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MHD Chapter 58: A Beast With No Purpose
🕑 Added 2025-07-19 02:59:28 +0000 UTCOn the outskirts of the Ancient Tree, somewhere near the border of the Wildspire Waste, a female Rathian let out a roar and charged at the invader who had trampled through her territory and torn apart everything around her.
Trees had been upended and the ground left in ruin by the rampaging Rajang.
The beast had a terrifying, fully healed wound that pierced straight through the area near its heart. Around the wound were the unmistakable traces of severe electrical burns.
If that injury had deviated even slightly from where it landed, this Rajang would never have survived.
The Rathian’s cart-style charge was swiftly dodged by the Rajang, who then countered with a devastating punch to her side.
Scales shattered. Flesh tore. Even her bones groaned under the impact.
Her body lurched sideways in pain, and before she could recover, the Rajang grabbed her by the tail.
Her massive body—large as a small hill—was tossed like a plush toy in the Rajang’s grip, slammed again and again into the ground on either side.
Rocks exploded. The soil mixed with blood. A crimson haze stained the battlefield.
And still, the Rajang wasn’t satisfied. Rage and madness had consumed what little was left of its reason. It raised its iron arms and pounded the Rathian, who had already lost the ability to resist, again and again.
Only when her body had been pounded to pulp—completely shattered by the brute force, a lifeless heap of mangled flesh—did the Rajang finally regain its senses.
It slowly lowered its fists, now dripping thick blood and covered in torn flesh.
Though Rajang preferred to kill prey with its bare fists, what it had just done wasn’t hunting.
It was pure venting.
The lingering shadow of that near-death experience, the humiliation of defeat—it had been burning within it like an inferno. It had crossed half the New World chasing Kirin’s trail, only to fail.
It should have perished, rejected by the ecosystem.
But it hadn’t.
It was still alive—yet had lost all purpose for survival.
The only way it could vent the endless fury within was through crazed destruction—obliterating everything in sight and brutally slaughtering every living creature that crossed its path.
And so, for a whole month, the Rajang roamed in circles, traversing the entire Ancient Forest until it ended up here.
Tearing great chunks of flesh from the Rathian’s body, it devoured the meat with loud, savage gulps. The stench of blood only further agitated its already unstable temper, pushing it toward another violent outburst.
After swallowing a mouthful of raw flesh, the Rajang snarled and marched off again in a fixed direction.
At the end of that path lay none other than the Astera Outpost of the Elder Dragon Research Commission.
...
Inside the Rathalos nest in the Ancient Tree, Logan was locked in a bout of strength training with Aki, grappling back and forth to sharpen their physical prowess, when he suddenly tensed up.
He felt it—something from deep within the forest was calling to him. Urgent. Pressing. As if something terrible were unfolding.
He turned his head toward Aki, who wore a confused look on her face, puzzled as to why Logan had suddenly stopped moving. Logan let out a low, rumbling growl in her direction.
But Aki tilted her head, clearly baffled. She hadn’t heard any call. She hadn’t sensed anything strange at all.
“…Could it be the boss finally remembered me and is dispatching a mission?”
Feeling that this was a real possibility, Logan barked excitedly at Aki, signaling his intent to depart at once.
Then he remembered what had happened last time—when his lack of ground combat ability had forced him to watch helplessly as the Zinogre Alpha vanished into the woods, unchased. Learning from that, Logan firmly called for Aki to go with him.
After all, they were Fire Wyverns—fighting as a pair wasn't disgraceful in the slightest!
According to his senses, the destination this time was quite far. Including travel time and potential injuries if the enemy was powerful, this mission might take a while. So before leaving, Logan made sure to inform Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne: everything should proceed as usual, and if he didn’t return promptly, they shouldn’t panic.
Only after that did the two wyverns launch from the Ancient Tree and head toward their destination.
...
At Astera Outpost, a field researcher hung from a rope with one hand, dangling beneath a wingdrake. Upon landing, he shook out the numbness from his arm, furrowed his brow, and walked directly toward the quest board of the ship.
Facing the Wyverian quest handler scribbling furiously behind the counter, he spoke up: “There’s been an unusual disruption in the surrounding ecosystem.”
The Wyverian woman immediately stopped writing, snapped her notebook shut, rang the small bell beside her, and pulled out a fresh task log to begin recording the report.
Twenty minutes later, the Admiral arrived, arms crossed and wearing a stern expression, as he listened to the researcher’s account and studied the hastily drawn sketches of the scene.
"What a brutal scene… The Rathian’s body is completely mangled, and all the surrounding vegetation has been torn apart. There’s no sign of elemental damage—just raw, overwhelming force. What kind of monster could’ve done this?"
The Admiral pondered the situation carefully. "Did you find anything else useful at the scene?"
The field researcher nodded, pulled a few strands of coarse brown mane from a pouch at his waist, and handed them to the Admiral.
“…These are…”
The Admiral took them. Though he had a suspicion, he still had someone summon a scholar from the research team for proper analysis.
An elderly Wyverian scholar arrived shortly after. Taking the tufts of fur in hand, he peered at them through a magnifying glass with practiced eyes.
"Let me see... The texture is very soft, but the tensile strength is extremely high. It’s also hollow inside. Judging by the shape, scent, and hair characteristics, this appears to be from a Rajang."
"Rajang!!"
Everyone present, except for the Admiral, gasped in shock.
Rajang—no matter where it appears—is classified as an extremely dangerous creature. Hunters aren’t even allowed to engage in related investigations unless in teams authorized by the Guild.
"How could something like that show up around here? Its presence poses a serious threat to the outpost."
The researcher was visibly uneasy. Judging from the destructive path the Rajang had taken, it might very well pass near the base if nothing intervened.
"Hmm… You’re right. We’re talking about a Rajang here. Alright—have everyone currently out in the field remain on high alert. If they sense any disturbance, their top priority should be to retreat."
"As for handling it—leave that to me. It’s been a while since I’ve stepped outside. I’ll take Sita and that little guy with me and go have a look."
With that, the Admiral made his decision. He instructed the quest handler to notify the others, then immediately headed for his quarters to gear up.
A Rajang is simply too dangerous. Even for him, proper equipment was necessary. Better to be cautious than dead.
Back in his youth, the Admiral hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle of his hunting skills, but he was already one of the top hunters of his generation within the Hunter's Guild. He had a solid grasp of his own abilities, so upon learning the objective of this investigation, he equipped himself accordingly, packed the proper supplies and traps, and only then set out.
However, the Admiral’s build was far too robust. With his full Zinogre armor set and the Gunlance strapped to his back, even a Wingdrake could barely manage to lift him.
Meanwhile, Sita and the Grimalkyne warrior Tonkotsu—who had undergone harsh training and now somewhat resembled a real Palico—took off on another Wingdrake.
Over the past month, after numerous rounds of weapon testing, Tonkotsu had finally chosen the heavy hammer.
With the wyverian forgers working overtime, they had prioritized crafting a weapon from Rathalos materials for him, and armor from Rathian parts, making the entire cat look absolutely imposing—so much so that it made a whole crowd of hunters drool with envy.
This was a Rathian armor set with a Rathalos weapon!
Even though a Palico’s gear required fewer materials, this was still the kind of equipment most hunters could never hope to obtain in their entire lives.
The First Fleet was made up entirely of elites, and even the best-equipped Weapon Master only wore a full Rathian set.
Even the Admiral himself was clad in nothing more than a Zinogre set.
And yet this newly arrived Grimalkyne, just because of his symbiotic bond with the Fire Wyverns, had somehow ended up in full Fire Wyvern gear—crafted from tempered Rathalos materials, no less.
To make this small set, the wyverian forgers had even thrown in a good amount of rare ore.
Fortunately, word had it that the Second Fleet had already assembled in Dundorma. This group, mainly composed of artisans and technicians, came in three ships, totaling nearly 90 people. More than 60% were technical personnel, with the remainder being family members and additional hunter reinforcements.
Their arrival would significantly help expand the outpost, improve its infrastructure, and solve the hunters' logistics and equipment issues.
At that point, all the Zinogre materials piled up in the warehouse could finally be put to proper use. Every hunter could be equipped with Zinogre gear—just imagining it was enough to get your heart racing.
