kscans

Chapter 72 - Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? (Part 2)

Greed Wolf. A wolf-type monster that forms packs. They are native to grasslands, and measure about a meter and a half from head to the base of the tail. A single one is a powerful monster, but in a pack of ten or more, their danger level skyrockets, to the point where they can be a threat even to the knightly order. Their basic tactic is mobile encirclement, and therefore, they do not initiate attacks on opponents they cannot surround with their pack. For this reason, they rarely attack villages or large caravans, which leads to their danger level often being underestimated. They are known among monsters for being difficult to subjugate, partly because they quickly move on when conditions become unfavorable.

Hearing that they were being targeted by such dangerous monsters, and a pack of seven at that, no one felt as though they were long for this world. However, Kudol, being the leader of the adventurers, quickly regained his composure and issued orders.

"Everyone, fall back! As you are, you'll be picked off one by one! Get back to the wagons!"

Because they had been scattering the Wild Dogs, the adventurers were currently spread out in different locations. If they stayed like this, they would be divided and hunted down one by one.

"Tch! Chasing away those Wild Dogs backfired on us."

"What do you mean?"

"Hm? Oh, right. You don't run into Greed Wolves in the mountains, do you? The Greed Wolf's tactic is mobile encirclement. They surround their opponent with the pack before attacking. So, they don't normally mess with an opponent they can't surround with their pack, but..."

"Because we were chasing the Wild Dogs and moved away from the wagons, we became a target?"

"That's about right."

At present, the adventurers were probably in the most danger, but the next target would be the wagons. After all, there were seven one-and-a-half-meter-long wolves. Even a four-wagon caravan was not safe.

"If they weren't starving, we could hope they'd give up and leave after a while."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yeah. When they see an opponent that's not worth the trouble, they give up on them pretty quickly. It's a characteristic of wolf-type monsters."

If that's the case, what were those things that came after me? They were relentlessly targeting me.

Yuri tilted his head in secret puzzlement, but for now, the Greed Wolves were the priority.

"I'll help out."

"No, I can't let a child... no, you're right. I'm counting on you."

It seemed there was hesitation and conflict in Kudol's mind about involving a child, Yuri, in combat, but right now, he needed all the hands he could get. If Yuri had survived for five years in the demonic mountains, he might be more useful than a fledgling adventurer.

"Yuri-kun..."

"It's okay. Dona, it's dangerous, so stay here."

It was true that this was the first time he had seen this monster, and it was larger than the Ulvacs he had fought so far, but there was no trace of fear in Yuri. Dangerous was dangerous, but then again, all monsters were dangerous. Because he misunderstood his own strength as being at the "rock bottom," Yuri was relentless in his research and training in anti-monster warfare. He had read the text on Anti-Monster Tactics contained within his Rural Life Guide from cover to cover and had almost memorized its contents. It was a matter of course for Yuri to devise countermeasures to confront, or escape from, the "monsters stronger than himself" that he would encounter in the future. In that process, he had inevitably considered what to do if he encountered Greed Wolves.

They're a little bigger than Ulvacs, but they're still wolf-type monsters, right?

Ulvacs were forest-dwelling and specialized in continuous ambushes from cover, while Greed Wolves were grassland-dwelling and excelled at mobile encirclement. Although there were such differences...

The principle for fighting wolf-type monsters is to stop their feet first.

In front of the Greed Wolves that had been charging at high speed in a scattered formation, pits and stone stakes of various sizes suddenly appeared. Their feet caught in the pits, their movements halted by colliding with the stone stakes, a powerful Water Hammer slammed into the noses of the Greed Wolves.

Now then, according to Kudol-san, if I teach them that I'm not a worthy opponent, they might retreat.

Yuri wanted to confirm that point, so instead of the Aqua Lance he usually used, he had tried the slightly less lethal Water Hammer. And when he did...

"Huh? They're really not attacking?"

The three that had charged in at the front seemed to be young individuals, but perhaps frightened by Yuri's water magic, they hesitated in their positions. However, the ones approaching from behind seemed to be slightly older individuals. They charged forward, looking at the three frightened ones with an impatient and disdainful sideways glance.

"Ah, well, I guess I have no choice now."

He made the pits and stone stakes appear in the same way, this time on a slightly larger scale, and when their feet were stopped, he finished them off with Aqua Lance. It was a mid-tier magic spell that could even pierce rock if enough magic was poured into it. The Greed Wolves that took a direct hit had no way to resist.