Wait, is this right?!
Why is it happening so fast?! What happened to the supposedly insurmountable chasm?!
There was no time for deep thought. The leisurely attitude Alatreon possessed just a second ago vanished instantly. He no longer had the luxury of taking a slow stroll over the sea to digest his food. His thick neck, covered in inverse scales, suddenly tensed up. His massive wings unfurled like giant curtains, seemingly blotting out the sky—takeoff!
No longer playing around, Alatreon instantly erupted with staggering speed. With just a few flaps of his wings, he achieved incredibly fast flight, accelerating directly toward the direction where that powerful aura had exploded.
If leaving his nest earlier was merely to take a stroll and satisfy his curiosity, the moment that energy fluctuation unleashed itself without restraint, Alatreon fully understood the meaning behind that entity's actions—it was announcing its existence to the world.
Because of this, Alatreon became incredibly serious. The title "Avatar of Destruction" was merely a label humanity had unilaterally forced upon him; what Alatreon was capable of went far beyond mere destruction.
He had to immediately confirm what form that life took, whether it possessed higher intelligence, and whether its temperament was volatile or calm. Most importantly, he needed to ascertain its reason for existence and the purpose behind its actions.
What did it live for?
This wasn't a matter of minding someone else's business, but a necessary consideration for the level of existence Alatreon belonged to.
For ordinary monsters still struggling within the food chain, the territories they fought over were often just the opposite banks of a river, or a forest, valley, or meadow abundant with food.
As for those slightly stronger ecological overlords, such as Rathalos or Diablos, their territorial divisions were much broader—an entire forest, an entire desert...
Meanwhile, the Elder Dragons situated at the apex of the conventional food chain claimed even larger territories. They completely ignored the hunting grounds carved out by ordinary monsters, needing only to mind the boundaries set by other Elder Dragons. A single Elder Dragon's domain would often encompass multiple ordinary ecological overlords.
The world that humanity had explored so far was structured this way, with clear-cut hierarchies. But in places beyond their understanding, once a creature reached the level of a Forbidden Monster, ordinary physiological needs—such as hunger, reflex, or even pure slaughter—lost all meaning.
Unless they needed to determine who was superior over a specific matter, or engage in a life-or-death struggle for some reason, Forbidden Monsters would usually go to great lengths to avoid meaningless encounters with one another.
Precisely because of this, the scale of territorial division among Forbidden Monsters was far more exaggerated, often demarcated by entire continents. Each lived within their own comfort zones, never crossing paths.
The only beings that could catch the eye of a Forbidden Monster were fellow Forbidden Monsters. Uh, that title was actually just a name given by humans anyway; at least, Alatreon didn't acknowledge it—he preferred to call beings like himself rulers who had transcended ordinary life.
From the grand perspective of a Forbidden Monster, Alatreon's nest was actually very close to the New World. Therefore, Alatreon had to figure out what purpose this newborn entity—which had just shattered its biological shackles to reach the same level as him—lived for, and conduct an ecological assessment.
And the most important point—whether it was necessary to go to war with it, or even kill it.
For instance, if Shagaru Magala were a Forbidden Monster instead of an Elder Dragon, then from its juvenile stage as Gore Magala to its adult stage as Shagaru Magala, its physiological mechanism of constantly spreading the Frenzy Virus existed solely to complete this cycle of life and death. The entire behavioral logic of such a dragon would operate according to this rule; that would be its reason for being, the very thing it strived to do every single day it lived.
Once it reached the level of a Forbidden Monster, the virus unleashed by Shagaru Magala would inevitably trigger an extinction-level catastrophe, causing mass deaths on a continental scale, with its sphere of influence expanding exponentially.
While such a virus wouldn't fatally infect a fellow Forbidden Monster like Alatreon, it would certainly be enough to annoy him endlessly and even ruin his own living environment—essentially making his life uncomfortable.
In terms of Alatreon's long lifespan, it had been far too long since a new life capable of stepping into his tier had appeared on this planet. The few existing old faces already thoroughly understood each other's abilities, personalities, and territorial ranges, having reached a delicate balance.
Forbidden Monsters were nothing like Elder Dragons. If a full-scale, life-or-death battle erupted between two Forbidden Monsters, the resulting impact would never be like that of Elder Dragons, which merely altered a region's climate, destroyed a few mountain peaks, or shifted the terrain.
The clash of energy between two Forbidden Monsters could directly rip through the earth's crust, evaporate oceans, and even cause irreversible, violent mutations in the entire planet's atmospheric circulation, climate system, or ecological structure.
When Asterion unleashed his aura as a Forbidden Monster without any restraint, even carrying a sense of showing off, Alatreon was definitely not the only one on the planet who sensed his existence.
However, considering that the location of Asterion's outburst was in the New World, and that Alatreon lived near those waters long-term, the other Forbidden Monsters held back their movements for the time being, choosing to wait and watch from the sidelines.
Like a jet-black arrow piercing through the clouds, Alatreon moved at breakneck speed.
At this moment, Asterion had no idea that his high-profile behavior following his breakthrough had already drawn the attention of a certain fierce neighbor. He was completely immersed in the ecstasy of his qualitative leap in power, venting his presence to his heart's content.
It felt amazing, absolutely exhilarating. This sensation of internal energy, as deep and vast as an ocean that would never run dry, allowed him to completely bid farewell to those past days when he had to eagerly and slowly sip Earth Vein energy just to sustain his internal thermal organs.
It was like someone who, after working for ages, finally paid off a fifty-year mortgage—completely light, relaxed, and utterly refreshed.
Yet, while one rejoiced, others struggled. Just as Asterion was celebrating the sweet reward of his years of accumulation, the hunters on the other side had finally managed to evacuate onto the airship before the colossal tsunami crashed down.
Yet even though they had escaped the land, the airship still couldn't completely avoid the chaos when the tsunami, rising like a towering wall, surged into the Wildspire Waste, violently knocking down and shattering every rock, plant, and landform along the coastline.
The fierce winds pushed ahead by the advancing tsunami, combined with the turbulent air currents driven by hundreds of millions of tons of seawater, formed an incredibly powerful updraft. Within this torrent of air, the airship tilted violently toward the interior of the land. Its wooden hull let out a teeth-grating screech, and the deck shuddered as if it might disintegrate at any moment.
This was by no means an ordinary, naturally occurring disaster. When Asterion completed his final evolution and broke out of his cocoon deep beneath the ocean floor, he had instantly drained a colossal amount of energy. This brutal plundering directly caused severe voids and blockages in the flow of the seabed's Earth Veins.
Ultimately, with the location where Zorah Magdaros's corpse had sunk as the epicenter, this massive crustal pressure triggered a terrifying earthquake with a magnitude of at least 9.0.
Not only was the southern coast near the crystallized giant tree—where the Admiral and his group were currently located—affected, but even Astera, situated on the completely opposite end of the New World and undergoing intensive post-disaster reconstruction, did not escape unscathed. It suffered an extremely severe secondary disaster.
The aftershocks triggered by the earthquake traveled to the inner bay where Astera was located. A low but unstoppable wall of water smashed straight through the breakwater that the smiths had temporarily constructed. The muddy seawater flooded directly into the base, completely submerging the temporary supply stockpiles they had painstakingly organized, rendering the Research Commission members' hard work over the past half-month entirely in vain.
But that was a story for later. Setting aside the cries of dismay and helplessness from the researchers back at Astera, for the Admiral and the others currently lingering on the edge of the storm, simply escaping with their lives from a disaster of that magnitude was already a miracle worth celebrating with a massive drink.
"This really is... utterly reckless..."
Gripping the railing at the edge of the hull with both hands, the Admiral raised his head and stared at the striking blue trail high up in the sky. He knew that was the energy wake left behind by the Azure Star Dragon flying at high speed, slicing through the clouds like a giant sword as it extended straight and fast into the heart of the New World.
A bitter smile involuntarily surfaced on the Admiral's weather-beaten face, and he let out a deep sigh.
He looked down at the muscles he took so much pride in, then turned back to look at the weapons and gear scattered across the deck—equipment that represented the pinnacle of the Elder Dragon Research Commission's craftsmanship... In the face of truly magnificent power, all of it seemed somewhat comical.
No matter how excellent the equipment, how sharp the weapons, or how thoroughly trained the body, trying to repel a monster of this caliber was out of the question. Even reaching their presence was exceptionally difficult. Merely surviving the collateral disasters they unintentionally caused required expending every ounce of one's energy. It might have even used up all their luck.
"The terrain below... has completely turned into an ocean," Eileen said, leaning half her body over the edge of the ship to look down at the land below. "Once the seawater recedes, it might leave a lake behind here. It just so happens that the previous battle between Nergigante and the Bazelgeuse already carved out a waterway."
The once-familiar desolate sands were now completely covered in blue, as muddy seawater continued to pour inland.
It would take a very long time for the impact of the seawater to completely recede. Looking down from high above, many of the originally towering hills along the coastline now only showed their topmost peaks, resembling isolated islands scattered across a vast ocean.
The waves crashed violently against these rocks. Due to the drastic elevation changes in the terrain and the collision of water currents, massive whirlpools emerged one after another on the sea's surface, letting out deafening roars.
"Forget it. Even if a lake is left behind, it'll just be a saltwater lake with extremely high salinity," Aiden replied weakly, lying flat on his back on the deck with his limbs spread out like a star. His chest was still heaving violently, looking thoroughly exhausted. "Terrestrial creatures can't really live around that kind of lake water."
The intense battle just now, followed by the desperate escape for his life, had drained the last ounce of stamina from this young hunter. At this moment, he found it a chore to even move a pinky finger, wanting nothing more than to have a good sleep right there on the deck.
"The good news is, there aren't many fish carcasses on the water's surface." Sophia lowered the binoculars in her hand, her face still pale. She gently patted her chest and said with a look of relief, "The intense Abyssal energy and overwhelming pressure released during the Azure Star Dragon's predation of Zorah Magdaros completely drove away the schools of fish and large marine monsters in the nearby waters. This way, we at least don't have to worry about a massive amount of corpses rotting on the land after the water recedes."
"Huh? Are you worried about a plague?" Eileen asked, turning around as she realized a bit late.
"Yes, epidemics often break out after disasters. This is a lesson written in blood from the Old World, so we absolutely cannot let our guard down." Sophia nodded, speaking with a serious expression. "The only issue is that a deep-sea earthquake of this magnitude and a tsunami with such a wide reach will cause immeasurable damage. I'm afraid it will impact the entire coastline ecosystem of the southern New World."
At this point, Sophia paused and looked off toward the distant direction of Astera, a flash of worry crossing her beautiful eyes.
"I hope everyone back at the base is doing well... Yeah! With the Commander leading them, they'll definitely be fine!"
Discussions like this were happening all over. The survivors found comfortable spots to collapse and rest on the deck, while the crew members tended to the sails and ensured there were no issues with the propulsion furnace. As the hunters' breathing gradually steadied, they began to lower their voices, discussing everything that had just unfolded.
Some were analyzing Nergigante's ferociously peerless yet ultimately futile assault, pondering what shortcomings they had in the recent fight or what they could have done better. Others were speculating whether the Azure Star Dragon's body would transform into a different appearance after completely consuming Zorah Magdaros's immense life energy.
Standing behind the helm, the captain of the airship steadily steered the vessel to adjust its heading, flying toward a temporary camp located on higher ground, while gazing at the surviving young people with a comforted look.
The captain was indeed feeling incredibly fortunate. It was a stroke of luck that the Commission, seeking a better vantage point for observations, had spared no effort to establish that temporary camp on the highest nearby cliffside. Otherwise, given the height of the tsunami just now, if the camp had been built on the low-lying coast for easy access, the scholars and smiths stationed there would have stood absolutely no chance of survival.
Moreover, it was a relief that Nergigante had been frightened away by the Azure Star Dragon. Otherwise, the airship could never have safely rescued so many people. Any random impact from Nergigante would have resulted in a catastrophic crash, killing everyone on board instead of saving anyone.
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