Three days later, with the final Rathalos hatchling breaking out of its shell, this batch of Fire Wyvern eggs finally came to an end.
After the scholars performed one last round of supplementary checks and confirmed the final egg to be a dead one, the Cats immediately stepped forward, pushing their specially designed carts to sort and transport the eggs back to the original Fire Wyvern nests, to serve as "nutrient meals" for the newborn hatchlings and the Rathians.
The hatching rate was successfully tallied—30%, already exceeding Logan's initial expectations, and for the current Fire Wyvern group in the Ancient Tree, it was quite a satisfactory rate.
As for the male-to-female ratio, it remained at four to one.
It seemed that even with genetic mutation, this gender ratio among the New World's Fire Wyverns had still not been broken.
After exiting the sunlight incubation state, Logan slowly descended, only to see a short Wyverian scholar walking over with a Cat beside him, appearing somewhat hesitant.
"Honorable King of Fire Wyverns, we wish to select a place on the Ancient Tree to establish a dedicated Ancient Forest Research Base, and we hope to gain your approval."
This was the deputy director's request—something the scholars had discussed and agreed upon during this period.
During this time, they had already earned the trust of the Fire Wyvern group. Under the protection of both the Cats and the Fire Wyverns, with few external threats remaining, establishing a research base in the Ancient Tree seemed like an excellent idea.
Not only could they better observe the Sunblaze Dragon, but they could also conduct research on the Ancient Tree and the Fire Wyvern group that inhabited it—a plan that truly achieved multiple goals at once.
Thus, after their discussion, the deputy director took advantage of this moment—when the Fire Wyverns were most friendly toward them—to present the request to Logan.
As expected, Logan readily agreed.
Although the scholars from Astera were few in number, nearly every one of them was a versatile elite. Establishing a research base atop the Ancient Tree would also be beneficial for the Fire Wyvern group.
At the very least, if an incident like the Fire Wyvern egg crisis occurred again, these scholars could assist immediately.
Surely, they would be more than happy to do so!
With Logan's permission, the scholars left in high spirits, and Logan returned to his lair under the admiring gazes of the cats.
Although he only needed to maintain six hours of sunlight each day, for most of these past half-months he had to carefully keep the temperature within a certain range, which was no small mental strain for Logan; he also needed a good rest.
Under the Ancient Tree, the Admiral and Falcon crawled out of the forest, windblown and exhausted.
During this time they had hurriedly recorded Ahtal-Ka's behavior, then on foot had returned from the very edge of the Ancient Tree area, passing through one monster territory after another to get back to the Ancient Tree.
After a half-month of wilderness survival, they finally made a large loop and returned to the Ancient Tree.
Compared to the dirty, messy outside, what predominated was their excitement about what they were about to see.
"This wasn't easy. According to the previously recorded time, in a little while the Sunblaze Dragon will reveal His true posture. Get your spirits up, Falcon! Let's rush straight to the top of the Ancient Tree!!"
"Understood!"
"Woof!"
With the determined voices of Falcon and the Canyne, they began to climb upward along the trunk passage.
An hour later, they reached the hunter camp.
"What!!"
The Admiral stared in disbelief at the deputy director of the ecological research institute, who was busy organizing data, completely disregarding that his loud voice had startled a flock of birds into flight.
What the deputy director had just said struck the Admiral like a bolt from the blue.
They had worked so hard, even braving dangerous nights at times, traveling back from such faraway places unfamiliar with the terrain, only to be told the matter was already over!!
The Sunblaze Dragon had completed His task and begun resting.
And the most crucial point was that Logan's last release of His true form had actually been yesterday!!
If they hadn't by accident wandered into a Zinogre's territory and been chased off—causing them to deviate from their original route and make that detour—they would have arrived right on time!!
"Missed it again."
The Admiral sat dazed on a vine, the exhaustion that had been suppressed by excitement suddenly washing over him.
So close!!
The Admiral on the vine took the meat broth Falcon handed him with vacant eyes and didn't speak for a long while.
He was tired—even that monster-strong body now felt weary.
This was a weariness of the soul; he wondered whether nature hated him, otherwise why could he miss it again and again!
"Admiral, where are you going?"
Falcon watched the Admiral suddenly rise, sling the long spear onto his back, set his face stern, and move to leave the camp.
Worried that the Admiral might do something rash, Falcon immediately grabbed him tightly.
"Let go. I have to deal with that damned Zinogre!!"
"No, Admiral, pull yourself together. You can't go hunting without reason!!"
Falcon shouted. Launching a hunt solely to kill for this reason violated a hunter's creed; he had to hold back the Admiral, who was somewhat unbalanced from being provoked.
But who was the Admiral?
The man known as the Human-shaped Rajang—at the peak of his strength—how could he possibly be someone a single longsword user could restrain?
Even adding a Canyne wouldn't be enough!!
The hunter camp fell into complete chaos.
...
Elsewhere, in the middle section of the Ancient Tree, within a dwelling of the Grimalkynes—
Spice sat at the edge of a vine net, his legs dangling, gazing into the distance, his large eyes filled with a hint of melancholy.
"Brother Spice, what are you doing here, meow?"
A not-yet-adult Grimalkyne crouched beside him, licking its paws, asking in a clear, innocent voice.
Spice glanced at the young one. The paw-shaped marking on its chest had already turned fully red; once it reached adulthood, there was a high chance it could pass the Palico examination, and by then it could even try out for selection among the Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes.
It could be said that this young one was the pride of their tribe—the hope of all the elders!
"Nothing, meow. I'm waiting for news, meow."
A few days ago, after the young wyverns had successfully broken out of their shells, while feeling relieved, Spice also thought of the Ahtal-Ka in the Ancient Ruins Basin and very much wanted to express his thanks in person.
Moreover, he wanted to maintain this new friendship.
So he applied for an external gathering mission to that area.
But now it was already the fourth day, and still there was no sign of approval—leaving Spice a bit dejected.
Just then, Steak greeted the surrounding Grimalkynes and walked over. Seeing Spice sitting on the edge of the vine, he stopped.
"Spice, meow! Your application's been approved, meow. Our squad will be bringing along the gift the Fire Wyvern boss specifically instructed us to prepare, heading to the basin to thank that friend—and at the same time, we'll carry out a one-week resource-gathering mission."
When he saw Steak approach, Spice had already faintly guessed his application had been approved.
But he hadn't expected the new mission to be like this!
This was wonderful, meow!
"Praise the great Fire Wyvern boss, meow!!"
Amid the chorus of cheers, Spice swiftly ran to his small tent to fetch his gear.
The young cat who had been crouching beside him earlier now looked on enviously at Steak's armor, which gleamed faintly with golden luster—the Gold Rathian set. Among the Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes, it was a symbol of both strength and honor!
Would he, too, one day get to wear that same equipment, meow?
That afternoon, amid a series of excited meows, the resource-gathering team took off toward the Ancient Ruins Basin, carrying specially prepared Cat meals and roughly processed metal ingots.
They would represent the Fire Wyvern group of the Ancient Tree—represent Logan—in expressing goodwill toward that Ahtal-Ka.
Of course, if they could coax it to come back with them, that would be even better!!
All of this was entrusted to the new social butterflies of the Ancient Forest—the Fire Wyvern cats!
...
At that moment, in Astera's council chamber, Commander Carlos set down the letter in his hand, looking with some reluctance toward the Director of the Ecological Research Institute seated beside the table.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Teacher, you've read the Guild's letter too. The Second Selection of the Third Fleet is already nearing its end. The originally planned three ships have become four—they'll be arriving together with the Kushala Daora crossing this time. Why not wait until the Third Fleet arrives and the handover is complete before returning to the Old World?"
Hearing this, the director, who had been sorting through a thick stack of documents, looked up, pushed up his glasses, and shook his head.
"Better not. The letter made it clear—the sudden berserk behavior of the monsters near Heaven's Mount is very similar to what happened here before. That's why they plan to summon me back to oversee the related research. Don't worry, I've already reviewed the Third Fleet's list—there's someone capable of taking over the position of Director of the Ecological Research Institute. Before that, let the Deputy Director hold the post for two years."
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