Placing the metal piece on the ground, Ahtal-Ka lifted its forelimbs high and began roughly working the metal.
By hooking other metal pieces, it used them to hammer away at this one.
With the ear-piercing clash of metal, the block of metal kept changing shape, and soon, a roughly spherical, uneven metal ball appeared.
Ahtal-Ka thought for a moment, then its body began charging power.
Very soon, golden threads spewed out, wrapping the irregular metal ball round and round. As the metal ball turned, it was gradually wrapped into a complete sphere.
Then, with a twitch of the threads, two metal rods were drawn to the ball, and as Ahtal-Ka kept pulling the silk, feeling the force was even easier than expected, it happily shook its body, letting out chirping Dragon Roars from its mouth.
At last, it carefully placed the thread-wrapped ball into the remainder of its 'dowry'.
This metal sphere didn't mean that humans were necessarily stronger than Ahtal-Ka in this craft—only that their developments differed. Ahtal-Ka, in matters of joints and transmission, instinctively relied on its silk to accomplish a whole series of incredible operations. With the aid of countless threads, it too could manipulate its walking fortress as if moving its own arm.
And the appearance of this sphere let it glimpse something new. Many times, learning from others' strengths to offset one's own weaknesses was also a sign of wisdom.
Seeing this new friend accept his suggestion, Spice felt very happy.
Yet along with Steak's faint reminder, Spice also remembered the mission that had brought him here.
Still, thinking that all those metal fragments they had worked on were shaken loose from Ahtal-Ka's pile of dowry, he felt it wouldn't be right to just casually take them away.
Out of respect for his friend, Spice had no choice but to interrupt Ahtal-Ka, who was pondering whether to hammer out a few more spheres, and then put on a full display of paw-waving and hopping right in front of it.
In the end, with no other option, he opened his little pouch, carefully picked up a piece of metal with its rust knocked off, and bit by bit tested placing it into his backpack.
During this time, Ahtal-Ka tilted its head as if thinking about something.
Glancing at the small pile of scraps in front of Steak and the others, then at the pile of dowry beside itself with the outer impurities already stripped away, it turned its head aside as if it hadn't seen anything at all.
They were all things it couldn't use anyway—if these little ones wanted them, then they could just take them.
Most of the time, as long as one didn't show obvious hostility toward Ahtal-Ka, or show any designs on its walking fortress, it generally wouldn't grow overly tense—especially not now, when it even felt a fair bit of goodwill toward that little fellow.
Seeing Ahtal-Ka turn away and begin fiddling with its own pile of things, several Cats also let out a sigh of relief.
Steak stowed away the flash bomb he had been holding all along without lowering, then shot the other Cats a look.
The other Cats, seeing this, immediately sprang into action, swiftly loading those preliminarily cleaned metal pieces into the Jagras's big backpacks. Only when the packs on both sides of the two Jagras could hold no more did they finally stop.
Exchanging a glance, they all began to think about how to leave this place next.
After all, even though this monster had agreed to let them pack up these metal scraps, that didn't mean it would really let them take them away.
Just as Steak and the others were racking their brains, Spice clapped his paws together, bouncing and hopping right up before Ahtal-Ka.
"Hey!! We're leaving, meow!! Do you want to come with us, meow?"
"!!!"
"What are you doing, meow!!"
Steak felt utterly worn out. Even back then, when the Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne seniors had led them to face the newly joined Fire Wyvern Lord of the Ancient Tree, none of them had ever acted this familiar.
Even with the intimidation of the Fire Wyvern boss, when facing the Fire Wyvern Lord who still hadn't adapted to the new rules, everyone had been cautious, only loosening up a little once they became familiar with each other.
This monster's display in battle had been nothing short of brutal—how long had it even been, and already Spice dared to act so "presumptuous"? Was he really not afraid of being eaten as a dessert on the spot?
Ahtal-Ka watched Spice's gesturing and body language, understanding that what the other wanted to convey was that he was leaving.
At this, Ahtal-Ka had no particular thoughts. Leaving was leaving—what did it have to do with it? Why even bother coming over to exchange words?
It wasn't as if this was some major matter like processing ruins parts; there was no need to deliberately communicate.
Seeing Ahtal-Ka's lukewarm reaction, Spice felt a bit disappointed, but he still rallied his spirits, calling to his still cautious companions and slowly walking toward the forest.
Spice was at the rear, and just before stepping into the dense grass more than a meter high, he turned back to look at Ahtal-Ka.
And this scene was also caught by Ahtal-Ka's compound eyes. With a trace of curiosity, it set down the beloved sphere, tilted its head, and looked toward Spice.
"Goodbye, meow!!"
Noticing that Ahtal-Ka had spotted him, Spice broke into a wide grin, cheerfully leapt up and waved his paw, bidding farewell to this new friend before finally turning and stepping into the grass.
Ahtal-Ka gazed at the back of this little creature who had always radiated goodwill until he disappeared. Only after a long while did it raise its right forelimb and wave it above its head.
Just like Spice's farewell gesture moments ago.
After Spice and the others left, only the Ahtal-Ka remained in this basin buried with ancient ruins. The wind blew across the grass, making a rustling sound.
The Ahtal-Ka surveyed the surroundings, then dragged its belongings to the fissure.
A fissure more than 20 m wide was like a heavenly moat for small creatures, but for a monster of the Ahtal-Ka's size, it seemed rather narrow.
Choosing a suitable spot, threads surged from the Ahtal-Ka. The pile of decayed ruins' parts that had been abandoned was pulled over, piece by piece thrust into the fissure's walls. After securing them with threads, it descended along the makeshift "stairway."
The Ahtal-Ka's digging ability was actually not very strong. In sand it managed, but in soil thick with plant roots, the Ahtal-Ka had no good method for the time being, and could only forcefully dig through brute strength.
On the other side, just as Spice stepped into the forest, he suddenly remembered something.
He called Steak and the others back, set down his pack, climbed a tree, and found the threads the Ahtal-Ka had spat out during the earlier battle, still hanging from the branches.
Though it was only ordinary white thread, Spice still collected it with great interest using a small knife.
"Wow, such strong toughness, meow! You can't cut it without some force!"
With Spice's work, before long a fist-sized roll of thread had been cut off.
"Excellent material, meow!"
Content, he put the bundle of thread into his pack, then leapt down to rejoin Steak and the others.
Only then did the band of Cats begin making their way back toward the Ancient Tree.
...
At the Ancient Tree, a young Wyverian woman wearing wind goggles stood at the edge of the hunters' camp, gazing down at the endless forests and hills, taking in a deep breath.
"This… this is nature's creation! Perfect!!"
As a master of architecture, she knew very well—the greatest architect in this world was nature itself.
Those wondrous spectacles could never be replicated by dead matter alone; only the interweaving of life could create such perfect scenery!
"All right, all right, enough marveling. The wind's strong here—looking like that, if you fall, no one will be able to save you."
A burly, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, clad in half leather armor with thick arms exposed, was at this moment holding a stack of blueprints, examining them closely.
"The Ancient Forest has far too many plants. To build a suitable forge, we can only hollow out part of a mountain and construct inside it to ensure safety."
"Besides that, the Grimalkynes' resources are rather scarce. Metals and durable threads are both lacking. Vines alone simply can't support such a wide-ranging cableway. The higher-ups really did give us a tough job."
Putting down the blueprints, he looked at the Wyverian woman still gazing off into the distance, constantly scribbling in her notebook and muttering about inspiration, and couldn't help but sigh.
What could he say?
When it came to Wyverians tied to academia, there was always some eccentricity—even in architecture.
"Yo, so? Isn't this place amazing?"
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