Mount Hakobe is a branch of the famous snowy mountain range "Zonia", so the wind and snow never stop here all year round.
Due to the bad weather conditions, the magic railway could not connect to Mount Hakobe, so Noah and Nob had to take a carriage that came to Mount Hakobe to purchase magic herbs.
After eight or nine hours, the two finally arrived at the village at the foot of Mount Hakobei.
Noah almost jumped off the carriage. When he first sat on the carriage, he didn't feel anything because it was new to him, but as time went on, the bumpy ride made Noah feel sore in his back and waist and uncomfortable all over.
After paying the herbal merchant for the ride, Noah and Nob went to the client's residence, the village chief, according to the address on the order.
As soon as I knocked on the door, an old man with a white beard opened it. When he saw the guild emblem on Nob, the village chief said with a little surprise: "Are you a Fairy Tail wizard? You came really quickly. Come in and sit down."
In the warm room, Noah and Nob drank tea made from magical herbs from the Hakobe Mountains while listening to the village chief explain the details of the commission.
"Winter Snow Grass" is a high-quality magical herb that can restore physical strength and magic power in a short period of time after taking it. It is a unique specialty of Mount Hakobe and a treasure on which this small village depends for its survival.
But a month ago, a group of monsters called "Balkan" suddenly came to Mount Hakobei.
Not only did they drive away the villagers who went up the mountain to collect herbs, they also came down the mountain from time to time to cause trouble in the village. Their behavior became more and more excessive, and once they almost hurt a child.
For the sake of their livelihood and the safety of the village, the villagers pooled together 550,000 yuan, and the village chief used this as a reward to issue a commission to "attack Balkan" to Fairy Tail.
When Noah asked about the number of those "gorilla" monsters, the answer given by the village chief shocked Nob who was standing beside him.
There were more than fifteen Balkans on Mount Hakobei.
This number made Noah realize that something was wrong.
He had read in the "Monster Encyclopedia" left by the second-generation president that monsters like Balkan would live together in small groups, but the number was usually stable at around seven or eight, and rarely exceeded ten.
And according to the village chief, this group of Balkans arrived suddenly a month ago, but the icy and snowy Hakobei Mountains are not the best living environment for these "gorilla" monsters.
What reason do they have to migrate here?
After being warmly treated to a dinner by the village chief, Noah rejected the chief's suggestion to rest for a night before continuing the mission.
On the way here, Noah developed an action plan for Nob to deal with Balkan. The sleeping and waking hours of this kind of monster are similar to those of humans, so night is the best time to attack them.
The moonlight is bright, illuminating the snow-capped mountains, so you can see the way up the mountain clearly even without light props.
Two figures climbed up Mount Hakobei one after the other.
The gathering place of the Balkans is easy to find. The caves are their homes. There are only a few natural caves in the Hakobei Mountains, and only one of them is large enough to accommodate more than a dozen monsters.
After asking the village chief for the route in advance, the two men quickly found their target location.
Nob quietly entered the huge cave.
There are clusters of ice crystals in the cave, and a magic crystal that is a light source with a gentle glow. Through the continuous refraction of the ice crystals, it illuminates most of the cave.
Looking into the cave, Nob was shocked. He roughly counted and found that there were 25 Balkans! !
Among them, there are five Balkans, surrounded by other "gorilla" monsters like stars surrounding the moon, and they seem to have a high status.
Nob was too lazy to care about anything else. The phantom of a huge black bear flashed behind him, and a hint of scarlet magic rose from his body.
"Attachment Magic: Bear Spirit Possession"
With a loud roar, Nob slapped the nearest monster with his palm. There was a crisp sound, and a red and white mixture immediately flowed out of the Balkan's head.
Nob's battle cry naturally awakened the other monsters. Dozens of fierce eyes stared at him. The huge pressure made Nob lower his body slightly and assume a fighting stance.
Listening to the fighting in the cave, Noah, who was leaning against the cave entrance, yawned and said to himself:
"Nob, really, why not just take advantage of the opportunity when these monsters are sleeping and kill five or six of them at once to relieve the pressure? He had to self-destruct at the beginning. Now he has to face the attack of twenty-four Balkans at the same time."
Noah really couldn't understand the "glorious battle" of Nob's wild tribe, but he respected his choice.
There are two types of animal spirits that can be used in Nob's "Attachment" magic, namely "Bear" and "Wolf".
Bear spirit increases physical strength, while wolf spirit increases physical agility.
Since the "Attachment" magic can only use one power at a time, Noah tailored two boxing styles for Nob based on the spirits of two animals.
The "bear style" focuses on slapping, and the "wolf style" focuses on flexibility
Nob was already familiar with his own magic, and after several months of hard practice he was able to integrate the two boxing styles. His current strength could be seen from the fact that he sent a "gorilla" monster to death with one palm.
As long as he pays attention, Nob is now fully capable of defeating the twenty-four Balkans head-on, but he will definitely get injured.
"The power of a bear!"
Using his nimble body to avoid the bite of a monster, Nob instantly switched to bear spirit and coordinated his moves. He slapped the approaching monster away with one palm, and at the same time switched back to wolf spirit to chase after it.
Although changing the "attached spirit" back and forth consumes some magic power, in contrast, Nob's combat can be described as highly efficient.
The tremendous strength of the "Bear Spirit", the speed of the "Wolf Spirit", and their highly coordinated boxing techniques meant that no Balkan could be a match for Nob.
Soon, the seventeenth Balkan fell, and Nob went towards the next monster with unstoppable force.
"Stop it! You damned bastard!"
Among the five Balkans of high status, one actually spoke in human language and roared towards Nob.
It can speak human language? ! !
Noah was startled, and remembered what Noah had told him to pay attention to before, that the powerful Balkan could use magic to forcibly take humans into his body.
Could it be that… no, those five Balkans are monsters that have taken over human bodies!
With rage, Nob was not afraid of the powerful Balkan individual at all and punched him with all his strength.
Thump thump thump!
The "gorilla" monster flew out backwards and hit the wall deep in the cave heavily, which stunned the other four powerful individuals.
"Boss, this idea is tricky!"
"Let's use our original strength!"
"good!"
After a brief exchange of words, the five powerful Balkans suddenly raised a magic circle under their feet and rose upwards. Five humans wearing cult-like equipment appeared, each emitting powerful magic.
Nob's face turned ugly. Only powerful individuals could command ordinary Balkans, but those five powerful individuals were not Balkan monsters at all!
They are humans disguised using magic!
A lot of his magic power has been consumed. Nob knows that he is powerless to fight against five wizards in good condition.
Looking at the aggressive enemies, Nob turned around and ran without thinking. His challenge to himself was successfully completed after defeating the twenty monsters and when the five enemies revealed their true identities.
The knot in his heart was untied, and Nob ran away without shame, shouting:
"Master! Help me!"