Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 16: Dog Dragon Leader in Action

The next day, early in the morning.

The morning water vapor condensed into water droplets on the surface of the leaves, rolled and merged with each other, fell from a height, and reflected a colorful arc of light.

"pat"

The water droplets fell on the white mane on the center line of the giant beast's back below, and disappeared in an instant. The huge white dog dragon suddenly raised its head and let out an angry roar.

"Aoang~ang~ang~"

The wide ears of the Dog Dragon leader, known as the king's scarf, stretched straight out. The heat emitted from the surface caused the water droplets attached to the body surface to evaporate into mist and drift away, revealing the anger of the king of the tribe.

Around it, four corpses were lying, some far away and some near. Their surfaces were covered in blood and flesh, and many parts had been eaten away by scavenging beetles and hate birds, exposing the white bones. However, the dull orange scales were enough to confirm the identity of the corpses.

The dog dragon leader was very angry, but not for the four dead little dog dragons.

Ever since it defeated the old leader and became the new king of the tribe, it has been at the top of the ecological niche on this mountain. Other creatures flee wherever it passes. Until now, a predator has appeared that dared to attack its tribe, which made it feel threatened and uneasy.

If there is a threat, it must be eliminated.

The Dog Dragon leader lowered his head and kept sniffing, trying to distinguish every trace of scent left in the air.

The morning mist filled the ground, making it extremely difficult to distinguish smells, but eventually, with its unremitting efforts, it finally distinguished something unusual from the strong smell of blood. The odor molecules in the air gradually formed a vague road in its mind, extending from the "crime scene" all the way down the mountain.

The smell of blood in this direction is slightly stronger...

Leader Goulong followed the scent all the way and finally arrived at the stream area at the foot of the mountain.

The smell completely dissipated here, and there was no trace of the predator left. Only a few stupid maru birds fled in panic, making unpleasant calls as they ran.

With no way to vent his anger, even though he was not hungry, the dog dragon leader still set his sights on one of the round birds. The other party's bloated body restricted its escape speed, and it was easily caught up with it before it ran far, and bit off the neck of one of the round birds in one bite.

With one paw stepping on the fallen body of the Maru Bird, the Dog Dragon Chief stretched his neck and roared, howling for twenty or thirty seconds before stopping. He finally felt that he had vented some of his anger. Without even looking at the Maru Bird's body, the Dog Dragon Chief slowly walked back to the nest, and on the way he excreted some feces to mark his territory again.

It has already shown off its military power and emphatically marked its territory. Shouldn't the mysterious predator be tactful and leave?
……

After the dog dragon leader left leisurely, two or three minutes later, a head wearing a bamboo hat suddenly popped out from the bushes.

After repeatedly confirming that the dog dragon leader had left, Lin Lin strode forward and came to Marutori's body.

Because he couldn't stand the dry and hard food he carried with him, he thought about going to the place where he found Marutori yesterday to get some raw meat to improve his diet. Unexpectedly, just as he was hiding in the deep grass and trees and had no time to get close, the dog dragon leader appeared opposite him.

This guy hunted a marble bird but didn't eat a single bite. He just howled twice and left. His behavior was really a bit strange. Because he was quite far away, the voice he sensed was very vague. He only felt that the other party was full of anger and a bit of arrogance.

"Could this guy think I'm a monster trying to take over his territory?"

As he thought this, Lin Lin used a skinning knife to cut the freshest parts of the meat from the Marutori's carcass, unceremoniously enjoying the fruits of Chief Goulong's labor. After washing off the blood in the stream, Lin Lin returned to the camp carrying two large pieces of prime meat, each half a man's height.

Before long, a cloud of smoke began to rise in the camp. The delicate white lines in the middle of the raw meat allowed it to sizzle with oil with just a little salt. It was delicious and juicy, but fragrant and not greasy, which greatly satisfied the hunter's appetite.

"This is the life of a hunter. Carrying food is such a hardship..."

Lin Lin sighed with satisfaction and threw two freshly picked raspberries into his mouth to neutralize the greasy smell.

Feeling his fully recovered physical strength, Lin Lin moved his hands and feet. It seemed that the soreness from yesterday had left no trace. He even had a faint feeling that he was more energetic today than when he was in the best condition yesterday.

The weapons have been polished and inspected, and the equipment has been meticulously put on and in good condition, so... let's go!
……

The cliff above the dog dragon's lair.

Lin Lin quietly stuck his head out to observe, then frowned slightly.

Five female dog dragons were either lying or sitting. It was obvious that what was seen yesterday was not the entire group. One or two little dog dragons that looked only a few months old were curiously exploring the spacious nest. Not to mention that according to the hunters' tacit understanding of maintaining the ecology, such young animals could not be included in the scope of the crusade, and their tender scales, claws and fangs alone were not qualified materials.

Where's the Dog Dragon Leader? And where are all the other potential targets? Why aren't they in their lair?
I clearly saw the Dog Dragon Leader walking back before?

Confused, Lin Lin retreated from the top of the cliff, carefully hiding his figure all the way, while trying hard to find any clues left by the monsters.

The trampled grass, the broken branches, the scratches on the dead tree trunks, the few scales that fell off the ground...

Some traces were very obvious, while others were completely invisible without careful observation. At this moment, Lin Lin missed the loitering insects he hated in the game. If there were loitering insects, would he still have to go through so much trouble to track down traces?

Walking all the way, almost going out from the other side of the mountain, Lin Lin didn't see a single puppy dragon. Judging from the traces, those puppy dragons seemed to be gathering around the dog dragon leader, which suddenly gave him a bad premonition.

At the same time, on the commercial road winding through the mountains, a cart pulled by a maru bird was moving slowly forward at a leisurely pace.

"Please hold on tight, my friend! This road is a bit rough, my friend!"

Elu, who was driving, looked at the surrounding terrain, turned around and greeted the girl who was flipping through a book in the car.

The girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with fair skin and wearing glasses. She looked elegant and beautiful.

He nodded and adjusted his sitting position, but still held the "Monster Classification Encyclopedia" tightly in his hand, stroking the paper with his fingers, and then paused on a picture.

"The book says that the main habitat of dog dragons is in stream areas. Little Elu, do you think we will encounter one? I really want to see with my own eyes how majestic its 'king's scarf' is..."

"What are you talking about, my dear?! This road was opened by the Chamber of Commerce, and they regularly hire hunters to clear out monsters along the way! How could a monster intrude upon the trade route?"

　Guess who's here? Well, that should be easy, right?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)