My Joker System: From Low Mana Trash to the Mightiest Wizard!
Chapter 47: Gruesome Death

Chapter 47: Gruesome Death

The reinforced wooden wheels of the donkey cart creaked as it arrived at its destination terminal, with only two passengers left aboard.

Hal and Liora disembarked and stretched their limbs under the subtle silver glow of the Luna.

They hadn’t talked much during the trip, as not only were they not close enough for casual conversation, but discussing strategy in the cramped cart felt inappropriate.

It was already nighttime, anyway, so they could go over their plans in detail later, inside a local inn in the town where they would be staying for the night.

After walking for several dozen minutes, their path lit only by the glow of the heavenly bodies, the duo arrived at Blightwood Town without running into any trouble.

They were both E-ranked wizards.

With only F-ranked monsters nearby, there was nothing to fear.

The duo easily located the nearest inn after a bit of asking around.

It was quite dilapidated, but both of them were used to poverty, so such accommodations were not a problem for them.

In fact...

"Hey." Liora began.

"What?"

"Why don’t we just rent a single room with two beds? We would save ten copper coins that way..."

Hal was taken aback, his skepticism returning at Liora’s suggestion.

The white-haired young woman realized that she had misspoken again and slightly blushed, hurriedly cutting her comrade off before he could speak.

"O-On second thought, never mind. I-It’s just a few copper coins, anyway..."

And so, they spent the night in separate rooms after discussing their plan over dinner at the inn’s small eatery.

Their target the next day was an E-ranked arcane beast, the Alpha Dharmwolf and its pack, which had been terrorizing the residents of Blightwood Town, ambushing unsuspecting individuals or transports at the most unexpected of timings.

The beasts had already killed dozens of people, including an entire donkey cart of passengers.

Even the E-ranked wizard assigned to guard them had been defeated, resulting in the tragic loss of everyone on board.

Although the Arcanum Imperium was preoccupied with the ongoing conflict against the Fellkin, they could not abandon their duty to protect their lands.

They simply issued official missions and funded the rewards from the Imperial Treasury for issues they lacked the manpower to address directly.

After all, eight silver coins was a small price to pay for maintaining stability and ensuring the satisfaction of their citizens, since even the poor made undeniable contributions to the empire’s survival through the emergence of so-called diamonds in the rough.

After a good night’s sleep, Hal and Liora had a light breakfast before heading out, eager to catch the first donkey cart bound for the Blightwood Donkey Exchange Terminal.

It would be foolish not to try and wait for the wolves to emerge from the forest and attack the carts, as this approach was not only safer than going into the forest to hunt them down but also far easier.

They only needed the fangs and paws of the Alpha to complete their mission, after all.

The Dharmwolves wouldn’t dare leave the woods again and cause trouble once their leader was killed.

Of course, the more paws and fangs they bring back, the more money they earn, so the two planned to kill as many as they could.

Hal and Liora exited Blightwood Town and walked in a deliberately slower manner than usual on the dirt road that was one of the usual ambush sites, hoping to lure the Dharmwolves out.

But nothing happened to them.

And so, they proceeded to the next step of their plan, which was to intercept the donkey cart and disguise themselves as passengers.

The driver happily agreed after confirming their identities.

Sadly, just like earlier, nothing happened.

Hal scratched his head, mildly perplexed and slightly disappointed.

’Sigh...maybe the darned things are still asleep?’

The duo tried the same method multiple times, but the Dharmwolf Pack never attacked.

Nighttime inevitably came.

Hal and Liora had to pay for accommodations again...

The two once again had dinner together at the inn’s eatery, but no one spoke, both seemingly engrossed in their own thoughts.

Both of them weren’t exactly rich, and this couldn’t go on for a few more days.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be earning as much as they had hoped, or worse, they might even end up at a loss if they didn’t act decisively.

"Hal"

"Liora"

The two unexpectedly spoke simultaneously.

"G-Go on." the young lady urged, giving way.

Hal didn’t stand on ceremony and spoke what was on his mind:

"Should we hunt the pack down inside the forest tomorrow?"

Liora opened her mouth but wasn’t able to reply immediately, slightly hesitant.

The duo ultimately decided to try the safe method for two more days.

Alas, the results were the same. It seemed this specific Alpha Dharmwolf was far more cunning than others of its kind.

"Damn it... how does it even know we’re here to hunt it down?" Hal cursed in frustration as he stared at the floor of the eatery, Liora doing the same inwardly from the seat opposite his.

They couldn’t fathom how this particular Dharmwolf pack was so smart.

Sure, they were expected to plan coordinated ambushes and fight well together, but they shouldn’t have been intelligent enough to avoid hunting parties.

’So... how the hell?’

The pack had to eat too, which was why Hal and Liora kept at it, yet there were still no signs of the beasts up until today.

What else could they do except try again tomorrow?

However, they would have to go with a different plan and search for the Dharmwolves inside Blightwood Forest.

Hours passed, and the town’s roosters crowed once more, waking the two young, E-ranked wizards.

They quickly prepared themselves for yet another day of trying to complete their mission before heading out.

A few minutes later, Hal and Liora arrived at the outskirts of Blightwood Forest.

"Liora, defend me, alright? I’ll find them."

The white-haired young lady was initially confused at the sudden request but soon became dumbfounded as a tiny sparrow emerged from a brownish-green magic circle and flew away.

As it turned out, Hal Fennec could summon creatures too...

The so-called one-star wastrel was becoming more and more mysterious in her eyes.

A part of her yearned to learn all of Hal’s secrets.

What was the source of his power?

How could he learn all types of spells in such a short period of time?

In the end, she could only do as her comrade said, watching over him as he closed his eyes to control the Spirit Sparrow.

The tiny avian scoured the outskirts of the forest, and the duo changed positions from time to time as the summon reached its maximum range.

Hal saw Blue-hide Boars grazing on acorns, a few green goblins hunting solo or in pairs, and a handful of other F-ranked creatures.

But there were no traces of Dharmwolves.

’Where the hell are those thi–’

He was about to complain when, suddenly, his eyes widened and his heart trembled at what he saw.

The ground, which was supposed to be a healthy mix of dirt and grass, was painted red with the lifeless bodies of the canid pack, ruthlessly torn in half and scattered across the area.

Even the Alpha Dharmwolf had died in the same gruesome manner.

Strangely, though, the Dharmwolf cubs were still alive, trembling in the now-ruined bushes that served as their den’s cover.