"Boom~" A thunderous sound erupted as the white electrical fur on Huihui's back stood on end, resembling an agitated cat. Fine arcs of electricity danced among the fur, and the air around her crackled with the sound of electricity cutting through the atmosphere. An unpleasant odor wafted through the air, as the blue magic [Transformation: Flying Thunder Dragon - Ultra High Voltage] was unleashed. The current generated purely from aether particles was far more terrifying than the static electricity produced by the Flying Thunder Dragon through motion and friction, creating a region of extreme pressure around Huihui.
For the hunters, running within this area would result in them being quickly brought down by stepping voltage unless they were equipped with insulating gear. However, for Bai Feng, whose attacks were ranged, Huihui's current state was somewhat beneficial. The massive expenditure of stamina and energy prevented her from taking off or charging, allowing Bai Feng to maintain her attacks through distance and evasion. Yet, for the hunters, such high-velocity movement was also a significant drain on their stamina.
The white exotic beast perched on the high plateau lowered its head to observe the battlefield below, then turned gracefully to leave. It had accomplished what it intended to do and was now off to find a place to sleep, enjoy some tasty food, and drink sweet dewdrops. Meanwhile, the adverse weather induced by the electric charges it released continued, making Huihui's charged needle-like hairs shimmer even brighter.
"Sleep..." Bai Feng trembled as she pulled out her last bottle and fitted it onto her bow. The fingers of her gloves had long since been worn away by the bowstring, leaving her calloused fingers bloodied. Her stamina was also reaching its limit. "Roar!" Huihui let out a furious roar and swiftly charged forward, her wings spread wide as she unleashed blue flames, making her charge even more dangerous. However, her agility had significantly decreased.
Bai Feng quickly rolled to the side to avoid the impact, while Huihui, on the other hand, crashed into the mountainside, causing a large pile of rocks to fall onto her head, further clouding her mind. "Whoosh, bang!" Arrows infused with sleep grass spores exploded above her head. Huihui inhaled a significant amount of sleep grass and had already expended plenty of stamina. Coupled with the effects of the alcohol, she now felt somewhat unsteady on her feet.
"I'm so hungry~" Huihui's crimson eyes turned towards the coral cluster beside her. Suddenly, she swiped a paw and smashed it to pieces, revealing a trembling, curled-up waving eel inside. "Ah woo~" The waving eel is also quite tasty eaten live, which has led it to become the lowest point in the coral plateau's food chain; any carnivorous creature will eat it. It has also evolved a strong sense of perception, immediately retreating into its burrow at the slightest disturbance.
Huihui focused intently on her meal, completely disregarding the hunter behind her. Or rather, for a creature that was drunk and had taken sleeping pills, her mind could barely handle more than one thing at a time. This provided Bai Feng with ample opportunities to unleash his attacks; the sleep grass spores detonated one after another above Huihui's head. A large amount of sedative components entered her body in a short amount of time, making it hard to withstand even for an ancient dragon like her. She immediately tilted and fell to the ground, emitting thunderous snores. (BGM: Hero's Proof)
"Finally..." Bai Feng trembled as he took out a signal flare and fired it. A green light sphere indicating successful hunting and a yellow light sphere representing significant casualties shot into the sky simultaneously. The third-phase group's spaceship and the transportation team of the fourth-phase group, which had been on standby for a long time, immediately entered the hunting grounds, restraining the heavy Huihui and loading her onto the third-phase group's spaceship. In the process, they also released more sleep grass spores to ensure that this raging giant monster would not awaken on the way.
"Two were killed outright, one became permanently disabled, and four others had to give up their careers as hunters..." One of those who died directly was a hunter who was nearly cut in half by Huihui's water cannon. This time, there were no timely interventions from the dragon elder with secret medicines and healing techniques; relying solely on the emergency aid from Ailu cat was not enough for him to last until the hunt was completed. The other casualty died from falling from a height after being paralyzed by high-voltage electric shocks. Although the hunters were equipped with parachute-like gear to prevent death from high jumps, it did not mean they wouldn't die if they were incapacitated.
The disabled hunter was struck by the electric current and subsequently stomped on by Huihui, resulting in his legs turning into mush. No matter how advanced the dragon clan's medical technology was, it was of no use. His future could only consist of being a clerk in the guild, as he would never be able to continue as a hunter. As for the four who had to give up, it was due to the electric current passing through their hearts. Later assessments indicated that the dragon elder explained: if they continued as hunters, excessive physical activity could cause their damaged hearts to stop at any moment.
Their future now could only involve becoming instructors in the guild or returning to some village or town in the old continent to take up ordinary hunting jobs. At least the investigation and hunting tasks in the new continent were no longer suitable for them. However, on the flip side, the hunters' guild also reaped significant rewards. First, the fifth-phase leader Bai Feng successfully pushed his limits, almost independently completing the battle against the rampaging upper-level ancient dragon. Secondly, the fallen Huihui allowed the hunters to collect many valuable materials, greatly enhancing their weapons and equipment.
Lastly, this also helped to improve the illustrated guide and ecological data for the Azure Dragon to a certain extent, confirming that they gradually acquire abilities from consuming a large number of other organisms, such as skills related to electric discharge. At the same time, it was established that the Aetherlight could enable monsters to master certain unique skills from Eorzea. This portion would require consulting the orc girl from Eorzea to determine exactly what special skills she had acquired and whether the hunters could also learn these skills.
For this peculiar ancient dragon, after the ecological researchers collected the necessary samples and materials, they transported it using an airship and placed it in an open area near the wasteland. It is important to note that the effects of sleep grass do not allow Huihui to be treated as if she were simply anesthetized. In reality, if the hunters chose to attack Huihui, she would wake up within a short period and create chaos in the cabin. It would be the energy of a well-rested creature causing trouble after its nap.
Ishgard, Worry-Free Knight Pavilion
"Who gave Huihui so much to drink!" The dragon maiden glared angrily at the knights before her, who stood bowing and looking remorseful. On their backs was Huihui, just returned from the wilderness, dirty and fast asleep, still reeking of a suspicious alcohol scent (the smell of sleep grass is similar to that of alcohol). It was clear that she had drunk too much and had exhausted herself from frolicking about. "We didn't expect her to have such a poor tolerance for alcohol..." They also suspected that her behavior had been quite inappropriate, but the knights dared not voice that concern.
Due to attacks from dragonbirds and other monsters along the way, Huihui briefly woke up several times before swiftly killing all those pesky creatures disturbing her sleep. When the knights found her, the scene resembled the Battle of Cammlann as depicted by Type Moon, with piles of various dragonbirds and snow-white wolves stacked like small hills. Most of the carcasses bore horrific bite marks, and at the top of the pile was a dragon knight's long spear. Huihui was leaning against the spear, holding her belly and sound asleep, occasionally smacking her lips, with drool trickling down onto her clothes.
Although Huihui was still in a deep slumber, she had an instinct to eat anything that came close to her mouth. The dragon maiden had just pulled out a pill to awaken her from sleep and reached it toward her, only to have Huihui bite it in one swift motion. If she hadn't been wearing gloves, her fingers might have been bitten. "Om nom~" Not just the pill; whatever Light and the others offered her would be snatched up and quickly swallowed, including dishes made from insects—which she normally wouldn't touch. However, under the piercing glares from the dragon maiden and the white mage, the black mage and the machinist quietly put away the saki vegetables and carrots on hand, which were meant as bird feed.
Huihui shook her head, feeling as if someone had thumped her on the head with a stick, leading to a dull ache. Yet she couldn't recall what had happened. The last thing she remembered was drinking those beverages, then taking a nap, eating some eel, and that was it. "Huihui~ my head hurts," the young dragon looked pitifully at the white mage. "Who told you to drink so much?" The dragon maiden pulled out a cold water cloth and placed it on her head. "Next time, don't drink so much alcohol; it will give you a headache."
"Oh~" Huihui remembered the drink that made her feel dizzy. After drinking it and waking up, she would have a headache, but it was really delicious. This left Huihui feeling a bit conflicted. "Hurry up, go take a shower. Just look at how dirty you are." Mud, beast blood, and all sorts of other things were stuck to her, mixed with a smell akin to alcohol, which was certainly not pleasant.
The Azure Dragon is a species that naturally has a strong body odor because they don't need to mask their scent while hunting and often consume food with a strong fishy smell. Therefore, their bodies tend to have a very strong scent. Huihui is an exception to this, as she is a connoisseur of food. Her long-term use of her sense of smell to seek out spices has made her especially sensitive to scents. Consequently, she is one of the few Azure Dragons that enjoys taking baths. Of course, this is also related to the fact that her wing membranes can completely close, preventing water from entering her spray chamber. For other Azure Dragons, bathing is quite rare, although they do often skim quickly across the water's surface while hunting.
"Being drunk" seemed to have no effect on Huihui's appetite, as the knights of Ishgard watched her in a state of near shock as she devoured various kinds of food. It's worth noting that this was after she had nearly consumed half a ton of monster meat. Ultimately, they had to categorize the situation as: the strongest must also be the biggest eater—this rule appears to hold quite true among the knights of Ishgard—the strongest knight is the one who eats the most.
Just how strong is Huihui? Just looking at the pile of corpses outside the city—specifically, a group of dragonbirds meant for the next wave of attack that had been prepared—it's enough to demonstrate that Huihui's combat power is close to that of the entire Ishgardian knight order. So... consuming all the food supplies for the knight order shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?
"Huihui is full," she said, patting her belly and displaying a satisfied expression. For her, being well-fed significantly improved her mood, which is a characteristic shared by most predatory animals. They tend to be more agreeable when their bellies are full, even fierce beasts like lions. However, the problem is that they are usually in a state of hunger most of the time, and even when they do eat enough, their digestion is such that they quickly become hungry again. The same goes for Huihui; her lazy, full state lasts no more than two hours.
"Next time, we can't let her drink too much alcohol," Olsuf warned. "Yes, understood," said his subordinate. Although she might not be the largest dragon they had ever seen, she was certainly one of the most agile. When this dragon got drunk, things could become quite awkward, especially since this "dragon" was actually transformed by a blue mage, meaning she could also use spells that dragons normally wouldn't. After all, the carcasses they found bore not only bite marks but also signs of being struck by lightning magic.
Once satiated and in the absence of the need to hunt, Huihui would automatically slip into a lazy, half-asleep state. She quickly began rubbing her eyes and yawning, looking as if she was about to doze off. For her, the world was simply composed of: eating, sleeping, hunting for food, and beating up sand sculptures. As a pre-mature dragon, Huihui didn't require reproduction yet, and even when she reached sexual maturity, it was not unusual for ancient dragons to mate only once every few hundred or even thousand years. This vast span of time could encompass an entire human dynasty from its rise to its fall, leading to the misconception that ancient dragons do not need to reproduce.
For her, the hatred between the Ishgardians and the dragons, human politics, power struggles, so-called strength, love, and bonds were all incomprehensible and unnecessary to understand. If there was nothing to eat here, she would go elsewhere. Just as they attacked her, she would retaliate; if she couldn't win, she would escape without hesitation and, upon seeing them later, avoid them or seek out a way to take revenge that they couldn't anticipate.
In Huihui's world, aside from food and enemies, there were only two categories: the feeding machines and the trash that didn't feed her. As for Syld, he currently belonged to the latter category, being the only one in the Light of Dawns team who fell into the "trash that doesn't provide food" classification. Even Alphinaud and Urianger would remember to bring a box of snacks when coming to talk to or help Huihui, but Syld hardly ever provided food.
Generally speaking, Urianger would bring butter-baked biscuits from the Witch's Café, while Alphinaud would bring boiled snake dragon meat or herring fillets from Ul'dah. Yameow could bring just about anything, as she was the type to bring quirky foods, but Huihui would eat everything without hesitation. Minfilia and Ida would bring snacks bought from Dawn's Bay, such as three-colored dumplings and similar treats.
Although Olsuf didn't directly feed her, he would instruct his household chef to prepare a large portion of roasted meat for Huihui. At this point, he had managed to increase his favorability to the level of a feeding machine. When Huihui went out to hunt and explore, she would occasionally bring back some leftover food for him, just as she did for the dragon lady. Sometimes it would be the bones of some dragon species, other times it would be shells dug up from unknown places, or even half-eaten, unidentified minerals. The most valuable offering she brought back was a large piece of ethereal crystal.