An unusual team could be seen running through the forest. The unusual team was headed by a young child, followed by of three hunters, two soldiers, the weird aspects being how the leader was only about 8 to 9 years old, while the others were teens around 11 years old. The leader of this team was John, with him where the five 1st class units he recruited for this mission. They each had their specific uses, whether that be looking at animal tracks, knowledgeable of the surrounding terrain, or strong and agile strength. Because most younger students don't have much specialty knowledge, John had to pick from the older students.
"Hey, I heard from the team leader that this mission is actually 4th class mission." One of the hunters looked at his companions gossiping.
"I know you idiot, I was there during the briefing." rebutted the other hunter.
"But it really was shocking! Captain Jasper is already at the 6th stage!!"
Hearing the hunters gossip a soldier added on, "You dare compare captain Jasper to our standards. I heard that the captain is only 7 years old! We are at least 4 to 6 years older but we are all still in the 2nd stage. The captain is talented genius never seen before!"
*Sigh~* "The captain is truly incredible. Even among direct children of the 4 villages, the captain is the most monstrous talent."
"Of course he is the best, the Spring village is already far stronger than the Valley village, Mountain village, and River village. Even the Southern Grain City are now sending its martial arts to train in the Spring Martial Hall."
Hearing the gossip behind them John let out a happy laugh "Haha, yes our Martial Hall is strongest force in this area. I dare say in a few years our Martial Hall could even take down cities!"
The 1st class subordinates also let out laughter in agreement "Team leader speaks wise words! In 10 years our Hall will be the greatest there is!"
One of the solders said in playful disdain "Your vision is to limited! Ten years is too long, I say the Spring Martial Hall will be number one in 5 years!"
The joyful laughter continued on as the team traveled, but one of the traveling hunters stopped for a moving and called out for John.
"Team leader, there seem to be tiger tracks here. While I am unable to determine it's exact strength, but based on the claw marks here it should at least be 4th stage or higher."
Soon the hunter was surrounded by John and the other hunters who were also trying to examine the tracks.
"Very well, lets mark this location on the map then track this monster based on the tracks. If its not the one we are looking for we can return to this location." John pointed to the hunters and soldiers their tasks before the team went on to track the monsters tracks.
While the forest was dangerous, the area the team was traveling had already been combed through by the experts in the Martial Hall and the Spring Village multiple times. There should hardly be any monsters on the level of a practitioner martial artist, so the team was pretty lax as they traveled. The only thing they had to look out for was poisonous plants and animals, most monsters in this forest would be defeated by their team or at least their team could escape. Of course their team avoided trouble as best as possible, after all, the captain only gave them three days to track the tiger monsters.
With that the team head off in the direction of the tracks.
"Team leader, it looks like the tiger tracks lead into that cave."
John turned toward the cave covered by dense leaves and vegetation. If not for the tracks the cave would be nearly impossible to find.
"Alright everyone, we will make camp here." John walked around to an area covered with dense trees a bit farther away from the cave. Once the camp was set up, John point at the two soldiers "You two, go to the cave and check out the situation. Be careful about your approach and don't make any noise. Just go see if the monster is in there and return,"
Although they already knew that they would have to do this even before they accepted the mission, the two soldiers were still nervous. The monster in that cave was likely to be at the 6th stage, such a being isn't something the two of them could deal with.
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With shaking boots the two walked to the cave entrance, taking deep breaths to calm themselves down.
After relaxing their breathing and heart rate they took agile steps into the cave. Along the way they saw bones scattered on the floor. The bones seemed to be a few years old at a glance. It's likely to have been the carcasses of the tigers food. As they walked deeper into the cave a pungent smell of decay filled the air, forcing the two to cover their noses with wool masks.
After going in for a while, one of the soldiers tapped the other soldier signaling him to stop. Stopping in their tracks the two scanned their surroundings before one of the soldiers pointed in a directions. In that direction was a large animal in a meditative sleep. Upon a more detailed look the animal was easily spotted as a tiger. That was the tiger of their mission! Seeing the target in sight the two turned around quickly and left the smelling and dangerous cave.
Seated at the head of a long table, Jasper looked at his team leader John and the hunter standing behind him. After sending the team away two days ago, the team had already returned with information on the mission. With a happy attitude Jasper waved his hand "Team leader John, tell me. Did you find the tiger?"
With a slight bow of his head John reported "Yes captain we found the location of a tiger. While we don't know for certain that it is the same tiger, we do know that it is at least in the 4th stage, and likely much higher!"
"Wonderful job team leader, you did great. Even if this isn't that tiger, a 4th rank tiger should give us some benefits. I'll have James go with you back, the two of you will set up a trap for the tiger not to far away. The trap doesn't need to kill the tiger, just injure or distract it. For now it will only be you two with a team of 9 others, this includes the 3 hunters and 2 soldiers that you have. I won't assign to many people to your team as this might attract the tigers attention."
Looking at the two, and seeing that the two had no further information or questions he bid them farewell "Alright you two are dismissed, John you can go inform James of my orders. As for your 3 other teammates, I'll let you two decide it. Also make sure to monitor the tiger and cave at the same time."
"Yes captain!" With that the hunter and team leader John left the reception tent.
Currently Jasper was in a camp that he, James, and Jillian made. The camp was located near the border of the forest in a place relatively closer to the tigers cave. There were currently 21 students living here temporarily (this doesn't include John and his team as they are out scouting). The rest of the camp is composed of Jaspers families workers and guards to ensure his safety. Even if this mission does fail, the village simply can not allow their chiefs only son to die.
Looking at the large map of the forest laid out on the table, Jasper started thinking about how he would fight this tiger. Tiger monsters are normally known to be more agile and stronger than human martial artist, which is why Jasper wanted to use the environment against the tiger. As long as Jasper could injure the tiger or suppress its movement he would have a massive advantage. But unexpected situations are always possible, so as to prepare, Jasper planned to use the 1st class as distractions to divert the tigers attention. In this way James and Jillian can try to attack it's vital points as I fight the tiger head on. As long as one of these steps work victory should be assured.
The following day, the sun was hanging low in the sky. Rays of bright orange shown through the gaps in the trees illuminating the camp bellow.
Inside one of the larger tents in the circle sat Jasper who was listening to John's report on the monster trap. During this period only John returned back to report leaving James behind to protect the trap, making sure it will work for the mission.
Seeing how the mission was going smoothly so far Jasper was ecstatic. Even some of the childness of a 7 year old that were normally hidden came to light.
"John this is amazing, when I reach the 4th class I will increase yours and James resources making sure you reach the 3rd class as soon as possible."
Hearing Jasper's promises, John grew excited. All the children in the village had dreams of becoming amazing Martial Artists, who wouldn't grow happy knowing that they would be closer to reaching their dreams.
"Thank you captain!"
With that Jasper and John exited the tent heading to another one of the large central tents. Inside of which, was a dainty girl wearing a lovely long dress with bright autumn colors perfectly matching the sun's ambient lighting.
Seeing the other party was in the tent Jasper called her "Hey Jillian, get ready we are leaving tomorrow morning for the mission location."
Annoyed at Jasper's abrupt entrance, Jillian's eyes narrowed with a touch of annoyance. As the daughter of a village elder, she sometimes couldn't help but let her entitled side show. She responded with a sharp retort, "Well, well, Captain Jasper, barging in without a care, aren't we? It's a shame manners aren't part of your lineage." After finishing her monolog she looked upwards nose pointing to the roof of the tent, happy with her little display.
"Alright then. When you're done with this little display, go ahead and get ready to leave. Me and John are leaving to get the rest of the camp ready."
Seeing Jasper exit her tent, she let out a snort before tidying up and calling for her subordinates to pack up.
With that everyone worked busily packing up everything they could. The students would only take the necessary materials with them. The servants would take the rest back to the Martial Hall waiting for the students to return.