The actions of the guard squad were all seen by Logan, yet he paid them no mind. It was just an ordinary scale—nothing like key ones such as a Heavenly Scale or a Reverse Scale.
"Meow, another order has come in from Astera, meow! But we've already reassigned our last available personnel to open up the cultivation area, meow. Production capacity has reached its limit; we really can't manage any more, meow!"
"That's right, meow, but the messenger returning from Astera said it's about to enter the coldest month, meow. The transport route from Astera to here is heavily restricted—they need to stockpile enough food to survive for a full month, meow."
"If only the airship plan proposed by the Third Fleet Master hadn't been delayed! Once the airship was ready, with Astera hiring the Fire Wyvern lords for escort, there would've been aerial transport, wouldn't there? What a pity, meow!"
The conversation between the two cats suddenly caught Logan's attention.
Logan was also aware that the Research Commission had hired Fire Wyverns for a period of escort duty.
It should be said, this too was one of the chain reactions brought about by Ahtal-Ka's exploitation of Astera's productivity.
After Logan went to the Elder's Recess, the rules he had left behind were still in effect.
Among them, the restrictions concerning Fire Wyverns' access to Cat Meals and medicines were still in place.
These two things had already become indispensable for the ordinary Fire Wyverns who were long accustomed to having logistical support.
But due to Logan's restrictions, they had to exchange something of "equivalent value" in return.
Many times, once a rule is issued and those below begin to comply, a new way of life naturally forms.
The establishment of 'Order' was the broad keynote Logan set back then. After the Fire Wyverns conscientiously observed it, in order to cope with the shortage of cat meals and medicines, the wits they had once used when forming teamwork were finally reactivated again.
Just as there are always curious cats who like to provoke certain big fish, there were always young Fire Wyverns willing to break past conventional notions from before and, by 'lowering their status,' attempt to make contact with the Research Commission.
This sort of sign had already appeared back when transport routes were being opened in the Wildspire Waste, and thus, with the Research Commission short of manpower for escorts, the two sides—pushed along by various events behind them—unfolded a new model of cooperation.
Because Ahtal-Ka had squeezed the Research Commission's labor force, a large number of field personnel needed to go to the locations of the ore veins to mine; and since Hunters also had to ensure there were not too many powerful monsters interfering around the vein areas, Astera likewise had to keep behind sufficient manpower capable of guarding against Ahtal-Ka.
Then the safety of other personnel during transport naturally began to decline.
At this time, a Fire Wyvern urgently needing 'equivalent' things to exchange for cat meals and medicines happened, by chance, to save a transport team with little combat power, and, amid the transport team's gratitude, obtained materials that, for the cats, were necessities.
Because it conformed to the rules Logan had set, this Fire Wyvern successfully received a batch of medicines.
This incident was like a key, opening the mental cage that had trapped the Fire Wyverns.
After multiple contacts, with the cats serving as intermediary buffers, the Fire Wyvern group officially established contact with the Research Commission.
One side provided combat strength, the other provided logistical supplies; with the passage of time, they successfully formed a stable and fair cooperative relationship.
Cats, Fire Wyverns, and humans, within this short span of one year, built a stable framework.
This was the one piece of news among the many the cats reported after returning that most surprised and satisfied Logan.
Of course, what attracted Logan in the cats' conversation was still the matter that the production capacity of cultivated food had reached its limit.
Logan had also heard this from the Grimalkyne Sage: at present the cats are limited by manpower, and next by the weather; the production capacity of the cultivation sites has already reached its limit.
Even though the Ancient Tree was quite a bit hotter than other places because of the Fire Wyvern group gathering there, winter was still the lowering of temperatures across the whole world, and this place would still be affected.
In the method the Grimalkyne Sage proposed, there was once a veiled hint, hoping the Boss Fire Wyvern could, as before, display a "miracle."
Only, before the words were even finished, the Grimalkyne Sage was fiercely scolded by the Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne leader, who said it was blaspheming the "Boss Fire Wyvern"; they were all the Boss Fire Wyvern's vassal subjects, and everything should heed the Boss Fire Wyvern's orders, rather than presumptuously telling the Boss Fire Wyvern what he should do.
"Please remember how your life today came about, meow! All of this is the Boss Fire Wyvern's guidance, meow! Recognize your own ignorance—we only need to follow the Boss Fire Wyvern's will, meow!"
It had to be said that after so many years of being "deified," all the cats of the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyvern tribe were fanatical religious followers of the "Boss Fire Wyvern."
And the Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne leader would be a cult leader!
The Grimalkyne Sage was the "village chief" responsible, outside of religion, for managing the lives of all the cats of the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyvern tribe.
Although there was no drama of vying for power and profit, the cats, who were in the midst of a village-style transformation and already had an initial class and trade system, likewise had distinctions of primary and secondary.
Without a doubt, because of the real existence of this "god," the Boss Fire Wyvern, the Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes' status firmly occupied the highest position among the entire Ancient Tree's Fire Wyvern tribe.
Therefore, under the Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne leader's scolding at the time, the Grimalkyne Sage then came to his senses; while immediately admitting fault, he also swallowed the rest of his words.
At this moment, as Logan recalled this matter in his mind and looked outward, beyond those large tracts of cultivated fields, the forest beneath the Ancient Tree—once rendered ravaged by his battle with Kushala Daora—again entered Logan's eyes.
It had been over a year. The damage caused back then was indeed a bit large; even with the Ancient Tree filtering life energy, even with this place being at a node of the Everstream, in such a short time, the forest still looked somewhat tattered.
The gully plowed out by Kushala Daora's breath, and the charred deep pit blasted out by Logan's flames, still existed.
Looking at this scene, Logan's mind stirred, as if he understood something.
In addition to possessing vast life force and combat power, Elder Dragons are likewise an important link in the natural ecological cycle; it can be said that the world's development cannot be separated from Elder Dragons.
What Logan needed to do was to take up the "responsibility" that came with becoming an Elder Dragon, and complete the "work" that belonged to him.
With his wings flapping, a few scales falling, Logan swiftly flew up to the top of the Ancient Tree amid the sound of air being torn apart.
The Sunlight Trait activated along with his will; after instinctively controlling it to a suitable temperature, it began to expand on a large scale, directly covering the entire Ancient Tree region.
Various monsters that had originally been curled up in their own nests sensed the rise in temperature—their first reaction was that another Elder Dragon had come to cause trouble.
Frightened, large numbers of monsters prepared to migrate.
But as time passed, their minds, long used only to thinking about survival, finally recalled the events that had once occurred in those years.
Their once restless hearts returned to calm again, and just like before, they began to leave their own nests, gathering toward some open spaces and water sources in the direction of the Ancient Tree.
An Anjanath that had originally planned to head for the clearing to bask in the afternoon sun, after realizing that this warmth came from that being atop the Ancient Tree once again releasing his power after many years, ran without hesitation toward its former watering place, intending to secure a better spot.
Who would have thought—when it arrived, it found it wasn't the first to react; the good spots here had already been taken by many monsters.
Just like before, after driving away a Great Jagras that didn't know its place, the Anjanath warily looked toward the Zinogre on the opposite side of the stream, then slowly lay down by the stream, enjoying this hard-to-come-by comfortable warmth of winter.
On the Ancient Tree, the feeling of merging into nature once sensed while "sun-bathing eggs" appeared once again.
Even though there was not the slightest movement on the panel, Logan knew his thinking was correct.
Slowly landing on the great platform once used for "sun-bathing eggs," Logan began to consider whether to bring back the old discarded proposal—the one where the cats had suggested building Logan's new nest on this great platform.
After all, now that Logan no longer needed, as before, to expend effort controlling the temperature changes brought by Sunlight, since he was going to walk the path of "ecology," the location of his original nest was now somewhat unsuitable.
Logan fell into contemplation.
Meanwhile, on an inconspicuous cluster of dense branches on the Ancient Tree, at the edge of a newly sprouted leaf bud, a faint, pale ice-blue crystal was quietly beginning to form.
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