Chapter 288: The Natural Balance (Revised)
The Great Elder held no excessive reverence for the Ancient Dragons; they were all parts of nature, locked in a purely Darwinian competition.
When the veil of calamity was lifted, Ancient Dragons were merely powerful individuals.
Their migrations could alter ecosystems. Conversely, restricting them to suitable environments stabilized the current ecological balance.
Even among Ancient Dragons, there were battles. They wouldn’t allow another catastrophe to ruin their habitats.
All monsters did this, and so did humans as intelligent life forms.
But humans were far from communicating with monsters. Now, encountering conversable Ancient Dragons, the Great Elder naturally didn’t mind sharing the Dragon People’s worldview.
Balance is always fragile.
Even in Dongduoluma, where dragon people revered nature, there were different factions and schools of thought.
Some scholars believed only part of a monster should be taken, leaving most of its body to nourish the land, thus maintaining natural balance.
Others argued that no one should undervalue a monster’s life. Hunters had the duty to ensure a monster’s sacrifice wasn’t wasted; disregarding their death would disrupt the balance.
Both sides had valid points, blending concepts while also excluding each other. Balance must be maintained through careful consideration.
Balancing oneself by spreading expansionary forces to stabilize the monsters.
Natural competition is pure survival of the fittest, but the brutality of the monsters needed to be balanced by the intelligence of life.
Guilds and humans represented the intelligent side of this balance.
Seeing Jié Jié willing to listen, the Great Elder set aside his intimidating achievements and painted a picture of humanity’s past—not just hunters and knights, but also ordinary people who upheld the stars and supported hunters and knights.
Neglecting human order in the pursuit of natural balance would lead to internal collapse and destroy the balance.
Thus, the long-lived Dragon People became village elders, teaching humans about balance, understanding it culturally to avoid the disasters caused by disrupting it.
Guilds also established support centers in various settlements, allowing hunters to be celebrated and encouraging interaction with villagers to prevent detachment from normal life.
Humans and monsters are both parts of nature; hunters and commoners should be part of humanity.
“What about Tempered Black Dragons? Those taboo-like monsters?”
Jié Jié raised his head, gazing at the slightly red night sky.
“View them like Ancient Dragons. Their activities change the ecosystem, so we, as intelligent beings, must restrict them.”
Even if calamities become individuals, treat those individuals as calamities.
They avoided becoming calamities themselves, yet still fought for their right to survive under such challenges.
“And poachers?”
Hunters who defy balance by privately hunting monsters.
“The Guild’s shadow enforces penalties on hunters who disrupt balance. Human emotions fluctuate, but can improve through better rules and systems, doing better.”
“If we face Tempered Black Dragons again, we’ll surely do better.”
“But why did we fail?”
Balancing negative emotions, the Great Elder organized his thoughts, wanting to summarize their failure, learn from it, and improve.
They were already better than the ancient Xiuleide Kingdom. In those days, humans first achieved significant victories against monsters.
But pride and complacency led to greed, over-hunting monsters, and excessively exploiting nature’s gifts.
Unstoppable hunting inflated hearts and strength, unbalancing everything.
The Great Elder thought of the Guild’s seal, depicting a creature with a long neck and tail spewing flames.
It was a pure Evil Dragon, but back then, the “Balancer of Power.”
“Because humans betrayed expectations from the start.”
Jié Jié repeated the answer given by the Black-Clothed Dragon Person, awaiting the Great Elder’s explanation.
“Yes, because we failed to kill him in the first battle.”
The Great Elder coldly hummed, indifferent to the harsh price paid.
Evil Dragon challenges were always brutal, mirroring nature’s cruelty, balancing through sheer force.
Why Evil Dragons? Because they believed the opponent possessed intelligence.
“So the Tempered Black Dragon died at the world’s center, releasing energy enough to burn sky and earth alike.”
“Were there any abnormalities among other taboo beings due to the Tempered Black Dragon’s activities?”
The Great Elder narrowed his eyes, looking at the blood-red sky, instantly locking onto other legendary shadows.
“No special reports from the fort near Xiuleide Castle; the nightmare remains asleep.”
“But the Tempered Black Dragon’s fall should’ve awakened him. What power does he plan to use to fix this?”
Or will he come to destroy the future they’re trying to sow?
Who knows what taboos think?
He might already be here, but Jié Jié doubted he could do much.
“There’s been no change in the Divine Realm’s anomalies.”
The giant Dragon Person stopped confronting the Flame King Dragon and sat down directly. His legs had shrunk with age, disproportionately smaller compared to his body, making prolonged standing uncomfortable.
“Perhaps, no matter how this world changes, it doesn’t affect those beings with extraordinary powers.”
The Great Elder expressed admiration, growing increasingly curious about Jié Jié’s existence, but some questions outweighed curiosity.
“We killed the Tempered Black Dragon once. So, in Dongduoluma, how did the Tempered Black Dragon die?”
“That legendary hunter donned the Evil Dragon Armor, and the remaining hunters in Dongduoluma gave their all.”
“That hunter transformed into a dragon, guiding the Strike Dragon Gun to pierce the core of the Tempered Black Dragon.”
The Great Elder remained silent, his gaze lifeless.
“Why didn’t you stay in Dongduoluma?”
He didn’t know why he asked this. Asking might disappoint the Great Elder, but unresolved doubts would certainly disappoint him more.
This was the first time he’d removed half his mask to converse with someone from this world.
The Great Elder broke the silence and looked up; it was a personal question.
A question whose non-answer would disappoint the monsters sitting together.
The intellectual cruelty of black dragons labeled them Evil Dragons, making the kindness before him seem especially precious in contrast.
This detail was part of the larger narrative of that battle.
“It starts when the Tempered Black Dragon resurrected. Back then, I hadn’t yet begun replaying these events.”
“At that time, nothing was more desperate than an unstoppable monster.”
