Logan didn't immediately go looking for trouble with the Royal Ludroth pack. As long as he hadn't suffered a loss, he was usually a magnanimous sort. Returning to the area of the Ancient Forest where he'd first encountered the Gajalaka, he intended to search for some of those primate droppings.
To his mild surprise, late summer was the fruit-ripening season. Branches overhead hung heavy with ripe wild fruit, and many had already fallen, fermenting on the ground and filling the air with a faint, wine-like aroma. Yet there was no sign of those small, troublemaking monsters.
Where did those pink monkeys go?
Logan wondered, flaring his nostrils. The distinctive stench they left in the forest had vanished completely—they'd been gone for some time.
Herbivores like Kelbi and Aptonoth had increased noticeably; the ripe fruits were clearly tempting to them as well.
This left Logan somewhat annoyed. He flicked his tail, the spread feather-scales at the tip looking light and soft, like a fluffy pom-pom. Yet they were extraordinarily sharp—a dangling branch merely grazed them and snapped instantly, fruit and all smashing onto Zhu Peiniang's head.
She whined discontentedly and leaped ahead.
Logan picked up the orange-yellow fruit, chewing thoughtfully. His highly evolved digestion no longer limited him to meat—fruits, leaves, and tender shoots were all edible.
But these wild, unselected fruits tasted poor: thick skin, little flesh, a large pit, and sour enough to make him grimace.
Damn! Almost lemon-level sour. Even Kelbi wouldn't eat this—probably only good for brewing.
The thought struck him—this could work. There were countless wild fruits here; gathered and fermented, they might make fruit wine.
A pity he had no yeast—and no time for it now. His priority was to seize the Black Diablos's cavern.
Deeper into the orchard stood a particularly tall broadleaf tree—a rare sight here.
Logan found it familiar. Spotting the large hollow in the trunk, he recalled: this was where the Gajalaka King had once slept when he was harassing the little creatures.
The hollow would make a decent temporary shelter—cramped, but fine for one night.
As dusk fell, he led Zhu Peiniang toward it.
Closer now, he noticed rough scratches densely covering the surrounding trunks—like sandpaper abrasions. His alertness raised, he continued forward.
Dry branches and leaves crunched under his claws. Cold, slit pupils awoke silently from the shadows.
A Tobi-Kadachi—a theropod of the quadrupedal suborder, related to the Odogaron of the Coral Highlands, but much smaller, averaging thirteen meters in length.
An agile climber and ambush predator, it lacked hard armor. Its back and broad tail were covered in pale blue fur; its belly bore soft, light-white scales.
Unlike the Odogaron's ferocious maw, the Tobi-Kadachi had a snake-like head: orange-red slit pupils, with scales at the eye corners curving upward like horns—evoking a horned viper.
It clung to the tree with sharp, hooked claws embedded in the bark. Its squirrel-like broad, feathered tail pressed against the trunk. Its pupils faintly reddened with excitement. As Logan and Zhu Peiniang passed below, it pounced like an arrow from the tree.
Wing membranes between its limbs instantly filled with air, allowing the multi-ton beast to glide silently—unscientific, yet real—through the air, arriving noiselessly overhead. Then the membranes snapped shut, and it dove meteor-like toward its prey.
But the seemingly sure strike hit empty air. Logan pushed off lightly with his powerful limbs, ghosting sideways to evade.
He had spotted the odd trunk scratches earlier and activated his echolocation. Inaudible waves rippled from his open mouth like sonar—he'd detected the Tobi-Kadachi long ago.
Having missed, it tried to reclimb the tree—but Logan's dodge had positioned him perfectly, blocking its retreat.
Instantly, Logan charged head-on. There was a nearly four-meter size gap between them—but his stockier torso, powerful limbs, and impenetrable scales gave him full confidence in close combat.
He crossed five or six meters in one leap and slammed into the creature with massive impact. Both tumbled, rolling on the ground.
Almost simultaneously, dazzling arcs lit up both beasts. Blue-white electricity danced wildly over scales and fur, cracking through the air like merciless whips.
Unfortunately, Logan's lightning soon weakened.
He had invested only twenty or thirty points in his discharge organs—hardly a match for the Tobi-Kadachi's millennia-perfected ability.
His muscles stung piercingly—but that was all. His strong resistance prevented paralysis, instead arousing his ferocity.
His massive foreclaws hammered down like storm-driven rain; his hind legs kicked wildly like a maddened cat. His twenty-centimeter hooked claws, sharp as blades, left shocking, bloody gashes in an instant.
The Tobi-Kadachi countered fiercely. But to preserve its climbing hooks, it rarely used its claws offensively. Its snake-like head could gape wide, but its bite muscles were weak—it lacked sharp fangs, bearing only shield-like front scales with little penetrating power.
Ultimately, the Tobi-Kadachi's build wasn't evolved for intense brawls with creatures its own size. Its limited offensive toolkit was suited for subduing smaller prey.
With his tough armor, Logan could abandon defense and attack madly. And when Zhu Peiniang joined the fray, the Tobi-Kadachi was instantly overwhelmed.
(End of Chapter 40)