Chapter 54 – Gray Hound Hunting Part 2
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Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
I woke up at dawn as usual and did my normal morning routines. I also checked out the results of D-1’s monster scouting.
Fumu. There’s another orc settlement, but it’s quite far from the city. It’s twenty kilometers out huh. Finishing it in one day would be hard.
When I went down to the dining hall, everyone else was already gathered around.
“Good morning. You’re up early, everyone.”
“We were invited for dinner today, right? We have to set out early in order to come back in time,” Cleria replied.
“It looks like you’re pretty motivated.”
“What are you saying, Alan? It takes some time for women to get ready, you know. So we have to get back at least by midday.”
“Really? We can’t go too far out then. The only areas we can reach nearby have either Goblins or Gray Hounds.”
“Goblins are a bit…”
Goblin magic stones go for 30 Guineas, and the hunting reward is ten Guineas per kill. They aren’t really profitable monsters to hunt.
“I’m also against hunting Goblins. Alright then. We’ll hunt Gray Hounds instead. There’s a lot of them about ten kilometers from the city. Let’s rent some horses again today and set off.”
After lunch, we immediately went to the rental stable to rent out the horses without going to the guild since we were pressed for time.
We encountered ten Goblins along the way, and we killed them on horseback. We left the corpses behind without collecting the magic stones. Ten Goblin magic stones will sell for the same price as just one Gray Hound magic stone. So we need to prioritize efficiency.
Looks like we’ve arrived. We stopped the horses at a small clearing near the monster gathering site.
“Let’s finish off the ones here first. It looks like they’ve noticed our arrival already. They’re already heading here. Tarth and Syrah may be fine, but the rented horses may get spooked when they see the Gray Hounds, so let’s get off them and intercept the monsters on foot instead.
“”Yes!””
I used the hand signals to relay info about the Gray Hounds. There’s no actual need to use hand signals in this situation, but I figured I’d use them anyway to let the girls get used to them more. There are 22 monsters heading our way.
We took some distance from the direction they were coming from and moved to an open spot where we can aim at the incoming monsters with relative ease. We secured the horses and confirmed our positions. Guess I’ll just dedicate myself to support this time and have the girls get some practice.
Five monsters came running out from the trees. They were thirty meters away. The moment they jumped out, I finished one off with my signature high-speed Flame Arrow. Cleria killed two while Sharon and Selena killed one each.
There were ten more incoming. I finished off five of them. Sharon killed two, and Cleria, Selena, and Elna each got one.
The last seven monsters appeared. Sharon, Cleria, and Selena got two each while Elna killed one.
If all twenty-two of them came out at the same time, we would have had more trouble with them. Gray Hounds really weren’t all that smart huh.
“Fuu. Gray Hounds really are faster and more mobile than orcs.”
“Certainly. And I had trouble killing them since my Wind Cutter can’t freely change directions.”
It looks like Elna was miffed because she killed less than the rest of us.
“How about you learn fire magic as well, Elna?”
“Eh? …Can I really do so?”
“I think you can. Alan learned it easily after all.”
“Please don’t compare me to an unreasonable existence like Alan…”
How cruel, Elna.
“Yosh. Let’s go and collect the magic stones. The subjugation proof is their right leg, uh, paw.”
I handed two jute bags to everyone and we started collecting the magic stones and right paws of the corpses. We finished in about ten minutes.
“The next group is about 15 minutes east of here.”
The next group consisted of seventeen monsters. We quickly finished them off and collected the magic stones and paws without issue.
“Oh, the next group seems to have moved to another location. Let’s follow them.”
After 30 minutes, we arrived at the monster’s location, but the reactions from the magic sensor was strange. It seems like one of the monsters was being cornered by the rest. Maybe the Gray Hounds were attacking another monster.
We approached a hundred meters in and caught a glimpse of the Gray Hounds surrounding something. They seem to not have noticed us yet.
“The reaction from the scanning magic is strange. Let’s secure the horses here and move closer.”
We approached the monsters carefully and saw 20 Gray Hounds surrounding a giant blue snake. The length of the snake was probably about ten meters. The head of the snake was raised two meters above the ground and the color of its scales was a resplendent blue.
Five of the Gray Hounds were the only ones actively participating in the battle. They were harassing the snake from behind and threatening to bite its tail. But the snake reacted swiftly every time they tried to approach. It was quite the seesaw battle. The remaining Hounds were just observing from a distance.
That snake was probably a Blue Serpent. It was also listed in the illustrated monster guide. It was described as a pretty rare monster with valuable hide and meat.
Let’s finish off the Gray Hounds while they are busy with the snake.
I gave orders via hand signals and instructed the girls on which Hounds to aim for. I used my fingers to signal a countdown, and we attacked the monsters all at once.
I killed ten with my high-speed Flame Arrows, and Sharon, Selena, and Cleria got three each. Elna killed two of them.
The Blue Serpent was confused by the situation, and I used that opening to kill it as well. I drove two Flame Arrows through its eyes to prevent its skin from being damaged. It was a fatal hit, but it was still flopping in the ground.
“Man, that sure is a big snake. This is a Blue Serpent, right?”
“I have not witnessed the real thing for myself until now, but it was normally described as quite a bit smaller than this one,” Elna replied.
“According to the monster guidebook, the hide and meat of this thing can sell for a lot, but how do we bring this back? Well, it doesn’t look too heavy, so maybe the horses can carry it.”
“That’s right. How about we tie it to the horses, with two each on the left and right sides, to carry it back to the city?”
“Let’s go with that. Let’s collect the Gray Hound magic stones first though. The Blue Serpent is still writhing away, so don’t approach it for now.”
The moment we finished collecting magic stones from the Gray Hound corpses, the Blue Serpent finally lost all signs of life and fell still.
We did as Elna suggested and carried the corpse by tying it to the horses. The left and right sides had two horses each that were alternately spaced two meters away from each other. We tied the ropes to the saddles securely so the only problem was if the horses could carry it successfully.
Since the four of them will be preoccupied with carrying the monster corpse, I was left with guard duty.
“Let’s head back then.”
We met another ten Goblins on the way back and killed them, and we managed to return safely to Gantz afterward. It was about twelve noon when we arrived. Looks like we’re on schedule.
“Hey! What’s that you’re carrying?”
We raised our guild IDs to let the guards see them and explained the situation. We got off the horses and handed our guild IDs for confirmation.
“This is a Blue Serpent. It’s already dead, of course.”
“This is–!? Umu… Alright. You guys may pass.”
When we entered the city, we instantly became the center of attention. We carried a huge ten-meter snake monster with glistening scales with us after all. It would be a wonder if we didn’t gather attention. I would also get curious if I were in their shoes.
We finally reached the guild parking lot with quite a crowd following us. I handed Jill five large coppers just like yesterday.
“Thanks as always, Alan-sama.”
We cut off the ropes and tried to carry the Blue Serpent with just the five of us, but Cleria’s feet were already wobbling from the weight. Looks like it’s no good.
“Jill, can you lend us two of your men?”
I took out a silver coin and threw it at him. Jill caught the silver coin in an experienced manner.
“Right away, sir.”
Jill exchanged gazes with two of his men, and the two of them joined us to carry the corpse. Cleria ended up just carrying the base of the tail.
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