Re:Crafting in Another World
Chapter 53: Direwolves and Goblins

Chapter 53: Direwolves and Goblins

"Not happening!" Shennong protested at what Yenissa had just said. "I know what will happen if I let Rilith and Velara use these tools. They’ll end up using blowdarts on each other and putting the capturing net on their own bodies."

"Eeeeeh!" Rilith and Velara understood how little Shennong thought of them and looked rather downcast.

Yenissa wanted to deny it, but she knew that it was true. They always had a way of messing things up. Besides, Shennong was the one who knew how to work the tools.

"Yenissa! Don’t underestimate me. I know I don’t have monstrous powers like any of you. Without my pickaxe, I might as well be a normal human, but..." Shennong took out a silver sword, which was quite large—a sword somewhere between a greatsword and a broadsword. "I can still fight, and I will fight."

Yenissa kept looking at him and sighed, knowing it was foolish of her to treat him like he was deadweight for the group when he had been the one changing their lives from the beginning. "Fine, but if this turns out to be more than you can handle, you should retreat."

"I’ll think about it," Shennong said with a smile, and the group began to slowly walk toward the sound of wolves and something else fighting, without alerting them. Their footsteps were so light and slow that even they could hear their own heartbeats.

After slowly walking for a few minutes, Shennong raised his hand, signaling everyone to halt. The dense forest surrounded them, thick trees giving them the perfect cover. They followed the sounds of snarling and growling until they finally had a clear sight of the scene ahead. Everyone took cover behind the thick tree trunks, peeking out cautiously.

What they saw was chaos.

Wolves, large and wild-looking, clashed against a group of small, green-skinned creatures. The wolves weren’t ordinary by any means—their fur was rough, with patches missing as if they had been through countless battles, and their glowing eyes carried an eerie, menacing light. Their claws were sharp enough to carve through flesh with ease, and they moved with terrifying aggression.

"These... these aren’t normal wolves," Shennong murmured, gripping his weapon tighter.

"They’re not," Romina whispered beside him, eyes wide in horror. "Those are direwolves. Even a small town considers them a great threat, let alone villages. They’re aggressive, relentless, and their claws can tear through Iron."

Shennong’s eyes shifted to the creatures the wolves were fighting against—small humanoid figures, barely clothed, with sharp teeth and pointed ears. They were just as feral, their movements erratic as they wielded crude weapons against the wolves. Despite their numbers, they were being overwhelmed, one by one falling under the direwolves’ brutal assault.

"And those?" Yenissa asked, narrowing her eyes at the struggling figures.

"Goblins," Romina replied darkly. "One of the most common monsters in the forest. Omnivorous, intelligent enough to loot anything they can find in villages, and worst of all, they kidnap people." She shuddered. "I’ve heard awful stories about what happens to the women and children taken by these creatures."

A moment of silence followed as the group digested her words, their expressions not changing a bit showing they didn’t really care about what happened to humans unlike Romina, who was deeply disgusted to even talk about it.

Shennong continued observing, his mind racing. The goblins were losing, barely putting up a fight against the Direwolves. It was clear which side was stronger. However, instead of deciding which side to help, an idea struck him. "I need both of them."

Yenissa blinked. "What?"

Shennong pulled out more blowpipes from his pack, handing them to everyone. "We’re capturing both the direwolves and the goblins. Don’t reload—just use one blowpipe after another. Speed is everything." He looked at the group with a serious expression. "Let none of them escape."

His gaze then fell on Rilith and Velara, narrowing slightly. "Earlier, I joked about you two messing up. But seriously—don’t mess this up."

Rilith and Velara looked deeply offended. "We’ll prove ourselves!" they declared in unison.

Shennong smirked. "Good. Then get ready."

The battle continued in front of them, goblins screaming and snarling, direwolves growling and pouncing, but the moment of intervention had arrived. Shennong held up three fingers.

Three. Two. One.

With precision, he and the others raised their blowpipes and began firing.

Thwoop. Thwoop. Thwoop.

The darts flew through the air, striking goblins and direwolves alike. The creatures shrieked and howled in confusion, some turning in circles as the sedatives took effect. The wolves, already tired from their battle, began to stumble, their movements sluggish. The goblins panicked, some running aimlessly, but the group continued firing without hesitation.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly—until a strange noise made Shennong glance sideways.

"Guh... ack...!"

His stomach dropped at the sight before him.

Rilith and Velara stood frozen, their faces twisted in horror. Their hands trembled, and their lips turned an unnatural shade of blue. It took only a second for Shennong to understand—they had sucked in instead of blowing out.

"You have got to be kidding me..." he muttered in disbelief.

Before he could react, both of them wobbled on their feet and collapsed with a dull thud.

The noise, however, did not go unnoticed. The remaining direwolves, those still standing, snapped their heads toward the group’s hiding spot. Their growls rumbled low in their throats as their eyes locked onto them.

"They’re coming!" Yenissa shouted.

Shennong didn’t hesitate. He quickly started placing mud blocks beneath him, elevating himself and the others onto a makeshift platform. The wolves lunged at them, but he was already one step ahead. He grabbed one of the capturing nets and hurled it downward. It unfurled in mid-air, trapping the first wolf that attempted to leap up.

"Keep going!" he commanded.

Yenissa and Romina continued firing their darts at the remaining goblins and wolves while Shennong handled the aggressive ones directly. He threw another net, then another, until the last of the charging wolves was restrained. Minutes passed, and the battlefield finally quieted.

Most of the direwolves and goblins lay unconscious, some still twitching, while a few had managed to flee into the depths of the forest. Despite the escapees, the mission was largely a success.

Shennong exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. "That went better than expected." He then glanced down at the two unconscious fools lying near his feet. His eye twitched slightly as he sighed, shaking his head.

"What am I going to do with these two?" he muttered, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

Yenissa, however, did not look amused. Arms crossed, she glared at them with pure disappointment. "I am ashamed to call them succubi."

Shennong chuckled before turning his attention back to their spoils. "Well, we got a good haul today. Direwolves, goblins, and plenty of flora... this should be enough for now."

Looking at the fainting goblins and wolves, he smirked. "Time to get to work."

***

Sir Maron was getting questioned by several merchant guild members that visited the barony in the hopes of finding this new ore he found that he told to the merchant guild about, but upon their arrival they were only met with disappointment as the new ore type this knight talked about was none other than a mana crystal which was slightly bigger than others.

"Sir Maron, we will complain about this to capital. You can’t expect us to travel all the way here to be impressed by this...we even shared our information with you hoping you were a great man," One of the woman who represent the merchant guild muttered, as she adjusted her glasses showing a rather irritated look.

"Is this how a responsible knight of the order should be acting? We will take necessary legal actions against you," Other representative supported her comrade, as he got up from the chair and got ready to leave the official headquarters of Percival Barony’s Barracks.

"Wait! Wait! But...he said this is really valuable." Sir Maron was looking like he was on the verge of digging the floor just so he could hide because of how embarrassed he was. He had never endured so many insults from some merchant people, and it deeply affected him both mentally and physically.

"Who is he?" The woman questioned Maron.

"The person...who found this," Maron muttered, remembering about Shennong and his monsters that had already invaded the Percival Barony somehow and even took his family hostage. He was exhausted and looked like he had lost a few pounds because of how stressed he was. He couldn’t sleep properly after that day, and he was always having nightmares of his family dying.

"You believed the words of a mere worker and invited us here instead of first sending this to capital for investigation...when you invited us here, you said this was rather confidential, and you cannot send this to capital because of how important this is. Even getting a single glance, I can tell this is just an ordinary mana crystal that is slightly big and a different colour."

"We are leaving!" The officials from the merchant guild muttered and they got up and without even giving any greeting, both of them left leaving Maron alone who was keeping his head on his hand looking embarrassed and stressed.

’I can’t...I can’t do this anymore...I am actually going insane," Sir Maron started to laugh, as if he was actually going insane and he knew sooner or later he would actually be no different than those people who are running around the city shouting absurd things, if he doesn’t do something about Shennong. "I need help! I can’t anymore."