Back on the Flame Sea, Eudora, her hair disheveled, was eating breakfast at the deck's dining table.
"You said you were going to the guild headquarters yesterday, did something happen?" Li Fan asked.
"Ah, you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Have you ever experienced being deceived by the whole world?" Eudora sighed.
"No, but that feeling must be terrible," Li Fan replied.
"I have something to tell you, but you absolutely must not spread it."
"Okay."
"Okay, meow!" Dilu's head popped in.
"My father isn't actually dead, he faked his death and became someone else."
"Oh! Really, meow!" Dilu's mouth fell open, and she froze.
"Li Fan, your reaction is so calm," Eudora said curiously.
"I'm just too shocked to react properly," Li Fan replied.
"And you know this person," Eudora added, lowering her head and sighing.
"Let me guess, meow, I can't guess!"
"It's Gu Xing! My father has been impersonating Gu Xing all along!"
"How is that possible, meow!"
"What's even more infuriating is that my mother knew about it all along!"
"That's too much, meow!"
"I will never forgive them! Li Fan, why are you so calm?" Eudora asked curiously.
"They must have had their reasons," Li Fan said.
"What do you mean?"
"You used to be proud of him, right?"
"Yes, but..."
"On that Steel Dragon tracking mission, he was the only one who survived. Hunters can show unwavering courage when facing monsters, but not necessarily when facing life."
"Anyway, I just can't forgive him," Eudora said with a conflicted expression.
"Don't worry, there's no rush to get anywhere. Whether you choose to accept it or not, you have plenty of time to consider it."
After breakfast, perhaps to vent her frustration, Eudora took her training greatsword and began training on the deck.
Li Fan returned to his cabin to catch up on sleep. Before falling asleep on his bunk, he intended to name the Mantis and plan its training route. Thinking he hadn't examined its stats closely, he opened his handheld device to check.
[Mantis] Female (Sparkle)
It already had a name? Did a legendary hunter give it? Li Fan had never seen a monster with a name before, but this naming style was perfectly in line with his own, so he had no intention of changing it.
HP: 10671/10671
Status: Extremely fatigued, moderately exhausted, bilateral scythe joints slightly dislocated, hungry, pleased, silk production in progress.
Level: 192
Strength: 9512 (1189x8)
Agility: 889
Intelligence: 2023
Skills:
[Queen] An extremely rare female of the species, born a leader.
[Queen's Pheromones] The fragrant liquid secreted by the Mantis can attract insects over a wide range for trapping. When secreted in large amounts, the fragrant liquid can corrode hard surfaces, aiding the Mantis in feeding.
[Beetle Power - Beyond Limits] The maximum strength this monster can exert is 8 times its base strength attribute.
[Mantis's Brilliant Jade] An incomprehensible jade. The silk produced under its influence possesses incredible toughness.
[Human Mentor] This monster has a human mentor.
[Little Genius] This monster often has various whimsical ideas.
[Inventor] The Mantis will attempt to disassemble all surrounding objects and then reassemble them with silk.
[Graphic Carving] The Mantis can carve patterns onto surfaces with its scythes.
[Biomimetic Construction Analysis] By observing and analyzing, the Mantis can perceive the opponent's body structure.
[Humanoid Motion Capture] By surrounding humans with fine silk, it keenly perceives their movements.
[Sticky Silk Ball] Newly generated, unhardened silk can be sprayed to bind and entangle prey or enemies.
[Giant Swing Throw] Using a single strand of silk as a tether, it accelerates and swings heavy objects before precisely throwing them as ranged attacks. If the chosen object is appropriate, it possesses immense destructive power.
[Ruined City Construction - Lao Shan Long] Mimics the Lao Shan Long to construct a ruined city.
[Ruined City Construction - Snake King Dragon] Mimics the Snake King Dragon to construct a ruined city.
[Ruined City Construction - Insect Glaive Hunter] Mimics an Insect Glaive Hunter to construct a ruined city.
Description: Beetle-type monster. Possesses a hard, brilliant golden carapace, and the silk it spits is incredibly tough. Likes to mimic powerful monsters to construct ruined cities. Habitat unknown.
"So Sparkle is a stats monster, no wonder it could drag such a large ruined city," Li Fan had never seen a monster with such absurd strength values. However, compared to its combat ability, he felt that the giant ruined city was the main direction. The steel beams in the ruins of the ancient city were excellent building components. It seemed that the legendary hunter had likely realized this, which was why the Mantis was placed there. This way, the ruined city construction not only had reliable raw materials but was also close enough to the Dongduoluma that needed to be protected. If he wanted Sparkle to build an even stronger ruined city, then large ruins would be the best place to go. Among the explored areas, there were three options: the Ruined Plains, the Ruined Ridges, and the Ancient Tower Ruins. The Ruined Plains were the safest, but they were often visited by hunters and scholars. The Ruined Ridges were once Huihui's territory, a decent choice, but he recalled there weren't many steel beams in the wreckage. The Ancient Tower Ruins were the most dangerous, but since they were all high-rise structures, there would definitely be no shortage of steel beams.
So sleepy. I'll go to the guild after I wake up and borrow more books about ruins, then I'll do more research.
Li Fan, feeling drowsy, slept until the afternoon and then, with his team, went to the guild headquarters to collect their rewards. The Chief Hunter team was the only team that participated in all three contracts. Although two operational contracts were not signed, Zuda made a special directive that the rewards must be paid at the highest standard. Thus, the rewards were added up, and each person could receive a payment of 1.32 million z. The guild headquarters was indeed wealthy. The receptionists pooled the money they had on hand and completed the payment at the counter.
"The guild is publicly recruiting hunter teams to track the Steel Dragon," Eudora said, looking at the recruitment contracts on the wall of the headquarters lobby.
"They're probably trying their luck," Li Fan speculated. Given the Steel Dragon's severely injured state, it was almost impossible for it to reappear in the short term. Even Velocidromes knew to hide themselves when severely injured.
Walking down the commercial street, Li Fan suddenly remembered something and felt it was the right time to do it.
"A group photo? What's that?" Eudora asked curiously.
"A very magical technology that can record the entire current scene and save it to your handheld device as a memento," Li Fan explained.
"Okay, let's do it!"
"Ready, meow!"
Eudora and Dilu stood with their hands on their hips, Li Fan stood in the middle, and raised his 3DS high. *Click!* A team photo was completed.
"I'm in the picture!"
"Me too, meow!"
Li Fan looked at the amazed expressions of the girl and the cat and sighed with a hint of relief. In the past, when other transmigrators disappeared, their remaining information also vanished. However, the legendary hunter's photos taken with the 3DS were all preserved, and he even appeared in person. Li Fan wasn't sure how much good leaving behind photos would do, but at least if they truly disappeared, it would give Eudora and Dilu something to remember him by, so they wouldn't forget who they were. As for why he felt somewhat pessimistic, it was related to that heaven-defying charm. After waking up today and organizing the recent events, Li Fan realized he had come a long way on his path to creating a legend. He was reluctant to admit he was a protagonist because he felt there was still room to maneuver, and perhaps a new opportunity would arise later to avoid misfortune. However, the legendary hunter had proven through his actions that even with the "Turning Misfortune into Fortune" skill at level 50, despite being exceptionally intelligent and possessing strong strategic abilities, he still vanished. This suggested that the threat at its source was unimaginably terrifying, a presence that everyone was unwilling to touch.
"Since I can't avoid it, it's okay if it comes a little later," Li Fan sighed softly.
"So many photos of Sophia, meow..."
"Yeah." Eudora and Dilu, with strange expressions, looked up at Li Fan.
"Don't jump to conclusions yet! Wait a moment for me." Li Fan waved his hand to stop them, then took out a charm and hung it around his neck.
Three days later, in the volcanic region.
Beneath the obscuring smoke and haze, lava veins like a circulatory system illuminated the land. At the end of the volcanic region, where the endless ocean met the land, a frozen mountain range suddenly appeared. Lava boiled, and the wind was biting cold; the two extreme environments were separated by a mere line. Even if one managed to break through despite the guild's prohibition, the sharp ice crystals dancing in the wind would quickly tear them to shreds. This place was called the Divine Realm, a land where elemental turbulence raged violently, and the dwelling place of the forbidden Black Dragon. On a small hill adjacent to the Divine Realm stood what was known as the world's most dangerous guild observation post. However, the target of this observation post was not the Divine Realm itself, but the Black Nest Mountain standing by the sea not far away. Black Nest Mountain got its name from its dark body and the numerous honeycomb-like holes on its surface. Due to its proximity to the Divine Realm, the observation post had been abandoned. Until two months ago, when the Elder Dragon and the Elder Princess Dragon were observed active in Black Nest Mountain, the high-risk observation post was reactivated. To minimize the impact, the guild dispatched only two investigators. The biggest mystery the guild wanted to understand was why the two Elder Dragons were living so fearlessly near the forbidden zone. This was ecologically incomprehensible. However, as the two observers began their observations, they realized that this anomaly was just the beginning. Since the observations began, the Elder Dragon and the Elder Princess Dragon did only three things every day: eat combustible minerals, spread Elder Dragon dust, and take walks. This ecological behavior was unprecedented in history. The most plausible inference from the data sent back to the guild for analysis was that they were preparing for mating and reproduction. When the two investigators received the research report, they exclaimed it was nonsense and felt the guild had wasted the observational records they had risked their lives for. However, after flipping through the submitted observation records, which repeatedly documented eating combustible minerals, spreading Elder Dragon dust, and taking walks, with nothing else, they quickly resigned themselves. Yes, the problem was not with them, nor was it the guild's fault. The strangeness of the two dragons' behavior had reached an incomprehensible level. Just as the two thought today would pass as usual, a ray of light flashing through the clouds quickly caught their attention. Covered by volcanic dust, they hadn't seen sunlight for a long time and felt a little joy. But they soon realized that this was the deepest part of the volcano, so where was the sunlight coming from? Moreover, the gap in the dust layer that allowed sunlight to penetrate was drifting forward along with a mass of dark clouds. *Whoosh~* As the dark clouds dissipated, the gap in the dust layer quickly closed, and the sky became dark again. A figure emitting a metallic dark glow descended onto Black Nest Mountain, swaying erratically.
"Steel Dragon!" The two investigators exclaimed the name of the arrival in unison.
*Clang!* The Elder Dragon approached the Steel Dragon that had fallen before it, looking particularly surprised. The Elder Princess Dragon, licking its claws while lying down, did not get up. Its lion-like head lifted, and it observed. The Steel Dragon, struggling to support itself, let out a low growl. The Elder Princess Dragon stood up and suddenly let out a fierce roar, causing the dust particles swirling around it to brighten. The Steel Dragon, unafraid, responded with a loud roar. As the two dragons confronted each other, the Elder Dragon walked between them and growled a few times at the Steel Dragon. The Steel Dragon took two steps back and, with difficulty, flapped its wings to hover and take flight. The Elder Dragon and the Elder Princess Dragon walked to the furthest point of their usual stroll, also flapping their wings and slowly ascending. However, at an altitude of only about ten meters, they began to flap their wings to maintain their hover. In contrast, the Steel Dragon flew to an altitude of a hundred meters, where several air currents converged around it, spinning rapidly. *Whoosh~* A faint orange light flashed. The Elder Dragon dust drifting over Black Nest Mountain instantly ignited in a chain reaction. Orange-yellow and azure leaf-shaped light spots spread throughout the area, like countless shining eyes opening simultaneously. The observation post was on the top of the hill. Watching the Elder Dragon dust ignite in the air. Although the concentration was far less than that on Black Nest Mountain, the resulting explosion would still be unbearable for the two investigators. They decided to retreat to the back slope of the hill and continue observing after the explosion subsided. At this time, the Steel Dragon, caught in a massive tornado in the sky, was no longer visible. *Roar! Roar!* As the Elder Dragon and the Elder Princess Dragon roared simultaneously, the Elder Dragon dust accumulated on Black Nest Mountain for a long time was ignited. *Boom! Boom!* Two giant fireballs, as dazzling as the sun, exploded and flashed. A terrifying wave of heat, as if to engulf everything, spread along the contours of the mountain. As if hearing a signal, the Steel Dragon fully controlled the wind, releasing its gathered tornado towards Black Nest Mountain. The tornado inhaled the heatwave, and the orange-yellow and azure flames spun rapidly in the wind, quickly transforming into a scorching tornado with shimmering golden light spots. *Wooo~ Wooo~ Wooo~* Wherever the scorching tornado passed, the dense holes in Black Nest Mountain let out low moans. The hot wind with golden light spots rapidly flowed into the mountain's cavities. Although the tornado appeared scorching and massive, it rapidly diminished after being injected in large quantities. The orange-yellow sky soon returned to darkness. The two investigators deduced that the explosion had ended and quickly ran to the top of the hill to observe. White mist was continuously emerging from the holes covering the mountain, and the orange-yellow light emanating from within pulsed slowly like breathing. At this moment, they had a feeling that the trembling Black Nest Mountain seemed to have come alive.