Most incredible of all, a complex structure resembling a forest canopy had formed at its summit.
Countless fine crystalline threads were interwoven into a dense web at the top, with occasional surges of energy coursing through the branches.
"Looks like it's gotten bigger again, hasn't it?"
Keeping his binoculars raised, the Admiral observed the structure closely for a few seconds, comparing the sight with his memory before turning to the Commander.
"It's still growing. Does this portend something? Is Asterion still evolving? He can still evolve?!"
Something like this was simply too mind-boggling, difficult to accept even for someone as well-traveled and experienced as the Admiral. In his eyes, Asterion already stood at the absolute pinnacle of Elder Dragons; even a monster like Nergigante, which preyed on other Elder Dragons, was no match for him. Yet, despite already possessing such overwhelming power, Asterion was still evolving toward an even higher plane?!
Just how far is he going to go??
I mean, is this even reasonable?
"Who knows?" The Commander analyzed, his brow furrowed deeply. "According to the precise calculations of the ecological researchers back at camp, from the moment we first spotted it breaking through the ocean surface until now, this crystalline tree has been growing at a frantic pace of nearly two meters per day over the past few days."
"It is absolutely not a plant, but rather a pure accumulation of energy. Furthermore, starting from the day before yesterday, its growth rate has shown noticeable signs of slowing down. Even so, based on today's measurement data, it still maintains a growth rate of nearly one meter per day."
"Is this good news or bad news for Asterion?" The Admiral stroked his stubble-covered chin, falling into deep thought. "A slowing growth rate... Does this mean his evolution is nearing its end? Or rather, that Asterion's feeding on his prey—uh, his absorption of bio-energy—is almost complete?"
"Without any further energy replenishment, this crystalline tree probably won't keep growing."
"Kankan went to ask Boss Bazelgeuse, but even though Boss Bazelgeuse is also very worried about Asterion, he doesn't know what is happening either." The Commander shook his head slightly and continued, "The emergency courier ship sent by the Guild has also arrived. It is confirmed that the Elder Crossing has occurred once again after being delayed for six years, and the one triggering this Elder Crossing is none other than Zorah Magdaros."
"Zorah Magdaros... that massive brute?" The Admiral realized with a start. "That utterly absurd size—when we first observed it from a distance years ago, it was breathtakingly shocking. It's like a roaming volcanic mountain range, so massive that even the deep sea couldn't submerge it. To think... does this mean Asterion actually slew Zorah Magdaros?!"
"And he completed the hunt in the water," the Commander added from the side. "To slay a monster of such immense proportions in such a short amount of time... the power Asterion currently commands might be far greater than anything we previously evaluated or predicted."
"To be able to easily kill an enormous mountain dragon like Zorah Magdaros..." the Admiral muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Wait, this is getting very interesting, isn't it?"
"Why did Asterion know that Zorah Magdaros was crossing the sea? Why would Asterion, who had been dormant within the Glavenus tribe for so many years, suddenly leave his lair and charge straight toward the crossing Zorah Magdaros, intercepting it at sea with pinpoint accuracy?"
"Can I understand it this way: Asterion possesses a unique ability to perceive other Elder Dragons? Or, to be even more radical, perhaps the Elder Crossing itself was triggered by Asterion, which is why he knows exactly where the Elder Dragons attracted by him are located."
After rattling off this lengthy analysis, the Admiral's expression turned exceptionally solemn. Do not let his reckless, Rajang-like appearance fool you; the Admiral lacked neither hunting wisdom nor visionary decisiveness, and his thinking was incredibly sharp.
The Guild had certainly chosen the right man for the job.
Now, fifty years later, the landscape of human society across the Old World had long since undergone earth-shattering changes. It was no longer the era when the Guild was freshly founded, where hunters from various regions fought in isolation with siloed intelligence.
Today, vast amounts of observational data and ecological intelligence regarding Elder Dragons are shared in real-time among the various Guild branches. The veil of mystery and inviolability that once shrouded Elder Dragons is continuously being stripped away by the exploration of hunters and scholars alike.
To date, humanity has observed numerous instances of turf wars between Elder Dragons. Through the observation and study of these battles, a corresponding rating system for the destructive power of Elder Dragons has been established.
Because of this, the fact that Asterion could cleanly and decisively take down a mountain dragon renowned for its defense and size in such a short time left many veteran scholars of the Elder Dragon Research Commission completely flabbergasted.
You see, when two normally-sized Elder Dragons—such as a Kushala Daora and a Teostra—clash, the battle often devolves into an extremely protracted war of attrition. After all, both sides possess formidable defensive and regenerative capabilities, along with vast pools of stamina.
—Unless the two clashing Elder Dragons lack any real desire to fight to the death. In those cases, they will merely exchange symbolic blows, unleash their respective auras, and part ways once they realize the opponent is too troublesome to deal with.
But once they truly get serious and harbor intent to kill, the duration of a battle between Elder Dragons drags out to an extent that ordinary monsters could never match. This is because the stamina and life force of Elder Dragons are staggeringly immense; the bio-energy accumulated within their bodies provides them with abundant strength and endurance, ensuring they do not easily tire or face death.
This is even truer for massive titans like mountain dragons, which are exceptionally colossal even among Elder Dragons. Given their mountain-like, heavy, and immense bodies, the life force contained within them scales exponentially.
To put it simply, their health bars are obscenely long, making them practically impossible to deplete in a short period.
Their defense is reinforced on top of reinforcement. Most of the time, attacks launched by ordinary monsters cannot even scratch a mountain dragon, and even many Elder Dragons fail to breach their defenses. Yet, Zorah Magdaros was slain in such a brief window after crossing paths with Asterion?!
What's more, this happened in the ocean—an environment where a dragon capable of flight is usually at a disadvantage. Just how terrifying must his instantaneous explosive power and destructive capability be?!
Even though the main force from the forward research base was too far away to arrive quickly, the hunters stationed back at Astera responded immediately after weathering the tsunami disaster and set out to investigate. Yet, when these hunters tracked Boss Bazelgeuse's trail to the battlefield, there was no further activity to be found, save for that giant crystallized pillar.
Everything had already concluded.
The surface of the sea was pristine. There was no churning lava like when Teostra once rampaged along the southernmost coast of the Wildspire Waste, nor was the nearshore water boiling with a carpet of dead fish. There were only the constantly rolling, turbulent waves, which oddly made the scene appear even more tranquil.
As the Admiral and the Commander were deep in discussion, a small speck suddenly flew from the sky above the distant, towering crystalline tree, heading straight toward the shore.
"ROOAAARRR!!!"
"It's Boss Bazelgeuse," the Admiral said, recognizing the monster instantly with his superb eyesight. "According to Caly, the direction Boss Bazelgeuse vanished into within the Ancient Forest was exactly where Asterion pointed him. This proves that Asterion is indeed in that stretch of sea, and Boss Bazelgeuse has been guarding him all this time."
"Yes, the scholars from the Ecological Research will agree," the Commander nodded. "This grand crystalline tree we see before us is likely the natural result of Asterion preying upon and absorbing Zorah Magdaros's bio-energy. Because the instantaneous intake was too massive for his body to fully contain, the overflowing bio-energy naturally crystallized into this shape."
The Commander nodded and continued, "Asterion has displayed a predatory habit of hunting Elder Dragons since decades ago. It can be inferred that his evolution requires immense amounts of life energy; it's just that the Elder Dragon he hunted this time is far more massive than those of the past."
"That makes sense. Without the support of so much life energy, Asterion wouldn't have been able to evolve to this extent... Even he must abide by the most fundamental laws of nature," the Admiral remarked with deep emotion. "However, if crystals with such a high concentration of bio-energy persist long-term... I shudder to think what kind of mutations the marine life in this area will undergo under such radiation."
"It won't just be marine life," the Commander said, shaking his head. "Don't forget that seawater evaporates. Seawater carrying this bio-energy will evaporate into clouds and then fall as rain, ultimately spreading this energy across the entire New World—and perhaps even back to the Old World!"
At this point, both the Admiral and the Commander grew solemn. Unlike the youth born in the New World, to these old-timers, the Old World remained an irreplaceable repository of memories where their youth, families, and relatives still resided.
If possible, they did not want to see the Old World plunge into chaos under any circumstances... and this strange bio-energy was undoubtedly a volatile new element that could bring chaos to both monsters and humans in the Old World.
"Does Asterion... not have any natural predators?" The Admiral twitched his lips. "Generally speaking, nature doesn't allow anything to grow without limit; there must be something capable of keeping it in check... Ha, I'd hate to go fishing only to reel in a fish that shoots laser beams from its eyes and mouth."
Perhaps sensing that the topic was bordering on the taboo, the Admiral cracked a joke out of instinct.
Anyone with half a brain could tell that this bio-energy, which had already completely altered the terrestrial landscape, would hardly remain dormant in the sea. The thought of catching bizarre, mutated fish in the future made the Admiral's scalp tingle.
"Isn't it a bit too early to worry about that?" The Commander sighed. "In any case, the battle between Asterion and Zorah Magdaros has completely scared off the fish in the surrounding waters. Our boats haven't caught a single one here—Wait! What is that?!"
Suddenly straightening his posture, the Commander pointed off into the distance—right toward the direction Boss Bazelgeuse was flying. In that patch of sky, another black speck had abruptly appeared, expanding at a rapid pace!
Alarms blared throughout the temporary camp. Hunters scrambled out of their tents to look at the distant sky. They had no idea what kind of monster was approaching; all they could see was Boss Bazelgeuse already locked in a fierce mid-air grapple with the intruder.
"They're already fighting!" Quickly donning her goggles, Erin used her own binoculars to observe the aerial battlefield. She twisted the magnification dial to its maximum, but even so, the view remained blurry. The narrow field of view caused her to frequently lose sight of the two monsters wrestling in the sky.
"Ah! It looks like Boss Bazelgeuse is no match for the other monster!" Erin cried out in alarm. "He's being savagely mauled! That monster is so ferocious! And it looks terrifying—covered completely in spikes?! Heavens! What kind of monster is that?!"
"That's a Nergigante," the Admiral said solemnly, his own binoculars raised high. "I didn't expect to see it again after all this time. It hadn't shown up during the last two Elder Crossings, so why would it suddenly..."
"Is Nergigante an Elder Dragon too?" Having already donned his armor, Aiden asked quickly. "We need to back up Boss Bazelgeuse as soon as possible, right? If it's an Elder Dragon, Boss Bazelgeuse probably won't stand a chance."
"Yes, and not just any Elder Dragon—it's exceptionally powerful. Just like Asterion, it's a terrifying creature that preys on Elder Dragons," the Commander nodded. "We should dispatch a squad to that battlefield immediately. Admiral?"
The hunters of the Fifth Fleet only deduced from experience that Boss Bazelgeuse, not being an Elder Dragon himself, would be no match for one—especially one that specifically fed on other Elder Dragons. The Commander and the Admiral, however, had personally witnessed exactly how Nergigante used to thrash Boss Bazelgeuse.
Decades ago, Asterion had even needed to join forces with Bazelgeuse just to stand against Nergigante, and even then, the encounter had ultimately ended in their retreat. It was difficult to fathom just how powerful a Nergigante that had grown for several more decades would be.
—At least, that was how it appeared from the hunters' perspective.
Unable to see the bigger picture, they had no idea that Nergigante had already undergone a rebirth. Huna simply assumed that during the many years Nergigante had disappeared, it had gone to other regions to hunt. After all, the New World was vast, and Asterion, who always competed with Nergigante for the crossing monsters, was not one to be trifled with.
Such occurrences were quite common among monsters; the weaker party simply needed to find a new hunting ground.
"Don't worry, we definitely won't let anything happen to Boss Bazelgeuse," the Admiral joked. "If we can save Boss Bazelgeuse, maybe our investigations will be a bit safer once Asterion takes over the entire New World, eh? Haha!"
"Hmph, don't project human politics onto monsters," the Commander couldn't help but chuckle. "Move out, quickly."
In such an emergency, there was no room for delay. In less than a few minutes, three hunting squads led by the Admiral charged out of the temporary camp, flying toward the location where Boss Bazelgeuse and Nergigante were plummeting.
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