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MHD Chapter 36: The Balance Shattered, the Forest Reclaims
🕑 Added 2025-07-01 23:42:56 +0000 UTCJust as Logan had expected, once the Kushala Daora easily finished off the Chameleos, the storm began to dissipate rapidly. The dark, thunder-filled clouds in the sky ceased their rainfall, and the fierce storm faded into the air, leaving only wisps of wind swirling around the Kushala Daora’s body.
The area previously engulfed in Chameleos’s white mist was now in complete disarray. Massive swaths of trees had vanished. From above, this part of the Ancient Forest looked like someone had run a blunt trimmer through a thick patch of hair—roughly shaved, patchy, and completely at odds with its surroundings.
The Kushala Daora took note of the wary stares coming from the Rathalos within the Ancient Tree, but remained unfazed.
As a proud Elder Dragon, the Kushala Daora rarely bothered with lesser beings—unless it was going through its molting season, when its temperament turned volatile, earning it the name Rusted Steel Dragon.
And right now, it had far more important matters to deal with.
“Seven days! Seven whole days without a single bite to eat, just to get here as fast as possible! And all for something this trivial?! Damn that Chameleos!”
After quickly getting its bearings, the Kushala Daora kicked up a violent gust and shot into the sky—it was headed straight back to its nest in the Elder’s Recess for a massive feast. Not a second to waste.
Watching the Elder Dragon vanish without even a backward glance, Logan and Aki exchanged bewildered looks.
"Roar?” (Still thinking of leaving?)
“Hehe.”
This world had always maintained a delicate balance. As long as something remained within the food chain, nature would ensure checks and balances existed.
But the moment that balance was recklessly broken—even an Elder Dragon would invite the wrath of the world itself.
From the moment the Chameleos chose to unleash mass extinction, its fate had been sealed.
What Logan hadn’t expected, though, was for it to end so quickly—and right as he was packing to leave.
Well then… another round of busywork for nothing.
Back at the Ancient Tree nest, the Grimalkynes were brimming with excitement, already rushing back and forth, hauling things into their dwellings.
With the threat of the Chameleos gone, the many creatures that had already undergone two mass migrations would soon return once more.
Still, with so many of the Rathalos having fled, it was uncertain whether the upper levels of the Ancient Tree would remain peaceful in the days to come.
Day by day, time passed.
That night, a farewell banquet was underway at Astera.
The expedition team had returned two days prior, and tomorrow, the supply vessel was scheduled to depart. For this rotation, one member of the First Fleet would accompany it back to the Old World to deliver the investigation report.
“Everyone, I promise—I’ll be back!”
Nori stood with tears brimming in his eyes as he bid farewell to his fellow members of the First Fleet. But everyone knew—once he left this time, there was little chance he would ever return.
Still, no one saw him as a coward or a traitor. What they felt was only sorrow for the tragedy he had suffered.
The supply vessel hadn’t come just to check on the First Fleet’s condition and assess their situation. If Astera was now considered a viable forward base, the Old World would begin selecting members for the Second Fleet.
Besides that, the ship also brought letters from home for the First Fleet. And in Nori’s case, it carried devastating news: a rare once-in-a-century avalanche had struck his peaceful mountain village. Only his wife had survived—badly injured, but alive.
Nori was no longer a carefree field editor. He had to return home and shoulder the responsibilities that now awaited him. This grueling five-year journey had already taken too much from him.
That’s why this departure might well be a final farewell—and he knew it.
“Commander, everyone! The New World has carried my dreams, and I have never once regretted coming here with all of you!”
Nori’s gaze swept across his comrades, steady and resolute. “Even if I can’t return, one day, my son or my grandson will come to this land carrying my ideals!”
He raised his right fist high and spoke out with conviction.
The laughter and teasing among the crowd gradually faded. As they looked at the unwavering Nori, their eyes grew misty.
Everyone here had set out on this journey with dreams of their own, fully aware they might never return.
Nori wouldn’t be the last. Someday, others might leave the New World too, for countless reasons. But none of them would ever regret it—because they had once taken that first step, chasing their ideals with everything they had.
“Haha! Then I’ll be right here, waiting to witness the moment your descendants arrive to carry on your dream!”
The Admiral raised his glass high, offering Nori a bold and heartfelt send-off.
The atmosphere reignited with warmth and cheers.
The next day, a talented field editor left this land with deep regret. In his pack, he carried a Moonstone—and a Rathalos scale edged in silver.
One day in the future, his descendants would return, guided by these two items, and follow in the footsteps of the Sapphire Star—to witness, once again, the many legendary tales that continued to unfold upon this vast land.
Lately, the Ancient Forest had grown increasingly chaotic. Rumor had it that a particularly formidable Zinogre had appeared—one powerful enough to rally the scattered packs of its kind, who had repeatedly fled from threats before. Taking advantage of the temporary emptiness in the Ancient Forest, it had claimed a massive territory for itself in one swift move.
Creatures like the Pukei-Pukei and the Anjanath had all suffered defeat after defeat, forced into retreat. Even the Jagras packs, who had never before participated in the territorial battles of the Ancient Forest, were now driven all the way to its outer edges.
If it hadn’t been for the exceptional strength of that tempered Great Jagras—who managed to take down two Zinogres in a two-on-one fight—the entire Jagras pack would likely have been expelled completely to the forest’s outskirts.
But the ones hit hardest were the Tobi-Kadachi. Originally dwelling in the mid-levels of the Ancient Forest, they were forcibly pushed up to the upper canopy—only to be brutally assaulted by the Rathalos. Beaten and battered, they could only follow the Jagras' example, desperately trying to survive in the narrow gaps between territories.
Now that the Zinogre packs had seized control of the water sources and prime hunting grounds, they had become the target of every other species. The Anjanath, in particular, engaged in fierce, to-the-death battles the moment the two sides crossed paths.
Unfortunately for them, Anjanath were solitary hunters. Unlike the Zinogres, they couldn’t form coordinated packs. Even that tempered Anjanath, now undergoing the transformation into a Thunderjaw wyvern, couldn’t hold its ground for long when outnumbered by three or more Zinogres.
The reason the lower levels of the Ancient Forest had always remained chaotic—and why the Zinogre packs hadn’t fully taken control before—was due to the interference of not just the Anjanath, but also the Rathalos and Nargacuga.
But now, the majority of the Rathalos pack had yet to return, and the Nargacuga were nowhere to be found—likely having retreated to their original territories following the disappearance of the Chameleos.
As a result, the native species of the Ancient Forest were no match for the Zinogre packs. Every day, they could only circle the forest’s edge, searching for any opportunity to reclaim lost ground.
If they didn’t act soon, and the Zinogre packs fully cemented their foothold, then all hope would be lost.
...
Even the Ancient Forest, with its formidable capacity for natural regeneration, couldn’t quickly recover after suffering through two monster-wide migrations and two separate mass extinctions of local fauna.
These days, Logan and Aki had to spend a considerable amount of time each day flying to distant hunting grounds. The areas near the Ancient Tree had become scarce in game. Often, they had to travel through multiple hunting zones before even spotting a target—an inconvenience that heavily disrupted Logan’s daily life.
To make matters worse, the middle and lower levels of the Ancient Tree were now entirely under the control of the Zinogre pack. Unlike before, they couldn’t even make do with a few lone carnivores.
Fortunately, the new alpha of the Zinogre pack wasn’t as aggressive as its predecessor—who had simultaneously launched attacks on the middle and lower-tier carnivores while waging all-out war against the Rathalos in the upper canopy.
At least this allowed Logan to rest peacefully and absorb leyline energy once he returned to the nest.
It was only after reaching the third hunting ground of the day that they finally spotted signs of prey—herbivores near a riverside clearing.
Not just herbivores—there were Mosswine too!
Without waiting for a command, Aki dove straight down.
This hunting ground wasn’t wide open, and the surrounding trees naturally obstructed the herbivores' line of sight. By the time they realized danger was upon them, it was already too late.
With ease, her claws tore through what appeared to be the thick scales on the herbivore’s back. The sheer force slammed it to the ground, and the sound of its spine snapping echoed across the hunting ground like a whip crack.
Compared to Aki’s ferocity, Logan hunted with much more grace.
Descending gently on a breeze, he circled once to scatter the fleeing herd, then selected his ideal target. With precise timing, he bit into its neck mid-sprint. As the creature collapsed, he released a blast of flame directly into the bitten spot.
That herbivore didn’t even have time to cry out before its life ended.
The two wyverns eagerly began their feast. Before long, the finest parts of the two herbivore corpses had been devoured clean.
From the remains, they picked one carcass that was easier to carry and brought it back to the nest for the Grimalkyne to store.
