The interception process had been extremely tortuous, but fortunately the final outcome was a good one. Having worried for a long time, with his nerves constantly stretched taut, the Commander finally felt a weight lift from his heart. He could no longer control his expression and burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter.
It had not been easy—truly not easy!
But the gains were considerable!
This was the very first time the human side had successfully intercepted a super-colossal Elder Dragon of this level. Placed in the annals of history, it would absolutely merit a page of its own!
Moreover, beyond its historical significance, they could, through this Zorah Magdaros, obtain far more information—including, but not limited to, data on the Elder Crossing and on super-colossal Elder Dragons themselves!
These data would help unravel the secrets of the Elder Crossing and further verify many hypotheses previously proposed by scholars, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of the human collective when facing super-colossal Elder Dragons such as Zorah Magdaros!
"How is the situation on Zorah Magdaros's side? How much time do we expect to have?"
After venting his emotions to his heart's content, the Commander quickly regained his composure. He took a vial of potion from a crate beside the command post and drank it. After feeling the fatigue in his body subside considerably under the potion's effect, he then turned toward the scholars on the other side who were compiling the various data sent back by the investigators.
"This Zorah Magdaros is simply far too old. Its stamina and the like have long since reached their limits. This time, as long as there is no external stimulation to its heat-dissipation conduits and the volcanoes on its back, it is expected to rest for twelve to twenty-four hours before awakening again. Therefore, our time is actually quite limited."
The deputy director of the Ecological Research Center, who had accompanied the team, carefully set aside the compiled statistics and gave an urgent figure.
"So little time?"
The Commander rubbed his chin and pondered.
The process of intercepting Zorah Magdaros had been filled with fortuity. The Research Commission had first used various large-scale devices to launch attacks against it, in order to make it feel threatened and thereby place it in a state of alertness.
In such a state, they could both drain Zorah Magdaros's stamina and also inflict a certain amount of damage on it, forcing its stamina to be depleted even further.
Zorah Magdaros, which bore volcanoes on its back, inherently consumed far more stamina while moving than other super-colossal Elder Dragons. Therefore, in order to conserve stamina, the vast majority of Zorah Magdaros normally remained in a silent, inactive state at basically all times except for sleeping and feeding. Coupled with the Elder Dragons' long lifespans, it was often the case that villages living near Zorah Magdaros would go through several generations, only to suddenly discover one day that the volcano next to their village had actually run off!
After pressuring Zorah Magdaros in this way, the interception by the first defensive line, together with the force exerted by the fixed ballista emplacements, could compel Zorah Magdaros to expend even more stamina if it wanted to keep moving forward.
Originally, everything had been going smoothly, and everything was proceeding according to the initial plan.
But unexpectedly, just as they successfully bound Zorah Magdaros and began squeezing out the enemy's stamina, an accident occurred.
A monster whose body size was clearly smaller than what was recorded for Nergigante suddenly appeared, and without another word, it proactively launched an attack on Zorah Magdaros.
Although whether in terms of body size or strength, this small Nergigante, when facing Zorah Magdaros, was like a grasshopper frantically beating up a frail old man.
The physical attacks were secondary, but in terms of mentality, Zorah Magdaros truly could not accept it!
In order to drive off this "grasshopper," before the Research Commission even arranged for hunters to take action, Zorah Magdaros directly triggered a volcanic eruption. Along with the rolling surge of massive quantities of magma, Nergigante was indeed driven off its body by it, but likewise, the Research Commission's defensive line was also breached more quickly amid such flames and molten magma.
After this small Nergigante was driven off by Zorah Magdaros in this manner, it still seemed somewhat unwilling to give up, circling in the sky and trying to find a new opportunity to attack.
And just at this time, Mother Chameleos, who in the Research Commission's impression had always been steady and lazy, became unusually excited, and with abnormally agitated croaking cries, charged straight toward the small Nergigante.
It gave that small Nergigante, which looked very young, a brutal beating, and in the end chased it off to who-knew-where.
The rapid collapse of the first defensive line nearly caused the Research Commission's plan to fall apart, and Zorah Magdaros, in this wave of outburst, also caused the dormant volcanoes on its back to enter an active state, with the entire dragon showing a slight trace of excitement.
Fortunately, at this critical moment, the Commander made a decisive call and took a risk by sending a large number of elite hunters with sufficient equipment onto Zorah Magdaros's back to search for its heat-dissipation organs and destroy them. This forced Zorah Magdaros, in order to disperse the excess accumulated heat within its body and reduce the burden imposed by its massive life energy, to actively and forcibly suppress its own agitated state.
Fortunately, this group of hunters truly delivered. Braving the intermittent eruptions of volcanic magma, they forcibly destroyed a large number of the small heat-dissipation organs on Zorah Magdaros's back, causing it to enter a silent state.
This was also the greatest feat that hunters' individual combat power could possibly achieve when facing a super-colossal Elder Dragon like Zorah Magdaros, which could be described as a moving ecosystem.
The Commander once again expressed his gratitude toward the Ancient Tree. It was precisely because of the existence of Blazefire Village that there were sufficient logistical resources, and also because of Blazefire Village—taking logistical capacity into account—that the Fifth Fleet had been deployed at twice the originally planned number.
Only with such a large amount of manpower available was it possible to construct two defensive lines in such a short period of time.
The second defensive line lived up to its mission, forcibly withstanding the attacks of Zorah Magdaros after it had been forcibly calmed. In the end, because its stamina consumption exceeded expectations, and because the life energy within its body had also become excessively active due to its earlier agitation, Zorah Magdaros, left with no alternative, could only enter a short period of sleep on the spot—recovering stamina while also exerting all its effort to suppress the increasingly uncontrollable life energy.
"If we reinforce the defensive line a bit more, can we extend our investigation time?"
The Commander looked toward the members of the Fourth Fleet who were coordinating supplies nearby, but instead saw the other party slowly shake their head.
"Sorry, we can't," the Fourth Fleet member said while looking at the notebook in their hands. What was written on it were not words at all—it was clearly the blood and sweat of the Fourth Fleet.
"In order not to affect today's interception battle, our supplies already stopped being transported last night. Even though follow-up signal flares were launched afterward, in the short term, we truly cannot assemble a batch of supplies sufficient to intercept Zorah Magdaros again."
"Is that so?"
The Commander sighed, thought for a moment, and made a decision. "In that case, accelerate the pace of data collection. After Zorah Magdaros awakens, proactively remove the restraints of the fixed ballista emplacements, increase the corresponding tracking personnel, and find a way to determine its final destination. I have a premonition that the place where it ultimately stops will definitely be the most critical location of the Elder Crossing!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy director of the Ecological Research Center beside him rolled their eyes in agitation.
This increasingly shameless Commander was saying conclusions that they had painstakingly discussed and worked out themselves!!
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---