I stood up, took a deep breath, and decided that since we had a plan, we should seize the opportunity to take them all down in one fell swoop.

"mud……"

I softened the ground near the bear pack on Tara Road, creating a swamp that they sank deep into.

"A giant fireball..."

Almost simultaneously, I cast a spell again, and fireballs gathered above the Taralu bear pack, forming a giant fireball that I then slammed into the bear pack with a wave of my hand.

"A giant fireball..."

I knew that a single strike wouldn't cause any real damage to the thick-skinned Taralu bears, so I condensed another large fireball and hurled it down.

Waaah...

It can be clearly seen that two Taralu bears were instantly killed by the fireball attack.

but……

I underestimated the Talaloo bears' resilience. With two fireballs, the entire pack instantly erupted into chaos...

Many Taralu bears charged at me, but their movements were extremely slow due to the swamp.

"A giant fireball..."

I can't give them that chance; if they run up like that, it'll be troublesome...

With three fireballs fired, the air was filled with the smell of burning, and many Taralu bears fell into the swamp, proving that their plan had played a crucial role.

Aww...

Suddenly, the roars of the Tara bears echoed from not far away, startling me instantly...

"Oh no! There's a pack of bears nearby!"

As I advanced, nearly thirty Taralu Bears suddenly appeared and charged towards me...

"We can't stay here!"

My heart tightened, and I quickly ran down the hill, keeping an eye on the situation on the other side of the swamp.

Although many Talalulu bears fell, I saw something wriggling in the swamp...

"A black Talaloo bear?"

When I looked closely, I was shocked to find that it was actually mud!

The Taralu Bear, affected by the swamp, was covered in thick wet mud, and under the bombardment of the fireball, it actually formed a hard earth armor!

"How is that possible!"

The idea of ​​the swamp came about by chance when I was working with Pro. It could not only bind monsters, but also work unexpectedly well with Pro and the others' attacks.

Therefore, Leon always used the quagmire tactic when carrying out previous commissions, including this time, but now...

The Taralu bear actually used the mud to wear camouflage-like earth armor...

The mud only slowed down the movement of the Taralu bears, it did not trap them. They quickly broke free of the mud and charged in their own direction!

"No! We'll get caught if this continues!"

My mind went blank. Even though it was a D-rank monster, it could only do a tiny fraction of what was possible on such a large scale!

"What should we do! We need to think of a solution quickly!"

I dared not stop, but I was still no match for the speed of the Taralu bear pack. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded me...

Aww...

"There are still more..."

The roars of the Taralu bears echoed from not far away...

"Damn it! I didn't even notice!"

I know I was careless, or rather, overconfident...

Hoping for the best, I only did a cursory search of the area before realizing that their white fur was actually not easy to spot under the snow.

Soon, a group of about 70 Tara bears surrounded me, completely enveloping me with almost no gaps!

"What kind of magic is this!"

I was still fantasizing about some area-of-effect spell that could kill so many Taralu Bears at once...

Waaah...

The first to pounce was the Taralu bear, its body covered in thick mud. It had probably just killed its family, and its roars were exceptionally loud...

"Fireball..."

I didn't have time to condense a powerful fireball, so I could only release small, pitiful fireballs that helplessly struck the thick earth armor.

Aside from emitting sparks, it didn't cause it any damage whatsoever...

"Is it over...?"

I clutched the necklace around my neck, watching the Taralu bear pounce on me, and for some reason, I felt like giving up.

...

“Leon…”

I heard someone calling my name. Who was it?

"Leon... cheer up..."

I opened my eyes and saw the Tara Bear lying heavily in front of me, its thick earthen armor shattered.

What then came into view was...

"Leon! What's wrong...?"

What I saw was an orc with furry ears...

"Lilith!"

I stared at her in surprise, not understanding why she was there.

"Leon...don't stand there...he's here..."

Aww...

Almost simultaneously, they roared, and I felt the entire earth tremble, followed by a sound similar to an earthquake.

I saw Lilith weaving through the bear pack, taking them down almost with a single move...

"A giant fireball..."

I then came to my senses, quickly gathered my magic power, and blasted it towards the direction of the bear pack...

...

About an hour later.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of burning and blood.

The corpses of Taralu bears were scattered all around, and Lilith stood on one of them, looking at me...

I don't know why she's here, but I do know that without her, I might already be food for the Taralu bears.

...

About three hours ago...

"Huh! This guy didn't wait for me? He was only a little late!"

Lilith stood at the front desk, gazing into the corner, only to find it empty except for the remaining empty wine glasses and plates.

"Lilith, Leon left you some food!"

The receptionist brought out the heated fried rice while talking.

"Did Leon go on any missions today?"

Lilith took the fried rice without thanking her, and instead began to eat it in large mouthfuls. After carrying out the mission for a day and a night, she was practically starving.

"Leon? It seems he's taken on a mission to hunt down the Taralu bears."

The receptionist thought for a while. Although she could remember the name Leon, the details of the request were a bit vague.

"What? Is he alone?"

Upon hearing the details of the request from the receptionist, Lilith practically screamed.

"It seems so!"

"Ah... you reckless fellow, don't you know the Taralu bear pack is gathering right now?"

Lilith quickly put down her chopsticks and ran towards the guild gate. When she arrived at the place to rent carriages, she found that Leon had already set off.

"Honestly... how can they be so troublesome!"

So she rented a carriage and headed toward the Ruhr lake.

Upon arriving at the Ruhr lake, we saw Leon, nestled below the hills, surrounded by dozens of Tara bears...

...

"Lilith... what are you doing here!"

I painstakingly tore off the fur of the Taralu Bear, something I'm not good at, while Lilith did it with ease.

"It's all because of you, you wretched brat!"

Lilith rolled the fur together, tied it with something, and then placed it to the side, piling it up like a small mountain.

"Do you know I've returned to hunt down the Taralu Bears?!"

I was a little surprised to hear Lilith's words. What did she mean? Had she been following me all along?

"Next time we hunt monsters, we need to gather more information. Being reckless will only cost us our lives!"

"Uh... thank you!"

"If you want to thank me, buy me a drink when we get back, I'm starving..."

"This... of course, is not a problem..."

"You said it!"

It's clear that Lilith's eyes light up whenever food is mentioned.

"What I said..."

It was just a meal; compared to being saved by Lilith, it was really nothing...

She was indeed very fast. In the blink of an eye, all the furs were tied up and piled up in the carriage, filling it to the brim.

After the skinning was finished, Lilith piled up the Taralo bear's carcass and handed it to me for cremation.

The air was filled with the smell of barbecue...

This relieved me. This is probably what they mean by "punishment"!