The three and the cat immediately prepared for battle.
In a completely unfamiliar and dangerous environment, coupled with an ambush by a pack of Great Jagras, Aibo couldn't help but worry.
Because if this were on the original continent, being ambushed and severely injured to the point of being unable to continue fighting would at least mean there was the Cat Ambulance Team, ready to provide rescue for a fee.
Here, however, if they encountered danger and suffered serious injuries, they would likely be left to die.
After surveying the nearby terrain, Li Fan found that his chosen landing spot was quite good.
The ground's rock strata were relatively flat, with no excessive monster skeletons to clear.
As for the stench, it was more or less the same everywhere; they couldn't be too picky.
"I'll go find some Kindling Stones. I'll be back soon."
After announcing this, Li Fan leaped off the platform with Dilu.
Creak~ Creak~
The ground, littered with bone fragments, made a creaking sound with every step.
What appeared to be a desolate and silent land revealed signs of life when one was truly within it.
For instance, black beetles marching out from bone piles, red flowers emitting a strong, foul odor, and withered vines growing everywhere.
Glancing back at the high platform where they had landed, Li Fan opened his Poké Ball and released the Odogaron.
Hiss~ Hiss~
The Odogaron took two deep breaths, and upon smelling the rich scent, its resentful pupils immediately widened.
It then surveyed its surroundings, constantly observing the environment.
"What's wrong with Odogaron, meow?" Dilu asked curiously.
"It's probably like a Kulu-Ya-Ku arriving in the Elder's Recess, so it's a bit excited," Li Fan attempted to explain.
*Splat!* The Odogaron slammed its front paw down forcefully.
As the ground shattered, large amounts of bone fragments solidified within the rock strata were sent flying.
*Whoosh~*
"Odogaron, don't roar yet." Li Fan stopped the Odogaron as it inhaled, about to unleash a roar.
"Roar?"
"This area is indeed suitable for your habitat, but the team hasn't finished exploring the area yet, so let's keep a low profile." Li Fan explained.
"Roar..." The Odogaron grunted in acknowledgment.
"From now on, we'll focus on familiarizing ourselves with the surroundings. If you encounter something you can't defeat, choose to flee immediately. Climbing up from that cliff over there leads to the Coral Highlands. In short, don't push yourself." Li Fan instructed.
In reality, based on the ecosystem of the upper levels of the Guiding Lands in the game, there were no monsters that could pose a threat to the Odogaron.
However, due to the scarcity of information, Li Fan was unwilling to take risks and decided to proceed with caution.
Next, Shiny was released.
The dim yellow scenery before them reminded Shiny of the desert ruins.
"Shiny, look over there."
*Tap-tap~* Following Li Fan's direction, Shiny's two pairs of hind legs shifted sideways, and it turned its body.
After gazing at the indicated direction for a moment, it raised its scythe-like forearms high, its purple compound eyes flashing with light.
"That's the remains of a true Elder Dragon, a Malfiscet. It's remarkably well-preserved, and by the looks of it, a colossal individual." Li Fan introduced.
The reason Shiny had formed the giant serpent-shaped Great City was because a legendary hunter had shown it a real Malfiscet.
However, the Great City it constructed in the form of a giant serpent had a significant flaw: the material strength was insufficient.
Even with a large number of steel beams in the ruins, it would still collapse under artillery fire.
Therefore, during the attack on Dondurma, it was only used as a highly mobile Great City for rapid approach to the city walls.
... Dilu, looking at the distant Malfiscet skull, opened the large book at its waist and began to draw.
Depicting and recording the appearance of monsters was a fundamental skill for a chronicler, and Dilu had learned a lot from Li Fan for this purpose.
As the Malfiscet's body, obscured by the rocky mountains, gradually appeared on the paper, Dilu, astonished, looked down at its feet.
"We're on the Malfiscet's skeleton, meow! Probably on its back!" Dilu stated its deduction.
"No wonder this winding terrain looks so strange," Li Fan said, a realization dawning on him.
*Tap-tap~* The impatient Shiny immediately headed towards the Malfiscet's head.
After walking dozens of meters, it suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back.
Li Fan gave another series of instructions, emphasizing safety and keeping a low profile for now.
The bony materials of monsters were standard components for crafting weapons and armor, so their strength was certainly not a concern.
The issue was that the scale of this Malfiscet skeleton was immeasurably vast, and Li Fan was somewhat worried if Shiny could handle it.
Unfortunately, no one could offer assistance with this; it was up to Shiny to try and resolve it on its own.
Watching Shiny depart, Li Fan casually picked up a few Kindling Stones and returned to the high platform.
"By the way, Odogaron, I heard reports of a large number of Tobi-Kadachi carcasses in the Coral Highlands. Was that you?" Li Fan asked, recalling the frequent ecological reports the research base had been receiving.
"Roar!" The Odogaron let out a proud roar.
"Liking to perform magic tricks is quite excessive. Thanks to you, many members of the Fifth Fleet have equipped themselves with Tobi-Kadachi weapons and armor," Li Fan exclaimed with emotion.
The reason such ecological reports were widely circulated was not only because they allowed for the mass production of equipment but also because of the abnormal ecological manifestations.
During the Third Fleet's investigation, the number of monster carcasses in the Coral Highlands was significantly lower than in other areas.
This naturally led to speculation about the Guiding Lands below, whose environment resembled a monster graveyard.
Therefore, the appearance of a large number of Tobi-Kadachi carcasses was somewhat anomalous.
However, the manner of their unnatural deaths and Aibo's sighting report of an Odogaron meant that the research direction was not misled.
Clutching the withered vines, they climbed back to the camp. Yudora and Aibo were on alert near the cargo crates suspended by small airbags.
"Li Fan, we've set up two pitfall traps over there, and the supply crates have also been successfully received," Yudora informed them, pointing.
"Excellent. Here are the Kindling Stones. You and Aibo have the Slinger; load them up."
"I'll do the grinding," Aibo said, taking the Kindling Stones and immediately smashing them with a hammer.
She picked out appropriately sized fragments, then sharpened and ground them with a hunter's knife, shaping them into pointed crystals suitable for firing from the Slinger.
As for the function of firing Kindling Stones, according to the information provided by Master Field, they could not only rapidly ignite瘴气 (miasma) clouds to clear blockages but also disperse monsters that feared fire. This was highly effective against fire-fearing Great Jagras packs.
About ten minutes later, the frequent creaking sounds from the bone piles put the three and the cat on high alert.
The three of them backed against the cargo crates, gathering together. Dilu, however, stood on a crate, scanning the surroundings.
Soon, the sound of climbing rock walls could be heard.
... Dozens of green-skinned lizards with snake-like heads scurried onto the platform.
These monsters, extremely similar in appearance to Great Jagras but much smaller, were called Jagras.
They lacked the dorsal fins of Great Jagras on their necks and were more lizard-like in build, though two fangs still protruded from their upper jaws.
Seeing three Jagras within a miasma cloud, Yudora raised the Slinger on her left arm and aimed.
*Boom!* A Kindling Stone shot out as a spark, entering the miasma cloud and immediately causing an explosion.
"Roar! Roar!" With cries of pain, the burning Jagras quickly fled.
However, this did not alert the other Jagras; instead, they took the opportunity to continue closing in.
Due to their light weight, the pitfall traps were not successfully triggered.
Yudora and Aibo took turns using the Slinger to suppress them.
Amidst the chaotic roars, Li Fan heard a slightly different intonation.
The general meaning was, "I will fight them alone; you all retreat."
Li Fan hadn't expected such a strong individual among the Jagras pack.
However, the continuous roaring seemed to have an effect. As they approached within ten meters, all the Jagras stopped their advance towards Li Fan's direction.
Only one slender Jagras continued to advance. Its red eyes exuded confidence, as if it had a surefire way to kill its enemies.
Given such courage, Li Fan decided to show a modicum of respect and drew his Thunderstrike Divine Blade.
However, the confrontation had barely begun when a shout shattered the atmosphere entirely.
"Hiyah!"
*Boom!* A powerful blast of air scattered. Yudora's Wind Shear Slash struck, causing the entire platform to tremble.
As for the target of the attack, it had burrowed too deep into the rock strata, and its carcass could no longer be found.
Even so, Yudora quickly drew her Gale Divine Greatsword and raised it before her with both hands, warily observing the movements of the remaining Jagras.
The Jagras, repelled several meters by the blast of air, showed confusion in their eyes.
They turned to look at the Great Jagras, their pack leader, only to be surprised to find that the position that should have been occupied by the leader was empty.
Below the platform, the Great Jagras that had been attempting to climb upwards had its path blocked by a powerful monster, forcing it into a confrontation.
After observing for a long time, the fierce aura emanating from the other party gave it an urge to flee.
The Odogaron, tilting its head, looked down at the other party's head and let out a low growl.
"Roar..." The Great Jagras froze.
The question the other party asked was, "Do you know how to perform magic?"
"Roar..." The Great Jagras immediately denied it.
"Roar? Roar?" The Odogaron let out a satisfied growl, indicating that the Great Jagras could leave safely.
"Roar! Roar!" The Great Jagras roared urgently.
It indicated that its subordinates were still above and it could not leave.
The Odogaron paused again, recalling the difficult times it had spent with its brethren in the icy sea region.
It immediately told the Great Jagras to shout the retreat command to its pack, and it would not obstruct them.
The Great Jagras was naturally overjoyed and let out a roar.
"Brothers, quickly retreat..."
Li Fan, understanding the meaning of the roar, immediately sheathed his blade.
When the Jagras had retreated, the encounter, which had been perilous but ultimately safe, finally ended.
... Aibo and Dilu began collecting traces and materials from the Jagras.
The reason Jagras could roam freely in miasma-infested areas must be due to some unique physiological structure.
As long as a small sample could be collected and submitted to the base, there was a high probability of researching weapons and armor with similar activation capabilities.
Li Fan and Yudora took out supplies from the transport box and began setting up a small camp.
The first day in the Guiding Lands quickly passed.
Since they had not obtained any information about the Zorah Magdaros, the team decided to venture deeper on the second morning.
*Chirp-chirp~* Less than half an hour into their advance, the Bug Net cages at the waists of the three and the cat simultaneously reacted.
"The swarm of insects is flashing green, appearing in a dispersed pattern – it's a Trailrazer marker!" Aibo immediately judged.
"Who would set up a Trailrazer marker here?" Yudora said incredulously.
Trailrazer markers were guiding signs used for exploration in the New World.
Due to the lack of sufficiently detailed and up-to-date maps, Trailrazer markers, which could designate fixed points and use insects for guidance, became excellent positioning tools.
One of the requests Li Fan had accepted from the base was to set up Trailrazer markers between the Great Canyon and the Coral Highlands camp to guide subsequent hunter teams.
"It's Master Field!" Aibo said with certainty.
"Only she could have set up a Trailrazer marker here," Li Fan agreed with this assessment.
"Should we follow the guidance?" Yudora asked curiously.
"We should not," Li Fan replied firmly.
"Huh? Master Field is absolutely trustworthy. She must have set up the Trailrazer marker for the safety of visiting hunters," Aibo informed him.
"You're right, but where we're going is not a safe area at all; it's where the Zorah Magdaros might appear," Li Fan explained.
"I see..." Aibo understood Li Fan's meaning.
"How strange, meow..." Dilu, lying on the pile of bone fragments and observing with a magnifying glass, muttered.
"Have you found anything?" Li Fan inquired.
"These bone piles and rock strata have been subjected to heavy pressure frequently, meow, and there are very clear tracks, like... a well-maintained trade route," Dilu stated its discovery.
"That's right, this path feels very smooth," Aibo also noticed the anomaly.
"Hmm, we can't continue on this path anymore. There's a high platform over there; Yudora, take us up." Li Fan gave instructions.
The two and the cat were quickly brought to the high platform by Yudora's pulling.
Four binoculars were used to observe in four different directions.
"Uh, what are you guys looking at?" Aibo pushed up the adjustable binoculars on her eyes and asked curiously.
"I don't know, meow. I saw Yudora looking, so I did too," Dilu replied.
"I saw Li Fan pick up the binoculars and thought there was a monster..." Yudora explained helplessly.
"The smooth path we were just on was carved out by a Brachydios," Li Fan informed them.
"What kind of monster is that?" Yudora asked, puzzled.
... "It's somewhat similar to a Brachydios."
"Is it very powerful?" Yudora asked warily.
"Not very powerful, just a bit annoying. And when a Brachydios rolls on the ground, it's extremely fast. Coupled with the numerous ups and downs of the sloping terrain here, it would be difficult to handle if we encountered one," Li Fan explained.
"Similar to a Brachydios means it can curl its body into a disc and roll down the slope below, right?" Yudora surmised.
"Yes," Li Fan confirmed, his gaze fixed on the slope.
"In that case, traveling on it would indeed be very dangerous," Aibo realized the intention behind their retreat.
"The troublesome part about Brachydios is its charge attack at high speeds," Li Fan introduced.
When encountering other monsters, there was at least a chance to engage in a standoff.
However, a Brachydios would completely skip that step and simply roll towards you.
With the added advantage of the slope, the difficulty would increase significantly.
"Then we should avoid the slopes, meow?" Dilu attempted to suggest a solution.
"Hmm, are the tracks left by Brachydios overlapping frequently?" Li Fan inquired.
"The central area of the concentrated overlapping slopes has a noticeable depression in the ground, so yes, quite a bit, meow," Dilu responded.
"Then it's manageable." A thought emerged in Li Fan's mind.
... Zhao Lala reminds you: Please remember to bookmark after reading.