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MHD Chapter 140: Return to the Ancient Tree
🕑 Added 2025-08-25 04:10:11 +0000 UTCBursting out of the lava cave, Logan ascended toward the sky.
From the heights above, with a vast view stretched before him, Logan could see flocks of birds everywhere across the Wildspire Waste all rising into the air.
Yet this time, the tremors had originated deep underground. On the surface, there was only the faintest vibration. Aside from the birds, sensitive to even the slightest shake, and the Elder Dragons attuned to the flow of ley line energy, such a small tremor wouldn’t even catch the notice of the creatures living on the land.
He had no idea what state the ley line tributary was in now. On his way out just moments ago, even the long tunnel he had passed through had already been quivering noticeably.
But this was still the peak period of tremors, and Logan had no intention of taking that risk.
...
At the Astera outpost, near the cultivated herb fields, a Chameleos drifted invisibly between the rows, sneaking an occasional bite of a Bitterbug whenever no one was around. When the rumbling noise rippled through the ley line’s energy, it gave a very human-like shake of its head, revealing a flicker of distaste.
It knew perfectly well—this was going to be another stretch of sleepless nights.
Just as it had lost all interest in patrolling and was about to head back to the hidden nest it had carved out for itself—hoping to steal a nap while the noise temporarily subsided—a sudden sensation of a call reached it.
That direction… was the Coral Highlands.
Although Chameleos had lived in the New World for several centuries, it was unfamiliar with any place outside the Ancient Forest. As a cautious, stay-at-home dragon, if the destination had been the Ancient Forest, perhaps it might have chosen to go and watch the commotion.
Of course—only to watch the commotion.
Getting involved was out of the question. With countless long years to squander, plentiful supplies at the outpost, and the friendly creatures around, Chameleos was far too fond of this place.
With such comfortable living conditions, why risk its neck for nothing?
It had lived this way for so many years already. Besides, even if it didn’t go, other Elder Dragons surely would. It was more than content to remain the Invisible Dragon.
With this mindset, Chameleos trotted back on all fours to its newly claimed nest, curled up in the makeshift bedding, and slowly drifted off into slumber.
Not long after, a cluster of scoutflies glowing with blue light passed through the curtain of water and entered the cavern. Carlos, together with the Huntsman, stepped cautiously into the crude den. They looked around at the empty cave, then up at the scoutflies whirling in confusion in midair, their target lost.
Carlos made a hand signal, recalling the scoutflies, and quietly retreated outside.
“Looks like this should be the place.”
Exhaling in relief, Carlos saw the Huntsman nod in agreement.
Perhaps because the creature had lingered around the plantation’s outer woods for too long, it had unintentionally left footprints. Once analyzed by the scholars, its identity had finally been confirmed.
The most elusive, untraceable dragon—once thought by some not to exist at all—the Mist Dragon, Chameleos.
“Build a small platform here. From now on, we’ll deliver the daily quota to this spot. Hopefully that’ll cut down on how often this fellow breaks locks and sneaks into the storehouse.”
At those words, the Huntsman recalled the quartermaster’s helpless rage every time a brand-new lock had been pried open, his face twisted in impotent fury. He nodded again in firm agreement.
...
The situation underground turned out to be just as bad as Logan had feared. The descending tunnel had collapsed right at the fork.
When he considered that the space where the leyline’s tributary flowed might have caved in because of the Brilliant Dragon’s burrowing, Logan was reminded of how, years ago, the Dalamadur had also dug through the nearby tunnels. Compared to the Brilliant Dragon’s relatively gentle tunneling, the Dalamadur’s crude and violent burrowing seemed far more likely to have damaged the underground structure here.
Sure enough, the tunnel had collapsed completely at the fork. After clawing at it a few times and finding it thoroughly blocked, Logan realized that if he pressed on, he might cause a secondary collapse. He had no choice but to accept the reality and leave the place with Aki.
Of course, the collapse itself wasn’t such a big deal. After all, the fork was not too far from the tributary near the surface, where the concentration of life energy was still relatively strong.
But what troubled Logan was that, within his perception, the concentration of life energy here had clearly diminished.
Recalling how he had previously sensed the magma flow of the leyline slowing down, and the direction in which the Brilliant Dragon had left, Logan suspected that this tributary had likely shifted its course under the dual influence of the earthquake and the Brilliant Dragon’s interference.
Although he felt a pang of regret, this turn of events helped him make a decision.
Yes—he had already been in the Wildspire Waste for over two years. Over that time, many monsters had migrated back to the Ancient Forest.
Together with other Rathalos, Logan had deliberately flown some distance toward the Ancient Tree and discovered that the miasma and spores had completely vanished. Along the water sources he passed, he also saw traces of Aptonoth and many other creatures.
Once this news spread, the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern group grew restless. However, since Logan had never given a clear stance, the matter had been delayed until now.
The reason Logan had not declared his intentions earlier was twofold. First, though the Ancient Forest had returned to normal, its ecosystems still needed time to recover. The Fire Wyvern group had already established themselves securely in their current habitat, with a stable food source. Rather than risk an early return to the Ancient Tree and gamble on whether prey at the lower levels had recovered, it was better to remain here a while longer.
Second, he had his own private reason. For the past two years, this tributary of the leyline had provided him with immense support. Though the benefit had diminished as the energy within his body grew stronger, it was still greater than what other places could offer.
But now, with the tributary gone, he no longer needed to hesitate. It was time to prepare to lead his kin back to the Ancient Tree.
Soaring out of the cave, his silver-gray carapace gleamed red beneath the sunlight, the jagged thorns jutting from his massive wings bristling in menace. The wing membranes, modified by the Gale Wings trait, had become tougher yet lighter, their markings sharply defined, faintly coursed by silver radiance.
His body stretched 26 meters, radiating a crushing sense of dominance. At a glance, he was unmistakably a Rathalos, yet on closer inspection, it was clear how vastly he differed from an ordinary one.
If one had to describe his image, Logan’s outward appearance now resembled the Dreadking Rathalos.
Of course—this was only in outward appearance.
With a large number of top-tier predators returning to the Ancient Forest, hunting in the Wastes had become much easier.
After eating his fill and carrying the leftover prey back to their dwelling, Logan gathered the cats. He announced the news of their imminent migration back to the Ancient Tree, and the cats quickly spread the word to the Fire Wyvern group.
In an instant, the Fire Wyverns, who had already been growing restless, erupted with excitement.
Watching them soar above their current dwelling, Logan could not help but sigh at the passage of time. More than two years had slipped by without him noticing. In that time, not only had he himself undergone great changes, but even the ordinary Fire Wyverns had shifted—after being under the influence of Symbiosis for more than a year, their bodies had started to transform as well.
First was their appearance. The Rathalos had changed from their original bright red to a dark crimson. The spines along their backs and tails had thickened, while their iris membranes had shifted from sky blue to the golden hue of a Flame Rathalos.
This change was something Logan had not anticipated. He had assumed that the Fire Wyvern group would inherit some of his own abilities, just as the cats had, but to think they could also share certain traits from the Flame Rathalos at the top of the pyramid web was beyond his expectations.
Incidentally, over the past year the Flame Rathalos had even managed to grow a fourth wing bone. Though it was still small, the fact that it had sprouted at all was impressive.
Beyond their outward changes, the Rathalos’ flame sacs had also been strengthened. In one hunt, Logan noticed that they could remain airborne and unleash multiple volleys of fireball bombardments, pausing only briefly before continuing their breath attacks. The drawback, however, was that in their daily life they now required much greater intake of combustible substances.
The Rathians had undergone their own mutations as well. Their dorsal spines had grown denser and longer, and the potency of their venom had increased considerably. Some areas that had once been fragile now showed changes in scale arrangement—put simply, they had fewer weak points.
In addition, their overall carapace now displayed a faint red tint.
Unlike the Rathalos, whose fire-breathing had strengthened, the Rathians had developed greater physical power. Their common tail swipes were sometimes powerful enough to smash apart rocky outcrops of the Wastes, scattering stone fragments. When landing from flight, their impact could even trigger small-scale tremors and collapses.
Still, such improvements meant far less to a Tempered Rathian like Aki, who had long surpassed ordinary limits.
For the Tempered Fire Wyverns, the most important growth was not merely in strength or toxins, but in their improved energy circulation efficiency and expanded reserves.
Judging from Aki’s current state, her evolution had likely reached around 40 to 45 percent completion.
Unlike Logan, whose Gale Wings trait had pushed him toward flight specialization, Aki had always pursued all-around enhancement. In fact, this was the path that every Tempered Rathian with the potential to molt into a Gold Rathian was destined to follow.
That all-around enhancement meant there were no defining strengths. Being able to do everything also meant mastering nothing. This was the very reason why, though both were Fire Wyverns, Rathians were weaker than their Rathalos counterparts.
But all of this would change once a Rathian molted into a Gold Rathian. After completing the transformation of life itself, they would become true masters of every aspect. Whether in aerial combat, ground combat, flames, venom, strength, or speed—Gold Rathians had no weak points. In battle, they were even more troublesome and difficult to counter than Silver Rathalos.
Still, Aki’s current pace of evolution left Logan uneasy. Everyone knew that subspecies would only choose subspecies as mates. To them, there was already a difference in the level of life itself between them and the original species. Some extreme subspecies did not even consider themselves the same species as the original.
Logan did not know whether this feeling came from biology or psychology. If it were psychological, he was confident he could overcome it. But what if it was biological?
