"Grimalkynes, you've seen the state of this thing yourselves. So, what do you say—can we negotiate with the Research Commission for these two Tobi-Kadachi corpses? Of course, we'll buy them at a premium. You won't be shortchanged. What do you think?"
The scholar, a little too excited, forgot that the two corpses technically belonged to the cats. But the Admiral hadn't forgotten, and he cheerfully directed the question toward Eggroll for his consent.
Tonkotsu, standing to the side, said nothing. These two Tobi-Kadachi corpses had been a reward given to the cat chefs—personal property. Even he had no right to interfere.
"Meow, that's no problem, meow. But we don't really know their value, meow. So, Admiral, we'll leave the price up to you."
Though these were indeed rewards from the Fire Wyverns, Eggroll and the others still ranked such rewards by importance.
At the very top, of course, were scales, broken claws, shed fangs—things directly from the Fire Wyverns themselves.
Among these, the ones from Logan and Aki were the most treasured of all.
Such items the cats regarded as family heirlooms, never to be given away lightly.
Next came the Fire Wyverns' own "spoils of war"—the remains of high-ranking monsters they had battled.
These the cats usually collected, but with enough cost, the Research Commission could sometimes acquire them.
At the lowest tier were materials or corpses from weaker creatures like Tobi-Kadachi or Jagras.
From these, the cats would strip away the useful parts and store them in their warehouses, keeping them specifically for trade with the Commission.
Incidentally, since the Grimalkynes were still in a communal sharing period, in theory Tonkotsu also had the right to handle these two Tobi-Kadachi corpses. But for the sake of clan unity, he chose not to speak up.
"Hahaha! Good. Since you put it that way, rest assured! These two Tobi-Kadachi corpses will definitely earn you generous rewards from Astera, right, Tonkotsu?"
"Meow!"
Tonkotsu nodded. The Admiral's meaning was clear—he was asking Tonkotsu to stand witness so Eggroll and the others could be fully at ease.
[Plop!]
A lump of black flesh fell from the wound the Admiral had just cut open.
No one paid it any mind. The chunk was no bigger than a fist, pitch-black like a blood clot.
For a monster of such size, it was nothing more than a small clot of oxidized blood. Hunters and cats, well-accustomed to carving countless materials with their own hands, would never bother with such a "common occurrence."
"No—that's not right! What is that?!" the scholar suddenly cried out.
He alone, having kept a close watch on the dark purple blood seeping from the Tobi-Kadachi's corpse, noticed the anomaly: that fallen "clot" was faintly pulsing!
What's more, the blood pooled on the ground was slowly diminishing.
It wasn't soaking into the earth—it was being absorbed by that "clot"!
"What's going on?" The Admiral, though familiar with scholars' tendency to fuss over new discoveries, was still drawn by the sheer volume of the outcry.
With a hunter's keen eye, the Admiral far outstripped the scholar in perception. Anything the latter noticed, he himself could discern as well.
"This thing…" The Admiral glanced at the opened carcass, then at the other Tobi-Kadachi body, still seemingly intact. His instincts told him this was no simple matter.
"Admiral, perhaps we should transport both corpses back to the outpost right away. And shouldn't we also look into the circumstances of their hunt?" the scribe suggested at just the right moment.
The Admiral nodded and turned toward Tonkotsu. "I'll trouble you and your kin to assist with the transport. Also, I'd like to request an audience with the Fire Wyvern Boss."
Transport was within the Grimalkynes' discretion, but when it came to hunting information on the Fire Wyverns, there was no avoiding Logan. One way or another, proper respect had to be shown.
Tonkotsu gave a knowing nod and immediately began organizing the cats to carry the two Tobi-Kadachi corpses out. As for the Fire Wyvern Boss, he would go ahead himself to see if the time was suitable.
After all, ever since that night, the Boss and his mate had been more inseparable than ever.
...
Inside the nest of the Ancient Tree, Logan mulled over Aki's account from yesterday's hunt, when she described the two Tobi-Kadachi.
At first, when he heard the beginning, Logan thought it was the biggest joke he'd heard in recent times—that Tobi-Kadachi would charge into a Rathian flock. How could they possibly win?
But when he listened further, he learned that even after being heavily poisoned, struck by fireballs again and again, and badly wounded, the two Tobi-Kadachi still kept charging recklessly. Even at the moment of death, they never lost that terrifying drive to attack.
The first thing that surfaced in Logan's mind was the Blackveil Vaal Hazak.
Back then, the wyverns corroded by the effluvium had completely lost their reason, yet they still dared to attack when Logan and Aki were dispatched on a mission.
That scarred Yian Garuga had done the same, taking on the two of them head-on, forcing itself into a clash against the couple's combined assault.
How similar was the state of those Tobi-Kadachi to that of the scarred Yian Garuga?
Yet when Logan raised this question, Aki denied it.
Because whether it was those wyverns or the scarred Yian Garuga, they all shared one feature—their skin turned pale, and faint traces of effluvium leaked from their bodies.
These two Tobi-Kadachi, however, had nothing of the sort. And compared to the scarred Yian Garuga—who, though frenzied, still retained some measure of reason and fought with a semblance of order—these Tobi-Kadachi attacked with the mindset of biting down even if it cost their lives.
With Aki's increasingly detailed description, Logan couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't describing frenzied Tobi-Kadachi at all… but rabid dogs from his previous life.
Rabid dogs?
Logan's eyes widened.
"No way… could the New World also have the Frenzy Virus? Shagaru Magala—or even Gore Magala?"
It was no wonder Logan was shocked. Whether Gore Magala or Shagaru Magala, both were creatures hated by the world itself. Under stable ecological conditions, Gore Magala generally could not invade other regions.
Shagaru Magala, under normal circumstances, only appeared in its birthplace—"Heaven's Mount." Even if a Gore Magala successfully transformed into Shagaru Magala elsewhere, it would eventually return to Heaven's Mount.
Only if the ecological stability of another region was disrupted, allowing a Gore Magala to successfully invade and no Elder Dragon appeared to intervene and purge it, would Shagaru Magala leave Heaven's Mount. It would then travel to that region to scatter its scales that suppress Gore Magala metamorphosis—until the local monsters wiped them out.
That was why Logan found this so strange.
Though the New World's ecological stability could not match that of the Old World, the abundance of life energy here—combined with the presence of the Rotten Vale and the Elder's Recess—made the New World a place where Elder Dragons gathered in numbers.
With so many Elder Dragons, if a Gore Magala somehow crossed the seas and blundered into this place, the natural consciousness would mark it at once and almost certainly summon an Elder Dragon to deal with it.
Only if some Elder Dragon was so apathetic that it ignored even the call of the natural consciousness—missing the best chance to strike—would a Gore Magala have any chance of surviving. Then, perhaps, the Frenzy Virus might have a small chance of spreading in the New World.
But wasn't that possibility far too slim? Elder Dragons capable of surviving in the New World surely had some measure of pride—they couldn't all be such lazy good-for-nothings!
...
Astera Base, outside the warehouse doors.
The Chameleos, biting at a new lock and preparing to break through its weak point in one go, suddenly felt an itch in its nose. Its head jerked upward involuntarily.
Good grief—
The lock hadn't been bitten through, but the handle had been yanked clean off.
Hearing footsteps approaching, the Chameleos spat the lock onto the ground in frustration and trotted away from the area.
This was the seventh day! It had clearly mastered the right angle and the proper force—just a little more and it would have pried open that rotten lock.
But because of an itch in its nose, everything was ruined!
It was furious!
The moment the Chameleos left, the quartermaster arrived at the warehouse door. Seeing the intact lock on the ground, bearing nothing more than a row of tooth marks, and the violently torn-down door, he didn't even bother checking whether anything inside had gone missing. A broad, satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Quartermaster, everything's still here—Secret Potions, Astera-pure Meat Chunks, Mega Potions, all still sitting on the trays."
"Heheheh~" The quartermaster nodded smugly, picked up the large lock, and strolled happily toward the smithy.
"You guys go repair the door. I'll have a brand new lock forged, hah!"
His mood was excellent. As for why nothing inside had been stolen—
It was obvious. That creature couldn't open the lock. Humiliated, it had ripped off the door in anger, but didn't dare steal anything.
So this round… at last, the victory belonged to the quartermaster!
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---