First Exchange and Xingyan's Confusion

It was young and lacked combat experience as a dragon, only knowing how to launch brutal physical attacks without any technique. Once it encountered an opponent that could crush it with sheer power or was too fast to catch, it could only take hits.

But even such a young Great Jagras could chase its Kulu-Ya-Ku brother all over the place... What a damn scoundrel!

Could it not smell my scent on the vest my Kulu-Ya-Ku brother was wearing?!

Thinking this, Xingyan turned and swung his blade again, shredding the Great Jagras a bit more.

He had to admit, this feeling was pure enjoyment. Xingyan had fully understood the Dragon Slayer's bone-deep desire for combat. This feeling of killing enemies with his tail was truly exhilarating.

The instinct to fight, the thrill of slaughter, the joy of defeating a powerful foe. Especially when the Great Jagras became exceptionally enraged at the end, it had completely disregarded its own life and wanted to fight Xingyan to the death. But no matter how angry it got, it couldn't even scratch Xingyan.

The Dragon Slayer's uniquely structured hip and powerful legs granted Xingyan an agility disproportionate to his size. His attack style also differed from that of a typical Dragon Slayer. He disliked biting or ramming enemies with his body, preferring instead to attack with his tail, much like a person wielding a blade.

Why use your mouth when you have a blade?

Utilizing this agility, he weaved around the Great Jagras. The only thing the Great Jagras could touch was Xingyan's constantly slashing tail. Even when it finally endured the pain from its tail and tried to break through to bite Xingyan, he only needed to hop back, holding his tail vertically in front of him like a shield.

The Great Jagras died a frustrated death.

Xingyan had no interest in its territory, nor in its evolutionary information. He only drew his blade to avenge his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother.

Especially when the Great Jagras fell and he saw his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother happily chirping as it approached, Xingyan felt his mood lift considerably.

So, he happily watched his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother pick up a rock from the ground and smash it against the Great Jagras's corpse in a fit of rage, then chuckled to himself... What a big silly bird.

Shaking his head, Xingyan didn't waste the food. He directly swung his tail, beginning to carve up the Great Jagras's carcass, searching for areas rich in Life Energy to consume.

As expected, he didn't find a Dragon Orb. A Dragon Orb was a treasure that a large dragon would condense within its body after a long period of predation, due to ingesting a vast amount of Life Energy.

The appearance of a Dragon Orb would make a dragon's body stronger and tougher, and could also enhance the special abilities of different dragons. Some individuals with innate talent could even manipulate Life Energy to some extent. In short, it offered many benefits.

But unfortunately, this Great Jagras, so easily slain by Xingyan, was simply too weak. Xingyan wasn't surprised at all that he couldn't find a Dragon Orb in its corpse.

For Xingyan, each day was a unique hunt-and-retreat game: search for prey, defeat prey, eat until full, and retreat to the nest.

"Roar?" (Hmm?)

Xingyan, who was busy devouring his meal, suddenly raised his head from the Great Jagras's flank. He sharply looked to his left. It wasn't an illusion; he distinctly heard an unusual sound coming from the sparse bushes nestled between the rocks in the wasteland.

Stare--

Stare--

Under Xingyan's minute-long death stare, a rustling sound finally came from the rock crevice again as a bush was pushed aside, and a hunter emerged.

Xingyan remembered this person. He was one of the two hunters he had encountered earlier when his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had come to cause trouble for the Great Jagras.

It was clear this hunter was very nervous. He maintained a half-crouching posture, his hands empty and visible to Xingyan, doing his best to minimize his silhouette and appear as harmless as possible.

But honestly, given the hunter's large build... such efforts were somewhat futile.

Hunters appearing in the Great Sand Sea was not a new phenomenon, so after a cursory glance, Xingyan turned back to his meal.

Although the poison effect had worn off and his injuries had healed, his fractured air sac carapace hadn't fully regrown yet. He needed to replenish some Life Energy, and he'd find some ore to eat later. A balanced diet was key to good health.

The hunter who appeared beside Xingyan was naturally the Leader of the First Expedition. Honestly, even with his courage, approaching a Dragon Slayer, a dragon known for its coldness and strong predatory drive, at such close range made his palms sweat.

Especially since this Dragon Slayer was still chewing on chunks of meat, bright red blood dripping from its teeth and down its jaw... enough to make a timid hunter's legs turn to jelly, like something out of a horror story.

Upon confirming that the Dragon Slayer wasn't paying him any attention and was still focused on its meal, the Leader finally breathed a sigh of relief—he had gambled correctly.

"Yo... you're really handsome..."

Moving slowly, without any sudden actions, doing his best to make the Dragon Slayer perceive him as non-threatening, the Leader finally found an opening to observe the Dragon Slayer's flank. There was no mistake; this guy indeed possessed a double carapace.

He didn't know what monster it had fought to sustain such wounds. The Leader could see the newly formed carapace, pale in color, a stark contrast to the dark, hard carapace around it. The second layer of carapace covered the innermost layer, like a thin film, and he could even vaguely see through the somewhat translucent second layer to the things beneath.

"Truly... wondrous... I've never seen a Dragon Slayer like this, nor such a carapace..."

Yano's voice rang out beside the Leader. Xingyan noticed the appearance of this second hunter, but since they showed no intention of attacking, he couldn't be bothered with them.

Hunters were too scrawny, neither plump nor nutritious. Therefore, as long as the hunters didn't initiate an attack, Xingyan wouldn't attack them. They could all just mind their own business.

In the Great Sand Sea, everyone had their own business to attend to.

"You came too? Yano."

"Don't underestimate my courage and determination, Leader."

"Hahaha, then we'll wait together."

Waiting was a virtue. Without any haste, the Leader even sat cross-legged on the spot. He was truly carefree, intending to try communicating after Xingyan had eaten his fill. Yano was also not idle; she took out a pen and notebook and began sketching Xingyan, paying special attention to the features on his body, preparing to discuss and analyze them with the scholars back at base.

The two of them had calmed down, but Xingyan, on the other hand, was now unable to remain calm.

What did he hear?

Leader? Yano?

The dragon, mid-meal, abruptly turned its head, splattering blood from its chin onto the ground in front of the Leader. Xingyan's eyes widened.

Leader?!

Why wasn't it the Great Leader?

Recalling carefully, Xingyan remembered that the title "Great Leader" was a later development. The First Expedition was a later classification. In the beginning, the Guild had only planned to send out a single investigation team to uncover the secret of the Elder Dragon's Crossing.

Then, this investigation team discovered the New World, and the secret of the Elder Dragon's Crossing remained unsolved. Therefore, to continue the investigation, the Guild sent out four more investigation teams over the next forty years, each with its own leader.

Therefore, by the time the second expedition team arrived on the New World, the Guild would promote the first expedition team's Leader to Grand Leader. This was to better command the subsequent arrivals and to explore the New World in a planned manner.

And Yano should be Master Yano from the story—to be honest, both of them are currently too young. Xingyan's impression of them has always been their appearance forty years later in the game, which is why he didn't recognize them when he first met them.

The Grand Leader's hair was still black, though his hairstyle was not much different from forty years later. When he was young, he also had a spiky hairstyle, full of wild energy.

Perhaps it was because he saw people familiar from his memories... at least, people familiar from his side. Xingyan was somewhat excited, so he moved closer, causing the hot, fishy wind of his breath to blow directly onto the Grand Leader and Yano.

Regardless of whether the Leader was still the Grand Leader in Xingyan's heart, he called him that.

Well, he had forgotten the psychological pressure his current appearance would put on the two hunters by approaching them so rashly. Yano's hand had already moved to the weapon on her back, but she hadn't drawn it yet because the Grand Leader had placed his hand in front of her, stopping her further actions.

"Calm down! Yano!" he shouted in a low voice. The Grand Leader immediately raised both hands, fingers spread wide towards Xingyan. "Yo—big guy? Hello?"

It had to be said that this guy was worthy of being someone who could investigate alone in the field for many years in the future, even venturing into the Elder Dragon's territory. His courage was indeed greater than that of ordinary hunters.

Hearing from the hunters at the base camp that this strange Dragon Slayer had no desire to attack hunters, he dared to take the risk. At this moment, not only did he suppress the urge to draw his weapon, but the Grand Leader raised his voice and greeted Xingyan.

Staring at the Grand Leader and Yano, from Xingyan's perspective, their figures were exceptionally small, not even as tall as the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers were only about as tall as his thigh next to Xingyan.

And their nervous expressions... Xingyan suddenly felt a bit bored.

"Gua?"

Noticing the commotion, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers also came closer, looking curiously at the two hunters. He was quite familiar with the hunters; sometimes they would even meet while stealing eggs from a Carapace Dragon's nest.

"Roar..." (Let's go.)

There wasn't much left of value on the Great Jagras, so Xingyan grunted and took the lead in walking home.

"Gua!!"

The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers were a bit curious about what these two guys were up to, but noticing that Xingyan had already jumped off the stone platform, they hesitated no longer. Shouting loudly, they followed him.

"It seems... your first interaction wasn't very successful, is it, Leader?"

Standing at the edge of the stone, Yano asked the Leader with a teasing expression.

Even though the Dragon Slayer hadn't attacked, they still secretly breathed a sigh of relief when it turned and left... Getting close to such a large monster was truly oppressive.

"Not very successful?" The Grand Leader burst into laughter. "No, no, no, I think it was very successful! It didn't attack us even when we were face to face, did it? I think this guy is different!"

"What's the reason?" Yano asked. "I think this guy was just too full and temporarily lazy to attack us."

"Its eyes!" The Grand Leader gave an extremely confident answer. "This guy's eyes are different!"

"Perhaps," Yano shrugged. "Are you referring to the fact that it left without looking back?"

"Ahaha, the beginning is always difficult," the Grand Leader laughed heartily, unashamedly.

"How marvelous, the New World."

Although he felt a bit complicated, Xingyan was still somewhat happy to see characters from his memories.

The complexity stemmed from Xingyan's confusion about how he should interact with the hunters, or to what extent—he didn't want to be domesticated by hunters like those flying wyverns in the future, or become their enforcers. He also had no intention of living together with the hunters.

However, he wouldn't include humans in his diet. After all, human bodies had little meat and many bones, and the Life Energy contained within them was far inferior to that of large dragons.

Therefore, as long as they didn't provoke him, Xingyan was too lazy to care about human activities. That's how he had dealt with them before.

Compared to the lifespan of dragons, human lifespans were often much shorter. This meant that even if Xingyan built a good relationship with the current generation of humans, as time passed and this generation of humans died, how the next generation of humans would treat him remained an unknown.

When human civilization and technology develop to a certain extent, they would instinctively use various methods to eliminate threats or control everything.

Ambition, desire, dreams, and various other factors—undeniably, compared to dragons, whose minds were mostly occupied with predation, survival, or reproduction, humans were indeed more complex.

In the background of the Monster Hunter story, unlike the current situation where humans are weak and dragons are strong, in ancient times, humans possessed a brilliant and glorious civilization, capable of rivaling dragons. There was even a war between humans and dragons.

Humans defeated dragons with technology and even developed weapons like Dragon Mechs. Manufacturing one Dragon Mech required the materials of over thirty adult dragons. Once completed, it was exceptionally powerful in terms of durability, firepower, and stamina.

However, these weapons, built on the corpses of dragons, eventually angered the Forbidden Species, which had completely transcended the ecological niche and were above Elder Dragons. In the end, the Black Dragon destroyed the human kingdom, causing everything to disappear into legend.

For the humans living in this world today, such events were merely bedtime fairy tales, but Xingyan knew they were all true.

This was the reason for his complex feelings—Xingyan was somewhat lost about what kind of approach he should take towards the hunters, and what boundaries to set, so as not to harm each other in the future.

I am already a dragon.

That being said, let's eat first.