After returning, Logan and Aki had a few sips from the small water reservoir the Grimalkynes had dug, then stayed cozily in their den while listening to the chief’s report.
“A strange wyvern appeared on the lower level. Our warriors discovered that it can emit a kind of poisonous gas. Many of the Jagras fell asleep after inhaling it. However, after tracking it for some time, it seems to be migrating toward the Wildspire Waste. It probably won’t come this way.”
In the chief’s routine report, it was noted that another round of territory disputes had begun in the lower levels of the Ancient Tree. Apparently, some monsters were migrating here from other regions.
These sorts of situations had become fairly common over the past four years—just typical migrations. They were nothing compared to the mass movements of the Zinogre or Nargacuga clans back in the day.
This was simply the norm for the mid-to-lower levels of the Ancient Tree.
In addition to fending off other monsters native to the Ancient Tree, they also had to deal with newcomers—creatures that had reached maturity and were now seeking a new place to call home.
The Ancient Tree region was only so big. Whenever new monsters moved in, old ones had to move out. After seeing this cycle play out over and over, no one really paid much attention anymore.
“Oh, and Master,” the chieftain added, “the Zinogre pack made a notable move today. This morning, a group of them was seen heading toward the Anjanath territory where you once fought. But they were so fast that our warriors lost track of them.”
Upon hearing this, Logan’s interest was piqued. That tempered Anjanath had undergone rapid evolution over the past four years—its fur had taken on a cool-toned sheen, and it had long since lost the ability to breathe fire. In its place, blue lightning now crackled through its body.
The only thing it still lacked was a proper heat-dissipation membrane to allow large-scale energy storage. But at a glance, it already looked like a full-fledged Fulgur Anjanath.
Still… why had the Zinogre pack mobilized toward its territory?
How many of them had already died at its claws over the years?
Thanks to its growing strength, the Fulgur Anjanath had claimed the richest territory in the lower levels of the Ancient Forest—an area located dangerously close to where the Zinogres nested.
Even though it hadn’t fully transformed, its elemental shift from fire to thunder had drastically enhanced its resistance to lightning. Combined with its massive 19-meter-long frame and the sheer physical might of a brute wyvern, regular Zinogres were simply no match for it.
Sometimes, they couldn't even retreat in time once the battle started.
And the creature was cunning, too. If it sensed only one or two Zinogres, it would launch an attack without hesitation.
But whenever it picked up the scent of too many, it would promptly retreat—waiting for the right moment to strike again.
Too few couldn’t defeat it; too many couldn’t catch it. And so, the Zinogres had been forced to abandon this territory time and again.
...
Ancient Forest – Lower Levels
At this moment, the once-uncontested king of the lower tier, the Fulgur Anjanath, stood panting heavily, staring across at a Zinogre exuding perfect composure. That beast’s battle-worn frame was laced with scars—each one a mark of survival from countless battles—and its movements displayed an absurd level of technique.
This kind of reactive combat, where even the subtlest twitch was met with a precise counter, was something the Fulgur Anjanath had only ever experienced once before—from that damned Rathalos.
This opponent dodged effortlessly, struck back with perfect timing, and when an attack couldn’t be avoided, it absorbed the blow in the most effective way—trading minimal damage for maximum retaliation.
And those arcs of lightning flashing gold and blue across the battlefield? They pierced even the Anjanath’s thunder-resistant hide, delivering real, tangible pain.
The Fulgur Anjanath had ruled the lower levels of the Ancient Forest through a combination of brutal strength and calculated technique.
But now? This Zinogre might be slightly inferior in raw physicality—but its agility far outclassed the Anjanath’s. And with superior technique and thunder control, it was suppressing the Anjanath completely.
From the moment the fight began, the Anjanath had been at a disadvantage.
The heat-dissipation membranes flared open, and arcs of blue electricity began to shimmer across their surface as energy gathered in the Fulgur Anjanath’s maw.
A blinding flash tore through the forest, a brilliant streak of light bursting across the area in an instant.
With explosive force, the Fulgur Anjanath surged forward—covering the distance in the blink of an eye—its lightning-charged jaws aiming straight for the Zinogre’s head.
A deafening thunderclap echoed through the forest as the blinding light faded, leaving a scorched crater in the ground.
Missed!
The Fulgur Anjanath quickly recovered from its high-speed lunge, adjusting its stance mid-fall. Its eyes darted around, frantically scanning for any trace of the Zinogre.
A moment later, thunder rumbled above.
There—in the sky—was the Zinogre, descending like a divine avatar of thunder. Without needing to charge, it had already activated its supercharged state mid-air. Its conductive fur bristled and opened, surging with power, the entire body entwined in gold and blue lightning like an unshackled warrior unleashed upon the battlefield.
Its raised right claw came crashing down, brimming with overwhelming force.
One single strike was all it took to send the massive Fulgur Anjanath hurtling through the air. The blast wave of thunder that followed transformed the surrounding forest into a storm-wracked battlefield, the electric field crackling for a long while after.
The Anjanath let out a pained whimper. Struggling to its feet, the shock had dispersed its charged state entirely.
Its heat-dissipation membranes were badly damaged—forcing it to retract them in defeat.
Fighting back the searing pain and lingering numbness, the Fulgur Anjanath cast one final, lingering glance at the Zinogre who had not pressed the attack. It etched the image of that creature into its memory… and without a sound, turned away—crashing through the tangled branches to disappear into the depths of the forest.
The Zinogre alpha made no move to pursue. Instead, it retracted its Thunderbugs, shedding the supercharged state. Its gaze turned skyward—toward the distant, tree-covered heavens.
That Fulgur Anjanath was not the one it was searching for.
...
Lying down on the spot, somewhat exhausted, the Zinogre leader could feel its stamina slowly recovering. Even so, it knew that its vitality was still steadily draining away.
Had this happened four years ago, that Anjanath wouldn’t have been able to get back up so quickly after taking a direct hit—let alone flee with such vigor. The loss of vitality was already beginning to affect its strength. If it couldn’t find a way to recover soon, its only option would be to retreat to some remote place and quietly wait for death.
The Zinogre leader remained sprawled where it was. As a high-tier apex monster, nothing foolish would dare disturb it. Even the endemic life instinctively gave it a wide berth.
As time passed, several towering Zinogres arrived, each carrying prey in their jaws. As always, they offered the food to their leader to taste first.
Over the past four years, though the Ancient Forest was abundant in life energy and rich in nutrition, none of it had been enough to heal the leader’s injuries. At most, it merely alleviated the symptoms.
Now, with death looming ever closer, the Zinogre leader made a new decision.
In this world, there are two primary paths for ordinary creatures to grow stronger. One is through the mysterious power of life energy—hence why leyline nodes like the Ancient Tree are prime locations for powerful beasts to settle in.
The other is through the most basic method of all: eating.
Consuming nutritious food, devouring energy-dense prey, and relying on the digestive process to strengthen the body.
Since the life energy of the Ancient Forest was no longer enough to restore its wounds, the desperate Zinogre leader decided to try a different path.
It would seek out the creatures of the forest that had undergone unusual mutations, or those that naturally exhibited traits different from ordinary monsters—and devour them.
Even though, apart from a few exceptional cases, eating such mutated monsters would most likely yield no effect at all…
To the Zinogre leader’s knowledge, this was still a last-ditch struggle for survival.
That Anjanath was the closest creature to the Zinogre territory and had also mutated over the past four years. Naturally, it became the first target.
However, after clashing with it, the Zinogre leader realized that the Anjanath was, in truth, nothing more than an exceptionally disciplined and skilled variant of an Anjanath—one undergoing mutation in the direction of a Fulgur Anjanath.
At best, it was unusually strong—but even so, its level of power remained within the expected range for tempered individuals.
It simply didn’t meet the Zinogre leader’s expectations of something truly special.
Thus, the Zinogre leader merely drove the opponent back. It didn’t summon the pack to carry out a group kill.
There was no need for that. If the target lashed out in a final death-throes counterattack and ended up costing one or two more Zinogres—already scarce in the Ancient Forest—it simply wouldn’t be worth it.
“Awooo~!”
Once all the Zinogres had finished eating, the leader let out a long howl and charged off toward the edge of the Ancient Tree, the pack following close behind.
The next target: that Great Jagras—one on the verge of surpassing the limits of even tempered monsters!
---
. >>
---