Dewen paused for a long time, and seeing that no one had any further questions, he continued to explain the combat deployment.
"On that day, the Crimson Comet will be equipped with two giant airships. Its flight speed will be reduced to match that of giant airships with their jet engines activated. Then, the airship formation will be assembled to concentrate attacks on the gun wing parts. The main firepower will come from the Iceblight Ammo of the long-range Hunter team."
"The Crimson Comet's gun wing parts are weak to ice?" Zuda inquired.
"Yes, ice attribute has strong destructive power against the gun wing parts," Dewen replied.
Li Fan was somewhat surprised by Dewen's answer. He had been present when Xike conducted tests after submitting the Blazing Shell to the Dragon Lore Institute, and all attribute bullets had shown mediocre effects.
Could it be that only ice attribute formed a hard residue on the shell's surface?
Li Fan thought of how ice formation on aircraft wings could affect their aerodynamic shape, altering airflow, leading to insufficient lift, inability to climb, and in severe cases, crashes.
No, that couldn't be right. While the Crimson Comet's flight posture was very fixed, it didn't mean it couldn't adjust its movements. Moreover, the shell's surface had a heat barrier, and coupled with its dragon fire breath, any ice that condensed on the surface wouldn't last long.
Besides, Dewen's description was straightforward: the destructive power was very strong.
With lingering doubt, Li Fan opened the document titled "Silver Winged Fiend." It contained detailed data on the Crimson Comet's shell attribute absorption, but as far as Li Fan understood, much of the key data was fabricated.
"What is the effective shooting range?" Zuda asked.
"200 meters," Dewen answered.
200 meters? Weren't the tests conducted at 100 meters, and even Level 3 piercing rounds couldn't penetrate? Li Fan grew more confused the more he heard.
"200 meters... In that case, deploying a large number of long-range Hunter teams is very necessary. It will require many high-level Hunters, won't it?" Zuda inquired.
"Yes, my requirement is at least 120 five-star Hunters, primarily using heavy bowguns as their main weapon," Dewen stated. The entire hall fell silent again.
"The Hunter's Guild can at most mobilize 60. We can do no more than that," Zuda informed them.
"We anticipated this. We are preparing to recruit from all villages and towns," Dewen responded.
"Before the sortie, are you certain you can recruit 60 five-star Hunters whose primary weapon is the heavy bowgun?" Zuda expressed his concern.
"If you understand the Hunter community well, you wouldn't have such doubts," Dewen said with a determined gaze.
"Alright, please continue with the deployment," Zuda said, not probing further.
"If the gun wings are damaged, the Crimson Comet's high-altitude flight capability will be severely restricted, and it will very likely be forced to land. The battlefield will shift from the air to the ground, and the combat plan will enter its second phase. However, this ground will be on its habitat, the Sky-Piercing Tower, and its height means most Hunters will still be unable to reach it. The Dragon Lore Institute currently only has one modified small airship capable of reaching it. To avoid losing track of the Crimson Comet, a small number of the most elite Hunters will be dispatched to fight at the summit of the Sky-Piercing Tower." Dewen began to describe the second phase of the plan.
"We do have elite Hunters. Guxing and Pazhizhi, who are participating in this joint hunt, are among them. However, according to the investigation data, the circular area at the top of the Sky-Piercing Tower has no cover and is completely unsuitable for Hunters to engage in ground combat," Zuda questioned.
"To explain this in detail, it's related to the Crimson Comet's ecology. Xike, the Vice-Leader of the Research Institute, can provide an explanation," Dewen said. Xike then stood up from his chair.
"This is a model of the Crimson Comet's chest cavity that our research team created through ecological observation, meow." With Todd's help, a metal cube with an intake grille was placed on the table. Xike adjusted his academic cap and picked up a wooden pointer to begin his explanation.
"The outer side of the Crimson Comet's chest has physiological structures resembling intake grilles, which is extremely unusual among monsters, meow. Through continuous observation by the research team, it has been confirmed that this structure's purpose is to draw in surrounding air into the chest cavity, compress it, and inject it with dragon elemental energy to form a gaseous energy called Dragon Qi." Xike then pressed a lever behind the metal cube.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*
The V-shaped intake grille on the metal cube opened, and it began to draw in air rhythmically.
"This model is rather rudimentary, meow. It can't simulate the process of Dragon Qi generation yet," Xike said with some regret.
"Then what about the core organ that generates Dragon Qi internally?" Zuda, as the head of the Ancient Dragon Observation Post, was very interested in the latest ecological discoveries about ancient dragons.
"Judging from the Crimson Comet's streamlined body, the organ that generates Dragon Qi energy should not be very large, meow. It's highly likely to be an energy core similar to an Ancient Dragon Jewel. Coupled with the red light flashes that occur when the intake grille draws in air, the research team has named it the Crimson Dragon Qi Jewel." As Xike spoke, he climbed onto the table to continue his explanation.
"The Crimson Comet periodically inhales a large amount of air, compresses it, and stores it in its chest cavity to generate Dragon Qi energy, meow. After fighting with the airship formation and sustaining damage to its gun wings, the Crimson Comet, feeling threatened to its life, will prioritize replenishing the two substances that synthesize Dragon Qi to their maximum capacity upon landing."
*Clang! Clang!*...
The surface of the silver metal cube suddenly bulged outwards irregularly.
"When the compressed air accumulates to a certain degree, let's add something to it, meow." Xike took out a small cloth bag and scattered a small amount of orange powder towards the metal cube.
"Then ignite it, meow... *Boom!* It will cause a huge explosion!" Xike said excitedly. Unfortunately, the metal cube model beside him did not explode. Instead, with a *poof* of deflating air, it shriveled up.
Li Fan was also surprised that the Dragon Lore Institute could deduce the possibility of the Crimson Comet's chest exploding through ecological observation.
"I understand. The battle will shift from the air to the ground, and the Crimson Comet will inevitably head to the summit of its habitat, the Sky-Piercing Tower. If the hunt is interrupted due to the altitude, the Crimson Comet, feeling a sense of crisis, will have ample time to accumulate Dragon Qi. The narrow combat area at the summit will make deploying more Hunters meaningless, especially considering the limited transportation capacity to reach that altitude. And when it inhales and compresses air, it presents another excellent attack opportunity... What substance do you plan to use to cause an explosion in the Crimson Comet's chest?" Zuda quickly grasped the intent behind the Dragon Lore Institute's deployment.
"Ideally, it would be the powder of the Elder Dragon, meow, mixed with a highly adhesive viscous substance. Unfortunately, the Dragon Lore Institute does not have any in stock," Xike said helplessly.
"The Guild can provide the Elder Dragon's powder. I will notify headquarters to expedite its allocation. However, the quantity is very limited, and the Observation Post itself is reluctant to invest it in research. I hope the research team will treat it seriously during the harmonization experiment," Zuda informed them.
"Thank you so much, Director Zuda! The research team will definitely treat it seriously, meow!" Xike bowed in gratitude.
Li Fan felt that as the combat deployment research progressed, the atmosphere gradually eased.
"Dewen, if the planned combat operations are executed successfully, what will be the next step?" Zuda asked.
"Destroy the Sky-Piercing Tower habitat. This way, with its gun wings damaged and insufficient Dragon Qi in its body to maintain long-distance flight, the Crimson Comet will have to land in the Elderwood Ridge. I will leave the ground combat joint deployment to the Guild, as you have more experience in this area than the Dragon Lore Institute," Dewen replied, standing up.
"Entrusting the final operation against the Crimson Comet to the Guild... that's really not like you. Alright, on behalf of the Guild, I approve this combat deployment." Zuda finished speaking, and a researcher began distributing the contract documents. The representatives from various villages took out their uniquely shaped seals and authenticated the contracts. With the general direction agreed upon, everyone then discussed matters of material allocation and personnel deployment. During this time, everyone spoke openly and without reservation. Li Fan realized that there seemed to be a tacit understanding in the Monster Hunter world: when disaster strikes, regardless of their different affiliations, everyone would do their utmost to contribute their full strength to face the crisis together. However, the more this was the case, the stranger the Dragon Lore Institute's act of providing fabricated test data seemed.
"How do you plan to recruit the elite Hunter members for the summit operation?" Guxing asked.
Vegasa replied, "The initial plan is for recommendations from villages, towns, or the Guild."
"Will no Dragon Lore Institute members participate? After all, the explosive device was developed by you," Guxing pressed.
"I will go, meow, as technical support for the explosive device," Xike raised a paw.
"I have no ill will towards the research team, but I believe that at the summit of the Sky-Piercing Tower, there should be at least one agile Dragon Lore Institute Hunter responsible for ensuring the explosive device's effectiveness," Guxing stated.
"Guxing is right. If only he and Pazhizhi can directly participate in combat at the summit, the pressure will be too great," Zuda also agreed with this sentiment.
"The Dragon Lore Institute is an academic institution. The former chief Hunter disappeared after retirement. Where am I supposed to find Hunters with top-tier combat capabilities?" Vegasa said displeasedly.
"You can expand the recruitment scope, can't you? Set the standard to Dragon Lore Institute Senior Hunters," Zuda suggested.
"Alright..." Vegasa sighed helplessly. Senior Hunters going there would essentially be a suicide mission. However, having two seven-star Hunters manage combat while also correctly using the detonation device at the opportune moment was indeed difficult to justify.
With various details gradually finalized, the joint operation deployment meeting concluded, and the tense preparations began. The number of people moving back and forth within the Dragon Lore Institute headquarters soon increased significantly. Seeing that the place was already overcrowded, the team decided to continue staying on the *Yanhuo*.
Late at night, Eudora rested her hands on the hull and looked at the brightly lit headquarters below, sighing, "Li Fan, I'm starting to want to participate in the summit operation."
"There's no need to take such risks. Perhaps they'll recruit top Hunters soon," Li Fan advised.
"Aren't you also preparing? Have you changed your mind so quickly?"
"My previous preparation was mainly because I believed the Crimson Comet could be captured, and I thought the team could help. Now it seems they can complete the hunt for the Crimson Comet even without my involvement. If you really want to participate, the ground combat in the Elderwood Ridge would also be good," Li Fan said with a hint of disappointment.
"Alright, then what do you plan to do next?"
"Brother Lei has almost recovered. It's time to find a secluded place for mutation. However, this process is quite complex."
"Did you obtain Ancient Dragon Bones?" Eudora asked in surprise.
"Yes. To set up a trap to lure the Crimson Comet, a massive amount of Starfall Ore is needed. I saw the market was good, so I exchanged a mineral vein for Guild points. Then, I used those points to redeem 184 fragments of Level 3 Ancient Dragon Bones. It was the most cost-effective path." Li Fan had only learned after in-depth research that Ancient Dragon Bones were divided into complete and fragmented forms. Complete ones could be used for crafting equipment, while fragments were generally used for research. Furthermore, based on the surface weathering, they were divided into five grades. The criteria for identification were beyond Li Fan's expectations. Ancient Dragon Bones were not more valuable the older they were; the newer ones were more valuable. Those with poor identification grades would be downgraded and classified as Ancient Dragon Bones.
"Then let's set off as soon as possible. I heard the headquarters' airspace will be even more crowded in a couple of days. Taking the *Yanhuo* away to free up space would also be a contribution," Eudora said. Then, remembering a detail from the meeting, she asked worriedly, "60 five-star Hunters whose primary weapon is the heavy bowgun. Can they really be recruited in such a short time? After all, in Kalath Village, there's only Guild Branch Master Harun as a five-star Hunter, and his primary weapon is a lance."
Li Fan looked up at the star-filled night sky and replied, "Here, it's definitely possible."
Three days later, at dawn, a small Dragon Lore Institute airship hovered over Lantai Village. After the recruitment contracts were scattered like snowflakes, the airship resumed its rapid flight to the next surrounding village. Two male villagers picked up the contracts on the ground, looked at them for a moment, and then exchanged amused glances.
"Our Lantai Village doesn't even have a Guild representative, where would we find five-star Hunters?"
"If you ask me, it's quite impressive that this airship managed to find Lantai Village."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, a middle-aged man carrying a fish creel appeared on the village dirt road. He picked up a contract, looked at it for a moment, his expression changed slightly. He unloaded his fish creel and carried it back home. His wife saw him return home, holding the contract and lost in thought, and sighed silently. After a long period of contemplation, the man stood up and went inside, dragging a large red chest out from under the bed. He broke the lock with his bare hands, and as the lid opened, a disassembled heavy bowgun was revealed. A five-star Hunter badge was embedded in the disassembled stock, shining brightly. The man picked up the parts and began to assemble them with practiced skill, as if he had done it countless times, engraving it in his mind. Outside the door, sunlight streamed in, casting the wife's silhouette onto the chest.
"You're going?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was protected by someone before."
At the same time, in an unexplored and uncharted forest, Li Fan was using a Hunter's knife to meticulously cut away purple necrotic flesh from Brother Lei's back.
"Brother Lei! I'm wearing earplugs! If it hurts, just roar! It's okay!" Li Fan shouted.
Brother Lei, lying on his side, swung his tail, hitting the ground, as if to express that this was a minor issue and to proceed. Monsters naturally had a higher pain tolerance than humans, so Li Fan didn't hold back and increased the pressure. The large patches of purple necrotic flesh on Brother Lei's back were not due to poor post-injury care but because the muscle tissue beneath the Electro-Shell had been soaked in Little Idiot's venom. Li Fan's objective was to interfere with the un-necrotized Electro-Shell, causing it to necrotize artificially. This way, the intermittent electrical elemental energy would be completely cut off. He had originally prepared measures to prevent the venom from spreading, but after Brother Lei understood the plan, he stated that it would take too much time and that direct immersion would suffice.
Half an hour later, after the last piece of purple necrotic flesh was removed, Li Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead and washed the Hunter's knife.
"Brother Lei, you're the most... Huh? He's fainted... I guess I can't apply Recovery Potions to the wound, I've experienced that feeling before. Oh well, let's move on to the next step." Li Fan mumbled, then brought over a bucket of bubbling lubricant.
"Eudoradilu, let's start scrubbing. Remember to stay away from the wound," Li Fan said, then grabbed a stool and moved to Brother Lei's claws, prying open two fused toes and inserting a small brush.
*Scrape! Scrape!*... A series of dense friction sounds echoed. The team scrubbed for over an hour before the trait "Insect Pheromone Adhesion" finally disappeared. Li Fan called the *Yanhuo* to descend, and the first activation training began.
Because he had consumed Ancient Dragon Bone fragments and was in good condition, Brother Lei could generate significantly more Dragon elemental energy, and it was more pure. The swarm of Elder Dragons that was attracted, having had their warning pheromones washed away, did not know this was a trap and swarmed forward.
*Roar! Roar! Roar!*... *Boom!* A powerful blast of energy erupted from Brother Lei, and the Super Flash state was achieved again. At this point, most of the insect swarm that had not been activated into Super Flash Elder Dragons began to retreat. The electrical shock was gone, but this one-way activation yielded no benefits. Therefore, the "Insect Pheromone Adhesion" marker of the Elder Dragons reappeared. Li Fan looked at his handheld device, feeling a headache, but fortunately, through observation, he had grasped some key points and began to guide.
"Brother Lei, the extremely fine energy flows are what activate the Elder Dragons. Your external energy flows are too thick."
Brother Lei blinked, swung his front paw horizontally, and the red and black electrical sparks generated at the tip of his claws crackled in the air.
"Still too thick."
Brother Lei pondered for a moment and then channeled his Dragon elemental energy to the electrified hairs on his back.
*Crack! Crack!*
As he shook his back, delicate energy flows, like strands of hair, were stimulated at the ends of the electrified hairs.
"It seems to be a bit too thin... Alright, this is the best we can do."
After another 40 minutes of scrubbing, during the second activation test, thanks to the delicate energy flows emitted from the electrified hairs, about one-third of the insect swarm was activated into Super Flash Elder Dragons. Brother Lei was also exceptionally happy to be surrounded by a swarm of Elder Dragons for the first time. The trait "Insect Pheromone Adhesion" reappeared, but this time it had both affinity and warning types.
"This is good! Both the 'black fans' and the 'true fans' are present. This kind of pheromone residue is the hardest to distinguish," Li Fan felt that Brother Lei's biggest advantage was the lack of competition from the Zinogre in claiming the Elder Dragons. This way, with a small amount of positive pheromone adhesion, it would be easy to attract Elder Dragons. However, the biggest problem currently was that the entire Super Flash process, and even the ecology of the Elder Dragons, was artificially created. Li Fan felt this was not ideal and devised two improvement plans. The first was for Brother Lei to undergo outdoor training, leading limited Elder Dragon activities without the support of the *Yanhuo*, thus gradually adapting to controlling and utilizing Elder Dragons. The second was research into the improved cultivation of Dragon Killer Fruits. On the way, Li Fan had browsed several books on botany. They mentioned that the reason Dragon Killer Fruits grew in areas where ancient dragons were active was inextricably linked to Dragon elemental energy. If mass cultivation could be achieved using the Dragon elemental energy dispersed from Starfall Ore, then the research reports could be exchanged for many good things at the Guild. Brother Lei's natural adaptive mutation environment would then be established.
With the plan in place, Li Fan returned to headquarters. Dragon Killer Fruits could be purchased, but seeds and cultivation materials could only be found at the headquarters' Research Institute. By this time, all the giant combat airships in the airspace had completed the installation of their jet engines. Should he participate in the ground combat and see how the Crimson Comet met its end? Forget it. Li Fan, on the *Yanhuo*, sighed and walked onto the skybridge. After borrowing some books on plant cultivation from the Research Institute, Li Fan used his Special Researcher badge to enter the laboratory. The female researcher in charge of the material warehouse, upon hearing that he wanted to breed Dragon Killer Fruits, helped him retrieve the materials despite her curiosity. While waiting, he saw Xike crawling on the largest experimental table, sighing continuously. Li Fan walked over.
"It's you! The academic maniac who spends 20 hours a day in the top-secret archives, meow!" The painful experience of accompanying him had left a deep impression on Xike.
"Not at all, the longest day was only 19 hours, meow," Xike said, his tired eyes about to close.
"Uh... I don't remember, meow. I just felt that period of time was very long."
"You've set out so many experimental materials. Has the research on the ignition device reached a bottleneck?" Li Fan asked, looking at the table.
"Yes, meow. I've tried many combinations, but the results are not satisfactory."
"Is it that difficult?" Seeing so many materials laid out, Li Fan not only found it daunting to experiment but even looking at them was overwhelming.
"This silver crystal... what material is it?" Li Fan felt he recognized a familiar material.
"This one is amazing, meow. The Guild brought it back from the New World. It hasn't been named yet and was entrusted to the Dragon Lore Institute for research." Li Fan froze for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the crystal, which was silvery white on the surface and iridescent within, and exclaimed, "The Crimson Comet is saved!"