Bear School Astartes

The cylindrical mountain enclosing the Flame King Dragon now resembles a large chimney.

Although it isolates a considerable portion of the heat inside, this accumulated heat rises within the cylindrical mountain.

Finally, it turns this ordinary-looking mountain into something akin to an erupting volcano.

At the top opening, the intense heat has warmed the air, causing visible changes in the atmospheric refraction.

The air at the summit has been heated to a blur.

Amid the rising column of hot air, there are glowing, fiery red scale particles scattered like sparks.

"It’s like the entire mountain is on fire!"

Hooked with a Projector latch onto the saddle of a riding wyvern, Aibo spoke in a half-nervous, half-excited tone.

Meanwhile, with her other hand, she had early on moved the small binoculars from her forehead to her eyes, observing the second arena.

"The Flame King Dragon is so cool!"

"Cool or not, let’s talk about that later." Different from her partner, the Compiler, Wende felt the oppressive heat even from this distance in the thick and menacing [Fog Nest Master] armor.

"The battle environment will be harsher than expected. Aibo, have you spotted the representatives from the relay base?"

Normally, Wende and Aibo could chat and laugh freely.

But once it’s time to get serious about battle preparations, Wende’s experience and strength make him the unquestionable leader.

After all, the Hunters’ hunt is a life-or-death struggle against monsters, nothing could be more serious than this.

Although Hunters are generally cheerful and carefree, chatting and laughing during hunts is common.

That relaxation is due to personality but being serious and cautious during hunts is a matter of attitude.

"I’m searching."

Aibo adjusted the binoculars with her eyes and looked around her.

Soon, her exceptional professional skills enabled her to spot the target.

"Yahoo! Found it, follow me."

With a small cheer, Aibo promptly guided the riding wyvern in a direction outside the mountain.

Wende glanced downward, noticing a streak of blue white lightning easily keeping pace with their flight.

He lifted his helmet slightly with one hand, revealing his lips, and blew a sharp whistle.

"Whistle~"

Lann below looked up at him, and Wende knew the message was received.

Thus, he guided the riding wyvern, following Aibo.

Soon after, they arrived at a Hunter camp located outside the relay base.

This was the very place where Lann and his team had previously rescued the survivors from the relay base.

Originally meant as a small space for Hunters to rest and resupply intermittently in the wild, it now housed a dozen people and a dozen Elu cats, all cramped within.

Luckily, both the survivors and the Elu cats were optimistic individuals.

So despite the cramped conditions, they found it quite enjoyable.

"Eh? Really going to drive away the Flame King Dragon?"

The current overseer of the camp was a Dragon-man Race scholar, who, despite being informed, appeared reluctant.

As though it wasn’t him who was nearly roasted by the Flame King Dragon at the time.

"There’s no other option." Aibo flexed her arm, which had been hanging for a long time on the riding wyvern, while speaking. "The gunpowder production at Star Base and the logistics transport by the Supply Squad are all maxed out."

"Additionally, the ecological research on this Flame King Dragon has reached a bottleneck, driving it away is beneficial for everyone."

Aibo casually patted the scholar’s shoulder.

Despite his reluctance to lose the opportunity to observe the Ancient Dragon from a close fixed point, he knew better.

He was fully confident that the rest of the Investigation Team shared the same passion for exploring natural ecosystems as he did.

But with the Commander-in-Chief, the second-phase mission leader, and the Supply Squad leader all agreeing to drive the Flame King Dragon away, it meant logistics were really falling short.

Lann, arriving slightly later and squeezing through the rock crevices to enter the hidden camp, was now present.

His new armor audibly scraped against the rocks as he tried to maneuver inside.

Once inside, he brushed off the dust and debris from the bone-white and metallic cold armor without leaving a trace.

"Hey, aren’t you the Hunter who rescued us then?"

When Lann’s head popped up, the Dragon-man Race scholar approached with gratitude.

"Thank you so much! If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been roasted!"

"It’s alright, we just happened to pass by." Lann waved his hand, dismissing it casually.

"Besides, we need your support for this mission."

The Dragon-man Race scholar nodded: "That’s as it should be."

Due to the transportation capacity of the Winged Dragon, when hunters go hunting in the wilderness, many supplies are replenished and replaced nearby at the camp.

Although the transfer base was almost completely burned down during the Flame King Dragon’s stroll, the Supply Squad subsequently transported a lot here.

"We need at least three groups of [Cold Drinks]."

Wende tilted his head in contemplation nearby. Even in this camp surrounded by rocks with only a small crack as the entrance and exit, you could see the direction of the second arena through an opening above, where the swirling heat waves rose.

The temperature inside there is estimated to be about the same as the crater of a volcano.

"Also, may I ask if my equipment has arrived?"

"It’s all in the storage box." The Dragon-man Race scholar said professionally, "The Supply Squad sent several sets of your equipment, saying it might be useful. Do you want to change into them now?"

Still, due to transportation issues, a hunter is fully equipped when they leave the Star Base, but hunting is a long and unexpectedly eventful process.

So, before departure, the Investigation Team would, at the hunter’s request, send their other commonly used equipment to a camp near the mission site for use.

Hunters are at the forefront of battle, but the support from other departments silently works behind them.

For example, Wende’s current equipment combination is to deal with unexpected events on the road, rather than targeting the Flame King Dragon.

"You go change your equipment first, I’ll get the [Cold Drinks]."

Lann said to Wende, who nodded and walked toward the storage box in the camp.

After the Demon Hunter had inserted all three groups, a total of fifteen bottles, of [Cold Drinks] into the two weapon belts, they just had to hang them on themselves to use at any time.

And Wende had already sorted out his equipment.

His changes were minimal, his overall armor still being the [Fog Nest Master Set], but he left the [Painful Greatsword], also made from Terror Tyrannosaurus materials, in the camp.

He had hung a pair of dual blades on his back, the same pair he greeted Lann with outside the arena, made from Wind-drift Dragon materials, with ice attributes.

Meanwhile, Aibo was cooking using the stove in the camp.

They had already spent quite some time on the road, and the cat meal they had for breakfast at the Weapon and Mountain Cat Pavilion had long been digested.

They even gnawed on some portable food on the way.

As the Compiler of the Recommended Group, Aibo was responsible not only for recording the ecological phenomena hunters encountered in the wild but also assisting with the hunters’ logistical work.

Originally, Rong Buqiu watched Aibo walk toward the stove, a bit worried, and went over to see if help was needed.

After all, Aibo was a bit too lively, and this characteristic made her seem unreliable when she had to work.

But surprisingly, she actually did quite well.

Though it couldn’t compare to the head chef’s cooking, she easily whipped up a high-energy, filling meal suitable for intensive exercise.

After all, as a partner to Wende, her basic skills were very strong.

Aibo cooked a large pot of stew, and over it, she laid a layer of aromatic cheese, making it very calorie-rich.

After the two hunters and two Elu Cats had eaten, they rested briefly, nodded to Aibo and the others in the camp, and headed toward the second arena.

The rugged rocks were still there, along with the relentless wind sounds echoing back and forth in the mountains.

Without the need to look after others, both Lann and Wende could move quickly and decisively.

Thus, it didn’t take them long to reach the transfer base established in the valley.

Or rather, the ruins of the transfer base.

"It’s completely burned out, meow..." Gaffi lifted its hind paw, its paw pads covered in black soot.

Both it and Wende were supposed to handle the Flame King Dragon on the first day, but they hadn’t gone far when they heard that ’Lann and Aiden had trapped the Flame King Dragon’ and turned back.

So this was their first time at this destroyed transfer base.

"After all, it’s the Flame King Dragon." Wende said unsurprised, "It’s a Ancient Dragon known as the [Scorching Sun]."

Even though their opponent was the Flame King Dragon, both Gaffi and Wende were cautious yet not nervous.

They must already have been familiar, if not skilled, in dealing with, or even fighting against, Ancient Dragon Level creatures during their time on the Old Continent.

"This way." Lann stepped forward, taking the lead. "We detonated the barrel bombs and blasted the arena gate, plus a fire, you probably won’t recognize it."

"I’ve been studying the [Fog Nest Master] all this time." Lann said while leading the way, "Any guesses on why this Flame King Dragon suddenly appeared? It didn’t come for the gunpowder at first."

As they got closer to the arena, the air became hotter.

It was stifling at first, but soon, even the moisture in the air felt extremely sparse.

It turned into a blistering heat, like something that could catch fire at any moment.

"The director of the Ecological Research Institute said it might be because the mating season has arrived. Ancient Dragons might feel restless, causing them to roam erratically and invade beyond their territory."

Wende stated methodically.

"Animals during mating season can be very fierce, and he also warned me to be extra careful."

Meanwhile, they had arrived at the original doorway of the arena.

Just like several days ago, there was only a gap between a giant rock and the ground, connecting the outside with the cylinder-shaped interior of the mountain.