The Nergigante began to feed.
A few mouthfuls of flesh and blood, and the tears on its wing membranes began to heal. Broken spines detached along with their roots beneath the skin, and new spines regenerated at a visible speed.
"White... aren't Nergigante spikes black, nya?" Di Lu asked curiously, wiping the forbidden blood from her fur.
"Residual energy from the volcanic island's divine realm. Long-term exposure can cause monsters to mutate. Direct consumption of flesh and blood should accelerate the mutation process even further," Li Fan explained.
"Can it handle that?" Yidola hadn't studied monster mutations in depth, but recalling Li Fan's extensive preparations before each mutation, she vaguely felt that the Nergigante's unrestrained consumption of forbidden flesh and blood seemed… problematic.
"It can't be helped. That's just Meow-meow's nature. Remember how excited it was when it heard about the forbidden corpses it could eat? And unlike other elder dragons, Meow-meow has an extraordinary digestive and decomposition system. Besides, if anything goes wrong… I'm the expert here," Li Fan explained.
"Oh! To capture it while the mutation is happening, Li Fan, is this part of your plan too?" Yidola exclaimed in surprise.
"Sort of. If its nature can't be suppressed, some things are bound to happen. At least this way, the capture attempt is guaranteed to be safe." Li Fan swallowed nervously, watching the continuously growing white spikes.
Di Lu, who was observing and recording, noticed the bloodshot veins spreading in the Nergigante's eyes and its increasing salivation. She whispered, "Uh... Li Fan, the Nergigante seems to be getting more excited the more it eats, nya."
"Hmm... something's not right. Kuku fell into a weakened state and almost died after accidentally eating a Rathian's ruby. Why is this one getting more hyped up?" Li Fan observed for a moment, also perplexed.
"Roar~ Roar~ Roar~..."
Intermittent growls emanated from the Nergigante's mouth.
"Cannot let... orderly continuation... cleanse... great existence...."
Li Fan, having finished translating, was stunned.
"Isn't this the will of the Safi'jiiva!" Yidola was equally shocked.
*Hoo~ Hoo~...*
The Nergigante, its face smeared with blood, flapped its wings and ascended into the air.
*Swish!*
One wing folded back and then sprang forward, launching a spike that shimmered with dark light.
*Thwack~*
Li Fan watched the spike embed itself deep into the earth not far in front of him, feeling that the situation had spiraled out of control.
"Roar!"
With a roar that meant "wait for me," the Nergigante flew away. However, it didn't go far before it began to dive towards the ground again.
"Ah! That's the area where the Safi'jiiva's corpse is, nya!" Di Lu cried out, covering her head.
"If its nature can't be suppressed, some things are bound to happen... It seems the Safi'jiiva also understood this principle." Li Fan hadn't expected the Safi'jiiva to transmit its will to the Nergigante in such a manner.
Forbidden corpses were not something to be eaten; ordinary monsters might not even be able to touch them. Only the Nergigante, which preys on elder dragons, was an exception. At the same time, the Nergigante was likely a linchpin in the New World's ecological order, responsible for clearing out factors detrimental to the maintenance of a stable ecosystem. No one knew better than it where the key to destroying the New World's orderly ecosystem lay.
The Xeno'jiiva's surface action was to destroy the Elder's Cradle, but in reality, it was preparing for the next Coral Highlands, the瘴气之谷 (Valley of the Haze), and the Elder's Recess. Such similar, orderly ecosystems, if replicated without restraint, would clearly be unacceptable from a human perspective. However, from a monster's viewpoint, the Xeno'jiiva, bearing the dual responsibility of destruction and rebirth, indeed deserved to be called a great existence.
This, however, brought up a new question: Xiao Ming, who should have known everything, seemed to know nothing. Safi'jiiva, Xeno'jiiva, Vaal Hazak, Namielle, Nergigante. Even among these five confirmed nodes, apart from Vaal Hazak and Namielle, there didn't seem to be any close familiarity.
With this thought, Li Fan began to recall every word Safi'jiiva had spoken to Xiao Ming. "When you master the method of guiding the ley lines, remember to guide the sleeping Xeno'jiiva deeper into the ocean..."
Could it be that the Xeno'jiiva didn't know it was one of the nodes itself, merely acting instinctively around the ley lines while in slumber? Whoever mastered the method of guiding the ley lines would, in effect, control the Xeno'jiiva's actions.
"That's right. They are monsters. Even if they cooperate to build an ecosystem, it might not be in a way that humans can understand," Li Fan mused, sighing. If the five research teams had cooperated in such an unfamiliar manner, the Star Base might have fallen apart long ago.
"Should we stop it?" Yidola asked, looking in the direction the Nergigante had flown.
"No. Let it consume some of Safi'jiiva's flesh and blood to neutralize it. Perhaps there's still a chance to correct its course..." Although the hope seemed slim, Li Fan had no better solution.
"Why does it feel like you're always powerless when facing the Nergigante? Is it particularly special?" Yidola asked, puzzled.
"No, how could it be? Impossible." Li Fan's urgent triple negation surprised both Yidola and Di Lu. He could only explain the most difficult part: "It's mainly because the entire monster squad is injured, and our relationship with the Nergigante is still relatively good... Being familiar with each other makes it harder to act."
"That seems to be the case. If it were an elder dragon showing hostility towards humans, we could just beat it down. But the Nergigante's sighting reports are either about destroying Mycelium tribes or fighting the three elder dragons. And this Xeno'jiiva we're targeting has nothing to do with the squad." Yidola recalled and agreed with the statement. Although there had been a conflict during the operation against the Zorah Magdaros, subsequent investigations revealed that the Nergigante had visited specifically to deal with the Zorah Magdaros.
"It's not that there's no connection. If the Xeno'jiiva were to meet an unfortunate end, Xiao Ming would become a lonely king. Of course, the Nergigante wouldn't succeed so easily... Wait, I've thought of a new capture plan." Li Fan said, suddenly seeing a possibility.
"Ah, let's just do as you say..." Yidola yawned. The squad hadn't had a proper rest for a long time in preparation for confronting the Safi'jiiva. As the excitement and shock subsided, fatigue and sleepiness quickly set in.
"The camp is gone. You guys go back to Astera to rest first. I'll be back immediately after observing the Nergigante's feeding," Li Fan instructed.
"Okay, I'll take Wobbly and bring back the two Sky-Piercing Horns. We can collect the rest of the materials after we've eaten and slept," Yidola agreed, and the squad split up.
The Nergigante fed intermittently until noon, finally finishing the Safi'jiiva. Li Fan observed three changes: increased size, excessive spine growth, and prolonged abnormal excitement. Returning to the empty Astera base, he found Wobbly the little idiot fast asleep on the roof of the Guild Hall, which made him speechless. However, extreme fatigue and exhaustion left him disinclined to think further.
After a day and a night of rest, a heavy snowfall buried the pitted earth in silver. The squad rushed back to the scene to begin collecting materials. The two humans and one cat felt the burden of having too many materials for the first time.
Eight days later, at dawn, the Research Vessel descended over Astera. Patch explained that as they approached the New World, the Research Vessel had broken free from its tow and headed for the Hoarfrost Reach ahead of schedule. The investigation team would be slower to land, needing to observe and assess the threat level, but they would likely arrive soon to restart Astera once they confirmed there were no anomalies.
"Alright, everyone stop playing! Hurry and evacuate!" Li Fan shouted, and the monsters residing in Astera scattered.
Half a day later, Flay and Diyan returned with members of the investigation team.
"There are Great Jagras footprints here!" a researcher in a white padded jacket shouted, pointing at the snow.
"There are Glavenus claw marks on the pillars..." Ni Zhen observed, looking at the wooden pillars in front of the research base.
"Uh... such beautiful golden scale fragments, where did they come from?" Amidst a chorus of confused voices, Astera was reopened. Since the Research Vessel had been towing them all along, no one questioned the squad about what had happened. However, they were curious about how they had provided accurate return guidance. Li Fan's answer was simple: he claimed to have observed two stars, one bright and one dim, colliding and falling, which inspired him. This explanation was somewhat fantastical, even in the Monster Hunter world, but because it came from the Azure Star, its credibility was greatly enhanced.
Late at night, in a desolate snowfield, blue starlight descended to the ground, hovering and decelerating in mid-air.
"Roar~ Roar~"
Two calls rang out.
"The island where the rocks scattered like lotus flowers has been found... Have you detected any traces of the Nergigante or Xeno'jiiva?" Li Fan asked.
"Roar~"
"Only the Nergigante is here... Thank you, Hui Hui. Keep monitoring," Li Fan said. Hui Hui then shot back into the sky and sped away.
"Is it preparing to ambush the Xeno'jiiva on the Island of Origin?" Yidola speculated.
"Yes, but this battle isn't of much concern to the squad. It's more related to the future direction of the ecosystem," Li Fan confirmed.
"With my hunter's intuition, I always feel that the Xeno'jiiva will be a hidden danger. Its ecosystem is too bizarre..." Yidola offered her opinion.
"Safi'jiiva can only be utilized through ley line guidance. It's never been considered to awaken it, perhaps due to its own concerns." Li Fan knew it was difficult to deal with, but to successfully capture Meow-meow and prevent it from being crushed by Safi'jiiva, this battle had to be participated in to some extent.
"What would happen if it woke up?" Yidola asked curiously.
"It's hard to predict, because the concept of the sleeping Xeno'jiiva was given by Safi'jiiva. The Xeno'jiiva itself might have always been awake, but Safi'jiiva perceived it as sleeping. If understood through human ecological cognition, there might be different interpretations," Li Fan explained.
Five days passed in a flash. On the Island of Origin, there was no sign of the Xeno'jiiva appearing. The extremely hungry Nergigante could no longer wait and flew to the Guiding Lands to hunt. The squad, which had been tracking it, decided to follow and explore the local ecosystem. The Guiding Lands was a strange area with numerous ecosystems. Although not very large, it integrated all the ecological environments of the New World. Such obvious traces of artificial construction led Li Fan to speculate that this might be Safi'jiiva's experimental field, specifically for testing ecological stability. The monsters' combat desire here was also exceptionally high. Even with the protection of the four flying dragons—Little Stupid, Wobbly, Burst, and Xi Xi—numerous monsters still attacked the Research Vessel. Their behavior was quite low-class; not only did they curse frequently, but they also refused to accept defeat.
Confirming that the Nergigante had gone to the forest area, the squad landed in the barren region. To prevent harassment from airborne monsters, the Research Vessel landed at ground level this time. Che Che was released from its sphere, surveyed the surroundings, and immediately lowered its head, inhaling deeply through its nostrils. The strong smell of blood in the air excited Che Che.
"Go, remember the camp is here. If you can't win, run back quickly and call for help," Li Fan said. The impatient Che Che's dragon car started and sped away across the desert. This kind of free-range hunting carried some risks, but Che Che's nature was to love combat. Long-term safe confinement would only make Che Che bored. In contrast, the two brothers from the Ice Sea, Yuan Jiao and Lei Ge, lay lazily on the sand, their interest in fighting not as strong as Che Che's.
On the deck, seeing the gangway unusually leading to the ground, the Giant Ape got up from the toilet. The thick fingers of its large palm pushed up its rimless glasses, and then, with its hands behind its back, it slowly walked down the gangway, its belly protruding.
"Giant Ape, don't go too far," Li Fan reminded, who was grilling meat by the campfire.
"Roar~"
The Giant Ape, standing with its hands clasped behind its back, nodded calmly and then began to move. Poisoned Mushrooms, Explosive Mushrooms, Paralyzing Mushrooms... As the Giant Ape walked, it rolled up mushrooms growing in dark places with its tail and put them in its mouth. Although sparks and poison dripped from its mouth from time to time, the Giant Ape paid no mind. Soon, a huge cave appeared before it.
*Ssss~ Ssss~*
The Giant Ape poked its head in and sniffed. It detected several mushrooms inside that had grown to a harvestable stage. Glancing back at the camp's location, it felt it hadn't strayed too far and walked into the cave.
*Hoo~ Ka-chi... Hoo~ Ka-chi~...*
The Giant Ape ate as it walked, venturing deeper and deeper. Before long, it spotted a colossal blue mushroom by a dark green rock wall. The Giant Ape's eyes lit up. Di Lu had selflessly contributed a giant Heartbeat Mushroom to save the mutated Giant Ape back then. The Giant Ape had always remembered this and wanted to find a more valuable one as a return gift. However, the current predicament was that a creature covered in black fur was sleeping right next to the giant blue mushroom.
*Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~...*
Amidst deep snores, snot bubbles floated continuously. The Giant Ape did not want to disturb it and slowed its footfalls, gradually reaching in from the side.