Chapter 74 - Cohen Merchants Scheme 1 (1/2)
But it still hadn’t been enough.
“My poor son!”
“Please, open your eyes!”
The hearts of Woohyuk and Lee Jaesung were heavy as they watched the families mourn the loss of their loved ones.
They couldn’t help but blame themselves for perhaps not having done their very best.
“Where did all these monsters come from?”
“We haven’t found that out yet.”
He had hidden his identity the whole time, so that the culprit behind all this might reveal themselves, but it had all been for naught. The main culprit couldn’t be some beginner monster trainer.
‘Not even Choi Kayoon would be able to control so many monsters this early on.’
Not to mention that he knew that she would begin in the Izuna kingdom. Of course it was technically possible for her to have arrived by sea through the free city of Media, but it was rather unlikely.
There must be some other explanation.
“If we don’t find the reason for this, there will only be more needless casualties.”
“Probably.”
Despite the average life expectancy being a whopping 300 years, the population of the Eeth continent didn’t increase much due to the frequent wars, plagues, as well as monster invasions.
As Lee Jaesung was clicking his tongue, the young man and woman which he had stepped in to save, spoke out.
“I have something to mention, Lord.”
“What is it?”
“Actually I found this in the mountains.”
The young woman handed him a leather pouch. As Lee Jaesung untied the knot, he found some blue powder inside.
“It’s my first time in my life seeing such a substance. I happen to be quite knowledgeable about many ingredients since we often help with collecting herbs for alchemists.”
“I’m showing it to you because I believe it might have some connection to this latest incident.”
They couldn’t bring it up earlier, because the battle had been in full swing.
As the pair left, Woohyuk spoke up.
“Monster breeding substance.”
“Breeding substance?”
“Be careful not to ingest any, for humans it might result in the same symptoms as taking hard drugs.”
Taking it would result in severe withdrawal symptoms which were difficult to cope. If you didn’t handle such a substance carefully, it might result in quite the troubling situation.
Upon hearing Woohyuk’s explanation, Lee Jaesung couldn't help but be surprised.
“So you think someone is purposefully trying to increase the monster population?”
“Maybe.”
‘This stuff must be coming in from the port city, Media.’
The Cohen Merchant group was the first one that came to mind.
The same guys who had smuggled in large quantities of Wildfire, to supply Count Gwain.
If it was them, they should have the connections to get their hands on this stuff.
“I’ll need to borrow a hunting dog.”
“You’re thinking of searching the mountains?”
“Right, there might be some clues left behind.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you stay here.”
Lee Jaesung was still busy getting his house in order.
After picking a hound with a sharp sense of smell, Woohyuk headed deep into the mountains.
‘Night is beginning to fall.’
Without the sunlight, he was relying on the dog’s nose to find any traces of the substance.
It was pitch dark, and an ordinary human wouldn’t be able to see. Only the sound of the wind blowing against the grass and the chirping of the insects was heard.
After searching for quite some time, the dog stopped and growled. This meant that the trail had ended here.
‘Where did you go from here?’
He pushed his senses to the limit, looking for anything that might catch his attention, but found nothing.
Worried that he was too late, Woohyuk took out his Archaeologist's Golden Magnifying Glass, to have a look around once more.
‘Someone’s cast a spell here.’
It hadn’t been long since the Magic Array had been traced on the ground, as there were still faint tracks left behind.
No doubt the other party had tried their best to erase any traces.
Woohyuk followed the trail as he moved along carefully.
‘This guy was quite thorough.’
Without his special magnifying glass, he wouldn’t have found any traces of the Magic Array, nor the footprints which had been concealed with magic.
Woohyuk stopped in front of the cave, assuming his opponent to be an Elite monster.
“Woof! Woof!”
The hound barked at the cave as it revealed its sharp canines.
This meant that there was something inside.
Woohyuk had likewise managed to detect some presence inside with his perception.
‘Quite a few of them.’
It was a monster’s nest. Since the tracks had ended here, no doubt the Boss was inside as well.
After dying the hound to a nearby oak tree, Woohyuk pulled out Verserios.
‘If his Spirit stat was high enough, he could even force monsters to obey him.’
For the most part, monsters were a by-product of the Demon race mating with other creatures.
Of course there were some cases that arose due to curses from the Gods, such as Arachne or Medusa, but they were the exception.
Therefore, if he managed to kill the Boss monster with Verserios, he could put the entire case to rest.
As soon as Woohyuk stepped into the cave, a pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness. It was as if it had been waiting for him.
“I am your master from now on.”
“Krrrr!”
“Kiyaaaak!”
The monsters seemed unwilling to submit to Woohyuk, as they roared in challenge. Still, they were rather afraid of Verserios’ aura, so they had yet to attack.
Monsters would act upon instinct, so it was normal for them to want to avoid the Abyss that was waiting to swallow them up.
“You there, come forward.”
Woohyuk had pointed at an Elder Orc Shaman, the chief of the tribe. It was similar to the Elder Troll which they had fought in the Corcas Mountains, but had a purer bloodline, with superior physique and stats.