The young dragon tries to conquer the world

　After saying this, Bass noticed that there was a hunter standing to the side. Bass straightened his clothes and politely said to Sereria, "Hello, I am Bass, a researcher of folk tales and stories from all over the world. It's nice to meet you, Gallo."

　"Hello, I am Sereria, a hunter from Mejboltan. I am currently cooperating with Donnie."

　"For now, what do you mean by 'for now'?"

　"That's why I hate impatient cats, Gallo."

　"I also hate cats like you who speak slowly and sound disgusting, meow."

　"Alright, alright, stop arguing. This won't get you anywhere. I have a question, Bass. Did you come here to try and dissuade Donnie from continuing?"

　Upon hearing Sereria's words, Bass did not oppose Donnie's actions as Sereria had expected. Instead, he said, "No, I'm here to help Donnie because this guy is just an impatient loser, Gallo."

　"Meow! Bass, you idiot, how could you say that to me?"

　Hearing this, Bass remained unmoved, then turned to Sereria and said, "It's good that you bought two portions of Divine Dragon Wood, Miss Hunter. If the clothes were made using Donnie's method, they wouldn't work at all. The Divine Dragon Wood needs to be soaked in the blood of the Flood Dragon for the clothes to have the intended effect, Galo."

　Upon hearing Bass's words, Sereria felt a wave of dizziness. She had wanted to complain about Donnie since the time she was playing Floating Mountain Dragon. Even in RPG games, the first activities characters do are usually the simplest, like slimes and goblins. But why is it that she has to face a demon executive at the start, and even a character more terrifying than a demon executive?

　Some of Gu Long's works have caused quite a stir, and they are capable of doing so.

　But Bass didn't stop there. He continued, "Furthermore, fresh Chameleon blood cannot be used directly after it's retrieved. Instead, it must be placed in a sealed jar and allowed to mature for a week. Only in this way can the powerful life force of the ancient dragon be released, Galo."

　However, Donnie couldn't listen to Bass's explanation at all and instead couldn't help but want to fight him because, "You didn't tell me any of this, meow!"

　"This is common sense, common sense. I'm still a long way from sharing my wisdom with a layman who doesn't even understand this kind of thing."

　"Ugh, you really make me furious, meow!"

　“My companion is really incompetent. I’m so sorry to trouble you, Miss Hunter. But I’ll take care of everything from now on, so don’t worry. Now, to get straight to the point, for the sake of our songstress, I need you to collect the materials mentioned below, Galo.”

　Sereria nodded, then began to carefully note down the materials Bass had mentioned. "First, there are the elven antlers, which require thirty Galos."

　"What? Thirty meows? That's way too many meows. Are you planning to test the Hunter's strength? I don't think this is necessary at all. The Hunter is very strong."

　“Donnie, don’t interrupt me. Your walnut-sized head will never understand my thoughts. First of all, although the elven deer isn’t a powerful monster, collecting the antlers of thirty elven deer still requires a lot of luck, Gallo. But I think we should use the word ‘favorable timing’ to describe it.”

　"It seems you're a hunter who even sides with God, Gallo."

　"Hmph, you're so cocky. Hurry up and explain, meow."

　"Then comes the location, which requires collecting twenty Chaos Mushrooms, which are the top-grade shiitake mushrooms that can only be found in specific areas. Finally, it's about merging with Galo, which requires a Qilin's Azure Horn."

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　Gan Yu.jpg

　Volume 1: Chapter 457 - The Cursed Songstress and the Missing Hunter

　When Sereria heard Bass say that he needed the Azure Horn of the Kirin, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Although the Kirin was the friendliest of the Elder Dragons, that didn't mean that humans could just climb on its back and twist off its horn. Currently, it seemed that only the Golden Lion could do such a feat. However, Sereria didn't think these were problems. As someone who started out in the Hunter's Guild, Mejboltan knew very well how to get these materials, so she agreed.

　This completely relieved Donnie. Ever since Bass arrived, Bass had been disapproving of Donnie's actions in almost every way. Moreover, Donnie's mistake in handling the Divine Dragon Wood resulted in the loss of a set of materials. So Donnie was determined to prove himself, and that's when Sereria came.

　Fortunately, all the materials Bass needed could be bought at the Hunter's Gathering Place. However, the price was a problem, but fortunately, Sereria and her brother had saved some money when they were hunters, so buying a few slightly more expensive materials was not a problem. Soon, Sereria brought a bag of materials to the Prayer Tree Spring. After Bass checked all the materials, he respectfully packed up the bag. At this point, Donnie finally felt like he could stand up again.

　"Look closely, meow. Hunter Master is different from ordinary hunters, understand, meow!?"

　"Yes, yes, I know very well about this matter, and as a return gift, I present all these materials to Hunter-sama Gero."

　When Donnie saw Bass do that, he immediately jumped up high. And as a return gesture for Bass grabbing his collar at the beginning, Donnie also took the opportunity to grab Bass's collar. However, from the perspective of the two Palicoes, the scene did not feel like a fight, but more like they were playing and frolicking on the ground.

　"W-what?!? So, what exactly are these materials?"

　"I simply want to know Lady Sereria's strength, Galo." Bass remained unmoved in the face of Donnie's aggressive demeanor.

　"You bastard, apologize! You have to apologize to the hunter, meow."

　Bass broke free from Donnie's grasp and shouted, "You're the one who should shut up, Galo! If a hunter can't even complete a quest like this, she can't help you regain the Songstress's power at all, Galo."

　Donnie was stunned and could only whisper, "What?"

　Bass turned to look at Sereria, and solemnly prostrated himself on the ground, banging his head against the ground to apologize to her, saying, "Lady Sereria, please forgive my rude behavior this time. It was all for the sake of the songstress. If you really want to talk about it, this might be related to the future of all hunters, or maybe it's Gero."

　"The future of all hunters? That's a bit of an exaggeration." Although Sereria subconsciously thought Bass was just being polite, seeing the expression on Bass's face, she suddenly felt that the statement was somewhat plausible.

　“That’s right, Gallo. The next step is the key to truly helping the Songstress regain her power. Heaven, Earth, and Man—only hunters who possess these can reach that realm. Gallo, only by having the courage to transcend that realm can you do those things.”

　After saying this, Bass straightened his clothes and sat quietly next to Sereria. "Lady Sereria, before I ask you to save the songstress, I want to tell you a story about what a hunter named Tokishi did."

　The story is very simple; Sereria thinks even a seven or eight-year-old child could understand it.

　During the time when the songstress was still alive, Tokishi hunted countless monsters single-handedly and was known as a legendary hunter. Like other hunters, Tokishi also went out hunting after being blessed and strengthened by the songstress's voice. In return, Tokishi would select beautiful materials from the monsters he hunted and make them into accessories or toys to give to the songstress.

　But the problem lies in these gifts. It is unknown when, but the gifts that Tokichi gave to the songstress were cursed. This curse caused the songstress to continuously lose her power until her power was completely gone. The hunters quickly discovered this anomaly and told the songstress about it. Donnie and the others immediately went to find Tokichi to ask him what he had done.

　At first, Donnie naively thought that Tokishi did such a thing because of unrequited love or some shameless request. He even muttered that when he saw Tokishi, he would definitely give him a Meow Meow Punch in the face. But since that time, Tokishi disappeared from Mejpoldan, which made Donnie angry. Donnie also firmly believed that Tokishi stole the songstress's power. Otherwise, why would Tokishi leave Mejpoldan?

　Afterwards, Donnie, Bass, and an Elf cat led the songstress on a journey around the world to find the Time Record and a suitable solution. However, things seemed to have reached a dead end; they couldn't find the Time Record or a solution, and could only watch as the songstress's body grew weaker and weaker, and her slumber lengthened.

　The longer it goes, the more they must return to the Forest of Prayer to ensure the songstress's survival.

　But when they returned, they discovered that the Forest of Prayer had been destroyed by a dragon. They couldn't tell what kind of dragon it was from the traces, but only an ancient dragon could have the power to destroy an entire forest. Seeing their original home reduced to this state, the sorrowful songstress and the tearful Palicoes, after cleaning up the scene, finally chose the Prayer Tree Spring in the mountains not far from here as their final sanctuary.

　"The most unforgivable one here is that hunter named Tokishi. As long as that man isn't around, the songstress won't be like that."

　“There’s no point in pursuing this now, Gallo. Since things have come to this, we must first lift the curse on the songstress. So, I’ll leave the ancient dragon blood of the Xialong and the Azure Horn of the Qilin to you, Lady Sereria.”

　After leaving the Prayer Tree Spring, Sereria was about to go to the Hunter's Guild Hall to ask if there were any requests for the Chameleon and Kirin, but as soon as she arrived at the entrance of the Guild Hall, she saw her brother, Sibert, talking to Edlinka. Sereria didn't expect her brother to return so quickly, it seemed that the special training had gone very smoothly.

　"You're back, brother. What are you talking about?"

　"Oh, it's Lia. I'm back. I learned a lot this time. By the way, I heard from Linka that you took on a quest about Palicoes?"

　Sereria nodded. She and Sibert didn't have any secrets between them, and she was here to ask Edlinka some questions. She felt that if what Donnie and Bass said was true, someone would definitely know about the information. So she told them everything she knew.

　"What, it's Tokiji. I never expected to hear that name from you. However, due to the agreement of the Hunter's Guild, I cannot describe anything about Tokiji to you. If you really want to know something about Tokiji, perhaps you can ask the Grand Elder."

　From Edlinka's perspective, she definitely knows something, but due to confidentiality agreements or other commitments, Edlinka cannot express this information to her. Sibert is worried that her sister will have a falling out with Edlinka over these matters, and the two families have been good friends since they were very young. If they have a falling out over something like this, Sibert will also be sad, so Sibert doesn't want to see that happen.

　However, Sereria seemed to have anticipated this situation and did not question the answer. Edlinka did not think much of it either. After glancing at the brochure of the gathering place, she said, "Lia, Sibert, it's the breeding season for the Lanternfish now. I see that the Hunter's Guild has relaxed the hunting restrictions on the Lanternfish. Not only can we break down those monsters to eat their meat, but we can also sell the materials on their bodies. Do you want to go together? I'll call my brother too."

　"I'm fine with it. The Lanternfish Dragon isn't that difficult. If we treat it like a casual autumn outing, then there's no problem. What about Leah?"

　“I can do that too, but I still need to hunt down the Chameleon and obtain its Elder Dragon blood. After that, I might need your help on the hunt.” Edlinka and Sibert both nodded.

　Despite being surprised that the Palico's request required such high-level materials, the opportunity to fight an Elder Dragon was a rare chance for hunters, so they quickly signed up for the Lanternfish Dragon hunt. After Edlinka called out to her brother from the tavern, the four of them headed towards the hunting grounds of the swamp and river. Because of the Lanternfish Dragon's overpopulation, there were many hunters here to hunt it, and Sereria noticed the demon that Donnie had mentioned at first glance.

　It wasn't because Sereria had been keeping an eye on the situation there, but rather because the little girl was simply too conspicuous. Her beautiful platinum blonde hair was adorned with pink accents at the ends, and her pure white coat also had pink stripes. Her smooth, fair thighs and clean shoes made the little girl look more like she was on a picnic than hunting Lanternfish. In fact, the little girl was indeed on a picnic, but she was just killing a few Lanternfish along the way.

　"What are you looking at, Leah? I... I don't remember raising you into a child like this. No, you were just a child, Leah."

　Sereria knew without a doubt that her brother had made a mistake, so she immediately covered his mouth to stop him from disturbing others and from spouting nonsense. Sereria said softly, "Tsk, so annoying. Didn't I tell you about those two Felynes? I'm curious why the Felynes would call this little guy the Demon King. Look at her thin arms and legs. That's when I felt that there was something wrong with those two Felynes."

　Sibert and Edlinka also looked at the little girl, which made Sereria hurriedly turn their heads back. "You two are looking too directly. Be careful she doesn't find out. Also, although we can't rule out that what the Palico said is true, there is another possibility that the little guy is the Palico's natural enemy, or that its ecological niche is much higher than those small monsters."

　"I think they're definitely not hunters, at least not pure hunters. But could they be dragon people? If they are dragon people, the Palicoes should tell you."

　“A dragonman.” Sereria repeated the word while glancing furtively at the young girl. To her utter surprise, the girl grabbed a greatsword and leaped up to slash at a tarantula. While the scene was absurd—hunters could easily do the same—the size difference between the young girl and the bear was simply too great.

　The Lanternfish was estimated to be about 23 meters long, and its mouth was wide enough for a young girl to play basketball inside. It is worth mentioning that the Lanternfish's skin is very flexible, and it is difficult for ordinary attacks to penetrate this defense. If you want to cook it, you must simmer it over low heat for a long time to achieve a chewy and smooth texture. However, such a monster was directly smashed through the skull by the young girl.

　The Lanternfish is often mistakenly believed by novice hunters to be a pisiosaur because of the word "pisiosaur" in its name. This is incorrect. The Lanternfish is actually a sea dragon, but it can also live in freshwater rivers. However, due to evolutionary issues, the Lanternfish's bulky physique makes it almost impossible for it to snipe prey head-on. Therefore, the Lanternfish has evolved its own ambush tactics.

　That is, it hides its flat body under the silt and sand of the riverbed, changes its skin color to match the color of the riverbed for concealment, and only exposes the seaweed-like tentacles on the top of its head, pretending to be oxygen algae to attract passing aquatic animals or herbivorous dragons. Then, when the two sides are close, it suddenly appears, uses its powerful suction to suck the prey into its mouth and swallow it whole.

　Because of its mouth structure, the Lanternfish cannot slowly chew its prey like other carnivorous monsters; instead, it can only swallow it whole. As the name suggests, the Lanternfish comes from a tentacle-like protrusion on the head of its head, with a spherical structure at the top that emits a blue light, called the Lantern Ball. That's why it's called the Lanternfish.

　The young girl learned about the recent overpopulation of Lantau Rex through Lanmei, so she went straight to the hunting grounds. Although the Lantau Rex's skin was difficult to process, it was no problem for the young girl. Moreover, Melalu had her own special way of cooking it, especially the Lantau Rex's forelimbs, which were not only tender but also tasted great. The Lantau Rex's tail was also full of cartilage, and the young girl especially liked the Lantau Rex's tail.

　The young girl, who was dissecting the Lanternfish Dragon, also sensed a... no, three gazes were secretly observing her from behind the tree. But when the girl turned around to look, the three gazes had already sneaked away and hidden themselves. However, there was no sense of offense in their gazes, so the girl did not take it to heart that these upright creatures were being disrespectful to her.

　Volume 1: Chapter 458 - The Immortal Master Arrives

　Although the ichthyosaurs can live in shallow water areas, that is, freshwater rivers, as well as in the ocean, scholars have found that the reproductive organs of the ichthyosaurs in shallow water areas are not well developed, and the differences between the sexes are also smaller. However, the ovaries of female ichthyosaurs found in the ocean are unusually developed, which leads scholars to speculate that female ichthyosaurs go to the ocean to lay eggs.

　Because of this, scholars have never seen any reports of the eggs and hatchlings of the Dendroceratops. During the breeding season, male Dendroceratops, with their large bodies and long whiskers, would attract the attention of females and then swim back to the ocean to conceive their offspring. After giving birth in a suitable place, the Dendroceratops would return to the river area.

　During this process, most of the Lanternfish will encounter and fight aquatic monsters such as the Sea Dragon and the Water Dragon. After this, a large number of Lanternfish will come from the ocean to the river area. So, the Lanternfish does this to leave a living space for its offspring. After observing this phenomenon, the Hunter's Guild also chose to lift the hunting ban during this period.

　The Lanternfish is a classic meat-producing monster. Although it looks incredibly ugly and unpalatable, it is still in high demand as a source of delicious food. Basically, every part of the Lanternfish's body except for its spines can be processed and eaten. In particular, the Lanternfish's liver is considered an extremely precious delicacy, on par with the white pieces of the Sand King. Therefore, the Hunter's Guild encourages hunters to hunt Lanternfish more often.

　Generally speaking, there are many ways to cook Lanternfish Dragons, but stewing and grilling are the two most common. Furthermore, after being specially trained by Granny Cat in the Everfrost Tundra, the Melalu's stewing skills have greatly improved. Therefore, the Melalu decided to stew the first Lanternfish Dragon hunted by the young girl. And that unfortunate one, due to the young girl's actions, had its smaller portion exposed...

　One type of lanternfish is made by grilling fish.

　With the help of the young girl and Lanmei, the Lantau Dragon was quickly placed on the grill, and firewood was immediately lit underneath. The reason why the young girl and Lanmei could do it so quickly was because they had specially designed and made tools at the blacksmith's workshop. These were many metal rods about one meter long, but each end had a connecting and fixing mechanism.

　When facing different monsters, Meralu will take out the same number of metal rods according to the size of the monster, and then combine them into the appropriate size. This way, when in the wild, she can prepare the tools needed for grilling in the shortest time, instead of starting from digging a pit and building a stove as before, which was too time-consuming.

　Melalu's tool is a new type of kitchen knife made from the scales that fell from the young girl's body, namely the blade scale of the World Lord. These are the sword scales on the World Lord's wing limbs. Because they serve to attack and counter enemies, the sword scales are extremely strong and sharp. The kitchen knife made from them is also extremely sharp. When cutting meat, it can even leave no trace of blood on the blade.

　Make cross-shaped cuts on both sides of the tarpon's body with a kitchen knife. This will allow the charcoal fire to heat the fish thoroughly, ensuring that the skin doesn't burn while the inside remains bloody. Fix the tarpon on the grill and keep it burning while turning it occasionally to ensure even heating. Of course, don't forget Meralu's special sauce.

　The next stew was even easier for Melalu to prepare. Melalu and her companions removed the internal organs of the Lanternfish Dragon, then separated the pectoral and caudal fins along the skin. After separating the bones and fish meat, they were ready to cook. As for the internal organs, Melalu only kept the liver.

　When cooking, put the fish bones and bones into the pot and stir-fry them carefully. Then add clean spring water to make soup. Add vegetables such as onions and potatoes and the seasonings chosen by Meralu and stew for a while. The large pieces of lanternfish meat gradually become soft in the pot, and the gelatin in the toughest lanternfish skin is gradually cooked out, which makes the whole pot of stew thick.

　Watching the little girl happily munching on the lanternfish dragon meat, Sereria and the others suddenly felt that arguing with the little girl's behavior was a stupid thing to do. Moreover, from what they saw now, the little girl and Lan were at least not as evil as Donnie had said.

　Just as Sereria was pondering how to obtain the ancient dragon blood of the Chameleon, an unusual situation suddenly occurred in the distance. Countless birds simultaneously soared from the forest into the sky. "What?" Sibert, who had been leisurely sitting on a rock, couldn't help but stand up.

　As if fleeing from something, the birds flew into the distant sky after taking off. Then, the entire forest began to make a ruckus. The sound did not come from the nearby bushes, but from the depths of the forest, which were almost invisible from where Sibert was. The trees in the depths of the forest first swayed, and then fell down one after another.

　Edlinka believed there must be something near the base of the trees. At first, she thought it was caused by logging, but with human technology and ability, it was impossible to knock down a large grove of trees all at once like before. The swaying waves of the forest moved slowly but steadily toward Mejpoldan, and the specific location seemed to be the site of Mejpoldan's ancient fortress.

　"that is?"

　Sereria noticed a shadow occasionally appearing on the trees in the forest. From where she was standing, it was almost impossible to see what it was, but it seemed to be a boulder-like object.

　"A stone can't move on its own, can it? What kind of monster is it? Could it be that guy's target is Mejpoldan!?"

　Edlinka was stunned by her own audacity as soon as the idea came to her, so she shared the conclusion with her teammates. At that moment, the mysterious wave had arrived near the ancient fortress. Although its movement speed was not fast, it gave people a powerful feeling that no obstacle could stop it.

　"Crack~ Crackle~" A terrifying sound echoed throughout the area. It was the sound of some hard object rubbing against the rocks. As it moved forward, ancient fortresses and trees along the way fell down one after another. The conditions in which the fortresses and trees fell down varied. First, the stones were pushed off course under the pressure, and cracks began to appear in the city walls, which should have been extremely solid. Stones located at higher positions then fell to the ground one after another.

　A cloud of dust rose from the ancient fortress. Sibert, who was far away, could not see the exact situation, but he felt that the dust rose to a height that even exceeded the flight height of a normal dragon. The fortress, which was several stories high, and the rock walls that should have been able to easily deflect the powerful impact of monsters, collapsed completely in the blink of an eye.

　"Gah~ Gah~" Sereria heard a strange cry coming from above her. She instinctively looked up and saw many birds circling in the air. No, although those creatures looked like birds, the wings on their backs were not bird feathers, but the thin membrane wings that were a common feature of flying dragons. Compared to wings, the bodies of those monsters looked very weak.

　However, that was actually the result of them reducing unnecessary parts to the limit in order to enable themselves to fly in the sky; the monster's featherless body emitted a unique, slightly moist light.

　They kept opening and closing their big mouths, making "ga~ ah~" sounds, and many of these monsters flew around in groups in the air.

　"Serpent dragon?"

　This monster is academically classified as a small flying dragon, and people regard it as an ominous sign, and are quite superstitious about it.

　The serpent dragons kept calling to each other. Sereria thought that the monsters' eerie cries might be a way for them to communicate their thoughts to their companions. Sereria noticed that more and more serpent dragons were flying towards them from a distance. Their target was, of course, that mysterious figure. Because the two were so different in size, Sereria hadn't noticed it before, but in fact, many small black dots had already gathered above that shadow. Most of those dots were probably serpent dragons.

　"What the hell is that?"

　Sereria could only stand there, muttering to herself.

　In fact, this was the first time in her life that Sereria had voluntarily given up the hunt. Instead of continuing to hunt the Lanternfish and supervise the young girl, she went straight back to Mejepoltan. Sibert, Edlinka, and Edward all agreed with Sereria's decision. Although hunting the Lanternfish would allow her to earn more gold coins, Sereria felt that she should bring the information about the giant monster she had witnessed back to Mejepoltan as soon as possible.

　Sereria returned to Mejpoldan in just half a day; however, even before her arrival, the residents were already in chaos. "Hurry up and move the timber! Who said anything about reinforcing the fence?! Start building the observation platform now!"

　The captain kept giving orders, and the apprentices followed their master's instructions, carrying various building materials from the workshop to the entrance of Mejpoldan in twos and threes. Something seemed to be being built at the entrance. Sereria ran to the captain's side to find out the reason for building the observation platform.

　"Captain!"

　"Hey, isn't this little sister Leah? You've returned in triumph?"

　The captain, dressed half-naked year-round in a short vest, a shawl around his waist, and knee-length shorts, patted his prominent, heavy belly with one hand and raised the other to greet Sereria. Although his profession was shipbuilder, he often used his skillful hands to handle the simpler repairs in town, and was a very considerate person.

　Such a ship captain naturally doted on Sereria, even though she was now a lively young woman. He still regarded her as the mischievous eight-year-old girl she once was.

　"Let's not talk about that now, what exactly happened, sir?"

　It wasn't just the captain and his apprentices; the entire Mejpoldan was in a state of excessive panic. It wasn't the excited busyness of anticipating an upcoming festival, but rather a chaotic sense of impending crisis. The captain, however, was too busy to attend to anything else, and stroked his beard helplessly, saying, "You'll have to ask the Grand Elder for details; I'm tied up right now."

　"Okay, thank you for your help, sir."

　The situation seemed quite serious. Sereria nodded obediently, glancing around at the town as she walked towards the square.

　She thought there should be someone in the bar, and sure enough, Florence was still there. A mischievous smile appeared at the corners of her slightly narrow eyes as she greeted Sereria as she entered. Florence was still wearing her usual green uniform, bustling around the bar. But even Florence seemed a little distracted now.

　"Cerelia, something terrible has happened!"

　If you were to ask Sereria how she felt upon hearing those words, she would probably only recall the enormous monster she had seen in the Alcoris Forest.

　"The Hunter's Guild has issued a state of emergency declaration. Would you consider that a big deal?"

　"An emergency declaration?" Sereria could only repeat what the other person said like a parrot.

　"The Ancient Dragon Observatory has issued an emergency declaration. Details, everyone, please come forward, Elder!"