clear that this was not a suitable place to talk. She had just been too surprised and excited, and the male fire dragon was too docile, which made her lower her guard for a moment.

"This is not the place to talk. Come with me into the fortress."

Ayame took Yoko's small hand, took two quick steps, then turned back to look at Oozora, who was still watching her, and finally couldn't help but whisper:

"Sayono, what's going on with that male fire dragon?"

How could a creature that is clearly the king of the sky, the most famous monster in the world, and the one that countless hunters want to defeat to prove themselves and gain glory, be obediently following behind like a dog and even being used as a mount?
Ye Zi smiled helplessly. Traveling with Brother Lin Lin, they encountered similar questions almost every time they arrived at a new place, and she had almost figured out a formula to answer them.

"Dakong was hatched from an egg and raised by Brother Lin Lin, just like... um, by the way, Sister Changpu, do you know that there's a Flame Fox Dragon living in the big lake by the village?"

"Oh, it's called Little Puff, I think. Most of the time, the Puff Fox Dragons are quite gentle..."

"That little cream puff was also picked up by Brother Lin during a hunt, and since then she has become very dependent on and close to Brother Lin."

"And it's not just them, there's also the Peak Dragon of Lokrak, the Qilin of the Primal Forest, the Golden Thunder God of Spirit Peak, and Jump, who has now transformed into the Heavenly Returning Dragon..."

As Yoko uttered one name after another, Ayame's gaze kept changing until finally, her eyes were filled with a strange expression as she glanced at Lin Lin.

Is this some kind of monster, a succubus?
How could a monster, which is so ferocious towards hunters but only attacks, be so friendly to this guy?
Well, she didn't think there was anything wrong with building good relationships with monsters and getting them to help in battle. She was just surprised that Lin Lin could do such a thing. After all, in Flamefire Village, taming monsters to help with hunting was a long-standing tradition. The Fang Hound, a companion that every Flamefire hunter had, was a tamed Fang Beast monster.

Lin Lin didn't pay much attention to the two ladies' whispers. He simply walked slowly toward the fortress with Da Kong, while looking around with a slightly curious gaze.

Although this wasn't his first time here, it seemed quite different from when he first came. At the entrance to the fortress, many barricades had been erected specifically to block the monsters' advance. If the monsters didn't destroy these obstacles, they would have to find a complicated way around.

It's clear that this is a clever tactic to reduce the number of monsters attacking the fortress at the same time, which is tough on Ookora.

Rathalos is not very good at moving on the ground. Its long claws must be bent to ensure its stability. It's one thing to take a few slow steps, but to walk through a winding path is a real ordeal.

Da Kong let out a low growl at Lin Lin, then flapped its wings and took flight.

For a Rathalos, even flying would save more energy than walking.

With Ayame's leadership and Yoko's endorsement, the village guards stationed at the fortress did not attack Oozora, but instead looked at them with curiosity.

Lin Lin took two steps, then suddenly frowned slightly and turned around abruptly. There was nothing unusual on the open ground, but Lin Lin felt as if something was spying on him in the deep forest further away.

Is it an illusion?

Lin Lin shook his head. It was definitely not true. Even if his intuition was wrong, the Hundred Dragons Night Parade that had just been dispersed by the Great Void was enough to prove the point.

Monsters terrified by the ancient dragon's aura wouldn't be frightened away by the Great Sky; they would charge towards the fortress like madmen, solely to get away from the Wind and Thunder Dragons.

What is spying on us?

Lin Lin stopped in his tracks, his gaze scanning the deep forest repeatedly as he tried to determine the identity of the person hiding in the shadows.

It wasn't an ancient dragon, yet it could consciously drive the beast horde to attack the fortress...

Could it be the Vengeful Tiger Dragon?

The thought flashed through Lin Lin's mind for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.

Monster Hunter's cover monsters have a tradition of taking the blame. In Persona 3, Zinogre was blamed for the Storm Dragon, in Monster Hunter 3G, Lagiacrus was blamed for the Great Sea Dragon, in Monster Hunter World, the Destroyer was blamed for the Xeno'jiiva, and in Monster Hunter Rising, Magnus was blamed for the Thunder God Dragon. The reason Magnus appeared during the Night Parade of Hundred Dragons was simply because it was a good opportunity for it to have a good meal; it had no motive to drive away the beasts.

So... was that a certain overlord?
Lin Lin felt that this was probably the case. Xiong Er, a half-baked overlord who hadn't been stimulated by the Wind God Dragon and Thunder God Dragon and wasn't in the state of "being in fear and anger all day long" as defined by the definition of an overlord, was still able to command all the Azure Bear Beasts around Jieyun. So it wouldn't be surprising if a true overlord could command monsters of other races.

The only problem is—why would it do that?
The current timeline should not have reached the rise of the storyline yet. The Hundred Dragons Night Parade, which has been suspended for fifty years, has not officially started again. The Wind God Dragon and Thunder God Dragon have probably not started to move yet. So what is the purpose of this overlord that has come to Feiye Fortress ahead of time and driven the beast horde to attack the fortress?
Perhaps Lin Lin lingered for too long, because after Ye Zi walked a distance away, she turned around and found that Lin Lin had not followed, so she waved to him.

So Lin Lin stopped searching for the source of that feeling of being spied on and quickly followed.

Who cares? We'll deal with whatever comes our way. With Da Kong cooperating with us, we can fight even the most powerful ruler!
(End of this chapter)