After failing to persuade her, the Wyverian girl officially took up residence on the Ancient Tree. However, to prevent her from pulling any tricks, the cats deliberately assigned a guide to look after her and assist with her life atop the Ancient Tree.
Time passed, and more than half a month went by.
In another area of the Elder's Recess, on a field filled with Bioenergy Crystals, a unique battle erupted.
Two Dodogamas huddled tightly in a corner, burying themselves in the mixture of Bioenergy Crystal and basalt soil, not daring to poke their heads out.
All around the battlefield, countless Bioenergy Crystals shattered as high-temperature flames swept across the field, while a streak of lightning flashed through the fire.
In the sky, Logan and the Teostra were both shrouded in frenzied flames—one relied on the advantage of four limbs and two wings, trying to pull the other into close combat.
The other, depending on its absolute superiority in speed, wielded its spines and tail spikes to their fullest extent.
Both completely ignored each other's flames, augmenting their combat with dust explosions and liquid detonations.
Although both had excellent control over their strength, the temperature in the area inevitably soared at a terrifying rate. Fortunately, under mutual restraint, the heat did not spread throughout the entire Elder's Recess.
And below them, a massive melee was raging.
Aki and a Rathian—her body also engulfed in flames, though hers were tinted red and black—had joined forces to battle against the Lunastra, whose wind pressure and blue flames kept expanding.
Meanwhile, amid those blazing flames, the long-missing Flame Rathalos rekindled the brilliant fire upon his body and became entangled in combat with a Rajang whose golden fur stood erect in a state of raging battle aura.
It all began that morning, when Aki came to this region intending to enter the lava cave and see if there were any Gastodons around—she had planned to improve their meals a little.
While searching for her target, Aki suddenly sensed the abnormal rise in temperature.
Immediately after, massive streams of lava began to erupt, frightening all the creatures within the lava cave into fleeing in panic.
Originally, Aki had planned to seize this opportunity, while the monsters hidden in the lava cave were escaping, to pick out a "prey" that suited her tastes.
But before she could act, she saw from afar the Flame Dragon couple chasing after the long-absent Flame Rathalos and a Rathian that looked remarkably similar to the former, bursting out from the depths of the lava cave.
Aki had already noticed it, and naturally, Logan in the sky saw it as well.
While sighing inwardly that the single Flame Rathalos had actually found a mate, he dove down without hesitation to intercept the Teostra.
At the same time, Aki surged upward against the current to join up with the Flame Rathalos, and together they confronted the Lunastra.
No one knew exactly why, but although the Lunastra displayed a furious fighting spirit, her overall energy output efficiency and movements in battle always felt somewhat feeble.
Because of this, the combined efforts of the Flame Rathalos, Aki, and that Rathian managed to suppress her, despite their less-than-ideal compatibility.
Originally, they thought that if the battle continued like this, the Flame Dragon couple would surely retreat.
Unexpectedly, however, the commotion from their fight was so great that it woke the bull sleeping in the nearby area!
The Rajang, rudely awakened and bursting with rage, instantly entered its rage mode and charged straight into the fray, attacking anyone it saw, completely ignoring the fact that even the weakest monsters present were of "police-level" threat.
With such a troublemaker thrown into the mix, the battle quickly reached a stalemate. Aside from the combatants, only two Dodogamas that hadn't managed to escape remained, trembling in the ground in sheer terror.
In the sky above, the two Elder Dragons that both wielded flames—Logan and the Teostra—found themselves in a mutually helpless deadlock.
Whether it was Logan's Calamity Flame or the Teostra's superheated fire capable of crystallizing an entire desert overnight, both proved useless against the other.
Given Logan's current energy state, even though Flash Fire was frantically absorbing the Teostra's flames, it was still impossible to trigger a qualitative transformation in such a short time.
For the moment, the two flame-playing Elder Dragons could only rely on explosions to inflict somewhat effective damage.
Down below, the Lunastra grew increasingly frustrated.
Having given birth less than a month ago, she had consumed a vast amount of life force to reproduce and had yet to replenish it.
Her overall stats had dropped sharply, leaving her often powerless in combat, making each exchange feel all the more stifling.
Not to mention, her own flames had little effect on the two Fire Wyverns wreathed in flames themselves.
One's crimson fire carried a special black toxin, while the other—though her flames contained no poison—released, through close combat, a blend of hemotoxic and combustible toxins even more terrifying than fire poison itself.
Once hit by it, even with an Elder Dragon's constitution, it was impossible to purge the toxin in a short time—let alone now, when she was in a weakened state.
Thus, in the midst of battle, the moment she saw Aki charging up against the wind pressure and flames, the Lunastra could only take off in frustration.
As for the Flame Rathalos and the Rajang, the situation had currently turned into one where the Rajang was suppressing the Flame Rathalos.
However, since all the other monsters present were experts in fire, the terrain—though a mixture of basalt and Bioenergy Crystals—was behaving like the inside of a volcano.
Under the field's environmental boost, the Flame Rathalos could still hold his own against the Rajang in its rage mode, merely waiting for that state to fade.
As the battle reached its peak, the Dodogamas had no choice but to dig even deeper underground.
The fused basalt and Bioenergy Crystals across the entire field turned into magma that blanketed the area, with countless pillars of fire shooting skyward. The stirred-up magma rose high into the air, only to be scattered again by the high-speed figures rushing through it.
From above, the area had completely transformed into a world of flames. Apart from the occasional dark silhouettes flashing within—proof that combat still continued—nothing inside could be seen from the outside anymore.
In several nearby regions, a Kushala Daora, happily munching on minerals, raised its head toward the towering blaze in the distance. Feeling its own body temperature rising rapidly, the irritable Elder Dragon was about to charge over and join the fight when it suddenly sensed something, grumbled under its breath, shook its red-tinted nose, and took flight in the opposite direction.
Deep within the Elder's Recess, one Elder Dragon after another lifted their heads, each in visible irritation. After wrecking their surroundings in annoyance, they spread their wings and left the Elder's Recess, flying off in different directions.
In the midst of combat, Logan and the Teostra halted their attacks simultaneously.
Bursts of chaotic "singing" echoed from the life veins beneath the Elder's Recess. To Elder Dragons capable of drawing upon and sensing life energy, these Bioenergy Crystals were like resonant amplifiers vibrating with that song—an unbearable noise to their heightened senses.
Logan and the Teostra exchanged glances, both detecting the same irritation in the other's eyes, and let out simultaneous dragon roars.
Below, the Lunastra, still locked in combat, unleashed a fiery breath to stop Aki's charge. Agitated, she decisively flew up to regroup with the Teostra.
The Rathian, who had intended to pursue, stopped in frustration after seeing Aki halt, knowing full well that she stood no chance against the Lunastra alone.
In an instant, the battlefield fell abruptly silent—only the Flame Rathalos and the Rajang remained locked in combat.
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