On the sea, Paffy, carrying the healing ball with Togepi inside, gradually sailed away.
Li Fan summoned Meowth, who was busy searching for parasitic insects, to his side.
"Meowth, I need some parasitic insect samples. Is there a way?"
Meow~
Meowth blinked, indicating yes, but Li Fan had to stay far away.
The team immediately retreated to a distance and hid behind a rock.
Meowth dug its claws into the ground, baring its fangs in a ready stance.
"So ferocious! Is it trying to scare the parasitic insects out, meow?" Dilu exclaimed.
"I'm not sure yet, but Meowth should have its own way," Li Fan speculated.
Sss~ Sss~...
Spines with a shining silver metallic luster began to grow rapidly.
Whoosh~
Meowth leaped up, flipped its body, and slammed its back onto the ground.
Boom! Sss! Sss! Sss!...
Countless spines shot out.
The two humans and one cat who had peeked out quickly retreated back behind the rock.
The commotion quickly subsided. After the team approached to investigate, they found parasitic insects impaled at the tips of four sharp spines.
"Completely pink, with bat-like wings, and its body is like..." Dilu, who was observing and recording, suddenly stopped.
"Its body is like a Dragonite's neck," Li Fan supplied.
"That's right, meow! What an apt comparison." Dilu praised, then continued to record, and carefully collected the samples in a glass bottle.
"Why do I feel like this one is a bit big?" Yudora, who was observing, voiced her doubt.
"It does seem so... Could it be because Meowth's energy is abundant?" Li Fan quickly noticed the difference.
*Pfft*~
As they were talking, the observed parasitic insect detached itself from the spines piercing its body by flapping its wings close to the ground.
After failing to take flight, it slowly crawled towards Yudora.
"Let's catch a sample and see," Li Fan said, throwing a Diamond Ball.
*Tsk*~ *Tsk*~ *Tsk*...
After trembling three times, the capture was complete.
Li Fan took out his handheld device to check.
HP: 50/421↑
Status: Critically injured, severe puncture wounds, blood loss, host locked, desire to survive, betrayed by leader, energy surge.
Level: 18↑
Strength: 11↑
Agility: 69↑
Intelligence: 31↑
Skills: This monster is undergoing energy amplification mutation, with all attributes comprehensively enhanced.
Parasitic insects inhabit the surface of large monsters. By constantly changing their host location, they can continuously absorb the monster's life force and store it within themselves.
When parasitic insects sense powerful small creatures, they will first attempt to inject a venomous agent. If the target does not die within a certain period, the parasitic insect will leave its swarm and prioritize parasitizing the small creature's surface.
Note: There is a limit to the number of parasitic insects that can parasitize the surface of a small creature simultaneously.
This monster can cooperate closely with other monsters of the same species.
The life force absorbed, through the parasitic insect's internal circulation, will produce mutated劫血 (Jie Blood). Once injected, it will grant the host significant enhancements to all their abilities.
Parasitic insects venturing out to collect life force may abandon their current host if they find a better host with superior parasitic conditions.
Description: An insect shrouded in mystery.
Possessing terrifying traits of both toxicity and life-force absorption, it is extremely dreadful.
"Looking at this, parasitic insects can mutate through their hosts. It's quite complex... and they don't necessarily avoid parasitizing small creatures, they're just a bit picky," Li Fan concluded from the handheld device.
"So, it recognized me and crawled towards me just now?" Yudora asked curiously.
"It's possible, but insect venom is something that should never be trifled with. It's best to inform Fioleine about it." In the game's story, Fioleine was poisoned by insect venom and almost died.
He hadn't expected this to be a sign of recognition from the parasitic insect, but Fioleine wasn't parasitized by it afterward.
Could it be... that there's a human version of overcoming strange phenomena?
As Li Fan pondered, he glimpsed two mutation routes related to parasitic insects.
The first is to allow parasitic insects to parasitize and provide optimal living conditions, becoming the ultimate host.
The second is to constantly stimulate and repeatedly challenge the body, achieving a state of constant overcoming of strange phenomena.
"Finished, meow! Hmm... why is one missing?" Dilu said curiously, looking at the spines after collecting three samples.
"I captured one of them," Li Fan said, shaking the Diamond Ball in his hand.
"It's good that nothing was missed. These flying insects are too dangerous, meow." Dilu clutched her chest with her paw and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the afternoon, the team returned to the public camp within the ruined city walls.
Although the Citadel Heights were not far from the stronghold, Li Fan, with many things to do, had no time to return and submit the contract. Fortunately, the team was already qualified to certify contract progress on their own, so there was no need for monsters to pretend to be corpses; a report was enough to complete the contract certification.
After fabricating a report about the Jyuratodus, Li Fan wrote a letter to Fioleine, informing her of the danger of parasitic insects and sending her one of the samples collected by Dilu. At the end of the letter, he repeatedly emphasized that Fioleine must not provoke the Velkhana and that as soon as research on parasitic insects yielded results, an antidote must be developed immediately.
By evening, the camp's meals included rabbit dumplings and various meats. After the team had eaten their fill, they continued their exploration into the Citadel Heights.
"I wonder how everyone from the Guild is doing, meow," Dilu sighed, looking at the darkened sky.
"Don't worry, traveling with the Guild's fleet, nothing will go wrong," Li Fan reassured her. He then looked at the surroundings and released Chachacha and Odogaron.
After explaining the advantages and disadvantages of parasitic insect mutation, the two dragons became excited and seemed eager to try.
"These two samples are still recovering from injuries, so go easy on them..." Meowth's energy had indeed caused these two parasitic insects to mutate, but recovering from being impaled and near death was not something that could be easily overcome.
Roar~
Roar~
Chachacha and Odogaron both promised to treat them well. Yudora and Dilu exchanged glances, speechless. They had never expected the monster team members to actively allow parasitic insects to parasitize them.
Opening the Diamond Ball, a white light flashed, and a parasitic insect landed on the grass. Chachacha extended its claws, and the parasitic insect, using all its strength, flapped its wings and leaped onto its forearm.
*Plop*~
Without bothering to burrow into its armor, it found a vulnerable spot on the wing membrane. The parasitic insect's suction-cup-like mouth opened and attached itself. Chachacha tilted its head and remained still, appearing completely unfazed.
"With only one and still severely injured, it won't have much of an effect," Chachacha conveyed.
Meow?
Chachacha asked what to do.
"Parasitic insects like powerful monsters. Perhaps you could... raid some. This would also help other monsters escape their suffering," Li Fan suggested.
Roar! Roar!
Boom!...
Chachacha's Dragon Charge activated, and it quickly disappeared.
Then it was Odogaron's turn, but facing a parasitic insect that could barely move, Odogaron suddenly became alert. After repeated probing and confirmation, red light emanated from its eyes, and a large amount of purple ghost fire surged from its body.
"What's wrong with Odogaron, meow?" Dilu asked curiously.
"It seems like 'Hunger's Unrestrained Path' has been triggered... No, that's not right. This skill hasn't been triggered even when fighting the Black Dragon before," Li Fan took out his handheld device to check and confirmed it was indeed activated. He then scanned the skill description.
When the sense of duty becomes strong enough, the Odogaron will enter a berserk feeding mode, greatly enhancing its Strength and Agility attributes by devouring monsters, while its Intelligence attribute will continuously decrease. After the enhancement period ends, the Odogaron will enter a weakened state, with 50% of the temporarily gained enhanced attributes permanently retained.
"The last time 'Sense of Duty' was activated was during the Hundred Beasts Night Hunt. This time, Odogaron must be targeting the Valstrax," Li Fan deduced, though he still didn't quite understand the mechanism for triggering 'Sense of Duty.'
The parasitic insect landed on Odogaron's back. Although it triggered the 'Hunger's Unrestrained Path,' Odogaron showed no resistance to being parasitized. It even arched its back to allow the parasitic insect to parasitize it comfortably.
"It's good that it's triggered. You'll gain quite a bit of attribute enhancement, but be careful about the continuous decrease in Intelligence," Li Fan instructed before Odogaron leaped into the forest.
"All three monsters are looking for parasitic insects. Won't that be enough?" Yudora asked curiously.
"No, the time when parasitic insects become rampant should arrive soon."
"Then what should we do next? Prepare defenses in advance?" Yudora inquired.
"If it doesn't show itself, it's very difficult to reach. I want to track the Velkhana and see if it can be captured." Li Fan voiced his thoughts.
"Alright, let me check the map... The Abandoned Royal Capital is closer from here," Yudora indicated, and the team proceeded in the night.
In the ultimate host mutation branch, Velkhana was undoubtedly the strongest. Once successfully captured, the monster team would have a top-tier technical consultant on this mutation path. In terms of combat power, Velkhana possessed at least the strength of a seven-star Elder Dragon. The only problem now was to devise a flawless capture plan. Otherwise, if Velkhana was severely injured and escaped, Elgado would be in trouble in a while.
The full moon hung in the sky as the team, navigating through the ruins, soon arrived before the dilapidated castle. Yudora floated into the air, using her silk threads to pull Li Fan and Dilu upwards.
"Why isn't it in the castle, meow?" Dilu said with some frustration after observing with her binoculars for a moment.
"Velkhana only occasionally appears inside the castle; not being there is the norm," Li Fan replied.
"Uh... but both the public camp and the stronghold say that the Abandoned Royal Capital's castle is Velkhana's lair, meow. Entering it means being hunted by it." Dilu informed him.
"That's just a legendary rumor. Whether Velkhana truly resides there year-round is another matter, but the surrounding areas would have been extensively sealed off long ago," Li Fan explained. If an Elder Dragon permanently occupied an area, the exclusion zone designated by the Guild would not be as small as just a royal castle.
"I see, meow." After searching for two hours without success, the team landed to rest.
"Then, next... let's head to the deeper icy mountain region," Yudora said, marking it on the map.
"There probably won't be any there. Let's check the swamps instead," Li Fan offered a different opinion.
Roar!
As they were talking, a dragon's roar echoed through the night sky. The team looked up. They realized it was a Rathalos, roaring as it flew. Yudora and Dilu immediately looked at Li Fan.
"Want to suck my blood? You must be tired of living... Is it chasing...?" Li Fan hadn't noticed what the Rathalos was chasing at first. However, combining the content of the roar with the red dots flying in the sky, he quickly identified a cluster of spherical parasitic insects.
Boom! Boom!
Fireballs streaked across the night sky. The cluster of parasitic insects quickly moved left and right, narrowly missing them.
"It seems some monsters have ways to deal with parasitic insect infestations," Li Fan observed approvingly as he looked up.
"Indeed, ordinary monsters wouldn't accept these things parasitizing them," Yudora remarked.
"Uh! What is that, meow!" Following Dilu's pointed paw, they turned to look. In the dim night, a pair of wings with eerie pink wing membranes were flapping in the wind.
Whoosh~
A slender shadow streaked across the ground. The dragon-like figure instantly turned black and disappeared into the night sky. When the figure, accompanied by black mist, reappeared, it was already above the Rathalos. The Rathalos, extremely sensitive to air currents, sensed the anomaly from above and immediately flipped its body, extending its hooked claws.
Whoosh~
A thin black mist dissipated. The Rathalos, which had attacked while upside down, missed and was trying to regain its posture and continue flying when a crisp sound came from its neck.
*Crack*~
This was the sound of its carapace being pierced by sharp fangs.
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!...
The Rathalos flapped its wings with all its might, trying to break free from the opponent's fangs. However, apart from being able to drag it along, it had no effect. Gradually, the flapping of its wings weakened until it stopped. The Rathalos's head lolled to the side, hanging from the opponent's beak-like mouth.
The dragon-like figure rapidly descended, landing on the tallest stone pillar of the castle. Countless scarlet dots spread and climbed from the ground, illuminating the ruined castle in red.
*Pfft*~ *Pfft*~...
The dense sound of bat-like wings flapping came from all directions. A dozen clusters of parasitic insects swarmed in.
"So this is Velkhana..." Yudora said with astonishment. Cunning, ferocious, bizarre... She felt the creature was even more evil than the legends described.
"That move looks like teleportation. It's a bit difficult..." Li Fan considered the challenges of capture. Velkhana spread its wings, revealing the corpse of the Rathalos with its neck held in its mouth. The gathered clusters of parasitic insects swarmed forward, quickly occupying its surface. Soon, Velkhana released its bite, and the Rathalos corpse plummeted downwards, followed by a large number of parasitic insects. It tilted its head, covering its mouth with one wing, and spat out fragments of the Rathalos's carapace. Velkhana looked down with cold eyes.
Roar! A sharp roar echoed from within the castle.
"What did Velkhana say, meow?" Dilu asked anxiously.
"Crude." Li Fan translated after a moment of thought, amidst their surprise.
Zhao Lala reminds you: Please remember to collect after reading.