The destruction left by the battle stretched from the coast inland, requiring a redrawing of the map for approximately one-third of the Everfrost Tundra. However, given the limited exploration capabilities of the Moon辰 base, which had not ventured beyond the frequently traveled paths of the hunter teams, the impact would not be significant.
The number of monsters affected and subsequently killed could not be ascertained at this time. The residual energy in the soil consisted of two types: life energy and unknown energy. The unknown energy was identical to that found on the Lava Island and could be confirmed to be related to the dragon-elemental energy released by the Black Dragon. This energy could attract large numbers of monsters, leading to prolonged battles. The few powerful individuals that emerged victorious, under the sustained influence of the energy, would undergo extreme mutations. Specific examples could be seen in the special individuals sighted on the Lava Island, such as the Savage Deviljho and the Hellfire Rathalos.
"Is that about it..." Li Fan, who was writing the ecological report, stopped at this point and took out his handheld device.
Not long after, aboard the Flame Fire, Pachi looked on in utter shock as the Poké Balls on the ship's floor bounced erratically. "Kuku! Did Meng Han and the others succeed, meow?" he asked. The Poké Ball containing Kuku bounced even more vigorously. "Uh... uh... I need to stay calm, meow! Li Fan taught me, if Kuku receives a signal, I must issue the return voyage order as captain!" Pachi, feeling the weight of his responsibility, straightened his captain's hat and ran to the deck.
*Whoosh~ Bang!*
A sapphire flare burst open in the morning sun. "That's... an order to gather and return, issued by Li Fan and Yudora!" Aibo, standing on the ship's deck, exclaimed in disbelief. "It must be a mistake?" Diyuan surmised.
*Whoosh~ Bang!*
Another flare exploded. Shortly after, Fray and the guild's expedition leaders arrived in the captain's cabin of the guild's flagship. "What Azure Star? I don't know them. Having the fleet sail towards the direction of the Forbidden Zone is impossible, and it doesn't align with the guild's assigned mission," the bearded captain stated firmly. "Please believe our captain, the signal was sent by..." Aibo was interrupted by the captain. "I don't care who it was." Fray crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, "Captain, the Azure Star is also a member of the Dragon History Institute's top hunter team. I hope you can consider it." "That makes it even more impossible! The only time I've ever been late in my life as a captain was because of them. Just thinking about it makes me angry. Hunting a special individual for days, fighting a Great Jaggi, all in extreme sailing conditions, and Vegaša still needed it urgently transported to East Doludoma. During that time, I was sailing even in my dreams, but we were still late." Seeing the gritting-teeth captain, Fray knew he had miscalculated. On the main continent, the Dragon History Institute's top hunter team had far greater renown than the Azure Star, but they were not necessarily objects of admiration for everyone. "Well... sorry to bother you," Fray said with a helpless expression.
"Hey! If we arrive at the main continent as planned and then return, it will waste a lot of time!" a senior leader squeezed through the crowd, saying with great dissatisfaction. "I am only responsible for executing the guild's evacuation plan. If you have any complaints, you can speak to the guild master after we dock, but that will be after the fleet arrives at East Doludoma on time." The senior leader's gaze darkened upon hearing this. The bearded captain was indeed carrying out an evacuation, and his actions were not problematic. The guild authorities of the Star and Moon divisions were inherently unable to extend their reach to the ship. The guild higher-ups who could make a ruling would likely adopt the investigation team's proposal, but the problem was that communication between the two parties was impossible before docking. The investigation team members fell silent for a moment and could only leave the captain's cabin in frustration.
The helmsman, seeing that only he and the captain remained, curiously asked, "Captain, didn't you say before that it was an honor to transport the corpses of so many special individuals?" The captain, who was looking at the nautical chart, looked up and retorted, "When did I ever say that!" "Uh... you said it when you were drunk... or maybe I remembered wrong." "You remembered wrong. Steer the ship properly, and pay close attention to the sea conditions when we turn later." "Yes, Captain! ...Huh? Why are we turning..." The helmsman couldn't understand at first, but soon looked enlightened. "But if we go back now, it will inevitably cause another delay when we return to the main continent." The worried helmsman sighed. "Since we've already been delayed once, what's one more time... If it comes to it, we can just tell the guild we encountered a Kushala Daora en route, especially since we've already encountered the Forbidden Ones." "You can even come up with that excuse, you truly are the captain."
Not long after, seven giant ships, led by the flagship, set sail back towards the New World. On the Everfrost Tundra, Li Fan finished tallying the injuries of the monster team and began to formulate treatment plans. Huìhuì, due to passively absorbing too much dragon-elemental energy from the Black Dragon, was experiencing some emotional instability. Although she wouldn't go mad and mutate into a Crimson Comet Dragon, she was still assigned to the Dragonator Crystal Lands for recuperation. Shǎnshǎn was extremely dejected due to the destruction of the Giant Serpent Ruins. Li Fan comforted her, explaining that similar bone structures could be found in the upper layers of the瘴气之谷 (Miasma Valley), and that the Giant Serpent Ruins had not sacrificed themselves in vain; they had withstood most of the impact of the final judgment at a critical moment to protect the team. Shǎnshǎn, with her spirits gradually improving, decided to return to the Miasma Valley. Among the main combat monsters, Xiǎo Míng had the most severe injuries; currently, only his neck could move, and he had no other functional limbs. However, his mental state was the best. He constantly described his vision for a new kingdom in his consciousness, appearing full of hope for the future. Li Fan placed him in a healing sphere and, once his condition stabilized, would send him to the Dragonator Crystal Lands for further recuperation.
After properly settling the monsters, the remaining task was the disposal of the corpses of the fallen monsters: the Elder Dragon, the Black Dragon, and the Miasma Corpse Wyvern. These monsters, even when alive, possessed traits that defied comprehension, existing as mysteries to humans. There was no precedent for handling their corpses after death; a single mistake could potentially trigger a new ecological disaster. "In that case, the Miasma Valley is indeed an important part of the ecosystem..." Li Fan mused. If the New World's ecosystem were functioning normally, after extracting the key materials, the corpses could simply be discarded into the Miasma Valley to return to nature. Now, it was troublesome; where to bury them and what subsequent impact it would have on the ecosystem were serious considerations. As for crafting armor and weapons, even if some craftsman were to defy the taboo and create something miraculous, equipment made from Black Dragon materials would likely carry an extremely high risk of mental confusion, rendering it almost unusable. The Miasma Corpse Wyvern was even more problematic; it absorbed life force from its surroundings to sustain itself. While this ability might seem appealing, prolonged wear would lead to fungal infestation of the brain, turning the wearer into a zombie, a chilling thought. The Elder Dragon's ability might not be as grim as the other two, but considering the uncontrollable ambition it ignited, Li Fan felt it was best to proceed with caution. In movies and anime, there were many instances of characters whose ambition and desires were completely ignited by wearing certain equipment, leading to personality distortion. What was even more critical was that with his current monster team, Li Fan might indeed have the power to conquer all human factions and become the absolute ruler of the Monster Hunter world. However, he did not wish to do so. Traveling to see the scenery by airship, tasting exotic Felyne food, and interacting with various monsters were, in his eyes, far more liberating than being a ruler. Nevertheless, as a precaution, he decided to set aside some materials, specifically from the Elder Dragon and the Black Dragon; the Miasma Corpse Wyvern was not even under consideration.
Before he could act, Dilu announced a very peculiar discovery: the Miasma Corpse Wyvern had "revived." As several spore sacs on its body simultaneously contracted and expanded, the Miasma Corpse Wyvern rose from the sunken pit. It attempted to move its left foreclaw forward several times, but upon realizing the broken joint could not support its weight on the ground, it simply lifted its left foreclaw into the air, maintaining a stiff, suspended posture, and moved forward using its remaining three claws to bear its body. "What is happening?" Yudora, observing from a distance, was very curious about the basic crawling motion being so stiff. "It's completely controlled by fungi now. The fungi might be adapting," Li Fan speculated. "What about the former Corpse Wyvern, meow..." Dilu asked with some concern. After all, for whatever reason, it had fought to the death, providing some restraint against the Black Dragon. "It's dead," Li Fan answered. "It looks quite threatening. Should we eliminate it while we have the chance?" Yudora inquired. "Although it comes from the darker side of the ecosystem, it doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful. If its movements can be confined to the lower levels of the Miasma Valley, it would be the best replacement for the Corpse Wyvern," Li Fan explained. "Uh... yes. The reason the Corpse Wyvern wanted to escape and find death as release was because it still had consciousness. But the Miasma Corpse Wyvern doesn't. It will only wander forever in search of survival, guided by the fungi." Yudora suddenly understood.
*Hiss~ Hiss~*
As there were no contiguous leaves in the vicinity, the spore sacs, constantly expelling and inhaling miasma, sensed that the current environment was not suitable for survival and sent biological signals internally. *Bang~ Bang~...* The Miasma Corpse Wyvern, with its uncoordinated charge, gradually disappeared from view. "Next, we'll extract materials from the Black Dragon." With the bizarre revival investigated, Li Fan began to plan the next course of action.
"Li Fan, does every prosperous ecosystem have a Corpse Wyvern, meow?" Dilu asked curiously, tilting its head on the way. "Yes," Li Fan replied. "Ah! You're so sure, meow?" Dilu felt that he had answered without even thinking. "Perhaps the ecosystem... no, perhaps the rules of the world's operation are such that someone must bear the darkest parts. The prosperous ecosystem of the New World might just be a microcosm," Li Fan expressed his opinion. "I have a question too," Yudora raised her hand. "Go ahead." "Will Xiǎo Míng... grow into a forbidden monster like the Black Dragon in the future?" Yudora asked softly. "It's possible... but we'll be long dead by then, so worrying is useless," Li Fan said frankly. "Alright, compared to Elder Dragons, human lifespans are indeed too short... What's that sound?"
*Screech~ Screech...*
Hearing the tearing sound, Yudora quickly ran to the top of a raised mound and looked in the direction of the sound. "Deviljho! It's eating the Black Dragon's corpse!" "Ah? It's already eating!" Li Fan exclaimed, and the team hurried over. Upon reaching them, the two and the cat felt a chill. The Deviljho was standing on the Black Dragon, pinning it with its claws and attempting to bite its arm. However, due to the hardness of the inverse shell and its difficulty in being peeled off, it was eating with great difficulty. "You didn't even contribute, so why are you eating?" Li Fan scolded in dissatisfaction while stepping back behind Yudora. The Deviljho raised its wings, which were full of holes and damage, and as large patches of spines fell off, it let out a series of low roars. *Roar~ Roar~ Roar...* Yudora and Dilu immediately looked at Li Fan. "Docking, white light, lost consciousness, fell into the water, docked again, black light, lost consciousness, fell into the water, woke up and continued docking, black light, lost consciousness, woke up and docked successfully, started eating!" Li Fan provided the translation. "What kind of experience is that?" Yudora asked curiously. "It just chose the timing of its entry too well. It didn't dodge any of the three ultimate attacks, but because it was on the outer edge, it managed to survive each time." Li Fan explained. "Is that considered lucky or unlucky..." "It's lucky, otherwise, if it had arrived on the battlefield, we wouldn't have been able to use recovery spheres for rescue," Li Fan replied.
*Roar?*
Seeing the team seemingly discussing it, the Deviljho let out a questioning roar. "Keep eating, just try not to bite the shell too much." Theoretically, the flesh of the Black Dragon could be used for Felyne cooking, and it might even provide buffs to all elemental attributes and increase resistance to all elements. But the question was, who would dare be the first to try it and verify its effects? Since the Deviljho was willing to eat it, and Li Fan had the trouble of cleaning up the corpse and extracting materials, it was best to let it handle the task. Seeing the clumsy Deviljho struggling to get a piece of meat after so long, Li Fan clenched his fists and couldn't help but offer guidance: "There isn't much meat on the arm, and the shell is thick. You should eat from the chest inwards... yes, right there... Don't put your head in, it will restrict the movement of your arms. Use your strongest foreclaw to pull it out and eat... Ah! You're so clumsy, don't put both foreclaws in at once, just one, so you can extend it as far forward as possible." Eagerly, Li Fan even lifted Dilu to demonstrate. The Deviljho tried to follow suit, placing its head against the outside of its chest and using one claw to scratch and pull. *Splat~* Seeing the sharp claws grasp a large piece of bloody meat and bring it back, the Deviljho's eyes narrowed, and it let out two pleased roars. "Hmm~ Not bad," Li Fan nodded in approval. Yudora and Dilu exchanged glances, feeling that Li Fan wasn't much more normal than the Deviljho.
Just as it was about to put the meat into its mouth, the Deviljho suddenly seemed to remember something and raised its claw towards the team, waving it gently. *Splat~* A piece of unknown bloody meat hit the mud in front of the team. Seeing dark red blood splattering onto the cat's fur, Dilu froze for a moment before erupting in a cry, "No, meow!" Then, it quickly took out a handkerchief and rubbed vigorously with its paws.
Zhao Lala reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.