The Gore Magala, determined to lie low until the very end, even began deliberately avoiding the wind currents. At the base of its wings, black scale-dust piled up thicker and thicker, eventually forming a dense layer.
It was precisely this life-preserving behavior that allowed it to go unnoticed—even when Logan flew right overhead, he failed to spot its trail.
Another day soon passed. Returning to the Ancient Tree, Logan felt frustrated. His instincts told him that the Gore Magala was injured, unlikely to roam far, and most likely holed up somewhere hidden in that area. Yet no matter how he searched, he couldn't find it.
The truth was that the range a single wyvern could patrol was far too limited, and countless gaps were inevitable.
So, after a whole night of careful thought, Logan made his decision.
Before dawn had fully broken, he reluctantly folded back the wings that were wrapped around Aki. As she blinked at him sleepily through half-closed eyes, he slipped away from their warm nest, soared into the sky above the Ancient Tree, took a deep breath, and unleashed a thunderous roar.
"Damn it, quit sleeping! Time to get up and party—no, time for a meeting!"
In an instant, the entire upper canopy of the Ancient Tree erupted in chaos.
That's right—pure chaos.
The enraged roars of the Fire Wyverns, the startled mewls of the cats, and the panicked shrieks of various other creatures dwelling in the Ancient Tree rang out together.
In short, Logan's booming cry had shattered everyone's sweet dreams at the crack of dawn.
Still, though the Fire Wyverns were annoyed, they immediately recognized who had roared. After Logan's second roar—this one tinged with the Pressure trait—every one of them snapped fully awake.
Leaving behind the disgruntled females, the male Fire Wyverns all took flight, winging their way to the crown of the Ancient Tree.
This was the first time Logan had ever convened a gathering since establishing his dominance. Not a single male Fire Wyvern dared treat it lightly.
They already possessed a fair degree of intelligence on their own, and after developing a true group instinct, they had quickly grasped the basics of collective behavior. Strict discipline was still beyond them, but following direct orders posed no problem.
Logan descended to the very top of the canopy without hesitation. The Flame Rathalos, as usual, sprawled lazily half a body's height below him on a branch, still putting on that half-dead look.
The Tempered Azure Rathalos and other seasoned veterans all settled onto the branches where Logan himself had once perched, and the rest of the males swiftly found their places.
Silver-gray scales tinged with red shimmered brilliantly in the morning light. At that moment, Logan stood bathed in radiance, with the rising sun at his back as his backdrop.
Feeling the warmth of the first rays of sunlight on his wings, Logan looked down at the sea of male Fire Wyverns below, a faint, indescribable emotion stirring within him.
He didn't waste words. He spoke his command bluntly.
He would strike now, while the Gore Magala was still weak—before the Frenzy Virus could pose a serious threat to the Fire Wyverns—snuffing it all out in the cradle!
It wasn't about protecting nature. It wasn't about some noble sense of duty. It was simply because Logan believed the Gore Magala's existence would disrupt his own life and that of the Fire Wyvern clan. And for that alone, he would eliminate it in advance.
At his order, all the males not currently weakened by their molting cycle instantly took flight. Each called for his mate, and together they wheeled into the morning sun, soaring in the direction Logan had chosen.
In that moment, the Ancient Tree grew unusually quiet. Aside from the females left behind to guard their young and the few Fire Wyverns unable to fly, the only ones remaining were the utterly bewildered cats.
At the northern edge of the Ancient Tree region, in the Admiral's newly established temporary camp, a signal flare shot into the sky.
Before long, a squad of four hunters descended, carried down by wingdrakes.
The Admiral studied the familiar faces with surprise—he hadn't expected the Astera base to dispatch an entire squad here.
Given that manpower within the Research Commission was only barely sufficient, and hunters were stretched thin just to cover the strategic plan, sending a team without his request could only mean one thing: Astera must have discovered something extraordinary from the corpses of those two Tobi-Kadachi.
"Admiral, we've come to support you!" Falcon said excitedly.
Over the years, he had learned much under the Huntsman's guidance and had also received direct instruction from the Admiral. To him, both of these legendary hunters were figures he deeply admired.
And now, to actually be able to team up with the Admiral on a mission—this was more than he had ever dreamed of, and his excitement was plain to see.
Indeed, although four hunters had been dispatched this time, Falcon would be separating from his original squad to join the Admiral and Tonkotsu. The other three hunters would focus on support roles and handle field logistics.
It was an extravagant move—assigning elite hunters to tasks like logistics and escort duty.
But when the Admiral learned from their conversation what had been discovered from the returned Tobi-Kadachi carcasses, he understood why Carlos had chosen to send four hunters here.
"The raw viral extract taken from the Tobi-Kadachi corpses was injected into test organisms," Falcon explained. "Without exception, every single one went berserk. No matter how docile they were before, once infected they were driven into endless frenzy. Even if only one remained alive, it would ultimately die under the torment of the virus. According to the scholars' analysis, the mortality rate for monsters is one hundred percent!"
"Does it affect hunters or Felynes?" the Admiral asked, frowning.
Falcon nodded. Though he wasn't sure how the scholars had drawn their conclusions, they had established some findings: "So far, it seems this virus suppresses a hunter's natural healing ability. But perhaps due to species differences, it doesn't show a high lethality in humans. That's why the scholars recommend countering it by consuming Nulberries."
The Admiral nodded. He had confidence in the scholars' abilities—after all, they were the finest minds of the Commission.
Then, he suddenly recalled the encounter he and Tonkotsu had had two nights earlier with that pitch-black monster, and Logan's words that this creature was the source of the frenzy in the Tobi-Kadachi, its virus spread through scale-dust.
Without hesitation, he immediately requested two Nulberries from Falcon's team. He and Tonkotsu each swallowed one. Though neither of them felt any change in their bodies, the reassurance it brought was undeniable.
Just as the Admiral was about to explain this to a bewildered Falcon and the others—
"Roar!"
From above suddenly came a thunderous rushing sound, like the sky itself being torn open.
Looking up, they saw lines of Fire Wyverns soaring past.
The group rushed out of the camp at once, only to witness a great host of the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyverns circling over the area.
"What in the world…?" Falcon stood dumbfounded. "What's going on? How did so many Fire Wyverns suddenly show up?"
The Admiral quickly gathered his thoughts, and the answer came to him.
"Seems my old friend is taking that monster very seriously—he's pulled together quite the force."
For only Logan could command such numbers. Watching the Fire Wyverns diligently circling low and combing the skies, the Admiral felt his last shred of doubt about the scholars' earlier hypothesis finally vanish.
"Those old men who only know how to spin tales… looks like they finally uncovered something real. An Elder Dragon, huh? Hehe."
Rubbing his chin, he slapped his hand down with vigor and barked, "Since the Fire Wyverns are moving, we can't sit idle. The camp is yours to hold! Falcon, Tonkotsu—let's move!"
"Understood!"
"Got it, meow!"
"Woof!"
With scoutflies, a Canyne, and his years of hunting experience, the Admiral had every confidence he could track down the monster in the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile, the Gore Magala, hidden inside a hollow tree, gritted its teeth against the pain of molting. It had no idea what awaited it outside.
The search began—tight and methodical.
In the skies, Fire Wyverns wheeled in every direction. On the ground, the Canyne sniffed carefully at the scents the Admiral had collected, while the scoutflies, no longer hindered by the presence of scale-dust, darted out to uncover one trail after another.
Because of the massing of Fire Wyverns and Logan's deliberate release of his Pressure trait, countless monsters fled the region.
That was intentional. His Pressure trait drove normal monsters away—but for those infected with the Frenzy Virus, it acted like a beacon, drawing them in.
Creatures like the Gore Magala were like cockroaches: if not eradicated completely, chance alone could give rise to new ones. That was why the Fire Wyvern swarm's purpose was not only to find the Gore Magala, but also to cleanse the area of all monsters tainted by the Frenzy Virus.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---