Bear School Astartes

Then, the three of them and a cat also rode their wyverns off the back of the Molten Mountain Dragon.

After reaching the temporary rest point set up by the investigation team in the valley, they immediately announced their discoveries about the Molten Mountain Dragon’s ecology, causing a burst of cheers among the hunters and investigators.

Even the hunters who were just forcibly driven off the back of the Molten Mountain Dragon by their actions didn’t voice any complaints.

Their goal was to find weaknesses on the Molten Mountain Dragon, and now that their companions accomplished the task, these hunters were happy about it.

The fragmented and disorganized information obtained by Lann and the others was sorted out by the investigators and handed over to the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Ant Mound Wasteland.

That very evening, the Commander-in-Chief also hurried over by wyvern.

”Is the information true?”

The first thing the Commander-in-Chief said upon landing at the temporary rest point was to confirm the information.

And those who had been waiting there were all excited, pointing to the dirt-yellow valley that stretched endlessly into the distance, without saying a word.

The Commander-in-Chief followed their fingers to look.

The black smoke left by the Molten Mountain Dragon drifted out faintly from the end of the winding valley.

Then suddenly...

”Roar!!!”

A tremendous roar, so powerful that even at this distance it made one’s vision go black, echoed back from the layered rock walls within the valley.

Painful and displeased.

This was the first time the Commander-in-Chief had heard the Molten Mountain Dragon roar, but his long experience as a hunter allowed him to discern a hint of emotion even from an unfamiliar roar.

No further answers were needed; this was solid proof!

The Commander-in-Chief’s dark face also looked invigorated.

This was the first time humans had inflicted effective damage on the Molten Mountain Dragon!

And shortly after the roar, several wyverns flew over from the end of the valley.

The hunters, originally hanging on with claw grips, were now holding a figure several times bigger in their hands.

After landing, the Commander-in-Chief realized these were hunters equipped with light and heavy crossbow cannons, including Lann.

As soon as they landed, the hunters didn’t even have time to greet him, quickly rushing to the side to pick up buckets of cold water from the ground and pour them over their heads.

A burst of white steam and a sizzling sound emanated from their bodies.

Lann, however, handled it much better, with only his charming face, which one should not look at too closely, slightly flushed.

The Demon Hunter walked up to the Commander-in-Chief, and the two naturally began to converse.

Dialogues between intelligent people are often very efficient when necessary.

”Confirmed?”

The Commander-in-Chief asked seriously, while Lann shrugged nonchalantly.

”Cooling organs are likely the most critical organs we can target on the Molten Mountain Dragon. It’s too old; its internal heat circulation is inherently unstable.”

”Well done!”

The Commander-in-Chief lightly thumped Lann’s chest with his fist, emitting a low, playful exclamation.

”I later led some people up a few more times and discovered more conditions.”

Lann first smiled in response, then continued with a serious expression.

”I can now confirm that although its cooling organs aren’t sturdy, making them easy to damage, since they are directly connected to the Molten Mountain Dragon’s body, any hunter’s attack will trigger lava eruptions, sooner or later. The timing is hard to determine.”

”It’s like popping a pimple; you never know how much accumulated fat you’ll squeeze out from under a pimple.”

The Commander-in-Chief unconsciously scratched his black face due to Lann’s vivid description.

However, this action didn’t affect his wisdom.

”So, you only took hunters using long-range weapons on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s back later?”

He immediately realized why Lann didn’t bring his closest companions, Wende and Aiden.

The Demon Hunter nodded.

”The light and heavy crossbow cannons can break the cooling organs from a safe distance from the lava eruptions. We also just cobbled together a few water-cooled ammunition, discovering these had better effects.”

[Water-cooled ammunition] is a special projectile made using the naturally growing waterflow grass as a material.

This plant mostly grows near water and can produce a fluid with great biological permeability, similar to the one found in the monster’s [Water Pouch].

According to the hunters, it has a [water attribute anomaly] effect.

”What about [Freezing Ammunition]?”

The Commander-in-Chief’s tactical mind quickly led him to consider the change in effects of combat equipment.

”I just tried it.” Lann, whose tactical thinking was no less sharp, replied, ”Ice shards falling on the cooling organs get instantly vaporized, unable to achieve the same effect as water-cooled ammunition.”

”So in summary, the hunters participating in the Molten Mountain Dragon interception battle should wear armor with excellent heat and fire resistance, and use heavy or light crossbow cannons with water-cooled ammunition as the main ammo.”

Honestly, Lann felt that devising such tactical plans for a nearly senile giant beast known for its size and strength... was a bit too simplistic.

However, as the Commander-in-Chief glanced at the meticulous Lann, an eyebrow suddenly rose.

”In such a short time... you not only found the Molten Mountain Dragon’s weakness, but even standardized the equipment configuration needed for hunters in battle.”

”I feel like you could be the Commander-in-Chief.”

If this were the Magic World or some other world, Lann would assume the Commander-in-Chief was saying such things to curb his ambition from standing out for power.

But in this world...

”I certainly have the capability to be Commander-in-Chief, but considering the overall level of trust people have, I think you should bear the burden a bit longer.”

Lann spoke lightly, and the Commander-in-Chief also shook his head helplessly.

After shaking his head, the Commander-in-Chief raised both hands to clap, catching everyone’s attention.

”Attention everyone, those hunters with long-range weapons should immediately gear up. If they left any in the convoy, go back overnight to change gear. The main ammunition should be water-cooled ammunition.”

”If the waterflow grass isn’t enough, gather some near that small river not far away, so that by tomorrow morning, another batch should have grown, which should be enough.”

The prosperity of New World’s ecological power is evident when plants, whose flowers were plucked the night before, regrow by the next morning.

This speed of resource regeneration is not exclusive to the ancient forest but is evident throughout the New World.

While anyone would be happy about resource abundance, Lann only felt that... the elusive Deer Antler Spirit, yet to be found, was likely to have become extremely troublesome.

Under the Commander’s orders, the hunters rode a large group of wyverns towards the convoy’s location.

Wende and Aiden were among them, both being versatile types.

Wende was a master of all weapons, while Aiden was slightly behind, with a few weapons he had yet to explore.

But he was undoubtedly skilled with long-range weapons as a whole.