Monster Hunter: I can accept monster quests

Chen Yan and Hua Miao struggled to crawl through the cramped thicket of trees.

He parted a withered vine, and several beetles hiding on it fell to the ground with a crackling sound; their shriveled bodies indicated that they had been dead for a long time.

Not only were the insects dead, but the vines were dead, the trees beneath our feet were dead, and the entire ancient forest was shrouded in a deathly silence.

As expected, something bad happened.

Before, when I wandered around looking for quest monsters, I could hear birds chirping and strange roars, and occasionally smell something fresh. But now, everything is deathly silent, and all that lingers in my nostrils is a strong stench of decay.

Carefully leaping over the treetops, they had reached the middle layer of the Ancient Forest, where the situation was even more dire. Rotting corpses were scattered everywhere under the trees, including not only herbivorous dragons but also small and medium-sized monsters, and even a considerable number of large monsters such as fire dragons and anjanaths.

"Is the dragon calamity that serious, Flower Cat? We need to hurry!"

It took them longer than last time to reach the edge of the Lynx Dettel territory as they traversed the winding, bushy paths.

Looking at the tightly closed tree hole, Chen Yan tentatively called out a few times, but there was no response. However, he seemed to see several phantom figures flash past from the treetop.

He thought for a moment, unpacked his backpack, took out a large, cured sausage, and broke it in half, releasing a rich, meaty aroma...

"Meow! It's you! Please come in!"

The old lynx chieftain suddenly appeared from somewhere, its eyes fixed on the sausage, beckoning its members to open the door and welcome the guests...

Chen Yan sat cross-legged in front of the campfire, feeding the lynx cubs that were crawling all over him while listening to the old lynx complain.

After a long while, Chen Yan understood.

Because the ancient tree forest food chain collapsed, they faced a food crisis.

This time the situation is even more serious than last time. The herbivorous dragons have disappeared, and even the water source they usually drink has been polluted. Fortunately, the lynxes are omnivorous beastmen. Since they can't get meat, they can barely survive by eating tree hearts and grass roots, but they are also about to go under.

If Chen Yan had arrived a little later, he would have seen them suffering as they gnawed on the tree bark...

Chen Yan prepared a lot of food and fresh water and quickly gave them to the animals. No matter how difficult the Starry Sky Stronghold was, at least they didn't have to worry about food and drink.

Why didn't you think of asking a hunter for help?

The old lynx chieftain sighed and pointed to the sky.

"Some fire dragons are starving. They usually look down on us, but now they want to swallow us whole without even chewing. We have a hard time dealing with flying dragons, let alone fire dragons. We really dare not leave the bushes."

Chen Yan kept it in mind and reported it to Naomi later, asking her to prepare some small gadgets like distress flares for the lynxes to use for communication.

After glancing at the flower cat, who was being overwhelmed by Dettel's little beauty while holding food, Chen Yan asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Have any monsters that we've never seen before appeared in the upper levels of the Ancient Forest?"

He just asked casually, but the old lynx thought about it and actually pulled out something really amazing.

A small, translucent, iridescent wing membrane.

A single, extremely sharp, golden reverse scale.

A glittering golden scale.

Chen Yan's gaze instantly locked onto the golden scales.

"The wing membrane and this scale were picked up at great risk."

"And this golden scale was obtained by us in exchange for half a bundle of grass roots when we traded food with other groups. They said it was picked up from the stream flowing down from the highest point."

"Thousand-Blade Dragon, Lightning Dragon, Gold Rathian!"

It was bad enough that the Ancient Forest had seen the appearance of the Thousand Blade Dragon and the Electric Dragon, two mortal enemies of fire dragons, but what surprised him was that he had actually guessed correctly: the Gold Rathian had appeared!

Since Gold Rathalos is here, it means Silver Rathalos is here too. Gold and Silver Rathalos combined are indeed beyond the capabilities of Chameleon, but they shouldn't be more than twenty times stronger. What other formidable monsters are there?

Seeing his interest, the old lynx chieftain generously gave him these scales, since he was going to trade them for food with other tribes anyway. He also told him some news about fire dragons.

An injured fire dragon crashed last night on the edge of its territory, and according to the patrolling lynx, it seemed to be on its last breath.

Chen Yan's mission antenna crackled as he gripped the old lynx chieftain's thin, bony paw.

"take me!"

They followed the old lynx chieftain, winding their way through the forest, until they found a dying fire dragon lying on the ground.

"Be careful, this guy is fierce. He almost bit one of our patrolling lynxes yesterday!"

The old lynx chieftain hid behind a tree, warning Chen Yan who wanted to approach.

Chen Yan took a deep breath and was about to take a step, but then he thought for a moment, took off his katana and stuck it aside. With his hands empty, he slowly approached the struggling "King of the Sky".

Chen Yan wasn't offering himself to the dragon; he dared to step forward empty-handed because the flower cat and the group of lynxes behind him were all holding tightly to the flashing winged insects in their claws.

If the fire dragon makes even the slightest movement, it will witness the rise of a second sun.

This male Rathalos is truly in a terrible state.

Its entire body was covered in congealed blood on its red scales. At least two and a half of the four wing bones were broken, and the wing membranes were so tattered that only a few strips remained hanging from the bones. Its body was covered with large and small blood holes, and for some reason, the wounds had not clotted and were still dripping blood. The scales on its hind limbs that supported its body were broken, revealing deeper muscle tissue.

Even its mouthful of sharp fangs had been broken in many places. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be tightly biting a piece of iron-blue carapace, which looked very much like the reverse scale of the Thousand Blade Dragon.

Chen Yan took a step, then paused. Seeing that the fallen Rathalos remained unresponsive, he took another step forward. He was only three steps away from the Rathalos and could clearly see the shattered reverse scales embedded in its flesh.

"That's too tragic! It's like being subjected to a slow, agonizing torture from beginning to end..."

When Chen Yan looked around carefully and then focused on its head, he realized that the male fire dragon had opened its eyes at some point and was staring at him with weak but still fierce eyes.

Chen Yan's breath hitched, but he quickly calmed down, spread his hands, and revealed a very friendly smile.

"Don't be afraid, I mean you no harm..."

The Rathalos ignored him completely and closed its eyes again; it had seen the hunter before.

It's just a noisy little bug that often trespasses into its territory, uses dirty tricks, and occasionally scratches it.

Besides stealing dragon eggs laid by its wife, what else can it do?

But its tightly closed eyes opened again half a second later.

What did it see?

A large, well-marinated sausage, broken in half, releases a burst of meaty aroma...

Chapter 55 The Omnipotent Lynx

The reverse scale that the male Rathalos was holding tightly in its mouth fell to the ground, and the extremely sharp blade-like reverse scale easily pierced into the mud.

Chen Yan boldly stepped forward, looking at its wide-set, few but extremely thick cone-shaped teeth, and slowly slid the smoked sausage onto its tongue through its largest gap between the teeth.

Judging from its charred mouth and throat, it must have had a fierce battle with the Thousand-Blade Dragon before the crash.

"Hey, if you eat my smoked sausage, you're my dragon now, so you're not allowed to bite me..."

With a flick of the fire dragon's tongue, the sausage vanished without a trace. Chen Yan's eyes lit up; the mission had arrived as he had hoped.

[Rathalos issues a quest request: A Mysterious Forbidden Spell]

I promised them that after this battle, I would go home and lay eggs with them...

[Compensation for the Commission: Kingly Appearance/Superb Vision/Fire Resistance/Fire Bag/Soft Tissue Self-Healing/Strong Adaptability/Territorial Intimidation]

The blue bubble perfectly matches its status as the king of the sky.

Chen Yan was somewhat disappointed with the mission rewards. Not only were there no powerful attack skills, but there wasn't even a skill that would allow him to fly!

The details of the mission are not difficult to understand.

"It's a bit too much trouble to help you lay eggs. I'll try to find a way to send you back to lay eggs with the female Rathalos."

Chen Yan gave a slap to indicate safety, and then called out a few more times. Hua Miao led a group of timid lynxes down from the withered grass and old trees, and moved huddled together in front of the Rathalos.

When the male Rathalos saw the fat cat, it sniffed lightly, its dull eyes brightened, and saliva mixed with black ash and blood secreted from its mouth as it slightly opened its mouth.

Chen Yan instantly understood its meaning, and Hua Miao also sensed the danger. Its fur stood on end, and it touched the hilt of the knife. A group of lynxes behind it also stood on end, creating a chaotic mess.

Chen Yan slammed the fire dragon's mouth shut.

"Boss Fire Dragon, this fat cat isn't for you to eat..."

Chen Yan clapped his hands, drawing all the lynxes' attention to him.

"Alright, everyone, now follow my instructions..."

The entire lynx tribe mobilized, with more than twenty lynxes of all sizes, and they were busy working under Chen Yan's arrangement.

The more skillful female lynxes cut down the dead vines, removed the thorns and branches, and then handed them to the male lynxes nearby.

The male lynxes worked together to twist seven or eight dry vines into a thick rope.

Next, these strong ropes were woven into a huge net, which was then laid out under the fire dragon by several nimble lynxes digging holes and passing through the soft mud beneath the dragon.

A stone was tied to the other end of the rope net, and under the precise weight control of the old lynx chieftain, the massive fire dragon was successfully lifted to a height of half a meter off the ground.

Several trembling lynxes approached the fire dragon with sharp bone needles. It was their first time coming so close to such a massive beast, and they were understandably a little scared.

Urged repeatedly by the old lynx, they began to use bone needles to pick out the broken reverse scales embedded deep in the dragon's flesh.

The scales of the Thousand-Blade Dragon can explode after hitting its prey, creating a secondary injury with the aftershocks and scattered small blades. The reason why the wounds all over the Rathalos's body cannot heal is because the blades are constantly bleeding it out.

The lynxes, who are usually responsible for treating their companions' wounds, start to become rough once they get into the zone.

They brazenly pried open its wounds and searched through it, finding its scales in the way, and even worked together to pull them off.

Despite the excruciating pain that made his flesh twitch, the Rathalos kept its eyes tightly closed and its massive jaws shut, appearing no different from a dead dragon except for its rapid breathing.

The male Rathalos is very intelligent. It knows that the lynxes are trying to save it, and it silently lets the lynxes do their work. Meanwhile, the little creatures, which are gradually letting go, climb all over its body and search for the broken blades in its wounds.

With the wounds mostly treated, Chen Yan led the herb-gathering lynxes back.

Due to ecological collapse, the herbs and honey-eating insects that were once common in the Ancient Tree Forest have disappeared. Even experienced hunters who venture into the forest now would likely return empty-handed.

But this didn't stump Chen Yan, who possessed the sense of smell of a crowned dinosaur. He could always sniff out a few herbs from the nooks and crannies and carry out a few plump honey bugs from the hidden tree holes and grass nests.

The herbs were for the fire dragons, and the honey worms were for them. The listless lynxes lined up, each taking a sip of the honey, and immediately became as energetic as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Even the idle cat has come to life.

It stood weakly on the fire dragon's back, its face contorted in pain as it stuffed a few herbs into its mouth, chewed them, and then spat them onto its claws to rub on the fire dragon's wounds.

Stepping on the fire dragon's red scales, looking at its spiked, club-like tail and its huge, bloodstained claws, and seeing that the fire dragon remained motionless, the fear in Flower Cat's heart gradually faded, and extreme excitement surged into her heart.

It slowly stood up on the fire dragon's back, one paw supporting the fire dragon's wing bone, the other hand on its fat waist, looking triumphantly at the fire dragon and the busy lynxes beneath it.

"Grandma Cat, the old bald cat next door, and all the pretty little cats in the village, did you see that? Grandpa Flower Cat has conquered the fire dragon again!"