While Nergigante and the Research Commission were both doing their utmost to track Logan's trail, Logan stood atop a mountain peak at the outlet of an underground stream. Beside him, the yellow-brown sand and stone had been heated red by the temperature of his body, continuously melting into murky crystal.
Below, the Fire Wyvern pack, led by Flame Rathalos, was besieging an entire Jyuratodus herd.
Whether it was the mutated Jyuratodus whose dorsal fins had turned red, or the smaller ordinary Jyuratodus whose bodies were still too small to tell from the surface whether they had been parasitized, all of them were targets of the Fire Wyverns' attacks.
Logan and the Fire Wyvern pack had already been here for a full day. According to Logan's observations, the outlet of the underground stream beneath the peak was the largest outlet in this swamp region. It connected to the underground currents of the Wildspire Waste and was also where the swamp's waters flowed out to sea.
For those aquatic monsters that could not endure the high temperatures Logan brought with him, yet under the influence of the Qurio did not particularly want to stray far from the marsh, the underground currents here were the most suitable hiding place.
Never mind that right now it was only a mere sixty degrees; even if it were raised to one hundred degrees, for the underground currents buried deep beneath the earth it still would not amount to much. Unless Logan could dive deep underground and cut off the source of the water, these monsters only had to burrow into it to safely avoid this calamity.
Therefore, Logan simply decided to go all the way: he brought the Fire Wyverns here to block this spot, lying in wait for the monsters to come to them.
A great deal of blood was flowing out from within the Jyuratodus herd, then being carried away by the somewhat swift current.
Flame Rathalos turned into a massive fireball and charged straight into the water. As its overwhelming heat vaporized great plumes of water, it blasted the Jyuratodus hiding in the depths out into the open.
The other Rathalos seized the opportunity to launch their attacks again, taking more lives from among them.
Suddenly, Logan, who was overseeing the situation from atop the peak, narrowed his eyes and looked toward the west. There, he saw the Research Commission's mobile research base riding the air currents and rapidly sailing in his direction.
He had originally thought that Nergigante would be the first to arrive; he had not expected the Research Commission to actually make it here ahead of Nergigante.
Logan had been freely unleashing the calamity side of himself and had never planned to avoid drawing the Research Commission's attention. He had long since been prepared for the Research Commission to pursue him.
At the same time, the reason he was openly displaying his life energy without the slightest concealment was also to draw out Nergigante, whose hiding place was unknown. It was just that, in his expectations, it should have been Nergigante that found him first. After all, the ability to sense life energy between Elder Dragons could be very convenient at times.
Seeing that the Jyuratodus herd below was about to be slaughtered to the last, Logan also slightly drew back Sunlight and began to recover the life energy consumed to maintain the calamity. Even though that consumption was somewhat negligible for him, the moment he thought that his opponent might be Nergigante, he did not dare to be the least bit careless.
After all, no one yet knew what state Nergigante was currently in. If it really had entered the Anomaly Overcome state that Logan least wanted to see, then at the very least, before he ran for it, he would have to buy the Fire Wyverns enough time to retreat.
Of course, according to the information he had obtained from the Research Commission earlier, Logan judged that Nergigante's current condition could at most reach Tempered. As for something like an Anomaly Overcome state, leaving aside the fact that it had only been a little more than half a year since the Qurio were discovered and that their mass reproduction had only been going on for a mere three months—
Without an Elder Dragon allowing the Qurio to draw enough life energy, even if Nergigante ate all of the Qurio, it would still be impossible for it to enter the Anomaly Overcome state.
It wasn't just a difference in quantity here; the question of quality was the truly critical part!
On the airship, when the Admiral and the others looked at Logan standing on the mountaintop, who appeared very calm in the face of their arrival, the tension in their hearts instantly eased a great deal, and they all unconsciously let out a slow breath.
At the very least, judging from the way Logan was behaving at the moment, he had not yet lost his reason.
As long as they could still communicate with him, that was the Research Commission's minimum expectation for Logan's current state, and it meant that the chances of the two sides coming to blows instantly dropped to the lowest level.
Once the Third Fleet Master, after many drills, had skillfully dropped the anchor and brought the mobile research base to a stop beside the peak, the impatient Admiral was the first to blow his whistle. He tossed out the rope in his hand, letting the Wingdrake that heard the order carry him to a spot not far from Logan.
"Boss, are you still doing okay right now?"
What kind of question is that?! I've already rallied every bit of my energy and spirit to their peak, ready to fight that big black hedgehog at any moment, and you're asking me whether I'm in good condition?
Facing the Admiral's worried gaze, Logan could not be bothered to deal with whatever the Admiral was senselessly worrying about and continued watching the battle below as it neared its end.
But Logan's reaction made the Admiral's heart jolt. He tightened his clenched fist and, pretending to be relaxed, walked forward to the cliff's edge. Following Logan's line of sight, he looked toward the river below, now dyed a crimson red.
"Boss, this kind of slaughter down there isn't much like your style, is it? What did those Jyuratodus do to provoke you?" The Admiral's tone sounded light, but the way his words were clearly forced made Logan feel all sorts of uncomfortable.
"Roar!" (If you want to ask something, then ask!)
Logan's roar was simple and easy to understand, and the Admiral did not hear any emotion besides irritation. It seemed this old friend's mental state was still very stable.
"I want to know why the Rathalos have been slaughtering all sorts of large monsters without distinction during this period—and the high-temperature environment you've caused." The Admiral looked directly into Logan's blue vertical pupils, his tone filled with trust. "You must have your reasons, old friend. If you need it, we'll give you our full support!"
Logan looked at the Admiral's utterly sincere expression, lifted his chin slightly, and motioned for him to look at the Jyuratodus corpses floating on the surface of the water.
As the Admiral's gaze settled there, he saw that the Rathalos, having already completed all the kills, had not rushed to retreat. Instead, they remained in attacking postures, staring at the Jyuratodus corpses rising and falling with the waves, waiting for something.
"Qurio?"
As soon as the Admiral spoke, a swarm of Qurio tore out from beneath the Jyuratodus armor plating, bursting out in large numbers and charging straight at the Rathalos without hesitation.
One Radiant Crystal Butterfly after another shot out from the Rathalos, refusing to yield as they tangled with the Qurio. The Rathalos stopped observing and continuously used ranged attacks to help the Radiant Crystal Butterflies gain the advantage, killing large numbers of Qurio.
"Qurio may be dangerous, but they shouldn't be enough to turn the entire swamp into a dead land, right? As long as you kill the monsters parasitized by the Qurio, that should be enough. There's no need to go this far, is there?"
The Admiral understood the danger of the Qurio, but he still could not understand Logan's decision—until Logan let out a low roar, and the Admiral instantly froze.
"How is that possible! Sixty percent of the monsters have already been infected?!"
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