The place Yor guided them to was overgrown with large wildflowers and weeds that reached up to their knees, all tangled together in a dense thicket.
"As you can see, there are all kinds of plants here, from weeds to herbs, and even some we can't identify. So, if we have to sort them all out one by one, it'll be a bit of a chore...!"
Yor let out a light sigh and began to explain the "hard work" they had to do from now on but stopped mid-sentence.
Elric suddenly plunged into the pile of weeds, pushing aside the foliage haphazardly, and pulled something out at random.
Upon closer inspection, it was a Death Plant.
And it was pulled out, roots and all!
'Was it really that easy to pull out?'
For a moment, Yor wondered if he had missed seeing the well-exposed Death Plant, but no matter how much he thought about it, that wasn't the case.
The other members were equally shocked.
At that moment:
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Take this."
Caught by Elric's gaze, the Black Wolf Tribe member reluctantly held out the basket they had brought, and Elric, as if it were the most natural thing, threw the Death Plant into it.
"Follow me."
Then he abruptly disappeared into the thicket again….
The Black Wolf Tribe member was dumbfounded by Elric's casual attitude but soon snapped back to reality.
"Follow him."
Reluctantly obeying Yor's command, they had no choice but to follow.
From that point on, he effectively became a porter.
It was astonishing to see that every time Elric stood up after searching the thicket, he had a bunch of Death Plants in his hands.
It was amazing how he could find the death plant in the thick foliage that were barely visible, just like moss, and even more amazing that he could pull them out completely unscathed.
Thanks to him, the basket quickly filled up with Death Plants.
And that wasn't all.
"You three over there, come here."
Elric effortlessly picked out the frost vine, ataraxia grass, and other herbs that Yor had mentioned.
Eventually, all the members of the Black Wolf Tribe, including Ralph, were called one by one and ended up as porters.
They didn't want to help Elric, but...
"Go on."
"..."
"..."
"..."
With Yor smiling and urging them to follow, they couldn't resist.
As a result, Yor and the rest of the team could only watch Elric with bewildered expressions.
"This, this is...?"
"How is this even possible...?"
Like most of the Beastmen, they had keen senses of smell, which made them good at finding herbs.
However, their senses would quickly dull, making it difficult to sustain for long periods, and they often confused one herb for another.
But Elric showed no such difficulties.
He easily picked out herbs with every reach, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Unbeknownst to them, Elric possessed the extraordinary ability known as Mind's Eye.
However, their astonishment didn't end there.
When the baskets they had brought were filled to the brim, Elric began gathering reed grass that could be used as hay.
"Why are you gathering that?"
"...Hmm? We need to prepare materials for fumigation."
"You're planning to start alchemy right here?"
"Yes."
"...!"
"Hey! You, over there, Mutt 1, carry this over there. Mutt 2, you prepare to light the fire over there. Mutt 3, gather these and start preparing the materials."
Elric had no hesitation in ordering the Black Wolf Tribe around. He even called them "mutts" because of their black fur. They were transitioning from porters to workers.
They looked at Yor with pleading faces, hoping for help.
"What are you doing, you fools! Hurry up and do as Brother Elric says! Move quickly!"
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
Yor even kicked their butts to get them moving, seeing this as an opportunity.
'This guy is a blessing! He will definitely be a blessing to our tribe!'
Yor's eyes were filled with hearts as he looked at Elric.
In the end, the "mutts" couldn't even rest properly. Under Elric's command, they ran around busily, lighting fires and personally handling the tedious and laborious task of boiling and simmering the herbs they had gathered.
"What? What is this mess? Even a kid with a knife could do better! The roots are all damaged, and the leaves are all bitter! Do it again!"
"Can't you even carry that? Are you really a fighter? How will you manage at night?"
"Lazy! Stir faster! I told you 300 times a minute! Are you going to ruin this and make everyone else suffer?"
The worst part was Elric's constant nagging, which came like a barrage of bombs every time they made a mistake.
They desperately wanted to go on attack or curse him and tell him to do it himself, but they couldn't because they were wary of Yor.
It was truly an abuse of authority.
Elric successfully drained Ralph and the Black Wolf Tribe of their physical and mental strength.
[Poor kids... Why did they have to mess with a Melvinger?]
Only the God of Camellias pitied them, though her feelings did not reach them.
[From ancient times, those who crossed a Melvinger never had good outcomes. It's a good thing our temple has a good relationship with them.]
When the alchemy was finally completed,
"Ugh... kill... me...!"
They all collapsed to the ground, unable to stay conscious.
Some of them had their eyes rolling around and drool dripping from their mouths.
Regardless of this, the other team members were all excitedly looking at the results.
"Wow!"
"I can't believe it, but it's really the Fire Breath Pill!"
"No, it looks purer than the ones made by our guys. The method doesn't seem that different, so what's changed?"
"The Deathworms are going to love this."
Elric was equally satisfied.
'It's of much higher quality than what I saw in the Labyrinth of Blue Fog.'
The effectiveness of these pills was estimated to be 1.5 to 2.4 times greater than those made in the Labyrinth of Blue Fog.
'Maybe because they're like dogs, they follow orders so well. I should exploit this as much as I can.'
At that moment, Ralph and the Black Wolf Tribe felt a shiver run down their spines, their backs stiffening.
Sure enough, Elric began talking to Yor.
"Captain."
"Yes. Do you have something to say?"
Yor's gaze at Elric was now filled with affection.
"I think the quality came out much better than I expected. How about we start mass production?"
"Oh, shall we?"
"Yes. The Black Wolf Tribe has the keenest sense of smell, and I've been teaching them the method closely, so there's not much more to teach."
"Then let's do that."
Ralph and the Black Wolf Tribe watched in horror as Elric and Yor decide their fate right in front of them, their faces turning pale.
After all this hard work, they had to do it all over again?
But
"What are you doing, guys?"
Yor's eyes sparkled with a broad smile as he looked at his subordinates.
"Why aren't you moving?"
"..."
"..."
"...sniff, sniff!"
Their protests and opinions were not heeded.
[…]
Only the God of Camellias pitied them.
***
After the second day.
Tiger King Yul was greatly satisfied with the results Elric had produced and granted him full authority over everything related to the Fire Breath Pills.
Of course, he assigned Yor as a supervisor and collaborator.
Thanks to this, Ralph and the rest of the "mutts" were permanently assigned under Elric, having to scour every dragon vein in the vicinity and endure all sorts of hardships.
As dark circles deepened under their eyes, the quantity of Fire Breath Pills in the Anthromorph tribe steadily increased.
"Hmm? You want 10% of these?"
"Yes. I have a use for them."
King Yul raised an eyebrow at Elric's sudden request before the assault on the Deathworm colony.
This stuff was repulsive and tasteless; where could he possibly use it? It was full of demonic energy, making it useless as an elixir.
"Well, without you, we wouldn't have been able to produce this much, so do as you please."
"Thank you."
Elric had to stifle a smile from curling at the corners of his lips.
Over the past four days, the amount of Fire Breath Pills produced by grinding the souls of the "mutts" was overwhelming.
Even if he took only a portion, it seemed more than enough to complete the Bone Marrow Cleansing and significantly boost the dissolution rate.
'And I'll finally be able to cultivate my own herb garden.'
While Elric's eyes gleamed as he looked at the Deathworm colony,
"Burn it."
At Tiger King Yul's command, the royal guards plunged torches into the barrels full of Fire Breath Pills and carelessly tossed them onto the colony.
Whoosh!
Soon, the Fire Breath Pills began to burn fiercely, sending black smoke and a foul odor everywhere, and the entire area around the colony was engulfed in flames.
And shortly after.
Rumble...!
The ground shook violently.
Screeeeech!
Roarrrr!
Dozens of Deathworms burst out simultaneously.
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
Despite the Deathworms fighting each other to consume more Fire Breath Pills, neither TIger King Yul nor the royal guards flinched.
Elric, mixed in among them, was no different.
"Prepare to atta...!"
"Chieftain, we have a problem."
Just as Tiger King Yul was about to give the final command, a fighter who had been sent as a scout hurriedly ran up to him.
"What is it? If it's nothing serious, you'll die."
"We've received reports that somehow the Fury tribe has learned about our plan to hunt Deathworms and is planning to attack us from behind during our assault."
"What?"
Tiger King Yul and the faces of the royal guards all twisted with anger.
The Fury tribe had recently been the most hostile toward the Anthromorph tribe.
They were also a group that had deliberately stirred up trouble in an attempt to meet Tiger King Yul.
While the Anthromorph promoted the idea of beastman unity, the Fury tribe walked a completely different path.
And they dared to stab them in the back?
"Ha, look at these bastards. How should we handle them?"
As Tiger King Yul's face twisted in disbelief and anger, Elric stepped forward.
"I have a good idea."
"What is it?"
"We hit them from behind just as they plan to do to us."
"Oh?"
Tiger King Yul, intrigued, asked Elric to elaborate further. Elric laid out his plan in detail.
"...If we do it this way, we can easily take down the Fury tribe."
Tiger King Yul's eyes widened slightly, then he broke into a wide grin.
[Why do their smiles look so similar? Maybe it's just my imagination.]
The God of Camellias looked back and forth between Elric and Tiger King Yul before shaking her head in disbelief.
For the first time in thousands of years, she wondered:
Can personality be contagious?
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]