Chapter 72: The Plan to Ambush Natsu

"Whoa~ Whoa whoa~~~"

Rhodes, used to city life, rarely heard a rooster crow in the morning.

He lifted the light blanket, got up, and pulled back the curtains for a look.

It was still early; there seemed to be a thin layer of mist outside, gradually fading as the sun peeked out.

Behind him came light snoring; Natsu and Happy were sleeping soundly, their carefree nature both concerning and enviable.

Quietly, Rhodes tiptoed past them to the door, careful not to wake them.

After a moment of thought, he went back, squatted down, took a deep breath, and shouted between the two heads:

"Wake up!!!"

Watching Natsu and Happy jump up, each rubbing their ears, Rhodes laughed heartily, just as carefree as Natsu.

"Damn you, Rhodes!"

Natsu and Happy lunged at him, and the three of them wrestled into a pile.

When the three of them came downstairs for breakfast, each sported a black eye.

The village chief thought they had been injured the night before, but the dim light prevented him from noticing.

After a hearty breakfast, Rhodes summoned Worm:

"Today, we're heading to investigate the mountain. I'll leave this guy here at your house.

If there's an emergency, just say 'Go back' to it, and I'll get the signal and return as soon as I can."

Given the lack of communication tools, Rhodes had to resort to this method. Poro had far greater intelligence compared to other summoned creatures, consumed very little mana, and wasn't suited for combat, making it perfect for such a task.

This was something he decided last night after sensing Worm return to the Howling Abyss.

Worm looked around, not in the familiar guild or home environment, and seemed a bit displeased.

However, as long as Rhodes gave it clear instructions, it would follow them—except when asked to help in brawls with friends.

Snow, under the chief's guidance, picked Worm up. "I'll take good care of it."

The three of them turned to leave, and they happened to see the little girl Claudia from yesterday, poking her head out from the gate, looking timidly at them.

Noticing she'd been seen, Claudia quickly hid again.

Rhodes didn't mind and continued out, reminding Natsu to stay calm in case anything happened.

Just as they were about to step out of the yard, the little girl gathered her courage and ran up to them.

"Excuse me…"

The three turned to look at her.

Claudia's courage seemed to dissipate in an instant, and she weakly asked, "Can… can you defeat the monster on the mountain?"

Rhodes gently asked, "Do you know about the monster on the mountain?"

Claudia nodded, then shook her head. "Daddy said there's a leopard monster on the mountain. Its upper body is a leopard, and its lower body is like a human.

It's twice as tall as a person, its teeth are as long as chopsticks, its mouth is as big as a basin, its tail is thicker than my arm, and it has very long, long mane."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob:

"Daddy said that's what the monster on the mountain looks like. His wish was to defeat it and protect everyone. He told me to be good and stay at home, and that he would come back soon, but… but…"

Natsu put his hand on her head, and her sobbing stopped abruptly.

"Then keep being good and wait at home. I'll fulfill your daddy's wish for him."

Tears streamed down Claudia's face. She stared blankly at Natsu's back as he walked away, her vision growing blurrier.

To get a better look at the kind older brother, Claudia tried hard to wipe her tears away with her arm.

Rhodes sighed silently, secretly formulating a plan to knock out Natsu and drag him underground in case of an emergency.

He knew that Natsu's foster father had also disappeared one day, never to return. It would be hard for Natsu to remain indifferent in such a situation.

And the little girl's tears were truly moving. Rhodes felt for the child, but he needed to stay rational.

"Happy, keep an eye on Natsu. Don't let him do anything stupid."

"Aye." Happy wasn't too confident.

Rhodes summoned two Swift Crabs and a group of Shadow Wolves, urging them to move ahead faster.

The beasts he had tracked last night really were just hiding in a forest, cautiously exploring new territory and searching for a new place to live, which was perplexing.

For now, Rhodes set aside his doubts and focused on analyzing the new information.

This was the information Claudia provided from her father's description of the Beast King.

Considering that during the transfer of information, some might have been lost or exaggerated, the details couldn't be fully trusted.

But the most useful piece of information now was that the opponent might be some sort of leopard-like creature.

A leopard, based on its racial characteristics, was likely to be a speed and agility-based opponent.

To handle this kind of enemy, Rhodes thought of Jet...

Stone Armor Beetles could come in handy, and the Beak Birds' wide-area attacks might also be effective.

The antidote for the Demon Marsh Frog wasn't ready yet.

But if it's for dealing with the enemy, it wouldn't hurt to use it, as long as it didn't affect allies.

Rhodes and Happy caught up with Natsu and stopped him at the foot of the mountain.

Rhodes had already inquired about the general terrain of the mountain from Bit and Mastiff, and recklessly charging up the mountain could lead to a dangerous snake bite—that wouldn't be fun.

"The more you want to help Claudia, the more you need to stay calm. If anything happens to you too, that kid might never trust anyone again."

This sort of reasoning worked, barely. Natsu sat down cross-legged, arms folded. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Until I find it," Rhodes said, linking his sight to the Crabs.

"The first one has already climbed the first peak; so far, nothing unusual. The Shadow Wolves are trying to pick up the scent of a predator."

To prevent Natsu and Happy from getting anxious, Rhodes verbally narrated what the Crabs were seeing in real time.

After half an hour of searching, a grizzly bear approached from the mountain, and upon noticing the two humans and one cat, it seemed wary.

But when it compared their sizes, it showed no fear and lunged.

Natsu stood up, pounding his fist into his palm, just in time for a fight.

"Battle marks," Rhodes finally found something. The ground held the remains of a wild boar, clearly gnawed on by some animal.

Exposed ribs and a broken spine—whether caused pre or post-mortem was unclear.

The Shadow Wolves sniffed the scent and bolted in a direction, with the Crabs following.

In Rhodes's view, trees, rocks, and vegetation flashed by quickly until they stopped at another spot with battle marks.

This time it was a wolf carcass, its body twisted in an exaggerated bend, likely from a broken spine.

The Shadow Wolves showed no empathy, sniffing ahead before charging towards the next location.

Rhodes then saw the carcasses of tigers, bears, leopards, and other animals.

Each one seemed to have been bludgeoned to death, the scene extremely brutal, and...

Strange.

If the beasts of the mountain were dying in territorial disputes, the wounds should mostly be from biting. Not many animals used blunt force to kill, right?