Chapter 76

While Emilia was developing the magic cannon staff, in the Beluka Mountains, the bear-eating vulture was rampaging, seeking prey. The mid-slope of the Beluka Mountains, where the bear-eating vulture had fled from a forest fire, was the habitat of the giant snake spiders, and naturally, a conflict ensued. The giant snake spiders formed a pack of several individuals, but they could not match the bear-eating vulture and fled from the mid-slope of the Beluka Mountains. The bear-eating vulture changed its feeding grounds from place to place, ravaging the surroundings of the Beluka Mountains. Due to this activity, the boar-headed goblins living at the foot of the mountains abandoned their homes and began to move downstream along the Crem River.

In the middle between the Beluka Mountains and the capital, along the Crem River, lies the village of Abate, a small village inhabited by woodcutters. One of the woodcutters, as he was about to leave the village for the logging site, thought he saw something brown move out of the corner of his eye and looked around.

"Was it just my imagination?"

After confirming that there was nothing, the woodcutter took a step into the mountain, and at that moment, a boar-headed goblin attacked from the bushes.

"Guuuaaaah!"

By the time the woodcutter heard the boar-headed goblin's cry, the club in the hairy hand had already smashed his head. The woodcutter died without even having time to cry out for help.

The boar-headed goblin that killed the woodcutter dragged the body into the mountain. In the village, there was a great commotion over the woodcutter's disappearance. When his fellow woodcutters went to search the mountain and did not return, the villagers realized that something was amiss in the mountain. The village chief ordered the villagers not to enter the mountain and asked two strong young men to seek help from the capital.

"Leave it to us."

"I've written a letter. Make sure to deliver this letter to the officials in the capital."

"Alright!"

The two young men left the village with their axes and headed for the capital along the narrow path by the Crem River. Not long after leaving the village, while they were hurrying along the path, they heard an unfamiliar beast's cry from the side of the road.

"It might be a monster."

"Yeah, let's be careful."

From the shade of the trees along the path, a spear was thrust out, grazing the thigh of the young man walking on the left.

"Ouch!"

The injured young man, while raising his axe, turned his gaze toward the shade of the tree from which the spear had been thrust. From there, a creature they had only heard about in rumors appeared.

The creature was a head taller than the two young men, with a chest three times as thick. Its body was covered in short, brown bristles, and on top of its neck was a pig's head. Its eyes were filled with madness, and the two young men shuddered at the sight.

"Is this... a boar-headed goblin?"

"Let's run!"

The two young men fled, but the one with the injured leg began to lag behind. When the boar-headed goblin caught up, it thrust a spear with a stone blade. The injured young man barely dodged and swung his axe, the steel blade grazing and injuring the boar-headed goblin's arm.

A terrible cry rose, and the boar-headed goblin charged, knocking the young man flying. The other young man, who had been running ahead, turned back to help his companion.

"No, don't come back!"

"But..."

"I'll take care of this. Go to the capital!"

The young man who had tried to help hesitated for a moment, then turned around and ran at full speed.

"I'm sorry... forgive me."

The young man, tears streaming down his face, hurried to the capital and arrived in a half-dead state.

The official in the capital, upon learning of the crisis in Abate Village near the Beluka Mountains from the young man's letter and the boar-headed goblin he encountered on the way, immediately reported to the high officials. Two generals and the head of the court magicians were summoned to the audience chamber.

One of the generals was General Samuele, who was familiar with Ricardo, and the other was General Udolfo, who oversaw the defense forces. Since this summer, it had been decided to appoint a commander to oversee the defense forces, and General Udolfo was born as the capital's defense general. Previously, the four captains of the defense forces operated under a council system, and in emergencies, the royal family was supposed to take direct command, but in reality, General Samuele, the commander of the royal guard, gave the orders.

Baron Alfredo, a close aide to the king, suggested that a proper commander was needed, and General Udolfo was selected. King did not think it was jealousy, but to others, it was undoubtedly jealousy. This psychology also played a role, and the mission began without the royal guard.

They quickly selected the task force and equipped them, sending the boar-headed goblin extermination force to Abate Village. Prince Aurelio and Salvatore saw them off at the castle.

"Salvatore, was it right to let them go without a word? Shouldn't we have participated?"

"No, Your Highness. Our target is the bear-eating vulture."

"That's true."

Currently, Prince Aurelio had obtained the king's permission to form his own unit. In addition to monster hunters, he had hired a guard of thirty people, and with the addition of magicians, the unit numbered about fifty. This unit was given five new magic cannon staffs developed by Emilia, and training had begun.

"When will the remaining magic cannon staffs be completed?"

Prince Aurelio asked Salvatore.

"They are scheduled to be completed in three days."

"Hmm, wasn't Abate Village supposed to be the base for the bear-eating vulture extermination? Is it safe?"

"General Udolfo seemed confident. Even if they fail, we can take care of it."

"That's true."

Prince Aurelio and Salvatore's words and actions were full of confidence. The source of their confidence was the new magic cannon staff developed by Emilia. When they tested the magic cannon staff delivered a few days ago, Prince Aurelio and Salvatore were convinced that there was no weapon with such power anywhere else.

The boar-headed goblin extermination force of about forty people was heading to Abate Village, making a noisy sound. Among them, some of the soldiers gathered from the defense forces, who had little experience fighting monsters, looked anxious.

"What kind of monster is a boar-headed goblin?"

One of the soldiers asked a colleague.

"A monster with a pig's head, right? Didn't the captain say that?"

"How big is it?"

"According to the man from Abate Village, it's a head taller than us."

"Is it safe to fight such a monster?"

"We have magicians. We'll be fine."

"That's true."

Just as they were about to reach Abate Village, the extermination force was attacked at a place where the bushes on both sides of the road were thick.

"Something's there. Be careful!"

One of the magicians suddenly shouted, having detected the presence of the monsters with his magic. The soldiers of the extermination force raised their weapons and looked around. The next moment, four boar-headed goblins leaped out of the bushes. The goblins attacked the magicians first, as if they knew that the magicians were their strongest opponents.

The goblins seemed to have a good instinct for recognizing tough opponents. The magicians, who were forced into close combat, were vulnerable. One of them had his neck broken by a club and fell.

"Separate the creatures from the magicians!"

The leader of the extermination force, a defense force officer named Luciano, gave the order in a panic.

Seven or eight soldiers surrounded one goblin and attacked to rescue the magicians. The number of magicians had been reduced from five to three.

The battle intensified, and one of the soldiers was struck in the abdomen by a club, spitting blood and falling to the ground. The coordination between the magicians and the soldiers was completely lacking. Ideally, when the magicians raised the alarm, the soldiers should have formed a defensive formation to protect the magicians.

Luciano, who should have given orders to the magicians and soldiers, was also fighting one of the goblins with his sword. The magicians began to prepare their magic on their own, but the soldiers fighting the goblins were in the way, and they couldn't cast their spells.

The soldiers' attacks with swords and spears were not causing fatal injuries to the goblins, as their tough skin and muscles provided protection.

"Get away from the creatures. I'll cast a spell!"

The magicians shouted, and the soldiers fled. Two of the magicians then cast "Scatter Blast," killing two of the goblins. The remaining goblins, enraged by the death of their companions, let out a soul-chilling cry and attacked the magicians.

One of the magicians who had killed a goblin was struck by a club and died after his companion was killed. After a hard-fought battle, the remaining two magicians and the soldiers managed to kill the two remaining goblins. Commander Luciano, with a relieved look, confirmed the goblins' corpses.

"Is the mission complete?"

Everyone in the extermination force relaxed at his words. They mistakenly thought there were only four goblins, without any evidence.

"First, let's tend to the injured."

As the extermination force began to clean up, six more goblins approached from the nearby forest. The magicians were also relaxed and not using their magic detection.

Two days later, one of the extermination force members returned to the capital with serious injuries. He was brought before General Udolfo and reported.

"The extermination force... has been wiped out."

"What! We had enough forces. How many goblins were there?"

The injured soldier explained, and upon hearing this, General Udolfo said,

"Luciano must have been careless!"

General Udolfo raised his voice in anger. The result of the extermination force was reported to the king, who scolded General Udolfo. Prince Aurelio appeared and offered to take on the task.

The king, pleased with his capable son's words, decided to entrust the boar-headed goblins to Prince Aurelio.

Prince Aurelio called for Salvatore.

"First, we will take care of the boar-headed goblins. Hurry with the preparations."

"Yes, sir."

Salvatore, after receiving the remaining magic cannon staffs from Emilia, began the preparations for the extermination.

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At that time, Ricardo was visiting the fisherman, Stefano.

"What brings you here? Do you want more fish?"

Stefano asked with a sunburned face.

"No, I have a different request today."

"What is it?"

"I want to learn about the sea."

"I'll tell you what I know."

"Tell me about a place where a lot of seaweed grows."

Stefano told him about a place near the breeding grounds where a lot of seaweed grew. However, it was difficult to understand the specific location just from words, so Stefano decided to guide him.

They headed to the breeding grounds from the fishing village.

"You want seaweed? But it's hard to collect without a boat."

Ricardo smiled.

"I bought a boat. A small one."

Ricardo had intended to buy a large boat, but upon learning that it would take time to train a fisherman to handle a large boat, he decided to start with a small boat to collect seaweed.

Ricardo guided Stefano to the small boat he owned. The small boat was on the sandy beach near the breeding grounds. It was a small boat for four or five people, without oars, paddles, or a mast.

"How does this thing move?"

Ricardo called Antonio from the breeding grounds and, with his help, floated the small boat in the sea. Then, he took out a boat motor from the storage crystal and attached it to the small boat. This boat motor was an improvement of the magic-driven flywheel removed from a magic scooter, with a screw propeller attached to make it suitable for small boats.

Ricardo, Stefano, and Antonio boarded the small boat, and Ricardo started the magic boat motor. The small boat began to move at a speed faster than Ricardo had expected. Although he had already tested the small boat, the speed was not as high as today because he had to go against the tide.

"What the... What is this thing?"

Stefano was amazed.

"This is a magic tool."

"A magic tool for a boat that even a fisherman like me doesn't know... Did you develop it yourself?"

"Yes."

While Stefano was amazed, the boat reached a depth of about seven meters.

"Here. The seabed is rocky, and countless seaweed grow from the rocks."

Ricardo and Antonio looked into the sea and saw a forest of seaweed.

"Further out to sea is the fishing ground for baccara. Around the end of summer, countless baccara gather in this area."

Baccara is a white-fleshed fish similar to cod, which rides the sea currents to the area Stefano told him about from late summer to autumn. At that time, Stefano and other fishermen go fishing for baccara. Only during that time can the people of the capital enjoy the taste of baccara. However, with small nets and small boats, the catch is limited, and they cannot harvest enough for processing.

"Wow, baccara. I've never eaten it."

Antonio said he had never eaten baccara since coming to the capital. Ricardo remembered that the Unius family had only started eating fish this year after meeting Stefano and his daughter.

Ricardo thought that if they could catch a large amount of baccara and process it, it could become food for the winter when the snow closes off the area.

"Baccara fishing, huh. I'll look into it."

Ricardo muttered.

After that, they used a hook attached to a pole to collect seaweed that looked like kelp, pulling it up and collecting about fifty kilograms in a short time. This kelp was also liked by the demon tree Kumiri, which happily absorbed it when cut and given.