Bear School Astartes

”Ah~ the vegetation in the Ancient Tree Forest has suddenly accelerated its growth so much... the paths we used to use are totally unusable now! So frustrating!”

The head of the logistics team clutched her head in distress.

This was the most affected area for her and her team during the ecological mutation.

No one went to comfort this woman with a Latino flair, because everyone knew that those who could reach the new continent wouldn’t be defeated by such issues.

Sure enough, after a brief complaint, the head of the logistics team shook her head as if to shake off her worries and returned to her competent and poised stance.

”Don’t worry, I’ll handle the logistics transfer. Hunters, you just focus on dealing with the ecological mutation.”

The Commander-in-Chief nodded to her, showing approval.

”In any case, we still need to find the source of the ecological changes. Everyone, share your thoughts.”

The Commander-in-Chief propped up against the table, looking around the room.

The head of the Ecological Research Institute stroked his beard, muttering to himself.

”Now that I think about it, the hypothesis that the arrival of the Molten Mountain Dragon triggered the ecological changes seems a bit off.”

”For all five phases of our expedition team, we basically followed the Ancient Dragon Crossing, where ancient dragons travel from the old continent to the new continent. But such a situation hasn’t happened before in the earlier phases.”

The ”Ancient Dragon Crossing” refers to the mysterious periodic migration of ancient dragons from the old continent to the new one.

Exploring the secrets of this behavior was the reason the New Continent Expedition Team was established.

In short, uncovering the reason and deeper secrets of the ”Ancient Dragon Crossing” is the greatest goal of the New Continent Expedition Team.

”Could it be a matter of the dragon species?” the head of the logistics team analyzed. ”When we arrived with the fourth phase, we encountered the legendary ’Phantom Beast’ - the Kirin. The sight of that ancient dragon walking on water still seems indescribably beautiful to me.”

”But it’s just a super small ancient dragon, about the size of the Poisonous Demon Bird. Triggering such a mutation seems a bit beyond its capability, doesn’t it?”

”The difference in size and energy reserves?” the head of the research institute pondered, accepting the possibility. ”Indeed, there’s a chance. The Molten Mountain Dragon is the largest known creature in the world.”

”Even the Serpent King Dragon from the old continent’s Thousand Sword Mountain only exceeds four hundred meters in length. The volume of its elongated body is nowhere near that of a living volcano.”

At this moment, another young scholar from the Dragon-man Race, who managed the Plant Research Institute, seemed hesitant.

”Um...”

After pondering for a moment, he raised his hand, joining the discussion.

”Perhaps I have some information that can correlate with this ecological mutation.”

Everyone fell silent, watching the Dragon-man race scholar.

”Since arriving on the new continent, I’ve primarily focused all my research efforts on one project, which is replicating and cultivating the Ancient Tree, possibly the largest tree in this continent, if not the world.”

His initial words seemed unrelated to the ecological mutation, but no one interrupted him.

People who came to the new continent, even the hunters dedicated to combat, had a basic understanding of the biological chain.

The ecological environment is interconnected and mutually influential. From a human perspective, seemingly unrelated organisms can have profound connections within an ecosystem.

Those who understand these principles often refrain from rushing to conclusions.

”The essence of the Ancient Tree Forest is a colossal ’single tree’ capable of growing hundreds of thousands of plant species. In my previous efforts, I successfully cultivated this tree’s sapling. However, it could only grow a limited variety of plants and grew very slowly. But...”

”But?”

The Commander-in-Chief inquired.

”But after the Molten Mountain Dragon landed, this sapling seemed to finally receive the nutrients it needed, as if my previous meticulous cultivation hadn’t fully nourished it...”

The Plant Research Institute head felt both frustrated and excited over the research progress.

”In brief, it has now become highly active! I can’t yet determine the channel through which the ’Molten Mountain Dragon’s landing’ affected it, but without a doubt, everyone!”

”The current state of the new continent’s ecosystem and its relation to the ’Ancient Dragon Crossing’ is far deeper than all our previous surmises!”

”My research on the Ancient Tree confirms that this great forest, this tree, has periodically experienced ’explosive rapid growth,’ so much so that the majority of the Ancient Tree Forest’s present scale was accumulated through those explosive growth phases.”

With the information from the Plant Research Institute head presented, an indescribable excitement stirred among the crowd.

Those who had dedicated decades exploring and living in the new continent to unravel the mysteries of the ’Ancient Dragon Crossing’ phenomenon felt exhilarated at this discovery.

Even though the rapid growth of the Ancient Tree Forest posed challenges, rather than aid, to their survival.

Lann could feel that this group’s pure and steadfast commitment made them excited at this point.

Because compared to hardships, they valued the ecological knowledge they uncovered more.

”So, the fact that one Fierce Jackal Dragon’s body contained two dragon jades... could it also be due to the Ancient Tree’s explosive growth?”

Wende muttered to himself, and his initially superstitious eyes, filled with anxious uncertainty about luck, began to shine inexplicably.

Lann scratched his head on the side... was this guy treating this period as some ’jackpot drop rate doubling’ buff effective period?

The Commander-in-Chief, standing before everyone, stroked his graying short beard, speaking.

”Seems we’ve been born in fortunate times, to witness this rare biological cycle. If that’s the case... order!”

The Commander-in-Chief first expressed a bit of eager emotion, but then assumed a stern demeanor and issued instructions, causing everyone present to brace themselves.

”This is an unprecedented period of valuable discovery. We must allocate all available efforts to tracking the Molten Mountain Dragon. Given its profound impact on the new continent’s ecology, losing track of it would be inexcusable!”

”All current tasks will proceed as usual, but gathering clues about the Molten Mountain Dragon is the top priority during missions.”

”Not only should the veterans from previous phases do this, but the recommended group too.” The Commander-in-Chief turned to the three individuals and one cat.

”You’ve proven your reliability and adaptability to the new continent environment. Thus, I’m granting you permission to accept tasks from all expedition team areas.”

”The condition is, the volume of missions you complete should match this trust, rookies!”

The Star Fort has laid down supply transfer routes across the continent, yet there are few areas truly capable of providing fundamental hunting support. After all, this is an entire continent.

Besides the Ancient Tree Forest, there’s the Great Ant Mound Wasteland.

Together, these areas cover at least hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.

On this human-untouched new continent, reaching this stage of basic hunting resource support is thanks to the generally high quality of hunters.

Aibo was so excited she nearly jumped up.

Whether it was due to the trust and acknowledgment from her predecessors, or the chance to explore the broader ecosystem of the new continent, she wasn’t sure.

”Woohoo! Leave it to us!”