At this moment, the Admiral and Tonkotsu came across the vine-woven suspension bridge, greeting the Wyverian architect and the burly craftsman.
"Good work, meow. For the next while, all the Grimalkynes of the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern tribe will fully cooperate with you two. But I still hope you can avoid approaching the Fire Wyverns' nests during this time, especially the mid- and lower-level nests, to prevent unnecessary danger, meow," Tonkotsu reminded.
"Oh? Did something happen?" The Wyverian architect asked curiously, even the Admiral looked at Tonkotsu in puzzlement.
During this period he had been away investigating the traces of the monster that destroyed the abandoned Fire Wyvern dwellings, and had only returned today.
"It's like this, meow. Recently, some of the Fire Wyverns' hatchlings have successfully broken out of their shells, so in the coming month, it will be the most sensitive time for the female Fire Wyverns. Even we Grimalkynes who are responsible for caring for the hatchlings must be extremely careful during this period, so I ask for your understanding, meow!"
"Ohh! Fire Wyvern hatchlings were actually born? Tonkotsu, see if you can find a way to let me witness these newborn hatchlings? Best would be the moment they break from their shells! That is the miracle of life!!"
The Admiral's eyes lit up, and the two beside him also stared intently at Tonkotsu.
Although one was a craftsman and the other a master of architecture, they were both deeply curious about the birth of monster hatchlings. After all, sightings of such cases were truly far too rare.
Tonkotsu let out a sigh, shook his head, and said: "Sorry about that, meow. In the past it wouldn't have been a problem, but it seems this batch of newborn hatchlings has run into some issues. Until that problem is resolved, even we Grimalkynes who aren't in charge of caring for hatchlings can't approach the Fire Wyverns' nests, meow."
At these words, the few of them fell silent. With the hatchlings having problems, the Fire Wyverns would certainly be extremely irritable—it truly was not a good time.
But what followed was also a surge of curiosity.
Just what kind of problem had occurred?
...
In the canopy of the Ancient Tree, where the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern tribe held their meetings.
At this moment, the treetops were already filled with Fire Wyverns. Except for the female Fire Wyverns tending hatchlings in the nests, the rest—including other females—had all gathered here in the canopy.
Logan stood at the highest point, listening to the noisy roars below, his gaze somewhat grave.
For no other reason—this time the matter really was quite serious.
This clutch of Fire Wyvern eggs was the very first since returning from the Wildspire Waste, and also the first since the mutation of the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern tribe three years ago.
Yet the hatching rate of this clutch was frighteningly low.
On average, only 1 out of 15 eggs succeeded in hatching!
A one-in-fifteen chance!
One had to know, in the past, thanks to the care of the Cats, the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern tribe had achieved a hatching rate as high as 3 out of 5!
But now, there were even Fire Wyvern families with a clutch of 12 eggs where all of them ended up dead!
Not only did this drive such Fire Wyvern couples to grief and despair, it also threw the entire tribe into panic.
Such a low hatching rate was unheard of.
Though there was one bit of good news: the Fire Wyvern hatchlings that did succeed in hatching were incomparably healthy, and from birth already possessed the traits of the mutated Fire Wyvern couples, in all respects superior to ordinary Fire Wyvern hatchlings.
But the hatching rate truly was too extreme.
If this problem could not be resolved, it might well become a crisis enough to tear the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern tribe apart once again.
Offspring were of great importance in any species. Although the Fire Wyverns abided by the ecological law of survival of the fittest, with no concept of needing offspring for support, this was instinct, a drive engraved into their very genes.
Unless it was like the Flame Rathalos, which truly could not find a mate, who would not wish to leave behind one or two descendants in this world?
The noisy clamor of a group of Fire Wyverns left Logan with no time to think.
A Dragon Roar rang out, and a terrifying Pressure instantly blanketed the entire area.
The Fire Wyverns froze as if the pause button had been pressed, and all sound vanished in an instant. At last, silence returned to the canopy.
Logan slowly folded his spread wings, his azure pupils sweeping coldly over the Fire Wyvern group below.
This year, among those with plans to reproduce, there were just over thirty Fire Wyvern couples, including a newly formed pair of Tempered Fire Wyverns.
The only pair to have failed to hatch a single egg was this pair of Tempered Fire Wyverns.
To be precise, it was a Tempered Rathalos and its ordinary Rathian mate.
Aside from those thirty-odd Fire Wyvern couples, the rest had gathered only out of worry. After all, such matters concerned them as well. Not having a breeding plan this year did not mean they would not have one next year, so of course they too felt a sense of panic.
Fortunately, Logan now possessed not only enough prestige among the Fire Wyverns but also the strength to win their absolute conviction. Under his reassurance, the Fire Wyvern group finally dispersed.
Beating his wings, he soared up into the clouds. The chill of the high air cleared his mind, and after a moment of thought, he cast a sweeping glance toward the Ancient Tree to confirm his position, then flew toward its middle layer.
This year, only the Fire Wyvern couples nesting in the middle layer had slightly higher hatching rates. Nearly every Fire Wyvern family that laid eggs had hatched one or two hatchlings. Perhaps something could be learned from them.
Up among the clouds, Logan considered several possibilities.
The first, of course, was the mysterious life energy of this world.
The higher the ecological niche a monster occupied, the lower its fertility rate—this was a universal law in many worlds, and the Monster Hunter world was no exception.
The only known exception was a pair of Elder Dragons of exceptionally high ecological niche. Even encountering one another was a rare ordeal. And if, by chance, they did meet and conceived the thought of offspring, nature would immediately summon a thunderous host of "enforcers" to hunt them down.
Once a creature's ecological niche reached a certain tier, reproduction truly did require vast amounts of life energy to support it, both to ensure the survival of the hatchling within the egg and to safeguard the mother's body.
But here lay the problem. Although the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyvern group had undergone mutations due to Symbiosis, raising their overall strength to a degree—mutations that, if they continued, might eventually give rise to a new Fire Wyvern subspecies reproductively isolated from the original—their ecological niche still remained about the same as the original species. In fact, in terms of strength, most of the Ancient Tree Fire Wyverns could not even compare to an ordinary Azure Rathalos or Pink Rathian.
So it was absolutely impossible for this to be a matter of insufficient life energy.
Besides, where was this?
The Ancient Tree!
The very place within the entire Ancient Forest where life energy was most abundant, the leyline corridor node of the Ancient Forest, and with the Ancient Tree's own filtering, the life energy here was all the more gentle.
Thus, in terms of overall strength, the monsters of the Ancient Tree region were stronger than those of other areas, and there were far more Tempered individuals.
Such an environment was more than sufficient even for an Elder Dragon like Chameleos, which was not picky about its breeding grounds.
All the more so for the Fire Wyvern group of the Ancient Tree.
Therefore, eliminating life energy as the cause, only external factors or internal genetic instability remained as possibilities.
With a preliminary judgment in mind, Logan soon arrived above the nest of a Fire Wyvern couple.
The silver-white body tinged with red that radiated oppressive might instantly frightened the hatchlings—creatures highly sensitive to auras—into panicked cries. The Cats tasked with caring for them were left flustered and helpless.
Meanwhile, the Rathian, who had flown a short distance away from the nest to ease her nerves, immediately sensed it and roared furiously as she wheeled back.
Even before she appeared, her enraged roars reached him.
She landed swiftly in her own nest, wings spread wide, roaring up at Logan in the sky.
This was only a mother Rathian's reflexive reaction. Logan paid it no heed, choosing instead to wait for her mate's return before speaking.
Before long, the Rathalos, who had also sensed something amiss in his nest while patrolling his territory, arrived belatedly.
Fortunately, unlike the Rathian, while the Rathalos likewise worried for his hatchlings, most of the time he could maintain his composure.
Thus, after flying past Logan, he quickly began to calm his mate.
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