"This passage looks quite new... Was it excavated by the Wiseblade?"
"The tooth marks found match perfectly." "Indeed, we found many tooth marks on the walls on both sides that match those found in the mining area in the past."
"So, Boss Glavenus really chewed this out? That is truly a massive engineering feat."
"Who says it isn't? But with this, there is now an overland route between the Wildspire Waste and the Ancient Forest. Does this mean we won't have to take the boat anymore?"
"Haha, do you still get seasick? Even after you've already crossed an entire ocean?"
"If I can sit less, I'll sit less, you dummy."
The hunters' voices did not boom loudly through the long tunnel due to echoes; after all, when their voices mixed with the myriad meows large and small, even the Admiral suddenly bursting into laughter wouldn't have stood out.
From an overall perspective, this passage was wide yet long and narrow. Walking in the middle, the hunters could only see a circular white ring in the far distance—the exit on the other side of the tunnel.
However, light couldn't travel here from such a distance. The migration convoy could only stumble forward by the light of their torches.
"...This might actually develop into a very serious situation," the accompanying Scholar said with a serious face. "The Wildspire Waste and the Ancient Forest were originally not connected, and these two distinct environments gave rise to distinct biology. But with the existence of this passage, monsters from both regions might cross over, generating many unknown and unpredictable changes."
"Like that locust plague a few years back?" Caly said. "If this passage had existed back then, wouldn't the locusts have been able to fly right into the Ancient Forest? They would have gnawed the place bald."
"It's also possible they would have been completely eaten by the native creatures of the Ancient Forest," the Scholar thought for a moment and said. "After all, the biomass and biological vitality of that forest are not something the Wildspire Waste can compare to."
"Will it threaten Astera?" the Admiral asked with a serious expression. "This passage is actually quite close to Astera. Even hunters can reach it in just over a month, and monsters would be even faster."
"Hard to say," the Scholar frowned, biting her lower lip. "When a species invades a completely new ecological environment, the new environment often lacks its natural predators, leading to severe destruction of the local ecology. It won't stabilize again until after one or several rounds of cruel survival competition."
"Then isn't the Wiseblade invading the Ancient Forest right at this moment?" The Huntsman, walking alongside them and listening, suddenly laughed.
"Theoretically, that is indeed the case," the Scholar affirmed. "The Wiseblade's invasion will inevitably lead to changes in the biological species of the Ancient Forest. However, there is only one Wiseblade; his numbers are insufficient. At most, he can only influence the monsters in the upper ecological niche in parts of the Ancient Forest... Hmm, but considering the Wiseblade's appetite, a massive reduction in predators should also affect the lower ecology..."
As she spoke, the Scholar began muttering to herself again—a common ailment in her line of work; an active mind that easily drifted off track.
"Well, I think I get what you mean," the Admiral stroked his chin and said. "If it's just Boss Glavenus alone, it is indeed a bit... but what if he has offspring?"
As they spoke, everyone's gaze couldn't help but turn toward the massive black silhouette ahead of the passage—the Acidic Glavenus.
It was hard to imagine that a monster like the Acidic Glavenus could serve as a guard. Every time they recalled the convoy's departure, seeing the Grimalkynes actually telling the Acidic Glavenus which direction to go and what to do, the hunters felt it was incredibly magical.
From every aspect of its performance, this Acidic Glavenus's intelligence was inferior to the Wiseblade's, yet it did not succumb to beastly instincts and attack the Grimalkynes.
"The Acidic Glavenus did not choose to leave after mating," the Scholar adjusted her glasses and said. "This also does not align with known Glavenus behavior. I don't know if this is a characteristic of this subspecies or something special about the Wiseblade... If only we could observe the existence of other Acidic Glavenus, we could draw a conclusion through comparison."
"If she really is carrying Boss Glavenus's offspring, I actually quite want to see what 'Little Boss Glavenus' looks like," the Admiral added. "Will it look more like a Glavenus? Or more like Boss Glavenus?"
"I think it might not look like either," the Huntsman suddenly said. "What if Boss Glavenus has a new form by then?"
"Ah, then Little Boss Glavenus will definitely be very sad." Imagining that scene briefly, the Admiral couldn't help but laugh.
"Do not apply human ways of thinking to monsters," the Scholar said rationally. "The appearance presented by the Wiseblade's offspring might answer many questions. What we need to do right now is gain the trust of the Glavenus tribe, and ideally gain the Wiseblade's trust, thereby obtaining the right to observe him at close range."
"That's somewhat difficult. Boss Glavenus doesn't seem very willing to communicate," the Admiral said with some resignation.
"Take it slowly. I believe in the power of time," the Scholar said with a smile.
The power of time was such that with just a few short lines of text, the time consumed by the migration and the difficulties encountered and overcome along the way could be abbreviated onto a single thin sheet of paper.
The Glavenus tribe's migration convoy had finally arrived at its destination: a giant tree so tall that even craning one's neck almost ninety degrees wouldn't reveal the top.
"Simply... unbelievable!!"
The Scholar's expression gradually became fanatical.
"Can trees actually grow to this height and thickness?! Just how many years has it been growing?! Even a Glavenus, the largest among Brute Wyverns, could freely spin its body on its branches!!"
The Acidic Glavenus had already started using her tail to make marks on the bark—right next to the marks left by Asterion.
" truly astonishing. Compared to this giant tree, those trees we found on the shore earlier can only be considered dwarfish," the Huntsman said, also looking up.
"I heard the Master of the Second Fleet say that once the infrastructure of the base is more or less built, they're going to attempt to build an airship," Caly said with a smile, watching the cheering Grimalkynes. "If we can fly, we should be able to see just how many of these giant trees are in the entire Ancient Forest, right?"
"An airship?" The Huntsman shook his head. "Can they even build things like that now? Perhaps I am a bit behind the times."
"What are you saying, old friend? You're still plenty young," the Admiral banged on the Huntsman's armor loudly. He feigned seriousness and said, "Let's go. I can't wait to go up."
"Before it even flies, I actually feel the airship would get shot down by the territory's apex first..." Muttering a few words, the Scholar's expression was a bit odd, but she still quickened her pace to catch up.
The dust and travel of the journey had long left the hunters exhausted, but something even harder than the difficulties of the road appeared—pushing carts up a tree.
This giant tree had already transcended the definition of ordinary trees. It was no longer a tree growing on a mountain or soil acting as an accessory or decoration; its withering or flourishing wouldn't affect the land it was rooted in. This giant tree was, in itself, a towering mountain, with massive amounts of vegetation and even smaller trees taking root upon it.
Even the vines wrapped around it had grown thick enough to support the passage of large numbers of carts and Large Monsters.
Asterion had already discovered the arrival of the Glavenus tribe. The Bazelgeuse brothers had spotted the convoy the day before yesterday, but he made no extra moves, remaining prone at the highest point of this giant tree—the nest that originally belonged to that Dreadking Rathalos.
A year without the service of the Grimalkynes was somewhat uncomfortable, though eating raw meat after so long was a different kind of experience.
Like two crazed thugs, with the original Dreadking's territory as the center, Asterion and the Bazelgeuse brothers had been constantly invading the territories of surrounding monsters for over a year. It was like sticking two stirring rods into a cesspool, forcibly disrupting this vast area.
The monsters that had originally delineated their territories rioted anew under the provocation of these two fellows. The originally clear territorial boundaries became blurred. The weak or injured monsters were killed and eaten, while the stronger ones were either gang-pressed and devoured by these two fellows who had no "dragon morals," or they fled to places further away.
In this way, the chaos originally limited to the edge of the Dreadking's territory gradually spread outward. After all, in such a competitively intense place, every hunting ground had a fixed apex, like a limited row of chairs. Asterion and Bazelgeuse's actions were akin to two butts taking up four chairs, forcing the original owners of the chairs to go and shove others off their seats.
Thus, a corner of the Ancient Forest that was originally calm... er, well, it didn't seem all that calm to begin with, became increasingly chaotic.
It was foreseeable that with Asterion's vigorous appetite and predation frequency, this chaos would not gradually subside or stabilize over time as usual, but would instead intensify and spread wider and wider—in reality, not much different from the situation when a Deviljho appears.
It was precisely because the southern part of the Wildspire Waste had become insufficient in food due to various natural disasters and "dragon-made" calamities that Asterion had spent time and energy opening up a path to the Ancient Forest.
Rather than changing his appetite to eat less, he preferred to change the environment in which he survived.
There was no way he was going to diet; Asterion still held onto the ambition of "ten years to become an Elder Dragon, thirty years to become a Forbidden Monster."
The Dreadking possessed intelligence—probably. Asterion felt the guy still wasn't smart enough, and the Dreadking hadn't made any refined arrangements for his nest. This visual issue was resolved after the Grimalkynes moved in.
After more than a year, the Grimalkynes of the Glavenus tribe once again saw the master to whom they pledged loyalty. During this year-long journey, these Grimalkynes, born in the environment of the Wildspire Waste, also gained a preliminary understanding of the Ancient Forest—at least they didn't need Asterion to answer basic questions for them.
They actually quite liked this forest, feeling as if they had arrived in a treasure land with endless food—Damn it, what kind of bitter life were they living before?!
For Boss Glavenus, who had guided their direction and led them to a better living environment, the Grimalkynes of the Glavenus tribe held only gratitude in their hearts.
Especially when they discovered that Asterion had already prepared ample food for them, tears of gratitude blurred many of the Grimalkynes' eyes.
Er, not to weigh on his conscience, but that food was actually dragon meat that Asterion and the Bazelgeuse brothers had killed and had no interest in eating. He didn't know when the Grimalkynes would arrive; he just habitually piled these carcasses on the tree. If there were signs of spoilage, he would kick them directly off the canopy. There seemed to be a large waterfall below; who knew what lucky monster would pick them up?
The Grimalkynes could slowly familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment in the days to come, but the renovation of the Dreadking's nest had to begin immediately. Not just for Asterion, but also so they could have a comfortable living environment.
To facilitate free take-offs and landings when he could fly in the future, Asterion designated his main nest at the crown of this giant tree. But this didn't mean he liked this environment—it was drafty, and it damn well leaked rain. He didn't know how the Dreadking got used to living in such a broken place; anyway, Asterion hadn't slept comfortably all year.
He couldn't even gnaw out a cave underground to live in like he did in the Wildspire Waste. This had nothing to do with his status as the Boss; it was simply because the underground environments of the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste were too different.
If nothing else, the moisture and humidity alone completely blew the Wildspire Waste out of the water.
Asterion had drilled into natural caves and tried digging his own, but even in a newly dug cave, within two days, the stone walls and the ground would be covered with wet moisture, reminding him of the "Return of the South"—the humid season he encountered when attending university in the south in his memories.
It was a nightmare where touching the wall left your hand wet. Living in this environment for too long, Asterion suspected his shell and scales might even grow mold and rot.
It was terrible.
The entire underground of the Ancient Forest was filled with tree root systems. It was exactly these roots—which went who knew how many kilometers deep, and which Asterion suspected might even be approaching the planet's core—that maintained the soil and moisture of the Ancient Forest, turning all underground caves into cold and damp environments.
Anyway, it wasn't a place a Fire element monster like Asterion loved to stay.
In comparison, even the tree crown, which directly bore nature's rain and wind, became adorable. The Grimalkynes needed to build a nest for Asterion that could shelter him from wind and rain. At any rate, the one thing not lacking here was wood; cut down an ordinary small tree today, and it might sprout again from the stump tomorrow.
Asterion planned to keep a bonfire burning inside for long periods once the nest was built, to maintain a temperature and dryness comfortable enough for him.
Hmm, perhaps this would also be a good thing for the Grimalkynes of the Glavenus tribe?
After all, they had also grown up in a dry, Gobi-like environment. The abundant moisture of the Ancient Forest made them feel exceptionally uncomfortable as well.
The Grimalkynes had already hurried to start work, and the hunters had temporarily received a new commission: help the Glavenus tribe build their new home.
Er, for the hunters of the current Astera base, they were actually quite skilled at this sort of thing.
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