The situation was even more severe than Rhode had imagined; the mice dared to bite even such a huge River Crab, perhaps they'd take a bite at people too.
Rhode summoned Three Wolves, Six Birds, Stone Beetles, and Magic Swamp Frogs to encircle himself and Mira.
Although they're not afraid of the mice, it's annoying to be pounced on and bitten by those critters.
When they arrived at the site of the crab attack, the big mouse was still hanging on the crab's leg, the shell on the crab leg had already been gnawed into shallow marks.
The River Crab couldn't do anything about the mouse because its pincers were too short to reach.
Rhode waved his hand, a Shadow Wolf leaped forward, clamped the mouse in its jaws, and shook its head a few times to relieve the mouse's pain.
"It's big," Mira observed the mouse's corpse; it was already close to the size of a rabbit.
Rhode glanced around, asking, "Doesn't it feel barren around here?"
Mira nodded, "Yes, at this time, crops near Magnolia should have sprouted already, but here it's bare."
Not only crops, but the fields here were almost barren, anyone would think they had just been plowed and de-weeded.
Accompanied by the magical creatures, they walked a bit further towards the village, and it got even worse, with many trees having their bark stripped.
On the way, they saw mice run by several times, their little eyes sizing them up; maybe seeing their numbers made them hesitate to approach.
Rhode commanded the Beaked Bird to shoot feather darts, pinning the big mouse to the ground.
A Shadow Wolf dug a pit beside the road and threw the mouse in, Rhode waved his hand to conjure fiery letters, providing a dragon's service.
Smelling the burning stench, he took out two masks.
After Mira put hers on, Rhode stared at her for a few seconds, though most of her beauty was concealed, her eyes appeared even more attractive.
Mira could probably tell what he was thinking, as it was all written in his eyes.
Lavender Village didn't have towering walls, just a somewhat rudimentary fence, unclear whether it was for demarcation or beast deterrence.
This thing clearly couldn't keep mice out; Rhode saw many places had bite marks from the mice.
The fence was adorned with many herbs, and outside there were many burnt-out fire piles. Upon closer inspection, one could see some mouse traps, snare traps, wire loops...
It seemed the village had tried a lot to prevent and exterminate the mice.
The two young men standing guard at the village entrance were visibly tense when they saw a large group of animals approaching, relaxing only upon realizing they were escorting two people.
Mira was the one who greeted them. As an S-Class Mage, she was the default captain of the team.
Mira removed her mask and said, "Hello, we are mages from Fairy Tail, we've accepted Mr. Jasper's extermination commission."
Rhode lifted his short sleeve to display the emblem, while Mira merely pointed to the symbol printed on her collar—her real emblem was on her leg, and she couldn't very well lift her skirt.
One of the young men exclaimed excitedly, "You're finally here! Please follow me to meet the village chief!"
The magical creatures were left at the village entrance to keep watch with the remaining young man.
Typically, having guards in a village is a peculiar thing, and Rhode casually asked about it on the way.
The young guide explained, "We are in charge of tending the fire pits. Because mice activity is particularly rampant at night, fires must be lit outside the village to prevent them from rushing in. But lately, the mice have become increasingly bold."
Rhode thought perhaps it's not boldness but hunger: "Have there been incidents of injuries?"
"Yes, two of my friends were bitten by mice when they went out, and after returning, they had a high fever for several days, almost losing their lives."
Those two were quite lucky; being bitten by mice is terrifying, unlucky ones can contract diseases like the plague, and one's life can be lost without warning.
The village chief, Mr. Jasper, was the client—a middle-aged man with a Mediterranean hairstyle.
When he saw Rhode and Mira, he was slightly disappointed, "Only two people?"
Though he knew that twenty thousand J likely couldn't hire many, seeing only two was still a bit of a letdown.
"That's not all, Chief; they brought nearly twenty strange creatures along, including a two-headed wolf, which looks quite fierce."
The chief nodded, further disappointed. Biological control had been tried; it worked for catching sporadic mice in the village, but the thousands outside were beyond control.
Last week, during a village rat-catching event, two dogs and three cats died. The mouse infestation was really troublesome.
Despite the disappointment, the chief courteously invited the two inside for a chat, instructing the young man to take good care of the fire pits.
Mira followed protocol by presenting the delegation letter for the chief's confirmation, then asked for more detailed information.
"Initially, it was just catching large mice every now and then, sometimes even seeing field mice crossing the road during the day.
No one paid much attention; after all, mice appeared every year. After spring, mouse activity becoming frequent is normal.
Until after sowing, almost a month passed, and there was no sign of sprouts in the fields; that's when everyone realized something was wrong.
After inspecting all areas, there were mouse holes everywhere in the fields, the seeds were long eaten, village mice were getting worse, clothes, rice bags, roofs—gnaw marks were everywhere. It was then we realized mice were becoming an epidemic.
We've tried various methods, such as poisoning, traps, releasing cats and dogs, but only managed to clear out most of the village mice. The ones outside had already evolved to the point of injuring poultry and livestock, even hurting people.
We've also organized rat-catching events, but with little effect, and some were injured in the process. Recently, there seems to be a tendency for outside mice to rush into the village, making us very concerned."
Mr. Jasper recounted the village's plight, looked at them with hopeful eyes, and asked, "Is there a kind of magic that can instantly wipe out all the mice?"
There certainly is, like Fairy Law.
One cast and not a single mouse will remain.
Like using a precisely targeted nuclear bomb to eliminate mosquitoes.
"Unfortunately, neither of us has mastered such magic," Mira said, "but give us some time, we have other methods."
"Is it relying on those animals Lightning talked about?" Jasper shook his head, "Excuse me for being blunt, but there's a numerical disparity; your pets might be in danger instead."
"Of course it's not just them, your understanding of us mages is very limited; numbers don't pose a problem."
Rhode said confidently, "To be honest, with a little time, I alone am an army."
Mira warmly smiles at Rhode.
'I alone am an army,' as he said this, he seemed to glow all over.