Ahtal-Ka turned her body toward the silver dragon hovering in the air. Hearing Spice's voice, she confirmed that this was the very "Boss Fire Wyvern" most often mentioned by Spice and the other cats over the years.
He was the ruler of this great tree—its entirety fell within his territory. The forge the cats spoke of, the one capable of processing her walking fortress components, also belonged to him. And for the past two years, it was likewise he who had ordered the delivery of those perfectly shaped materials to her.
Forge + sending her lots of perfectly shaped materials + leader of the cats = good dragon!
Thus, under Logan's astonished gaze, Ahtal-Ka took less than a second to think—then, imitating Spice, she actually raised her forelimbs and began waving enthusiastically at him?
That left Logan utterly confused.
Was Ahtal-Ka really such a friendly creature?
In his previous life's game, there had been very few descriptions of Ahtal-Ka; even the official setting materials mostly focused on her abilities and destructive power, and nearly all were written from the perspective of human scholar teams.
All that was known was that, to humans, Ahtal-Ka's level of threat exceeded even that of Elder Dragons, and her destructive power could surpass that of a super-giant Elder Dragon.
After all, even super-giant Elder Dragons merely caused destruction to human towns and fortresses, while Ahtal-Ka would dismantle every structure entirely. Even professional demolition teams might not match her efficiency.
As for her attitude toward non-human creatures, that was completely unknown.
Therefore, confronted with such a friendly display from Ahtal-Ka, Logan pondered for a moment before opening his mouth and letting out a roar.
Hearing Logan's call, the cats surrounding Ahtal-Ka froze briefly, then quickly ran toward the cable car repair site.
Seeing that the cats understood his meaning, Logan cast a deep glance at Ahtal-Ka—and at the massive piles of walking fortress components wrapped tightly in silk, stacked so high that they nearly matched Ahtal-Ka's own size, all supported on her tail that moved like a giant hand. Logan had no doubt that these parts could be assembled into a mechanical beast over 10 meters long.
Spreading his wings, he flew back toward the canopy layer, abandoning his original plan of patrolling the territory. He needed to stay within the Ancient Tree—if Ahtal-Ka ever got the urge to tear things apart, no creature alive would be able to stop her.
Ahtal-Ka, at first puzzled by why Logan had roared once and then flown off, soon understood when the cats came dragging two rectangular wooden pillars toward her. Uttering a delighted series of chirping roars, she felt utterly satisfied.
Just a friendly little gesture—and she got two perfectly shaped pillars in return. How fragrant!!
The Ahtal-Ka carefully wrapped two wooden pillars in its silk.
These regular, angular components not only suited the Ahtal-Ka's sense of aesthetics perfectly, but also required almost no additional processing to become key structural elements within its walking fortress.
One had to know—the walking fortress was not merely the Ahtal-Ka's weapon, but also its nest.
Apart from the necessary mechanical-beast components it grafted on, everything else existed as an essential part of its lair.
A fortress during war, a home during peace—this was what the walking fortress meant to the Ahtal-Ka, and what it had pursued throughout its entire life.
Thus, any creature capable of making its walking fortress stronger was, in the Ahtal-Ka's eyes, considered friendly.
Humans, in truth, were no exception.
The difference, however, was that human architecture and large-scale machinery were also things the Ahtal-Ka sought.
The disparity in strength, the law of survival of the fittest, and the Ahtal-Ka's sweeping, demolition-like instincts had turned its relationship with humans into one of irreconcilable hostility.
The Ahtal-Ka that brought chaos to human towns and fortresses would in the end only invite the siege of the highest-ranking hunting squads—or even entire hunting corps—of humanity.
After receiving Logan's "gift," the Ahtal-Ka's unease and agitation—born from being in an unfamiliar environment where its species was at a disadvantage—had greatly subsided.
At the very least, when it saw the cableway nodes and the cats' constructions, though it still paused to observe them, it was now able to suppress its impulse to forcibly dismantle them and carry them back to its nest.
Seeing that the Fire Wyvern boss was showing a friendly attitude toward his friend, Spice let out a sigh of relief, his heart filled with excitement.
The attitude of the Fire Wyvern boss could fully represent that of all creatures in the Ancient Tree.
With the boss's endorsement, no creature in the upper layers of the Ancient Tree would take the initiative to provoke the mantis sister.
In this way, the worst-case scenario that had weighed deep within Spice's heart—the possibility of having to stand on the Ahtal-Ka's opposing side—had all but vanished.
Stretching out his soft little paw, Spice patted the remaining metal pillar, then cheerfully began leading the way once more.
...
At Astera, after firing five signal flares in succession, a response finally appeared on the distant horizon of the sea.
Watching the signal flares shoot into the sky, the hunters followed the cableway down to the foot of the cliff, taking on the role of logistics personnel as they prepared to welcome the arrival of the Third Fleet.
Seeing the three consecutively launched signal flares as well, the Commander finally let out a breath of relief. According to the arrangement with the liaison ship, this signified that the Third Fleet's convoy had not encountered any abnormal circumstances and had safely arrived.
After all, the incident with the Second Fleet back then had indeed left the Commander with lingering fear—especially since, although the Third Fleet had four ships in total, it carried even fewer hunters than the Second Fleet, and most of its members were invaluable scholars. Should any harm befall them, the loss would be immeasurable—not only for the New World, but for the Old World as well.
Fortunately, the tragedy that had befallen the Second Fleet did not repeat itself with the Third Fleet. Though that Kushala Daora seemed to have quite a bad temper, it had ultimately allowed the Third Fleet to follow behind and arrive safely.
By the time the sun climbed high overhead, the rain brought by the Kushala Daora finally cleared.
Only, due to the seasonal climate, the air temperature still failed to rise.
Accompanied by the steady docking of four massive dragonbone ships and a smaller liaison vessel within the bay, the members of the Third Fleet officially set foot in the New World.
The Felynes and logistics personnel joyfully began unloading the supplies brought with the ships. Standing atop the cliff, the Second Fleet Master looked down at the dragonbone vessels below, already pondering which sections of their hulls should be dismantled and which parts could be suitably repurposed.
The New World lacked materials, and these well-preserved dragonbone ships would serve as the finest and most convenient sources of building resources.
"Chameleos, where's Chameleos?"
An elderly Wyverian scholar, wrapped in a headscarf, looked around Astera excitedly.
"And the New World's Lynians—called Grimalkynes, right? I heard they live here in Astera too?"
Another scholar, a bearded Wyverian, eagerly searched for signs of the Grimalkynes while speaking in the most standard human language.
Watching these elderly scholars, who showed no intention of socializing with others and immediately began searching everywhere for the Chameleos and the Grimalkynes, even the Commander—long accustomed to dealing with these eccentric academics—was momentarily at a loss for words.
Fortunately, not every member of the Third Fleet was a complete oddball.
Holding an incense burner to warm her hands, the Third Fleet's leader—a striking Wyverian lady—shrank her neck against the cold as she surveyed Astera, then walked toward them.
Passing by the supply point, he exchanged a glance with the Analytics Director.
The two nodded to each other without saying much, brushing past in silence.
"Awkward siblings," muttered an elderly, bald Wyverian scholar walking behind the Third Fleet's leader, holding a book in his arms.
"It's been a long time, Professor—nearly thirty years, hasn't it?"
The Analytics Director smiled as he greeted the old Wyverian scholar, from whose classes he had once learned ecological studies for several years.
"Twenty-nine years, seven months, and sixteen days," the old Wyverian corrected his former student's mistake, nodded, and then headed toward the Commander's side.
He had come to take over the position of Director of Ecological Research Center, so he closed his book and went to handle the handover first.
"Still as precise as ever," the Analytics Director adjusted his glasses.
Unlike the previous Director of the Ecological Research Center, this former teacher of his was a genuine field-born ecological researcher.
After all these years, his temperament hadn't changed—
It seemed there would no longer be those intriguing speculative ecology theories to look forward to.
"What a pity," the Analytics Director said with a smile, then, without changing expression, continued methodically with the handover of the Third Fleet's members.
Over on the Commander's side, once the pleasantries were over, a large meeting was convened immediately.
They were here to explore the New World, not to enjoy comfort—there was no need for unnecessary formalities.
Arrangements for lodging or adapting to life in the New World would wait until after the meeting, once both sides had grasped each other's current circumstances.
As the Commander laid out the detailed situation of the New World one point after another, the eyes of the Third Fleet's upper ranks lit up.
Information about Chameleos, the Sunblaze Dragon, numerous unknown Elder Dragons, and the Ancient Tree Research Base struck straight into the hearts of the scholars.
Moreover, the situation of the Research Commission in the New World turned out to be far better than they had expected.
While resources couldn't be called abundant, they were by no means scarce—and their deep-level interactions with the native inhabitants of the New World had far exceeded projections.
They had even established branch research bases!
Before the meeting had even concluded, more than a dozen scholars immediately requested to head to the Ancient Tree Research Base—they simply couldn't wait another moment!
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