The original Pressure alone was already enough to subject monsters weaker than Logan to immense strain; after his metamorphosis was completed, that Pressure even carried an added intimidation from the absolute ecological-niche dominance of an Elder Dragon.
Although the Scorching Heat Rathian belonged to a special species and was one of the very few powerful monsters capable of standing off against ordinary Elder Dragons for a time, it was still cowed by this intimidation when caught off guard.
The red-black flames on its body—manic and uncontrollable just like those of the Flame Rathalos back then—halted for the briefest instant. The energy circulation within it suddenly stopped, every muscle throughout its body tensed, and its heartbeat abruptly quickened.
Only, even though the Scorching Heat Rathian's movements had stopped, Logan still keenly saw something in its eyes beyond fear.
"Not convinced?"
Logan knew very well what that flicker in its gaze beyond fear represented; many Fire Wyverns in the past had looked at him with such eyes.
Casting a cold glance at the Flame Rathalos off to the side—pretending indifference yet secretly watching Logan the whole time—he waited until the other drew in his neck before turning his head back to look at the Scorching Heat Rathian, which likewise folded its wings, did not dare look at Logan, yet was staring fixedly at Aki.
Logan had seen this situation many times over the years.
He knew that for these former regional overlords—the existences at the apex of ordinary monsters—relying on ecological-niche intimidation alone could not make them truly submit.
All the more so when this Scorching Heat Rathian was a female.
Submitting to Logan would not be shameful, but if the one faced was Aki, that would be a different attitude.
However, Logan believed Aki would handle this very soon. After all, Aki was no mere vase; by relying on her own strength, she had forcibly secured a place for herself among a group where Flame Rathalos occupied the high ranks.
Time passed; this time, the earthvein tremors triggered by Shara Ishvalda went somewhat beyond Logan's expectations.
They had not ceased for a full half month.
The volcanoes near the Elder's Recess were erupting basically once a day. Vast amounts of toxic smoke and dust were gathering at high altitude, making all flying creatures in the Elder's Recess suffer miserably.
Even the visibility in the air had dropped by quite a lot.
Bioenergy became more active along with the restless earthveins, and as a result, the daily activities of various creatures also grew livelier. The entire Elder's Recess had turned into a vast breeding ground of chaos, with countless monsters either fighting or on their way to a fight.
Even the usually uncontentious Dodogama had begun joining the battles.
Moreover, Logan found that many Elder Dragons had chosen to leave the Elder's Recess during this period—perhaps to avoid the omnipresent noise here, or perhaps because they did not wish to interfere in this battlefield that belonged to ordinary monsters.
One new monster after another, guided by the active earthveins, arrived in this brutal region and soon joined the frenzy.
The scent of sulfur in the air was even mixed with a faint trace of blood.
Standing in the sky, Logan endured the noise while forming a rough estimate of the vitality level of the Elder's Recess.
As the crustal tremors became more frequent, the activity of life energy in the air had nearly doubled compared to half a month ago.
In such an enormous and vibrant environment of life energy, the growth monsters could gain from battle was far from a simple doubling.
According to Logan's observations, in the Elder's Recess now, nearly one monster capable of successfully breaking through and becoming a Tempered individual could appear every day.
According to Aki's feedback, even if she did not fight and simply stayed quietly, she could feel her body growing excited.
This active life energy was practically an omnipresent stimulant, urging monsters to ceaselessly engage in slaughter.
In such an environment, there were even Flying Wyverns unafraid of death that chose to charge at Logan's nest—delivering a meal that, at least, tasted rather decent.
It could well be imagined just how frenzied the monsters within the Elder's Recess had become by now.
[Boom!]
A cloud of flames exploded. Just from the sound, Logan did not even need to look to know that Aki and that Scorching Heat Rathian were fighting again.
Some time ago, the Scorching Heat Rathian had been unaccustomed to suddenly having a "leader" who could give her orders, so she forcibly dragged the Flame Rathalos to this area's lava cavern to resettle, without even greeting Logan.
Having grown used to life within a flock, Aki took this as the Scorching Heat Rathian's provocation against the rules.
Thus, Aki directly chose this area as her daily hunting ground. Whenever she saw the Scorching Heat Rathian's figure, she would charge at it without a word, determined to teach it a lesson.
At first, Logan did not quite approve of Aki's behavior. For a powerful monster that had lived alone for so many years, it was perfectly normal to be unable to adapt to new group rules in a short time.
Besides, Logan at present did not particularly care whether that Scorching Heat Rathian would join the group or not.
It was only later that he discovered that this Scorching Heat Rathian truly had some ability—during her battles with Aki, she could actually hold her ground for a short time without falling behind.
The difference in strength between the two was not especially large, and because of Logan's connection with the Flame Rathalos, even though the two fought fiercely, neither intended to kill the other outright, and the wounds they caused were not fatal.
For Aki, this was undoubtedly a very good sparring partner.
During this period of active life energy, it allowed Aki's metamorphosis rate to progress with ample improvement.
So as the fighting continued, Logan simply got used to it.
"Roar~"
A burst of flame came flying, and the Flame Rathalos gazed down at the battle below with eyes full of distress—especially upon seeing the Scorching Heat Rathian start to fall into disadvantage, it looked pitifully toward Logan, continually letting out low growls.
"Look at you—so spineless!"
Logan cursed inwardly. That Flame Rathalos had only been somewhat lazy in the past, but how had it ended up like this now?
A perfectly good Fire Wyvern refusing to be one—insisting instead on becoming a bootlicking wyvern!
As for the Flame Rathalos's behavior of lacking any initiative and secretly following the Scorching Heat Rathian out without saying a word, Logan actually felt rather displeased as well.
Seeing that the battle below was drawing to a close and that the Scorching Heat Rathian was beginning to retreat step by step, Logan dove down, landing between Aki and the Scorching Heat Rathian. Taking both of their breaths head-on, he forcibly stopped the fight.
The Scorching Heat Rathian looked warily as its own flames were absorbed by those silver-white scales; the toxins contained within that fire vanished completely in the scales' reflected light.
Although it was not the first time she had seen such an unreasonable ability from Logan, each time she witnessed it, the Scorching Heat Rathian could not help feeling a jolt of alarm.
Aki tilted her head unhappily toward the Scorching Heat Rathian, letting out a provocative dragon roar, but the Scorching Heat Rathian did not respond. Instead, after glaring at Logan, she spread her wings and flew straight away from the battlefield.
Regarding Logan's habit of stepping in every time just as she was about to win the fight, Aki, though a little displeased in her heart, also understood that if she kept fighting, even if she could win, the injuries would require more potions to recover.
Moreover, the payoff of continuing to fight was not particularly great; merely winning a battle whose outcome had already been decided beforehand was somewhat not worth it.
Yes, as early as a few days ago, under Logan's indulgence, Aki had already truly won the fight against the Scorching Heat Rathian.
It was just a pyrrhic victory, consuming a lot of medicine; only then had she recovered in a short time. Having been out for so long, the consumption of potions was also growing larger and larger, and she would have to economize later.
As for coming to fight the Scorching Heat Rathian again despite clearly having won, beyond the purpose of finding a sparring partner, there was indeed also the factor that the Scorching Heat Rathian remained defiant.
Simply put, the Scorching Heat Rathian was still in the state of "although I lost, I still refuse to accept it."
And Aki, being stubborn, insisted on beating the Scorching Heat Rathian into submission.
A pyrrhic victory would never compare to the kind of overwhelming victory Logan had once achieved.
Besides, the Scorching Heat Rathian was not like the Flame Rathalos back then, who had pursuits in daily life and needed Logan's help to keep his flames under control.
It recognized only strength!
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