Chapter 179 (1) - Charrock Wetland
The crisis site in the Yabure Barony was the Charrock Wetlands in the south, which featured a vast, gourd-shaped lake enveloped in a somewhat desolate atmosphere.
The squad had adopted the use of a magic lamp — even then its radiance had been kept to a minimum while torches had been completely prohibited — to avoid giving the eggs any stimuli.
From the wetland extending from the north into the hilly terrain, a multitude of translucent eggs densely covered the area.
Upon closer inspection, the large eggs, about the size of an adult’s arm, were packed with roughly a hundred wrinkled, cocoon-like objects that resembled an adult male's index finger. Two beady, red-black eyes moved ominously within.
A transport vehicle carrying a new group of mages and magical tools arrived on-site.
As they arrived within the perimeter — strictly secured by the army to keep unrelated individuals from approaching and serve as a defense line when the eggs hatched — a young man approached Hugo while pointing at him.
"Ahh! You're finally back, Commander! Sheesh, how many times have you disappeared without notice, and how many times have I told you not to do it?!"
"Hahaha! You’re still so uptight. What’s the big deal? There’s nothing for me to do here anyway. Besides, you know well enough where I’ve gone and what I’ve been up to, don’t you, Ravel? I’m just making the best use of my time."
Hugo laughed heartily, showing no sign of guilt.
"What do you mean ‘uptight’? All I want from you is to not just disappear without warning, so what's strange about asking the obvious!? It's irresponsible to do things half-assed! If you think being lazy is the way to go, then please choose someone else to be your aide!"
"No way. I would have to handle everything myself if my aide turned out to be a slob."
Hugo rejected his suggestion, seemingly implying it was nonsense.
"And that's what I’m saying. If you don't want either side to be sloppy, then please do everything in the proper order, Commander Hugo! I heard that you were quite a capable aide when you were still under the command of that 'Frenzied Tyrant' Shellbul Monstel! I even heard that he never found a replacement for you. So I don't want to hear you say that you don't get what I have to go through as your aide!"
The mention of the charismatic rogue and current president of the Explorer Association made the newly arrived explorers perk up with interest.
In a sense, he was a living legend who reached the pinnacle of an explorer’s career, even having a title to himself.
"...My word, Commander Hugo really does treat me like a toy. Anyway, since you left specifically to meet them earlier, I believe you've already briefed them about the situation and our strategy, right? We currently have approximately forty million unprocessed eggs left, clearly an anomaly even in comparison to past mutations.
It would be a disaster spanning the entire continent if we don't stop them from reproducing post-hatching. The hatching should start at around the dawn of the 3rd day from today, which means we barely have two days and a few hours left. The eggs on the south side of the lake are progressing faster, so we’ll start from there to delay the hatching as much as possible.”
Caprine nodded.
"Understood. Then, the reinforcement mages will focus entirely on reducing their numbers while we'll use the magical tools to process any overlooked eggs. If fortune shines upon us, we might be able to delay their hatching by at least one day."
The magical tools delivered from the Royal Capital and the Dosperior region were more than just the wands or tools that only Ice Attribute mages could use. They operated using stored mana, allowing anyone to use them. But, since they could only be recharged by Ice Mages, they were only good as one-time use tools in the present situation. After all, it would be far more efficient for the mages to handle the eggs themselves rather than wasting their mana on tools.
Hugo nodded, his casual expression replaced with a serious one, and shouted his command in a booming voice.
"Starting now, the Hellrowcast Eggs Extermination Mission shall transition to the second phase! Let's show the continent the radiance our Kingdom holds! Let's give it our all!!!"
" "Yes, sir!" "
◆◆◆
Al turned the tip of his beloved wand toward an egg.
A white frost accumulated over the translucent, squishy-textured egg. Subsequently, the wriggling inside slowed down, the light from their eyes vanishing.
The assistance personnel confirmed that and swiftly but cautiously carried the egg away from the congested region and finally, with precision, swung down a big hammer, crushing it.
It had already been researched that Hellrowcasts don't awaken from their dormant state once frozen, thus allowing them to process the eggs easily. Without the freezing effect, a physical impact would simply cause them to hatch earlier, and then there would be no stopping them.
There had been enough precedents from the past where such forceful processing simply triggered the great disaster earlier.
In the meantime, while the egg had been destroyed by the assistant, Al had already frozen three more. The other assistants — there were as many as three following him — replaced the previous assistant and carried the eggs away.
Thus, the processing of the eggs kicked off at midnight, with the members proceeding carefully but solemnly.
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