Mother Chameleos setting up camp above the base was never meant to be hidden from the Research Commission. Hearing the commotion overhead, the Admiral and Darren exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat amused and exasperated.
Mother Chameleos's intentions were obvious. After spending so much time together, how could they not know what kind of temperament she had?
All things considered, this was actually for the best. With Mother Chameleos acting as a battlefield medic stationed here, the Research Commission could take a more aggressive approach in its investigation of the Guiding Lands, and the overall safety of the camp would be greatly enhanced.
As the hunters from the follow-up recommended teams gradually returned, learning of Mother Chameleos's presence caused their previously weary expressions to relax considerably.
In dangerous field investigations like this, having sufficient medical support made an enormous difference in difficulty—let alone when that support came in the form of a medic at Mother Chameleos's level.
From the moment Mother Chameleos arrived, during subsequent investigations the hunters made a point of bringing back foods she liked to feed her whenever they went out.
In return, every time the hunters headed out on an expedition, they would receive extremely long-lasting buffs from Mother Chameleos. Relying on this prolonged abundance of stamina and a slow regeneration effect comparable to standard healing items, the Research Commission's overall survey progress in the Guiding Lands increased at a startling pace.
Before long, as time passed, the forest region became the center from which the surrounding environmental zones were successfully explored.
Traces of monsters such as Odogaron, Barioth, and even certain Elder Dragons were discovered and duly recorded.
That was, until the hunters found signs of a Ruiner Nergigante!
The Ruiner Nergigante had been in a foul mood lately.
A peer with roughly equivalent strength had arrived in the Guiding Lands and promptly seized a large portion of its territory, further tightening resources that were already scarce.
Back in the Elder's Recess, it had failed to gain even the slightest advantage against those two Disaster-level Elder Dragons who fought without any sense of propriety. After returning to the Guiding Lands, it was then relentlessly kicked around by a loathsome Valstrax for several days straight, until it could no longer endure the humiliation and hid away in a lava cavern, where things finally settled down.
Originally, it had only intended to wander through the forest, seeing whether it might encounter any Elder Dragons injured during territorial disputes.
Instead of finding an injured Elder Dragon, it unmistakably discovered the tracks of a special individual Chameleos.
This Chameleos was incredibly arrogant—she actually dared not activate Perfect Invisibility, instead wandering around the forest in a half-transparent state as if searching for something.
After several days of staking her out, Ruiner Nergigante successfully ambushed her. Once she had no choice but to flee back to her nest, Ruiner Nergigante also switched into full rabid-dog mode and pursued her with everything it had.
Above the camp, in Mother Chameleos's nest, the Admiral and Darren watched Mother Chameleos with faces like ice. She wore a pitiful look as she listlessly ate from the food in a wooden basin. From the base of her wings to the base of her tail, that entire area was a mess of shattered scales, and as she ate, the pain made her body twitch again and again.
This was Mother Chameleos! One of the most senior members of the First Fleet, the strongest medic in the New World, and one of the Research Commission's only two mascots!
And she had been beaten up by a monster!
Beaten up this badly, at that!
Hearing those whining croaks, Darren coldly glanced at the adamantine spikes pulled from Mother Chameleos's body, said nothing, and turned to leave the nest.
The Admiral let out a soft sigh, patted Mother Chameleos's forelimb as she lay sprawled like a flattened duck, then picked up the massive shield at his side and followed after Darren.
Just then, a dense medicinal mist caught up to the two of them, and immediately layered them with a full set of buffs.
Her eyes tracking the two as they departed via the Clutch Claw, Mother Chameleos slowly rose, tongue lolling.
As the wounds on her body squirmed with regenerating flesh, they rapidly healed under the medicinal mist's coverage. Then she entered Perfect Invisibility, tiptoeing as she quietly slipped out of the nest.
After being ambushed by Ruiner Nergigante, Mother Chameleos was not in danger of losing her life. With her current survivability, she had no fear of Ruiner Nergigante's pursuit; on the contrary, she could even use the medicinal mist to trip it up.
But Mother Chameleos also knew that Ruiner Nergigante was the rabid-dog type—once it fixed its sights on her, she would have no peaceful days ahead. Besides, she couldn't swallow this humiliation!
Logan's whereabouts were still temporarily nowhere to be found. Without a backer, she might be able to scheme against it once or twice, but in terms of raw strength, she was still lacking.
Rather than letting things drag on in mutual attrition with Ruiner Nergigante, she might as well send people to gang up on it directly!
With Darren and the others' strength, plus her support, the Ruiner Nergigante she had deliberately left tracks to lure over would be lucky to survive—even if it did, it would still lose a layer of skin!
That was why the hunters had seen her in such a wretched state.
In the camp, every hunter who could be summoned fully armed themselves and stood ready. After eating the Felyne meal specially prepared by Elt, they charged out of the camp amid the encouragement of the two Compilers, scattering in all directions to search for Ruiner Nergigante's tracks.
Meanwhile, Darren, the Admiral, Aiden, and a single Felyne formed a four-person squad and began searching along the location where Ruiner Nergigante had last appeared.
Very soon, a signal flare shot into the sky.
Upon seeing the flare, the hunters immediately used their Clutch Claws to travel at speed, rushing rapidly in that direction.
Darren's squad was the only team that did not move. They looked toward the direction of the flare, doubt rising in their hearts.
Under normal circumstances, the direction their squad was in should have been where Ruiner Nergigante was most likely to appear. Yet the location of the flare was where the squad farthest from them was positioned.
Something was wrong.
In the treetops, the invisible Mother Chameleos stared blankly at the red signal flare, blinking in confusion.
Ruiner Nergigante was over there?
Then who was this one over here?
Below the canopy, Ruiner Nergigante was resting and sharpening its adamantine spikes, preparing to launch a nighttime raid on Mother Chameleos's nest!
On the other side, "Nergigante" looked speechlessly at the two hunters and two Palicoes who seemed intent on confronting it.
What had it done to deserve this?
Aside from that battle thirty years ago, it had lived in peace in the New World for so many years. Why, after arriving in the Guiding Lands, were they at odds with it again?
"Nergigante" had merely discovered Terastal fragments left behind by its former "good brother" at the forest's outskirts and had come to see what was going on—whether there might be some "good fortune" it could take advantage of.
Surely its good brother would not refuse such an excellent meat shield as itself.
Yet it had just arrived when it was blocked halfway by hunters. It truly had no interest in fighting these opponents who offered no meaningful gains; right now, it only wanted to find its good brother's whereabouts.
On Mother Chameleos's side, seeing that after finishing their discussion Darren and the others looked ready to leave and head toward the signal flare, she could no longer afford to conceal her traces. She lashed her tongue toward Ruiner Nergigante's position in a rapid flurry.
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Ruiner Nergigante had no time to react before Mother Chameleos whipped it out from the shrubbery. It beat its wings rapidly to steady itself, then let out a resounding roar toward Mother Chameleos's location.
But immediately afterward, it felt several dangerous gazes fall upon it.