Chapter 998: Pork on the menu

Chapter 998: Chapter 998: Pork on the menu

"Why that one?" Frost asked curious to understand her reasoning as her choice actually aligned with his own.

"Simple it’s closer and weaker, perfect for a trial run." Weaker monsters and or a smaller size would most likely offer less DP thus lowering the risk of absorption but primarily in her opinion it was the location that made all the difference.

The [Polar bear den] was all the way in the theta sector of the Glacial mountains’ external regions, quite the trek through an already dangerous area without the current brewing storm. [Pork Abattoir] however was within a day’s journey and through far less dangerous terrain. Sure there may be a camp stationed there unlike at the [Polar bear den] but how strong could it be for a monster lair serving as a low rank food source. If push came to shove Frost with his mid B-rank strength should have no problem leaving the area even if surrounded by the lair’s appointed guards.

"But the [Pork Abattoir] plays a key role in the surrounding areas source of food?" He’d be jeopardizing the livelihood of those living in its vicinity.

"So? Why should we care about whether or not some local would have to work a bit harder to get their mitts on a slab of pork." Yes the monster lair may in fact provide a hefty supply of pork to the area, but it was hardly their only source. It just made it a bit easier and cheaper for them to get hold of that particular type of meat.

"Fair point, we’re a Dungeon core and their Guardian, first and foremost our priority should be the development of our Dungeon but what if the shoe was on the other foot, what if it was our source of food and money that was being taken?" Frost postulated a question on ethics to his charming lover who since their partnership had a bad habit of ignoring the feelings and opinions of those she deemed lesser.

"Then we’d fight and kill whoever dared to do such a thing." Maya answered without hesitation, a layer of bloodlust lining her words.

"Exactly, we would fight to defend that which is ours thus we should expect others to do the same. I’m not against taking things from others but we need to understand that by living by the philosophy that might makes right means we too can be subjected to the same reasoning." Destroying or rather devouring the [Pork Abattoir] may not result in any consequences but at the same time it could very well draw angst towards them. If Frost’s actions were ever discovered Northrend as a nation may move against him, using his attack on their assets as justification for them erasing his city and all he has built.

Maya wasn’t an S-rank fenrir princess anymore and they were surrounded by forces far stronger than themselves; it was thus unwise to rustle the hornets’ nest but despite his misgivings he still believed that the [Pork Abattoir] was the better target...he just needed to be a bit more careful with his actions.

"Haaaaaa being weak is so annoying." Maya had a headache; it wasn’t easy for her to understand and much less to follow the mindset of the weak.

"Yes, yes it is." As a weak person Frost knew full well the despair and frustration that came with it.

’I really need to reach A-rank as soon as possible, at least then I can serve as a deterrent to most mid to low level forces.’ A-rank was a dividing line both in the south and up to the inner regions in the Glacial mountains. A-rank put you in the upper tier, a high level force and thus deterred the common rabble...it would however open up a whole other can of worms to deal with, but Frost could cross that bridge when he gets there.

With both Frost and Maya in agreement for the [Pork Abattoir] being the first target of his devouring the two hatched a plan.

Frost would be travelling alone, and he’d be incognito so as to avoid being identified but hopefully after the deed was done he’d have more than enough DP to start the next round of Dungeon development, just in time for the refugees fleeing to Niflheim as Northrend’s civil war was set to truly kick off.

Now that Sedrick and the neutral nobles had sent a bunch of their elite forces to aid Duke Runak, Crown Prince Randolph was in the perfect position to start his attack. The only reason he hadn’t yet was because the two hidden blades he’d sent to lay waste to some of Sedrick’s forces had failed to return. The hammer was thus forestalled from striking when the metal was hottest, buying Sedrick and the neutral nobles much needed time to coalesce and prepare for the coming event.

Alas the hammer did eventually fall and when it did no one was ready for it. A territory on the western fringes of Northrend was attacked, Randolph’s forces in the military struck like lightning, carving their way through any and all barricades as they took down a branch family of the old noble families.

Like a match striking tinder Northrend was soon embroiled in the flames of war, Sedrick made his move not a moment later, striking one of Randolph’s weakest areas, his source of money.

The neutral nobles both those who were fence sitters and those enduring until Princess Avira and Duke Runak could return hunkered down, allowing the two behemoths to take swings at one another, desperately hoping that they wouldn’t be destroyed in the aftermath.

Douglas Furano was ready though, he’d already put in place evacuation orders, sending those who were most vulnerable to this war to Niflheim while calling upon his allies and adventurers who aligned with his mindset to guard the northern fringes. They would hold fast until the Princess, and the Duke were victorious over their enemies, but it would be a long drawn out venture.

An Empire like Northrend would not fall in a day, not as long as those with hope in their hearts still drew breath. The mighty nation may be a shadow of its former self, but the infrastructure was still there, they could hold out for months, years perhaps even a couple decades. As long as there was no clear winner the war would not end.

Such events however were of little importance to Frost who after discussing his plans with Maya was already on his way to the [Pork Abattoir] keen to rob it of its life source so as to increase his own DP.

He moved quickly, a healthy and dizzying jog through Northrend forest. To avoid being identified he wore baggy, obscuring clothes, face coverings that revealed nothing more than his eyes, tied his hair up in a bun so it appeared short and moved alone, not even Kiba was by his side.

"Should be coming in sight right about now." The monster lair was roughly 300 kilometres from Niflheim, and it took about 10 hours for him to get there, running non-stop through the trees.

What greeted him after his trek was a simple camp or rather a village of sorts filled with several hundred people and protected by a small wooden fence no higher than himself, perfect for keeping out the riff raff that would normally plague this area.

"Halt." Frost was surprisingly stopped at the gate rather sternly, for a low ranking monster lair with very basic defences the guards took their job very seriously.

"What’s your business here at the [Pork Abattoir]?" A guardsmen wearing a sheathed sword on his waist and a shield on his back asked while his two colleagues examined the heavily clothed Frost.

"I’m here to hunt some pork what else." Frost responded in a gruff tone like a stereotypical adventurer.

"License."

"Here." Frost handed over his adventurer license that showed him as a D-rank adventurer despite having B-rank strength. He could quite easily get himself upgraded to B-rank with Douglas and Bastion’s help but so far he hadn’t seen the need to.

"D-rank, solo are you well just don’t cause any trouble, obey the rules and pay the appropriate tax and you’ll be fine, next." The guard gave the license a cursory glance after seeing the rank, it wasn’t high nor was it all that low, fairly common here at the [Pork Abattoir]. The monsters weren’t all that dangerous but the payout for even a single boar was quite good so it drew over many adventurers with Frost’s level of strength. As long as you were a proficient hunter, skilled at taking down prey with minimal damage to the corpse you’d soon earn a wealth of respect from the locals, the vast majority of whom were butchers, tradesman whose entire life revolved around handling monster meat.

Frost nodded his head slightly in understanding before walking through the gate, caring little about what the guard had said.

’Tax why would I care about a tax, I’m here to eat your monster lair not hunt for you.’ To not appear suspicious however he acted like a regular adventurer, he visited the guild -but didn’t speak to anyone-, checked the local shops and bought some pork jerky from one of the larger butcher shops before heading into the [Pork Abattoir] itself.

No one would remember him, he was just another person in the crowd, a D-rank with no distinguishable features but they would certainly remember the events that were about to happen not a few hours later because of him.