After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Ryan struggled forward, bent down, and picked it up.

[Loot Found: Female Fire Scale]!

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[Loot: Rathian's Reverse Scale]: A bronze-grade loot, the reverse scale of a female Rathalos. Dragons have a reverse scale; touching it will enrage them. Comes with the special skill [Fire Resistance Lv.1]: Fire resistance +3.

-

With the acquisition of [Loot: Female Fire Reverse Scale], the "Fire Resistance lv.1" attached to [Loot: Fish Dragon Heart Scale] is stacked with it, bringing the [Fire Resistance] to "lv.2".

[Fire Resistance lv.2]: Fire resistance +6!

After carefully storing the [Loot: Rathian Scale], Ryan had no intention of collecting Rathian materials. He slung his greatsword over his shoulder and turned to run.

He hadn't forgotten that the female Rathalos had never been the ruler of this ancient forest area.

Sure enough, less than a minute after Ryan left, a furious dragon roar that echoed through the sky came from afar.

Upon hearing that sound, Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.

His physical condition is gradually improving under the nourishment of the upgraded warm current, but it will still take a considerable amount of time before he returns to his peak condition.

If you encounter Rathalos at this time, you will undoubtedly be kicked out of the travel area.

Hiding under the shade of the giant tree, he ran even faster, not daring to look back even once.

……

[Campfire Spot - Gap in the Giant Tree].

Ryan sat cross-legged by the campfire, basking in the warm firelight, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

The death of the female Rathalos greatly affected the male Rathalos leader.

The enraged Rathalos leader spewed forth raging flames, turning a forest area of ​​hundreds of square meters into charred remains.

In terms of fire attacks, the female Rathalos isn't even worthy of carrying the shoes of the male Rathalos leader.

Fortunately, Ryan didn't covet the materials from the female Rathian and chose to flee immediately, thus escaping this time.

After venting his anger, the male Rathalos leader lingered high in the sky for a long time before finally landing in the female Rathalos's lair.

This scene was secretly witnessed by Ryan, who was hiding in the bushes in the distance.

"Crackling..."

The flickering campfire cast a faint red glow on Ryan's face.

His cheeks puffed out as he swallowed the "special matsutake mushroom" he had just chewed.

Of course, he also grilled it a little before eating it.

After all, mushrooms are definitely not poisonous after being cooked!

Convinced.jpg

At this moment, he was checking the panel while waiting for his physical strength and spiritual energy to recover.

With the successful defeat of the female Rathian, his Traveling Clone's level increased by one level, reaching level 10.

-

[Level]: 9 (3%) → 10 (1%)

[Spiritual Value]: 32635 → 52635

[Spirituality]: 2.5 (Currently 0.5)

[Physical Strength]: 20.71 → 26.63

【战利品】：深红之角（匠心lv.1）、电之针（属性抵抗lv.1）、鱼龙心鳞（火属性抵抗lv.1）、火伞之冠（集中术lv.1）、火怪之羽（攻击lv.1）、折断的巨獠牙（体力lv.1）、赤色凶牙（集中术lv.1）、雌火逆鳞（火属性抵抗lv.1）

-

It must be said that the female Rathalos provided a very generous amount of experience, which directly leveled him up.

"Is it because the 'flying dragon' species is special, or is it because of the added advantage of their status?"

Ryan didn't know the specific reason, but for him, it was a good thing.

As his strength returned, Ryan truly felt the power of his current physique.

Although it is becoming increasingly difficult to level up the travel clone, the growth that comes with each level up is quite astonishing.

The rate of increase in the index becomes increasingly alarming as it progresses.

Ryan even felt that if he were to hunt the female Rathian again now, he probably wouldn't even need to use the [Ring of Black Corrosion]. A few ordinary "first-stage charged" heavy slashes would be enough to successfully hunt her down.

Of course, this was just his own estimate. Faced with a powerful flying wyvern like the "Rathian", the human's weak body would ultimately be unable to fight it head-on. He would have to use weapons, protective gear, skills, and other methods to fight it from the side.

The specifics depend on the specific circumstances.

"That's really strong..."

Recalling the scene of the Rathalos leader wreaking havoc in the dense forest, Ryan sighed with a headache.

The biggest challenge in hunting Rathalos is getting it to land.

Although his physique is now more than 25 times that of an ordinary person, and his jumping ability is extremely terrifying, easily reaching heights of over ten meters, he simply cannot fly. If the Rathalos leader stays in the sky, there is nothing he can do.

Having been passively subjected to the Rathalos leader's attacks, he was ultimately doomed to defeat and death.

Therefore, there are three difficulties to overcome in order to defeat the Rathalos leader.

First, how to defeat the Rathalos leader.

The second is how to prevent it from taking off again after it has been shot down.

Third, how to create as many opportunities for attack as possible amidst its raging flames.

With the female Rathalos hunt completed, almost all the unique species in the Ancient Forest, except for the male Rathalos leader, have been eliminated by Lion.

Even if there are still some, they are hidden very well, and it will not be possible to find them in a short period of time.

Otherwise, Ryan really wanted to hunt down two more special species so that after the [Relic - Azure Medal] awakened, he would have a greater chance of facing the Rathalos leader directly.

Unfortunately, no.

The campfire burned, and the leaping sparks floated into the air before disappearing into the wind.

Ryan was deep in thought.

First, he already had a plan on how to take down the Rathalos leader.

Through his battle with the female Rathalos, Ryan discovered that the female Rathalos seemed to be particularly sensitive to spiritual sound waves, and since the male Rathalos leader was also a flying wyvern, it should be similar, right? Taking advantage of this, when the male Rathalos leader got close, he could try to shoot it down with [Soaring Cry].

Secondly, Ryan also had some ideas on how to prevent the Rathalos leader from taking flight again.

The Rathalos leader's flight relies on its incredibly tough wing membrane, not its feathers. As long as its wing membrane can be damaged, its flight ability can be restricted to the greatest extent.

But achieving this is extremely difficult. The wings of the Rathalos leader are incredibly strong and agile, which is the foundation that allows this colossal creature weighing tens or hundreds of tons to fly in the sky. If you get close to its wings and are swept by them, even just grazed, you will either die or be seriously injured.

The specific course of action will be determined during actual combat, depending on the timing.

As for the third point, how to create as many attack opportunities as possible under the Rathalos leader's overwhelming flames is actually the point that Ryan is most confident about.

Admittedly, he couldn't prevent the Rathalos leader from breathing fire, but he could create a massive environment where flames couldn't survive, relying on [Pure Water Crystal].

-

【Pure Water Crystal: A treasure that can only be born in places with abundant water elements. It is an aggregate of pure water elements and can be used as an ingredient for potions. When placed in a certain place for a long time, it can create a special "pure water environment" that allows water element monsters to slowly evolve.

When possessing the [Pure Water Crystal], a dense water vapor environment forms within a three-meter radius (this area will continue to expand when standing still, with a maximum radius of thirty meters), making it difficult for flames to persist. If a skilled craftsman further processes it, it can unleash even greater power. Manifesting it on your physical body requires 10000 spirit points.

-

The "water vapor environment" created by the Pure Water Crystal is far from the limit of this treasure. If it is placed in a certain place for a long time, the range and power of the "water vapor environment" can continue to increase.

Based on this, Ryan can choose the battlefield in advance, place the [Pure Water Crystal], and create a huge "powerful water vapor environment".

In addition, his increased fire resistance will further weaken the Rathalos leader's fire threat to the extreme.

This is the limit that Ryan can achieve under the current conditions.

My thoughts end here.

Now, what Ryan needs to do is find the most suitable location for the attack.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, three hours had gone by.

Feeling the renewed spiritual energy within him, Ryan stood up and left the campfire spot - the crevice of the giant tree.

Chapter 88 Blazing Flames, The Fall of the Sky King (Seeking First Subscription!)

If we consider the island as a circle, then the ancient forest area is like a large inner circle, much larger than the outermost beach area.

The abundant resources nurtured a large number of creatures and supported the ecosystem that allowed monsters and even special species to survive.

Ryan walked along the forest path, with clear streams flowing beside him. Compared to the towering trees that were hundreds of meters tall around him, he was like an insignificant "ant" that made up this vast ecosystem.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he arrived at a cliff that rose abruptly.

This is the dividing point between the ancient forest area and the deeper inner enclosure.

The inner area is a region surrounded by towering mountain walls, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

Ryan had never intended to venture deeper into the inner perimeter.

From the outer area to the ancient forest area, the strength of the monsters that inhabit it increases dramatically.

Even the weakest of the unique species within the Ancient Forest region can rival the Dragon Head Crab, the overlord of the outer region. The strongest Rathalos leader is two stars stronger than the Dragon Head Crab.

According to the diary left by Loik, the vice-captain of the Seventh Reconnaissance Hunter Group, the strength of the monsters inhabiting this mysterious island gradually increases from the outside in.

By observing only a small part of the whole picture, one can understand just how powerful the monsters inhabiting the inner perimeter are.

The weakest are probably all at the lower-tier three-star level, and as for the strongest... Ryan can't even imagine it.

The reason he has come to this dividing line is because it is a suitable place to hunt down the Rathalos leader.

Ryan had discovered long ago that there seemed to be other water sources on the island, and he followed the stream upstream in order to find these water sources.

In places with plenty of water, the effects of [Pure Water Crystal] will definitely be even more powerful.

To Ryan's surprise, the source of the stream was a small waterfall cascading down a cliff face.