Chapter 35. Roar Wolf Subjugation
He had never subjugated a magical beast before, however, in truth, the process itself was no different from dealing with demi-humans.
Track it down and kill it, that is all. If the material is usable, then you harvest it, but that is merely an additional goal. In other words, what Pale showed was a very ordinary adventurer guild request.
Verden asked,
"I thought magical beast subjugation was handled exclusively by the adventurer guild. Why did they go out of their way to request it here?"
"That is a perfectly reasonable question. In fact, there are multiple complex reasons. Mostly, money problems."
The adventurer guild is an indispensable existence for the nation.
Without them, it would be impossible to quickly respond to the swarming demi-humans, abnormal species, and magical beasts appearing everywhere. In remote regions, it would be difficult even to find a single person willing to take such requests.
Of course, it is not that they cannot be stopped at all.
A lord could personally respond, using his knights or mercenaries he hired with coin, though the damage might be far greater. In such cases, the materials gained from the subjugated target would belong wholly to the lord.
And that is where the conflict begins.
If a lord mobilizes his soldiers to hunt profitable magical beasts and demi-humans, then the local adventurer guild would have no choice but to collapse.
If that happens, goblins or kobolds would multiply unchecked, attacking small villages. Unless the lord has an unusually large number of troops, it would be nearly impossible for him to deal with it alone.
In other words, in the long run, it would harm the nation.
Thus, an international law was established.
Except in emergencies, the adventurer guild is to be given priority rights for subjugation.
But naturally, that did not solve the problem.
Because it led to the backlash of the lords.
"In this day and age, for example, if a magical beast appears in his territory, the lord must request the adventurer guild. And so, he must pay the subjugation fee. But the corpse of the magical beast is not included in that payment."
The rights to the corpse of a magical beast go to the adventurer guild.
Then, after undergoing various processing stages, it is sold through auctions to merchants. If a lord wants the materials, he is given priority at the auction.
But since it has passed through distribution, he must pay a price higher than the raw material's worth.
From the lord's perspective, it is infuriating.
Far more money and time than in the past are consumed. If he were to blatantly break the law, the materials would be confiscated, and he would have to pay a heavy fine as well.
And the evaluation of his territory would plummet as an added bonus.
"So, some lords, when demi-humans or magical beasts are discovered, try to subjugate them before reporting to the guild. That way, the cost is much cheaper. Some use their soldiers, but for the most part, they prefer to use Gray. If a soldier were to die, the loss would be no small matter, after all."
"But is there no issue in involving oneself with a noble's illegal acts?"
"Indeed. But this type of request is not strong enough to be outright branded illegal. In fact, nobles with connections to the adventurer guild are sometimes overlooked even if they are caught."
And,
"Above all else, that Pale has built up a certain level of trustworthiness, enough for nobles to entrust him with such tasks. Requests like this are rather common. Since the principality is a land developing day by day, far more important and secretive requests often come in. Someday, Sir Asher might also take part in such things. Anyway."
Pale asked with a faint smile,
"This request, will you accept it?"
Verden had already made his choice.
All of this was for his own growth.
"I accept."
***
Roar Wolf.
The roar bursting from its vocal cords carried physical force. Its specialty was rupturing relatively fragile internal organs to hunt. Ordinary people could not even resist and would be devoured.
The danger rank designated by the adventurer guild was Gold-rank and above. The standard strategy was to sever its vocal cords first.
'The remaining time is about 38 hours.'
That was the deadline demanded by Count Ladran. If he failed to complete the subjugation within that time, the request would be a failure.
Having completed his preliminary investigation, Verden moved without delay.
Even such a simple request could not be allowed to fail. Not only would it mean no further requests from Pale, but Verden's pride as a Mage would never permit it.
The distance from Cohen to Count Ladran's territory was two days on foot. Using flight, he arrived before sunset.
Sunlight streamed through the branches of the bright forest.
Yet it was very quiet. Not even the common chirping of birds could be heard.
According to reports, the Roar Wolf formed a pack, taking weaker wolfs as its subordinates.
And in order to maintain its numbers, it devoured whatever prey lived nearby, whether demi-humans or beasts.
In other words, this area was one of its hunting grounds.
Verden spread his mana outward.
As he advanced, adjusting the range moment by moment, he detected bloodstains scattered across the ground.
Not far away lay the carcass of a deer. Its body torn apart in several places, dried innards mashed into pulp were visible.
'The traces of a Roar Wolf.'
It had not been long.
He continued the pursuit.
Here and there were bones and rotting flesh. Among them was even the half-eaten body of an Orc.
By the time night arrived,
A chilling air brushed against his skin. Dozens of movements were caught by Verden's dispersed mana. He stopped walking and looked ahead.
In the darkness, dozens of glowing eyes gleamed toward him.
***
"Hm..."
Under the gaze that treated him as prey, Verden scratched his cheek.
He had been the one pursuing, yet instead, they had come upon him. Apparently, they regarded him as prey. It felt like the roles had been reversed.
'Well, it doesn't matter either way.'
After all, it saved him the trouble of searching.
The wolfs surrounding Verden numbered 22 in total. No Roar Wolf among them could be detected. Most likely, it had sensed the mana dispersed everywhere and was hiding.
Since magical beasts with keen senses sometimes could feel mana.
But it would not be far.
Its hiding spot would be just outside the range of mana detection, in a location suitable for an ambush.
A razor-sharp disk of rotating wind slashed through the surrounding trees.
As more than ten trees collapsed under gravity, a massive shadow dropped from above.
[Growl....]
Its body length exceeded four meters, its form on an entirely different level from ordinary wolfs.
Annoyed at being discovered, the Roar Wolf let out a low growl at Verden, scraping its claws continuously against the ground.
'To climb a tree with that size? Quicker than expected.'
His vision brightened.
He deactivated mana detection and activated the mana circuits of his entire body.
Judging the disappearance of the dispersed mana as a threat, the Roar Wolf bristled its fur and bellowed.
[Kaaaaaaaaaah!]
A shockwave blasted forth directly.
Since he did not know how powerful it was, blocking it head-on would be the worst choice.
A wall rose up beneath Verden's feet.
At the same time, he used flight to escape his position. The earthen wall struck by the roar shattered instantly without holding for even a moment.
'Even though it's only a 2nd-tier spell, this one was strengthened with a magic tome….'
Its destructive power was considerable. At least two or more earthen walls would be needed to block it.
Now he understood why the vocal cords had to be severed first.
'But I can't do that.'
The primary objective of the request was subjugation, the secondary was the material.
The cleaner the kill, the more Verden's payment increased exponentially.
And among the materials one could obtain from a Roar Wolf, the most valuable was the vocal cords.
Wide-range fire or ice magic could easily damage the inside of its throat, but naturally, that would reduce the value of the material. That was far too wasteful.
Since there was no problem in subjugating it without targeting its weakness anyway.
Verden descended to the ground.
The wolfs, having heard the Roar Wolf's roar, charged at him from every direction.
Kwaa-deudeuduk!
The moment they staggered from the shock, stone spikes surged up from the ground, skewering the wolfs. The ones that charged afterward were beaten down as Verden focused mana into his staff.
One strike per wolf.
Kyaengaeng!
Kyaeng!
Their numbers dwindled in an instant. Though some wolfs survived, they were already terrified.
In fury, the Roar Wolf lunged at Verden. It paid no heed even as wolfs along its path were ripped apart by its claws or sent flying.
"Fitting for a magical beast."
Triple casting.
Kwaaaaang!
The Roar Wolf's body collided with the wall. Two earthen walls were destroyed, but it too could not ignore the impact, stumbling as it shook its head violently from side to side.
Verden did not miss the opening.
[Kyeng!]
A mass of rock slammed into the Roar Wolf's chest.
Knocked back, it regained its balance after a moment, then once again let out a roar. Compared to humans, its attack pattern was astonishingly simple.
Since the roar was a kind of sound, it traveled through the air. It was a simple matter to bend its trajectory by manipulating the direction of the air with magic.
Puh-uhk! Puh-uhk! The shockwaves unleashed by the beast struck the wolfs instead.
Now, only the Roar Wolf remained.
Following Verden's mana, the ground heaved upward. The trees nearby were uprooted.
To subjugate the moving Roar Wolf while minimizing damage to the materials, this was the best method.
Simply beating it down.
The uprooted trees floated in midair.
When Verden snapped his fingers, they shot toward the Roar Wolf.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
With agility unbefitting its massive body, the beast dodged.
But how long could it possibly hold out?
'At most, an hour.'
The subjugation was only a matter of time.
***
Verden placed the subjugated Roar Wolf at the promised location.
Afterward, under the supervision of Pale's subordinates, he confirmed Count Ladran's men taking the corpse away. Now, all that was left was to receive payment, and the request would be completed successfully.
But the payment sent by Count Ladran was far more than expected. Because the Roar Wolf's vocal cords, traded at a high price, were intact without a single scratch.
"As expected, he is not an ordinary 3rd-tier Mage."
The Roar Wolf was a relatively easy opponent for a Mage.
But if one did not target the vocal cords, it became considerably troublesome.
Pale recalled the gray-haired Mage.
That butcher had personally recommended him, so Pale had assumed there would be something special about him beyond his appearance. It seemed his prediction was right, in Pale's favor.
His attitude of considering the needs of the client was praiseworthy.
"A fine arrow has been acquired."
This place was Pale's arrowhead.
His work was to find usable arrowheads, set them onto shafts, draw the bowstring, and aim at the target. Whether or not they struck the mark depended on the arrowhead.
The result would change depending on how sharply it had been honed.
By Pale's standards, the arrowhead named Asher was quite sharp.
Though the targets he could aim at were limited, if honed properly, he could even aim at larger prey.
It seemed best to maintain a long-term connection.
That was Pale's conclusion.