It was not surprising that Sebastian would hunt maclawcos since they were the easiest targets for the mercenaries and the prey they were most experienced with. What was surprising, but in the end only a coincidence, was that the day the two groups went on a hunt overlapped.
The maclawco territory was huge, so Reinhardt did not pay a lot of attention to that. Meeting them in the forest would be very unlikely, and even if they did, so what? They had already decided not to confront them on this occasion, and as Sebastian's saviors, the merchant would not seek trouble with them either.
Looking at it in that way, approaching the group would not be as risky as Reinhardt originally thought. If Sturm suspected the noises were coming from Sebastian's group, then he had to have some leads that were pointing towards that conclusion. Low-risk did not mean they should just head over, though. Reinhardt knew exactly how his student felt towards the person responsible for his friend's death.
"Is that so? Well, even less reason for us to go over there. With Daga's protection, neither the monkeys nor we can threaten them. Although it is strange that we have not been attacked yet, it is just a matter of time. Let's care about our own matters."
After all the time they needed to convince their boss, Sturm did not even entertain the thought of betraying Edgar's expectations.
"I understand," responded Sturm to quell Reinhardt's worries.
It had been heartbreaking to see how worried the caring merchant had been, causing Sturm to reflect on his behavior. Just because he had been confident in deflecting the ironmaw's claw did not mean he did not have to consider his circumstances. Most slaves were considered property and had no control over their lives at all. Despite all the hardships, Sturm was still too used to his mentality from Earth, taking his new freedom for granted and even gambling with what was basically Edgar's possession, the entirety of his body.
Edgar slowly stopped caring about his investment and would not be disappointed even if all the money spent on Sturm ended up making no difference. The boy was like a son to him now, and he would take care of him no matter what, but that also meant losing him would be devastating. Sturm felt that paternal love throughout their daily interactions, and if he had died, Edgar would have lost both his monetary and emotional investment.
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As could be seen with the ominous decoration at the border of their territory, maclawcos were usually very territorial. Even if they feared human mercenaries to a certain extent, the moment they saw their habitat being invaded, they would stop at nothing to eliminate each and every presumptuous intruder.
Throwing a dozen bodies at the invader was one of the few strategies the monkeys found success with. If one claw could not rip apart their sturdy armor, then burying them under a mountain of brown fur and sharp claws would lead to one of the claws eventually puncturing one of the weaker points.
Imagine twenty monkeys flying towards you from every direction. Blood-red eyes and shining metallic claws filling wherever you looked. Kill one and two will replace it, not stopping until either your or their existence has been erased from the face of the forest. Not even a fifth-step commoner would be able to resist such an onslaught, considering he was on his own, of course.
No mercenary was stupid enough to tread the maclawco territory by themselves, and a group of two was already immune to the zerg-tactic. This made it all the more strange that Reinhardt and Sturm had not been attacked. Their group size was at the lowest limit and should appear to be a juicy target for the local magic beasts.
"Reinhardt, let's stop for a moment. I will try to expand my senses, but I need silence and stillness for that.", said Sturm as he sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes and concentrating on his smell, hearing, and the earth's vibrations.
In Sturm's mind, the [Black Room] slowly took a more detailed form. Every deep breath was akin to accumulating a drop, and every exhalation made that drop fall, causing ripples to expand from the simulation of his body inside the room. As the ripples expanded outwards, the [Black Room]'s range increased.
Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters… the longer Sturm reduced his body functions to concentrate purely on his senses, the farther he would reach. He had never experimented just how far the [Black Room] could go in such a state, but the limit was most likely reached when his body function shut down. In other words, until just the moment before his death, it would never stop expanding.
The old Sturm would approach that limit as much as he could. Balancing on the rope of death would deliver the most results, and he was confident to tread that path without tumbling, but his broken arms had shown that there could always be factors outside of his calculations.
As Sturm's senses mapped out the surrounding forest, he caught the origin of the rattling leaves. Indeed, 80cm tall maclawcos were following them through the treetops. They jumped from branch to branch, practically swimming through the forest like fishes in the water. Sturm doubted an animal or beast their size could cause more noise than they did. The few rattles they heard were already cause of a butterfly effect, where the tiniest movements provoked inevitable consequences.
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Sturm decided to ask Reinhardt, who promptly clarified that the shorter ones were adolescent maclawcos, in charge of scouting and communication. The maclawcos mercenaries fought were adults, warriors of their tribes who defended their territory and hunted the prey their scouts would spot.
It made sense why they would not engage the two then, but there had been no screams or cries calling for their brethren either. When Sturm thought about canceling the Nine Pillar's first ability, another movement entered the [Black Room] and quickly left. It was incredibly swift, and if Sturm had not been in his most receptive state, it would have escaped his senses due to sheer speed.
An adult maclawco! There was no doubt. The size, the weight, everything hinted at a much superior maclawco to the ones following them.
"Reinhardt, I spotted one of the big ones. He is going in Sebastian's direction!" Sturm exclaimed.
With a deep frown, Reinhardt tried to understand the situation. Why were they being ignored? Sebastian's group had more than five times their members. Maclawcos were crazy, but if given a choice, they would always pick out the easiest targets. Going through all the possibilities, he suddenly remembered a specific incidence that supposedly happened a few years ago. A famous group of mercenaries found a maclawco with white-silver fur and, after almost being completely wiped out, managed to kill the exotic magic beast.
What followed was sheer insanity. The maclawcos acted like their god had been desecrated, falling into a rage even Reinhardt would find astonishing. Out of dozens of mercenaries, only a single survivor lived to tell the tale. He had been lucky enough to reach the ironmaw territory, where he fell into a bear-pit with rotting carcasses. The nauseating smell covered his tracks, and the enraged monkeys did not dare to stay in the northern forest for too long.
A few days later, and every mercenary and soldier in Dagger's Rock Town knew to run immediately upon spotting a silver monkey, less they damned both themselves and their companions. At the same time, rumors spread around that the bones of a silver maclawco held magic properties, giving males increased potency and masculinity upon consumption.
Greed was powerful, but despite that, not one mercenary accepted any of the hundreds of bounties both nobles and merchants put out. The survivor's party had been famous as one of the most disciplined and trained mercenary groups in the local seas.
Not a single mercenary below the fifth step. Years of experience hunting dangerous beasts on hundreds of islands. Strengths that covered their teammates' weaknesses, combined with efficient teamwork. Even if such a group had been wiped out, there was absolutely no hope for commoners, and only nobles would be able to succeed in the hunt.
Sadly, most nobles found it beneath them to hunt mere Tier 3 Bronze Beasts, even if it was an Exotic. While they were interested in the alleged potency enhancing property of the white maclawco, there were plenty of such drugs nobles had already access to. In the end, no one had been stupid enough to take the risk, until now.
After Reinhardt explained the story, Sturm looked at him in shock.
"Hey Reinhardt, do you think Sebastian would be able to resist the magic beast's allure if they spotted the silver-white maclawco?"
The guard captain grabbed his forehead. "Without a shred of a doubt, he would order his escort to kill it. Most mercenaries would not heed such a command, but I know one that never, ever refuses orders."
The two looked at each other, simultaneously coming to a decision.