Kapitel 69: Chapter 69: The Possible Beast King
"That is my son, Cheetah, Snow's husband."
Village chief Panther Leopold spoke softly, and Snow looked heartbroken.
"I'm sorry." Rhodes didn't know how to comfort someone who had lost a loved one.
Just like when he learned about Lisanna, he didn't know if he should still smile in front of Mira.
"No, this matter is directly related to the commission." Panther said solemnly, "After what happened to Cheetah, I must warn you that this mission could cost you your lives.
If you have no confidence in completing it or need to reevaluate the mission rank and reward, I can accept that."
This client seemed quite reasonable, so Rhodes responded, "Could you tell us in detail…"
Bang!
Natsu slapped the commission letter on the table. "Fairy Tail members won't give up a mission so easily, just leave it to us!"
Rhodes closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again.
This guy—always so reckless!
But his serious and confident expression was incredibly infectious.
The village chief and Snow were clearly affected, feeling that "maybe they really can do it."
But Rhodes still wanted to understand more before making a plan. "Please explain it in detail."
"The animal problem began a few years ago. For the past few years, our village has had favorable weather and abundant harvests.
Correspondingly, the natural resources of Dendrobium Mountains have also been bountiful. And since we reduced our hunting and gathering activities, prey like hares, pheasants, deer, and mountain goats also increased in number. Then, starting the next year, predators on the mountain started to multiply.
As the number of predators increased, their prey started to decrease..."
Rhodes nodded, understanding. It was like the positive and negative feedback loops in ecology—high school biology, he got it.
"Wild boars, who love to wreak havoc on farmland, became more common. As the amount of prey decreased, the predators started coming down the mountain for food.
Their first targets were our livestock, but we tried various methods to fight back—digging traps, building fences, and so on.
But once hunting became difficult, these beasts began attacking humans when we went out for trade or to work in the fields.
We organized a hunting team and ambushed the predators at the foot of the mountain. Cheetah... was one of them."
Rhodes didn't expect to hear firsthand stories of such a primal struggle between people and animals, and in such a primitive way...
He glanced at the picture on the wall. It was so brutal.
Happy couldn't help but ask, "Did he die protecting the village while fighting the beasts?"
"No, that's not true." The chief refuted Happy's words, striking his cane against the ground. "He died because he overestimated himself!"
"Father!" Snow didn't want to hear him talk like that about her husband.
"No! Dad was a hero!" A young girl with a bun hairstyle rushed into the room. "Dad was a hero who protected the village! Dad isn't dead!"
Snow hurriedly held her. "Clouti, your grandpa is meeting guests. You need to be polite."
"Dad is a hero! Grandpa is the worst!" Clouti broke free from Snow's embrace and ran out crying.
"Clouti... Father..." Snow was torn, wanting to chase her daughter, but afraid to be disrespectful.
Rhodes quickly said, "Please go after her, it's dangerous for a child to be running around so late."
Snow looked at Panther's expression.
The chief sighed, "Even our guest says so."
Snow quickly apologized and chased after her daughter.
"Sorry to make you witness that."
"A child admiring her father is natural," Natsu said, as if recalling his own father. He continued, "So, what happened to the child's father?"
"That arrogant fool..." Panther sighed deeply, ultimately unable to berate his son any longer.
"He was the best hunter in the village, always hoping to find a way so that no one would have to worry about beast attacks again.
So he kept hunting and kept investigating the mountain.
Seven days ago, he said he had discovered what might be a 'Beast King'—a creature that was controlling all the animals."
"Beast King?" Rhodes was familiar with the term. The "Magic Beast Compendium" had a description of it.
It wasn't a specific type of animal but rather a powerful monster that could be born with a very small probability in areas where many beasts gathered.
In this world, it wasn't just humans who could wield magic; sometimes animals would suddenly learn how to use magic.
Without the intelligence to wield such power responsibly, these animals often became aggressive and furious.
They might hunt or even rule over other animals in their territory. That was the origin of the Beast King.
Because of that, Beast Kings didn't have a fixed form—some looked like tigers, others like rhinos, and some even looked like demons.
Many of the guild's "monster hunting" or "demon slaying" missions—ranging in difficulty—were usually dealing with animals like these, who had gained magic and become dangerous.
The weaker Beast Kings were just stronger versions of predators like tigers, bears, or boars.
But the most powerful Beast Kings could rival S-rank wizards in strength, making them terrifying magical beasts.
Thus, missions to deal with them varied in difficulty accordingly.
Thinking of this, Rhodes felt a bit uneasy. The village chief and the others were ordinary people, probably unaware of how powerful a Beast King could be, so they couldn't assess its rank.
What if they encountered an S-rank one...?
Me—a wizard who's only studied magic for less than two months—taking on an S-rank mission?
At that point, I can only hope Natsu has some crazy power-up.
The chief continued explaining, "Cheetah believed that if the Beast King was defeated, the predators would lose their leader.
They would then fight amongst themselves for territory, leading to a long period of peace.
Even if we couldn't completely get rid of the beasts, at least it would be safe enough for us to harvest our crops, and we could decide what to do next depending on the situation.
I tried to convince him to hire wizards to handle it, but he insisted he could do it himself—he said our village must be protected by us.
We had a big argument, and in the end, he wouldn't listen. He went up the mountain alone, armed only with his weapons and bow.
Then... he never returned."
The few people in the room fell into a brief silence. Though the old village chief had complained about his son earlier, his grief was unmistakable.
Happy tried to stay optimistic. "Maybe he's just lost in the mountains. Natsu sometimes gets lost too."
The chief shook his head slightly.
"Three days ago, the search team brought back pieces of his clothes, along with his broken bow and weapon."
"Oh..." Happy lowered his head. "I'm sorry."
"It was his own choice. If I were twenty years younger, maybe..."
Bang! Natsu pounded the table with his fist, shaking the teacups. "We're going up the mountain now! We're going to beat that Beast King!"
The chief hurriedly tried to stop him, "No, it's already late. You've been on the road all day—please rest for the night first..."
DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG...
The alarm bell rang out urgently, and the peaceful village suddenly came alive with noise.
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