"They're coming! Heads up!" the Commander suddenly shouted, his voice rising in alarm.
Crash!
Before the words could even leave his mouth, the low shrubs obscuring their vision in the misty woods were flattened. A Mosswine—or at least, what used to be one—charged out of the trees like a stampeding bull. Despite its size being dwarfed by Mirrorblade, the blue-tinted beast showed no sign of fear.
Or perhaps, it simply didn't have the time to be afraid?
Without even a glance at Mirrorblade, the massive blue hog bolted past, fleeing down the path the investigation team had just come from. Even though it was huffing and puffing with exhaustion, it refused to stop.
"How can this be?" Allen muttered instinctively. "What on earth is happening deep in the forest?"
A normal Mosswine is a small animal, easily scooped up by a human... well, maybe a human's strength isn't the best metric here, but Mosswine are generally harmless, docile creatures that can even be kept as pets. They love mushrooms and are experts at finding them; because they grow moss and fungi on their backs, they earned their name. Their meat is tender, flavorful, and possesses a natural umami that makes them highly sought after.
However, after turning "Blue," the Mosswine's habits change entirely.
The most drastic change is their size. They go from being small enough to hold in one's arms to becoming massive, bloated hogs over two stories tall. In the words of many hunters from the Old World, they transform completely into something akin to a Bulldrome—large monsters significant enough to warrant official hunting quests.
The moss and mycelium on their backs vanish, replaced by a thick layer of armor-like crystals. These crystals glow with a deep blue hue like precious gems, covering them from their spine to their flanks, providing immense defense.
Like all other Blue-ified flora and fauna, the back of a Blue Mosswine glows faintly in low light. Despite carrying such heavy crystal growth, they aren't sluggish; instead, they are bursting with explosive power. Their temperaments become aggressive, and they will actively charge anything that nears them.
As for their attack power... anyone who has been sent flying by a pig's charge knows the feeling. In the wild, a boar is one of the most dangerous beasts in the forest—a true "all-rounder" with massive size, great strength, high mobility, and incredible endurance.
Yet, even a Blue Mosswine—something the hunters at the Forward Base usually go out of their way to avoid—was running for its life?
Option A: I must be seeing things (X)
Option B: There is something absolutely terrifying chasing it (✓)
Allen was so nervous he was swallowing hard, his finger stiff against the trigger, liable to fire at any moment.
Bang!!
When a Kulu-Ya-Ku and an Arzuros burst from the forest in succession, Allen's frayed nerves finally snapped, and he accidentally discharged his weapon. Miraculously, even though the Kulu-Ya-Ku was grazed by the shot, it didn't retaliate. Instead, it scrambled frantically away, following the path the Blue Mosswine had taken.
"Roar!"
"Meow! The Little Boss says to keep moving, meow! He can sense monsters fighting up ahead!" Sparky translated.
Given Mirrorblade's personality, once he made a decision, he didn't hesitate. He began treading a path forward, with the Commander and Allen following closely behind him.
Along the way, they saw numerous animals, large and small, fleeing past. Not a single one stopped to challenge them despite their "wrong-way" trajectory. Amidst the rising dust, there seemed to be no distinction between the Blue-ified and the normal animals; they were united by a single goal: survival.
Boom!!
"ROAR!!"
CRACK-BOOM!!
"ROOOOAR!!!"
The further they went, the clearer the sounds of massive beasts colliding and destroying the environment became. The roars alone were enough to make any lesser creature curl up in its nest, terrified to show its face.
"Are those... Fulgurbugs?! So many of them!!" As an experienced hunter from the Old World, Allen keenly noticed the golden insects darting through the leaves. They weren't appearing individually; they were flying in massive swarms!
"No, those are Great Fulgurbugs! Careful, the monster fighting up ahead is a Zinogre!!"
ZZZT-CRACK!
As if to prove Allen right, a bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the canopy, leaving behind a scorched smell and the sound of air being ripped apart by current.
Allen's reactions were fast, and his hunting knowledge was extensive, but he was still slightly off.
"No... it's not a normal Zinogre?!" Staring at the golden electricity piercing the air, Allen felt his throat go dry. "Could it be... a Thunderlord?!"
"Huh? What's a Zinogre? And what's a Thunderlord? Are they tough?"
Though Allen's expression and tone made it clear how dangerous the beast was, he was met with three confused faces: a human face, a cat face, and a dragon face.
A sense of helplessness washed over Allen. He barely had time to tell his friends not to rush into the fight before he quickly explained the characteristics of a Zinogre.
As the "big brother" of the Fanged Wyverns, it possesses yellowish horns like wolf ears, a body covered in yellow scales and white fur, and front legs more developed than its hind legs. It has incredible agility and jumping power. Most importantly, it can discharge electricity and shares a unique symbiotic relationship with Fulgurbugs.
When a Zinogre begins to discharge, the Fulgurbugs become "charged" and active, turning into glowing blue Great Fulgurbugs. The Zinogre then enters a Supercharged state, its fur standing on end, its physical capabilities heightening, and its attacks becoming lightning-fast with heavy elemental damage.
"Meow?" Sparky tilted his head. "Blue light, meow? But the lightning just now was gold, meow."
"That's why it's called a Thunderlord! It's a Deviant—the singular leader of a Zinogre pack. It stays in a Supercharged state even normally. If it charges up seriously, it emits a golden light and enters a 'True Supercharged' state!"
As a hunter sent by the Wycademy (via the 4th Fleet), Allen possessed a wealth of knowledge summarized by scholars, which perfectly filled the gaps for the man, the cat, and the dragon born in the New World.
THUD!!
It wasn't the sound of an explosion or lightning, but the dull thud of two monsters engaging in brutal, close-quarters combat. With Mirrorblade's rational and cautious nature, he and his friends crept forward, each step taken with extreme care.
Finally, passing through the last screen of trees into a clearing, they saw two titans clashing. Or rather, the clearing existed because of these two monsters!
"As I thought, that's the Thunderlord. But why is it alone?" Crouched in the grass, Allen whispered to himself. "Zinogre usually establish packs based on family ties. If a Thunderlord is here, there should be other Zinogre centered around it... why aren't they hunting together?"
"Maybe the opponent is too strong?" the Commander whispered back. "You said they have families, right? Maybe the Thunderlord stayed behind to cover the retreat while the rest of the pack escaped."
"Uh... would a Zinogre really go that far for its kin?" Allen was stumped by the Commander's suggestion.
"Does that even matter right now, you two idiots meow?" Sparky, perched on Allen's head, said impatiently. "Isn't the important thing the monster fighting the Thunderlord, meow? That thing is clearly Blue-ified, meow!"
Sparky was right.
Allen carefully observed the monster currently pinning the Thunderlord down. It was a winged creature, seemingly a Flying Wyvern. He could see its base green scales, but from its head to its wings and tail, even down to its toes, it was covered in vibrant, bright red spikes. The giant horn on its forehead was particularly red, massive, and sharp.
But more striking were the deep blue crystals covering its body—pure Bio-energy crystals. They looked like ice wrapping around a volcano, where the red spikes were the eruptions.
If the crystals on the Blue Mosswine were like a suit of armor, the crystals on this spiked beast looked like a part of its very body.
A lavender-colored liquid, presumably blood, seeped from the points where the crystals met the flesh. Allen couldn't tell if the monster's furious roars were due to the Thunderlord's attacks or the agony of its own body.
Just as he racked his brain, he couldn't recall what this monster was called.
"Isn't this a local specialty of your New World?" he asked the Commander in confusion.
"No idea. First time I've seen it," the Commander replied with an embarrassed smile. "You know I grew up in the Wildspire Waste."
"Probably came from somewhere else, meow," Sparky squinted. "Just like the monsters that were driven everywhere by the Velkhana back then, meow."
"Seriously? Comparing it to the Velkhana incident?" Allen peeked through the grass. "I honestly think this thing might be an Elder Dragon."
"No way, meow!" Sparky shook his head. "Elder Dragons can change the forest's landscape just by being there, meow. Does this guy look like he has that kind of power, meow?"
"Well, I heard my grandfather say that many years ago, there was a special Elder Dragon that fought 'Boss Glavenus' over food. I think it was called Nergigante," the Commander recalled. "That Elder Dragon couldn't change the weather like a Kushala Daora or Velkhana, but it was definitely an Elder Dragon. It was incredibly strong."
"And you think this thing is a Nergigante, meow?"
"No. It's got spikes, but not that many, and these are red. It doesn't match the guy Grandpa described," the Commander shook his head.
"Then it's not one, meow. Don't scare yourself, meow," Sparky decided. "Just keep waiting, meow. I feel like their fight is coming to an end, meow."
The battle across the clearing was indeed reaching a fever pitch.
The hunter who would recognize this beast wasn't here. This creature was actually an Espinas. Although not classified as an Elder Dragon, it possessed combat prowess that rivaled them, even capable of driving Elder Dragons out of its territory.
In fact, the Kushala Daora that the Commander just used as an example is practically a giant target for an Espinas—since Kushala is weak to poison, and poison happens to be one of the Espinas' primary methods of attack.
If Asterion were to judge, he might recall "unofficial" records where an Espinas was seen standing over the corpse of a Kushala Daora. It was a monster with a serious reputation.
But the pressure exerted by this Blue Espinas was no fiction. The normally humid air of the Ancient Forest had become dry and filled with fine static. Even a simple movement like Sparky lifting his head caused the fur on his neck to crackle with static electricity, causing Allen to flinch.
Wait... no, sorry. That static pressure was coming from the Thunderlord. But even with this overwhelming electrical aura that seemed to char the air, the Thunderlord was clearly losing—and losing badly.
Before long, the two men and the cat realized their bodies were covered in a thin layer of deep blue crystal dust. Terrified, they quickly tore pieces of cloth to cover their noses and mouths, fearing the effects of inhaling such a powder.
Mirrorblade, however, had no cloth. He could only gloomily bury his snout into the dirt, relying on the earth to act as a natural filter.
Was this crystal dust a deliberate attack by the Blue Espinas? Or was it simply the byproduct of its Bio-energy crystals being shattered by the Thunderlord's strikes?
No one knew. The investigation team could only watch as the air became thick with countless shimmering blue particles—beautiful, yet lethal under the sunlight.
On the other side, the Thunderlord had already entered its "True Supercharged" state. But no matter how flashy its moves or how the golden lightning ravaged the forest, its symbiotic partners—the Fulgurbugs—were showing their true state.
The Great Fulgurbugs were panicking. The swarm would lift off from the Thunderlord's back, attempting to fly toward the Blue Espinas, only to retreat timidly after a short distance.
Orbs of golden electricity pulsed wildly within the Thunderlord's fur, but the resulting arcs were intermittent, constantly snapping as they neutralized the drifting Bio-energy dust.
The Thunderlord was wounded. There was a gaping hole in its powerful right foreleg. Judging by the shape, it had been pierced straight through by one of the Espinas' spikes.
Blood was flowing steadily from the wound, but the more dangerous sign was the purple discoloration on the surface—the Thunderlord had been poisoned.
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