'Has it already left?'
Logan stared at the bloodstains on the ground. Though he could roughly determine the direction the Rath had flown based on the drip patterns, it didn't seem particularly useful in practice.
That was the advantage of flight—unmatched mobility. Once airborne, scents and tracks vanished completely, making pursuit nearly impossible. It was one reason air forces always held an exalted position in any military hierarchy.
Still, it wasn't entirely hopeless. Unlike the Ancient Forest, the Great Ant Mound Wasteland had no dense tree cover; the view was wide open, the sky unobstructed. If he could spot the Rath again, his ground speed would allow him to track it persistently until he located its nest.
For now, though, food came first. It had been a while since he'd eaten fish—might as well check the dawn redwood dock. He hadn't rebaited the fishing spot in some time, so he wasn't sure if any fish remained.
Since they were already in the same swamp and not far apart, it didn't take long for Logan to lead Zhu Peiniang to the fallen dawn redwood.
Two or three months had left few marks on the massive trunk. Redwood was naturally dense; without insect damage, it would take ages to decay.
Logan nimbly leaped onto the trunk, padding along the rough bark until he reached the section near the water. He plunged his tail into the depths.
Fine electric arcs began flickering across his scales. Now far larger, with further-evolved electricity-generating organs, he could release much stronger currents. The water near his tail electrolyzed instantly, producing streams of tiny bubbles that rose steadily.
Yet beyond that, the surface remained eerily calm—no floating fish, not even a splash.
'Something's wrong. Even without fresh bait, the school should have scattered but left a few small fry. Why is there nothing at all?'
Puzzled, Logan stopped discharging, flicked water from his tail, and carefully scanned the surrounding water.
That's when he noticed the anomaly. The water, normally slightly turbid from microbial activity, now carried a faint, almost imperceptible purple tint—strikingly vivid under the sunlight.
No need to guess: the water was contaminated.
Trusting his powerful digestive system and decent toxin resistance, Logan scooped a pawful from the surface and lightly licked it. At first, the small amount produced no reaction. Only after a moment did his tongue begin to tingle faintly.
'No wonder there are no fish—something poisoned the water.'
He looked up, estimating the spread of the pale purple. It covered a radius of roughly a hundred meters—dozens of acres. That was no small area. What creature could release toxin on such a massive scale?
The answer came quickly. Far across the water, a huge splash erupted. A raised wave surged toward him at high speed.
Logan instinctively backed several steps, keeping distance from the water's edge. Then, with a thunderous crash, water sprayed skyward as a massive monster burst forth.
It was a Ludroth—but its body was an eerie deep purple. Its sponge-like frill was riddled with healed scars, especially around the neck where a sunken cavity remained.
The familiar appearance instantly clicked: this was the very same Ludroth he had battled fiercely months ago. Only now its skin color had changed, and its size had increased dramatically—likely reaching a staggering 15 meters in length.
'It didn't die from the injury and poisoning—instead, it endured the toxin and transformed into a Royal Ludroth?'
Though Logan knew this world had variants, deviants, tempered monsters, rare species, and subspecies of all kinds, he hadn't expected to witness one firsthand. And by conventional classification, wasn't Royal Ludroth considered a subspecies? Could such a change really occur postnatally?
His mind rapidly recalled knowledge from his previous life: these creatures, built on the base Ludroth frame, possessed not only greater size but dramatically enhanced toxin secretion. Simply lingering in one place would naturally pollute the water source. Even fellow aquatic Ludroth couldn't tolerate it and would flee.
From now on, this Royal Ludroth was doomed to a solitary existence—reproduction forever beyond reach. It was akin to cultivating the infamous Sunflower Manual, trading the lower half for forbidden power.
'When you think about it, the poor guy's pretty pitiful.'
Logan raised both foreclaws and slammed them hard onto the charging Royal Ludroth's shoulders. Beneath his pristine white scales, developed muscles bulged instantly. He retreated only half a step before solidly absorbing the impact.
In just a few months, his length had grown from 9 meters to 12, and his weight had at least tripled. Unlike the Ludroth's seemingly bloated but mostly water-filled frame, Logan's robust body was dense and heavy—immensely massive.
Though the Royal Ludroth had grown as well, knocking Logan back as it once had was now impossible.
Then Logan exploded with force. Muscles beneath his scales rippled like waves; volcanic power erupted, hurling the Royal Ludroth airborne. As his foreclaws touched down, he whipped into a ferocious spinning tail sweep.
His long, powerful tail—armored in thick scales—cracked the air like a steel cable, emitting a shrill whine. The slightly flared feathered scales formed a dense blade cluster, trailing ribbon-like white mist as it slammed into the Royal Ludroth.
An explosive sonic boom erupted instantly. With a deafening crack, the sponge-like water sac on the creature's neck burst like brilliant fireworks. A massive lengthwise gash tore open; surrounding flesh became a mangled blur, as if run through a meat grinder.
Without exaggeration, this tail was Logan's most terrifying offensive weapon. The base was nearly as thick as his thigh, packed solid with dense muscle—stronger even than his limbs. Combined with the whip's tip effect from its length, most would rather take three claw strikes than one such lash.
The overwhelming force overwhelmed its nerves; for a moment the Royal Ludroth felt no pain, the entire wounded area numb. Only after it struggled to right itself did tidal waves of agony crash into its brain, forcing a wretched, piercing howl.
Yet even then, it refused to give up. Its maw gaped wide, spewing a barrage of purple liquid projectiles with lightning speed.
Logan simply whipped his still-bloodied tail forward. The dense feathered scales at the tip flared open like a fluffy pom-pom, shielding his face perfectly. He let the highly toxic water bullets strike him directly. Thick scales and the fat cushioning layer beneath absorbed every impact flawlessly—not even a twinge of pain.
'Why is this guy so full of rage? If not for me, would it have evolved into a Royal Ludroth? Forget gratitude—it acts like we have a blood feud.'
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