Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 35

Episode 35: Slaying the Lower Wolf

Although I had no experience subduing demons, the process itself was actually no different from that of the Ainz race.

Tracking and killing them, that's all. If the materials are useful, they are collected, but that's just a secondary goal. So what Pale showed me was a very ordinary request from an adventurer's guild.

Verden asked.

“I know that the subjugation of demons is handled exclusively by the Adventurer’s Guild. Why did you specifically ask us to do it?”

“It’s a perfectly normal question. In fact, there are many complex reasons for this. It’s mainly about money.”

The Adventurer's Guild is an essential entity to any nation.

Without them, we wouldn't be able to deal quickly with the hordes of Ainz, Alien, and Demons swarming here and there. It would be hard to even find someone to take on a request in the outskirts.

Of course, that doesn't mean it can't be stopped at all.

Even if the damage is greater due to the knights and private soldiers hired by the lord, the lord can respond directly. In that case, the lord will completely take possession of the materials obtained from the subjugation target.

This is where the conflict arises.

If the lord moves his private army to hunt down demons and Ainz races that are worth money, the adventurer's guild in that area will inevitably be ruined.

If that happens, the number of goblins and kobolds will increase and they will attack small villages. Unless the lord has a considerable number of private soldiers, it will be nearly impossible for him to deal with them alone.

That is, it is damaging to the country in the long term.

So, related laws were enacted internationally.

Except in emergency situations, the Adventurer's Guild's right to subjugate is given priority.

But of course, the problem is not solved.

Because another problem arose: the lord's opposition.

“In this day and age, for example, if a demon appears in a territory, the lord must request the Adventurer’s Guild to subdue it. So, he must pay a subjugation fee. However, the cost does not include the demon’s corpse.”

The rights to the demon's corpse are transferred to the Adventurer's Guild.

And after going through several processing stages, it is passed on to merchants through auction. If the lord wants the material, he is given priority in the auction.

However, because it has gone through a distribution process, you have to pay a price that is more than the cost of the materials.

It's annoying for the resident.

Because it costs a lot more money and time than before. If you blatantly break the law, you will have to pay a considerable fine in addition to having your materials confiscated.

As a bonus, the evaluation of the territory is lowered.

“That’s why some lords try to subdue Ainz or Demon Beasts before reporting them to the guild. That way, they can get a much cheaper price. There are also cases where they use private soldiers, but they tend to use Gray whenever possible. If a private soldier dies, the loss will be enormous.”

“Isn’t it okay to get involved in the illegal activities of the nobility?”

“Yes. This request is a bit weak to be considered illegal. In the case of nobles who are friendly with the Adventurer’s Guild, they sometimes turn a blind eye even if they are caught.”

and.

“More than anything, I have built up a certain level of trust, so that the nobles can trust me and entrust me with work. This kind of request is a common one. As the duchy is a country that develops day by day, much more important and secret requests come in. Maybe it’s something that Asher will do someday. Well, anyway.”

Pale asked with a faint smile.

“Would you like to accept this request?”

Verden has already made his choice.

All of this for your own growth.

“Receive.”

* * *

Lower wolf.

The roar that comes out of its vocal cords has physical power. Its specialty is hunting by bursting relatively fragile internal organs. Ordinary people are eaten without even being able to resist.

The Adventurer's Guild has determined that the risk level is gold or higher. The basic strategy is to cut off the vocal cords first.

'There are about 38 hours left.'

This is the time that Count Radran requested. If the subjugation is not completed within that time, the request will fail.

After completing his preliminary investigation, Verden moved immediately.

Even such a simple request could not fail. Not only was it impossible to receive a request from Pale, but Verden's pride as a wizard did not allow it.

The distance from Cohen to Ladran Estate is a two-day walk. We arrived by plane before the sun had set.

A sunny forest with sunlight streaming through the tree branches.

But it was very quiet. You could barely hear the common chirping of birds.

According to research, lower wolves form packs with weaker wolves as subordinates.

And to maintain their numbers, they eat any prey nearby, whether it be a race of humans or animals.

That means this area is one of their hunting grounds.

<Magic Sensing>

Verden spread his magic power horizontally.

As I walked forward and adjusted the range from moment to moment, I detected traces of blood scattered on the floor.

Not far away lay the corpse of a deer. It was bitten here and there, and its entrails were dried and tangled.

'It's a trace of the lower wolf.'

As you can see, not that much time has passed.

The pursuit continued.

Bones and rotten flesh were detected everywhere, including the half-remaining corpse of an orc.

Before we knew it, the day was ending and night had come.

A chill brushed against my skin. Dozens of movements were detected by the magic spread by Verden. I stopped walking and looked ahead.

In the darkness, dozens of eyes flashed toward Verden.

* * *

"hmm……."

Verden scratched his cheek with a gaze that seemed to be looking at prey.

It was clearly me who was being tracked, but instead, they came after me. I guess they thought of me as prey. It feels like the roles have been reversed.

'Well, whatever.'

Anyway, I guess it was a waste of time looking for it.

The total number of wolves surrounding Verden is 22. No one who appears to be a lower wolf has been detected. Perhaps they have noticed the magical power spreading all around and are hiding.

It is said that in some cases, a demon with sensitive senses can sense magical power.

But it won't be far away.

The hiding place is probably outside the range of magic detection, but is a location where it is easy to launch a surprise attack.

<Wind Cycle>

A sharply spinning disc of wind cut down the trees around it.

As more than a dozen trees began to fall under the pull of gravity, a huge shadow fell from the sky.

[Krrrrrr… … .]

A body length exceeding 4m. It is on a completely different level from a typical wolf.

The lower wolf must have been quite annoyed at being caught, as it growled lowly at Verden and repeatedly scraped the ground with its claws.

'Did that guy climb the tree? He's more nimble than I thought.'

<Implication>

The view brightens.

I disabled the magic detection and activated the magic circuits throughout my body.

The roaring lower wolf, judging that the disappearance of the magical power that had spread around it was a threat, let out a roar with its fur standing on end.

[Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

A shockwave shot straight ahead.

Since we don't know how powerful it is, blocking it head-on is a bad idea.

<Stone Wall>

A wall rose up beneath Verden's feet.

At the same time, he used flight to escape the spot. The stone wall that was hit by the roar could not hold out for even a moment and was shattered into pieces.

'Even though it's a second-tier magic, it's magic strengthened with a magic book… … .'

It has considerable destructive power. It seems that at least two stone walls would be needed to block it.

I now understand why they have to cut off the vocal cords first.

'But that can't be possible.'

The primary goal of the quest is subjugation, and the secondary goal is materials.

The more cleanly you catch them, the more rewards Verden receives.

And of the materials you can get from the lower wolf, the most expensive one is the vocal cords.

You can easily damage the inside of the neck by exploding fire or ice magic in a large area, but that naturally reduces the value of the material. That was such a waste.

There is no problem in defeating them even if you don't necessarily attack their weaknesses.

Verden descended to the ground.

Wolves rushed in from all directions after hearing the roar of the lower wolf.

<Shock Wave>

<Earthborn>

Kkwadduk!

The moment they were shocked and staggered, a spike rose from the ground and pierced the wolves. Berden focused his magic on his staff to strike down the ones that rushed forward.

One per room.

What the heck!

Caaeng!

The numbers are dwindling in an instant. There are still wolves left, but they are already terrified.

The enraged Roar Wolf charged at Verden, completely oblivious to the wolves in his path being torn apart by his claws or thrown away.

“That’s devilish.”

<Stone Wall>

Triple casting.

Kwaaaaang!

The lower wolf's body collided with the wall. Two stone walls were shattered, but even the creature could not ignore the impact, staggering and shaking its head from side to side.

Verden didn't miss that gap.

[Caeng!]

The rock that struck the lower wolf's chest.

The one who had fallen backwards belatedly regained his balance and roared once more. Compared to humans, his attack pattern was incredibly simple.

<Air Rail>

Since a roar is a type of sound, it moves through the air. It is easy to twist the orbit by directing the air with magic.

Clang! Clang! The shockwave from the demon's voice engulfed the wolves.

This leaves only the lower wolf.

The ground rose up due to Verden's magic. The nearby trees were exposed by their roots.

This was the best way to defeat the moving lower wolf with minimal damage to materials.

To catch it right away.

Uprooted trees rose into the air.

As Verden snapped his fingers, it shot out towards the lower wolf.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The guy is dodging with agility that doesn't match his size.

But how much longer can we last?

'It must be an hour long.'

The subjugation was only a matter of time.

* * *

Verden placed the subjugated lower wolves in the promised location.

Afterwards, under the supervision of Pale's subordinates, I confirmed that Count Ladran had taken the body. Now, as long as I receive the money, the request will be successfully completed.

However, the reward sent by Count Ladran was much more than expected. This was because the vocal cords of the expensive lower wolf were intact without a single scratch.

“As expected, it seems you are not an ordinary 3rd tier wizard.”

The lower wolf is a relatively easy opponent for a wizard.

But if you fight without aiming for the vocal cords, it becomes quite difficult.

Pale thought of the gray-haired wizard.

Since the butcher personally recommended him, I thought he would have something special besides his looks, and it looks like my prediction was right. In a good direction for Pale.

The attitude of considering the client's needs deserves praise.

“I got a nice arrow.”

This is Pale's arrowhead.

His job is to find a good arrowhead, fit it to the shaft, draw the bow, and aim at the target. And whether or not the arrow hits the target depends on the arrowhead.

The results will vary depending on how sharp the edge is.

By Pale's standards, the arrowhead named Asher was quite sharp.

Although the targets you can aim for are limited, if you train well, you can even aim for large targets.

I think it would be better to continue our relationship for a long time.

Pale judged it that way.