"Dangerous creatures? There are plenty," the Tech Chief recalled. "Rathian, Seregios, Astalos... In the watering areas, there are also monsters like Jyuratodus and Barroth... Don't let the desolate look of this place fool you; there are actually quite a few monsters living here, and they are very aggressive. Especially one terrifying guy who acts like a thug—tall, big, and chases you down to bite you."
"Anjanath—we have preliminarily named that monster," the Scholar added. "Because its jaw is very developed, long and powerful, and its teeth cannot be retracted into its mouth. Its attack pattern mostly consists of using its teeth to tear and bite."
"But if we are talking about what is worth investigating, I'm afraid it's only that guy, right?" The Huntsman at the side suddenly spoke up.
"Ah, yes, that's right!" The Tech Chief clapped his hands. "The most peculiar guy is definitely that Glavenus—I've never seen such a strange Glavenus!"
"Strange Glavenus?"
The members of the advance team looked at each other. The image of that Glavenus juvenile they had seen more than half a year ago inexplicably floated into their minds. Despite its juvenile form, it had defeated a large monster that was already an adult, and it even knew how to set traps and utilize tactics.
If they hadn't just set out from the temporary base at that time and been in a hurry to track the traces of Zorah Magdaros and Kushala Daora, Hara would have even wanted to follow and observe that Glavenus right then and there.
But even though they left at the time, during the subsequent journey, the Commander would always mention that little guy from time to time, having a very good impression of it.
"Ah, is it a very smart little guy?" Sure enough, upon hearing the Scholar and the Tech Chief mention the Glavenus, the Commander laughed heartily. "Not very big, but obviously different from other monsters. It sets traps, and its fighting style is unlike the straightforward approach of a typical Glavenus. Hmmm... just like a Hunter!"
He became more certain the more he spoke, finally smashing his right fist into his left palm, concluding the matter.
"That's right! It's a Hunter! Challenging powerful monsters with a frail body and a slightly sharp weapon—isn't that exactly what a Hunter is!"
"Little guy?"
The Scholar tilted his head in confusion.
"Frail body?"
The Tech Chief's eyes widened in shock.
"Slightly sharp weapon? Hunter?"
Knocking on his helmet to produce a crisp sound, The Huntsman was also puzzled.
"Hmm? Are we not talking about the same Glavenus?" Keenly realizing that the two groups seemed to be talking about different things, Hara asked in confusion, "There are many Glavenus near the base? That doesn't fit common sense."
"There is only one Glavenus, but to be honest, it is not small at all," the Tech Chief grinned.
"Hmm... The Commander is actually not wrong. From a growth stage perspective, that Glavenus is indeed still in its juvenile period," the Scholar pondered aloud. "But its growth rate is indeed abnormal, as if it skipped the adolescent stage and arrived directly at adulthood."
"What?!"
Looking at each other, now it was the advance team's turn to be astonished.
Unaware that the main fighting force of the Hunters had returned from afar, and was discussing starting to hunt and clear out dangerous monsters threatening the base's safety—and incidentally discussing him—Asterion slept very soundly.
The life energy accumulated from predation would come into play after its owner was injured, repairing wounds and restoring health... Of course, injuries that were too severe naturally couldn't be recovered from. When a wyvern died, the life energy would return to the New World's life cycle.
This is also the reason why wyverns in the New World are more prone to producing Tempered individuals; their vitality is simply too tenacious, trying their best not to die if possible.
When Asterion opened his eyes again, he could clearly feel that his bones had become stiff from maintaining one posture for a long time, as if they would make cracking sounds with any vigorous movement.
But compared to the discomfort all over his bones, what made Asterion's wyvern face even more confused was his mouth full of... uh, the taste of grass.
The taste of plant juices, stuffed full, and the plants further inside faintly felt mushy, as if they had melted...
Subconsciously chewing a bit, Asterion swallowed the stuff in his mouth—it was okay?
Not bad.
Shaking his massive head, Asterion climbed up from the ground. He gradually began to recall what had happened before he slept. He hadn't managed to kill that Tempered Rathian; he had been poisoned and injured himself. He had fallen asleep as soon as he got home, and he didn't know how much time had passed... Anyway, the spot where he stood now was no different from where he had collapsed.
But what's with this stuff in my mouth?
I don't remember becoming a herbivore.
A familiar sound of footsteps gradually became clear from outside the cave. Before Asterion could completely sort things out, he saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother walk in holding a large bundle of green stuff.
"Ghee? Gu-ga! Gu-gu-ga!!!"
First came a cry of disbelief, followed closely by a series of joyful chirps. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother tossed the things it was holding into the air, then rushed over headlong, hopping and skipping in front of Asterion.
It was obvious that Asterion's awakening made it sigh in relief; the whole bird was incredibly happy.
Warmth. Asterion felt very warm inside at this moment.
Even in the indifferent and ruthless natural world, true feelings still existed. The feeling of having a person—oh, having a wyvern—worry about him after waking up from an injury was just too good.
Crack, crack, crack!
"Roar!! Roar roar!!" (Shoo, shoo! What are you pecking at blindly! Is this something you can peck!)
Asterion, who was still secretly moved, suddenly heard a crisp sound. Looking down, he saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother pecking at his shell—unlucky creature! Is this something you can peck!!
The fate of that Tempered Rathian was still vivid in his mind. He didn't want his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's head to be blown off, so he sternly pushed the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother aside and solemnly warned it not to peck his shell randomly.
"Ga..."
Uh, it understood Asterion's meaning. After being pushed aside by Asterion's small arm, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's mood obviously plummeted—it thought it was being rejected and driven away.
"Ga! Ga..."
The originally straight bird back hunched over instantly. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's call was desolate; if its body allowed, it would have looked teary-eyed no matter what.
"Roar! Roar roar roar!!" (Don't think crazy thoughts! I'm afraid you'll get hurt! Hey! Come back!!)
It took a lot of effort for Asterion to finally make the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother understand that he wasn't driving it away, but stopping it from pecking his shell for its own safety—just think about that Rathian; if it didn't want to be blown up like that, it shouldn't peck randomly.
And after understanding that its cub wasn't driving it away but thinking of its safety, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother immediately returned to that cheerful appearance.
Asterion finally understood why his mouth tasted of plant juice. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother couldn't speak or count, so it couldn't explain exactly how long Asterion had slept.
However, during the time Asterion was asleep, it hadn't been idle at all. Besides the egg-stealing activities needed for daily food, it had risked its life exploring all over the Wildspire Waste, looking for herbs it remembered could heal injuries, and then bringing them back to feed Asterion.
Seeing the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother imitating a wyvern burying its head in the ground and chasing it wildly with a gaping mouth, and hearing the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother constantly chirping about how many big guys had bullied it these past days... Asterion felt both heartache and anger.
This is my brother!!
Even just glancing to the side, Asterion could see the fresh herbs the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had just brought back—not only healing herbs, but also Antidote Herbs and various mushrooms.
During the days he had been in a coma, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had undoubtedly been trying its best to take care of him and feed him medicine.
These were the fresh ones; on the other side, there were some dried-up herbs. Who knew how much suffering the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had endured to gather these things.
"Roar! Roar roar roar!!" (Don't worry! I've recovered. Let's go get revenge directly! Kill them all!)
"Gu-ga!!"
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother agreed with both claws and feet raised.
Do it?
Do it!
No sooner said than done!
A tough dragon life has no room for dilly-dallying. Asterion felt incredibly healthy right now, full of energy from head to toe—except his stomach was empty, and he was starving.
If hungry, go eat, and avenge the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother while at it!
Not to mention anything else, that guy who stuck its head in the ground and chased the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother with its mouth wide open—needless to say, it was definitely an Anjanath!
You little punk, I ignored you before and didn't fight unnecessary battles, but now you're bullying my brother?
Nothing more to say! He went out and headed straight for the flower field swamp area, grabbing an Apceros that had come to drink water as an appetizer to barely fill his stomach. At least the feeling of hunger was suppressed; otherwise, Asterion wouldn't feel comfortable fighting.
Times had changed. The wheel of fortune turns; the Apceros that used to make Asterion wait in solemn array and even require sneak attacks to catch now fled at the mere sight of him. And with Asterion's current size, he couldn't bury himself in the swamp anymore either.
No need to bury anymore.
No more messing around. Hmph, trying to escape?!
Catching up to the slow-moving Apceros in a few large sprinting strides, he casually swung his blade twice and effortlessly sliced the largest one in half. Time to eat!!
The remaining Apceros fled in a hurry while wailing. Given the tight schedule and the eagerness for a big meal later, Asterion ate raw food for the first time in a while. As usual, he shared some meat strips with the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother was already used to this way of eating; it raised its bird head and swallowed it whole—tasty and nutritious.
Hastily eating a meal of Apceros—he didn't even finish it, leaving a small half on the spot—Asterion took the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother and charged aggressively toward the Anjanath's territory... The leftover meat wouldn't go to waste; there were plenty of scavengers in the swamp.
Sparks and lightning all the way—ha, that wasn't just a figure of speech. Asterion, gripped by anger, had his sword-tail occasionally scraping against the ground and walls along the way. The sound was swishing, the sparks were sizzling.
Murderous intent revealed!
On the way, he even passed by two Hunters. Asterion glanced at them and felt they looked a bit familiar, but he couldn't quite place them if he really tried to recall—anyway, he had no business with Hunters right now, so he strode straight past the two Hunters who were urgently hiding behind a rock.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother did glance at the two Hunters poking their heads out from behind the rock as it passed, but it quickly caught up with Asterion in front, still chirping away.
Bird nature cannot be violated; the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother was truly a chatterbox.
A cowardly chatterbox.
"...Hey, Hara, it probably spotted us, right?"
When the two wyverns had gradually walked away, the two Hunters stepped out from behind the rock. They were none other than the Commander and Hara, whose curiosity had exploded after hearing the Scholar and Tech Chief talk so much about this peculiar Glavenus in the base, prompting them to come and investigate.
"Probably." Hara's expression was also a bit strange. "It didn't hurt us, nor did it make any move to drive us away. The Tech Chief was right; this Glavenus really seems to ignore the existence of Hunters to a certain extent... as if it's already very familiar with Hunters."
"Could it be that it became familiar with the existence of Hunters during its activities over the past half-year? Realized that Hunters pose no threat to it?"
"That shouldn't be... Monsters living near villages or the Kingdom never adapt to the presence of humans no matter what, especially when humans enter their territory..."
"And that Kulu-Ya-Ku... Strange... Why would a Kulu-Ya-Ku follow a cold and ruthless monster like a Glavenus..."
Her eyes were sparkling somewhat. As a woman with extremely vigorous curiosity and surpassing courage, Hara herself was full of desire to explore the unknown; otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to join this team exploring the secret of the Elder Crossing.
If others in the First Fleet still had thoughts of finishing the investigation quickly and going back early, then after witnessing so many brand-new monsters, strange landscapes, and possible secrets between Elder Dragons in the New World, Hara had no intention of going back at all.
At this moment, her mind was full of the peculiarities displayed by Asterion. She tried to use her limited knowledge to answer these questions, but thinking it over only led to denying the conjectures she constantly raised.
Slap!
"Hey, Hara!" Suddenly reaching out and patting his companion on the shoulder, the Commander laughed heartily and said, "Instead of letting your imagination run wild here, why not follow them and take a look?"
"Take a look?" Hara was a bit bewildered. Her thoughts, or rather her mindset, were actually still constrained by the framework developed in the Old World.
"Yes, take a look," the Commander encouraged. "I actually feel that the Glavenus ignored us because it had its own business to attend to. Look at how anxious it seemed; it reminded me of the time I went out and forgot to bring in the clothes drying in the yard, then rushed back when it suddenly started raining."
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)