The sky was once again obscured by a shower of pink.
Sensing it was too late to expel liquefied vital energy and accumulate the nascent crystals, a large number of nascent insects rushed directly into the red flames burning on the surface of the Nether Dragon.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The fiercely burning red flames rapidly surged.
The Nether Dragon once again crawled low to the ground, extending its left wing foot forward, though it shifted slightly towards Meowmeowzi's position.
"The attack isn't aimed directly... The Nether Dragon is trying to escape!"
Li Fan immediately saw through its intention.
Screech! Boom!
Propelled by the explosive red flames, the Nether Dragon slid at high speed, close to the ground.
Bang! Its left wing foot slammed into the rock wall, and after an abrupt stop, it was immediately withdrawn.
Bang! Bang!
The Nether Dragon, now upright, drove its two wing feet into the rock strata and, using its not-so-developed pair of forelimbs, began to climb upwards.
"There are too many nascent insects, I can't intercept it in the air!"
Yodora informed him.
Having achieved human-like overcoming of the anomaly, the insect poison posed no threat to Yodora. However, the incessant biting and swarming of the massive number of nascent insects in the air was something a human could not endure.
"It's alright, it can't possibly climb to the top. Just move directly to the predicted impact point."
Li Fan informed her.
He was confident that even if it could break through the combined obstruction of Meowmeowzi and Juejuezi, there was Huìhuì at the top, along with the Valkyrie-like Fiolina, and countless rapid-fire cannons.
The possibility of it climbing to the top and breaking through was almost zero.
At this moment, Meowmeowzi and Juejuezi had already broken through the insect swarm's blockade, attacking the Nether Dragon from both sides.
Roar!
The Nether Dragon's head whipped back, and it let out a furious roar, signifying that no one would stop it!
Buzz!
A crimson beam spat from its inverted maw struck the half-wing of Meowmeowzi's protective body.
Whoosh! Whoosh! ...
Meowmeowzi, continuously retreating downwards, flapped its single wing to continue its ascent.
Gash!
On the other side, Juejuezi's trident tail pierced into the right wing foot, which was covered in gaping wounds.
Crack! Snap!
The trident tail, deeply embedded in the wound, forcefully opened, firmly anchoring its tail to the wing foot.
Juejuezi stopped flying, its body hanging upside down. It then retracted its cloak-like wings in front of it, and a dense black aura emanated from its body.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pulled by the instantaneous [Shadow Rush], the right wing foot, which had been firmly dug into the rock wall, detached.
With only one wing foot left to maintain its climb, the Nether Dragon slid downwards, and its dark red beam attack, intended to suppress Meowmeowzi, missed.
Meowmeowzi, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity and quickly ascended.
The Nether Dragon's attack couldn't catch up before Meowmeowzi leaped above its head.
Bang! Its right claw struck the skull, emitting a dull thud.
The left wing foot, subjected to immense force, could no longer hold. The Nether Dragon's body tilted backward, and it began to fall.
"Dilu! Fire!"
Li Fan, on the pig's back, had arrived near the estimated impact point.
Swiping with its cat claws to drive away the surrounding nascent insects, Dilu once again raised its crossbow launcher.
Bang!
Amidst the swarm of nascent insects, the ascending flare signal rocket brushed past the falling Nether Dragon.
One plunged into the earth, while the other flashed and bloomed in the air.
Facing the sudden influx of a massive number of nascent insects, Fiolina and her Kingdom Knight Hunting Party had already prepared to descend and rescue.
However, due to the imminent firing of the Dragon Piercer, they could only wait briefly.
"Li Fan, Yodora, you must hold on..."
Fiolina murmured as she looked down at the Abyss Calamity Hell. Then, the Dragon Piercer, fired according to guidance at the marked position on the battlefield, shot straight down.
Whoosh! Hiss!
The Dragon Piercer, which had pierced from its back, had only broken in half from the heavy impact of its fall.
The Nether Dragon, not expecting another one, then had a second one pierce directly into its abdomen.
Struggling to flip over, it assumed a sideways prone position. The Nether Dragon panted heavily, and the dark red flames burning on its nascent crystals began to dim.
The nascent insects also began to consciously fly away from the Abyss Calamity Hell.
Whoosh! Swoosh!
The Dragon Heat Mechanism's flame attack suddenly subsided, as Yodora realized there was no longer any need to attack.
Roar! Roar! ...
The Nether Dragon looked up at Meowmeowzi hovering in mid-air and seemed to ask, "You carry an aura that I intensely detest. Are you their envoy?"
Roar!
Meowmeowzi replied, "No, I ate one of them."
The Nether Dragon was stunned.
Roar?
"Is it Miraboreas?"
The Nether Dragon asked with a trembling roar.
So it was the Black Dragon who attacked. But if even mentioning its name evoked such fear, how could it seek revenge?
Li Fan found this behavior abnormal.
Roar! ... Roar!
Meowmeowzi indicated it didn't know the other's name, only that its flesh harbored various attributes and was very difficult to digest.
Roar! ... Roar! Roar! Roar!
"Still not dead... That's great! That's great!"
The dying Nether Dragon suddenly let out an excited roar.
"Should we finish it off now?"
Yodora asked warily.
She didn't understand the meaning of its roar, only feeling that it was preparing for a desperate resistance.
"No need."
Li Fan raised his hand to stop her.
He suddenly understood that the Nether Dragon's fear earlier was not of the Black Dragon, but of the Black Dragon dying too soon, which would render its accumulated grudges meaningless.
Roar! Roar! ... Oh~
"In your current state, it won't be long before it appears. Take me with you..."
The Nether Dragon, continuously emitting dull roars, suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood.
Roar! Roar! ... Roar!
Meowmeowzi replied, "No, Li Fan won't allow it... and, you are food!"
Roar! Uh...
"Take my hatred... kill it..."
The Nether Dragon tried to say more, but the luster on the surface of its cloudy eyes had already dimmed.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Meowmeowzi flapped its wings, circling in the air, clearly contemplating which part would be more suitable to eat.
Chirp!
A crack appeared at the top of the Nether Dragon's skull, and a nascent insect, emitting a faint pink fluorescence, flew out.
Bang! The once rigid head suddenly relaxed and plunged into the soil.
The flow of the nascent insect swarm suddenly changed. They all adhered to the circular rock wall of the Abyss Calamity Hell, flying in a circle.
Seeing that the Nether Dragon was dead, yet the nascent insects were still responding to some guidance, Yodora couldn't understand.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know either. Perhaps that peculiar nascent insect is the key to guiding the swarm, or perhaps..."
"It is the Nether Dragon itself." This horrifying speculation ultimately remained unspoken.
Because the situation had changed so rapidly, Li Fan was also somewhat confused.
The peculiar nascent insect, though only emitting a faint glow, illuminated everything around it brightly.
Meowmeowzi, suspended in the air, was about to reach out with its claws when the peculiar nascent insect flapped its wings, lightly evaded, then circled to its thorny back and slowly descended.
Meowmeowzi not only had nascent insects parasitizing it but also giant nascent insects that had recently flooded the ecosystem, so it naturally didn't pay them much attention.
"Meowmeowzi! Stop looking for good spots to bite, just eat it quickly."
Li Fan reminded it.
Monsters like this, which were ecological enemies, had their corpses buried for harmless disposal.
So, before the hunter team arrived, it was better to let Meowmeowzi eat it.
Meowmeowzi immediately complied, descending diagonally beside the Nether Dragon. It used its forelimbs to hold it steady and then began to tear at it with its sharp teeth.
Li Fan opened his handheld device to check and saw a skill called [Dominator's Nascent Insect] in Meowmeowzi's skill list. However, this was not the most surprising thing.
"Eight-star rating..."
Seeing Meowmeowzi's star rating, Li Fan was somewhat shocked.
He had always thought that the first to break through the seven-star rating in the monster team would be Xiao Ming, and Shanshan and Huìhuì also had hope.
Well... it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. Having eaten through the Safi'jiiva and the Ruiner Nergigante, coupled with the parasitism of the Dominator's Nascent Insect, which could lead and control nascent insects, its individual combat power combined with its ability to influence the ecosystem was enough for Meowmeowzi to reach eight-star level.
Li Fan pondered for a moment and felt it wasn't that outrageous.
After devouring the Nether Dragon's corpse, Meowmeowzi and Huìhuì withdrew one after another.
Climbing the rope ladder back to the top of the giant pit, cheers erupted from the camp.
"It's so good that you're all safe!"
Fiolina, usually composed, was very emotional.
"This time, we owe a lot to the Nergigante, the Brachydios also contributed significantly... and the monsters from the Five Dragon Night Parade."
Li Fan informed them.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help at all. I wanted to wait until the Nether Dragon climbed high enough before striking it with a heavy blow..."
Fiolina said with regret.
"You are an excellent hunter and have performed admirably. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Li Fan advised her.
"You have defeated the abyssal demon and are the king's true heroes. I would like to invite both of you to the royal capital to meet the king. Please believe me, you will receive the highest courtesy, and the king will certainly bestow the highest commendation of the kingdom."
Galeas said excitedly.
"The squad has an urgent contract to handle, so we don't have time to meet His Majesty the King. If possible, I hope you can help deliver a secret letter."
Li Fan declined.
"No problem, I will take the fastest hunting ship out of port and personally escort the letter. I will definitely deliver it immediately."
Galeas guaranteed.
"This... my time limit is that it must be delivered to the king one month from now."
Li Fan informed him.
"Leave it to me."
This request was quite strange, but since Li Fan had made it, Galeas still agreed.
"Thank you, Admiral Galeas. I hope we have opportunities to cooperate in the future."
The next night, the brightly lit Elgard held a celebration.
The squad did not participate but quietly departed from the port on the Braveheart.
"Strange, I didn't stay long, but I can't help but feel nostalgic as we leave."
On the deck, Yodora sighed as she watched the lights on the shore recede.
"Perhaps it's because we poured our efforts into it."
Li Fan speculated.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Hmm... Summarize the causes of overcoming the anomaly, have the monsters start experimenting, find materials for Shanshan's Mantis Captain, sort out the tendencies of the major powers to prevent anyone from disrupting the plan, gather monsters... it seems these are all that can be done."
Li Fan said his next plan while deep in thought.
Although the content was somewhat scattered, he couldn't think of anything else that could assist in future combat.
"We have defeated the forbidden, and we can do it this time too!"
Yodora said with great confidence.
"That's right, but we still need to prepare for the worst."
"What is the worst-case scenario?"
Yodora asked, confused.
"Abandon everything and let Huìhuì take me far away."
"No, what about the Tai Mei Xiong tribe? We've even planned for the expansion of the ranch."
"I have enough spirit spheres, I can put them in spheres and take them away."
"What about Village Chief Bazeli, Yin Tie, Da Ju, and Shireen?"
Mentioning these names, Li Fan fell silent.
"Don't think about escaping. No matter what happens, I will bear it with you."
"It's not about escaping. Remember the sudden disappearance of those four hunters? Although all traces of their existence were erased, at least the world is safe."
Yodora was stunned.
"Is there a possibility... that it is precisely because of their brave efforts that the world became safe, meow! So don't rush to sacrifice yourself!"
Dilu mustered its courage and voiced its opinion.
"I'm only talking about the worst-case scenario, you don't need to worry so much. In actual combat, who knows, the opponent might be defeated after just one round of attacks from the monsters."
Li Fan reassured them.
"You don't need to worry either. Even if you disappear, I will definitely find you."
"Meow, me too!"
"Thank you all in advance. But with the three of us here, who is piloting the Braveheart?"
Li Fan asked curiously.
"Ah! We have to go back quickly, meow!"
Dilu said, then ran towards the helm.
The next day, the squad arrived at the Coral Dragon Palace Ancient City.
Puff and Xiao Gang not only lived there comfortably but also provided a sanctuary for various insect swarms.
Nascent insects rarely preyed on insects, but their impact on the ecosystem indirectly affected the insects' habitats, leading to a sharp decline in their numbers.
The Dragon Palace Ancient City's ecosystem was not large, but fortunately, there were no nascent insects involved.
Moreover, the two monsters inhabiting the area were very friendly, making it a haven for insects.
Li Fan had originally intended to retrieve Puff and Xiao Gang and head to the Flame Village area on the opposite shore.
However, seeing Puff surrounded by insects, it seemed he had been greatly inspired recently and might be able to form seven-colored bubbles or attract seven-colored ghost firebirds. Thus, he let the two monsters stay.
In the evening, the Braveheart docked at the port of Flame Village.
Puxian, who had been busy dealing with anomalies all day, still managed to make time to welcome and entertain them at home.
Halfway through the meal, Li Fan presented a blueprint.
"Is this a design for a city gate?"
Puxian glanced at it and asked curiously.
"Hmm... sort of."
"This specification is too exaggerated. Even the gate of a stronghold defending against the Hundred Dragon Night Parade only uses half this thickness."
"Is the difficulty of the thickness in the craftsmanship?"
Li Fan inquired.
"Not really. The main difficulty lies in transportation, installation, and cost. Even if the metal gate of the Emerald Leaf Fortress was entirely sourced from the village's mines, it was still an astonishing expense."
Puxian said with a pained expression.
"I want to build a fire-resistant city gate according to the specifications in the blueprint. How much would it cost?"
Li Fan asked.
"It's not a matter of money. Even if this gate were actually built, you wouldn't be able to take it away."
Puxian stated the key issue.