Bear School Astartes-Chapter 698 - 681. Hope so

Lann knew what he had to do without much small talk.

In his earlier conversation with the head of the research institute, he had learned that aside from the Fifth Period Team, the strongest prey that ordinary hunters of the New Continent Expedition Team could hunt were creatures like the Barbaric Jaws Dragon and the female fire dragon.

After all, they were originally here to lay the groundwork for a stronghold in the New Continent, not being adept in combat was normal.

However, the current situation of the hunters in the Fifth Period Team was not very optimistic either.

Except for Aibo and Wende’s recommended group, the first-team member Aiden had only just regained the authority to accept two-star level tasks in the New Continent.

Only now he had replaced his gear with a set made from the materials of a Fierce Jackal Dragon.

Wende proceeded with the investigation of the Molten Mountain Dragon too quickly, causing the other hunters of the Fifth Period Team to obviously fall behind his pace.

One can only say that the recommended group was a staggering lead ahead of the ordinary hunters. They were truly deserving of making the entire Fifth Period Team fleet wait for a week.

Under normal circumstances, the Commander-in-Chief might have ordered Wende to return and reinforce.

He would instruct him to return from the Great Ant Mound Wasteland to the Astrological Base, to first deal with the roaming Barbaric Jaws Dragon outside, ensuring the security of the supply line before starting on the blockade plan for the Molten Mountain Dragon.

Even though doing so might result in wasting time on the road and ultimately missing the opportunity.

The Commander’s leadership style leaned towards caution, as he would say himself: Every member of the New Continent Expedition Team was invaluable, and he would never allow the hunters to engage in tasks beyond their authority.

So even if it meant having Wende delay on the road, he would not hand over the task of ’hunting the Barbaric Jaws Dragon’ to Aiden, who had not yet proven himself in the New Continent.

But, that was under ’normal circumstances.’

Now, within the Astrological Base, there existed a hunter who had verifiably repelled, even came close to slaying a Barbaric Jaws Dragon... a hunter from another world!

"The logistics squad leader has already set to leave with her convoy."

The Commander-in-Chief stood with his arms crossed, looking up into Lann’s eyes in front of the Demon Hunter.

"Jack will hunt with you, and the Sword Master will remain at the base. You have two days in total, can you manage it?"

"Your expression is really calm; someone might mistake this task for hunting some herbivore dragon."

Lann raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

The Commander’s expression on his dark face was as calm as a lake.

But Lann also knew this calm was sourced from trust.

Just like that night when he tossed the Shield Emblem with the white wind to Lann.

The Commander’s expression didn’t change because of Lann’s comment.

In fact, until he saw Lann and his grandson out through the gate of the base, that expression on the dark face remained unchanged.

Resolute, and effortless.

Little Jack’s face revealed eagerness and ambition.

Clearly, in his life from being born in the New Continent to now, it seemed he’d never hunted with so many people’s expectations riding on him.

The task of hunting the Barbaric Jaws Dragon was closely tied to the quick delivery of supplies to the Great Ant Mound Wasteland and the setting up of a defensive line strong enough to intercept the Molten Mountain Dragon before it passed through.

One could say the existence of the New Continent Expedition Team was to unveil the truth of the [Ancient Dragon Crossing].

And now, in everyone’s eyes in the expedition team, they had never been so close to this truth.

Just a little more... just a little more!

The stunning logistics squad leader, the Dragon-man Race researchers in the institute, even the little old Dragon-men coming down from their piles of books.

They were all eagerly anticipating the investigation of the ancient dragon.

"Take a deep breath; being too excited will make your hands unsteady, and unsteady hands are not qualified to participate in hunting."

Lann didn’t even need to turn his head to hear Little Jack’s chest pounding abnormally.

He chuckled without malice.

"Never fought in this kind of scene before?"

Though Lann wasn’t that old himself, only in his early twenties now.

And now with his physique and appearance, he looked hard to age, probably around the same age as Little Jack.

But at this moment, his words sounded like an old hand guiding a rookie.

Yet there was nothing to criticize about this.

Lann had experienced large-scale battles involving tens of thousands of participants and was the most dazzling, most important figure on the battlefield.

Thousands of enemies’ hatred, fear, thousands of allies’ admiration, expectation... these were things he already didn’t care much about.

But Little Jack... he, being born and raised in the New Continent, had likely met no more than two thousand people in his life until today.

The gaze of so many people behind him naturally carried significant meaning for him.

"Hoo~ I’m adjusting... I’m adjusting... done!"

However, thanks to the overly healthy mental state of hunters in this world, Little Jack, after swallowing tensely for a moment, finally managed to control his breathing within normal range.

A healthy mental state not only meant being optimistic and cheerful in the narrow sense, but it also represented good emotion control, stress resistance, and focus.

Therefore, people with a good mental state generally wouldn’t perform poorly in their tasks.

As they left the range of the Astrological Base and stepped into the Ancient Tree Forest.

The fresh air and shadows among the leaves made both of them feel relaxed, while the alertness belonging to hunters started to heighten as well.

From now on, they were already considered to have entered the hunting mission.

They began to become reticent, communicating more through gestures, eye contact, and body language rather than speaking out loud.

The Ancient Tree Forest was full of life, but this also meant there was never a shortage of predators.

"Did the tracker bugs respond?"

Lann asked Little Jack briefly.

In response, Little Jack showed Lann the small cage hanging on the left side of his belt.

The tracker bugs, resembling fireflies, had already emerged from the small cage, floating towards a certain direction.

Lann and Little Jack exchanged a glance, then simultaneously followed the direction pointed out by the bugs.

They moved through the thick jungle, first discovering a set of Barbaric Jaws Dragon footprints.

The glow from the tracker bugs illuminated the outlines pressed into the muddy ground along with the grass.

Lann frowned at the sequentially glowing footprints, slowing his pace.

But Little Jack followed the footprints constantly highlighted by the tracker bugs, as if intent on directly locating the Barbaric Jaws Dragon.

"Wait, there’s something off about these footprints."

Lann grabbed Little Jack, who was following the tracker bugs blindly.

"Hmm?"

Instead of questioning him, Little Jack started observing again.

"It seems like..." Little Jack said uncertainly after squatting down to observe for a while.

"Its footprints seem unbalanced. One claw is heavier than the other..."

"Could it be an injured Barbaric Jaws Dragon?" Lann said, rubbing his chin. "A limping one."

"If that’s the case, it’ll be a lot easier to deal with."

Little Jack’s mouth curved up slightly in excitement.

Lann appeared indifferent to this.

"Hope so."