Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 513 A Terrible Naval Battle Experience

After thanking Fire Sprout, Coat Cat turned around and looked at Celestina, who had just settled Maru Bird and was walking towards him, and gave her a smile that looked as ugly as a grimace.

Celestina immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

"Let's go to the dock."

"The dock? Could it be that those two hunters are over there?"

Celestina had already guessed what was going on, but she didn't want to accept it and tried to deceive herself.

"No, there's just a boat over there, we need to go back to Moga Village."

Celestina suddenly felt everything go black, and a familiar song faintly echoed in her ears:

"Three hundred and sixty-five miles~ Crossing spring, autumn, winter and summer~"

The cat in the coat tried to compose herself: "It's okay, they can't run away this time. Maybe we can still make it in time."

During its brief stay in Moga Village, it had learned some things and knew that the hunters, Ziyuan and Brave, were unlikely to leave before the earthquake problem was resolved. According to the information it had, the earthquake was likely related to an ancient dragon and was not something that could be resolved so easily.

So, we can't possibly come up empty-handed again this time... right?
Celestina was, after all, a hunter, and her will was still strong. After being depressed for a while, she still did not choose to give up the mission.

She gritted her teeth and waved her hand angrily:

"Let's go! We've already covered 360 li, what's five more li?"

Then, her momentum only lasted until the dock before it shattered.

A merchant from the Kingdom of Shi, carrying a Nanman sword, noticed the man and cat and greeted them in surprise:

"Celestina? We meet again so soon!"

Clearly, this is the captain of the trading ship who frequently travels between various places and Moga Village, and is known as the "generous merchant" because of his generous nature.

"I remember you disembarked at Jieyun. How did you end up in Yanhuo Village?"

"If you want to come to Yanhuo, it's too much trouble to transfer by land in Jieyun. It's much better to just come with our ship, which will save you time and effort."

The wealthy merchant's words of concern sounded like sharp arrows to Celestina, piercing her heart. Her carefully maintained spirit collapsed instantly, and she felt as if she were shrouded in dark clouds.

"We'll talk about tonics later..."

The cat in the coat sighed, gently patted the withdrawn Celestina, and then turned to briefly explain the situation to the wealthy merchant.

Upon learning what had happened, even the most worldly-wise and wealthy businessman nearly lost his composure, biting his lower lip hard to keep from bursting out laughing.

We started from Moga Village, went around in circles, and realized we had to go back to Moga Village. Sorry, it was a terrible experience, but it was also really funny…

"Ahem, no problem. We're almost done loading the cargo and we're about to set off for Moga Village. If you don't mind, please board the ship!"

……

Lin Lin had no idea that a little tail was following him and that he was being dragged around in a marathon by Da Kong. He was currently standing in waist-deep water, listening to Shion and Breve explain the key points of naval warfare to him and Yoko.

Yes, if you want to operate in Moga Village, naval combat is an essential skill to master.

Unlike his two companions who had been active in Moga Village for more than half a year, Lin Lin and Ye Zi were complete landlubbers, with not even the slightest bit of experience in water combat. In fact, if Lin Lin hadn't specifically attached a few Swamp Crossing Beads to his heavy beetle armor, he wouldn't have been able to swim at all.

However, being able to swim is like being able to run is like being able to run is like being able to hunt on land—it's just the most basic introductory skill. There's a lot more to master than that.

"First and foremost, wireworms can't move underwater! Oh, and of course, hunter-grubs too."

Ziyuan looked serious, but her seriousness couldn't hide the smugness hidden deep in her eyes. Before, she had always been the worst in the team, only listening to others' lectures. Today, she finally turned the tables and became the top dog. It was like a serf singing a song of liberation. Her tail was practically wagging in the air.

Lin Lin and Ye Zi couldn't help but exchange a glance, their expressions somewhat unnatural.

This naval battle is really not friendly to them at all...

With the Wirebug sealed, it's like a fully charged counterattack, and even special moves like the Axe Jump can't be used. It directly reverts to the primitive Charge Blade... or even worse, the Super Discharge, a powerful move that heavily relies on inertia, might not be usable in the water.

As for Yoko, it's even more frustrating. An Insect Glaive—if it can't even be used with Kinsects, what kind of Insect Glaive is that? It should just be renamed a fire poker! And underwater is completely different from land; the resistance is much greater. It's unclear whether the Insect Glaive's jet propulsion system, designed for aerial combat, will even work properly underwater, let alone allow for agile movement…

It's no exaggeration to say that once they're in the water, neither of them can match Shion's combat power—and that's Shion before she got the Dawn Cannon [Kaiseki].

"Maybe... I shouldn't go into the water? I'll just stay on land and provide support..."

Ye Zi secretly tugged at Lin Lin's hand and whispered something.

Lin Lin neither agreed nor refused, but simply squeezed her small hand:

"Try it first, and if you really can't adapt, don't force yourself."

"We can't handle water battles, but we still have Brave and Shion! Division of labor and cooperation is the meaning of a team. None of us are omnipotent; we all have strengths and weaknesses."

Yoko nodded, took a deep breath, unfastened her wrist armor, removed the inner pod, and prepared to place it on the shore. Although the Wirebug's pod was designed with the complexity of the environment hunters faced in the wild in mind, the opening was ingeniously designed so that when underwater, the space inside the pod would naturally form a small bubble to protect the Wirebug from drowning.

However, the time frame cannot be too long.

Otherwise, if the oxygen inside the tiny bubbles runs out, the insect won't drown, but it will suffocate.

Shion pressed down on Yoko's hand:
"Actually, this doesn't have to be done that way. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome to take off your armor every time you need to go into the water for a battle. I have a better idea."

Yoko: ?
Then she saw Shion take out a glass bottle and squeeze out a small clump of dark green seaweed from it:

"Here you go, this is oxygen algae. With it, the flying insects can overcome any oxygen-deficient environment!"

……

"Thank you, Brave!" Lin Lin took the magical algae from Brave's hand, and following Brave's instructions, he separated two small clumps and put them into the two insect boxes, then resealed them, leaving only a small opening for the flying insects to enter and exit.

"This oxygen algae has a very strong ability to produce oxygen. In extreme conditions, such a small clump is enough to support a hunter to move around underwater for a full half hour. For small creatures like worms that do not consume much oxygen, the two clumps you just caught are enough to support you to move around underwater with them for a whole day."

Lin Lin curiously flipped his wrist from side to side, "So there really is such a good thing. I knew it! You can't really hold your breath underwater for that long during a water battle..."

"So how do you use this thing? Do you just put it in your mouth?"

Lin Lin pinched the sticky little thing with his fingers, already imagining what it would taste like—absolutely awful.

"Sure, but I don't usually do that."

As he spoke, Brave took another gadget out of his prop bag, and... its shape looked rather terrible.

Brave demonstrated this hollow wooden sphere:
"If you put it directly in your mouth, it's too easy to accidentally swallow it. I put the oxygen algae in here and secure it with straps, which effectively prevents accidental ingestion and doesn't affect wearing the helmet."

Lin Lin: ...

It sounds pretty good, but the design is just...

When I make this little thing myself, I have to adjust the shape, otherwise it's really indecent!
……

"If oxygen-producing algae are present, will the small beetle be able to move underwater?"

Yoko held a clump of oxygen algae in her hand and turned her gaze to the red rhinoceros beetle lingering on the shore.

Xiao Jia: ? ? ?
Why is my owner so determined to drag me down with him?
Yoko was quite familiar with her Kinsects and could see Koko's reluctance. However, Kinsects were an important part of the Insect Glaive user's fighting strength. Insect Glaive users could not lose Kinsects, just as the 3D District could not lose Jerusalem.

Yoko smiled, deceiving the naive insect hunter:

"Come on, give it a try. You've eaten ancient dragon blood so many times, are you still afraid of water?"

The red rhinoceros beetle hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly flew over, bit the clump of oxygen algae, and resignedly rushed into the water.

"Thud!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the red rhinoceros beetle thrashed about wildly in the water, and as it thrashed about, its body began to spin faster and faster, almost leaving afterimages.

Yoko: ...

She sighed and reached out to scoop Xiao Jia up.

That's wishful thinking. How can you expect a rhinoceros beetle to learn to swim? Its body structure just isn't suited for it!

"Grandma, Xiaojia, I shouldn't have forced you..."

Xiao Jia, feeling dizzy from the high-speed spinning, shook its limbs as a response to Ye Zi.

Sigh... Life is tough for insects; not a single drop of ancient dragon blood is wasted...

"Alright, you've mastered the ability to move underwater. Now go challenge a sea dragon!"

After chuckling to herself for a while, Shion saw that Yoko had finally let Koko go, so she waved her hand at Yoko, looking just like the NPC who appears in the tutorial level of a game.

Yoko smirked, rolled her eyes at Shion, checked her equipment, took a deep breath, and submerged her head underwater.

The oxygen-rich algae provide a continuous supply of oxygen, so even though you are underwater, you don't feel suffocated at all.

After getting used to it for a while, Yoko swam towards a beach with fewer corals below. Underwater activities were only the first step. She also needed to get used to the feel of the weapon underwater and carefully analyze the underwater moves to make corresponding adjustments.

The first thing she tested was the Insect Glaive's built-in jet propulsion system. If this didn't work when she couldn't use Wirebug, then the mobility of her Insect Glaive would be completely ruined, and she could say goodbye to naval warfare and stick to land and air combat.

However, the test results surprised her quite a bit.

When underwater, the jet device sprays water instead of air, and the thrust of this water flow is quite strong. With proper maneuvering, a single jet can propel her about two to three tumbles underwater – that's the value of a perfect weapon. Can other weapons do that?

Ye Zi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Since she couldn't enhance herself with the essence of insect powder, her excellent mobility at least prevented her from being completely useless in the water battle. At least she could still serve as a distraction.

While Ye Zi was constantly trying to familiarize herself with underwater techniques, Lin Lin was also undergoing his own adaptive training.

The first thing he tested was the transformation function of the Charge Blade.

Logically speaking, transforming weapons like the Charge Blade and Switch Axe are designed with various extreme environments in mind, including underwater, so theoretically they should be waterproof.

But that was only in theory. Without proper testing, he would inevitably feel uncertain. The test results made Lin Lin breathe a slight sigh of relief.

The fitting and separating were all incredibly smooth, without any resistance. The blacksmith's craftsmanship is truly exceptional; he deserves a thumbs up.

After several tests, Lin Lin discovered that the weapon was not the problem; the problem was with himself.

The feeling of wielding heavy weapons underwater is vastly different from that on land. On land, Lin Lin could easily control the direction of an axe with his superior core strength, hitting exactly where he wanted it. But underwater, without any point of leverage, a single swing would send his body spinning two and a half times before he could barely stop.

'Hiss... This won't do... If I can't control the axe form's moves, I can't use them in battle at all. Wouldn't that just turn me into a one-man army?'

Lin Lin gripped the axe-shaped Rebel Shield Axe, Zi Su Yi, swinging it while pondering, carefully feeling the force of the swing.

After using several rounds of moves, he was almost dizzy and disoriented, but Lin Lin's eyes gradually lit up.

Through repeated comparisons, he discovered that in underwater combat, those moves that unleash full power in an instant are very difficult to control. Once thrown out, they basically make you spin around wildly. However, when using moves that don't exert as much force, he has more energy to adjust and maintain the stability of his body posture.

In other words, he can use more upward and downward slashes, but he can only use the second release of the elemental release slash at most. This is the limit that he can maintain stability. Any higher release will inevitably involve spinning his body around, and the super release will cause him to be thrown off before he even gets a chance to use it.

Sigh, if only I could use ten greatswords right now...

Lin Lin missed Kukoshin more and more. The range of motion of the Focused Light Blade was not as exaggerated as the Super Release and Great Release, but the destructive effect was by no means weak. It would definitely play a huge role in water battles.

(End of this chapter)