The next morning, Li Fan was sleeping in his camp tent.
*Tsk, tsk.*
Hearing a faint rolling sound, he opened his eyes to investigate.
He noticed a healing ball rolling towards the entrance.
"Even with serious injuries, you can't stop patrolling?"
Li Fan said helplessly, getting up to pick up the healing ball.
After a simple breakfast, he set off with Dilu towards the lower cave where Huihui was located.
Currently, five Elder Dragons have been confirmed to inhabit the Elder's Recess:
Nergigante, Kushala Daora, Teostra, Lunastra, and in the depths of the convergence zone, Velkhana.
Li Fan felt it was necessary to conduct a regional survey, first to map out the activity areas of these Elder Dragons and mark them.
As for who could assist him in this task, it was naturally Baolie.
Baolie was a local monster, not only very familiar with the area but also wouldn't seem out of place to other monsters.
However, even without thorns on its back shell, mounting it still presented a problem: it would burn one's backside.
Fortunately, Li Fan had already devised a solution.
"Huihui, let's take a break."
The blue light in the cave faded, and Huihui emerged, spreading its wing-like cannons to stretch.
Li Fan and Dilu walked into the cave and collected the scattered, scorching shell fragments on the ground.
With Huihui's long-term high metabolism, coupled with the influence of life energy, its shell grew at an astonishing rate.
What was once a streamlined body was now encased in heavy armor, making it look majestic yet somewhat cumbersome.
The only parts that could self-trim were its wing-like cannons, which could rub against each other.
However, Huihui wasn't too worried, stating that as soon as it could return to the sky, the friction generated by full-speed sprints would quickly clear away the excess shell.
Placing two bundles of appropriately sized shell fragments outside the cave, Li Fan indicated that Huihui could continue generating Dragonite.
At this moment, Xixi, seeing Baolie, who was heavily injured, still insist on patrolling the ground, let out a curious roar.
*Roar!*
Baolie, hearing this, immediately became enraged and turned to confront Xixi.
"What's going on, meow?"
Dilu asked, confused.
"Xixi called you a 'walking chicken,' and Baolie got angry."
Li Fan translated.
"Uh, Xixi has a crown, so it actually looks more like a chicken, meow."
Dilu commented.
"But Xixi can fly, and Baolie still needs a few days to recover. It looks like they're really going to fight. I need to break it up."
Li Fan said, quickly moving to the side.
With appeasement and Lei Ge acting as a mediator, the two monsters quickly stopped their bickering.
The efficiency of aerial exploration completely surpassed ground exploration, especially with a patrol expert planning the route.
So, Li Fan wasn't in a hurry. He found a secluded mountain range and used the 'Little Fool' and 'Naughty Spray's' Blazing Inferno to forge the collected scorching shell fragments.
"Li Fan, isn't this base a bit too big, meow?"
"It's more comfortable to sit on a bigger one. Come on, let's hammer it together."
"Alright, meow."
The sounds of hammering echoed through the mountains.
Three days passed quickly. The man and the cat stared at the oversized seat, large enough for three people to sit side-by-side, and fell into contemplation.
"This doesn't look much like a heat-insulating riding cushion, meow..."
Dilu mumbled.
"What does it look like?"
"Like a throne, meow."
"Alright, the base did get a bit big. To make it look more coordinated, the matching backrest, armrests, and decorations had to be made bigger too."
Li Fan said helplessly.
He wasn't a professional craftsman, and processing the scorching shell fragments, even with Blazing Inferno, was extremely difficult.
"What should we do, meow? Riding into exploration on a throne feels like it might attract danger."
Dilu said with some concern.
"Don't worry, Baolie is a local monster, so the chance of suspicion is low. Besides, the Monster Fighting Tournament is still ongoing, so it'll be fine."
After speaking, Li Fan immediately took out his handheld device and summoned Baolie.
Although its injuries hadn't fully healed, and it trembled slightly when flying, its love for aerial patrols compelled it to continue.
*Roar?*
"Uh, don't move, Baolie. Lie down on the ground."
Seeing Li Fan slowly approaching with a throne, the bewildered Baolie hesitated for a moment before complying with the order.
*Thud!*
Baolie suddenly felt a weight on its back, its claws sinking slightly into the earth.
"Hold on, I'm coming, meow!"
Dilu shouted, starting to bind it with golden insect silk.
Once the throne was completely secured, the man and the cat moved to a distance to observe.
In the sunlight, the gleaming silver throne dazzled Dilu's eyes.
"It's okay, not too conspicuous."
Li Fan reassured himself, sat on the throne, and ascended to survey the area.
With the observation from two pairs of binoculars, the surrounding map quickly appeared on paper.
In the past, when two Bazelgeuse met in the air, they would exchange roars and then decide whether to fight based on their circumstances.
Today was different. All the Bazelgeuse, upon seeing Baolie, immediately hovered in mid-air and watched Baolie leave.
"So they're also in the outer areas. Only Teostra and Lunastra occasionally go to the lava zones below."
After roughly figuring out the locations, Li Fan realized that Kushala Daora and its group of Elder Dragons weren't inhabiting the core areas of the Elder's Recess, but were merely lingering on the outskirts.
Only Velkhana's habitat was a true core area.
Patrolling on Baolie's back until evening, Li Fan and Dilu landed and set up a campfire for dinner.
Seeing that the man and the cat had mostly finished eating, Baolie rushed towards them and let out a tentative roar.
"Huh? Still on night duty?"
Li Fan said incredulously.
Baolie had indeed hunted while breaking up fights during the day.
But it had flown all day, and wouldn't rest at night?
*Roar.*
Baolie expressed its grievance, stating that due to its need to recover from injuries, it had missed too many areas and needed to catch up.
"This is difficult. Night flying is too dangerous, and your injuries haven't healed yet. Let's patrol again tomorrow."
Li Fan persuaded.
Baolie was somewhat dejected but accepted Li Fan's decision.
Another day passed, and the surrounding exploration was completed. Li Fan divided the known areas.
At this point, some bad news arrived: the giant serpent ruin city controlled by Shanshan had withdrawn from the central area.
Checking the status on the handheld device, the main reasons were limited food intake and the difficulty of repairing the giant serpent ruin city.
The monsters that were drawn in wouldn't immediately leave, and the chaotic battles between monsters would certainly continue for some time.
By the time the conflict completely subsided, the peaceful days in the team's area would likely be over.
However, the team's current state was by no means comparable to when they first arrived.
Amidst the tremors, Shanshan decided to return to the瘴气之谷 (Miasma Valley) to hunt and replace the Snake King Dragon's remains.
Li Fan, leveraging his knowledge of the area, planned a territory for the monster squad.
He believed that since their strength had reached a certain level, establishing a territory was only natural. Otherwise, with the monster density in the Elder's Recess, they would waste a lot of energy just dealing with attacks.
This idea originated from Kushala Daora and its group.
When exploring, Li Fan had noticed that the areas they inhabited had very few monsters.
The Elder Dragons that visited from the mainland had left behind traces that couldn't form much deterrence.
The only possibility was to use overwhelming combat power to guard the borders of their territory, and after a period of time, monsters would naturally stop visiting.
However, Li Fan felt that he needed to plan carefully on how to implement this.
"The Grand Commander is here!"
Aibo's shout rang out, and Li Fan and Dilu emerged from the tent.
"A nice camp you have here."
The Grand Commander praised, then placed the silver throne he was carrying on his shoulder onto the ground.
"What is this?"
Aibo asked in surprise.
"I found it in a cave below the camp. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like a throne from an ancient Dragon person or a Qimian tribe, though it's a bit too large. Perhaps it's left behind by some ancient civilization."
The Grand Commander explained.
"A giant throne, what an astonishing discovery."
Aibo said, taking out a magnifying glass to examine it.
Li Fan and Dilu exchanged glances, utterly speechless.
"Long time no see, Li Fan. There have been too many anomalies observed in the Elder's Recess recently, so I must return to the base."
The Grand Commander informed him.
"Go with peace of mind. We will continue to hold the fort."
Li Fan replied.
"Let's go back together. The investigation of Nergigante can be temporarily suspended."
The Grand Commander suggested.
Clearly, the recent ecological behavior in the Elder's Recess had completely exceeded their understanding.
In such a situation, continuing the investigation would be akin to suicide in the Grand Commander's eyes.
But Li Fan didn't think so, as the biggest anomaly was caused by him.
After lurking for so long, and finally seeing some progress, he certainly didn't want to leave easily.
"Only under these circumstances will Nergigante be more active than usual."
Li Fan said firmly.
"As expected of the hunter chosen by Fray. Wait for me. After submitting the discovered anomalies, I will return soon."
The Grand Commander said with reverence.
"Yes, please send my regards to Commander Fray."
"Goodbye. This throne will have to wait until the ground transport routes are open before I can take it back for research."
The Grand Commander left the camp, but Aibo showed great interest in the throne that had been moved back.
"What material is this made of? The decorative style seems different from any discovered civilization."
"How about we split it open and try?"
Yudola tentatively asked.
"No, a throne is exclusive to emperors. It might be the key to unlocking the mysteries of ancient civilizations."
Aibo refused.
"Why did they just look at it for a moment and conclude it was a throne, this heat-resistant seat?"
Li Fan said somewhat speechlessly.
"Because it really looks like one, meow."
Dilu said helplessly.
Three days later, frequent monster battles occurred around the camp.
A Uragaan and a Bazelgeuse fought their way down the slope and into the lower crystal caves.
Xixi and Lei Ge naturally didn't hesitate and sent the two dragons flying.
To silence them, they immediately launched a pursuit.
However, at the same time, a Lavasioth, attracted by the sounds of battle, emerged from the lower lava caves into the connected crystal caves.
Seeing a bright blue light flashing, it probed into the cave entrance where Huihui was.
From a distance, a Barroth hid behind a crystal pillar and secretly observed.
It didn't know Huihui's combat strength but was very wary of Lavasioth.
Not only was it at a disadvantage in terms of size, but the explosive crystal spheres it spat out couldn't inflict much effective damage on Lavasioth.
The two monsters' eyes met. Since Lavasioth hadn't seen Huihui before, it hesitated for a moment before continuing to probe.
*Roar!*
Huihui let out a cry, indicating that there would be danger if it came any closer.
*Roar!*
Lavasioth roared in response, stating that it just wanted to get a closer look at what was flashing.
*Roar!*
It's nothing worth paying attention to. Stop looking.
*Roar!*
I want to, I want to.
Lavasioth said, hopping quickly, with a large amount of magma dripping from its body.
Seeing that its warnings were ignored, Huihui helplessly retracted its neck and head, which were exposed outside the cave, back inside.
Then, it stopped spraying, shifted its position, and inverted its right wing-like cannon, pointing it towards the cave entrance.
*Hiss, hiss.*
Several blue star-like lights flashed around the spray nozzle.
*Buzz!* Three giant blue beams erupted.
Lavasioth, which was staring into the cave, immediately collapsed and slid its body on the ground to escape.
Its tail, which was hit by the blue beams, was first cleaved and then turned into black ash in an explosion.
*Roar!*
Lavasioth let out a scream and fled without looking back towards the lava zone connected to the lower level.
The Barroth pondered for a long time, then gnawed on several Elder Crystals and also began to flee.
"That Uragaan and Bazelgeuse escaped, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain."
Hearing the report from Lei Ge and Xixi, Li Fan began to ponder.
In fact, for the lower crystal cave to remain undetected for so long was already a great gain for the monster squad.
Now that the chaotic battles were over, hiding would no longer be so easy.
"Don't worry about it. Cheche, Yuanjiao, and Zhanzhan are all on their way. Even if we're detected, it won't be a big problem."
Li Fan informed them, then gathered the existing monsters to prepare for battle.
Little Fool, Naughty, Xixi, and Baolie began continuous aerial patrols of the surrounding area.
Any monster attempting to enter their territory could be attacked directly.
Shanshan was still resupplying in the upper Miasma Valley, so the ground combat power was currently a bit weak with only Lei Ge.
However, with his excellent control of the air, Li Fan felt it wouldn't be a big problem.
"It's time to claim a foothold in the Elder's Recess."
In the lower lava zone, in a cave illuminated red, endless orange dust filled the air.
One red and one blue monster, with lion-like horns and wings, confronted each other on the magma-covered ground.
*Roar!*
The Lunastra, with its sapphire blue mane, let out a roar first.
The orange particles floating in the air immediately intensified their glow.
Teostra, although its claws were planted on the ground in a confrontational stance, appeared very calm, responding only with a low growl.
*Roar!* Lunastra pressed forward relentlessly, roaring as it advanced.
A fin, sliding through the lava, rapidly approached.
Teostra and Lunastra's gazes simultaneously shifted.
*Plop, crackle.*
The Lavasioth, with more than half of its tail missing, leaped out of the lava and landed on the ground.
*Roar.*
The Lavasioth, having narrowly escaped, let out a relieved roar.
As it turned to inspect its damaged tail, it suddenly noticed two unfriendly gazes fixed upon it.
(End of this chapter)