Faced with Logan's completely undisguised answer, the Admiral—who was familiar with Logan—did not, like the others, think that Logan's current actions carried any hostility. The look in Logan's eyes was not hostility either, but simple disdain.
Yes, that was right. The Admiral could clearly distinguish that what was revealed in Logan's cold, vertical pupils was undisguised disdain, not hostility of any kind.
There was no other reason—he had simply been stared at with that look far too many times over the years.
At this moment, the others were tense, swords metaphorically drawn. Even though Logan's status, coupled with the unabashed praise from all the creatures of the Ancient Tree, gave Logan a naturally friendly filter in their minds, they had ultimately had too little contact. They had not yet been influenced by the Ancient Tree's dense religious atmosphere, and deep down they still harbored a trace of wariness toward Logan, this Elder Dragon. At this moment, that trace of wariness was fully exposed.
Yet in such an atmosphere, the Admiral once again laughed out loud, completely out of step with everyone else.
"I understand. As long as you're aware of this, that's fine. I was worried that after this transformation of yours, you might have lost control of your power and passively caused this situation. Now I'm relieved."
As his words fell, not only were the other members of the investigation team stunned—even Logan froze for a moment.
Seeing the wary looks on everyone else's faces, Logan had thought that once he admitted it, some kind of plot like 'What you're doing is wrong, I must correct you and bring you back onto the right path!' or 'You're the Dragon of Ecology—how could you also fall?' would unfold.
He had already prepared himself to fight first, but the Admiral's words directly cut off the development of those stereotypical storylines, causing everyone's minds to short-circuit for an instant.
"Admiral…"
Mia quietly poked Darren, whom she was shielding in front of her. After exchanging a glance and seeing that he remained unmoved, she finally spoke up herself, wanting to say something to the Admiral.
The Admiral did not let her continue. After stretching with gusto, he waved to Logan.
"That's all the questions we have. Thanks, old friend—we won't disturb your rest. We'll come see you again in a couple of days~~ hehehe~"
"Roar~"
Logan quietly rolled his eyes. The roar was full of disdain as he lay back down on the ground again. As his energy subtly stirred, a great deal of Terastal crystal surged out, forming a giant-dragon-shaped "pillow."
Logan comfortably rested his jaw on the perfectly sized "pillow" and lazily closed his eyes.
The few people who had already turned to leave sensed the movement and instinctively looked back, only to see this scene.
Lea was the first to be unable to hold it in and let out a "pfft" of laughter. Seeing the looks the others shot at her, she controlled herself while explaining, "I didn't expect the Sunblaze Dragon couple's relationship to be this good!"
After saying that, she still could not help letting out another "pfft" of laughter.
Who would have thought that the Sunblaze Dragon—who, over several meetings in a row, had always been imposing and dignified, perfectly fitting the image of an Elder Dragon as a kind of "god"—would privately have a side like this?
It would have been better if Lea had not explained, because once she did, even the Wyverian hunter, who usually never showed emotion, could not help twitching the corner of his mouth—he had really been holding it in with some difficulty.
This small interlude dispersed the faint seriousness that had remained from just now. The group followed the Admiral down the Terastal crystal, retrieved the Admiral's weapon, and only then did Darren glance at the huge Terastal crystal at the end of the long crystal stairway and voice everyone's question to the Admiral.
In response to their confusion, the Admiral only looked very earnestly and solemnly into Darren's eyes and said, "I was originally worried that the anomaly here was an effect produced unconsciously by Boss Fire Wyvern, but now it's confirmed—so long as he knows what he's doing, that's enough!"
The Admiral's answer was somewhat inexplicable, and the investigation team still did not really understand.
At the side, the Wyverian hunter, who had been silent from start to finish, sighed and added, "The Sunblaze Dragon is a dragon that symbolizes ecology and order."
"I understand!" Hearing the Wyverian hunter's addition, Mia—who had been thinking about what the Admiral meant—was the first to react.
"The Sunblaze Dragon symbolizes ecology and order, so the decisions he makes while conscious can actually be viewed entirely as nature's choice! As one part of ecology developing in a better direction! Is that what you mean?"
After hearing Mia's words, the Admiral's solemn expression eased. With a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, he nodded.
"That's right. You little ones may still not understand Boss Fire Wyvern's position within the ecology of the New World. Him—he loves this continent even more than any of us do. Rather than believing he would destroy the New World's ecology, you might as well believe that Dodogama can fly."
After making that joke, the Admiral immediately continued, "After you return this time, you can go to Blazefire Village and take a good look at the research base's ecological assessment reports on the Sunblaze Dragon over the past years, as well as the records in the shrine documenting the Sunblaze Dragon's deeds. Trust me—after you finish reading them, you'll understand what the Sunblaze Dragon represents in the New World!"
As he said this, the Admiral seemed to recall the record wall in the shrine that was filled to the brim with entries. This old hunter, who had devoted his entire life to the New World, could not help but let a trace of pride enter his tone.
This—was Logan's reputation!
It was also the influence accumulated through years of diligent work.
Achievements that even stingy, black-hearted nature as a boss had "acknowledged"!
A day quickly passed.
The investigation team, having already returned to the camp at the bottom of the cliff, now began to split up.
The Wyverian hunter and the Admiral remained in the Elder's Recess.
The Admiral was responsible for assessing the ecological conditions of the Elder's Recess after being affected by Logan's Terastal energy.
The Wyverian hunter, meanwhile, relied on his increasingly keen perception of life energy developed over the years to begin searching within the Elder's Recess for the source of the intensified Elder Crossing that Logan had mentioned—the Elder Dragon that had already completed its own mission.
Darren's team, carrying the Terastalized monster materials collected along the way as well as the answers obtained from Logan, returned to the mobile research base in the Coral Highlands, also bringing back the Wyverian hunter's exploration reports from the Everstream over the years.
Thus, when Logan experimented with new abilities each day, there was now an extra spectator nearby.
And the Wyverian hunter also diligently began exploring those hidden places that were difficult for Logan, given his size, to reach, and that the Radiant Crystal Butterfly, due to its limited intelligence, could not explore.
Time passed rapidly like this.
Gradually, the disturbances within the Everstream began to become increasingly clear.
Perhaps it had sensed the malice of the world, or perhaps the time of hatching was nearing completion.
Driven by instinct, the Xeno'jiiva cocoon once again released pheromones capable of attracting active Elder Dragons.
However, unlike in the past, under the dual deterrence of Logan and Kulve Taroth, the Elder's Recess remained unusually quiet.
This was also because many Elder Dragons, unable to endure the "bullying" of the two, chose to temporarily leave the Elder's Recess.
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