Under the Admiral's lead, the hunters were sensible enough to keep their distance from the corpses of the Kushala Daora and the mangled remains of the Nergigante.
Even though several scholars had rushed toward the dragon carcasses with faces full of excitement upon landing, they were all promptly intercepted by the hunters the Admiral had brought along.
In fact, some of the more overexcited scholars were simply hoisted up by the waist and carried off to the other side.
The Kushala Daora was one thing—after all, Teostra and Kushala Daora were relatively common Elder Dragons that had been sighted multiple times in the Old World. Kushala Daora even frequented human settlements. The real focus was the half-eaten Nergigante.
The Admiral understood perfectly how much of a draw an unknown Elder Dragon like this was to these scholars, especially those who had just arrived from the Old World, brimming with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. However, he was even more afraid that these scholars, who knew little of the New World, would provoke the Glavenus Boss and cause the relationship between Astera and the Glavenus tribe to sour.
Thirty years had passed, and the Admiral had gained a thorough understanding of the peculiar Elder Dragon that was Asterion. Having observed Asterion's predatory patterns and seeing him gorging himself at that moment, the Admiral knew exactly how important the remains of that Kushala Daora and Nergigante were to him.
Therefore, his team would settle for collecting the scraps and cleaning up the battlefield.
The soil soaked in Elder Dragon blood, the Kushala Daora gems, the flesh of two dragons... for the first time in a long while, Asterion and the Bazelgeuse brothers enjoyed a nutrient-rich feast.
The texture of the meat wasn't particularly great, but the life energy was incredibly abundant.
After stripping the Kushala Daora and the Nergigante remains clean, Asterion felt unsatisfied. He began tracking the direction in which the Nergigante had originally flown off. The Bazelgeuse brothers searched from the skies, while he followed the scent and bloodstains on the ground.
However, something was strange. Initially, Asterion could find bloodstains scattered on the ground, allowing him to track the direction the front half of the Nergigante had fled. But after trailing it for over half a day, the bloodstains gradually disappeared.
It was as if the Nergigante's wounds had healed, the bleeding had stopped, and it was even possible that the severed lower half of its body had grown back—No! That was absolutely impossible!
Asterion flatly rejected that possibility. If a Nergigante could regenerate such a fatal injury in such a short amount of time, its recovery capabilities would be far beyond the level of an Elder Dragon. It wouldn't even need to run; it could have stayed right there and ground Asterion and the Bazelgeuse brothers to death.
Regenerating flesh or blood was one thing, but a Nergigante could never reconstruct its dragon bone and internal organs through high-speed regeneration.
Refusing to give up, Asterion and the Bazelgeuse brothers used the point where the blood vanished as a center and began searching in all directions—only to find nothing. It was as if the Nergigante had vanished into thin air.
Along the way, Asterion even killed a few bad-tempered local apex predators, but unfortunately, these dim-witted creatures couldn't say whether a strange dragon had flown over their heads.
After several days and nights, Asterion finally gave up the search.
The Wildspire Waste was simply too vast. Without a direction or knowledge of how deep to search, it was impossible to find a flying dragon with no clues.
Ultimately, Asterion could only lead the Bazelgeuse brothers back to their nest in the Ancient Forest. Though it was a regretful conclusion, this hunt was over.
In a place unknown to Asterion, two Grimalkynes of the Protector tribe were making their way through a dark, damp underground cavern, lit only by glowing moss. They were out foraging for food for their tribe. It started as an ordinary day, but when they tried to take a safe shortcut, they found the usually wide tunnel completely blocked.
But what blocked the passage wasn't fallen rock or mud—it was a massive monster!
"Meow-ya!!"
The sudden shock sent the two Grimalkynes screaming, scrambling back the way they came. But after a few steps, they realized the monster wasn't moving.
It looked dead. Sunlight filtering through a crack in the ceiling fell directly onto the monster's massive horns. They were horns unlike anything the Grimalkynes had ever seen—just looking at them was enough to make them nearly wet themselves.
They could see the monster's giant eyes; although the lids were open, the crimson pupils lacked any luster. They stared fixedly at the rock ceiling above, as if looking through the stone at something far away.
After a tense and intense psychological struggle, the two Grimalkynes finally mustered the courage to inspect the motionless giant. For a tribe facing food shortages, this was a mountain of meat.
The monster was indeed dead. The two Grimalkynes had crawled under a gap to see clearly: it must have been heavily injured in a fight with another monster. This creature had a front half but no back half. Strangely, the wound at the cross-section was rounded and bulging, not looking like it had been bitten off, and it wasn't even bleeding.
"Is... is it dried up, meow?"
When one Grimalkyne reached out to poke it with a claw, he was stunned to find his paw covered in powder. The monster's flesh was as fragile as dried mud; with a gentle push, it turned into dust—and it had no smell at all.
"How can this be, meow..."
The other Grimalkyne tasted the powder on his paw and sat on the ground in dejection. If the food was like this, it basically had no nutritional value. It couldn't serve as food for the tribe.
Crack!
A sudden noise startled the two Grimalkynes. They jumped up in a panic and looked toward the source of the sound—Crack!
It wasn't an illusion. A single spike on the giant monster's body suddenly twitched. It was like a breath, a tremor, and then it returned to silence.
No more signals were needed. The two Grimalkynes bolted out of the cave as if their tails were on fire, leaving the monster's corpse lying there in silence.
It was safe to say they wouldn't be returning here for a very long time.
"Based on the currently confirmed intelligence, we can officially define the Glavenus Boss as a brand-new species of Elder Dragon. Not only does he possess a unique method of flight, but he is an Elder Dragon that feeds on other Elder Dragons. His ecological niche far exceeds that of an ordinary Elder Dragon."
"...Unlike ordinary monsters that rely on wings to beat the air, and unlike Elder Dragons like Kushala Daora that manipulate storms to lift themselves, the Glavenus Boss has aberrant wings distinct from both. They stand on either side of his body like two massive 'cannon barrels'..."
"However, it should be noted that each wing is composed of four thick wing bones without any membrane. There are only large circular apertures at the tips. These four wing bones can separate during combat and act as auxiliary tools. They are extremely flexible, allowing him to freely aim the nozzles at the front or any direction around his body..."
"..."
"...The tail blade has also changed; it can freely extend or retract. Curiously, during this process, the number of scales on the tail does not increase or decrease..."
"In addition, the Glavenus Boss frequently inhales large amounts of air during combat. We suspect there is an organ similar to an air sac inside his body. A large amount of air mixed with fire-elemental energy is expelled from the ends of his wing bones. This violently burning air provides immense thrust, serving not only as a means of attack but as the fundamental reason he can fly through the sky..."
"...According to the observations and summaries of the scholars at Astera, the Glavenus Boss is currently unable to fly for extended periods. He must land after traveling a certain distance, seemingly facing an issue of insufficient power... It is suspected he is still in a growth phase. This situation might change once he reaches full maturity... Unknown..."
"..."
"In summary, after research and discussion by the Guild scholars, the Glavenus Boss is officially named the Aerowing Dragon, classified as an Elder Dragon. That is all."
Having read this, the Third Fleet Master put down the report and looked at the Commander and the others. "Any questions?"
"None," the Admiral said, shaking his head. "The Aerowing Dragon? Naming him solely based on his flight method feels like it doesn't quite capture the Glavenus Boss's characteristics."
"It's just a temporary designation," the Third Fleet Master said with a wry smile. "Based on the reports you provided, it's clear the Aerowing Dragon of thirty years ago and the one now are two completely different forms. No one knows what this Elder Dragon's true form is. If his appearance and traits change further in the future, the name will change with it."
"Speaking of which, is this the first time the Guild has named the same monster multiple times?" Hara said, suppressing a laugh. "After all, other monsters are quite reasonable; their juvenile forms aren't that different from their adult forms... at least they aren't completely unrecognizable."
"Sorry, I've brought some news. Just like before, it's the kind of news that makes scholars want to burst into tears," Hara said with a shrug. "Many of you have seen the 'Little Glavenus Boss,' right? The dragon that inherited the name Brightblade from the Glavenus Boss."
"I remember," the Commander nodded. "Is that why you didn't return for the operation? To investigate it?"
"Exactly. It left the Glavenus Boss's territory and fought several monsters," Hara said solemnly. "And it was those battles that made me realize the abnormality of the situation. Brightblade is just... Brightblade. Uh, let me figure out how to put this."
Hara tapped his head in frustration, organizing his thoughts.
"A few of us saw what the Glavenus Boss looked like when he was young. He didn't look much different from a normal Glavenus, just a bit smarter, right?"
"Correct," the Admiral said. "He knew how to set traps and use tactics. The Glavenus Boss was smart from the start."
"And he grew very quickly, showing his differences externally in no time," Hara continued. "But Brightblade is different. I've seen the reports from the front-line investigation camp. Brightblade has looked like this since birth. Even now, having left his mother's care and entered adolescence, he still looks the same. This hasn't changed, even after devouring dozens of monsters."
"Brightblade's appetite is also far inferior to the Glavenus Boss's. A monster of the same size—Brightblade is full and can't eat anymore after only finishing half. But the Glavenus Boss once ate four or five monsters of the same size without stopping. He only stopped not because he was full, but because he ran out of food."
"What are you getting at?" The Admiral's face was a mask of confusion. "Just give us the conclusion, Hara."
"You idiot, have you forgotten our most important theory about the Glavenus Boss?" Hara said crossly. "On the Glavenus Boss, we found physical characteristics of multiple monsters, including but not limited to a Glavenus's tail blade, Seregios's bleeding scales, and the scale and shell texture of a Kushala Daora..."
"It was because of these findings that we determined the Glavenus Boss is actually an unknown Elder Dragon species. He doesn't even have a fixed physical form; he changes his appearance based on the monsters he devours, absorbing the physical essence of his prey."
"But Brightblade isn't like that. He is always himself."
As Hara's voice trailed off, the entire meeting room on the ship's bow fell silent. Only the sound of the flags fluttering overhead could be heard.
The Third Fleet's flag was flying here—a deep and light purple background with a chalice-like pattern.
Silence. Everyone was thinking.
The report and the questions Hara brought were so shocking that no one knew what to say. The logic held up, but precisely because it held up, it left them bewildered.
"In other words, is it possible that this unique flight ability we're seeing could also belong to some monster we haven't discovered yet—one that the Aerowing Dragon defeated and preyed upon?" The Third Fleet Master rubbed her forehead. "Rather than it being a power inherent to him as an Elder Dragon?"
"The powers controlled by Elder Dragons are usually singular, right? Kushala Daora's wind, Teostra's fire... so far, we haven't found an Elder Dragon that has mastered multiple powers," the Commander asked.
"Exactly," a scholar nearby nodded. "This theory is reasonable. After all, we know the Glavenus Boss isn't often with the Glavenus tribe; he's always out preying on other monsters. It's understandable if he preyed on some monsters we've never seen deep in the Ancient Forest."
"This is getting complicated," the Admiral suddenly said. "The Glavenus Boss is an Elder Dragon, but his child is not... How did I end up in a dream like this?"
"Don't overthink it, you idiot," the Commander said, giving his old friend a look of exasperation. "One thing is certain: Brightblade is definitely the offspring sired by the Glavenus Boss and an Acidic Glavenus. Many Grimalkynes in the Glavenus tribe witnessed the process and saw Brightblade's birth with their own eyes."
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