The purpose of seeking out Jue Jue Zi this time was simple: to have her temporarily withdraw from the Citadel High Ground, allowing Mie Mie Zi to take over.
Previously, the Citadel High Ground was the primary hunting ground for Gnathostomes. Jue Jue Zi would have certainly focused her recruitment efforts there.
Now that they were rampant everywhere, any location would suffice.
"Insomnia?"
After relaying the deployment orders, Li Fan intended to check Jue Jue Zi's status and confirm her health. To his surprise, he encountered a rare negative status effect.
"Awooo~"
Jue Jue Zi, with slightly drooping eyelids, let out a weak roar.
She indicated that while her bodyguards, Che Che and Jin Shi Zi, provided excellent security, their excessive energy led to constant "pillow fights," making it unbearable for her.
As Jue Jue Zi spoke, a massive crashing sound echoed within the ruins of the city walls.
"You've recovered quite a bit. There's no need for bodyguards anymore. Use this time to prepare for battle."
Li Fan informed her.
As for the deployment of Che Che and Jin Shi Zi, Li Fan figured that since they had an abundance of energy, they should go hunt afflicted monsters. This would not only improve their combat experience but also advance their progress in overcoming afflictions.
Upon hearing this plan, the two monsters were ecstatic and quickly departed with excited roars.
Meanwhile, Yuan Jiao was still tirelessly devouring monsters, preparing for his ecological arch-nemesis.
Given that his intelligence attribute was already at zero, Li Fan surmised that communication would be difficult and therefore did not attempt to find him.
As for when the Abyss Dragon would appear, with both Jue Jue Zi and Yuan Jiao possessing warning capabilities, there was no need to worry about failing to detect it. Moreover, the Kingdom was also actively investigating.
Five days later, as giant Gnathostomes flowed into the Citadel High Ground's ecosystem, the rampant spread of Gnathostomes was quickly suppressed.
The hunter teams stationed in the public camps regained their confidence.
However, due to the high activity of monsters like Velkhana, Gold Rathian, Bazelgeuse, and Tigrex, the Citadel High Ground's rating was elevated to an extremely unstable region.
The requirements for accepting all contracts were directly increased by one star.
Many hunter teams with lower star ratings were forced to withdraw.
During this period, the team's daily routine primarily consisted of field investigations and in-depth research into the conditions for overcoming monster afflictions.
At night in the camp, hunters gathered around the campfire, discussing their experiences of hearing terrifying roars near the ruins of the ancient royal city on the outskirts of the Citadel High Ground.
Soon, legends of the destruction of the ancient royal city were brought up.
When the hearts of men are consumed by darkness and the Kingdom falls into turmoil, abyssal demons will appear on the earth.
The abyssal demons will devour the Kingdom, and the souls of the people will become wandering flames, sacrifices to the abyssal demons, and all will return to darkness.
Most of the visiting hunters felt little connection to this legend, but the local hunters and members of the Kingdom's Knight Hunt Group displayed deep fear.
An elderly male member of the Kingdom's Knight Hunt Group recounted the origins of this tale.
A long time ago, the royal capital was built by the sea, much like Elgard.
At that time, the Kingdom was even more prosperous and wealthy than it is now. Even though the inland highlands were teeming with monsters, they still managed to establish a super-large fortress settlement to provide refuge for the Kingdom's citizens.
This area was the predecessor to the Citadel High Ground.
Until one day, the royal capital by the sea suddenly sank into a giant pit that had appeared on the surface, and the Kingdom's prosperity was buried with it.
Several years later, the same giant pit appeared in the fortress settlement, and numerous city-states, protected by towering walls, fell.
However, the terrifying roars that emanated from this pit were meticulously recorded, giving rise to the legend of the abyssal demons.
Due to the fact that both of these major cataclysms involved the appearance of Velkhana, the Kingdom's scholars unanimously concluded that Velkhana was the culprit.
The Kingdom was forced to migrate across the sea once more, facing the Citadel High Ground, their former homeland, across the water.
However, the abyssal demons did not stop there. The giant pit reappeared around the royal capital by the sea. But due to Velkhana's appearance overhead, the culprit was once again identified as Velkhana.
The Kingdom could only relocate inland to escape. The ruins of the former Kingdom are what is now the Elgard branch.
Inside the tent, recalling the historical introduction she had just heard, Eudora sighed, "No wonder many people in the Kingdom hate Jue Jue Zi so much."
"This time, the misunderstanding should be cleared up," Li Fan replied.
"But Velkhana doesn't look like it has the ability to cause the ground to collapse. Was it a misjudgment by the Kingdom's scholars at the time?" Eudora asked curiously.
"The Kingdom suffered such a great disaster; there had to be something to blame. Perhaps at that point in time, who the culprit was no longer mattered," Li Fan offered his insight.
"Alas, hunters are indeed purer... Is the Abyss Dragon very strong?"
"From the perspective of the monster team, it's not particularly strong. In terms of terrain and ecology, it's at an absolute disadvantage. If adequately prepared, Jue Jue Zi could repel it alone, but it is very dangerous," Li Fan informed her.
"A monster that places itself in a disadvantageous environment is truly rare," Eudora said in surprise.
Monsters always try to engage in combat in an environment favorable to themselves.
Elder Dragons, in particular, are known to modify their surroundings.
This was the first time she had heard of a battle taking place in an environment of absolute disadvantage.
"The Abyss Dragon probably wouldn't want to, but without the ability to fly, the only way to reach the surface is through primitive climbing," Li Fan explained.
"Then why did it come to the surface?" Eudora asked curiously.
Li Fan paused, genuinely stumped.
"Yes, why did it come up? The underground is its domain."
Two days later, at the end of the Citadel High Ground, the ruins of the ancient royal capital.
The royal capital, so dilapidated that only its outer walls remained, had sunlight streaming diagonally through the cracks.
Numerous Gnathostomes swirled in the air, adding a faint pink hue to the sunlight.
The Kingdom's Knight Hunt Group, led by Fio Lena, tracked them to this location based on the Gnathostomes' distribution.
"This is... we need to report this to Gareath immediately!"
After glancing into the circular giant pit, Fio Lena immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
Three days later, news of unusual activity at the ruins of the ancient royal capital began to spread.
As it was a place of ill omen for the Kingdom, coupled with the terrifying giant pit, it had another, more fitting name: Abyssal Hell.
Li Fan received this news with remarkable calm.
"Choosing to land there? It's just like the game's plot."
Given the current situation, the spread of Gnathostomes would not cease with the defeat of the Abyss Dragon. Instead, it would lead to a massive influx of Annihilation Gnathostomes into the ecosystem, escalating the calamity.
However, if they allowed the opponent to land on the surface, not only would its environmental disadvantage be lessened, but it might also trigger a greater disaster.
"I'll return to the combat command center first to see the Kingdom's deployment for this operation. If Hui Hui flies over the camp at a low altitude, it means she's detected Yuan Jiao's movement. You guys can set off directly, and we'll meet at Abyssal Hell," Li Fan outlined the plan.
The unusual aspect of this operation was the powerful support the Kingdom could provide, so the team would no longer feel isolated.
For the monster team to coordinate, they needed to understand the Kingdom's combat deployment.
Having overcome various disadvantages and perilous situations in the past, Li Fan did not want to stumble in a situation of absolute advantage.
"Six heavy hunting battleships?"
At the combat command center, Li Fan was quite surprised by the number given by Admiral Gareath.
Aside from the large-scale joint hunt to face Hui Hui, he had never seen such a luxurious combat configuration.
"There are too many areas requiring support at the moment, and we can't recall ships in time. The number of vessels is a bit low, but the material preparations for this operation are very generous. The Kingdom has prepared a hundred rapid-fire cannons alone, and eight Dragonpiercer Ballistas... The deployment of rapid-fire cannons is a bit tricky, as we don't know how the abyssal demon will appear," Gareath said, pointing out the issue of applicability.
The Abyss Dragon did not have a fixed travel route like the Wind Serpent Dragon. Insufficient ecological information made it impossible to predict its movements based on its habits or to conduct diversionary tactics.
If the weapon deployment missed its mark, even the most powerful equipment would be useless.
"Then don't deploy them at fixed points. If the operation takes place at the bottom of the giant pit, you can try air-dropping the rapid-fire cannons," Li Fan suggested.
"Oh? I had that idea before, but I wasn't confident enough to try it. Since Lie Yan shares the same idea, let's give it a shot," Gareath said with a smile.
"There's also a very important matter. I will be luring Velkhana there. I hope to have control over the Dragonpiercer Ballista firing permissions," Li Fan informed him.
"If Velkhana participates, it might be able to inflict considerable wear and tear on the abyssal demon. I agree with this proposal. Additionally, the Kingdom has dedicated signal flares for firing the Dragonpiercer Ballistas, which are perfect for your situation," Gareath immediately understood the implication of Li Fan's words.
In this operation against the abyssal demon, Velkhana would naturally not be the primary target.
However, the various long-range firepower deployments lacked target discrimination.
If Velkhana were to be caught in the crossfire, and it retaliated against the Kingdom's forces, the situation would become uncontrollable.
At this point, someone needed to step forward and provide timely guidance while being present at the scene of the operation.
After completing their exchange, Li Fan studied the combat deployment map, and his assessment of the Abyss Dragon's chances of victory grew lower and lower.
Therefore, his primary research focus shifted to how to minimize injuries to the monster team members and to coordination.
"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!..."
In the mountains of the Citadel High Ground, Yuan Jiao, spewing purple spectral flames, charged forward with roars.
However, unlike the spectacular scene around Honoka Village, no other creatures were summoned or guided to follow, save for a single red spectral bird.
Its solitary figure under the full moon appeared somewhat lonely.
"Awooo~ Awooo~..."
A Glacial Serpent Dragon tilted its head back and roared at the full moon.
Having achieved affliction, it was now brimming with confidence and eager to test its skills against another monster.
Coincidentally, Yuan Jiao, charging under the moonlight, entered the Glacial Serpent Dragon's line of sight.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
After two sharp roars, Yuan Jiao stopped its advance and tilted its head to observe.
After three minutes of eye contact, Yuan Jiao seemed to recall something and continued its charge.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
The Glacial Serpent Dragon let out two sharp roars again.
Yuan Jiao stopped once more and met its gaze.
*Chirrrr~*
Cold air emanated from its body. The impatient Glacial Serpent Dragon bared its sharp claws and rose to its feet.
Yuan Jiao continued to tilt its head, observing silently.
"Awoo!"
The Glacial Serpent Dragon roared angrily, indicating, "I'm provoking you, give me some reaction!"
Yuan Jiao pondered for a long time, then turned its head to look behind it, and let out a series of intermittent low hums.
The meaning was, "Follow me, we're going to do something big."
"Awoo!"
The Glacial Serpent Dragon replied, "Who do you think you are? I might just kill you with my claws later."
...
After staring at the other for three minutes, Yuan Jiao finally straightened its head and continued its charge forward.
This neglect, stemming from its slow reaction, greatly annoyed the Glacial Serpent Dragon, so it placed its front paws on the ground and closely followed.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!~*
Before long, rhythmic heavy paw steps were heard, and Che Che quickly appeared from behind.
"Awooo~ Awooo~"
With its giant paws pounding, Jin Shi Zi followed closely.
*Chirrr~ Chirrr...*
A series of dense wing beats sounded, and then a dragon-shaped shadow swept across the ground. Velkhana, surrounded by a swarm of Gnathostomes, flew in.
The Glacial Serpent Dragon looked up, down, and around. Its previously bared fangs relaxed.
"Awooo~ Awoo?"
Che Che asked, "Who's this? Why are they running with us?"
"Awooo?"
Jin Shi Zi looked over and also found it quite surprising.
"Awooo?"
Jue Jue Zi, tilting its head in confusion, expressed its surprise, "Little Wolf, why are you here too?"
"Awooo... Awoo!"
The Glacial Serpent Dragon hesitated for a moment before replying, "I took a wrong turn! I want to go home!"
"Awoo! Awoo!"
Che Che said, "Then don't leave, let's all follow Yuan Jiao and do something big."
"Awoo! Awoo!"
The Glacial Serpent Dragon said, "The direction you're going is not right. I don't want to participate."
*Chirrr~ Chirrr~*
Yuan Jiao, its four claws on the ground, braked sharply.
"Awooo~ Awooo~"
Yuan Jiao turned its head and said, "Since you've chosen to participate, you can't leave so easily."
The Glacial Serpent Dragon wanted to question why Yuan Jiao's reaction was so much faster this time, but upon seeing the single scarlet eye in its dark eye socket, it immediately fell silent.
It looked left and right, but found no opportunity to escape. Instead, it saw Che Che and Jin Shi Zi staring at it coldly.
"Awooo~ Awooo~"
A moment later, the Glacial Serpent Dragon declared, "I've wanted to do something big for a long time, but I just couldn't find the way. Thank you for taking me."
Yuan Jiao grunted in satisfaction and continued to lead the way.
At noon the next day, members of the Kingdom's Knight Hunt Group gathered by the giant pit in the ruins of the ancient royal capital.
As large quantities of supplies were unloaded and deployed from transport ships, a combat position was quickly established around the pit.
Six heavy hunting battleships waited in formation on the seaward side of the pit.
"This terrain... no wonder Li Fan said it has no advantage."
Eudora, seeing the abyssal pit for the first time, said with realization.
Any monster trapped within, without the ability to fly, could only escape to the surface by climbing the rock walls.
And monsters in a climbing posture have very little ability to counter incoming attacks.
"To cause such a massive collapse, it seems the underground is its domain, meow," Dilu confirmed, recording the observed ecological information.