Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 24 Intrusion
After shaking off the siege of the aquatic beasts, Lin Lin paid attention to hiding while exploring the surrounding traces.

Occasionally, a few broken green hairs can be found on the rough and cracked bark. The fallen rotten wood seemed to have been hit hard by something and shattered into pieces. The surface of the bushes' leaves were stained with splash-like dark red marks, and a deep scratch was hidden in the soil buried by the fallen leaves. Comparing the size, it can be almost confirmed that this was left by Xiong Er.

Lin Lin's expression became increasingly gloomy. These traces all indicated that a fierce battle had taken place here, so that at least one side was injured. The two parties fighting were undoubtedly Xiong Er and the other monster.

Considering the aquatic beasts that appeared near the lake, and the fact that the ground was much wetter than other areas, with even residual fishy mucus visible in some potholes... the other monster was most likely a water beast. Was there a territorial dispute going on?

Judging from the fact that the aquatic beasts occupied the area around the lake, Xiong Er should have failed and left the area, but where did he go?

The battle should not have happened in the past two days. Many small traces had been buried long ago. After searching the surrounding area for about a quarter of an hour, there was really no more discovery. Considering that there might be a water beast wandering around, continuing the search might lead to an encounter. After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Lin Lin decided to return temporarily and first report the possible appearance of the water beast back to the village.

……

At the entrance of the village, when Lin Lin came back, he found that the atmosphere in the village seemed a little strange.

The villagers passing by were not busy with their own affairs as usual, but gathered together to talk about something. Judging from the expressions on their faces, many of them seemed to be in a bad mood, and they would occasionally sigh while talking to each other.

what happened?
Lin Lin spotted Iwata from the crowd with his sharp eyes and walked over quietly.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Iwata's face didn't look very good either. He looked a little scared and a little indignant. After seeing Lin Lin, he tried hard to adjust his expression so that he wouldn't look too "depressed".

"Old Qia was badly injured... He's helped everyone in the village a lot over the years, and seeing him suddenly being pushed back covered in blood, everyone was terrified."

"how come?"

It was just a hunt for the dog dragon leader. Old man Chia was a light crossbow user who had been traveling in the wild all year round. He was well prepared for the battle and had at least three bases of fire bombs temporarily stored in the camp. How could he have been seriously injured?
"Ugh……"

Iwata sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure about the details, but the Cat Rescue Team said that when he and the Goulong were fighting fiercely, a water beast suddenly appeared..."

"Old Qia's luck is really bad..."

Lin Lin pursed his lips. He had just wanted to come back to tell everyone that there was a water beast nearby, but when he got back he found that someone had already suffered because of the water beast.

He patted Iwata:

"The Hunter profession is like this. Monsters just need to rush in, but hunters have a lot to consider. So, are you scared?"

Iwata suddenly looked at Lin Lin seriously, "You know what? When I first saw Lao Qia injured and even losing his left arm, I was really scared."

"But the village always needs hunters to protect it. If Old Chia falls, someone will stand up. So why can't that person be me?"

Lin Lin looked at his increasingly determined gaze, then nodded:

"To be honest, I initially thought you wanted to be a hunter just because you were a chuunibaku. But now I have to admit that I underestimated your will."

"Huh? What's chuunibun?"

"That's not important. I think it's more important for you to consider when to finish the training course and complete the hunter examination."

Thinking of the physical training that had made him feel extremely excited, Iwata's face turned slightly pale, but he still stiffened his neck and spoke stubbornly.

"I'm sure I'll be done soon and catch up with you!"

Lin Lin didn't say anything else, just patted him again, left a message of "Come on," and then headed straight for the gathering place on the top of the mountain. Inside the gathering place, Lin Lin not only saw Sasayuki, but also saw Konohana, who was supposed to be resting.

Cihua was not wearing her receptionist uniform at work. Her eyes looked a little red and her mood was visibly low. When she saw Lin Lin coming over, she just greeted him sullenly, without her usual energy.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't put out that emergency contract, Grandpa Qia wouldn't have encountered this."

Lin Lin handed the honey and his notes requested by Sasaxue, and then received a hint from Sasaxue's eyes.

Do you want me to help comfort her?

Lin Lin couldn't play dumb, so he thought for a moment and said:

"Actually, I didn't plan to come back so soon when I went to the hunting grounds today, but because I found traces of suspected water beasts, I thought of coming back to pass on the news. Now it seems a little late."

Beside her, Sasayuki covered her face, and Konoha looked even sadder:

"Actually, the observation report submitted by the scribes a few days ago mentioned that a group of water beasts had migrated to the nearby area. However, the guild confirmed that their habitat would not affect the normal operation of the village, so they did not issue a subjugation request."

"It's all my fault. I should have told Grandpa Qia this information right away..."

"Well, let's think on the bright side. At least I'm still alive, right? For a hunter, that's considered quite lucky, right?"

Lin Lin had learned a lot about the common sense of this world from the manuals and books left by Kevin. The cat car in the real world did not have the ability to rescue people from fan-shaped fire. Once a hunter fell in battle, it was very likely that he would never stand up again. Only a few lucky people could be rescued by the cat car.

"Woo..."

It seemed that the flower had barely found some comfort. Lin Lin sighed softly and looked at Sasaki again:
"Senior Chia was seriously injured. Does that mean our mission to defeat the Dog Dragon Leader has failed?"

Sasaki: "?"

"you want……"

"I have a grudge against that dog dragon, so I plan to kill it and avenge Senior Chia at the same time."

"But you've only been a one-star hunter for a short time..."

"According to the guild's rules, a hunter cannot advance to a higher star level unless they complete a sufficient number of missions of the same star level, apply for a promotion, and then complete an assessment or an emergency mission. Is that correct?"

"That's what I said, but..."

"The commission to defeat the Dog Dragon is a two-star mission, but since it's an emergency mission, a one-star hunter like me can also accept it, right?"

"but……"

Seeing that Sasaxue was about to say something but was repeatedly interrupted by him, Lin Lin knew that she was worried that he would encounter the same fate as old man Qia, so he smiled lightly.

"Please help me accept the mission. I'm ready. If we let the dog dragon recover from its injuries, I'm afraid it will hate humans even more and attack passersby even more fiercely."

"Oh, well, be sure to be safe."

(End of this chapter)