Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 511 Dawn Cannon [Kaifeng]

They killed two Nargacuga. Even though the ordinary Nargacuga didn't have many usable materials, it was still more than enough to forge a weapon. As for the White Gale... thanks to its larger size than the ordinary Nargacuga, it also had a lot of materials. A complete set of weapons and armor was easily made. In addition, with the remaining materials from the ordinary Nargacuga, it wouldn't be difficult to even squeeze out a light weapon.

As for the distribution of the new equipment, they had already discussed it back in the Waterless Forest. Considering how badly Ziyuan had been messed up by those two velociraptors, the three of them unanimously agreed to give Ziyuan the complete set of White Gale equipment so that she could vent her anger a little.

The remaining materials were enough to craft two light weapons, but they were insufficient for crafting heavy weapons. In addition, the Nargacuga Shield Axe's performance was not outstanding, not as good as the Thousand Blades Shield Axe he currently had, so Lin Lin had no interest in it. Therefore, the remaining materials were naturally used to craft a Long Sword and an Insect Glaive.

—Although Yoko now possesses the Tenkai Dragon Insect Glaive, which is theoretically considered the "endgame gear" for most high-rank hunters and doesn't require any weapon replacement, it has a drawback because it's crafted from Tenkai Dragon materials. The dragon attribute energy it generates during attacks is in the form of the Mad Dragon Virus. If the monster's resistance is weak and it gets infected with the Mad Dragon Virus, then it's a fight to the death with the target.

Although almost every mission they've undertaken since their debut has been a direct subjugation, with only one instance of choosing to capture Sophia out of consideration for her feelings, this limitation is insignificant. However, Lin Lin still believes it's necessary to give Ye Zi an alternative to becoming the Great Western King, and the Nargacuga Insect Glaive is a good lower-tier replacement.

Equipment crafted using Nargacuga materials already had mature blueprints and designs, but White Gale was not an ordinary Nargacuga. So, after carefully examining the White Gale materials, the old dragon craftsman in the workshop immediately said that he needed to spend more time studying the White Gale materials and modifying and adjusting the original Nargacuga armor design to achieve better performance.

(As shown in the picture, the White Gale armor looks quite sexy, and the skills are also good, including increased evasion distance, critical hit, critical hit, evasion performance, and stealth [making it difficult for monsters to detect and attack]. It is very versatile.)
Besides this set of armor, the orders for three other weapons also made this old dragon man eager to try his hand at it.

After careful research and design, the "Dawn Cannon [Kaifeng]" made from pure white Gale materials, the "Dawn Blade [Silver Hook]" made from a mixture of white Gale and Nargacuga materials, and the "Nameless Scythe [Zhengyu]" made from pure Nargacuga materials were created.

Among them, the performance of the heavy crossbow Dawn Cannon [Kaifeng] is undoubtedly the best. Perhaps it is because it inherits the characteristic of White Gale that it is good at using its tail to launch terrifying cutting attacks. This heavy crossbow can undoubtedly perform superbly when using slicing bullets.

It can be said that this heavy crossbow is perfect in every aspect except for its inability to use elemental ammo. As an improved version of the Nargacuga heavy crossbow, it fully inherits the excellent performance of the Nargacuga heavy crossbow when using piercing ammo, while its reloading suitability for level 1 to 3 spread ammo, diffusion ammo, and armor-piercing high-explosive ammo also allows it to cope with a variety of battlefield environments.

In addition, it even supports the use of Demon Ammo, Recovery Ammo, Capture Ammo, and Dye Ammo. Besides direct combat, its support capabilities are also top-notch. Perhaps the only slight regret is that this heavy crossbow can no longer be used with Hardened Ammo.

Well, after learning that her new weapon was so excellent, Ziyuan was overjoyed. The gloom of being trapped in the camp by the velociraptors and suffering from hunger had long been forgotten. She couldn't wait to get her hands on the heavy crossbow and hug it tightly and give it a good kiss.

Unfortunately, it will take quite some time from the completion of the design to the production of the weapon. During this period, Shion can only wait with great anticipation and longing.

Before the weapons were ready, Lin Linyezi finally returned from the sea.

"Huh? So fast? It doesn't seem like it's been more than a few days, right?"

At the dock at the village entrance, Ziyuan counted the time on her fingers, quite surprised by Lin Lin and the others' return.

Bref also found it outrageous. Before Lin Lin, he and Zi Yuan had conducted a lot of investigations in the surrounding areas and knew how much effort and time it would take.

When they separated at Shui Meilin, he thought that the two of them wouldn't be able to find anything in less than ten days or half a month. But now... considering the time they spent at sea, if he made a rough estimate, their investigation time would probably still be more than one or two days.

That's the result? That's outrageous!

Lin Lin touched his nose and said solemnly, "Just lucky."

Yoko rolled her eyes at him: "Speak properly!"

"Oh……"

Lin Lin coughed lightly, "We were really lucky to run into a friend, and we got the information from him."

"friend?"

Shion looked bewildered. Were there other hunters active in the Submerged Forest? Judging from the location of the Submerged Forest, could it be that one of the hunters from Yuukoku or Yanhuo had discovered the anomaly during their long-term activities?

Brave noticed the word Lin Lin used when he spoke:
"it?"

In Hunter's language, the pronunciation of "he," "she," and "it" is slightly different; you need to listen carefully to notice the difference.

This is clearly not talking about human friends! Is it a Palico? Melar? Or a Felyne?

Wait... friends of Shuimolin...

Bref couldn't help but recall the thick white fog he saw when he first came to the Submerged Forest and completed the quest to hunt the Mudfish Dragon with Lin Lin Yezi.

That time, he almost thought that Lin Lin, who had lured the ancient dragon away by himself, was going to be completely doomed. Unexpectedly, after a while, the guy came back unharmed and seemed to have a good relationship with the ancient dragon.

"Xialong?"

Lin Lin nodded, "It is it. It has lived in the Waterless Forest for countless years and has long since discovered the cause of the anomaly."

As he spoke, he opened his prop bag and took out a slightly wilted, pale blue vine:
"This is it. It's a vine that recently appeared in the Waterless Forest. Xialong believes that those ferocious monsters were caused by consuming this plant, either directly or indirectly."

Ziyuan pinched her chin, leaned closer to the vine, and examined it carefully. It seemed somewhat familiar.

Ye Zi continued:
"If that is indeed the case, then this plant should also be found in other areas where ferocious monsters appear, such as isolated islands."

Upon hearing this, Ziyuan suddenly realized and slapped her thigh:
"Oh right, that's it! I noticed it before too! But at the time I thought it was just a local specialty, I just hadn't been here long enough to notice it!"

Yoko silently pushed Shion's hand away: "If you want to pat someone, pat your own thigh. Why are you patting mine?"

Shion chuckled and offered a half-hearted apology: "Does it hurt to slap yourself... oh dear..."

Brave ignored Aster's antics, simply nodding as he looked at the vine.

"Indeed, I've seen this thing too. Now that I think about it, it's probably not a coincidence that the first ferocious monster to be discovered was the Tail Hammer Dragon." Because the Tail Hammer Dragon is a herbivorous monster, it directly ingests these vines, while the other ferocious carnivorous monsters are separated by a layer of herbivorous species, so some of the components in these plants are filtered out, which is why they take effect later than the Tail Hammer Dragon.

As for why small herbivorous species like the dromedary dolomite did not exhibit symptoms of ferocity, Bref also believes he has found the answer.

Out of curiosity, he had drunk a sip of the ferocious extract, but it did not cause him to have any aggressive desires. Instead, an indescribable power surged through his body, allowing him to unleash even greater power in a short period of time.

The biggest similarity between him and those small herbivorous species is probably that he is relatively small in size.
Maybe it's like the mad dragon disease, where it's unaffected by limitations in body size or life energy?
"So next..."

Ziyuan turned to look at her three teammates. What should we do next?
Lin Lin snapped his fingers. "Go find Sophia. We hunters have completed the investigation we can. Now we just wait for the scholars, these 'brains,' to analyze it and tell us where to shoot."

……

When Lin Lin and his group found Sophia, she was with An Xia, watching Bao Bao doing push-ups and cheering it on.

push-up?
Lin Lin's eyes widened. "Girl, are you really going to train this guy like a boxer?"
"Huh? Lin Lin, Ye Zi, you're back? So soon?"

Sophia took a moment to turn around and greet Lin Linye. It was clear that she trusted the two of them a lot and didn't think that a simple ecological survey would cause any problems. She was completely different from when she watched them fight the Tianhui Dragon from the airship, when she was on tenterhooks.

However, compared to Sophia, her best friend Anxia seemed much more excited. After all, she had already learned from Brave and Shion that once the two returned to the village, there would be significant progress in the investigation of the ferocity.

"So, so, what's the result of the investigation?"

Lin Lin shrugged, took out two shimmering blue vines, and handed them to the two signboard girls respectively.

"Look, this is it. There must be some special ingredient in it that made the monsters that directly or indirectly consumed it become ferocious."

Anxia examined the vine from top to bottom. Moga Village was her beloved hometown, and with it threatened, she desperately wanted to do something to help it overcome the crisis. Therefore, she resolutely gave up the promised job as the mascot of Lokrak by the guild and returned to this backward fishing village.

But at this moment, even though she was extremely anxious, she couldn't figure out anything, and a thought was even beginning to form in her mind:

If I had studied harder and worked more diligently back then, would I have been able to read more materials and find records of this thing?

Fortunately, her best friend has now come to visit, so the pressure of her clerical work is no longer entirely on her shoulders.

Anxia looked at Sophia with hopeful eyes.

Sofia lived up to her expectations, and after looking through it for a moment, she spoke with slight hesitation:
"This thing...does it look somewhat like the Dragon God Vine?"

Shion voiced what everyone was thinking:

"Dragon God Vine? What's that?"

Sofia cleared her throat:

"It is a plant found in the Remnant Ridge, which contains a considerable amount of dragon-attribute energy. There are fragmentary legends that say it is a plant that only grows in places where ancient dragons roam."

Yiqunling?
Lin Lin was full of questions, but before he could ask, Sophia continued her analysis:
"This thing looks a lot like the Dragon God Vine, but it's definitely not the Dragon God Vine. Maybe it's a subspecies of the Dragon God Vine or something."

"Why do you say that?"

An Xia was very anxious. Just when she was about to get a clue, another twist came, which made her blood pressure rise a little.

Sofia gently patted her best friend's back to comfort her, then opened her notebook, found a page, pointed to the sketches on it, and explained:
"Look, the Dragon God Vine is red, and it's a new species discovered a couple of years ago. It only grows in the Yiqunling area at extremely high altitudes, where it's difficult for ordinary airships to stay for long periods of time, making research very difficult. When this species was discovered, it caused quite a stir in academic circles, I remember it very clearly."

"Just like the red Velociraptor and the blue Velociraptor, although they have huge differences in color, they are very similar in many structural features, which is why I think it might be a subspecies of the Dragon God Vine."

As she spoke, she gently closed the notebook and sighed.
"After all, I am not a scholar who specializes in plant research, and my experience is not very rich. I also do not have professional equipment. Being able to see so much is already the limit."

So you still have to ask more professional people for help?

Lin Lin asked a question, and then Sophia nodded as if it were a matter of course.

"I'll help you all the way through. I'll write you another letter. The scholars in Dongdoruma are quite reliable. Oh, by the way, the Dragon God Vine was discovered by the Dragon History Research Institute. I think I should send them another letter as well."

"Thank you, Sophia!"

Anxia felt a warmth in her heart and hugged Sophia tightly. Sophia could only helplessly pat her best friend's back to comfort her.

After writing the letter, Lin Lin and Ye Zi immediately divided the plant, soil, and water samples in the prop bag in two, put the letters in the envelopes, and packed them into two packages.

Anxia couldn't help but speak, sounding somewhat worried:

"Should we wait until Mr. Hao comes to Moga Village again and ask him for help? If that's the case, it'll take so long, won't the sample change..."

Lin Lin snapped his fingers and smiled at An Xia:
"No need to bother."

The next moment, a roar of a fire dragon came from afar and rushed towards the place.

(End of this chapter)