"A mission sometime later? Miss Shrine Maiden, are you going out with us too?"
Noah asked in some surprise—not because he doubted the Ancient Wyverian girl's strength.
As the Ancient Wyverian girl with the highest combat talent among the New World's Ancient Wyverians, after receiving more up-to-date hunter training over the past few years, her strength was absolutely far greater than it used to be.
Besides, if technique wasn't enough, data could make up for it. Wearing a full set of Elder Dragon gear, the Ancient Wyverian girl's current performance in Elder Dragon hunts would definitely not be worse than that of an ordinary Fifth Fleet recommendation team. At most, only Aiden and Darren could, while wearing an ordinary set of Fire Wyvern armor plus Fire Wyvern weapons, outperform the Ancient Wyverian girl's performance.
"Don't worry. I won't hold you back." The Ancient Wyverian girl's tone was still as cold and detached as ever.
"I didn't mean that—just your status…" In Noah's view, as the shrine's only shrine maiden, the Ancient Wyverian girl held an exalted position and was not a full-time combatant. When it came to hunting Elder Dragons, even the strongest hunters wouldn't dare say they could come back alive and intact every single time.
And the Ancient Wyverian girl's duty wasn't combat. If she died in a battle with an Elder Dragon because she lacked experience, wouldn't that be such a waste? And where would the Ancient Tree Shrine find a second shrine maiden?
Who someone was, what their job was, and what position they were in determined what they should do—this was what the Commander had taught Noah from childhood to adulthood. Having one more powerful combatant was naturally a good thing, but this Wyverian shrine maiden really should—
"I'm also an active hunter of the Hunter's Guild."
Alright, Noah had no objections.
After Noah stopped speaking, the Wyverian girl continued on her own: "Actually, as far back as a few years ago, the deity already wanted to eliminate Nakarkos. At the very least, He wanted to drive Him out of the Ancient Forest. But you know how that ended. And now that the Ancient Forest's internal cycle has already come to an end, if it continues any further, it will probably have no small impact on the ecology of the entire forest."
"It was just that the timing was very unfortunate. The deity needed to maintain the temperature environment of the Ancient Tree region during the cold winter season and could not leave the Ancient Tree; otherwise, those creatures that grew in temperate environments would be unable to adapt to the harsh winter, leading to mass die-offs. The ecology of the Ancient Tree region would very likely collapse as a result, which would in turn trigger an ecological imbalance that affected the entire New World."
"Therefore, Astera was willing to take over this hunt, and the deity was very gratified. Apart from my participation in the hunt for Nakarkos as combat support, Prince Loren will also lead a group of Radiant Fire Wyvern to join in, responsible for intercepting rampaging monsters on the outer perimeter."
"Even Prince Loren is being deployed—then what about logistics?"
"Blazefire Village will also take on a portion."
As the Ancient Wyverian girl's words fell, a smile also appeared on Noah's face.
As one of Astera's high-level officials, he knew very well just how rushed this hunting operation was. Within the Research Commission, they had even already prepared for the possibility of significant losses.
But fortunately, their allies were quite reliable. Not only had they provided support with some logistical supplies—even the one leading the team would actually be the little Sunblaze Dragon.
This was in the bag!!
As they spoke, the group emerged from the passageway, and sunlight once again fell on their faces.
"Um, I'd like to ask—who exactly is this Prince Loren you're talking about? Does the New World have nobles too?" At this moment, Mia raised her hand and asked like an elementary school student.
"Nobles… what are those?" The Ancient Wyverian girl was somewhat puzzled. This was the first time she had heard that word. But that was a small problem. Just as she was about to explain it to the recommendation team members beside her, who were also wearing puzzled expressions, a gust of wind swept over their heads, stirring up a flurry of leaves.
A silver-white figure swept over the recommendation team's heads and flew straight toward the canopy layer.
"Ah! It's that one from that day that looked a lot like Silver Rathalos—"
"He is Prince Loren, the deity's only child at present."
The Ancient Wyverian girl cut off Mia's words. She also didn't pay any attention to Mia's shocked look, and continued leading the team onward toward Blazefire Village.
[Swish, swish! Swish, swish!]
As they walked along the broad tree-trunk passageway that had been newly tidied up, the sound of vegetation being pushed aside in a hurry came from not far ahead.
The recommendation teams, who had originally been chatting with each other out of curiosity at everything they had seen and heard along the way on the Ancient Tree, immediately looked forward with interest.
"D-Don't bite my tail, meow!!"
A distinctively cute voice unique to a Grimalkyne rang out. Immediately after, a huge black shadow leapt up from a high platform not far away and vaulted right over the heads of the group, who had sensed something was off and quickly ducked and lowered their heads.
However, before they could even straighten up, another burst of chaotic and noisy sounds came, accompanied by the youthful roars of a Fire Wyvern as it rapidly closed in.
[Swish! Swish! Swish!]
Several more black shadows streaked overhead. Only then did everyone look up clearly and see what those shadows actually were.
It turned out to be a small group of juvenile Fire Wyvern that looked almost like oversized ground chickens, pumping their legs in a wild sprint, mouths full of sharp teeth wide open, as they rapidly chased after a Pukei-Pukei that likewise had not yet learned to fly.
And on that Pukei-Pukei's back, there was actually a Grimalkyne—laughing as it ran, while at the same time pitifully "begging for mercy" from the juvenile Fire Wyvern.
"This is the Ancient Tree's only Pukei-Pukei rider. Today, it should have been assigned a hunting training task."
Before anyone else could speak, the Ancient Wyverian girl explained first.
"I never imagined that there would be large monsters other than Fire Wyvern on the Ancient Tree—and that they'd get along in such a distinctive way!"
Mia was truly having her eyes opened. In the next second, all of the Compilers, without prior agreement, pulled out their notebooks and began scribbling rapidly, their professional instincts fully engaged.
The Ancient Wyverian girl did not say much more. She continued leading this group of "inexperienced" recommendation team members to Blazefire Village, delivered them to the Hunter's Guild, and then took her leave.
On the way to the shrine, the Ancient Wyverian girl's mind kept replaying every movement she had observed from all the recommendation team members along the way. Although she did not know why Logan paid so much attention to these newly arrived elite hunters, the deity surely had His own reasons.
...
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Clearly, winter had already set in, yet the Ancient Tree was still brushed by a warm night breeze.
Darren held a mug of beer as he walked over to the railing. Behind him was the noisy clamor of hunters cheering and drinking in the gathering hall.
What occupied his thoughts, however, were the action patterns of the Radiant Fire Wyvern he had observed throughout the day, from which he inferred the possible combat methods of the Radiant Fire Wyvern.
Even now, when he could already be considered one of the world's top-tier hunters, he still maintained the habit of making preparations on an informational level. This was also one of the important reasons why he had been able to climb to the peak at such a young age.
Yet even after making several inferences based on past experience, he always felt somewhat unsettled, his thoughts repeatedly being pulled off in other directions.
Whether ordinary Fire Wyvern or subspecies, those on the Ancient Tree all displayed cooperative traits completely different from normal Fire Wyvern. This unique situation caused a powerful curiosity—one that had not surfaced in many years—to surge back into Darren's mind as he pondered combat methods.
He wanted to see it.
To see what the Sunblaze Dragon that had allowed the Ancient Tree to develop a "monster" civilization actually looked like, what kind of abilities He truly possessed—why He had been specially marked by the Hunter's Guild as an "Order Dragon," and why, on the Ancient Tree, including hunters themselves, He was sincerely revered as a "deity."
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