The young dragon tries to conquer the world

　Volume 1: 454 - The Floating Dragon Attacks

　"I didn't expect you... you actually succeeded in defeating it, meow. It seems you are the true hunter I've been waiting for, meow. Please, meow, use your power to save that person, meow. If you can help me, I will repay you with all my might, meow." When he saw Sereria bring back the silvery-white horn of the White Monoblos, Donnie decisively changed his form of address from "you" to "you" (formal).

　“Now you believe in my abilities as a hunter, right? And my brother is even stronger than me. If I can’t do it alone, my brother will come and help.” Sereria wasn’t surprised at all by Donnie’s smooth change of address, and she accepted the change naturally.

　"Waaaaah, I never thought I, Donnie, would be able to meet a hunter like you, meow! Waaaaah, then I'll tell you everything, Lady Sereria. Do you know the rumors about the Songstress?" Sereria said she had never heard of the Songstress Donnie mentioned, and that she had never even heard of the Songstress, which was completely unverified and just a legend. Donnie seemed to be used to such reactions.

　"The songstress once sang in this Mejepoltan. Her voice held an incredible power that could not only heal hunters but also give them strength. With the songstress's help, the hunters were able to fight against even stronger monsters. I also served the songstress as she traveled all over the world. However, one day a tragic event occurred, and since then, the songstress has lost her voice."

　As Donnie spoke, he looked at the lush tree in the center of the Prayer Tree Spring and said devoutly, "I hope that I can once again bring back the songstress's beautiful voice, meow."

　Once again? Could it be that the songstress Donnie mentioned has already lost her power once? Sereria then noticed the strangeness in Donnie's words. If what Donnie and the hunter said was true, this songstress seemed to have lost her power once, and that loss of power brought unspeakable disaster to Mejepoltan.

　"We've been working on this for a long time and finally found a solution with this material, Shenlong Wood. According to the information my partner found, I heard that Shenlong Wood has some kind of incredible power to revitalize life force. I'm not sure, but as long as we use Shenlong Wood to make clothes for the songstress, she will definitely be able to regain her spirit."

　"Please, meow, defeat the ancient dragon known as the Floating Mountain Dragon and obtain the Divine Dragon Wood, meow."

　When Sereria heard the name, she had no other thoughts but to turn around and leave the Prayer Tree Spring, pretending that she didn't know the Palico at all. Before this, Sereria had wondered why no hunter was willing to help Donnie, but now she knew why those hunters were unwilling to help. The White Monoblos was fine, but the Floating Mountain Dragon? That was an Elder Dragon, not a cat or a dog.

　The Floating Mountain Dragon, once considered the oldest Elder Dragon, is actually a rather bizarre species. It possesses a massive body nearly forty meters long, with a strangely dark green skin and an appearance resembling a giant mountain, hence its name. Furthermore, its round, supple body, coupled with six agile tentacles, makes it exceptionally flexible.

　Its ability to float in the air is so striking that hunters who see the Floating Mountain Dragon for the first time are invariably frightened by its bizarre appearance.

　As is well known, Elder Dragons have very long lifespans, and the Floating Mountain Dragon is one of the best among them. The two tentacles near its mouth alone are like an old man's beard. According to the Hunter Guild's records, the first person to observe the Floating Mountain Dragon was a survey team member named Darentano. He was originally a happy man with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter, but that survey mission changed the course of his life.

　He belonged to the ancient artifacts investigation team of the Western Kingdom of Shured. He was commissioned to conduct an investigation in the ancient tower area on the border of the kingdom. For the first few days, their investigation went smoothly. They set up camp near the ancient tower and began to search for traces of ancient artifacts in the ruins. However, a few days later, the sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds. When they looked up, they found that a monster as big as a mountain was floating above their heads.

　Most of the members of the ancient artifacts investigation team had only heard legends about this monster. This was the first time they had actually seen it with their own eyes. Out of their researcher instincts, they decided to go to the ancient tower to observe the monster up close. At first, nothing unusual happened. The team members not only successfully drew the basic appearance of the monster, but also picked up some samples that had fallen from the monster.

　But no matter how you look at it, the Floating Mountain Dragon is still an Ancient Dragon, and it's not unfounded that Ancient Dragons are the embodiment of natural disasters. Gentleness is completely out of the question for them. Suddenly, the Floating Mountain Dragon opened its terrifying maw and released an irresistible suction force. At the same time, many large orbs of light appeared on the Floating Mountain Dragon's body. After that, most of the members of the Ancient Relics Investigation Team disappeared without a trace. Even Darienteno left a letter in the camp describing the situation of the Floating Mountain Dragon and then disappeared as well.

　Sereria remembered the Floating Dragon, and according to the Hunter's Guild's records, the Floating Dragon didn't seem to be near Mejepoltan now. But it would be a lie to say that hunting the Floating Dragon didn't appeal to her at all, but that wasn't the most important thing right now.

　After putting her items and luggage back in her room, Sereria went to the tavern with Edlinka for a drink. Because hunting the Floating Dragon was a bit unimaginable, she might not have noticed some details in time, so she went to Edlinka to ask her to help her think about it.

　Although it was late, there were still many pedestrians on the streets of Mejpoldan, including hunters returning from completing missions and those on business. The atmosphere was completely different from that during the day. The lights shining from the windows of every household vaguely outlined the entire city in the night. People strolled slowly, laughing happily.

　The tavern was much busier than during the day. The aroma of steam, alcohol, and grilled meat mingled together, making one's mouth water. The sounds of lively conversation, incoherent ramblings from drunken people, and the clinking of cutlery and beer glasses were all over the place, creating a cacophony of unsettling noises.

　The pub was bustling with activity, and the waitresses were naturally busy weaving through the customers. She carried several beer mugs as she walked through the crowd, occasionally placing a few in front of a customer. Then, she grabbed several plates of food, held them between the inside of her elbows, and used her free hands to pick up a few more dishes, serving them to the customers like a juggler.

　The guests applauded her superb food-serving skills. Hearing their cheers, the receptionist also smiled broadly, waving as she busied herself between the counter and the guests' tables. Adeline also helped Seralia investigate Donnie's situation.

　"I've asked the elders of the Hunter's Guild about the specifics. The elders said that Donnie is just a pitiful Palico. So far, Donnie has spoken to many hunters, but no one has taken his words seriously, not even legendary hunters. However, there are many reasons behind this. You are the only one who can properly respond to Donnie's request. The elders hope that you can accept this request if you are willing."

　Just as a lion marks its territory, a young girl arriving in Mejpoldan for the first time will also take a good look around Mejpoldan; in other words, the young girl is inspecting her territory.

　The ancient tower area hidden in the sea of ​​trees is the first stop for the young girl's visit. In fact, the ancient tower is not an area that can be reached at any time. As the most mysterious hunting ground, if the weather is not clear and the mist in the sea of ​​trees is not dispelled, it is difficult for ordinary hunters to climb the ancient tower alone. It is said that the ancient tower is a tower that reaches into the clouds and was built in the era when ancient civilization still existed.

　As one of the ancient ruins discovered during the exploration of the forest, the ancient tower has many remarkable murals on its walls. Even now, many of the contents of these murals remain undeciphered, let alone the reason why the ancient civilization built this tower. However, some weapon-making techniques that modern civilization cannot achieve have been discovered inside the ancient tower, and there are also various ecological records about mysterious ancient dragons.

　Although the construction of the ancient pagoda did not exceed the upper limit of human technology at that time, its unusually large size and the various decorations and structures inside that were completely different from those of the modern era, and of course, more importantly, the fact that the pagoda served as a center for modern architecture, are remarkable.

　Why build in a place like the Forest of Trees, with its unpredictable climate and far from towns, and what technology those ancient people used to create such a spectacle, have all become unsolvable mysteries.

　However, it cannot be denied that the Ancient Tower also played a significant role in the development of the Hunter world. The ancient weapons that scholars and blacksmiths restored in an imperfect form through documents have influenced the manufacturing and optimization of modern weapons to a certain extent. The ecological records of those ancient dragons have also driven scholars to keep moving forward and have become a driving force in unveiling the mysteries of the world.

　Upon entering the ancient tower, you are greeted by smooth stone slabs, covered in moss due to the lack of footsteps. Inside, a spiraling path leads upwards, marked with numerous signs of damage, yet the spiral corridor appears relatively safe.

　Inside, the first thing you notice is the sunlight streaming through the broken ceiling from the top of the central tower, illuminating the light insects lurking in the weeds. The ever-growing trees have lifted the floorboards and entangled the surrounding stone pillars. Standing in the sunlight, you can clearly see the unique optical phenomena caused by the abundance of impurities in the air.

　Walking along the spiral corridor was a bit boring. Hunters usually used sprint potions to quickly pass through this section, but these were not problems for the young girl. Of course, if Flame and the others could successfully breed Wirebugs in Mejboltan, they might be able to travel even faster. The young girl only needed to bend her knees and jump. From outside the corridor, one could see the damaged areas outside. Thick clouds shrouded the surrounding ruins, making them look somewhat fragmented.

　Upon reaching the top of the tower, the originally bright weather suddenly turned gloomy, just like the missing ancient artifact investigation team. The little girl looked up and exclaimed, "Hmm, something ugly is flying over here!"

　Unlike common four-legged, two-winged ancient dragons, and also unlike ancient dragons like the Storm Dragon and the Sky Comet, the Floating Mountain Dragon appears to have almost no ability to fly. However, after investigation and research by many scholars, the most mainstream explanation is that the Floating Mountain Dragon does not completely digest its food after swallowing it, and the remaining part of the carcass continues to rot inside the Floating Mountain Dragon, producing a gas similar to marsh gas.

　The Floating Dragon gains its levitation ability by releasing these gases. Observation of the Floating Dragon's flight trajectory and direction also confirms that the Floating Dragon can freely control the production and direction of the gas. In other words, the Floating Dragon does not actually drift with the wind, but flies according to its own will.

　Of course, this is also related to the feeding behavior of the Floating Mountain Dragon. Because of the unique mouth structure of the Floating Mountain Dragon, it cannot eat like ordinary monsters. Therefore, in order to obtain enough food, the Floating Mountain Dragon does not take a specific type of food as its main food. It swallows an entire piece of land by swallowing it whole and then digests the creatures in it. That is why the Floating Mountain Dragon often wanders around in search of fertile land, and sometimes it even appears on the surface of the sea.

　When the Floating Mountain Dragon eats, it opens its blood-red maw and swallows the entire forest and lake whole. Because the Floating Mountain Dragon's eating method is too gluttonous, the Hunter's Guild assesses the Floating Mountain Dragon as extremely dangerous, almost to the point that it must be defeated as soon as it appears.

　However, just as a creature with a large appetite cannot eat food the same size as itself, the Floating Mountain Dragon was able to wreak havoc everywhere because of its incredibly powerful suction and its enormous size, which far exceeded that of ordinary Elder Dragons. But now that the young girl has appeared, the 63-meter-tall Returning World Lord is not an object that the Floating Mountain Dragon can suck up.

　Just as the Floating Mountain Dragon arrived at the Ancient Tower area and was about to open its massive jaws to inhale, a huge white-gold Ancient Dragon suddenly appeared below. The rich Ancient Dragon aura emanating from the white-gold Ancient Dragon made the Floating Mountain Dragon feel threatened. Feeling offended, the Reincarnation Lord opened its mouth and spat out several blasts of Mad Dragon Virus at the Floating Mountain Dragon.

　Fu Yue Long suddenly spewed out gas to move quickly and evade Hui Shi Zhu's Mad Dragon Virus. At the same time, Fu Yue Long also spewed out a large number of light spots from its mouth to attack Hui Shi Zhu. These light spots were Thunderlight Worms living inside Fu Yue Long's body. However, through long-term evolution inside Fu Yue Long, the Thunderlight Worms have evolved into Giant Thunderlight Worms (Fu Yue Long version). However, there is a drawback to these Giant Thunderlight Worms: once they leave Fu Yue Long's body, they will only face certain death.

　The Lord of Rebirth impatiently swung its tail, knocking away several rocks and killing the giant lightning insects. The Floating Mountain Dragon could only open its mouth again and keep inhaling, trying to disrupt the Lord of Rebirth's balance. Smaller stones and broken planks flew into the Floating Mountain Dragon's gaping maw, and the scales around the Lord of Rebirth also flew into the Floating Mountain Dragon's mouth.

　Liyin.jpg

　Volume 1: 455 - Foolish Floating Dragon, how wonderful!

　With a slight effort, Hui Shi Zhu leaped out of Fu Yue Long's attack range. However, Fu Yue Long did not stop its attack; instead, it opened its mouth, turned its body, and followed Hui Shi Zhu's trajectory. Hui Shi Zhu glanced at Fu Yue Long, using its wing claws as a fulcrum.

　He turned his body on the spot and then sprayed several blobs of Mad Dragon Virus at Fuyue Dragon.

　For Fuyuelong, the Mad Dragon Virus has no nutritional value, and the Mad Dragon Virus it swallowed earlier did not reach its stomach smoothly. Instead, it continued to stick to the inside of Fuyuelong's throat and esophagus. This made Fuyuelong feel strange when swallowing. Although this did not prevent Fuyuelong from eating, things that did not belong to its own body always made Fuyuelong feel uncomfortable.

　In order to avoid inhaling more of the Mad Dragon Virus, Fu Yuelong had no choice but to spray out a large amount of flammable and explosive gas from his body to dodge the Mad Dragon Virus. At the same time, he used the sparks caused by the giant thunderbugs he spat out to ignite these gases, which directly blew away the approaching Mad Dragon Virus. After adjusting his body position, Fu Yuelong spat out several light orbs wrapped with giant thunderbugs and flew towards Hui Shi Zhu.

　The Lord of Reincarnation charged up and slammed it towards the Floating Mountain Dragon. A surging light purple beam of light erupted like magma and struck the Floating Mountain Dragon. The Floating Mountain Dragon once again retracted its tentacles and tried to dodge to a safe place, but the Lord of Reincarnation's attack speed was even faster. The second, third, and fourth attacks followed immediately. The Floating Mountain Dragon could only keep dodging in the air, but several tentacles were still hit by the light purple beam of light and were instantly burned to a charred black.

　The Floating Mountain Dragon roared angrily, revealing teeth almost identical to those of a human in its gaping maw. The color of its eyes also changed from blood red to gold. Upon seeing such strange teeth, the Lord of Reincarnation was momentarily stunned, but in an instant, it also roared. The thunderous roar shook the surrounding space, and platinum-gold wing membranes on the back of the Lord of Reincarnation continuously emitted platinum-gold mad dragon virus.

　The Floating Mountain Dragon rapidly exhaled gas as it approached the Reincarnation Lord, spreading its tentacles and spinning, attempting to entangle the Reincarnation Lord. However, the Reincarnation Lord reacted swiftly, blocking the Floating Mountain Dragon's attack almost instantly. Sharp scales had already sprung up on its long, powerful tail, which then lashed out at the Floating Mountain Dragon. Although the Floating Mountain Dragon looked terrifying, its flesh was surprisingly good, almost impervious to blades, let alone the Reincarnation Lord's tail blade.

　The tail blade of the Lord of the World successfully cut through the skin of the Floating Mountain Dragon, but what flowed out of the wound was not bright red blood, but a thick, black, viscous liquid. In fact, this was the blood rich in energy that the Floating Mountain Dragon had evolved during its evolution. The reason why materials such as Divine Dragon Wood could appear on the back of the Floating Mountain Dragon was because the trees relied on this energy to grow.

　Seeing that Hui Shi Zhu was about to bite down on its tentacle, Fu Yue Long hurriedly tried to pull its tentacle back. However, Hui Shi Zhu held on tightly and wouldn't let it go. Just as Hui Shi Zhu's mouth was about to bite down, Fu Yue Long frantically raised its abdomen and used the "Mount Tai Press Down" technique on Hui Shi Zhu. Hui Shi Zhu never expected that Fu Yue Long would use such a risky move.

　It's well known that the most vulnerable and softest part of a creature is its abdomen. Now, the Floating Mountain Dragon is actually charging at the World Lord with its belly. Could this mean that happy times are just around the corner?

　The scene of Hui Shi Zhu being knocked away by Fu Yue Long's fleshy egg did not happen as Fu Yue Long had imagined. Instead, Hui Shi Zhu used Iron Mountain Lean to knock Fu Yue Long away. "Knocked away" might not be accurate; "rolled away" would be more appropriate.

　Fuyue Dragon angrily rose from the ground, expelling crimson flammable gas and spitting out giant lightning insects to detonate and force Huishi Zhu back. Due to the previous entanglement, the sword scales on Huishi Zhu's body had left numerous wounds on Fuyue Dragon's body. Fuyue Dragon once again used its enormous lung capacity to take a deep breath, while its tentacles on both sides were also waiting for an opportunity to strike Huishi Zhu. Because Fuyue Dragon used its inhalation almost without pause this time, Huishi Zhu had to carefully jump over the places where Fuyue Dragon had inhaled.

　Because the Floating Mountain Dragon looked unappetizing, the Lord of Rebirth didn't want to play with it anymore. Besides, a toy like the Floating Mountain Dragon wasn't fun. However, the Lord of Rebirth's attitude made the Floating Mountain Dragon think that the Lord of Rebirth was cowardly. So, the Floating Mountain Dragon, which was initially hesitant, bravely swung its sword. And it didn't expect that this blow would actually hit, striking the Lord of Rebirth's cheek.

　This enraged Hui Shi Zhu. Even Lan Mei, who was watching from the sidelines, could clearly feel that Hui Shi Zhu's eyes had changed. The emotion revealed in his crimson-gold pupils clearly showed that he regarded Fu Yue Long as a deadly creature. Fu Yue Long was also a little scared when he saw the white-gold scales constantly flowing from Hui Shi Zhu's body, but the next second Fu Yue Long became bold again. After all, there are particles in the animal kingdom that use gorgeous appearances to bluff. Fu Yue Long felt that he could give it a try.

　Immediately afterwards, Fu Yuelong inhaled sharply again, but Fu Yuelong clearly did not expect that Hui Shi Zhu would not continue to dodge this time but instead confront him head-on. A large clump of white-gold Mad Dragon Virus flew towards Fu Yuelong, and Fu Yuelong swallowed it whole along with the nearby Mad Dragon Virus without thinking. There would have been no problem if it had ended like this.

　However, Fuyue Dragon may not have known that the Reincarnation Lord could do more than just control the Mad Dragon Virus; the Reincarnation Lord could also manipulate the Mad Dragon Virus to do many things, such as detonating it. This meant that Fuyue Dragon, who had just swallowed almost all of the Mad Dragon Virus, had to endure an unimaginable explosion. So, in the next second, the Reincarnation Lord detonated all the Mad Dragon Virus around it without hesitation.

　Thanks to its skin being covered in dragon moss, the Floating Mountain Dragon's skin was not significantly damaged by the explosion.

　The damage was that much of the dragon moss in the weakest areas was blown away. But just like a turtle's shell is very hard, if a bomb explodes inside the turtle's body, no matter how hard the shell is, the only outcome is to wait for death. Moreover, the belly of the Floating Mountain Dragon itself contained a lot of flammable and explosive gases produced by the decay of the corpse, which were instantly ignited by the explosion of the Mad Dragon Virus.

　"boom!"

　A tremendous explosion rang out, and the body of the Floating Mountain Dragon instantly swelled up, then slowly shrank back down. Even during this process, faint black mist seeped from its skin. The Floating Mountain Dragon opened its mouth weakly, and a huge amount of black mist, carrying the aroma of roasted meat, billowed out of its mouth. The Floating Mountain Dragon then plummeted straight to the top of the tower, its tentacles on both sides desperately trying to grab onto something, but it had no strength left and collapsed limply to the ground.

　As the Reincarnated Lord drew closer, the Floating Mountain Dragon seemed to lose all will to resist, lying there quietly awaiting its death. But as the Reincarnated Lord drew even closer, the Floating Mountain Dragon suddenly opened its mouth, and a large number of giant lightning insects instantly flew out of the Floating Mountain Dragon's body and rushed towards the Reincarnated Lord. This was the Floating Mountain Dragon's last resort. Although it might not be able to kill the ancient dragon, it could at least buy the Floating Mountain Dragon time to escape this area.

　The Lord of Reincarnation glanced down at the Floating Mountain Dragon, his eyes seemingly filled with contempt or boredom. The Lord of Reincarnation unleashed a thin beam of light that instantly sliced ​​through the flying giant thunder insects. The Floating Mountain Dragon tried to struggle again, but the Lord of Reincarnation was already in front of it. The Floating Mountain Dragon had no choice but to extend its tentacles and tightly wrap them around the Lord of Reincarnation's body. Even though the sword-like scales on its body were about to sever its tentacles, the Floating Mountain Dragon was unwilling to let go.

　The Lord of Rebirth stepped on the body of the Floating Mountain Dragon, then extended its wing claws to grip the tentacles and pulled hard. At the same time, it opened its mouth and bit the tentacle that was about to cover its eyes. The Floating Mountain Dragon twisted its tentacles frantically, trying to escape from the Lord of Rebirth's claws, but it no longer had the chance. After biting through the dragon moss on the Floating Mountain Dragon's body, the Lord of Rebirth's dragon teeth easily severed the Floating Mountain Dragon's tentacles.

　"Crunch~ Crunch~" Hui Shi Zhu bit through the hard shell of the tentacle, then sucked the tentacle into its mouth like it was eating noodles and chewed it with a smacking sound. The taste really surprised Hui Shi Zhu. Although the Floating Mountain Dragon looked very ugly, it tasted surprisingly good. After Hui Shi Zhu thought it could be added to the menu, the Floating Mountain Dragon could feel that Hui Shi Zhu's gaze towards it was different. Just as it was about to try its best to resist, Hui Shi Zhu's wing claws were already in front of its eyes.

　The method to kill the Floating Mountain Dragon is relatively simple: just pierce its eyes with the wing claws and crush its brain to kill it completely. However, just as Hui Shi Zhu pulled out the wing claws, a large amount of black viscous liquid gushed out from the Floating Mountain Dragon's wound. Hui Shi Zhu had eaten octopus before, so shouldn't this viscous black liquid have been sprayed out the moment they started fighting?

　The Reincarnation Master stepped on the motionless Floating Mountain Dragon, and stopped thinking about the problem. Then she transformed back into a little girl. The little girl's way of thinking was very simple, or rather, her starting point was a little different. For example, regarding the black liquid inside the Floating Mountain Dragon, some people might think about why there was black blood, and some people might think about why the blood was black. But the little girl only thought, "Can I eat it?"

　However, this way of thinking is actually quite suitable for ancient dragons. After all, they are just ancient dragons. They rarely doubt or think too much about the mysterious when it comes to established things. As for the young girl, because of her own special nature, she has her own unique logic when it comes to certain special things. For example, the black blood in the body of the Floating Mountain Dragon. For the young girl, her thinking might go from blood → black → edible → rich → cake → unique → energy.

　In this way, the young girl can analyze the causes and effects of black blood. Don't doubt it, that's how unconventional a young girl's thinking is.

　After the Floating Dragon fell, the spectators, Lanmei and the Melalu, rushed over. Lanmei wasn't worried about or even considered the possibility of the young girl failing. The Melalu quickly ran over to start dissecting the Floating Dragon. The Floating Dragon was over forty meters long, and without the young girl's help, it would have taken the Melalu several days to dissect it. If the young girl cut off the key parts, the Melalu could process it much faster.

　Soon, the tentacles and torso of the Floating Mountain Dragon were separated. There are many ways to cook the tentacles: blanching, grilling, or salt frying are all possible. However, this time, Melalu chose a different method, one that Thor taught her. For a more refined approach, you need to grease the pan with butter, then add tofu and fry until golden brown on both sides before adding sliced ​​meat, preferably beef. Once the meat is about 60-70% cooked, add enoki mushrooms and cabbage, and finally pour in soy sauce, cooking wine, broth, and your favorite side dishes.

　But this is the human style, which is completely different for a young girl. Mushroom pork and herbivorous dragon belly meat are added to a huge copper pot. After the fat is rendered out, onions that the young girl can eat are added. Then, the remaining female Rathalos thigh meat and herbivorous dragon neck meat are added. At the same time, ghost onions and tough potatoes are cut into appropriate sizes and thrown in to cook.

　As for the tentacles of the Floating Mountain Dragon, they are added thinly sliced ​​when the dish is about 80% cooked, and then left to sit for about ten minutes, until the rich aroma is almost irresistible.

　The dish was complete when it covered the entire top of the ancient tower.

　"Smack~ Smack~" The first thing the little girl tasted was the cooked tentacles of the Floating Mountain Dragon. The firm, elastic, and chewy thick slices danced in the little girl's mouth. After being cut into pieces by the little girl's teeth, she swallowed them in one gulp. The tender and juicy thigh meat of the female Rathalos and the deliciousness of the mushroom pork, the thick and chewy neck meat of the herbivorous dragon and the juicy belly meat of the herbivorous dragon formed a wonderful combination.

　In contrast, the torso of the Floating Mountain Dragon was more difficult to process. This was not only because of the unique structure of the Floating Mountain Dragon's torso, but also because if one was not careful during the decomposition, the black blood could easily splatter onto various parts of the torso, which would greatly affect the taste of those parts. Therefore, it took Melalu a long time to process the entire torso properly.

　The internal organs of the Floating Mountain Dragon are all edible, but its ruminant intestines and stomach are absolutely inedible. Some of the mud and debris left behind after the Floating Mountain Dragon eats the land will accumulate in these two areas, and the stomach is also where the Great Thunderbugs live. Although the Great Thunderbugs here are all dead, Melalu still thinks this place is inedible, so she did not add it to the little girl's menu.

　After cooking and chopping the offal, pour it into the herbivorous dragon egg mixture and stir well. Then, place the outer skin of the floating dragon, cut into rings, on a frying pan, and pour the mixed offal and egg mixture into the rings of the outer skin. Fill the inside completely and wait for it to set before flipping it over and frying until both sides are cooked and brown. Sprinkle with some wild onions and black pepper before serving.

　The sweetness of the dragon eggs and the freshness of the internal organs, combined with the crisp and chewy skin of the Floating Mountain Dragon, made this dish quite delicious, even though it was the first attempt and there were some flaws. The little girl practically grabbed a piece, rolled it up slightly, and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed it a couple of times and then swallowed it. Lan Mei also liked the dish very much, but Melalu only ate a few scraps, since the Melalu were already full from the first dish.

　Firefly.jpg

　Volume 1: 456 - The Unbelievable Song That Brings Calamity

　For the hunters of Mejepoltan, today might be the most magical day in Mejepoltan's history. No one could have imagined that the Floating Mountain Dragon would reappear near the Ancient Tower. This is not good news. The Floating Mountain Dragon is not picky about its food, which means that wherever it goes, almost nothing will grow. Faced with this situation, the hunters' guild of Mejepoltan understands that they must defeat the Floating Mountain Dragon before it arrives in Mejepoltan in order to overcome this difficulty.

　But no one expected that the Floating Mountain Dragon would disappear just six hours later. After deploying the maximum number of hot air balloons without finding any trace of the Floating Mountain Dragon, the Hunter's Guild even deployed the Dragon Detection Ship to search for its whereabouts. Compared to hot air balloons, the Dragon Detection Ship is a large-scale device used by the Hunter's Guild for high-altitude exploration, with advantages such as high mobility and a wide field of vision. Unfortunately, the hunters on the Dragon Detection Ship still could not find any trace of the Floating Mountain Dragon.

　For Sereria, today felt like being knocked into the sky by a Diablos and then crashing to the ground, only to be launched into the air again by a Diablos's Rising Dragon Drill, though not as high as before, before falling back down. And all of this was related to the Floating Mountain Dragon. In fact, when Sereria learned that the Floating Mountain Dragon had appeared in the Ancient Tower, she felt incredibly lucky to have found it just when Donnie needed her to find materials for it.

　Just as she was about to sign up for the Floating Mountain Dragon hunt, she was told that the Floating Mountain Dragon had left the Ancient Tower area. The hunters at the Ancient Dragon Observatory don't joke around, so she was very unlucky.

　But if it wasn't bad, why did Fuyuelong disappear so soon after it appeared?

　Sereria left the Hunter's Gathering Place somewhat dejected, and many hunters shared her disappointment. The Divine Dragonwood from the Floating Mountain Dragon was an extremely precious material. Because it absorbed the energy of the Elder Dragon, the Divine Dragonwood was incredibly strong, and weapons and armor made from it were even harder than steel. Moreover, collecting these materials wasn't that difficult; all you had to do was boldly jump onto the Floating Mountain Dragon's back and not get thrown off.

　Donnie also learned about the attack of the Floating Mountain Dragon. After running out of the Prayer Tree Spring, he asked passing hunters where the Floating Mountain Dragon was. However, as the manager of the Hunter's Gathering Hall said, almost no one was willing to pay attention to Donnie. When Sereria walked up to Donnie and wanted to explain to him that the Floating Mountain Dragon had left Mejepoltan, a strange caravan entered Mejepoltan.

　Three Melaluru sat on the back of a herbivorous dragon, which was pulling a cart full of dark green carapaces and branches of varying sizes. At the very back of the cart were two sisters, but the older sister had different hair colors. The younger sister was swinging her legs and playing.

　Experienced and curious hunters began to identify what kind of monster it was.

　He couldn't recall ever seeing such materials before, so he had to flip through a book. And what he found was that he actually discovered the source of those materials. The dark green appearance, the metallic sheen of the cross-section, the strange arc shape, and the uneven, pitted surface all proved that these materials came from the Floating Mountain Dragon.

　"Those materials came from the Floating Dragon!"

　The hunter's shout immediately drew everyone's attention. Some of the more anxious hunters even stared at the materials on the flatbed cart with gleaming eyes. Even Donnie shook Sereria's arm, urging her to do something quickly. However, when Donnie saw the two people behind the flatbed cart, he was so frightened that he reverted to his quadruped form and ran away as fast as he could.

　"Hey, what's wrong, Donnie? Didn't you need the Divine Dragon Wood from the Floating Mountain Dragon to make clothes for the Songstress?" Sereria caught up with Donnie, puzzled, and asked.

　"That's an invincible enemy, meow! That's a demon, meow! Meow almost died at her hands, meow!"

　Sereria was even more puzzled. She subconsciously looked behind her, but no one was chasing after her. The two sisters had also left the flatbed cart and seemed to be heading towards the tavern. The three Meralu were already setting up a stall to sell and exchange materials for the Floating Mountain Dragon. Judging from how popular it was, business was pretty good. Sereria patted Donnie's head to remind him not to run around, and then quickly ran to Meralu to buy two portions of Divine Dragon Wood.

　The young girl didn't care how the materials were processed, because Melalu would handle them. Melalu's method was usually to sell the materials or trade them at the blacksmith's for cooking tableware, which would ultimately end up being used on the young girl.

　After returning to the Prayer Tree Spring, Donnie acted as if he were home, unlike his cautious demeanor outside. Cerelia was curious about Donnie's reaction and asked him what had happened and what he meant by calling the little girl a devil. Donnie washed the Divine Dragon Wood in the spring water of the Prayer Tree Spring while explaining to Cerelia why he was so afraid.

　"Hunter, don't you realize that those two sisters clearly don't seem to have your strength or power, so why are the materials from the Floating Mountain Dragon appearing on them, meow?"

　“I’m not a powerful hunter either. In fact, there are many hunters in the entire Hunter’s Guild who are stronger than me. Some of those powerful hunters are dealing with even more terrible natural disasters in the deeper parts of Mejpoldan, while I haven’t even left Mejpoldan yet.”

　Upon hearing this, Donnie retorted indignantly, "Master Hunter, you are the strongest hunter, meow! Those hunters all cowered when they heard they needed to hunt down the Floating Mountain Dragon, meow! Only you, Master Hunter, didn't run away when you heard about hunting down the Floating Mountain Dragon, so you are the strongest hunter! But that has nothing to do with meow! They were able to hunt down the Floating Mountain Dragon because they are demons, meow!"

　"Demons? I've seen dragons and fishmen, but I've never seen or heard of demons."

　"Actually, these two ladies had already been to the Prayer Tree Spring before the Hunter arrived. But I don't know why, the young lady started bullying me as soon as she saw me. I almost died. At the last moment, it was the Songstress who saved me. The Songstress told me that the young lady is very powerful. She also specifically told me to be careful of those two people, especially the young lady."

　"Where is that songstress you mentioned? Could I meet her?"

　Donnie slowed down his rubbing of the Divine Dragon Wood a little, then quickly resumed his previous pace. "Now the Divine Dragon Wood is the only hope to save the Songstress. Saving me from the brink of death has already exhausted most of the Songstress's strength, so now the only way to save her is by using the clothes woven from the Divine Dragon Wood."

　The tanning of the material from the rapid changes in the Divine Dragon Wood in the water seems to require a special technique, and Donnie has mastered this technique. The hard Divine Dragon Wood is gradually turning into soft filaments under Donnie's cat paws. But don't be fooled by how thin these filaments are; their toughness is extraordinary. Seeing that the Prayer Tree Spring was somewhat dull, Donnie decided to tell the story of that songstress.

　"Once upon a time, in a faraway forest, lived a beautiful girl named Meow. She was separated from her family at a young age and was raised by the cats in the forest. The weak cats used all sorts of methods to protect the girl from monsters and fought their way through. But this was not entirely due to the cats' efforts; the most fundamental reason was that the girl's singing voice carried magical power."

　"The girl's singing voice, which sounded like a prayer and a blessing, grew stronger as she grew up, eventually becoming a mysterious forest that even dragons couldn't enter, meow."

　"That's right, meow. That girl is the songstress, meow. I am the most loyal cat among the cats that serve and protect the songstress in that forest."

　"Later, people heard rumors about the Forest of Prayer, and many hunters gathered there, meow. The hunters used the power of their songs to hunt many monsters, meow, and in return, they presented the songstress with many treasures, meow. But just then..."

　Before Donnie could finish speaking, a hurried voice came from over the phone, "Donnie, are you over there, Gallo?"

　"Bass, what are you doing here, meow?" A Palico with fur similar in color to Donnie appeared at the entrance of the Prayer Tree Spring. The Palico, named Bass, seemed to know Donnie's whereabouts very well. Bass hurriedly ran to Donnie's side, stretched out its paw and firmly grabbed Donnie's collar, and said loudly, "Didn't I tell you not to bother the Songstress? Why are you here again, Galo?"

　"I'm just fulfilling our wish. If you don't want to, you can leave this place. I don't really need your help, meow."

　"Gero, you ignorant bastard, do you know how to tan the Divine Dragon Wood? Do you know how to give it an awakening effect? ​​Didn't the Songstress say she didn't want that tragedy to repeat itself? Listen up, don't bring any more chaos to this land, Gallo."

　"I will not give up. Once this dress is finished, the songstress will understand my feelings even more."

　Seeing that he couldn't reason with Donnie, Bass swung his paw and slapped him. However, because it was a cat's paw, the damage was minimal. Donnie was completely taken aback that Bass would actually attack him. Angrily, Donnie slapped the water, creating a large splash. "Hit me? Hit me? Even my dad has never hit me, meow!"

　"What's wrong with me hitting you!"