Chapter 42: The Juvenile Mutant Rock Lizard

Randolph took a deep breath, gathering his strength for a second assault.

A young stone giant lizard let out a pained howl, baring its teeth as it glared at Randolph standing not far away. Another stone giant lizard, seeing this, moved to shield its companion and began to gather magical energy for an attack.

“All soldiers, prepare to throw your spears!”

A squad captain nearby issued the order, and the surrounding soldiers hurled their weapons forcefully, disrupting the magical attacks of the two stone giant lizards.

A dozen spears flew through the air, instantly breaking the beasts’ concentration and halting their spells.

“Hiss—”

Hard scales struck by the spears transmitted force deep into their flesh, causing both young stone giant lizards to cry out in anguish.

The next moment, Randolph accelerated suddenly, launching an attack aimed at the head of one of the lizards.

Seeing the attack coming, the stone giant lizard struggled to shift its body, turning its back to absorb the blow.

“Boom—”

The tremendous force sent both young stone giant lizards flying, slamming them hard against the rock wall.

The faint tremor in the ground refreshed the soldiers’ understanding of their knight’s strength.

A few minutes later, seeing that the stone giant lizards were utterly incapacitated, Randolph instructed a soldier to approach and assess their condition.

The soldier, upon receiving the order, swallowed nervously, picked up a spear from the ground, and cautiously approached the beasts. He poked the tail of one lizard with the spearhead, found no reaction, and dared to move closer.

“Sir, both beasts have fainted!”

The soldier reported with excitement, relieved to have survived.

Randolph breathed out in relief and calmly issued his orders: “You several, take these two beasts outside, bind their limbs and mouths with iron chains. In a couple of days, send them back along with the ore to Star Prayers Lake for our lord’s disposal.”

“Yes, sir.”

A dozen soldiers hurried forward, clumsily hauling the stone giant lizards away, allowing the mining serfs to resume their work and continue extracting the mithril ore.

...

At dawn, under Baird’s guidance, Verin arrived at the village square. There, he gazed with delight at the young stone giant lizards whose limbs were bound by iron chains.

“Sir, these are the two beasts Randolph sent back. They were discovered in the mine and reportedly consumed a fair amount of ore. Their scales are remarkably tough,” Baird explained, tapping the lizards’ scales with a knight’s longsword.

Listening to the sound of metal striking scale, Verin judged that the creatures could withstand considerable punishment. Turning to Baird, he said, “If we can train these young stone giant lizards as war beasts, they could be unexpectedly useful in the future.”

“My lord, we don’t have any beast tamers… How would we train them?” Baird looked troubled, worried that without a specialist, the beasts might end up harming their own side on the battlefield.

Verin stroked his chin; indeed, it was a problem.

Suddenly, he recalled the half-elf girl from a few days earlier—hadn’t she mentioned she knew something about beast taming?

“Baird, go bring Eunice here.”

“Yes, my lord.” Baird started to leave, then turned back, confused. “My lord, who is Eunice?”

“The half-elf girl,” Verin replied, covering his face in exasperation at his steward’s obliviousness.

Realization dawned on Baird, and he quickly left the square, heading toward the castle construction site—lingering any longer would have been awkward.

Verin then approached the struggling stone giant lizards, curious to observe a creature he’d only seen in bestiaries.

Unlike ordinary stone giant lizards, these two had black bodies covered with silver web-like patterns. From chest to belly, faint whitish stripes could be seen, and the front half of their tails was mostly silver.

This suggested that they had consumed a significant amount of mithril ore, resulting in mutation—or perhaps evolution.

Such phenomena were not rare in the world; many monsters mutated after inadvertently ingesting magical plants or strange ores, gaining new abilities.

Both stone giant lizards stared at him in terror, more frightened by this human than those who had attacked them before.

“Whimper, whimper.”

One lizard made a sound, its tone almost ingratiating.

Verin was taken aback—these mindless beasts were actually begging and trying to appear cute. Was it possible that the mithril ore had evolved their minds as well?

If so, taming these mutated stone giant lizards might prove easier than expected.

Half an hour later, Baird returned with the half-elf girl to the square.

“My lord.”

Verin wasted no words and addressed Eunice: “You mentioned before that you know how to tame beasts.”

Eunice gazed nervously at the three-meter-long stone giant lizard, but gathered her courage and replied, “Yes, my lord. I know something about beast taming—my sister is a beast tamer. I’m willing to try taming these stone giant lizards.”

“I hope you succeed.” Verin turned to Baird and instructed, “Have someone remove the chains.”

Hearing the order, Baird personally released the chains, granting one of the lizards brief freedom.

Eunice approached, gathering a gentle healing glow in her palm, and nervously moved closer.

The stone giant lizard looked at this four-legged creature with pointed ears. Sensing no threat, it felt that one swipe of its tail could kill her easily.

Its walnut-sized brain worked furiously. The lizard’s confused eyes cleared as it glanced at its companion and decided to make a bold move.

“My lord, be careful.”

Verin saw the stone giant lizard charging toward him and placed his hand on the hilt of his knight’s short sword, ready for battle.

But the next moment, the stone giant lizard stopped in front of him, lay down, and exposed its belly—just like a dog.

The sight left Verin, Baird, and even Eunice utterly dumbfounded. A beast famed for its ferocity and stupidity was behaving in such a manner; their jaws dropped in shock.

The dozens of soldiers nearby saw things differently. To them, the terrifying monster was submitting at their lord’s feet, proof that Star Prayers Lake was surely blessed by the Goddess of Life.

“My lord, this… it…”

Baird stepped forward, at a loss for words.

Verin said nothing, walking over to the stone giant lizard and tentatively stroking its chin.

“Hiss, hiss.”

The “wise” lizard acted docile and ingratiating, its eyes full of flattery. Its small brain understood clearly: recognizing its master now would ensure a comfortable future; otherwise, it might end up like its brethren, dead and forgotten.