"Violent Earth Dog!"
Marcus was horrified. Even his lance began to tremble.
But the next moment, he realized that his lance had struck the Violent Earth Dog with pinpoint accuracy, leaving a small bloody hole in its body. The force of its fierce pounce was also stopped by his thrust, and it crashed heavily to the ground.
The Violent Earth Dog hit the ground, then turned to lunge at him again.
But Marcus gave it no chance. He dropped the lance, which was ill-suited to close combat, drew the one-handed sword hanging from his saddle, and hacked wildly at the Violent Earth Dog.
An Earth Knight had astonishing strength, and his one-handed sword had also been honed through systematic training.
In an instant, he had the Violent Earth Dog, which was even larger than a Wind Blade Wolf, yelping wildly as he hacked at it. Its few counterattacks were completely disorganized. And from beginning to end, the Violent Earth Dog showed no sign of using magic. It simply fought Marcus in a one-on-one brawl.
"Why is the most powerful magical beast on Thorn Ridge, the Violent Earth Dog, no different from an ordinary beast? Why is it so weak?" A thousand questions filled his mind.
But the sword in his hand never stopped. A short while later, the Violent Earth Dog collapsed, badly wounded, with blood pooling around it.
It was barely breathing.
Marcus dared not let his guard down. He picked up the lance from the ground and thrust it straight into the Violent Earth Dog's throat.
Thud!
"Whimper..."
The Violent Earth Dog's eyes glazed over, and it breathed its last.
Taking out the rope he carried with him, Marcus worked swiftly, tying it around the Violent Earth Dog's tail. Then he mounted the Yellow-Gray Horse and galloped back the way he had come. He didn't dare linger on Thorn Ridge, especially with the smell of the Violent Earth Dog's blood likely to draw attacks from beasts, or even magical beasts.
According to noble law, everything produced on a fief belonged to its lord.
So even though Marcus had killed this Violent Earth Dog, it was still Liszt's property. He galloped all the way back, soon arriving at the small, two-story castle.
"Teacher Marcus." Karl Hammer was on duty. The Retainer Knights were responsible for guarding the castle.
"Quick, go tell the Baron. I've hunted a magical beast!"
"What? A magical beast!"
The whole castle was quickly roused. Retainer Knights, male and female servants, the steward, and the cook all followed close behind Liszt as they hurried over to see the magical beast. Magical beasts weren't exactly rare—Tulip Castle even kept some—but in a small place like this, they were still a rare sight.
What's more, magical beasts were valuable, and every part of them was precious!
"Teacher Marcus, is this the Violent Earth Dog, the king of Thorn Ridge and one of the strongest low-level magical beasts?" Liszt's eyes flickered as he pondered.
"It is indeed a Violent Earth Dog. Under normal circumstances, even two of me might not be able to beat one. It can cast the earth-type magic Rock Spike, which is impossible to guard against. When you encounter one, all you can do is run. But the one I hunted only used beastlike pounces. It didn't cast a single spell."
"It didn't use magic? What do you think was the reason?"
Marcus had clearly been observing and thinking while he waited. "I think I may have encountered a mother Violent Earth Dog that had just given birth. Look at its belly—sunken and loose. Those are signs it's given birth, and it's still nursing. Also, I noticed it had a lot of bite marks."
"Nursing? Bite marks?"
"Here, here, and here. They're all bite marks. Baron, do you remember the Wind Blade Wolves we encountered earlier? These marks have started to heal, so they're hard to make out, but I think they're from Wind Blade Wolves."
"So..." Liszt's heart settled. "The Violent Earth Dog was attacked by Wind Blade Wolves while it was pregnant. It may have won and given birth to its young, but the fight exhausted its strength and magic. It had to rely on its animal instincts to hunt—and then it ran into you, Teacher Marcus?"
"Very likely."
Suppressing his excitement, Liszt said calmly, "If that's the case, Teacher Marcus, I think its pups are the real treasure, far more valuable than the Violent Earth Dog's carcass. Are you still able to fight? Come with me into Thorn Ridge to search for its pups."
"I'm ready to fight at any time." Marcus puffed out his chest, then added, "But Thorn Ridge is dangerous. I can go in and search by myself."
"We'll go together. I'm an Earth Knight too."
"Baron..."
"Don't forget, nobles have to fight too. Just think of it as a practical knight lesson for me." Liszt spoke with righteous conviction.
But in his heart, he was thinking, The mission reward is right there. How could I be content without going to claim it?
Besides, the weakened Violent Earth Dog had survived long enough to attack Marcus. That meant there hadn't been any magical beasts nearby strong enough to threaten it. Otherwise, it would already have been a pile of dung.
No one could stop Liszt once he had made up his mind.
Marcus placed one hand over his chest and respectfully performed the knight's salute, expressing his admiration for Liszt's courage.
Old Carter, the steward, bowed. "My lord, your courage is clad in armor. Glory will surely be with you!"
"Of course."
Liszt changed into his magical-beast leather armor and mounted his horse, looking every bit the dashing knight. "Let's go!"
The two Earth Knights rode out at a gallop, followed by four Retainer Knights. They soon entered Thorn Ridge and, guided by Marcus, arrived at the place where he had first sensed the Violent Earth Dog's presence.
"Baron, this is the spot. I sensed it here, and then the Violent Earth Dog followed me for half a mile before ambushing me."
"Then its den must be nearby. Let's start looking."
The mounds rose and fell, and the woods were a tangled mess.
The six of them searched for half an hour without finding the Violent Earth Dog's den. Frustration and disappointment began to set in.
"My lord, perhaps the Violent Earth Dog was just wandering through this area. Its den might not be here—or it might not even have a den," Karl said.
But Liszt was firm. "I believe its den is here."
The reward issued by the Smoke Mission couldn't simply be nonexistent. That was what gave him confidence.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does anyone know what a Violent Earth Dog sounds like?"
"A Violent Earth Dog is still a dog. It sounds no different from an ordinary dog," Marcus replied.
"Then, Karl, Rom, Gray, and Oden, the four of you keep imitating dog barks. If there are Violent Earth Dog pups here, they'll surely respond. They shouldn't understand what you're saying with your imitation, so they'll think their mother is calling them."
"Good idea," Marcus agreed.
And so, he and the four Retainer Knights imitated all kinds of dog barks as they continued searching the area.
Fifteen minutes later.
Marcus suddenly raised a hand. "Quiet!"
Once everyone fell silent, he tilted his head to listen, then said softly, "Baron, listen."
Liszt focused. A few seconds later, behind the calls of unfamiliar birds, he heard a faint "awoo." There was no mistaking it—it was a dog's cry.
"It's over there."
"Yes, right over there." Marcus gestured to Karl. "Your dog barks sound the most convincing. Keep imitating them."
Karl did as he was told.
Each time he barked, a faint "awoo" answered from nearby. Following this baffling exchange, Liszt and the others finally found the Violent Earth Dog's den inside a thicket.
Marcus pushed aside the thatch covering the entrance and reached inside, bringing out a tiny puppy that hadn't even opened its eyes.
He carefully handed the puppy to Liszt. "Baron, it's a Violent Earth Dog pup, a priceless treasure! Its eyes haven't opened yet. When they do, it'll recognize its master!" Not all magical beasts recognized their masters, but doglike magical beasts had this habit.
The first person they saw was the one they accepted.
Most of the time, that person was their mother—perhaps recognizing a master was really just recognizing their mother.
The puppy shivered in Liszt's arms, letting out a faint "awoo" now and then. It seemed terrified, probably because it could smell the strange scent on Liszt, so different from the scent of its mother's milk.
"Hang in there. You'll be drinking milk again soon." Liszt stroked the puppy's fluffy coat, mounted his horse, and said, "Let's go back!"