Taking the Chameleos up to the higher reaches of the Ancient Tree, they found the tempered Rathalos standing guard beside the Fire Wyvern eggs.
Perhaps because the partner of this tempered Rathalos—the Rathian—was rather powerful, though this clutch of eggs had failed to hatch, they had nevertheless endured until now, not yet becoming completely dead eggs, as though the hatchlings inside were still desperately clinging to a breath of life.
After the purpose was explained, the tempered Rathalos stopped the Rathian, who had hurried back upon sensing other monsters near the nest, and looked at Logan with eyes full of hope.
Logan let out a low growl, and at once a mass of white mist appeared in the void, spreading over the Fire Wyvern nest, wrapping all the Fire Wyvern eggs within it.
Logan was slightly taken aback, then shifted to block the somewhat flustered Fire Wyvern pair who saw this scene, rumbling low to reassure them.
Time passed bit by bit. The Admiral and Tonkotsu, who had just received word, arrived late and stood some distance outside the nest, watching the events within with some tension.
Within the white mist, the Chameleos, who had been full of confidence, suddenly found the matter rather troublesome.
In its plan, though Fire Wyvern eggs were unlike Chameleos eggs, lacking the ability to absorb external nutrients through the shell, in its specially prepared "medicinal mist," it would corrode tiny, invisible holes with a trace amount of toxin, then let the white mist laden with medicinal properties seep inside, thereby stabilizing the hatchling's life force.
Then, by burying them as with Chameleos eggs, covering them with various nutrient-rich decaying plants, the Fire Wyvern eggs would passively begin to absorb external nutrients, ultimately completing the hatching.
The idea was good, and in actual operation it did indeed achieve what the Chameleos had envisioned.
The problem, however, lay in the Chameleos underestimating the Fire Wyvern eggshell's resistance to external substances.
Or rather, it had not expected that the Fire Wyvern eggs of the Ancient Tree group would differ from those of other Fire Wyverns in the Ancient Forest.
That the shells absorbed external nutrients more slowly meant that, in order to achieve the intended effect, far more time would be required. During this period, not only would the decayed matter need frequent replacing to prevent damage to the shell, but the medicinal mist would also have to be maintained constantly to keep the hatchlings' lives hanging on.
The Chameleos analyzed carefully, and in the end came to a preliminary judgment: its medicinal mist would likely need to be maintained for more than half a month.
For the Chameleos, this was absolutely impossible!
For no other reason than sheer laziness!
This was meticulous work. With so many Fire Wyvern eggs, it would have to spend enormous time and effort continuously for half a month. In the Chameleos's values, there was no way it would do such a thing.
Thinking this, and noticing that among this clutch of Fire Wyvern eggs the 3 that could still hatch hatchlings had already reached the limit of what they could endure from the mist, the Chameleos withdrew the white fog.
Without the Chameleos's supply of life energy, the mist quickly dispersed with the wind. When the Fire Wyvern pair saw that among their 8 eggs, 3 had once again become full of vitality, they could not help but rush forward. Their massive bodies lowered, watching up close, that treasuring look as if they could not bear to let their eyes leave the eggs for an instant.
The Chameleos croaked, and Logan, who had been somewhat surprised that the Chameleos truly could manage it, shifted slightly in expression. He heard the note of disappointment in its voice.
Casting a glance at the Fire Wyvern pair happily spreading their wings as they circled their eggs, Logan spread his own wings and was the first to leave, flying toward the very top of the Ancient Tree, the place once used by Kushala Daora as a temporary dwelling.
Since Logan had revealed his Sunblaze Form, the cats had begun modifying that place.
With their Fire Wyvern boss's strength now no less than that of any Elder Dragon, this massive platform—once set apart because it had been Kushala Daora's temporary abode upon the Ancient Tree—naturally had to be taken back by the Fire Wyvern clan, rightful rulers of the Ancient Tree.
Logan and Chameleos flew onto the highest platform, and Chameleos immediately caught the iron-rust smell characteristic of Kushala Daora, giving its head a slightly disgusted shake.
As an Elder Dragon that uses poison mist, the thing it hates most is a monster with an oversized attack range that can also, by its own power, see through its invisibility.
The pressure Kushala Daora exerts on Chameleos—when both sides go all out—is even more overwhelming than that Shagaru Magala back then. This is purely a matter of matchup: against other dragons, Chameleos can rely on invisibility to decide whether to fight or not, but when facing a fully unleashed Kushala Daora, it has no choice but to fight.
For the fight-averse Chameleos, Kushala Daora is absolutely its most hated Elder Dragon—bar none!
Logan's sense of smell was not as keen as Chameleos's; his perception of the environment likewise could not compare to Chameleos, which is top-tier even among Elder Dragons. On this large platform that had already been cleaned once by the cats, he naturally could not detect any residual scent of Kushala Daora.
To be honest, Logan was quite satisfied with this big platform—wide view, ample space. If he weren't used to the semi-open environment of his own nest, he might even have wanted to move up here to live.
"Gwa!"
No other wyvern would come to disturb them here, so Chameleos directly explained what it had just discovered. When he heard that the Fire Wyvern eggs actually had relatively high resistance to external energy, causing the absorption efficiency to slow down, Logan grew thoughtful.
And when he then heard Chameleos say that, given the current stage of this batch of eggs, it would need to maintain that white mist for at least fifteen days, Logan understood that this guy had no intention of doing it.
Fifteen days of fine manipulation— even Logan wouldn't do that, let alone Chameleos, a dignified Elder Dragon that even buries its own eggs casually and leaves. Why would it spend so much time and effort on mere Fire Wyvern eggs?
What was originally thought to be a casual favor had now turned into a long, drawn-out task. Even for Logan's favor— which Chameleos did not value— it would no longer do it.
When a human sees the ants at a friend's home unable to move too large an insect carcass, giving it a helpful kick to send the carcass to the front of the ant nest is something he might do when in a good mood; but if it requires that human to carefully break the carcass down piece by piece, then carry it bit by bit into the ant nest, and even stack it neatly to ensure every ant can eat—
And after finishing, the only payment is a favor from that human friend—
How crazy would one have to be to do such a thing?
Chameleos did not believe that, after helping the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern group sort out this batch of eggs, the favor it received from Logan could, on some future day when it ran into something, make Logan risk his life to help.
And as for those ordinary little matters— to put it bluntly, as a dignified Elder Dragon with maxed-out survival ability and power already at the top of the world's food chain— what small matters could it not handle by itself?
What's more, the mindset this Chameleos has maintained to survive until now is: 'No problem is hard—so long as you're willing to give up!
If it can slack off, it will resolutely not work hard.
Logan thought of this as well, and so fell silent for a moment.
After thinking it over, he let out a low growl toward Chameleos and discussed it: over the next two days he would gather all the Fire Wyverns and move this batch of Fire Wyvern eggs up to this platform; they would do it by Chameleos's method for three days, and in those three days, how many hatchlings succeeded in being born would come down to their fate.
The survival of the fittest is forever the unchanging law of nature. Moreover, could this not also be nature's very own restriction and test for the new Fire Wyverns of the Ancient Tree?
To Logan's request, Chameleos agreed without much thought. According to its initial idea, at most it would be 3 days—after all, even for its own eggs, early care and burial together only took 3 days. Surely these Fire Wyvern eggs could not warrant more attention than its own, right?
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