Chapter 39: Bear Paw

Victory is only a moment away.

Seeing this, the other monsters immediately fled. Leo did not stop them, standing in the pool of blood, coldly watching the distant shadows of monsters. After a long stalemate, the monsters finally retreated.

……

Roar!

Boom!

The huge commotion coming from afar immediately caught the attention of others.

“Oh no!”

After dealing with the last monster, Renina felt something was wrong upon hearing the noise from that direction.

“Everyone, follow me!”

She immediately led everyone towards the direction of the noise.

“Was the camp attacked by monsters?”

Back at the camp, Renina asked Krista.

“With me around, how could those blind monsters possibly attack?” Krista said proudly.

“That’s good.”

Meanwhile, the monsters in the other two directions had also been dealt with, and the team returned to the camp.

“Just in time, come with me.”

Renina led everyone towards the direction of the noise, and after a moment, the team arrived outside.

“Who did this?”

To everyone’s surprise, the ground was in disarray, with the monsters present cut in half by sharp weapons. Blood pooled into a small lake, and a strong smell of blood lingered in the air, making one feel nauseous.

“President, this is…”

As the team observed the surroundings, a member suddenly shouted.

“An A-class Explosive Flame Bear!”

Renina approached the headless corpse of the bear, her expression slightly surprised.

“Could it be the vanguard expedition team did this?”

From the corpse, aside from the four bear paws that had been deliberately cut off, it was clearly a one-hit kill. Excluding herself, only Dante and Selina leading the vanguard expedition team had such strength.

“Since the monsters have been dealt with, let’s go back.”

The monsters had retreated, and there was no need to pursue them. Renina arranged for those skilled in reconnaissance to check the movements of the monsters, then took the remaining people back to the camp.

“Thank you for your hard work, rest early.”

After that, the team dispersed, and Michelle returned to the tent.

Before she got close, a smell of roasted meat wafted through the air.

Ahead, Leo was roasting four large bear paws over a fire. The bear paws had already been cleaned and were as big as half a body.

Because the bear paws had a strange smell, Leo used a family secret spice to clean them, then chopped down a few trees to have enough firewood.

“Michelle, you’re back.”

Seeing Michelle, Leo immediately waved, “It’ll be ready soon, just wait a moment.”

“Is this bear paw? Can it be eaten?”

Michelle sat down beside him.

“Of course it can be eaten. I happened to find it outside, and it tastes pretty good.”

“Can you really find it outside?” Michelle didn’t expose him.

“Maybe it was just good luck.”

The surface of the bear paw was roasted to a golden color, sizzling with oil. Leo sprinkled some spices, and a fragrant aroma wafted over, flipping it to continue roasting.

Slowly, the bear paw was fully cooked, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden in color. Leo handed the best-cooked one to Michelle.

“Hot!”

Michelle used magic to protect her hands, holding the bear paw and taking small bites.

“Delicious!”

A wave of flavor lingered in her mouth, different from what she expected. The meat was very fresh and tasty, and with the special spices, it was so good that she couldn’t stop.

Leo was initially worried that one bear paw would be too big, but thinking of Michelle’s appetite from before, he immediately dismissed that thought. This bear paw probably wouldn’t be enough for her.

……

In the largest tent in the center of the camp, as the command center for the expedition team, Renina, the prince, the saint, and the teacher gathered together.

“Did you not arrange for anyone to eliminate the monsters?”

Renina inquired whether it was the elite members who dealt with the Explosive Flame Bear, but the answer was no, which made her somewhat puzzled.

“The members of the vanguard team need to conserve their strength for tomorrow’s battle and cannot waste their energy on other A-class monsters,” Selina said.

“Then who could it be?”

Renina fell into thought.

First of all, it couldn’t be the newcomers.

Even the highest-ranked Yulis couldn’t cleanly defeat an A-class Explosive Flame Bear, not to mention there were dozens of monster corpses around.

“Perhaps there is one person who can. Do you know the newcomer who defeated Yulis before?” Dante suddenly said.

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

That incident only caused a small stir in the academy and was quickly suppressed. Those who hadn’t seen the battle with their own eyes treated it as a rumor, and Renina didn’t believe it either.

“It’s not a rumor. There were many witnesses, and Yulis generously admitted his defeat,” Selina said.

“This year’s newcomers should not be underestimated. Not only Yulis from our empire, but also Michelle from the church, Caroline from the commoners, the prince of the elf empire, the princess of the Siska empire, and the son of the general from the orc empire.”

“These people are very low-key, but according to rumors, each of them has very strong hidden strength. They cannot be viewed as mere newcomers. This is the most prosperous batch, and the monsters’ strength is likely not to be underestimated. Perhaps a terrifying existence will emerge.”

Dante’s expression was somewhat serious. A flourishing talent pool is a good thing, but correspondingly, the monsters would also enter a prosperous period, and there might be turmoil in the future.

“In my opinion, Prince Coric’s strength is also quite strong.”

Dante did not mention Coric, and Renina thought he was deliberately avoiding her brother.

“He’s still far from it.”

Dante’s expression was not fake; in his eyes, Coric was indeed lacking.

“President!”

The person who was investigating the movements of the monsters returned to report, “Aside from a small number of monsters wandering around, there are no traces of a large monster army nearby.”

“Alright, do not let your guard down during the night watch to avoid them attacking again.”

“Yes.”

After the meeting, Renina returned to her tent.

Her mind was now filled with thoughts about the newcomers.

“Yulis has some flaws in his character, but he’s fine in other aspects. Prince Coric has good command abilities, but as Dante said, he is indeed still some distance from the top. Caroline’s character is somewhat weak and not suitable for the stage; after all, she is a commoner, which is understandable.”

The only talent from the empire that she admired was Michelle, whose strength, character, and way of handling things were all very much to her liking.

“I forgot to invite her to join the student council.”

Renina slapped her forehead, having been so busy that she forgot about this matter.

She immediately got up and headed towards where Michelle was.

“What is that smell? So fragrant.”

Renina followed the aroma and realized it was coming from the direction where Michelle was.

“What are you doing?”

Renina saw Leo and Michelle each holding a beast paw and gnawing on it.

Recalling the four bear paws missing from the Explosive Flame Bear, she was surprised to find them here.

She was somewhat astonished, her eyes darting between Michelle and Leo, filled with suspicion.

“Roasting meat shouldn’t be illegal, right?”

Seeing her arrival, Leo felt that things were somewhat amiss.

“Yulis, the bear paw you asked me to roast is ready. If you don’t come out soon, Michelle will eat it all.”

Michelle paused for a moment, then continued to nibble on the bear paw as if she hadn’t heard, and half of the bear paw, which was as big as half a body, had already been devoured.

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