Waiting was agonizing—especially when waiting near an Elder Dragon.
The Teostra itself was like a massive heat source. Even after drinking a cool drink, the waves of high-temperature air carried by the wind made the oppressive heat unbearable for everyone.
Even the Canynes began panting heavily, mouths agape and tongues lolling.
At that moment, the Teostra—who hadn't moved at all—suddenly stood up. Its wings spread with a trembling motion, fire-aligned energy surged explosively in the air, and even the ground began to ignite.
The Hunters immediately went on high alert. Kiba turned her head and bit down on the dual blades at her side. Falcon drew both of his blades. The Sword and Shield user raised his round shield and took point at the front of the group. The two Light Bowgun wielders raised their foldable guns already loaded with Piercing Ammo. The Field Team Coordinator turned and immediately bolted, sprinting frantically into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, everyone had entered full combat readiness.
Just as they braced themselves, prepared to respond to the Teostra's imminent rampage—
Who would've thought that it would... simply let out a big yawn, then lie back down again?
Its tiny eyes casually glanced at the group off in the distance, then quickly shifted away as it resumed basking lazily in the sunlight.
"Roar~~" (This continent's concentration of life energy... absolutely marvelous~~)
As for those self-important little insects? As a mature Teostra, it had no interest in them whatsoever.
The investigation team stared blankly as the Teostra returned to its languid, relaxed posture. None of them dared to let their guard down, still holding their weapons at the ready. Only after their clothes were soaked and sweat dripped in large droplets to the ground—only to evaporate instantly in the scorching air—did they finally begin to relax.
You couldn't blame them for being so cautious. This was an Elder Dragon!
Even the slightest movement from such a creature could trigger cataclysms—disasters of a scale that made all living beings instinctively recoil in fear.
Far off in the distance, the Field Team Coordinator noticed the fight hadn't broken out after all. Gathering his courage, he downed another cool drink and made his way back toward the group.
He flipped open his notebook and began furiously jotting down every detail he'd observed about the Teostra, his tone nearly fanatical.
"This... this alone makes my entire life worth it!!"
"Ahhh~ what a perfect body, such beautiful blue eyes, such scorching breath~ sszzzt~"
His tone and vaguely suggestive wording caused the other Hunters to cast deeply suspicious glances his way.
Was this guy... a hardcore Teostra fanboy?
Honestly, it wasn't that unusual. Elder Dragons—being among the most mysterious and powerful beings in the world—naturally inspired hatred in some, and worship in others.
Shrines had been built to honor them. Myths and legends passed down through generations. It was all common in this world.
And considering Teostra was one of the more commonly encountered Elder Dragons, it wasn't exactly strange that it had more fans than usual.
And so, time quietly passed with four Hunters and one Canyne forced to endure not just the pressure of facing a Teostra head-on, but also the mental pollution radiating from their own teammate.
The Huntsman's group had been stationed the furthest away. By the time they arrived, the others had already gathered in a shaded area, drenched in sweat from the sweltering heat.
"So that's the Teostra? It's... surprisingly calm."
After roughly grasping the situation, the Huntsman gulped down a cold drink and exchanged a glance with the Wyverian Hunter.
"All Field Coordinators, begin compiling your records without provoking the Teostra. Hunters—stay on high alert! Falcon!"
"Here!" Falcon stepped forward, with Kiba at his side letting out a low bark in sync.
"Your team was the first to spot the Teostra. I need you to circle around that dune and search along the path it's taken. See if you can find anything it's dropped, and try to make some footprint rubbings."
Receiving the order, Falcon gave a nod, mounted Kiba, and began moving along a wide arc toward his objective.
The others escorted their Field Coordinators around the Teostra, carefully circling it to begin documenting its current behavior from all angles.
Oftentimes, people ignore the occasional ant crawling past their feet.
But when those ants start gathering—lingering nearby and making the occasional noise—one's mood naturally begins to sour.
All the more so when among those "ants" is a presence strong enough to make even the Teostra feel slightly threatened.
As its patience gradually wore thin, the temperature around the Teostra began to climb. Violent fire-aligned energy surged upward, and sparks of flame started to flicker in the air around it.
Seeing this, the Huntsman realized the Teostra's patience had reached its limit. He quickly ordered the weaker Field Coordinators to retreat, while all Hunters prepared for combat.
The next step: attempt to subdue and capture the Elder Dragon currently undergoing migration.
You had to admit—the Research Commission was bold.
But from their perspective, assembling such a large number of elite personnel wasn't just to establish a foothold in the New World.
Their real objective was to uncover the cause behind the Elder Crossing phenomenon—and more importantly, why its cycle had suddenly shifted from once every few centuries to once every ten years.
Why had the interval shortened so drastically?
That was the true goal of the Elder Dragon Research Commission in the New World!
And when it came to accelerating and ensuring the success of their investigation, there was nothing more valuable than successfully capturing an Elder Dragon in the midst of its migration.
The Hunters drew their weapons one by one, brimming with excitement, their fighting spirit surging.
This was a battle against an Elder Dragon!
The intense surge of killing intent caught the attention of the Teostra. It slowly rose to its feet, its icy-blue eyes sweeping over the surrounding Hunters with crushing pressure. Sparks of flame began to ignite around its body.
The Hunters were the first to launch their attack.
With the Huntsman at the center, the Hunters coordinated their assault, braving the searing flames as they charged toward the Teostra.
Just because it was older and its temperament more mellow didn't mean it could tolerate provocation without reacting.
With a roar of battle, the Teostra cloaked itself in blazing flame armor. The scorching heat radiating from it was so intense that, even with the combined protection of cooling drinks and layered armor, the Hunters still felt sharp stings across their skin.
The battle had begun!
In his younger days, the Huntsman had not yet reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship he would later achieve.
But even then, his fierce and unrelenting offense, his superb mastery of the blade—wielding a Great Sword as large as a door with effortless grace—were already unmatched.
With each charged strike and flowing combo technique, he weaved through the Teostra's attacks with agility, and every counter landed squarely on the beast's body.
The Wyverian Hunter, using his Insect Glaive in tandem with the Kinsect he had cultivated for years, circled around the Teostra. Together, they targeted its weak points relentlessly, creating one opening after another for the Huntsman to exploit in his assaults.
In this battle, the Hunters pushed their techniques to the absolute limit. Coming in fully prepared, they managed to engage the Teostra in a brief clash that was evenly matched in momentum.
But as the Teostra began to get serious, the surrounding temperature started rising—step by step.
Every Elder Dragon undergoing the Elder Crossing was a battle-hardened entity. Their ability to manipulate their own life energy had reached its peak for their age.
The Teostra, a creature with virtually no weaknesses in combat, wielded its explosive dust for close-quarters attacks and unleashed pure flame breath for ranged assaults with equal mastery. The transitions between the two were fluid and seamless.
This meant that practically every Hunter on the field became one of its targets.
Moreover, as the flames of its fiery mantle burned, its carapace grew even more resilient.
Ranged attacks, even after piercing the blazing barrier, failed to leave so much as a scratch on its scales.
Melee fighters might break through its defenses, but the fire mantle wasn't just for defense. Remaining in close proximity for too long led to burn injuries on many of the Hunters.
And even so—the Teostra still wasn't fighting seriously.
It had yet to unleash its cataclysmic power.
The Teostra, dragon of blazing heat akin to the scorching sun—when fully igniting its life energy, it could cause the temperature across the entire Wildspire Waste to spike dramatically, turning the desert into a crystallized land of molten glass.
But as a mature Elder Dragon, it was well aware of the consequences of disrupting the ecosystem. Until the very last moment, it would not wield such devastating might.
This restraint gave many lifeforms the chance to repel beings like it.
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