Monster Hunt: Notes from a Hunter

Chapter 1430 Hidden in the Valley
The three members of the Bi Tou team plus Xiang Lan set off overnight on a pterosaur.

They planned to arrive near the destination coordinates after midnight, approach cautiously, conduct covert reconnaissance, and return before dawn.

By taking advantage of the cover of night, the risk of exposure during the reconnaissance process can be minimized.

The others continued to stay on the Blue Star, waiting for the opportunity to act.

Looking at the shadows of Julius and others going away, Ansel turned around and asked Gordon, "What do you think?"

Ansher's questions were irrelevant, but after being partners for so many years, he certainly knew what the latter was worried about.

“I haven’t thought much about it. There is too little information about the Dragon King or the possible Black Dragon.

Even with the limited knowledge we have at present, we can tell that their strength is far beyond what human power can handle.

We are not even sure whether the Dragon King can fly, so there is no point in making detailed tactical plans.

Be prepared for what you can do, and then adapt as the situation dictates.”

"What a disgusting uncertainty." Ansel sighed.

With an in-depth understanding of the performance of each crossbow, the trajectory of each crossbow bullet, and accurate calculation of various environmental factors, you can be sure before pulling the trigger that the crossbow bullet will hit the target without any error.

This is the way he is used to shooting and the way he is used to doing things.

Rather than "adapting to circumstances".

"But life is full of unknowns." Gordon shrugged. "Ten years ago, could you imagine yourself marrying Gail?"

"I know." Ansel said unhappily, "I hate uncertainty, but when it really comes, I will find a way to solve it and accept it.

But is this the time to discuss these life philosophies? "

"Weren't you the one who started this conversation?"

"I'm just expressing my feelings!"

Riding on a pterosaur, we bypassed the abnormal storm that enveloped the Demon Gathering Land, crossed the strait with huge waves, and arrived above the unknown land, then continued flying northwest for more than half an hour.

Julius, the leader, waved and made two gestures.

The reconnaissance team, consisting of a pen hunter and a cat, began to descend.

This is a land that has never been visited by humans. The mountains are rugged and the land is barren. Not to mention large trees, even shrubs and weeds are not common.

Aiden released the hook and jumped to the ground. He looked around and asked, "Is it so deserted?"

"That means we've come to the right place." Julius said calmly, "Although I haven't been to the 'Dragon Crystal Land' myself, I have read a lot of related research articles and reports.

If we ignore the crystals formed by the power of the earth veins, the environment here should be similar to that area, right? "

Aiden thought about it and said, "It's true."

"Just keep going."

Following Julius' instructions, the three people and the cat acted quickly.

The straight-line distance between where they landed and the destination coordinates was about ten kilometers.

Taking into account factors such as the terrain, even with the hunters' mobility, it would take at least three or four hours to arrive.

As for why they didn't control the pterosaur to fly directly closer, it was naturally to minimize the possibility of being exposed in advance.

The target of this reconnaissance is the "Dragon King", so it is never too careful.

The time soon came to the middle of the night.

After crossing the last mountain, what appeared before them was a deep canyon where the bottom could not be seen clearly.

"It seems that this is it." Julius raised his hand to signal his companions to stop. "From now on, strictly abide by the principle of covert operations and equip invisible clothing."

The hunters put on camouflage cloaks, and Xianglan also put on a small one.

The group came to the edge of the canyon.

"Pterosaur? Or gliding?" Aiden asked in a low voice.

Although he is usually a bit talkative, at this moment he also paid attention to using the shortest sentences possible to communicate.

Julius silently took out the rope from his backpack and answered with action.

Pterosaurs make too much noise when flying and are not suitable for infiltration.

However, there are some among them who can fly down silently.

While Julius was sorting out the rappelling equipment, he made a few gestures to Xianglan.

During a reconnaissance operation, it is only natural that a hunting partner who is smaller, moves more quietly, and is less likely to be exposed takes the lead.

Xianglan's ears twitched and it waved its paws at Aiden.

Aiden thought it was going to say something, so he leaned closer.

Xianglan stretched out her claws, plucked a few strands of brown-red hair from Aiden's head, and threw them into the air.

It uses this to observe the movement of air currents in the canyon.

Aiden almost cried out in pain, but he held it back under Julius' stern gaze.

Helplessly scratching his aching scalp, Aiden stepped aside.

Xianglan quickly assembled the kite after checking the airflow conditions with the help of those few strands of hair. After mumbling a few words as if praying, she jumped down with the kite on her back.

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the shadows of the deep valley that could not be illuminated by the moonlight and starlight.

Aiden suddenly felt awe-inspiring, and the fact that a few hairs were pulled out was no longer a big deal.

Xianglan, carrying the kite on her back, was like a fallen leaf in the wind, curling and flying left and right.

It seems that it is not difficult to go with the flow, but in fact, flying with the wind in such a complex air flow environment requires extremely advanced maneuvering skills.

If you are not careful, you may fall headfirst like a kite that is not properly pulled.
Xianglan tried hard to control the kite and glide as quietly as possible while looking around the valley.

The cat's focused pupils had expanded to their limit, and with the tiny bit of light from the sky, it could take in the scenery of the valley.

Completely desolate.

This is the first impression the canyon brings.

There was no soil, no water, no trace of green, and no living creatures to be seen.

Everywhere you look, there are rocks, rugged and jagged, gray-yellow rocks that are jagged and crisscrossed like the fangs of a monster.

Turning the kite slightly sideways, Pandan accelerated its descent.

Soon, some strange things floating in the wind attracted its attention.

Countless pieces, strips, flocs, thin and soft, as if made of rotten fabric, hung on the protruding rocks that looked like fangs.

These things fluttered non-stop with the air currents echoing in the valley, reminding it of the ancient prayer flags that could be seen everywhere on the Sky Mountain.

It steered the kite and approached the rock wall carefully, trying to scoop up a wisp to see what it was.

However, the air currents near the canyon wall were so chaotic and complicated that the kite was almost blown to the wall along with it.

After hastily adjusting its flying posture, it quickly moved away from the rock wall and dared not approach it again.

As for samples of unknown substances, let’s wait until Julius and the others come down to collect them.

Xianglan suppressed her curiosity and continued to glide downwards.

As we got closer to the valley bottom, the materials hanging on the rock walls and flying in the wind became denser and denser.

But it no longer has time to look at those.

The huge dark red shadow lying in the deepest part of the canyon attracted all its attention.

Four legs, two wings, curved sharp horns, dark red scales and shell.
Ancient and primitive, without any surprising physical features, even a scale or a claw reflects the concept of "dragon" itself.

A strange sense of disharmony came over it.

Not long after becoming a hunting cat, it followed Hayata, Zhupai and others to come into contact with the "Forbidden Skull" sealed in the ruins of ancient civilization.

From that moment on, the malice that seemed to be able to tear the soul apart was deeply engraved in the deepest part of its memory.

Compared to that, isn't this equally forbidden "Dragon King" in front of him too insignificant?

Is it really still alive? Even if it is a corpse, it shouldn't be like this, with almost no breath at all.
The doubts in her heart drove Xianglan to fly closer.

Until it met the pair of golden dragon eyes hidden in the darkness.

In an instant, it felt that its body, blood, and even its soul had all solidified.

Not awake yet? Weak sense of presence?
No. This "Dragon King" is just hiding.

(End of this chapter)