"Roooar!" (Ti—time to eat!!)
Only when Xeno'jiiva's body no longer glowed blue, its coloration fading as that rich, supremely pure bioenergy began to spill out, did Ruiner Nergigante snap awake as if from a dream. Saliva poured from its jaws like a waterfall as it opened its mouth and lunged toward Xeno'jiiva's corpse on the ground.
After taking such enormous risks, expending so much energy, and fighting for so long—wasn't this moment exactly what it had all been for?
Of course, it had no intention of eating alone!
Though greedy, it was also keenly aware that it had no way to monopolize the feast in front of two Disaster-level Elder Dragons. Therefore, Ruiner Nergigante's objective was to gorge itself as much as possible before Logan and Kulve Taroth began their formal contest over Xeno'jiiva's corpse!
But—
A blast of ultra-high-temperature heat blocked its path. Immediately after, exaggerated flames and lightning interwove around the Terastal pillars, forming a massive net that cut it off from Xeno'jiiva's corpse.
"ROAR!!!" (You can't do this!!)
Ruiner Nergigante had not expected the two of them to be shameless to this extent!
As the apex of the Elder Dragon ecological chain, they were actually joining forces to drive away the weakest one?
Was that reasonable?
This was clearly their intent to not give it even a single bite!
Xeno'jiiva's corpse was right within reach, yet that tiny distance—under the joint suppression of Logan and Kulve Taroth—now felt like an unbridgeable chasm separating it from the body.
Ruiner Nergigante roared anxiously without pause, charging left and right, trying to break through the blockade.
But while it could withstand the damage from Logan and the others, it could not break through the corresponding impact force.
Darren, panting heavily, looked down at the platform below, which had begun to teeter on the verge of collapse because Logan was no longer injecting Terastal energy into it.
Then he looked at Ruiner Nergigante, which they were blocking together, and for a moment he actually started to feel that guy was somewhat pitiful.
Trembling, he hung Blazing Wings back onto the weapon rack. After sustaining extreme long-duration charging, Darren's stamina finally hit its limit, and he passed out limp from exhaustion.
Down below, Ruiner Nergigante was so frantic it hopped in place. As the platform lost the support of the Terastal pillars, and was also melted into magma by Kulve Taroth's ultra-high-temperature heat wave, it began to wobble unsteadily.
Xeno'jiiva's corpse bobbed up and down in the magma, and at any moment it could plunge into the abyss below along with the platform.
Even with lightning wrapped around its limbs and its body scorched by blue-violet flames, it could not be bothered with any of that anymore.
After paying so much, if it could not even take one bite, then even at night when it slept, it would be jolted awake by regret.
Gritting its teeth and enduring Logan's attacks, it threw itself forward desperately, forcing its way through the obstacles as it charged toward Xeno'jiiva's corpse.
"Roar!"
Its gaping maw was already pressed close to Xeno'jiiva's neck. It could already smell the taste of that pure bioenergy that was steadily spilling out!
Bang!
A pair of enormous golden horns appeared out of nowhere, and the tremendous force directly slammed Ruiner Nergigante away.
Kulve Taroth placed one forelimb on Xeno'jiiva's neck, while the other forelimb slammed down hard toward the ground.
Before Ruiner Nergigante's widened, blood-red eyes, the entire platform rapidly collapsed. Using Xeno'jiiva's corpse as a buffer under its feet, Kulve Taroth plunged swiftly into the magma flow in the abyss below.
"Roar—roar!!~~"
Anger, despair, sorrow…
Too much was contained within Ruiner Nergigante's dragon roars.
The last time Logan had heard a roar like this was during the encirclement of Shagaru Magala, from that Nergigante in those days. He had not expected to hear such a sound again after so many years.
Watching Ruiner Nergigante fling its limbs with all its strength, desperately breaking free from his restraints and plunging into the abyss without hesitation in pursuit of Kulve Taroth's retreating figure, Logan no longer paid it any further attention.
Even if that Ruiner Nergigante managed to catch up—so what?
From the moment Xeno'jiiva's corpse fell into the leyline magma flow, it completely belonged to the New World. What was more, with Kulve Taroth escorting it at the side, who could possibly snatch it away?
Moreover, within Logan's perception, after Xeno'jiiva's corpse plunged into the abyss, the constantly leaking energy fully merged into the leyline almost the very second it dispersed, leaving no opportunity whatsoever for interception.
Xeno'jiiva was dead. From this point on, the New World would completely enter an activated state. The concentration of bioenergy would be so high that it would likely reach its peak in nearly a thousand years.
Such a degree of activation would even spread to the icy plains at the very end of the Everstream, awakening the ancient dragon that had carved out the Everstream and created the New World.
Next, the entire New World—including the ice plains—was bound to become lively.
...
Two days later, Elder's Recess, inside the hunter camp.
Darren slowly came to, and the first thing he saw was Blazing Wings resting diagonally on the weapon rack.
Propping himself up with a body that was still somewhat weak, he rubbed his slightly sore biceps, methodically put on his gear, slung his weapon over his back, and walked out of the tent.
Not far away, beside the campfire, the Admiral was discussing something with the Wyverian hunter, while the others were nowhere to be seen.
After greeting them briefly, Darren walked out of the lava cave and looked toward the mountain peak, at that enormous, crimson Terastal crystal. Even from such a great distance, he could still feel the scorching heat radiating from it.
That was what had happened yesterday. While the Sunblaze Dragon had been resting, something unknown had occurred. Under the effect of frenzied crimson lightning, the entire crystal spines and the gaps between its scales had all turned a deep crimson color.
Its calm and noble azure vertical pupils had also turned completely scarlet. The muscles across its entire body swelled, making its sense of power even more pronounced, while the Terastal crystals at its joints surged explosively, causing its overall appearance to look noticeably bulkier.
With such an appearance combined with the red lightning that permeated its body, the hunters had nearly believed that the Sunblaze Dragon had fallen into a berserk state for unknown reasons.
Alongside their worry, they also felt anger!
After all, without the influence of any external factor, they truly could not imagine what could possibly cause the Sunblaze Dragon to undergo such a transformation.
This was blasphemy!
Watching the Sunblaze Dragon soar through the sky, wantonly releasing even more exaggerated light and heat—so much so that the temperature of the Elder's Recess, and possibly even the entire New World, was rising—the hunters had even prepared themselves to fight it, attempting to wake it up!
Yet unexpectedly, that state lasted only three minutes before ending. The Sunblaze Dragon simply returned to its usual, technology-infused appearance and descended onto the mountain.
After some communication confirmed that the Sunblaze Dragon had not lost consciousness, the hunters still wanted to ask more questions. However, Logan directly chose to leave the Elder's Recess and return to the Ancient Tree.
This only deepened their confusion.
After a round of discussion, they decided to have Aiden stay behind in the Elder's Recess with the others to investigate the crimson Terastal crystals left behind during the Sunblaze Dragon's rampage. As for Darren and the rest, they would return to Astera to compile and report everything that had happened during this period, including matters related to Xeno'jiiva.
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