Although Mothra's permission was obtained, there were various obstacles in the fuel business.

The first problem was that the number of trees within the domain was finite.

"Once we cut all this down, our supply of raw materials will be completely cut off. It's a huge problem."

Vargas looked around the area with worried eyes.

Mothra's territory was quite narrow. All that was there was an empty lot behind Mount Berkal, where Spectre was active. It was roughly the size of a soccer field.

"How about expanding the territory?"

Mothra gave Abel a sullen look at his question. It seemed like there was something difficult to overcome on her own.

— I am a fairy who was born not long ago.

"Aha, really?"

— It's hard to expand my territory because my magical power is weak. There are many beings in the world that can push me away.

"For example?"

— Strong monsters, demigods, and half-demons could be my competitors.

"How many half-breeds are there around here?"

— They don't exist. They're not common.

"Then the problem is the monsters."

— You guessed it right!

Although she had a fierce and aggressive personality, Mothra's power was extremely weak. She could barely handle a small Battle X. In fact, even that didn't have much effect.

It was a ghost monster that had invaded her territory.

"If you take care of the monsters, can you expand your territory?"

— Oh, of course! If you do that, I don't mind if my territory gets a little noisy.

"Oh? Really?"

The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple.

It wasn't that hard to defeat a few monsters. Abel started to climb Mount Berkal straight away.

The goal was to find a monster strong enough to put pressure on Mothra. However, he faced a big obstacle from the start.

"Uh… This wasn't planned?"

"That's right. The first thing we meet is a rock keeper."

Kwung! Boom!

A huge pile of stones was moving.

A wolf-shaped rock monster, 20 meters tall and nearly 40 meters long, loomed before them.

It was closer to a spirit than a monster.

So, when it saw them, it didn't attack but simply turned away.

— That guy is the most difficult. He keeps pushing me away!

Mothra glared at the rock keeper with a very angry expression.

Of course, it was entirely possible to take that guy down.

No matter how strong its body was, it wouldn't be able to withstand Abel's hammering.

The problem was that it was simply huge and did not cause much damage to humans.

"But isn't it a bit much to mess with the spirits?" Vargas asked, his face trembling.

Abel's opinion was similar.

"Strictly speaking, they're not spirits. But they're still harmless."

"Right?"

"Besides, it's actually quite helpful. It keeps vicious monsters from approaching."

"Wouldn't it be bad if the people of the Duchy of Crawford got mad at us for touching it for no reason?"

"It's not impossible. There are villages that worship the rock mountain god as a deity."

However, Mothra, who was listening to the conversation, suddenly jumped up from her spot.

— No, what are you talking about? You said you'd get rid of it!

"Hey, come on. Do you think we want to do this?"

It was always the case that violence couldn't solve everything.

So, Abel decided to try talking to the rock keeper.

But how could he know if they could communicate?

First, he approached it and hung around.

"Hey! Look here. Let's talk for a minute, dude!"

If that guy had the ability to speak, he would definitely have some kind of reaction.

…

Kuhwaaang!

"Wow!"

Abel tried to start a conversation, but the rock keeper suddenly swung its front paw.

If he hadn't dodged quickly, he probably would have ended up rolling around as a bloodied mess.

Because the destructive power was that enormous.

"I was just trying to persuade him. Wouldn't this be considered self-defense?"

Of course, in modern society, self-defense was virtually nonexistent.

This was because the people who judged the law knew nothing about real fighting.

For example, it was like having a mixed martial arts match and bringing in an outsider to be the referee.

That person wouldn't even be able to judge the condition of the players or determine if a foul had been committed.

So, how could they possibly get proper results?

'But this is the Duchy of Crawford.'

Abel was the one who destroyed the Senate and took legislative power.

Of course, these procedures were not necessarily required.

It was the same in the empire—everything just needed a proper legal interpretation.

The other party had committed a crime amounting to attempted murder.

Would there be no way to escape this crisis?

Then, Abel also needed to mobilize a similar level of force.

To be fair…

"Want to go somewhere and play?"

Abel immediately pulled out Hector Punisher.

Then, the rock keeper launched an even more fierce attack.

It seemed like it thought carrying a weapon was a threat in itself.

"Don't blame me too much. You started this first."

If it hadn't made the first move, the conversation would have gone much more smoothly.

Ta-da! Whoosh!

Abel leaped toward the monster's upper body and swung Hector Punisher.

He had used all his skills against Spectre, but there was no need for that now.

Since ghosts were immune to physical force, he had to use destructive punishment.

But didn't the rock keeper have a physical body?

All he needed to do was wrap his arms around the beast's heart and roughly beat it down.

Boom!

As the hammer blasted, the rock keeper's head snapped down.

It must have been quite a shock because it rolled around on the ground with wide-open eyes.

Kookookookookung!

"Grrrrr!"

Then, the earth shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

Abel waited a moment for the creature to come to its senses.

Just in case they could have a conversation.

But the rock keeper only let out a howl.

"Gwaaah! Kkaaaah!"

Kookookookookung!

There was so much chaos that it seemed like a landslide was about to occur.

If things continued like this, the destruction might even reach the city.

'That won't work.'

Abel spun Hector Punisher around.

The rock keeper started slowly retreating.

The original plan was to chase it away like this.

As long as it didn't act like a monster, there was no reason they couldn't coexist.

But hadn't a rather dangerous scene just unfolded?

What if it had done that front leg attack on the Dapan Group employees coming to develop Mount Berkal?

'It's too dangerous.'

The talk of self-defense was, in reality, nothing more than a joke.

That kind of legal principle was only applicable to beings with whom one could communicate.

Abel made a decision.

He was going to tame the spirit, once and for all.

"Okay, from now on, should I try to change a little too?"

『Extreme Choice Activation』

Woohoo!

"Select 'Attack Power.'"

"You will become a 'glass body.'"

When it came to defeating something, there was nothing more thrilling than making an extreme choice.

Of course, destructive retaliation was much more powerful.

Abel swung Hector Punisher again.

Kuhwaaaaang!

A loud explosion echoed as stone dust scattered in all directions.

The left shoulder of the rock keeper disappeared without a trace.

Suddenly, a strange voice entered Abel's mind.

— W-Wait a minute!

Abel blinked.

"What? Was he someone you could talk to?"