Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 547 Thief
Could it be that Rathalos named Ooku?
This question lingered in Zach's mind.

Unfortunately, during that battle, he only had time for a fleeting glimpse before being knocked unconscious by the fragments of Lao-Shan Lung's carapace. As for the Rathalos that had displayed its might in the battle and helped the hunters so much, all he could recall were fragments of impressions he had pieced together from the discussions of other hunters.

Regardless of whether the male Rathalos that just shattered the worldview of a large group of hunters was real or not, Zack could at least confirm one thing: based on the performance of the two female Rathalos, the other party seemed more like a "high-quality young man with high standards" than a "young husband," so his target, the dragon egg, was naturally out of the question.

'Forget it, let's keep waiting. At this population density, it won't be long before we find our target...'

In a jungle not far from Zack, Lin Lin repeatedly sent a telepathic message. Only after seeing that Da Kong obediently moved away from Zack's field of vision did he breathe a sigh of relief, put down his binoculars, gently nudged Ye Zi with his elbow, and gestured towards Zack's location with his lip.

"So far, this kid seems to be quite composed."

Behind the two, Ziyuan snapped open a sunflower seed with a "crunch," flicked her pink tongue, and shoved the kernel into her mouth. She then skillfully spat out the shell. Seeing Lin Lin and Ziyuan exchanging whispers, she muttered helplessly:
"This is just the beginning, and they're staring at a little boy's butt the whole time. I don't know what's so interesting about it..."

Lin Lin slowly turned around, his smile seemingly friendly: "What did you just say?"

Ziyuan chuckled awkwardly, her eyes darting around, and in a flash of inspiration, she quickly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from her prop bag and handed them over.

"Hehe, it's nothing, it's just that I feel like I brought too many sunflower seeds, and I can't finish them all! Here, could you two help me share some?"

Ye Zi shook her head helplessly, wondering when this girl would finally rein in her unreliable nature.

"Give it to me, give it to me, I want to eat it!"

As Nialu spoke, she reached out her claws to grab her, but Shion playfully twisted her hand away, dodging the attack. Seeing Nialu standing with her hands on her hips staring at her, Shion made a face at her.

"Hehehe, I won't give it to you!"

These sunflower seeds are roasted to a fragrant aroma and taste quite good. They are the signature product of a century-old brand in Minagard. She only brought out this small amount on this trip. If Lin Lin hadn't caught her red-handed just now, she wouldn't have been willing to take them out.

Nia's eyes darted around mischievously, and she deliberately crossed her arms:

"Hmph, you stingy little thing, if you won't give it to me, then don't give it to meow!"

On the surface, that's what she said, but Nialu adjusted her pace as she spoke, silently moving closer to Shion, and then reaching out with her cat paw to pluck:
"Meow hehe, the sunflower seeds are mine, meow!"

Shion: ?!

Buhou! Have you forgotten Melalu's signature move?!

Ziyuan hurriedly reached out to grab it, but Nialu's racial talent was undeniable. By the time Ziyuan's hand grasped her own item bag, Nialu had already pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds and then darted behind Yoko.

With Yoko blocking her way, Shion could only watch as Nialu opened the bag of sunflower seeds with a wicked grin, slowly took out a few seeds and stuffed them into her mouth, while she could only futilely wave her arms at Nialu.

"Alright, meow, just teasing her is enough. If she eats it all, Shion will cry, meow..."

A cat's paw reached out, grabbed the cloth bag in its palm, and then casually took out a small handful of melon seeds before tossing it back to Ziyuan.

Who else could it be but dates?

Shion: !!!
After re-weighing the bag, Ziyuan gritted her teeth.

These two kittens are really mischievous!
"Alright, stop fooling around. Just consider it our share for them."

Hearing the playful noises behind him, Lin Lin shook his head helplessly. He was about to call for a halt when he abruptly changed the subject:
"That kid's made a move, let's follow him."

……

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere on Lin Lin's side, which resembled a picnic, a strange silence fell behind another giant rock.

Chacha looked at Manjushri on the left, and Kayamba looked at Bref on the right. Neither of them said a word. They stood like stones, silently holding their binoculars and motionless, seemingly very focused on watching where Zack was hiding.

"Investigate?"

Chacha turned to look at Kayamba, who looked back at Chacha with a similarly confused expression.

What exactly is going on? Why did things turn out this way after we decided to split up?

Although they weren't there to hunt, as hunters, they were still somewhat sensitive to the number "five." So, after entering Shuretsen Hill, the group discussed it and decided to split into two teams, one on the left and one on the right, to secretly follow Zack.

Although the decision to split up had been made, the group still discussed the specifics of how to do it.

For example, Shion felt that since Manjushri and Yoko were from the same hometown and were like sisters, it would be more appropriate for them to act together. However, when Lin Lin caught a glimpse of Bref's slightly hesitant expression and exchanged a glance with Yoko, they unanimously proposed the current team formation plan.

Lin Lin had long known that Bref had some ulterior motives towards Wenshu, and Ye Zi also noticed that Wenshu's attitude towards Bref had subtly changed after their reunion in Minagard. The two exchanged glances and decided to give them a push from behind.

The five voted, with Lin Lin Yezi in favor, Bref and Wen Shu abstaining, and Shion's vote against being invalid. Thus, the group assignments were finalized.

As for Chacha appearing in this group instead of following Shion, it's because Chacha and Kayamba, these two little Kitty Puppet, have a very close relationship. Having Chacha come over means she can at least keep Kayamba company, so she won't be the only one shining brightly.

That was what Lin Lin and Ye Zi originally thought.

No one expected that Bref, who usually seemed like a eloquent katana user, would become so taciturn at this moment, while Manjushri, who was usually as bold as any man and wielded a great hammer, was also clueless about love and didn't know how to face the situation, thus also becoming a taciturn person.

And so, the two taciturn men remained locked in a stalemate.

"Yampaka?"

Kayamba broke the silence, jumping up and patting Bref on the back before pointing a finger, snapping Bref out of his statue-like state.

“Ahem, Zack has already started his operation, we should follow suit…” Wen Shu let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief and nodded slightly.

"Okay, let's go..."

……

Zack was naturally unaware of what had happened to the senior hunters following him; at this moment, he was focused entirely on the task at hand.

He had just spotted a good target—a young male Rathalos. Compared to its kind, it wasn't particularly thin, but it wasn't exactly robust either. It looked like it had just reached adulthood, which meant that its combat experience was likely not very extensive. If it were to be discovered while stealing eggs, its chances of escaping would be much greater.

The young male fire dragon, oblivious to being targeted, swooped down as usual, grabbed the back of a herbivorous dragon, flapped its wings, and flew into the sky, heading straight for its nest. It was completely unaware that a figure was desperately chasing after it on the ground below.

"call--"

"call--"

Its wings flapped, propelling the fire dragon soaring through the clouds.

About ten minutes later, the young man, who had just turned 18 this year, slowly reduced the frequency of his wing flapping and descended downwards.

This is an open-air, gourd-shaped cave. The opening is just big enough for a male fire dragon to pass through, but the interior space is large enough for it and its mate to fly side by side without feeling crowded.

The area is surrounded by steep rock walls that provide shelter from the wind and rain. There are narrow gaps on the north and south sides, but they can only accommodate small creatures like mushroom pigs. Large monsters cannot pass through at all. It is quite safe and a very suitable place to build a nest.

The Rathalos looked around, exhaling hot breath from its nostrils, quite satisfied that it had found such a safe place to live.

It slowly descended and landed on a slightly flatter platform inside the cave, tossing the barely alive herbivorous dragon it was holding in its claws onto the platform. Then it turned and let out a low growl towards the other side.

In fact, without its call, just hearing the familiar sound of wings flapping, the emerald dragon in the nest woven from withered branches had already opened its eyes and was watching its every move.

Only when it heard its mate's call did it slowly get up, its gaze gently sweeping over the several white dragon eggs of varying sizes beneath it. Then it slowly walked to its mate's side, lowered its head, and affectionately nuzzled the male fire dragon's throat with its neck.

These few moments of rubbing and rubbing pleased the Rathalos greatly. It closed its eyes comfortably, and the fatigue from flying with its prey all the way seemed to dissipate considerably.

The male Rathalos turned its head and let out a low, urging growl at the herbivorous dragon that was slumped on the blood-stained, dark red "dining table".

Eat it now, it'll get cold and won't taste good once it dies.

Throughout the female Rathalos's meal, the male Rathalos remained by her side, glancing left and right from time to time to observe the surrounding movements—no matter how safe the habitat was, it did not let its guard down in the slightest.

After all, when it was young, it had just begun to learn to fly and was far from leaving the nest when a flying dragon with emerald green lightning flashed inexplicably and broke in. Its mother fought with all her might, but she was no match for it and was easily pinned down. The nest was directly occupied by the dragon. If it hadn't tried its best to fly away, it would probably have suffered the same fate as its younger siblings, who were killed by the strong electric current.

"Hooooo..."

A slight scraping sensation came from near his mouth, and the male Rathalos snapped out of his reverie. Seeing that his mate had finished eating, he nuzzled her a little more before returning to the nest. He used his body heat to keep the eggs warm, quietly waiting for the day they would hatch.

The male Rathalos turned to look at the dining table. The herbivorous dinosaur it had captured had its abdominal cavity mostly emptied. The "dining table" was a mess. Before long, blood and grease would flow onto the rocky platform, overlapping with the original reddish-brown stains and emitting a strong, fishy stench.

The male fire dragon casually tore off a few bites, swallowing the remaining relatively intact pieces of flesh from the dragon corpse. Only the bones, still stained with blood, were left to mix into the old bone mounds. Then, it turned its head and growled, spread its wings again, and flew out from the top of the gourd-shaped hole.

After filling his stomach to about half full, the Rathalos began its daily patrols in its territory to prevent the same fate it had experienced as a child from befalling its offspring.

However, it was unaware that its patrolling and circling of the nest was precisely pointing the way for those with ulterior motives.

Zack wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked up at the receding figure of the male fire dragon, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The Rathalos was flying too fast. From the ground, he could only make out the direction the other party had left, but he didn't know how far the other party had flown. He couldn't make up his mind when it was moving, and could only rely on his intuition to guess.

Fortunately, the male Rathalos has reappeared in his field of vision, proving that his intuition was not bad.

"What a blunder! If I'd known it was this far, I should have thrown a dye bomb while it was hunting..."

Zach shook his head slightly at his lack of experience, then took a deep breath and officially began climbing the mountain.

After witnessing the male Rathalos fly out from the mountaintop, Zack had already circled the area. Apart from the exit directly above, he discovered two other gaps that could barely be considered entrances or exits. Taking advantage of the fact that the male Rathalos was not in its lair, he was now preparing to climb up and investigate.

"It was still too reckless..."

Brave shook his head slightly.

Just because the male Rathalos isn't there, doesn't it make sense to think about how the female Rathalos, with its small size, would cope if it were there?
As Zack drew closer to the fire dragon's lair, Manjushri, no longer able to process her inexplicable emotions, placed her hand on her item bag, ready to launch a rescue should an emergency arise.

However, while they were both on tenterhooks, Zack did not plunge directly into the crevice. Instead, he stopped outside, bent down, and listened carefully with his ear close to the ground.

"Snoring——"

A low, faint snoring sound traveled through the rocks and into Zach's ears, causing his eyebrows to furrow.

Troublesome, the female Rathalos is home, so I can't do anything...

Looking up at the sky, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a fiery red color reappear. Zach quickly curled up and squeezed into the crevice.

For now, the only option is to hide and wait, figure out the patterns of these two fire dragons' movements, and then think of a solution.

(End of this chapter)