Red meteors and blue starlight intertwined and collided in the low sky, both sides repeatedly entering supersonic states, creating circles of sound barrier clouds. For the pure Taimaru dragons, this method caused their shells to overheat and shed, turning them into powerful projectile weapons against lower-flying targets. For Huihui, however, it was merely a matter of evading close combat, a skill she was not adept at, and her body structure, with increasingly elongated wing flaps, also hindered her from engaging in close-quarters fighting: her wings were too heavy.
This battle was a significant test of stamina for Huihui. Unlike some, she could not rest briefly after landing to rapidly take to the skies again. Once grounded on the uneven coral plateau, it would be very difficult for her to launch back into the air given her condition. During the takeoff phase, she would also be vulnerable to attacks from the female dragon. This was a fight between ancient dragons, in which human hunters had no way to intervene. However, this did not prevent them from seizing the opportunity to survey the ecosystem and...
"Aibo! There's another patch here!" the Tyrannosaurus lady waved her hand vigorously to signal Bai Feng over. At her feet lay a large, greenish-blue scale that had fallen during the battle between the two ancient dragons, containing both the material from Huihui and traditional materials from the Taimaru dragon.
"Wait, don't make a sound…" Bai Feng said as he took off his hunting bow and nocked three long arrows, their tips gleaming with the sheen of impact oil. "Sniff sniff~" A green creature resembling a loofah slowly emerged from the corals, head lowered as it gnawed on the corpse of an unfortunate cat lizard dragon, voraciously swallowing this hapless victim.
As the destroyers of the food chain, these cat lizard dragons abandoned their usual timidity and repeatedly jumped around to attack the massive creature. Its presence brought about catastrophic disruption to the food chain, motivating even the most cowardly herbivorous dragons to bravely fight back, seeking to destroy its eggs and kill its young.
"It's a Tyrannosaurus… don't draw its attention," Bai Feng warned. The Tyrannosaurus was known to actively attack hunters and was not picky when hungry; it would even dare to challenge ancient dragons. In other words, this creature had certainly fought against extinction dragons in the crystal fields.
Bai Feng stepped back slowly; this was not a target that a solo hunter team could deal with. In fact, most monsters of this caliber were beyond the capability of individual hunters to hunt alone. She needed to carefully withdraw from the area and signal the nearby hunters for support to ensure a successful hunt. The Tyrannosaurus was also one of the few "kill-on-sight" monsters listed on the hunter guild's task board. Simply put, if spotted, it had to be hunted down and killed without question.
At this moment, the battle between Huihui and the Taimaru dragon was showing signs of decisiveness. The latter's stamina could not keep up with the repeated supersonic flights, and transparent drool dripped from its mouth. Its scales and horns were turning red, with its body temperature rising to a dangerously high level. Although Huihui had also expended a significant amount of stamina, her larger wing flaps and energy-saving flight mode allowed her to barely maintain her position in the sky. From the perspective of the Taimaru dragon's ecology, this battle was nearing its end.
Due to their population dynamics, these dragons rarely engaged in real life-and-death battles. If that were the case, they would quickly perish due to fighting amongst themselves. Most of the time, encounters ended with light skirmishes, allowing the defeated to withdraw willingly and vacate their habitat. Moreover, although she had completed mating, Huihui had not yet laid eggs; thus, there was no reason for her to fight to the death over a dragon nest or dragon eggs. This also explained why male dragons generally did not enter female territories; if they did, they would risk being killed during the nurturing period.
"Aw~" Huihui perched on the coral highland emitted a soft, high-pitched screech. Delicate, pale substances dripped from the tips of her wings—these were cooling fluids mixed with waste, serving as a declaration of her territorial claim to prevent other flying dragons or ancient dragons from treating this area as unclaimed land.
"Roar!~" the female dragon let out a frustrated roar, but the outcome of the battle was irreversible. Exhausted, she could only flap her wings and take off weakly, moving toward the edge of the coral plateau.
The change of ownership in the higher areas of the coral plateau did not significantly affect the creatures living at the lower levels. The cat lizard dragons continued to jump around, searching for tasty land corals and swaying eels. The flamboyant birds still dominated this area, and the joyful "dance party (hunting)" of the wind-drifting dragons and fragrant-winged dragons remained largely undisturbed.
The ones severely impacted were the third-term group caught in the coral thicket—they dared not fly their modified airships. The wind-drifting dragons could at most create disturbances for the ship, preventing it from descending to explore the depths below.
On the other hand, the threat from the Canghui dragon was different. It had the actual capability to shoot down airships. Although the modified hot air balloons used the shells and gelatinous skin of floating dragons, offering enough defense to withstand an attack from wind-drifting dragons, this did not guarantee protection from Huihui's "Sky-Piercing Dragon Spear" attack.
According to reports from the base, her attacks were strong enough to sever unreinforced airships in half. She was indeed worthy of the ecological niche of an extremely aged Taimaru dragon (hunters still believed Huihui to be an elderly Taimaru dragon, mistaking her shell discoloration for that of a mature fire dragon or blue fire dragon). For hunters, whether to drive her away or protect the airship presented a formidable challenge.
As the true king of the skies, her combat power far surpassed that of the male fire dragons. Relying on sluggish balloon airships to fight within her territory was undoubtedly a path to destruction. This was corroborated by the hunters from the Tree Sea, who, after receiving reports of the Canghui dragon, conducted a renewed investigation into the habitats of the Taimaru dragons.
According to the reports from the New World, this subspecies— or rather, the extremely aged subspecies of the Taimaru dragon— was flying at altitudes nearing the stratosphere. In other words, there may be an entirely different ecosystem existing at such high altitudes.
(Tianxiang Dragon: "Is it my turn now? Should I perhaps get my hair done first, put on some makeup, and present myself in the best possible posture before striking you down in the prettiest stance for the camera?")
"So, do we need to find a way to get that creature to leave?" The previous effort to drive her away had already led to the Taimaru dragon flock scattering, which resulted in the hunter camp being bombarded daily. Who knows why this ancient dragon harbored such a strong desire for revenge— it was almost comparable to the black dragons. Black dragons are known for their intense vindictiveness, causing many hunters equipped with black dragon materials to meet untimely ends for various reasons (in fact, I was thinking: this... might be a radioactive dragon).
Given that the Taimaru dragons inhabit vast territories and migrate frequently, their desire for revenge was, by contrast, famously low— otherwise, with their speed and maneuverability, the hunters in the Tree Sea would likely have been wiped out long ago.
"Is it possible that older Taimaru dragons become petty?"
"What are you talking about? They're not human elders."
"But ancient dragons possess intelligence comparable to that of humans, so isn't it strange that they might become petty as they age?"
As a master swordsman who had faced the Ancestral Dragon, he remained silent. Some researchers speculated that the Ancestral Dragon was merely a black dragon that had aged to a certain extent, gradually becoming a white variation. However, this was just a theory without any empirical evidence to back it up, so he did not dare to assert that the Ancestral Dragon's temperament was much better compared to that of black dragons. Additionally, the mysterious girl in white had left a lasting impression on him, to the point where he found it difficult to attack monsters for a time. Nevertheless, discussing this now was pointless.
"Moreover, most of our combat supplies have already been depleted, and we can no longer mount another hunting operation for the Canghui dragon. Besides... finding a way to trick it again is an issue," he said.
"We could consider setting up an ambush on the coral plateau, gliding in from above. It can't possibly stay airborne forever, right? If we locate its nest, we could set traps to restrict its maneuverability and then proceed with the hunt," the swordsmanship master suggested. "Our objective is not to kill it, but to inflict pain and drive it out of this area."
"Indeed, that's true. Moreover, if the goal is to kill it, that would be quite difficult," the commander nodded. If the focus were on killing, it would inevitably require carrying a significant amount of heavy-hitting weapons to penetrate its armor.
This would impact the hunters' mobility and agility, making it nearly impossible to catch up with it. Conversely, if they brought high-agility weapons, they would struggle to breach the dual defenses of its wing flaps and scales to inflict sufficient damage. According to the hunting team's last report, even using the new version of the great sword would only chip off a few fragments. It wouldn't deal damage, let alone cause any real disruption. The only areas accessible for attacks with the katana were the tail and back—non-lethal zones. The only silver lining was that the unfortunate crystal had been knocked off. Otherwise, with its relentless growth and enhancement...
Furthermore, even if they managed to successfully pierce its armor with heavy-hitting weapons, the hunters might still not be able to kill the ancient dragon. Its regeneration capabilities were typically formidable, and during a fight, binding traps were far from foolproof. Thus, the chances of failure were not only high, but they also risked facing severe retaliation.
In the past, hunters would directly kill ancient dragons to expand the empire's borders, and the outcome is well-known: widespread war between humans and dragons that ultimately led to the ancient empire's downfall. Although they initially thought they could exploit ancient dragons of the Origin Dragon lineage, they soon found themselves stripped bare, and the "sheep" (dragons) retaliated with fury, leading to their annihilation by the black dragons.
The discussions around the combat plan did not affect the catgirl who had arrived at the outpost. She was viewed as just another unfortunate drifter from Eorzea. Due to the negative impressions left by the previous Kupo, they believed that the hunters from Eorzea were skilled in flashy techniques but ultimately ineffective, and that they had a voracious appetite. Kupo could eat as much as Aibo, and based on this unfavorable perception, she was not given much attention. They expressed a degree of sympathy and comfort, but then moved on without further concern.
"Crafting a katana? It is possible… but miss, our rule here is that you must bring your own materials. This is to prevent some hunters from profiting without effort and going around recklessly with high-grade equipment. You must understand that even the leader of the fifth team diligently collects ores and materials to forge their weapons," the leader of the second team explained awkwardly. "I do have some spare materials here, but you'll have to pay me something, even if it's just some coins. If we break the rules, that wouldn't be good." (Yes, I'm talking about those who use cheats!)
"Hmm~" The catgirl pondered for a moment. "Uncle, does it mean I just need to bring my own materials? Can these work?" With a flourish, the catgirl turned her travel backpack upside down, spilling a heap of odds and ends onto the workbench in the workshop.
I must say that the travel backpack technology from Eorzea is a form of advanced black technology. It allows items to be etherified for storage, enabling Lightlings to not only fit three corpses into a single backpack but also to scatter dust into the air as if pulling out random items from a waist pouch, causing a corpse or a giant mechanical construct to appear on the ground.
"Bat wings, unknown minerals, blood from unidentified species, claws, leather, crystals… Oh, where did you get this stone with attribute powers?"
"Attribute Ether Crystal? Oh, I found that one out in the wild," the catgirl replied, looking at what seemed to be fragments of elemental crystals. "Hmm, I'm not very familiar with the properties of this pile of stuff. Give me some time to think about how to craft it. By the way, do you have any specific requirements for the shape?"
"Could it be made a bit sturdier? My last weapon broke," the leader replied.
"Don't worry. The weapons I forge may not be the best, but they are definitely the most durable." After all, hunters would only need to sharpen their weapons with whetstones and rarely encountered situations that required repairs.
Satisfied, the catgirl left. However, she might have had a misunderstanding. She didn't realize that the "katana" here might actually be a true "katana"—a blade long enough to tower over her when stood upright. It wouldn't be as nimble or agile as the sword she originally had. But it didn't matter; she also worked as a dark knight, so using it as a dark knight's great sword should be perfectly fine.
At the airship dock in the sea.
"Huihui, where have you been? You look so dirty." She looked as if she had rolled around in a muddy pit, covered in dirt and unfamiliar plant leaves. Her cheeks were flushed, resembling a child who had just come back from a fun outing.
"Here you go!" Huihui pulled out a big handful of shells and handed them to the dragon girl. The dragon girl loved collecting beautiful shells, while Huihui was only interested in the delicious shellfish inside. So, these shells were something she specifically brought from the coral plateau—of course, the shellfish had already been eaten. The chances of Huihui going out to forage for takeout for everyone were slim, even less likely than her voluntarily giving someone a ride!
"And you got scratched too! Honestly, didn't I give you recovery potions?" the white mage complained as she took out her illusion staff to heal Huihui's minor abrasions.
"Recovery… potions?" Huihui thought for a moment, then broke into a big smile. "I drank them all!" She showcased a row of empty bottles, having mistaken them for some kind of sports drink and downing them all before the aerial combat began. This might also explain why she had outlasted the more experienced female dragon.
"These aren't just sugary drinks, you know? Well, I'll just whip up some more next time," the engineer sighed. He worked part-time as an alchemist, so he could still make some of those potions. But was it really okay for Huihui to be so careless with her consumption of potions? "By the way, we're setting off for Ishgard. Do you want to go along, Huihui?"
"Ishgard?" Huihui pronounced the name unclear. "Ah, Ishgard, where there are many dragons."
"Dragons~" Huihui quickly associated the idea with the muscular herbivorous dragons, the fragrant wing dragons that had a cherry blossom flavor, the thick-shelled but tender-eating earth sand dragons, and the cunning mudfish dragons she had never caught before, along with… the wind drifting dragons that naturally kept themselves chilled.
"Let's go!" As Huihui thought about it, her drool began to spread. The white mage, who was now quite familiar with her personality, quickly pulled out a giant pie and stuffed it into her hands. "Mmm~ Let's go! Dragons, many of them, Huihui wants to go!"
As a self-proclaimed "dragon connoisseur" in every sense, Huihui was eagerly looking forward to it. However, the dragon suddenly had a very ominous feeling. He had experienced this kind of premonition before, back when his brother Nidhogg decided to completely flatten Ishgard. So, he didn't pay it much mind.