Anxious and on edge—that was probably the best way to describe everyone's mental state.
Even though they had already passed the halfway point of their escape, their minds became increasingly strained the closer they got to safety.
The people on the boats scanned everything around them, their weapons gripped tightly, ready to face any crisis that might arise at any moment.
However, everything appeared remarkably calm, until... a low, persistent, “Vwoom—” resonated from high above them!
Unexpectedly, the final variable didn't come from beneath the sea, but from the sky!
“What is that?!” They all looked up in unison.
In their field of vision, a silver, shining object trailed a long red wake, streaking across the sky like a comet!
While most were still confused, Mo Shao already understood exactly what that individual high in the heavens was: “Valstrax.”
It was the most “scientifically grounded” Elder Dragon from 《Monster Hunter》.
Known as the Sky Comet Dragon, its core mechanism involved using “Dragon energy” for counter-thrust flight. It could break the sound barrier and dive like a comet crashing into the earth.
Now she understood why the Steel-toothed Sharks hadn't pursued them; this area was Valstrax's territory and its hunting ground!
Now they knew why their escape had been so smooth—those Steel-toothed Sharks hadn't really been chasing them much at all!
“Everyone, suppress your aura!” Mo Shao pulled out a radio she had collected from The MixC and shouted a quick reminder.
Normally, Valstrax wouldn't even spare a glance at humans like them. They were too small, not even enough for a snack.
But they were Dead-binders. The energy within their bodies was quite decent, making them high-quality rations for monsters.
So right now, ordinary people actually had a higher chance of survival—as long as they could survive the aftershocks of an attack!
Unfortunately, although Mo Shao had shouted for them to suppress their auras, how many of these novices actually knew how to do that?
Everyone could only close their eyes and curl up as small as possible... but it even had the opposite effect.
Because of excessive tension, some people ended up diffusing their auras even further, making them more attractive to the monster!
Mo Shao massaged her forehead helplessly. She had truly underestimated how much of a novice these people were; they couldn't even perform such a basic operation.
Now, all they could do was leave it to luck.
Ultimately, however, the Valstrax ignored them and flew toward the far reaches of the horizon, disappearing from their sight.
Mo Shao maintained her invisibility and followed to take a look.
In that direction stood an extremely high mountain. The angle of the peak was slanted to the extreme, and toward the top, it pierced into the sky almost like a chimney!
It was the Valstrax's nest as seen in the 《Monster Hunter》 CG animations!
“It’s gone!” “I guess it wasn’t hungry?” “Phew, we lived.” “I need to practice aura suppression when we get back.” ...
After surviving the ordeal, the crowd shared a few brief words before accelerating their flight once again.
During the final stretch, aside from encountering a few Beru and Abu (the pre-evolved forms of Balagui), they faced no new dangers.
Finally, they safely reached the other side. The speedboats charged directly onto the land, not lingering on the water for even a single second.
They truly didn't dare stay in that area a moment longer.
Seven Hills City finally appeared before them.
A majestic and grand city-state, it was composed of countless massive stone buildings. Most of the structures were colored in white, red, and gold, making it look even more dignified.
The architectural style carried a heavy ancient Roman influence, with tall colonnades and arches built into the mountainside.
Stepping onto solid ground once again, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, their racing hearts finally settling down.
“Everyone, find a safe spot first, then we'll rest and reorganize,” Wu Yingzhe quickly arranged after taking a moment to recover.
They eventually stopped for a temporary rest near a giant boulder. Now was the time for recovery after their flight.
First, Mo Shao released the five children from her Chests. They were still sleeping soundly; it seemed her technique was quite effective.
Next was the return of the various supplies. She took a ten-percent cut as a storage fee, and everyone accepted this without objection.
After all, this price was already exaggeratedly cheap. Without her, they might not have been able to bring even half of these supplies over.
However, Mo Shao vaguely felt that their gazes seemed increasingly... certain? It was as if they had confirmed what kind of person she was.
By the time they reached the vicinity of Seven Hills, it was only roughly four in the afternoon. After all, a 50-kilometer sea journey wasn't that long.
If not for the trouble with the Steel-toothed Sharks, they probably would have arrived around two or three—even while traveling at a very slow speed.
Having arrived at a new location, the first thing to do was naturally to gather intelligence and look for nearby development spots.
Regarding Seven Hills City, the later-stage Skyscreen-type Phantom events had only ranked the cities without explaining the details of each one.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been ignorant of the situation regarding the Steel-toothed Sharks and Valstrax... as for the reason why?
It was because there were honestly a bit too many Skyscreen-type Phantom events later on, and most of them were incompatible, with each one wanting to occupy the entire sky.
So in the end, most things couldn't be seen in full; one could only collect partial information, and you'd need good luck to see a complete version.
At this moment, Mo Shao and Little Ka had essentially separated from Wu Yingzhe's team; from now on, they would no longer act together constantly.
Most people in the team were quite reluctant to see them go. After all, an all-rounder with a good personality and as much strength as Mo Shao was incredibly rare.
However, after a few brief exchanges, they still parted ways. After all, the team's strength was truly insufficient; in the Phantom Realm, quality mattered more than quantity.
For example, right now, entering Seven Hills City required either taking a cable car or climbing stairs, which was a huge hassle.
But Mo Shao took Little Ka, activated invisibility and flight, and quickly entered Seven Hills City.
As for the situation inside Seven Hills City...
There were truly, truly a lot of people. The world instantly became lively. It seemed there was a large-scale Real Realm nearby.
And their mental states... seemed quite decent. There must be some powerful experts or very good development nodes here.
After asking around a bit, Mo Shao gained a rough understanding of the situation in Seven Hills City.
First of all, there was indeed a large-scale Real Realm south of Seven Hills City. It was a city cluster that originally had a very large population.
As for why there were so few people now?
Because a small-scale Phantom Event had occurred there—Honkai.
Rate on N.U.
