Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 491 I heard you've been telling everyone I'm dead?
Lin Lin stopped searching for the source of the spying and followed Da Kong slowly into the depths of the fortress. As the surrounding sunlight was blocked by the tall fortresses, the feeling of being spied on disappeared.

It seems that the guy hiding in the shadows is quite clever; he knows to continue observing the situation and doesn't impulsively rush to attack the fortress.

Lin Lin breathed a slight sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful.

If that guy really charges straight at us, with Ayame, a high-ranking hunter, along with myself, Yoko, and Oozora present, and with the fortress's defensive facilities, we might be able to catch it off guard and carry it away.

It has refrained from attacking now, but if it were to rush out again when they leave and the fortress's defenses are weakened, the outcome would be truly unpredictable.

Lin Lin pondered for a moment, then walked to Changpu's side and whispered a reminder:
"I feel like there was something wrong with the beast tide just now."

Changpu raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at Lin Lin and waiting for him to give a further explanation.

Lin Lin then briefly explained the suspicious points, which led to his speculation:

"Those monsters didn't seem to have a strong desire to break through the barrier. They were more like they were being driven here by something, which is why Da Kong was able to scare them away with a shout."

"Just now I vaguely sensed a spying from the depths of the jungle, which might be the guy who caused the beast tide."

"I think it seems to have some designs on Feiye Fortress, so we'd better be on high alert."

Although Lin Lin's statement was entirely subjective speculation, Changpu carefully reviewed the battle that had just taken place and felt that what he said made some sense.

So she waved to the side, and a black-and-grey-haired hound suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like a gray whirlwind, and was beside Ayame in the blink of an eye.

The female hunter in the Nargacuga armor crouched down, leaned close to the toothed hound's head, whispered a few words, and then the toothed hound barked energetically before disappearing in the blink of an eye like a whirlwind.

Changpu turned to look at Lin Lin:
"Don't worry, I've already told Xiao Hei, it will help deliver the message."

After a pause, she couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked about Lin Lin and Ye Zi's experiences together, including how they met, what they went through together, how they got together, who pursued whom, and so on.

It seems that gossiping is indeed human nature, and women especially love it; even hunters cannot avoid it.

The layers of questioning made Lin Lin feel as if he had returned to his original world, experiencing firsthand the indescribable feelings of a young couple meeting each other's parents for the first time.

However, fortunately, he and Yoko had indeed experienced a great deal together, and their stories could not be told in a short time. It wasn't until they passed through the Feiye Fortress and entered the territory of the abandoned shrine that Ayame stopped, still feeling that he hadn't had enough.

"Alright, I'll leave you here. I still need to stay and guard the fortress."

"Remember to stay in the village for a few more days. I need to listen to the rest of the lecture when I get back after my shift ends!"

Lin Lin could only manage an awkward laugh: "Haha, next time for sure, next time for sure."

Changpu turned and went back into the fortress. Lin Lin then coughed and reached for the water pouch at his waist. He had been talking to the other person for so long that his throat was practically burning.

But just as he lowered his hand, a water pouch was already placed to his lips, and in the blink of an eye, he saw Ye Zi looking at him with a beaming smile.

"You've worked hard~ Go have a sip of water to soothe your throat!"

Sofia, still sitting on the back of the giant plane and barely noticeable the whole time: ...

It's unbearable to look at, so disgusting...

Once you enter the territory of the abandoned shrine, the environment becomes much more stable. Normally, the monsters that appear here are only of the level of blue bear beasts, umbrella birds, and even kappa frogs. Ooku can be said to roam freely here.

Therefore, after passing through the Jade Leaf Fortress, Lin Lin and the other person returned to the back of the Sky and flew towards Flamefire Village. After passing the Jade Leaf Fortress, they had basically entered the territory of Flamefire Village. With the Sky's current flying speed, even without flying at full speed, they still arrived above the entrance to the village within half a day.

The arrival of the Great Sky did not cause much of a commotion. Although the villagers below noticed this world-famous king of the sky, they were not alarmed. They simply watched from afar as it slowly flapped its wings and descended.

The reason they could remain so calm was not only because Yanhuo Village was a village full of martial virtue, but also, most importantly, because of the old man standing at the very front, whose body was as strong as a bear.

With the village chief leading the way, they wouldn't be afraid of anything, not even a male fire dragon, or even if a vengeful tiger dragon reappeared.

However, the villagers did not notice that although the village chief Puxian stood at the front with his arms crossed, his face showed a hidden joy, and he did not seem to be in a fighting state at all.

Just a few minutes ago, he received a letter delivered by Fukuto. It was from Ayame, who was stationed at the Feiye Fortress. The content was very simple, just one sentence:

"Ye Zi has returned to the village, riding a male fire dragon."

At that time, Puxian looked at the note with only one sentence from every angle, but he couldn't understand what the second half of the sentence meant.

Just as he was about to go and discuss the meaning of the sentence with Daowen or Suifengren, a villager suddenly came to report that a male fire dragon was rapidly approaching the village and hoped that he could make a decision as soon as possible.

Upon hearing these words, Puxian instinctively looked once more at the note whose meaning he couldn't decipher no matter how he looked at it, and a conjecture that even he found unbelievable suddenly popped into his mind:
Could this note mean exactly what it says?

Now, standing at the village entrance, watching the male fire dragon slowly descend, its body still bearing a metallic sheen, and then looking at Yoko on its back, waving and smiling brightly at him, his wrinkled old face twitched, and finally he gave a thumbs up.

This girl is really something, she's truly surpassed her teacher!
He had ridden a Rathalos before, of course, but when he tried to control it with a Wirebug, the flight was so erratic that he crashed very quickly. Unlike this girl, who rode it so steadily and smoothly. The monster's movements were perfectly controlled by her. What else could she be but a genius?
What should be done with the Rathalos that she uses for transportation after she comes down? Should she just chop it down? Then Sayoko will probably have to find a new tamer, or maybe she should use a paralysis trap and a tranquilizer dart to capture it?
With his long-lost hometown right before him, Ye Zi was filled with longing to return. Before Da Kong even landed, he leaped into the air and charged towards Pu Xian, his arms outstretched, revealing the barely noticeable curve of his chest.

'This little girl, she's so big already, does she still need to be carried? She's still such a little kid...'

As Puxian thought this, he also revealed a kind smile and opened his arms.

Then, he saw Yoko rush past him like a gust of wind and crash straight into the arms of a figure dressed in a red shrine maiden outfit.

"Sister Huoya! Hehehe, I missed you guys so much!" Yezi hugged Huoya tightly, rubbing her cheek against the other's heaving chest.

Fire Sprout had already rushed over and prepared for battle after hearing the news of the Rathalos attack, but she never expected that Yoko, who had been gone for almost two years, would suddenly jump down from above. She was stunned for two seconds before she reacted, affectionately reaching out to hug Yoko back and gently patting her back.

"Oh dear~ We miss Sayoko too!"

Samantabhadra: ...

"cough cough"

He coughed twice, casually lowered his arms, and turned to look at the two women embracing each other.

Strangely enough, one is human and the other is a dragon-human, and they have no blood relation whatsoever, but they look quite similar at this moment, even more like sisters than Shui Yun. Could it be because they grew up together and their lifestyles influenced each other?
Puxian shook his head, clearing his mind of the strange thought that had suddenly popped into his head; that wasn't the issue he had been trying to focus on.

When this girl jumped down, why didn't I see her retract the silk threads?

Does the game "Dragon Tamer" not even use Iron Worm Silk?
He turned back to look at the sky that had landed, ready to draw his sword, but found that the other was standing there quietly, without any anger or embarrassment at being manipulated. Instead, the sky was lowered, revealing the figure on its back.

There are actually two more people?!

Puxian was slightly startled, but then he realized that the hunter wearing the heavy beetle suit looked somewhat familiar.

"Master Samantabhadra!"

Lin Lin didn't fly down like Ye Zi did, but instead obediently jumped down and jogged to Pu Xian's side.

Puxian wasn't senile; upon closer inspection and recognizing Lin Lin's voice, he immediately recognized him.
"It's you, Lin Lin!"

"Hahaha, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Yezi went out with you and came back with you safe and sound. Not bad, not bad!"

He patted Lin Lin's shoulder forcefully, then turned to look at the last figure on Da Kong's back:
"Now that you two are back, what about that brat Bref..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pu Xian suddenly stopped talking. Unless Breif had undergone gender reassignment surgery in the past two years, that girl with glasses didn't look like that katana-wielder at all.

"Ahem, this is Sophia, one of our mascots who's traveling with us."

Lin Lin stepped aside and introduced the girl who was "rescuing" Bao Bao from the Great Sky Claw, so that the two could greet each other.

Puxian nodded, but the smile on his face was tinged with sadness.

As a veteran hunter with over fifty years of experience, Puxian has seen far too many such scenes. In a fixed team, there is usually only one situation where the faces change: when a member dies in a fight with a monster.

This is truly a sad story. When that kid was learning the katana from him, Puxian genuinely felt that he had great talent and might have the potential to become a master in the future.

It's a real pity. While geniuses have the opportunity to grow into strong individuals, they may also perish halfway through their journey. Often, it's just a matter of a little bit of luck.

Hopefully, that child will have better luck in their next life...

Lin Lin sensed that Village Chief Puxian's expression seemed a bit off, but for a moment he couldn't figure out why the other party would show such a sad smile, which was almost identical to the meme "Brother, just use the Flame Fist on him for my sake."

(The image above, however, I checked and there's a theory that this smiley face doesn't come after "Use the Flame Fist on him," but rather after the protagonist asks "Are you really Luna?" and Yoda replies "Yes." Can someone who's read the original work elaborate?)
However, before Lin Lin could react, Sophia, being a professionally trained mascot, immediately guessed what Puxian was thinking. She rolled her eyes at Lin Lin helplessly before earnestly explaining to Puxian:
"Don't misunderstand, Breve is in Moga Village right now, he's fine."

"He and Lin Linyezi only separated halfway. They came to Yanhuo Village this time just to visit. They will set off for Moga Village to meet him in a while."

After Sophia briefly explained the cause and effect, Puxian's smile, which was clearly sad but forced, suddenly became much brighter:

"Haha, I knew it! That kid wasn't going to be finished so easily!"

……

At this moment, Bref, who had just been sentenced to death in Puxian's mind, was panting heavily, his arms trembling uncontrollably.

Beside him, a huge blue body lay silently, lifeless.

Bref, panting heavily, pulled out a whetstone and began sharpening the katana that was almost chipped from its blade.

This Hammerhead Dragon seems to have gone mad for no reason. It keeps fighting endlessly, even though it has been battling for a long time and has never actually encountered Brave. It just keeps fighting him stubbornly, as if the monster's instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm has failed it.

Forced into a corner, Bref had no choice but to continue fighting in order to protect himself. If Lin Lin had seen many of the moves he made during this time, he would have had to call him a "shrimp head" (a derogatory term implying someone is incompetent or foolish).

Including but not limited to: White Blade, Yellow Blade, Rising Dragon, Air Blade Thrust Missing, Foresight Slash Missing, Great Spinning Empty Blade, Kamui Iai Slash Interrupted by Roar...

But even though he was hitting it hard, he still managed to hack the guy to pieces, leaving him covered in blood and gore. He pushed himself to his limit and finally managed to kill it on the spot.

It's important to understand that when dealing with giant monsters like the Tail Hammer Dragon or other massive, incredibly resilient "tank" creatures, hunters typically employ a strategy of inflicting wounds and then relentlessly harassing them to prevent healing, ultimately letting them bleed to death. It's rare to see someone like Brave manage to kill their prey on the spot in a direct, brutal fight.

"Phew—not bad. Although I'm exhausted, there were some unexpected gains."

Bref turned to look at the little one whose neck was being held by the white dog.

(End of this chapter)