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MHD Chapter 26: Old Rivals, New Power
🕑 Added 2025-06-29 01:59:47 +0000 UTCLogan remained collapsed for nearly two hours, only to be rudely awakened by a powerful wave of hunger.
After such intense exertion, his metabolism had skyrocketed. And having eaten nothing beforehand, Logan was at his limit. The moment he opened his eyes, he was ready to head out and hunt.
But what he saw instead was Aki leisurely nibbling on small chunks of meat, while the Grimalkynes were still hard at work transporting preserved meat from their dwelling.
The moment they noticed Logan had woken up, the chief brightened with delight and let out two loud meows. Immediately, two Grimalkynes carried over a slab of meat and laid it before Logan.
Though Logan felt a flicker of gratitude in his heart for the offering, his body moved faster than his thoughts—devouring the meat almost instinctively.
What the Grimalkynes considered a large ration was barely a single bite for Logan.
After just a few mouthfuls, the gnawing hunger eased considerably. Once the last chunk of meat had been delivered, the Grimalkynes slumped to the ground, wiping their brows in exhaustion.
Licking his lips with lingering satisfaction, Logan glanced toward chief Grimalkyne, who seemed ready to approach and ask something. But before it could speak, Logan let out a low growl, then stretched his wings and flew out of the nest.
"Grrrrr!“ (Whatever it is, wait until I return from the hunt.)
That was the message Logan intended to convey—and chief Grimalkyne understood perfectly. Seeing that Aki wasn’t joining him this time, the chief realized that their migration plans must have changed.
Relieved, he turned back to begin calming the rest of the tribe.
...
This time, the Chameleos appeared much closer to the boundaries of the Ancient Tree, so Logan had no choice but to follow the river and fly farther away.
Whether it was carnivorous wyverns, herbivores, or even flying wyverns—it didn’t matter. As long as they were edible, he would launch an attack without hesitation.
A hungry Rathalos is the most dangerous kind of Rathalos!
Before long, as Logan scouted the area, he finally found a herd of Kestodon near the edge of a river tributary. Without a second thought, his body ignited in flames, and he dove straight down with a blazing Cute Star Slam, completely unconcerned whether this was overkill—like using a cannon to swat a fly.
All he cared about was making sure that once he landed, there’d be food in his mouth.
As a result, the poor Kestodon had no time to react or take a defensive stance. The violent explosion left several of them charred and torn apart, their ruptured muscles releasing a savory aroma beside the shallow crater.
Flapping his wings and paying no mind to the scorched scales of the Kestodon, Logan began devouring them ravenously—like a starving ghost reincarnated, as if he'd die if he didn’t get food in the next second.
He swallowed an adult Kestodon whole, then tore through a juvenile one. His formidable digestion allowed him to consume that much without issue.
There were still two large ones left. Compared to the Aptonoth, Kestodon were much smaller. With Logan’s strength, he could easily carry one in each claw back to his nest.
Just as he began to move, a deep, heavy snort interrupted him. The Anjanath, having rushed over after hearing a disturbance in what it now considered its new territory, suddenly found itself face-to-face with Logan.
For a moment, both monsters froze.
"Grrr!" (What’s it doing here?!)
"Grrr!" (What’s it doing here?!)
They had fought for five years, and with a single glance, Logan immediately recognized this Anjanath. He hadn’t seen it in two months—and yet it had chased him all the way to the Ancient Tree?
Meanwhile, the Anjanath instinctively took a step back, about to turn and walk away, not wanting to deal with the emotional nausea Logan brought.
But just as it turned its head, something clicked.
Wait—why should it be the one to retreat?
It wasn’t the same as before. The Anjanath wasn’t the pushover it had once been. There was no guarantee it would lose to this Rathalos.
During the past two months of migration, every battle along the way had ended in easy victories.
Battle after battle had gradually rebuilt the confidence that Logan had once crushed. And with the special new power it had acquired, it now felt ready to fight.
What if it used that power to catch Logan off guard and actually managed to kill him? That alone would make for the happiest sleep of its life!
The Anjanath let out a furious roar and instantly entered combat mode, scorching flames flickering at the corners of its mouth.
'Does this guy actually think he can take me now?'
The Anjanath didn’t flee the moment it saw him—something that instantly piqued Logan’s curiosity. Ever since he awakened his Mind’s Eye two years ago, this brute had never dared provoke him again. And now, it was the one picking a fight?
That didn’t sit right with Logan.
Dropping the Kestodon carcass, Logan shot into the sky without hesitation.
Since the Anjanath was being so bold, it would be rude to just leave, right? Might as well give it a beating first.
He was already frustrated from dealing with Chameleos. And now this thick-skinned beast had come crashing in? Logan knew he wouldn’t be able to kill it, but it was perfect for venting.
Wreathed in flame, Logan soared. The Anjanath, however, didn’t recklessly unleash its breath attack. It knew that would only feed Logan’s flames and make things worse.
Its eyes locked on Logan, who circled overhead. Muscles tensed in its hind legs. Tiny electric impulses, invisible to Logan, coursed through the Anjanath’s body, stimulating its flesh.
It understood this Rathalos all too well—its speed would keep increasing. It circled in the air like that to build momentum, and only once it was confident it could crush its opponent would it finally dive.
So the Anjanath stayed calm, steadily gathering power. When Logan struck, that would be its moment to strike back.
There was no helping it. For a brute wyvern facing a flying wyvern, this kind of humiliation—this lack of initiative—was just how things were.
Watching the Anjanath below stay focused and composed, Logan scanned for an opening while quietly marveling.
If it weren’t for the beast’s unmistakable appearance, no one would believe this was the same hot-headed brute once known for its temper. That it could now fight with such patience, such poise, was unthinkable.
Logan couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. In five years, he had somehow beaten that fury right out of the beast.
And over the last two months, any carnivorous wyverns unlucky enough to cross paths with it—especially ones relying on outdated tactics—probably died with lingering regret.
Once he had gathered enough speed, Logan dove sharply, leaving behind a long blazing tail of fire. In the blink of an eye, he was upon the Anjanath.
His flaming claws sliced downward, trailing fire in the swirling pressure, aiming straight for the Anjanath’s skull.
This strike carried both speed and power—like he was trying to rip off the brute’s entire cranium.
But the Anjanath dodged with practiced ease, stepping back, twisting its neck, and pivoting sideways. It narrowly avoided Logan’s seemingly unstoppable—yet actually underpowered—Flame Claw, and then evaded the venom-laced tail whip that followed.
Even after all that, the Anjanath didn’t counterattack. Instead, it swiftly retreated again.
That series of smooth, practiced movements forced Logan to choke back a mouthful of fire mid-breath.
“Damn it, he’s gotten used to it already!”
The dive had been real—but that claw strike was just for show. The real purpose was to use the wind pressure to stir up flames and obscure the target’s vision, tricking the opponent into instinctively dodging in the direction of the flame to avoid the incoming claw.
But the true killing blow had always been the tail whip—boosted by the Powerhouse Trait, and capable of inflicting a burn status.
If the tail whip connected, Logan could immediately follow it up by launching a fireball. The recoil from that blast would give him the perfect boost to ascend again.
He had used that slick combo so many times that the brute had already learned to expect it!
Honestly... it was a bit embarrassing.
The moment the Anjanath realized Logan hadn’t fired a follow-up fireball or leapt into the air, its eyes lit up—it saw an opening!
Muscles in its thighs flexed as electric pulses surged, and a faint blue light shimmered across the scales on its legs.
The Anjanath bet everything on this one strike—stimulating its muscles with electric current to enhance explosive strength and boost its speed and charge force.
But Logan’s Mind’s Eye exploded with warnings. Just as the Anjanath launched its assault, Logan caught the motion with his eyes—and without hesitation, blasted a fireball at his own feet.
The flames were instantly absorbed. The resulting explosion created a shockwave that beat against his wings, propelling him into the air in a flash.
In that instant, a blur lined with static tore through the smoke, and a flaming, gaping maw snapped at Logan’s heels with a thunderous crack.
Had he taken even 0.5 seconds longer to take off—he’d have been hit dead-on.
Electro-Propelled Pounce: Flame Fang!! (Enhanced Version)
