Having made a decision, Logan did not hesitate further. With decisive speed he flew out beyond the tree crown and roared loudly, summoning all the Fire Wyverns of the Ancient Tree up to the canopy, announcing the decision to concentrate all the Fire Wyvern eggs.
Although several Rathians were extremely resistant to the idea of taking their eggs outside the nest, under Aki's cooperation with Logan and their forceful suppression, in the end these few females could only watch helplessly as the cats carried off their still-living Fire Wyvern eggs.
These dignified monsters, each over 10 meters long, could only fold their wings and watch eagerly as the cats held their Fire Wyvern eggs and followed behind, sending them up to the highest platform.
Fortunately, on the platform—through the full cooperation of the cats—based on the size of the Fire Wyvern nests, many crude nests of dry branches and vines had already been built, each marked to distinguish the Fire Wyvern eggs that were carried up.
As the final egg was successfully placed into its nest, the cats quickly withdrew, leaving only the large number of guard cats specially gathered to patrol the surroundings, preventing so many concentrated Fire Wyvern eggs from being coveted by other monsters.
In the sky, one Rathian after another circled uneasily overhead, watching as the thick white mist shrouded the center of the platform, one egg after another vanishing from sight.
They wanted to rush down, but were extremely wary of that faint Elder Dragon aura within the white mist, not to mention that at this moment above all the Rathians, Aki's green figure reflecting a golden metallic sheen still lingered overhead.
Soon, half an hour passed, the white mist dissipated, and those Fire Wyvern eggs that had originally been languishing at last regained much of their vitality; the lifeless gray-white on the eggshells had faded considerably.
The hearts of the Rathians in the sky finally eased, but since Logan was still present, and that invisible Elder Dragon still emanated its pressure, they could only watch from afar, not daring to dive down.
"Gwa."
The displeased voice of Chameleos rang out; at the thought that in a few more hours it would have to spread the mist again, it grew very annoyed.
By its side, the little Chameleos had its round eyes opened wide. The others could not see it, but instinctively using its tail to efficiently gather surrounding information, the little one clearly understood: just now its mother had actually been able to control the white mist, dividing her mind with great precision, adjusting the toxicity of the mist for each egg's condition. This exaggerated control ability— it wanted to learn!
The medicinal mist and the nutritious plants that the cats were about to spread over the Fire Wyvern eggs complemented one another.
Those crushed plants served to replenish nutrients, while Chameleos's medicinal mist sustained the fragile Fire Wyvern hatchlings whose shells had been corroded, both indispensable.
Having to do this once every few hours was precisely why Chameleos did not want to do it.
To this, Logan could only express his gratitude; he now owed Chameleos a favor.
And so it continued for 2 days.
That day, after once again spreading the medicinal mist, Chameleos lay idly at the edge of the platform, its large eyes staring lifelessly at the forest faintly visible below the clouds, filled with regret.
There was still a whole day left!! It did not want to stay even one more minute.
Why had it agreed to 3 days in the first place?
Just as the Chameleos was sinking into self-doubt, dozing off at the edge of the platform, deep within the Ancient Tree, inside a very hidden passage, a Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku furtively darted about through vine-covered tunnels, relying on three days of scouting to skillfully bypass one fork after another.
The level of vigilance in the upper layers of the Ancient Tree somewhat exceeded this Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku's imagination. A few days earlier, because the wounds it had suffered from being mobbed by the Seregios had not yet fully healed, one careless noise ended up getting it discovered by those damned cats.
Those cats, under the lead of a big cat carrying a hammer, had chased it for half a day straight, meowing all the while, while riding on Jagras!
It had wanted to fight back, but for some strange reason it just could not win against those cats!!
Not being able to beat the Seregios, not being able to beat the Fire Wyvern, not being able to beat the Anjanath, or even not being able to beat the Pukei-Pukei, all this the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku had already accepted.
But now, it actually could not even beat cats!
This time, it had truly become the lowest-tier monster of the Ancient Forest.
Even so, such a little setback could hardly crush the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku.
So what if it couldn't win—hadn't it still not been killed?
As long as it didn't die for a single day, for that day it would not give up the idea of seeking rare wyvern eggs.
Arriving at a fork, the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku did not rush forward, but crouched instead in the dark of the fork beside a patch of poisonous mushrooms, pecking apart several of them.
Before long, a squad of Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne warriors carrying short swords passed by the fork, riding atop Jagras.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku's scent was concealed by the stench of the poisonous mushrooms it had deliberately pecked apart, and the Jagras beneath the cats did not catch anything unusual.
As this patrol squad moved away, the Kulu-Ya-Ku strutted out with an arrogant gait, its powerful legs bursting with force as it leapt across to the opposite passage, hidden beneath thick vines.
This was a passage the cats had not discovered, one that led directly to the highest level of the Ancient Tree, the platform that served as the Kushala Daora's temporary dwelling.
Other monsters feared Elder Dragons; the Kulu-Ya-Ku feared them too. But at the thought of the Fire Wyvern eggs in the Ancient Tree right now, this fear was nothing compared to the restless beating of the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku's heart.
So long as it reached that platform, it only needed to slip past the tangled canopy layers to secretly circle around to the Fire Wyvern colony beneath.
When that time came, if it could snatch a single egg, it would absolutely eat it on the spot!
As for how to escape afterward from the enraged Rathian's pursuit, the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku had never considered that—by then the egg would already be eaten, and the rest it would leave to fate.
So long as it could eat a rare egg, dying would still be worth it—for this Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku, those were never words of jest.
...
Half-asleep, the tail of the Chameleos gave a slight flick, nearly sending the little Chameleos who was hugging it like a pillow tumbling down.
The Chameleos ignored the resentful glare from its son, sniffed the air, and a sly gleam flashed through its eyes.
It had been so bored that it meant to while away the time sleeping, yet unexpectedly a toy had delivered itself right to its door.
"This scent—egg thief, gwaa!!"
The Chameleos rose, and soon, white mist blanketed the platform.
In the sky above, the group of Rathian worried about their eggs, as well as the cats patrolling around the platform, all found it strange—why was there fog again so soon, when the last time the white mist had appeared wasn't long ago?
Still, constrained by Logan's command, neither wyverns nor cats dared to recklessly rush in.
Before long, the vivid crest of the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku appeared on the platform, bursting through a patch of vines, its sly head poking out from within.
Its eyes had not yet adapted to the surroundings when it caught the faint scent of medicine.
This medicinal aroma was not pungent, yet for some reason, the Kulu-Ya-Ku suddenly felt somewhat drowsy.
It shook its head hard, scattering that uncomfortable feeling, and once again opened its eyes wide.
The sight before it instantly filled the Kulu-Ya-Ku with excitement.
What did it see?
A great pile of Fire Wyvern eggs, laid out neatly inside a crude nest, unwanted by any wyvern!!
"Can't finish them, can't possibly finish them all!!"
Droplets of saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth. Though stunned by such a mass of Fire Wyvern eggs, out of caution it still lifted its head to glance about, checking whether any Fire Wyverns were nearby.
Above, the sun shone brightly, the sky a spotless blue without a single cloud.
All around was utterly silent—not to mention Fire Wyverns, not a single flying creature could be seen.
Deep down, the Kulu-Ya-Ku felt something was off—this quiet was too excessive.
Yet driven by the stimulation of that heap of Fire Wyvern eggs before its eyes, it still suppressed its doubts.
At this moment, it knew only one thing: there were no Fire Wyverns around! Not a single one!!
Though it did not understand why the Fire Wyverns had piled their eggs onto this platform, nor did it fear angering the Wind Dragon that might suddenly come to reside here for a time, none of this would affect the Kulu-Ya-Ku's next action.
Its legs tensed with power, violently tearing free the vines entangling its body, and with a single bound the Kulu-Ya-Ku leapt straight into the middle of that massive pile of Fire Wyvern eggs.
Relying on its many years of egg-thieving experience, it quickly locked onto several large Fire Wyvern eggs with glossy shells.
Hugging one close, it lightly tapped at it with its massive beak.
The hardness of the shell somewhat exceeded the Kulu-Ya-Ku's expectations!
This abnormal hardness did not raise the slightest doubt in the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku—on the contrary, it made it even more excited.
As was well known, the stronger the creature, the more exaggerated the hardness of its eggshell.
Since the Fire Wyvern group of the Ancient Tree had undergone mutations, wasn't it perfectly natural for their eggs to be harder?
Thinking this, the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku did not hesitate to violently crack open the shell and began pecking at the yolk within.
At this moment, right beside it, an invisible Chameleos mother and child looked on at the bright-feathered Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku, which was now clutching a rock, pecking away as it swallowed down the soil inside, its face even showing a look of intoxication.
It seemed to be thoroughly satisfied with this meal!
Seeing that rock was about to be completely pecked clean, the little Chameleos flicked its tail, tossing another mud-filled stone to land at the Kulu-Ya-Ku's feet.
Watching the Kulu-Ya-Ku's delighted look as it hugged that stone and began pecking again, the mother and child's eyes both showed a malicious smile.
For a creature like the Kulu-Ya-Ku, there was not a single monster in this world that would have any fondness.
If not for the fact that its danger level was low, and that most of the time it only targeted the eggs of Aptonoth and other herbivores, having little negative impact on the ecology, then with such habits it would already have long gone extinct.
As the Kulu-Ya-Ku ate down to the mud of a third stone, its eyes growing more and more bloodshot, the Chameleos understood that it was almost at its limit.
In its pair of large eyes there was not the slightest trace of emotion, only a cold gaze fixed on the Tempered Kulu-Ya-Ku, which blankly dropped the stone in its claws, staggered to the edge of the platform, then with the look of a thief who had stolen eggs and now thrilled to be chased, it leapt headlong down into the clouds below.
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