Chapter 143 : Chapter 143
Chapter 143. Lizardmen's Hunt
“You mean you want to eat meat.”
Radel decided to grant the Lizardmen's request.
Although he had bought food from the Spear Guild, Radel knew that it was only a stopgap measure.
Even if they planted potatoes in the fields the Lizardmen were cultivating now, they could only be harvested two months later.
He had to secure some food in the meantime.
Considering the territory's circumstances, hunting seemed more suitable than farming.
Since the Tsar Mountain Range surrounded the territory, hunting monsters living in the mountains was also a decent method.
Radel asked Chariot Sapphire about the territory's situation in the office of the Lord’s Castle.
“Do monsters come down often? How much is the damage?”
“Since there are hunters in the territory, the damage is not significant.”
He said that mainly small monsters come down, snatch livestock, and run away.
Sometimes huge monsters come down, but such occurrences were rare.
It was because the Lizardmen living in the Tsar Mountain Range frequently hunted them.
“Lizardman warriors are excellent hunters. They usually obtain food by hunting monsters.”
“So that's why they made such a fuss when told to farm.”
Radel recalled the Lizardmen protesting fiercely when told to pull weeds.
They had even refused to hold hoes, talking about a warrior's pride and whatnot.
To them, who lived by catching large monsters while roaming the Tsar Mountain Range, farming must have felt like a trivial task. But now, they had become masters of weed pulling.
Anyway, thanks to the Lizardmen hunting monsters in the mountain range all this time, the territory residents had been safe.
“What is the skill level of the territory's hunters?”
“To be honest, they are lacking compared to the Lizardmen. Though hunters are absolutely necessary even if they don't catch monsters, since bears, wolves, and foxes also appear in the territory.”
It meant their skills were decent enough to catch animals.
After grasping the territory's combat power, Radel asked Chariot Sapphire to gather the village's hunters.
And then he went to the field where the Lizardmen were cultivating.
The Lizardmen were in the midst of preparing to plant potatoes.
“Spread the compost first! They say it grows well that way!”
“The smell is too strong, brother. I'm on the sensitive side so I can't stand it, ugh.”
“It smells better than your breath, so what nonsense are you talking about!”
Seeing the Lizardmen working hard, Radel approached them.
“Isn't that the human lord? What did you come here for?”
The Lizardmen recognized Radel and acknowledged him.
It was an arrogant attitude for prisoners, but Radel didn't mind and asked.
“Do you happen to want to eat meat?”
At Radel's words, the Lizardmen's heads turned automatically.
“Meat, you say?!”
“Meat!”
The Lizardmen, desperate for meat, ended up following Radel somewhere.
The party who was guarding the prisoners also came along.
“Where are you taking the prisoners?”
When Inette Dastion Cretian asked Radel, he answered with a nonchalant face.
“To catch meat.”
* * *
The place Radel arrived at, leading the party and the Lizardmen, was the sea.
SWOOOSH!
Even from a distance, extraordinary whirlpools were embroidering the sea everywhere.
They said the currents were severe, and it certainly looked difficult to launch a boat.
“Since they said there was a sea, I had expectations, but we can't even enter like this.”
Inette Dastion Cretian, who had secretly expected a vacation spot, made a regretful expression.
Radel had also only heard about the sea attached to the territory and was seeing it in person for the first time.
“They said the flow of mana is strong, and it's true.”
Radel felt the mana for a moment and asked Armandy Stein.
“How is it, can't anything be done with magic?”
“At this level, it's impossible even for an Archmage.”
Even Armandy Stein clicked his tongue.
“Layers of mana are stacked up, so it's a perfect place to become a monster den.”
The more mana gathered, the more strong monsters tended to like it.
Moreover, in this sea, strong mana, medium mana, and weak mana were mixed, forming a single layer.
This place was practically an apartment complex for monsters with diverse tastes.
That was exactly the point Radel aimed for.
Surely, this sea would be full of strong and huge monsters.
“I should take a look.”
Radel took out the fishing rod he had prepared and approached the seaside.
Then he climbed between the rocks and cast the fishing line.
SWISH!
The fishing line was swept away amidst the rough waves and disappeared as if sucked in, but Radel did not panic.
Just like during mana training, he concentrated his mind and let mana flow.
SPLASH!
How long was it like that?
He felt something reacting to the fishing line.
Radel pulled it up immediately as soon as something snatched the end of the mana.
WHOOSH!
A monster with a huge, elongated body revealed itself above the sea.
“What is that?”
“Is it a fish? Or a snake?”
Since the Lizardmen had never been to the sea, nor seen a monster living in the sea, they all opened their mouths and looked at the monster Radel pulled up.
- GROWL!
The monster opened its mouth and trembled.
It seemed to be still grasping the situation.
The hunters, who arrived at the sea belatedly following the acting lord Chariot Sapphire, saw the monster and shouted in great surprise.
“It's a Giant Sea Eel!”
“To think that strong guy came up!”
“Everyone, it's dangerous! Dodge!”
However, the hunters' words touched the Lizardmen's pride.
“Strong?”
“That big fish is dangerous?”
The Lizardmen felt their warrior blood boiling.
The fighting spirit that surges crazily when meeting a strong enemy.
The boiling competitive spirit!
Lando Chau, the leader of the warriors, shouted to Radel.
“Human lord! What do you want from us? What is the reason you brought us here!”
Then Radel turned back.
With the fishing rod on his shoulder, his gesture was relaxed even with a huge monster in front of him.
“Who was it that said they wanted to eat meat?”
And he added like this.
“Grab your swords. Because now is the time to return to being warriors.”
It was the moment the Lizardmen's restraints were unleashed.
* * *
Radel fished up many monsters even after that.
“It's a Giant Sea Eel again!”
“It's a Sea Serpent!”
“Aaaah! It's a Kraken!”
Before they knew it, the territory's hunters were hunting sea monsters together with the Lizardmen.
They were people who ran in a single breath upon hearing the Lord's call.
They recalled Radel's words.
‘Try fighting together. With the Lizardmen.’
‘No, w-we, how could we……. The skill gap is too big for that.’
Then Radel grinned as if he knew everything.
‘That might be so. But aren't they not enemies right now?’
The Lord's words were correct.
When fighting with Lizardmen as enemies, they didn't dare, but now they were on the same side catching monsters.
That difference was bigger than thought.
“Dodge, human!”
SLASH!
When the leg swung by the Kraken flew in, a Lizardman pushed a hunter away and slashed down with his sword.
SLICE!
The Lizardman checked that the attack went in and shouted at the hunter.
“You should either dodge quickly or swing your sword, what are you doing dawdling!”
“I-I was about to do it just now! You came too fast!”
Not losing, the hunter also looked straight at the Lizardman and shouted.
Then the Lizardman glared at the hunter and snorted.
“Hmph, your eyes are quite alive. Then show it like a warrior. Don't tell me you're all talk!”
“Fine, I'll show you!”
Here and there, Lizardmen and hunters combined their strength and started taking down monsters.
It was evidence that their teamwork was matching up.
Radel looked at them from behind and checked his status window.
Since he hadn't skipped training consistently, his Basic Swordsmanship was about to be promoted.
[Basic Swordsmanship (B)]
The most basic swordsmanship.
Horizontal Slash (30,000/30,000)
Vertical Slash (30,000/30,000)
Diagonal Slash (30,000/30,000)
Thrust (30,000/30,000)
Block (30,000/30,000)
Defeat Overwhelmingly Strong Enemy (0/10)
“If those guys catch them all, there won't be anything for me to catch.”
Radel muttered and turned off the status window.
He could promote Basic Swordsmanship to A if he just finished the ‘Defeat Overwhelmingly Strong Enemy’ item, but he hadn't met a proper monster meanwhile and couldn't fill the count.
But if it was now, he could fish up as many strong monsters as he wanted from the sea.
Radel immediately swung the fishing rod and fished up a monster.
WHOOSH!
Then, a monster of overwhelming size lifted its huge head above the swirling sea.
A snake with fins standing upright amidst the waves. It had the thickest body among the monsters that had appeared so far.
The hunters recognized that monster and shouted urgently.
“It's a Sea Serpent King!”
“Prince! You must dodge!”
The Sea Serpent was strong too, but the Sea Serpent King was on a completely different level.
It was a dangerous monster that could make even the strongest person's body stiffen if they looked directly into its eyes.
But Radel had no intention of dodging.
DING.
[Confronting an overwhelmingly strong enemy.]
Done.
As soon as he saw the message of an overwhelmingly strong enemy, Radel cheered inwardly.
[The enemy looks down on you with the Unique Magic ‘Predator's Gaze’.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Escaping from the status effect ‘Fear’.]
Contrary to the hunters' worries, Radel had Status Effect Nullification.
Radel did not hesitate and drew his sword, slashing straight down at the Sea Serpent King's eyes.
‘Basic Swordsmanship!’
The Lizardmen and hunters who were running to help Radel looked at each other in surprise.
“You're pretty good, human lord!”
“I thought you were only good at catching Lizardmen, but to think you are good at catching monsters too……!”
“What?! Are you insulting Lizardman warriors!”
A competitive spirit boiled up between the Lizardmen and the hunters.
The sea of Raviedel thus became a venue for a contest to see who caught more monsters.
* * *
That evening, a party took place in Raviedel.
They were able to feast to their heart's content with the monster meat caught from the sea.
Not only Lizardmen, but hunters and territory residents all gathered and mingled together.
The territory residents had shunned the Lizardmen when they were captured as prisoners, but now it was different.
Seeing them go out to the fields, pick stones, pull weeds, and work hard, they had developed a bit of affinity.
Moreover, the merit of catching monsters by joining forces with the territory's hunters was great.
“Haha! Remember when you fell down during the battle earlier?”
“What nonsense is that? For someone who did a backward roll in front of a monster!”
The Lizardmen exchanged jokes with the hunters, with whom they developed a sense of kinship while hunting monsters together.
They thought human hunters were weak, but seeing them challenge fearlessly in front of the rough sea, they seemed to quite like them.
“A true warrior respects a warrior. You too are warriors!”
“To hear the word warrior from the mighty Lizardmen, that is an honor!”
The Lizardmen, whose initial rough attitude had disappeared, were eating, drinking together, and opening their hearts.
Radel watched that sight and grinned.
He intended to catch monsters using labor force to solve the food problem, but he obtained an unexpected harvest.
It was a very satisfactory result.