Chapter 100
Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Who Catches the Most (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The wyvern had more than enough strength to carry a person and fly with ease, but that didn't mean it would simply allow someone to ride it.
Even ordinary wild animals would flee or attack if a human approached, let alone a fiend that instinctively despised humans.
"Keeeh!"
The wyvern thrashed wildly. Lilia, being so light, looked like she might get flung off at any second.
But its back wasn't smooth. Large, beautiful spines—almost like horns—jutted out along its spine in jagged rows.
Lilia gripped them tightly, just like reins on a joystick. No matter how violently the wyvern shook, she didn't budge an inch.
There was nothing else to hold on to, but supporting her own weight with just her arms was child's play. She'd lifted two fanghogs like they were toys, after all.
Even after it pulled off acrobatic flight maneuvers worthy of a circus act, Lilia still clung on. Finally, the wyvern played its final, strongest card.
Swaaack!
Its thick tail whipped toward its back with a sound even more terrifying than a leather lash.
Back then—in the eastern frontier—this would have been an attack she'd have to dodge at all costs.
But now? It was nothing much.
Lilia twisted her body just a bit and fired off a back kick.
Ppak!
The tail, hurtling in with full force, slammed squarely into the hard sole of her leather boot.
"Kieeeek!"
The wyvern jolted in agony as its scales dented inward.
She'd held back quite a bit, but it still hurt too much, apparently. After smashing through all those sturdy puppets in the Oklane ruins, she'd figured this level would be fine.
Deciding she'd need to handle it more delicately, Lilia scooted a little further forward along its back.
In human terms, around the nape of the neck or the shoulders. The spot where the especially thick wing bones connected to its torso.
Ppak! Ppakk!
The wyvern swung its tail two more times despite the pain, only to earn two extra wounds for its trouble. Its spirit finally broke.
Or maybe it was trying to flee to its kin for help.
With Lilia still aboard, the wyvern flapped its wings and took off.
And mere seconds later...
Kung!
Lilia shot out her leg and stomped straight down on the wyvern's wing joint. Just enough to hurt like hell without causing real damage.
"Kiaaak?!"
The wyvern shrieked as if one wing had snapped clean off.
It hadn't actually broken, but the flapping on that side faltered, forcing its course to veer sharply.
After that, every time it tried to fly even a short distance, a kick came flying at one side or the other.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
Beasts have intelligence too. Keep whipping one, and it'll learn quick what gets it hit and what doesn't.
The wyvern, pummeled into submission, finally got the message.
Veer too far right, and the right wing got stomped. Too far left, and the left one ate dirt.
Shuuuung!
With the wyvern finally listening, Lilia steered it toward the horizon—the direction their 7th group was heading.
Galen, watching from below with a mix of fascination and worry, finally breathed easy.
He scooped up the head from the other wyvern Lilia had decapitated earlier and settled on a nice resting rock.
'A plan banking heavy on luck... but we hit a wyvern right off the bat. If the scouting pans out too, it's the perfect launch.'
Fiends hating humans was pure instinct, but it wasn't their absolute top priority.
Just look at the periodic expeditions in the frontier. Groups stick together for safety in numbers. Fiends don't charge recklessly into crowds.
Meaning fiends had survival instincts too. So getting one to submit temporarily to avoid a beating wasn't impossible.
Of course, others might've dreamed up using wyverns as disposable scouts before...
'Earth fairies know the trick, but they sure as hell can't pull it off.'
Their attack and defense were top-tier for their level, no doubt.
They fought like warriors, but at their core, they were mages hyper-specialized in one domain.
They bulked up heavier and tougher with every growth spurt, leaving agility in the dust. Their naturally superior fairy physiques patched the gap somewhat.
They couldn't soar up and hop on like Lilia. Even if they forced it, the wyvern couldn't fly under that weight. And without tapping earth power, they couldn't "train" it either.
'Though how many regular warriors or priests could even manage that...'
Galen had floated the initial idea, but Lilia was the one who'd fleshed it out with glee.
Perfectly timing its descent to mount up, pulling circus stunts mid-air to subdue it, then riding along? That took god-given athleticism and nerves of steel.
Honestly, even if Galen had Lilia's raw talent, he doubted he could've matched her.
'Whoa, not the time to gawk.'
Galen gave his head a light shake.
No way he'd made a luck-reliant plan the top priority. But it'd worked anyway, so time to adapt.
He pulled a flag from his bag and jammed it into a rocky crevice.
Good height, no trees blocking the view—it'd be spotted soon enough.
Twenty minutes later, the 7th group's escorts arrived, chasing from afar.
"What's the deal?"
"Hey, where's the other one...?"
It wasn't that these guys were rude—earth fairies just didn't do polite speech.
Anyway, standard procedure was once a day: plant a flag before sundown for settlement time.
But you could call escorts anytime—for emergencies, or if you'd bagged so many fiend heads they got cumbersome to lug around.
They trailed at a distance, so minimum twenty-to-thirty-minute waits. If you needed to hustle, that delay was too precious to waste on summoning.
But right now, they had time to kill until Lilia got back.
"Got some questions about hunting methods."
"Can't share that info."
"Not looking for tips. Each group has its assigned zone, right?"
"Yeah?"
"If we just bulldoze straight through ours, you guys okay with that?"
"Huh?"
The escorts cocked their heads, not getting it. Galen clarified.
"Straight talk: if we cherry-pick the prime spots in the zone, sweep 'em clean, and skip the rest, won't that risk your safety?"
"Plenty follow our tails just like we tail yours. No issue. But if we hit fiends in your skips, we clean 'em up. You forfeit those points."
"We'll eat that cost. No rule violations, then?"
"None. That what you called us for?"
"Pretty crucial. Planning to do exactly that."
Chatting beyond necessity with contestants was banned, so no follow-ups.
Still, the escorts all wore baffled looks.
They knew experience ruled these hunts. Newbie humans were at a massive disadvantage.
And they planned to pick their hunting grounds? Terrain was one thing, but fiend nests? Even organizers didn't know those spots.
"Lilia's out on a quick scout. Stick around; she'll be back."
"Uh, sure."
"Rest up till then. Got something to show you when she returns."
With that, Galen truly half-reclined and chilled out.
The escorts plopped down awkwardly a short ways off and joined the break.
How much time passed like that?
Galen, idly sky-gazing, suddenly lit up.
"Ah, here she comes."
"...?"
The escorts scanned around at his words, but the rocky hills held only them.
They shot Galen puzzled looks, then trailed his gaze—way off in another direction—and startled when they hit the sky.
"Wyvern!"
"That's Lilia."
"...Huh?"
The mystery cleared fast.
As the wyvern descended, even earth fairy eyes caught the human perched on its back.
"W-what the hell?!"
"Brother!"
Whether the escorts gawked with saucer eyes or not, Lilia waved cheerily in greeting—then smoothly drew her gleam sword from her waving hand.
Seruk!
The wyvern, wobbling unsteadily from all the mid-flight beatings, met its pitiful end the moment its usefulness expired: decapitated.
No one pitied the sight. Fiend and all.
The headless body plummeted.
Kwoong!
Lilia hopped off lightly just before impact and fetched the head rolling nearby.
"I'm back! Who's this?"
"Confirming rules. And settling scores while at it."
"Aha."
"Alright, two wyverns first. Tally 'em up."
"Uh, yeah..."
"H-how'd you snag a wyvern?"
One managed a dutiful reply, but the other earth fairies were lost in curiosity.
"Beat it till it listened?"
"You beat it? That works?"
"Think we could tame one by bashing it?"
"Escorts, chit-chat later."
Galen cut in. They snapped to attention.
"You saw it, right? Lilia heading out on scout and back. We'll move based on this."
"Gotcha."
"Quick huddle, then we're off. Thanks for the help."
Leaving the escorts dazed, the pair stepped aside for some distance.
"Escorts saw Lilia riding that wyvern firsthand. Gives our performance real credibility."
"Using 'em as witnesses?"
"Story's hard to swallow otherwise."
"I'd buy it too. Still feels unreal, and I did it."
Having spent so much time together, Galen caught it: Lilia's face was beaming brighter than usual. She was having a blast.
"Pull out the paper?"
"Yeah! I can map up to where I flew!"
Checking the sun's position and compass, Lilia scribbled calculations before grabbing her pen.
Ink flowed freely across the yellowish paper.
"Bottom here's our rock mountain, top one's another rocky outcrop..."
Truth be told, calling it a "map" felt generous.
Just ovals marking areas, labeled as plains or forest or hills, repeated over and over.
But it didn't matter. Bearings were spot-on, and there were no paths anyway. This sufficed as a guide.
Best of all...
"Couldn't spot every fiend hiding in forests or mountains... but plenty stood out."
Other contestants might grasp the rough terrain, but fiend distributions? No way.
Fresh-from-the-skies intel was their exclusive edge—an absolute advantage.
"Let's hit here first!"
Rare for Lilia to take point, jabbing the map insistently.
Her reasoning checked out perfectly, so Galen nodded.
They nodded to the escorts and descended the rocky hill.
Destination locked, they followed the compass due straight.
Two hours of cresting mountains and slashing through woods.
"Whoa, trolls just wandering around here..."
"Grab 'em! Points are points."
They'd crossed paths with over a hundred minor fiends, plus a handful of notables like trolls that carried solid scores.
Bagging a few necks along the way, they reached their target spot unscathed.
A fairly wide swamp.
Had they not gone dead-straight, it'd have taken far longer—or they'd have missed the swamp entirely.
Visible across the swamp—
"Basilisk!"
Lilia whispered.
Galen nodded faintly at the house-sized serpent monster.
"Carries massive points, right?"
"Yep."
Fiend scores didn't scale perfectly with raw power.
The rating seemed based—Galen's guess—on "hunt difficulty."
Strong but slow and dumb? Easy pickings. Weaker but nimble escapers? Tough nuts.
Basilisks fell into the latter camp.
They weren't powerless, but sense trouble and bolt into the swamp? Earth fairies had no recourse.
"Perfect for Brother, huh?"
"You bet."
Not so much for Galen, of course.