The mouth of the Serpent King Dragon's skull was pried open from the inside, creating a gap. From between its upper and lower rows of sharp teeth, Shanshan's head emerged to survey the surroundings.
Seeing Li Fan and Dilu on the bone-pile cliff, the skull's mouth widened further. Shanshan extended its sickle-like claws and waved them at the person and the cat, as if in greeting.
*Scraaaape~*
The Great Serpent Ruin City's coils around the conical peak began to tighten. Confirming its hold on the mountainside, Shanshan leaped from the Serpent King Dragon's maw and swung over using its silk threads.
Constructed from the remains of the Serpent King Dragon, the Great Serpent Ruin City boasted top-tier destructive power and defense. However, transforming this formidable strength into practical combat capability was a challenge. Firstly, it was difficult for the Great Serpent Ruin City to launch effective attacks against flying monsters, and its sheer size made stealth impossible. As for ground combat, where it held an absolute advantage, any opponent not entirely foolish would avoid direct confrontation simply by observing its size.
Li Fan's previous solution was to find ways to further enhance its ground combat capabilities. This seemed counterintuitive, but he reasoned that if its weaknesses couldn't be fixed, it was better to excel in its strengths to an unparalleled degree, with the monster squad compensating for other aspects. The method of enhancement involved sharpening the protruding, fan-like blades on the Serpent King Dragon's body, turning them into weapons akin to blades. The fan blades were originally used by the Serpent King Dragon to cut through mountains and earth in its lifetime. Li Fan surmised that once sharpened, the destructive power generated by its body during sliding collisions would significantly increase.
However, the strength of the mountain rock walls within the Miasma Valley was no match for the Thousand Sword Mountain where the Serpent King Dragon once resided. Grinding was impossible. Later, Shanshan came up with an idea. Through preliminary exploration, Shanshan discovered that the Miasma Valley was not the resting place of just one Serpent King Dragon. Judging by the number of Serpent King Dragon skulls found alone, there were over a dozen, large and small. Since the mountains couldn't be used to sharpen the fan blades, other Serpent King Dragon skeletons would have to suffice.
Inspired, Li Fan greatly approved of this idea. Thus, the terrifying legend of the demonic scraping of fangs began to circulate in the upper reaches of the Miasma Valley. But ever since deciding to capture the Elder Dragon, Li Fan felt that the enhancement of the Great Serpent Ruin City was still lacking something. Today's visit was partly to remind Shanshan to enter a state of readiness, and partly to propose another enhancement plan.
Shanshan's purple compound eyes flickered as it gazed at the design for the long-barreled ballista for a long time, then tilted its head in thought. *Ding!* A lightbulb appeared above its head.
*Sizzle sizzle~*
The sharp tip of its sickle-like claws began to slide across the ground, etching a pattern. "Place it inside the Serpent King Dragon's mouth... As expected, you understand the Great Serpent Ruin City." Li Fan said in surprise. He had intended to ask Shanshan for suggestions, but the creature had already envisioned the deployment location for the giant long-barreled ballista.
Dilu looked up at the Serpent King Dragon skull atop the mountain peak, then at the pattern on the ground, and exclaimed in wonder, "After preparing for so long, you're going to replicate the long-barreled ballista on the Great Serpent Ruin City, meow."
"Yes, this is the only feasible enhancement method currently," Li Fan informed her.
"But we don't have the materials, meow," Dilu said worriedly.
"We have the Eco-ship."
"Uh... isn't the Eco-ship borrowed, meow?" Dilu asked uncertainly.
"Commander Fry will understand us," Li Fan sighed.
"I still feel uneasy, meow..." Dilu scratched her cheek.
"Don't you like the small submarine on the ship? Take it to play with," Li Fan said generously.
"Ah! How could I possibly accept this, meow!" Dilu looked astonished.
"Don't worry about it. We won't need it to build the giant long-barreled ballista anyway. Remember to keep it a secret."
"Alright, meow... I believe the giant long-barreled ballista will be very powerful once completed. How about we give it a cool name?" Dilu suggested.
"Then let's call it the Serpent Emperor Ballista."
With the construction of the Serpent Emperor Ballista decided, the next step was to plan the manufacturing process. The coast where the Eco-ship was docked was quite far from the Miasma Valley. It was unlikely to complete the manufacturing nearby and directly load it onto the Great Serpent Ruin City. Li Fan decided to first use a Poké Ball to take Shanshan away, travel to the coast to secretly complete the manufacturing, and then bring Shanshan back to the Miasma Valley. The Great Serpent Ruin City would then move to the coast to complete the loading of the Serpent Emperor Ballista. This method, though a bit troublesome, would minimize the impact and remain relatively covert.
Upon hearing that there was something to dismantle, Shanshan was quite pleased. After further securing the Great Serpent Ruin City, it entered the Poké Ball to travel with the squad.
Three days later, the Flame Terminus hovered above an uncharted coastline. Shanshan, seeing the large ship Eco-ship docked, excitedly ran towards it.
*Chik-ga~ Chara~...*
The sails tore, and the mast toppled. With Shanshan's efforts, the hull was gradually dismantled. Meanwhile, Dilu and Paqi piloted a submarine to explore the underwater world. Li Fan, pulling a lounge chair, came to the beach to sunbathe.
Before long, the aroma of roasted meat wafted from the deck of the Flame Terminus. Li Fan closed his eyes, sniffed, and sighed, "If only this leisurely life could last forever..."
During the three days on the road, besides optimizing the design of the Serpent Emperor Ballista, Li Fan had been pondering a question: Was the Elder Dragon a premature birth? Although the Elder Dragon's communication had been somewhat abnormal, it clearly possessed a complete consciousness. However, it had not chosen to end its metamorphosis and continued to absorb energy, indicating significant benefits for it. From this perspective, the Elder Dragon's intention to terminate the Elder Dragon's continued metamorphosis became even clearer. Therefore, the Elder Dragon's failure had completely disrupted the direction of the Elder Dragon's Crossing. Furthermore, Li Fan guiding the Deviljho to deal with the Kushala Daora was another extremely unfavorable factor.
With this in mind, Li Fan roughly deduced the division of labor for this Elder Dragon's Crossing. The Elder Dragon was responsible for preventing metamorphosis, and the three Elder Dragons dealing with the prematurely ended metamorphosis and the infant-state Elder Dragon was theoretically feasible. Now, however, things were uncertain. But according to the game's plot, why did the Elder Dragon suddenly break free upon the arrival of a few humans? Was it not a premature birth, but simply a coincidence that it was the optimal time to break free?
Li Fan was troubled by this question because, after the discovery of the Site of the Convergence, the initiative for when to travel there was still in his hands. Unlike in the past, where inaction would lead to severe disasters, the battle with the Elder Dragon this time was not particularly urgent. However, the timing of the journey was crucial. Going too early might result in the Elder Dragon being underdeveloped, while going too late might mean it had developed too much for the squad to handle. Additionally, if the timing was right, the Elder Dragons' desire to eliminate the Elder Dragon could also be exploited.
Shanshan spent the entire morning dismantling the Eco-ship. Afterward, Li Fan joined in, and they began the construction of the Serpent Emperor Ballista. Shanshan, lacking human thought processes, often took a long time to grasp even the most ordinary concepts. It also possessed a stubbornness that refused to turn back even when hitting a wall, requiring guidance and explanation.
Two days later, the midday sky was overcast. Li Fan, Dilu, and Paqi all gathered on the beach to witness the first firing test of the Serpent Emperor Ballista. Shanshan swung its sickle-like claws, flinging the golden silk threads, which served as the bowstring, in circles. Once secured, a half-mast that served as the test projectile was lifted by the silk threads and placed in the ballista's track.
*Screeeech~*
Shanshan hooked the silk threads with its bilateral sickle-like claws, dug its hind legs deep into the sand, and slowly retreated. The silk thread bowstring gradually tightened, and the bow-shaped component, hammered into shape by the steel beam, began to flex under tension.
*Whoosh!*
Shanshan flicked its sickle-like claws outward, and a whistling sound cut through the air. The half-mast flew into the sky, tracing a long arc before landing in the sea.
"It's successful." Li Fan sighed, feeling that their efforts had not been in vain. Next, he guided Shanshan to drag the Serpent Emperor Ballista and the Dragonator, which was loaded onto the Eco-ship, into the jungle behind the coast to hide them. The Flame Terminus immediately set sail for the Coral Highlands.
Three days later, they arrived at the research base. Hunter Murl, the dragon-person, had not received news about the discovery of the Site of the Convergence, but a lost-contact rescue contract from him had been distributed to the research base. Li Fan wondered if this old fellow had deviated from the plot and met an unfortunate end. Li Fan briefly scanned the contract; the issuer was Commander Fry. Fry stated that Murl's disappearance was normal, but based on intelligence provided by the compiler, Aibo, Murl's last known location was the Elder's Recess, which was why the contract was issued.
Fry's concern was indeed warranted, as the Elder's Recess was not an area one could traverse alone. Moreover, Murl did not possess the beast-like physique of the Guild Master. Even if he were unharmed, it would take at least four to five days for the information about the discovery of the Site of the Convergence to be transmitted back to the Astera base. During this period, if any changes occurred, Li Fan's choice of departure time would be very passive... Li Fan held the contract and pondered for a long time. He decided to try and find Murl and accepted the contract.
"Li Fan, why are we going to the Elder's Recess, deep into the Coral Highlands?" Eudora asked, puzzled, after walking for about an hour in the coral forest late at night.
"It's too dangerous to go by airship, and we're pressed for time, so I want to use a faster method," Li Fan explained.
"A faster method... Seeing that you're carrying a shield, could it be?" Eudora thought of a possibility.
"That's right, but don't worry, Huihui won't be too fast when we're up there," Li Fan informed her.
*Boom!* As soon as he finished speaking, a silent blast echoed in the night sky. The two humans and the cat looked up as a blue comet with a long tail rapidly approached.
"Aren't you afraid of being spotted?" Eudora asked cautiously.
"What's there to be afraid of? Isn't it normal for a blue star to streak across the night sky on the New World?" Under the blue light, Huihui slowly descended. The two humans and the cat leaped onto its back. Li Fan threw out a Wirebug silk, wrapped it around Huihui's forearms, and then lowered his greatshield, its surface covered with a blazing shell.
"Huihui, the slowest speed is fine," Li Fan reminded it.
*Roar~ Sizzle sizzle~*
Huihui responded with a roar. After inhaling a small amount of air through its intake grille, its six thrusters began to spray. *Boom!* A shockwave dispersed, and a large number of coral trees snapped backward. In the night sky, clouds receded rapidly, and the ground scenery changed every second.
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
"Meow ah!!!"
The two humans and the cat shouted loudly, but they couldn't hear their own voices. About five minutes later, the gun wings on the sides of their bodies unfolded, and the thrust from the strip-shaped tail flame began to decrease. With a significant reduction in speed, the bilateral gun wings rotated upward, and Huihui descended to the ground.
"We're here already?" Stepping on the ground, Eudora looked around, her face full of disbelief. Dilu, feeling dizzy, lay down on the ground.
"Is this the slowest speed?" Li Fan asked tentatively.
*Roar~*
Huihui responded with certainty.
"That's not right, why does it feel faster than when we were sprinting at full speed in the Sky-High Tower?" Li Fan couldn't understand.
*Roar~*
Huihui indicated that it was improving and that an increase in speed was normal.
"Thank you, you can go now," Li Fan said, pulling out his handheld device. "When it comes to gathering information and finding people... Burst should be the most capable." After a few taps, about ten minutes later, Burst descended from the sky.
"Who beat you up so badly?" Li Fan asked in surprise, seeing the wound on Burst's head.
*Roar~*
As Burst growled low, it nudged a crystal pillar nearby with its head. "So you flew without looking and crashed into a crystal pillar. Has there been anything unusual around here recently?" Li Fan inquired.
*Roar~*
Speaking of this, Burst's spirits immediately lifted, declaring that everything was abnormal.
"Anything related to humans?"
*Roar~*
"Not those people who set up camp behind the territory, but individuals acting alone." Li Fan gestured.
*Roar...*
"I didn't detect anything. Then it's nothing."
*Roar!*
"I'm not doubting your scouting ability. Perhaps their target was just small."
*Roar!* Burst became agitated, its entire body turning red, entering a state of heat. Watching the scales on its chin sway, threatening to fall off at any moment, Li Fan retreated a few steps and said earnestly, "I believe you can find them. Keep it up!"
*Roar!* The scales spread their wings and took flight, indicating that it would definitely find the solitary human's whereabouts. After setting up camp, the two humans and the cat studied the map. After looking for a long time without any clues, Dilu released Sunny, and they began feeding it.
*Hum~ Hum~*
Watching Sunny eat with great delight, a thought struck Li Fan's mind. "That's right, was it a premature birth? We can just ask."
"Premature birth... Is that some kind of search strategy?" Eudora asked uncertainly.
"No, it's a new development in determining the timing of our departure," Li Fan said as he stood up and went to Sunny's side, gently stroking its prickly bristles. "Eat more, Sunny. We have a tough battle ahead."
Huihui's dragon gem had already formed, and the Elder Dragon's energy eruption had a very high delay and was not very accurate in its positioning. The three Elder Dragons had no desire to provoke Huihui, let alone two additional top hunters. It could be said that apart from the Deviljho, the squad had little to worry about. At this point, no matter what message the Elder Dragon broadcasted, it would not pose a threat. It was the perfect time to engage in friendly communication and extract information.
Zhao Lala reminds you: Please remember to collect after reading.