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MHD Chapter 103: The Great Migration
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 23:05:54 +0000 UTCDeep within the forest, using the miasma as cover, the Blackveil Vaal Hazak slowly descended to the lowest layer of the Ancient Forest. It h
Deep within the forest, using the miasma as cover, the Blackveil Vaal Hazak slowly descended to the lowest layer of the Ancient Forest.
It hadn’t expected to be driven back by two—no, to be exact, by that one particularly unusual Fire Wyvern. The experience was strangely novel.
The Blackveil Vaal Hazak had no extra thoughts about it. A loss was a loss—nothing worth brooding over.
The only real pity was the monster hides destroyed by Logan.
The forest wasn’t like the Rotten Vale; there weren’t nearly as many monster corpses to pile up, and it wouldn’t be easy to find replacements for that missing section any time soon.
Having long relied on tough monster hides as outer armor, the Blackveil Vaal Hazak’s own silver-white scales had far less defensive strength compared to other Elder Dragons.
If it happened to face an evenly matched opponent during this period, that gap in its defenses could easily be the decisive reason for its defeat.
Decades ago, it had been the same with that mated pair of blazing dragons. The Teostra had blasted open its outer hide with a supernova, while the Lunastra had used wave after wave of scorching heat—not only purging every spore and trace of miasma in the area, but also incinerating all the small monsters the Blackveil Vaal Hazak had called to its aid.
Deprived of replenishing miasma for far too long, it had been forced to retreat unwillingly back to the Rotten Vale.
One-on-one, the Blackveil Vaal Hazak feared neither Teostra nor Lunastra. But when those two ganged up without honor, that was something it found particularly hard to swallow.
Some time after both the Blackveil Vaal Hazak and Logan’s group had left the area, a blazing red figure shot down from above, even skidding across the ground for a long distance before finally coming to a stop.
The Teostra looked over the scarred, battered land. The terrain here had been reshaped—like the aftermath of an explosion—with a massive crater at the center.
Around the crater, the ground was scorched black, while its heart resembled solidified magma.
Standing at the edge, the Teostra peered down into the center, its broad, lion-like face filled with confusion.
The fire-aspected energy lingering in the air was still intensely active. This scorching scent… why did it feel so much like it had been blasted out by another Teostra?
Could there be another Teostra pursuing the master of this miasma?
And had they actually fought here?
But if so, why had they stopped so quickly?
After all, the moment this Teostra had sensed the battle aura here, it had rushed straight over—wings beating so hard they were nearly aflame—yet it had still arrived too late.
It couldn’t make sense of it.
After circling the area and finding no other traces, the Teostra slowly took flight again, heading off in another direction in search of the Blackveil Vaal Hazak’s trail.
Meanwhile, back at the Ancient Tree, Logan immediately spotted Aki standing at the entrance of the nest.
All the other Fire Wyverns that had gone out had returned safely—except for Logan.
From the mouths of the cats brought back by the male Fire Wyverns, Aki had learned that Logan and the Flame Rathalos had apparently discovered some formidable creature. To cover the others’ retreat, they had chosen to stay behind and hold it off.
Aki knew Logan’s nature all too well. If it had been a monster that could be dealt with easily, he wouldn’t have kept the Flame Rathalos there as well.
And knowing that the Fire Wyvern was unlikely to be of much help, that was likely the reason he had sent the rest away first.
Thinking along those lines, Aki couldn’t help but grow worried.
She crouched at the nest entrance, waiting. If he still didn’t return soon, she feared she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from going after him.
When Logan finally appeared, Aki immediately stood, her gaze scanning him over and over. At last she noted that, aside from slightly labored breathing and a few disheveled scales, he bore no major wounds. Only then did she breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
As always, she had Logan rest in the center of the nest. After tending to his wounds with her tongue, she remained there in silence, keeping watch at his side.
At this moment, aside from those few familiar cats, any other creature would be treated as an enemy by Aki.
The “Lovely Star Skies Strike” in his Scorched Flame state was indeed far stronger than in his normal condition.
The Charred Body, enhanced through the Scorched Flame, had also allowed Logan’s scales to withstand the blast’s impact.
But the Charred Body strengthened only his scales—not his body itself. The explosion might have been stopped at the scales, but his organs and muscles hadn’t escaped unscathed.
In the midst of battle he hadn’t noticed, and even on the flight back it hadn’t seemed too bad—but the moment he lay down, the wave of aching pain nearly forced a groan from his throat.
Fortunately, they had built up a good stockpile of food. By fully driving his Regeneration to repair his body, Logan could quickly replenish himself, and after a full night of recovery, most of his injuries had healed.
Aside from the occasional sting in his Flame Sac, there was little else amiss.
In the forest, perhaps due to the wounds the Blackveil Vaal Hazak had sustained in this fight, the spread of the miasma had slowed, and the spores no longer filled the air in dense swarms.
The cats’ preparations quickened noticeably.
Two days later, five large baskets were finally completed.
A quick test confirmed they could hold all the hatchlings and cats.
Adding the one the Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes had made earlier for storing food, the preparations were now complete.
That day, the Fire Wyverns took off together, sweeping through two large hunting grounds and bringing back their prey. After a hearty feast, the Ancient Tree’s Fire Wyvern flock, led by Logan, rose into the sky as one.
Thirty Fire Wyverns were assigned to carry the baskets, while the rest flew in formation around them, maintaining vigilance on all sides.
Thus began the grand migration of the Fire Wyvern flock.
On the way, the cats leaned over the edges of the baskets, threading through the clouds. They gazed down at the forest beneath them, letting out endless meows of amazement.
Nearly a hundred Fire Wyverns from the entire Ancient Tree taking to the air together—had this been in the past, every region they passed through would have seen monsters scattering in avoidance, perhaps even sparking widespread turmoil.
But now, the forest lay in eerie silence, as if the end times had come. There was only the yellow miasma and the pained cries of a few small monsters.
This miasma calamity was far more terrifying than the poison mist once unleashed by the Chameleos, rivaling even the disaster ten years ago when the Kushala Daora crossed paths with the Namielle.
And yet, the Blackveil Vaal Hazak’s actions were simply its natural behavior. Until its task was complete and the forest’s nutrients replenished, this catastrophe would not end.
The Fire Wyvern migration was far more troublesome than the journey Logan and Aki had once undertaken. It wasn’t only the large baskets slowing their pace—the wyverns’ need to hunt was another problem.
Though there were stored supplies, those were to be given first to the cats and hatchlings. As a result, every time the wyverns had flown a certain distance, they had to find a high perch to rest, then head out together to hunt—further slowing their progress.
To solve this, after discussions with the Tempered Fire Wyverns, Logan decided that during the migration, they would only stop at fixed intervals.
The wyverns would hunt in rotating groups—those able to bring prey back would do so; those who could not would return quickly and take over the duties of other wyverns, allowing those to head out and hunt in turn. In this way, the migration’s pace could be maintained.
The shift system, though leaving the Fire Wyverns somewhat fatigued, was still within an acceptable range.
Along the way during the migration, they would occasionally spot Poison Wyverns, Fire Wyverns, and other flying monsters. From time to time, they even encountered flocks of winged creatures that had been corroded by the effluvium, completely losing their sanity.
There was no need for Logan to make a move. The Fire Wyverns acting as escorts immediately engaged, and after barely a single clash, the entire flock was wiped out, unable to hinder the migration in the slightest.
Thus, the wyvern flock traveled from sunrise to sunset, and after more than a full week of flight, they finally left the effluvium-shrouded forest, arriving at the outermost reaches of the Ancient Forest.
Here, the effluvium’s intrusion was minimal. All kinds of creatures remained intact, though the influx of monsters migrating from the forest had made the ecosystem somewhat crowded, increasing the competition for survival. Still, this was enough to make the Fire Wyverns breathe easier.
The migration could finally slow down, and the prey they caught no longer carried that strange, unpleasant taste.
