Chapter 104: The First Harvest of the Investigation Team.
“Are there any Slaying Dragons besides Spiny Dragons? This New Continent truly brims with challenges! It’s getting me all excited!”
“We all understand Master’s anticipation, but we won’t let you go out until the preliminary work is done.”
The Team Leader crossed his arms. He should have been the one to go out and explore, but his Commander wanted him to experience the difficulties of operations. There’s nothing he could do; he had to spoil his own Commander.
That guy squats in front of supplies every day, enduring quite a bit of pressure.
And these past two days at the base were actually no different from before; he still pretty much (lazily) managed (fished) everything. Everyone was very self-disciplined and didn’t need too much serious supervision.
But it was clear that everyone was more than happy to let the Commander bear the pressure.
“Compared to the Slaying Dragons of the Old Continent, the steel properties on this Sword Spine are clearly weaker than its crystalline properties. As you said, the owner of this Sword Spine has obvious crystal formations?”
The elderly Dragon Person scholar responsible for ecological research and documentation carefully examined the Sword Spine, then observed the scattered shell fragments.
“Yes, not obvious, but definitely real crystal formations.”
“The situation with this Slaying Dragon should be due to regional differences in mineral consumption.”
“Speaking of which, the minerals mined these days are of much higher quality than those from the Old Continent, which is great news. But currently, it has instead increased the difficulty of extraction.”
A similarly aged Dragon Person technician sitting on a box added.
“Do you feel anything? Young man, I still remember your reason for boarding this ship.”
The Dragon Person scholar suddenly looked at the Dragon People Tribe hunter, pushing up his glasses.
The hunter was of average human height, while the scholar barely reached his knees. It was hard to imagine they were of the same race.
“Energy, massive plants, a massive ecosystem—there’s no doubt that this continent is filled with abundant energy. Such fertile land might just be the reason Ancient Dragons migrate here.”
The hunter made some guesses.
“That’s right, but we haven’t found more patterns yet. At least we can jot down something erasable on our answer sheet.”
“The crystal formation appearing on the Slaying Dragon must be due to excessive energy in the minerals. After the minerals are ground and digested, the energy remains even as the minerals are transported to the shell and precipitated, continuing to grow under the influence of energy.”
“So, the crystalline feel on the Slaying Dragon surpasses the metallic feel.”
The ecological researcher recorded his conjectures in his notebook.
“In that case, that Slaying Dragon must be a complete energy source!”
The Dragon Person technician exclaimed in surprise. This energy source wasn’t limited to biological energy sources but retained certain characteristics of the minerals, which were grafted onto it.
“But we also found a Slaying Dragon that had been preyed upon by a Spiny Dragon. That Slaying Dragon was extremely similar to those from the Old Continent, without any such special cases.”
The Commander, who was drawing a simple map, raised his head and brought up this point.
“Then, did we witness two different stages in the evolutionary process of the New Continent Slaying Dragon?”
A question mark appeared on paper, but this question could only be left hanging for now.
Without more concrete intelligence, discussing further would be futile.
The ecological researcher helplessly shook his head and asked about another Slaying Dragon.
“It can use a storm breath weapon similar to a Steel Dragon’s, and when in an Iaijutsu stance, it can release both its Sword Tail and the storm together, looking like it’s using its Sword Tail to whip up a windstorm.”
The Commander exchanged glances with the Dragon People Tribe hunter and began recounting the situation at the time.
“Compared to the crystal formations on the other Slaying Dragon, it’s no different from an ordinary Slaying Dragon, except that its Sword Tail not only has a steel texture but is also steel-colored.”
“Only the Sword Tail?”
The ecological researcher was stunned.
Judging from its displayed abilities, it could almost be considered a subspecies. However, compared to the original species, subspecies usually have significant color differences or external changes.
“Only the Sword Tail.”
This kind of localized difference…
Subspecies cannot be arbitrarily certified. Judgments about whether something is a subspecies often require investigating the cause of the subspecies or confirming that this subspecies isn’t just a fleeting phenomenon of a single individual.
Subspecies generally require extensive case studies to confirm.
“Many mysteries remain. From the description, the commotion caused by the battle between the two Slaying Dragons wasn’t small. Didn’t the Spiny Dragon appear?”
“No.”
“When the first Slaying Dragon’s corpse was discovered, it was quite fresh. Can you mark the times and locations where traces of the three Slaying Dragons appeared on the map?”
The ecological researcher scratched his increasingly sparse hair, perplexed.
“Alright, we’ve already mapped out the areas we’ve explored. There is a distance between their sightings, but for large monsters, it shouldn’t be far.”
“Wait, I seem to have fallen into a misunderstanding. Spiny Dragons don’t have strong territorial awareness and usually act like sleeping beauties.”
The little old Dragon Person knocked his head.
Ah, relying on Spiny Dragons for patrols is completely impossible.
Everyone gathered around the map to observe. The range that could be investigated by the two was merely the tip of the iceberg.
“Right! These previously unseen Fang Dragons… Do they have any culinary value?”
The Commander looked at the quietly deceased Thief Dragon and asked about the issue he cared about.
Everyone was focused on large monsters, lacking concern for these newly emerged Fang Dragons.
“They move in groups, and there seems to be quite a number of them.”
“Yeah, yeah, looks like new ingredients.”
The greedy Compiler crouched next to the Thief Dragon, poking it through gloves.
“Meow?”
The Chef Cat Leader also approached the Thief Dragon, with the Mountain Cat beside her, withdrawing the blade on her back to prepare for dissection.
“Hold on, hold on～”
The ecological researcher interrupted them and began seriously observing and recording.
“Body length…”
He recorded the data of the Thief Dragon while asking the two returning investigators about other individuals.
“A novel small predator, probably decent bite force, but mainly inclined towards swallowing. Dissection can proceed.”
The Mountain Cat started dissecting.
Looking at the scales full of parasites, the subcutaneous layer with more bones than meat, and after cutting open the intestines, finding highly corrosive gastric acid and a foul smell.
“Meow～”
The Chef Cat Leader shook her head, emitting a sound that disappointed everyone.
“Meow Meow. (I’ll take it back and tinker with it, but don’t expect too much.)”
Under her indication, the Mountain Cat and assistant Ailou collected various body tissues of the Thief Dragon and stored them properly.
“As for naming… What suggestions do you all have?”
The ecological researcher mainly looked at the Commander and the Dragon People Tribe hunter. The reference from the first eyewitness is always the most important.
“For naming…”
The Dragon People Tribe hunter shook his head, while the Commander pondered deeply.
“These guys walk like jackals, sneaky and stealthy…”
The Commander still looked at the little old Dragon Person.
This little old Dragon Person wasn’t just any ordinary one; he held a crucial position as the research supervisor within the Guild, directly having Guild-certified naming rights.
In terms of vocabulary and usage, he was definitely superior.
“Let’s call it a Thief Dragon.”
The ecological researcher nodded understandingly.
“Alright, then next, I will conduct investigations separately with the Field Master, further exploring and probing the Slaying Dragons and Spiny Dragons.”
The Team Leader finally spoke.
“At the same time, everyone should do some preliminary work on Slaying Dragons under the Commander’s coordination, preferably prioritizing the tailless Slaying Dragon.”
As he spoke, he exchanged glances with the Master Swordsman, nodding mutually.
Only the Commander beside him kept a close eye on him.
You’ve already planned to go out and explore seamlessly after they return, haven’t you!?
