Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 535 The hero appears
Watching this scene unfold, Zack's eyes widened in horror. If he were hit by the winged serpent dragon's attack and his trajectory was altered, causing him to fall to the ground instead of onto the Lao-Shan Lung's back, and if the Lao-Shan Lung were to stomp on him, it would be a certain death.

Even if they are lucky enough not to deviate from their direction, if they are hit and lose their balance, causing the bomb to slip from their hands or explode, the situation will become even more serious. The already unpredictable balance of this battle will completely tilt in favor of Lao-Shan Lung, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Minagard will hang by a thread.

Manjushri and Baiye also noticed the winged serpent dragon suddenly rushing towards them, their expressions changed drastically as they realized the seriousness of the situation.

At that moment, there was no time to think. Manjushri instinctively released his flying insect, briefly suspending himself in mid-air. Taking advantage of this momentary delay, he created distance between himself and Bai Ye, who had jumped down with him.

In this way, no matter who the winged serpent dragon ultimately attacks, the other side can at least land safely behind the Lao-Shan Lung, preventing both anti-dragon bombs from detonating simultaneously.

As for dodging and maneuvering... being in mid-air with nowhere to grab onto, and carrying a bomb that is taller than himself and extremely heavy due to being filled with a large amount of high-density Dragon Slayer Carbon, is simply impossible.

Her decision in an instant was clearly quite effective. Manjushri could clearly see that the winged serpent dragon slightly adjusted its flight path and charged towards him, who was hanging in mid-air and had become a complete sitting duck.

Is it about to end...?

Manjushri released the Wirebug and instead hugged the Dragon Bomb, spinning in mid-air so that his back faced the Winged Serpent. With himself as a human shield to cushion the impact, the bomb might not have detonated, and the others might still have a chance to use it against Lao-Shan Lung.

It's a pity that after being away from home for so long, she hasn't had a chance to go back and try to solve the problems in her hometown... I hope Sayoko and her boyfriend can succeed...

In that very turn, Manjushri's keen eyes caught a glimpse of something unusual.

On the other side of the sky, a crimson figure reflecting a metallic luster pierced through the mist drifting among the mountains, flying like an arrow, swift as thunder and wind, arriving before the enemy. The massive body brushed past Manjushri, and the wind pressure it generated even made her lose her balance for a moment, almost causing her to lose her grip on the iron worm silk that was hanging from her.

The enormous crimson body extended its sharp claws like an eagle hunting its prey, grabbing the winged serpent dragon in its claws. With just a slight exertion of its sharp claws, it tore the winged serpent dragon to pieces, leaving it a bloody mess. With a casual toss, the rotten flesh fell straight down, crashing onto the street and turning into a puddle of mud.

After doing all this, it suddenly spread its huge wings and flapped them rapidly. Its body, which was blurry due to the super-high speed, suddenly slowed down and then hovered steadily a few meters below in the air, allowing Manjushri to see the situation behind it.

"Hey! Are you okay?!"

……

No sooner said than done, everything happened in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, Bai Ye had already landed on the back of the Lao Shan Long. His excellent balance allowed him to quickly stabilize his body, and then he immediately looked up.

Then, he saw a Rathalos flying in from somewhere, hovering below the land bridge. Manjushri, who had just deliberately created distance to attract the attention of the Pteranodon, released the Wirebug's web and landed on the Rathalos's back along with the Dragon Bomb. As for the Pteranodon that had tried to attack them, it had already disappeared without a trace.

For a moment, the overwhelming visual impact left the battle-hardened hunter stunned, unsure how to react.

Because there were simply too many things beyond his comprehension.

During the massive Elder Dragon event, aside from greedy hunters like the Pteranodon, Velocidrome, and Red Velocidrome, no one has ever observed any large monsters appearing near them. But now, a Rathalos has ignored the presence of Lao-Shan Lung and charged into the battle town.

Since its inception, the profession of Monster Hunter has been inherently opposed to and fought with monsters. Fighting upon first sight is the norm, especially with monsters like Rathalos that have a strong sense of territory. However, this Rathalos is now so obediently hovering there, allowing Manjushri to land on its back.

Furthermore, there was more than just Manjushri on the back of that male fire dragon; even though it wasn't very clear due to the angle, you could still see some silhouettes.

Why does this world suddenly feel so unfamiliar?

Then he saw the male fire dragon lower its altitude and come above him. Manjushri, holding the explosive bomb, jumped down and successfully reunited with Baiye.

Unlike Bai Ye, who was deeply shocked, Wen Shu, though still agitated, quickly composed himself, knowing he needed to focus on the important matter at hand. He then turned to look at Bai Ye:

"Don't just stand there, take me to the detonation point and quickly set up the anti-dragon bomb!"

"Huh? Oh! Come with me, this way!"

With Manjushri's reminder, Byakuya finally came to his senses. Since the Rathalos that suddenly broke in seemed to be a friend rather than a foe, there was no need to focus on it. The primary goal was to quickly defeat Lao-Shan Lung.

However, while guiding Manjushri, Bai Ye couldn't help but feel admiration for this female hunter who was about the same age as him.

Although both are six-star hunters, Manjushri's mental fortitude is far superior to his. How did she so easily accept this bizarre change and immediately refocus her attention on the important matter at hand?
Actually, things are quite simple. Manjushri doesn't have the super-strong heart that Bai Ye thought she did. She was simply already shocked, and her emotional turmoil was just a change in her mindset brought about by surviving a desperate situation.

After all, Manjushri had stayed in Yukumo Village for quite some time and was aware of the existence of the Sky Dragon. Although she did not participate in the battle with the Storm Dragon at Lingfeng because she was hunting a Blast Dragon at the time, she learned about what happened after she returned. Back then, the Sky Dragon could already take flight in front of the Storm Dragon. Now that it has grown to this size, it is not surprising that it is not afraid of the pressure of the Lao-Shan Lung.

Soon, the two found the pit that Bai Ye had dug in the gap of Lao-Shan Lung's carapace. After pulling out the safety pin of the explosive bomb and lighting the fuse, they turned and ran without hesitation, shouting a warning to the high-ranking hunters below who were attacking Lao-Shan Lung.

"Cease fire! Retreat! It's going to explode in thirty seconds!"

Reminded by the two, the hunters who were focused on attacking Lao-Shan Lung hurriedly stopped and quickly retreated to both sides. Only then did they notice the presence of a Rathalos that had appeared on the field at some point.

Well, it's not that the high-ranking hunters lacked environmental observation skills. The main problem was that Hela, Graham, and Lin Yun, these melee hunters, were constantly surrounding Lao-Shan Lung's chest. Apart from the Lao-Shan Lung's thousand-year-old hide, they couldn't see anything else. In addition, with Elania helping to clear out the surrounding blue and red Velocidrome, they were able to focus all their efforts on attacking Lao-Shan Lung's chest.

Manjushri and Byakuya ran and shouted without pausing for a moment, sprinting towards Lao-Shan Lung's side. When they reached the edge, they leaped up without even considering the potential damage from the lack of cushioning when they landed.

Their time was tight—the bomb detonation time was set to thirty seconds. This time was neither too long nor too short. If it was too long, something might go wrong and it wouldn't be able to inflict the expected damage on Lao-Shan Lung. If it was too short, the hunters who detonated the bombs wouldn't have enough time to escape, turning it into a pure suicide mission.

However, the expected pain of a hard landing did not come. Instead, Wenshu and Baiye felt their bodies lighten, and instead of falling, they continued to climb upwards. Turning their heads, they saw a huge dragon claw gripping their bodies, with a faint purple glint at the tip, emitting a unique fishy smell.

Both high-ranking hunters were familiar with this poison; it was the venom secreted by the Rathalos.

However, the owner of the dragon claws clearly had no ill intentions. He controlled his strength very precisely, without harming the two people who were being held. Instead, he released the two hunters when he flew to the high platform where the cannons were set up.

"Six, five, four..."

Such a sound came from the dragon's back.

"what?"

Bai Ye couldn't help but turn her head and crane her neck to look over, but because the sky was so huge, it completely blocked her back, and she couldn't see anything.

"Three, two, one..."

Bai Ye suddenly realized what this countdown was all about and quickly raised his hand to cover his ears.

However, it was too late.

"Rumble--"

A massive explosion swept through the entire battle district. The shockwave, as solid as a physical object, spread out from Lao-Shan Lung's back, sending the greedy monsters that were too close to dodge flying. Those a little further away were dizzy and lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time. Those closer were even more severely affected by the impact, suffering internal bleeding and dying instantly.

Intense flames and billowing smoke enveloped half of Lao-Shan Lung's body, and the rising smoke formed a mushroom cloud exuding an aura of destruction.

A massive fragment of a back armor, large enough to take twenty people to encircle, flew out during the violent explosion and crashed onto the land bridge, instantly creating a huge crack and making it teeter on the verge of collapse.

"Ow--"

The old mountain dragon let out a roar that sounded almost like a wail, and its loudness was not much less than the boom of the explosion just now.

Even the Lao-Shan Dragon, whose defenses were virtually indestructible, felt indescribable pain from this level of explosion.

"Good heavens... This power feels so much greater than when I attended the Gluttony Feast in Lokrak? Could it be that this isn't a dragon bomb?"

The White Wind Squad jumped off the back of the giant dragon and came to the side of Manjushri and Bai Ye. Lin Lin was greatly shocked to see the scene of the dragon bomb exploding.

Bai Ye glanced at Lin Lin and the others with curiosity, noticing that their attire seemed no different from that of regular hunters, which surprised him even more. He then decided to try and talk to them later and began to explain:

"This is indeed an anti-dragon bomb, but it was urgently transported from East Doruma by airship some time ago. I heard it's an enhanced version developed there. If we only relied on the anti-dragon bombs manufactured before, it would probably take seven or eight of them to match the power of this one..."

Manjushri, who knew a little more, added:

"It is said that a material called high-density dragon-slaying carbon has been added to it. In addition to its amazing explosive power, it also contains a considerable amount of dragon-attribute energy, which can have a very good effect on most ancient dragons."

She subconsciously turned her head and glanced at him, only to meet Brave's gaze. She paused slightly, then nonchalantly turned her attention back to the smoke-filled area.
"I don't know much about high-density dragon-slaying carbon either. I've only heard that it was originally developed as fuel for the dragon cannon in the East Dorma Battle Street. The materials used are very rare, so the production is very limited. There are only four enhanced versions available this time, and two have already been used."

Upon hearing the keyword "high-density dragon-slaying carbon," Bai Ye seemed to recall something as well:
"Wait, I think I've heard of this before. It was developed by a master craftsman known as 'Master Craftsman,' right? Many of the improved city defense weapons we use now seem to be made by him!"

Master?

Lin Lin subconsciously thought of a man with a dark complexion, a scar on his face, and who always liked to carry an umbrella.

There's no doubt about it, it must be him, Julius's teacher!

Originally a very skilled hunter, he encountered a Kushala Daora when he was hunting a female Rathian with the then-naive Julius. The reckless Julius wanted to challenge the Kushala Daora to prove himself, but the master was seriously injured by the Kushala Daora while protecting his disciple, which left him with a chronic illness. He had to give up his hunter career and became a craftsman specializing in weapons and city defense.

It was that incident that caused Julius's personality to change, turning him into the serious, unsmiling man he is today, with a cold expression most of the time.

Master... When I return to Dongdoruma, I can pay him a visit and thank him.

After all, ordinary anti-dragon bombs would likely be less than satisfactory against Lao-Shan Lung's almost impenetrable defense.

The conversation didn't last long before it was forced to stop, because after enduring an explosion, Lao Shanlong had stood up again, his height of over sixty meters directly surpassing the platform, his cold and lifeless gaze locking onto the large sky that was hovering there.

It opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the sky.

In its instinctive judgment that drives its body, this largest living thing in the vicinity is undoubtedly the culprit that has just caused it pain, and is an object that needs to be eliminated.

"Oozora, get out of the way!"

(End of this chapter)