The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 40 Part 1
Negotiations with Zuma
「There sure are a lot of golden bees around here. Sei, golden bees attack not only from the sky, but also from low altitude sometimes, so be careful. If you listen carefully, you should be able to hear the sound of them flapping their wings.」
Now that the two-day break is over, we are once again using the area beyond the river in the southeast forest as our hunting ground. As before, we kill and dismantle a large number of low-ranked monsters. And thanks to that, I have managed to learn dismantling to a satisfactory level.
「Don’t you take any materials from the golden bees?」
「Nope, just the magic stones. They’re ninth-grade magic stones, so they’re worth two small silver coins apiece, I guess.」
The golden bees range from rank 8 to 11, and not only are they fairly strong, they also have poison in their stingers, although a weak one. Their weak points are their wings and the joint between their face and body, and Faye, making good use of his reach, attacks and defeats them one after another using his spear.
「Alright, let’s return to the river and have lunch.」
When we reach the river, a cow lets out a war cry and rushes across the river from the other side. It is wounded all over. It is limping and doesn’t seem to be able to move that fast.
「Hey, let’s keep our distance. Fortunately, it seems to be wounded, so we should be able to escape. I don’t want to get in trouble with the adventurers who are chasing it, after all.」
We take a look at how the situation develops from the top of a slightly elevated, slanted hill. There seems to be no adventurers chasing the cow. As I hold my breath and observe the cow, I notice that not only has it lost its left eye, its hind legs are also injured. Its body is full of smear, true to the words having wounds all over one’s body. I wonder what happened to the adventurers who were trying to subjugate it. Maybe that Zuma guy is out there somewhere, waiting to see how it is going.
The cow sits down and is silent. I wonder if it is dead by any chance, but it seems to be still breathing, its belly is bulging and shrinking.
Faye puts what everyone is thinking into words.
「Keane, if it’s now, don’t you think we should be able to finish it off? No matter how you look at it, it’s on the verge of death.」
「Hmm, should we give it a try? It’d be nice if I could get finish it off with this arrow, but….」
Saying so, Keane pulls out two wooden arrows from his quiver. No matter how you look at them, they look like ordinary arrows.
「These are arrows from the demon tree. They have good magical energy conduction and penetrating power. If I just carry them around like this, they’d be as good as pearls thrown before swine, after all. If it’s from this distance, I’ll surely be able to hit it.」
「Alright, we’ll go around to its rear. In case Keane fails to finish it off, I’ll attack it with my spear.」
「Perish the thought, a wounded monster is tough. If I fail to finish it off with these arrows, we’ll give it up.」
Keane nocks an arrow. I can tell that magical energy is being channeled through the arrow. The arrow, fired at great speed, pierces deeply into the cow’s head. It does not pierce it through. The cow probably doesn’t even have the strength to let out a cry. It remains drooping its head. The second arrow is fired. The cow collapses limply.
「Whuooooo, you did it, Keane, amazing!」
「Hold on, let’s wait and see for a while.」
I appraise it. If I appraise it, I can tell if it is dead or not, but it seems to be still alive. It truly is one tenacious cow.
「Keane, I want to throw something at it to see if it’s really dead. Do you mind if I do?」
「No, I don’t, but as expected, I think it’s dead already, though?」
「Well, there’s no harm in trying. Hold on a sec.」
I put away my shield into the storage and take out my two iron balls. With these, I should be able to finish it off. I infuse magical energy into the iron balls in both hands. Using about half of my total magical energy, I fill the iron balls with magical energy. They are very heavy. I throw one at the cow’s head with all my might.
*Bam* When it makes a dull thud, the cow lets out death throes.
「Gumuuuuooooooooooooo!」
Switching the iron ball in my left hand to my right, I throw it at the cow again. *Crunch* I can hear the sound of bones being crushed, but I don’t hear any cries. It seems to have completely died.
「Keane, sure enough, it looks like it was still alive. Actually, I sensed a little bit of magical energy from it, you see. Right now, I can’t sense the faintest magical energy from it, so I think it’s definitely dead.」
「… Alright, I’ll go and check it out. You guys stay here.」
Keane probably has something to say about my identity, but he doesn’t ask me any particular questions. I have the mysterious iron balls, a red-iron alloy sword, and a small fire dragon leather armor set. On top of that, I even have combat skills, so I doubt he thinks I am just your ordinary porter.
Keane approaches the cow from behind and inspects it, but as expected, it is dead. My appraisal also says it is dead.
「Alright, looks like it’s completely dead. Come on down.」
I retrieve my iron balls. Keane’s arrows seem to be single-use only. Maybe we should increase Keane’s share.
「Well then, let’s drain the blood at least. The river happens to be close by anyway.」
We cut a slit in the cow’s neck and drain the blood. It is too big, so we cannot hang it upside down. At that moment, we hear a voice from across the river.
「There’s that cow bastard! It’s down. Ah, those bastards, they’ve stolen our prey!」
「Stop screwing around! If they snatch it from us, all we have to do is snatch it back.」
「Do they have any idea how much troubles we’ve taken to corner it?」
The adventurers are cursing us in unison. They are six in number. Among them, there is one near-elderly man who seems to be a magician. He is holding a wand that serves as a medium for magic. We have to be careful of him.
「Hey, guys, just in case, prepare for battle and retreat. I’ll do all the talking with those guys, so just be sure to go along with what I say.」
If it is the cautious Keane, I guess we can entrust him with the negotiation with ease.
In the meantime, the adventurers are crossing the river one after another and approaching us. All of them are clad in powerful-looking airs.
「Hey, you bastards, the gall you have to steal my prey, I hope you are ready for this.」
「Your prey, you say? Do you have your name on it? If you come any closer, I’ll make you eat this.」
Keane points his arrow at the man in the lead. The distance is about ten meters. I wonder if they have never expected it to turn into a fight. They are very shaken.
「Sigh, looks like you guys don’t know who I am. I’m the silver-class adventurer Zuma. If you leave obediently, I’ll spare your life at least.」
「Hell if I care. Wanna go at it? Just so you know, if you get even a scratch from my arrow, you’ll be dead in no time. Or do you have some mid-grade green potion with you?」
Of course, it is a bluff. Keane doesn’t use poison. Probably because it makes the meat of his prey unsellable. But its effect is instantaneous. Those guys are all shaken up and suddenly on their guard. All but Zuma are completely on edge. The distance is ten meters. And he is focusing on Keane. I weave my magical energy. Appraisal!
RELEASE RATE
Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Tftc