There shouldn't be any problems. From the southernmost tip of the Wildspire Waste to the Dreadking Rathalos's nest, all the powerful monsters along the route had been swept clean by Asterion and Brother Bazelgeuse.
It was unlikely any other monsters would wander into the area in the short term.
As long as the Acidic Glavenus didn't let her wild instincts take over and go on a cat-eating frenzy, the Grimalkynes of the Glavenus Tribe shouldn't encounter any monster attacks during this migration—considering the high intelligence of the Acidic Glavenus as a subspecies, combined with the threat Asterion posed, it was highly unlikely she would do such a thing anyway.
"Guga?" (What about me, Bro?)
Popping out from the depths of the nest, Brother Kulu-Ya-Ku's form of address seemed to have changed once again. She actually didn't understand why her boss had dragged her along to do those strange things earlier. Among the three wyverns, perhaps only the Bazelgeuse could vaguely understand a little, but not much.
One could only say that Asterion was entertaining himself; after all, his life as a wyvern was truly boring.
"Roar, roar." (You go with her. Depart with the Grimalkynes... and finish the meat.)
Although he was amusing himself, he still intended to keep his promise of sharing meat. Asterion placed the dried Dreadking Rathalos meat he had brought back in front of the Kulu-Ya-Ku, ignoring the Acidic Glavenus's pitiful expression—that one certainly had a good eye, having keenly realized that the dried Dreadking meat was rich in life energy.
Too bad there wasn't any for her.
The Acidic Glavenus's feelings were not within the scope of Asterion's consideration. For the time being, he had lost those worldly desires. Instead, he issued an order to the Old Shaman, telling them to go find the Hunters and post a quest in the name of the Lynian Glavenus Tribe.
Yes, find the Hunters to post a quest: escort the Glavenus Tribe's migration.
Actually, this was Asterion's plan from the very beginning. The Acidic Glavenus was just an accident, a bonus thrown in.
Compared to monsters with their crude styles and inability to communicate, Hunters could help the Grimalkynes migrate with maximum efficiency, provided there was no harassment from large monsters. After all, Hunters had hands and brains, as well as a large number of carts built for transporting heavy goods. They could help the Glavenus Tribe complete the migration as quickly as possible, ensuring Asterion wouldn't have to wait too long.
After all, traveling from the old nest to the new one took a full month even with Asterion's leg strength and stamina. If he let the Grimalkynes move their things on their own, they probably wouldn't arrive for over a year. Asterion didn't have the patience to wait that long.
The negotiations would be handled by the Grimalkyne tribe themselves. It was the Grimalkynes issuing the quest, not the Glavenus Boss. Asterion had already left after issuing his orders; he planned to continue exploring the Ancient Forest near the new nest to search for valuable prey.
As for the Grimalkynes... well, they were a little nervous.
"Is it just the three of us going in, meow?" Standing on the Kulu-Ya-Ku's back, Sparky said somewhat nervously, "That's the territory of the Ape Wyverns, meow? If they attack us, can we run away, meow?"
Ape Wyverns! The Ape Wyvern species!
It was unclear when the Old Shaman had heard this term for Hunters from Asterion, but at some point, the Grimalkynes had habitually started using this name to refer to those strange fellows whose nest was located by the coast.
Although they had pledged loyalty to Asterion, the Grimalkynes' nature remained timid. They didn't act arrogant at all just because they had the powerful Glavenus Boss backing them.
The Grimalkyne gathering teams had accidentally encountered mining Hunters many times. The Second Fleet's massive construction needs meant a greater demand for ore. Investigation progress might be zero, but the mining progress bar could never be full enough.
Even though the Research Commission's manpower had been expanded, scattering this few people into the vast Wildspire Waste was like dropping a drop of ink into the ocean—so small as to be almost undetectable.
The two sides were actually quite familiar with each other. Especially after the Admiral and others had participated in the Gluttony Festival back then, Astera would occasionally send Palicoes to try and communicate with the local Lynians. However, the Glavenus Tribe didn't much care for this interaction and had always maintained a refusal.
And now, Sparky and Pot were escorting the Old Shaman to the outskirts of Astera. How did the Glavenus Boss put it again?
Oh right, posting a quest.
"Nothing to be afraid of, meow?" Rubbing his big fat belly, Pot said carelessly, "If there's any real danger, we can definitely run away, meow. I'm the tribe's number one warrior, meow! Pot will protect you, meow!"
"You have the nerve to say that, meow!" Hearing this made the Old Shaman angry. He jumped up and rapped Pot on the head with his cane. "I told you to lead everyone to get stronger and train new warriors, meow, but you just lead everyone to eat furiously, meow! Look at your big belly! They've all turned into big bellies just like you, meow!!"
"Ouch! Don't hit, meow!" Not even angry, Pot clutched his head and cried out, "This isn't a belly, meow! It's a stomach sac! It's the great stomach sac the Boss gave me, meow!!"
"You dare use the Boss as an excuse, meow! I think you have a death wish, meow!!" The Old Shaman was even more furious, delivering a combo of cane strikes on the spot! It made a clanging sound against the cat's skull!!
"Ouch!!" With a speed completely unsuited to his physique, Pot agilely dodged the Old Shaman's follow-up attacks. He argued, "That's why I say you guys don't understand at all, meow! I'm not using the Boss as an excuse, meow!! This is the power the Boss gave us, meow!!"
Slapping his jiggly, fatty belly twice with force, Pot shouted, "The Boss can eat things several times bigger than his own body in one go, and now we can too, meow! Is this not the power the Boss gave us, meow?!"
"And this kind of power isn't something ordinary cats can have, meow. So many cats in the tribe ate the Boss's shell powder like we did, but why is it that only we became taller and stronger, meow?" Pot sounded more and more self-righteous as he spoke. "This proves we are the ones in the right, meow!"
The Old Shaman... for a moment, he really couldn't refute that.
In the current Glavenus Tribe, there were already seven tall, fat cats like Pot. They had all changed by mimicking Pot's original behavior of fiercely eating the Glavenus Boss's scale powder.
But strangely, this change only appeared in those seven. No matter how much the other Grimalkynes swallowed Asterion's scale powder, they showed no changes. They didn't become tall and fat like Pot and the others, nor did they possess that shocking agility and flexibility without a hint of clumsiness.
It could only be attributed to the Glavenus Boss's divine power.
"Guga guga!" (Not fighting anymore?)
The Kulu-Ya-Ku looked disappointed. She thought these cats were going to fight. Hmm, a few fur balls rolling around together was quite interesting; when she got bored in the nest, she would often watch the cats fight.
"We weren't going to fight in the first place, meow!" Sparky said loudly. "Do you want to see a spectacle that badly, meow?!"
"Ahem, anyway—no depressing talk, meow!" The Old Shaman tapped his cane. "We came here with the Boss's brother, meow! We absolutely cannot shame the Boss, meow!!"
"That might be a bit hard, meow?" Sparky retorted with a speechless look. "With Egg-Stealer's personality, she'll blow our cover the moment we go in, won't she meow?"
Unlike the Old Shaman, who held a great deal of respect for the three wyverns in the nest, Sparky was very close to the Kulu-Ya-Ku, perhaps because they always moved, ate, drank, and had fun together. Among all the Grimalkynes in the Glavenus Tribe, only he could stand on the Kulu-Ya-Ku's back. The relationship between the wyvern and the cat was very good.
"Egg-Stealer is just because... stealing eggs... um..." Thinking of the Kulu-Ya-Ku's usual behavior, the Old Shaman wanted to put in a good word for her, but he stammered, not knowing where to start.
Compared to the other two wyverns, the Kulu-Ya-Ku really had no dignity at all.
"Um... do you guys... uh, need something?"
Just as Pot and the other cats were arguing, a voice suddenly rang out from beside them.
"Meow-yaa!!!"
"Ghost, meow!!"
"Gwa-gwa-gwa!!!"
Four screams erupted instantly. The three Grimalkynes and the Kulu-Ya-Ku huddled together in a flash. To be precise, the three Grimalkynes clung to the Kulu-Ya-Ku from bottom to top. Sparky even wrapped himself directly around the bird's neck, his cat face blocking the Kulu-Ya-Ku's eyes.
Unable to see, the Kulu-Ya-Ku panicked even more. She shrieked, tripped over her own claws, and fell to the ground. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move a single step—like a pig, Pot was hugging her legs tightly, making her immobile.
Hunter: "..."
The situation before her eyes was somewhat subtle, carrying a hint of absurd comedy within the subtlety—three Lynians and a Kulu-Ya-Ku?
Was this chaotic mess for real? As expected of a 'Kulu-Ya-Ku'?
It was hard to imagine that even in such a panic-stricken state, this Kulu-Ya-Ku was still subconsciously avoiding crushing the Lynians on her body. Was this really behavior a monster was capable of?
Such benevolence, or perhaps care for its companions?
Truly worthy of being a monster of the New World.
As a guardian who came with the Second Fleet, the female Hunter felt that this land always managed to surprise her.
"Ahem, we... we are here to post a quest, meow!!"
After a bout of commotion, it was the Old Shaman who stood up and clarified their purpose to the female Hunter.
"A quest?"
The Hunter's eyes went wide.
"Wow—it's so big, meow!! Is this a ship, meow?!!"
"Look at that! Sparky! What a big fish, meow!! It's as big as half a mushroom cave, meow!!"
"Definitely! I think it's even bigger, meow!! Can they even catch such big fish, meow? Ape Wyverns are amazing, meow!!"
"You two! I said calm down, meow! Don't shame the Boss, meow! Ah! Don't just eat random things, Egg-Stealer!! That's not ours, meow!!"
"..."
It felt rather like country bumpkins entering the big city. The three Grimalkynes and the Kulu-Ya-Ku held unprecedented curiosity about everything in Astera—ships, windmills, various tools—these novel things were beyond the imagination of those who grew up in the desolate Wildspire Waste.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku's presence filled the Hunters in the base with curiosity, especially the technicians and scholars of the Second Fleet. They had received intelligence from the First Fleet pioneers about a special Kulu-Ya-Ku in the Wildspire Waste, but seeing it with their own eyes felt completely different.
A friendly monster—and not friendliness resulting from long-term human domestication, but a friendliness born of intelligence.
This bunch brought all sorts of food to feed them. By the time the Kulu-Ya-Ku and the three cats reached Astera's open-air meeting area, their mouths were stuffed with food, and their bird claws and cat paws were clutching a pile of delicious treats against their chests.
Unprecedented enthusiasm.
"I-I can't carry any more, meow." Swallowing the snack in his mouth, the Old Shaman didn't know how this mouth-watering treat had ended up in his mouth, but he ate it anyway—Ape Wyverns were terrifying! What kind of power was this!!
"If you can't carry it, just eat it, meow." With a mouth moving so fast it wouldn't stop, Pot spoke while chewing rapidly. Even with his mouth stuffed full of food, his speech was surprisingly clear.
"Please, have a seat." The cats didn't have to wait long before the Commander arrived from elsewhere. He examined these strange guests with some curiosity. "I heard from Pasa that the Grimalkynes have a quest they want to entrust to the Hunters?"
"That's right, meow!" Speaking of business, the Old Shaman became serious. "The Glavenus Tribe needs to migrate, meow! So we are here to commission the Ape Wyverns, meow!"
Although there were many cats present, the Old Shaman was actually the only one who could communicate with the Hunters. This counted as his unique talent.
"Migrate—wait, Ape Wyverns?" The smile on the Commander's face suddenly became a bit stiff. "By Ape Wyverns, do you mean us?"
"Meow!" "Of course, meow!" The Old Shaman said with conviction. "You are Wyverns too, meow!"
"No no no, we are humans, not any kind of Wyvern," the Commander waved his hand and said. "But that's not important. The Glavenus Tribe is migrating? What about the Glavenus Boss?"
Although his good friend was not currently at the base, the Commander believed this was definitely what he would be most concerned about.
"It's precisely because the Boss found a new nest that we have to move there with him, meow!" the Old Shaman affirmed. "The Boss said the new nest is very far, meow. It's a long walk. Relying on Grimalkyne strength alone to get there would be too slow, meow."
"That... is indeed a problem." The Commander stroked his chin.
For some reason, an image suddenly popped into his mind: Asterion with two long ropes around his back, pulling a cart behind him.
...Uh, that definitely wasn't something the Glavenus Boss would do.
"In other words, was this quest proposed by the Glavenus Boss?" the Commander asked curiously.
"No, meow. The Glavenus Boss just told us cats to move there as soon as possible, meow." The Old Shaman spoke somewhat dejectedly. "We cats are still too useless, so we had to figure out a way ourselves, meow."
"Well, there's no need to give up on yourselves. Being able to survive and thrive in the New World makes you very capable already," the Commander quickly comforted him. "Since this is a formal quest, we'll have to take it seriously on our end too... Hmm, could you tell us the specific location of the new nest?"
"I don't know, meow," the Old Shaman answered very crisply. "The Boss said we just have to follow the marks all the way, meow. Supposedly, there is endless food near the new nest, and many trees taller than mountains, meow!"
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)