Ch.70EP.18 – Ghoul vs. Ghoul? (8)

At first glance, it resembled a troll-like monster.

From its appearance to its body structure, it somewhat resembled the rock troll the cadets had fought today, so it would be correct to call this creature a troll.

…However, that thing.

‘Could, could such an enormous troll actually exist?’

About five times the size of a normal troll.

No, perhaps even larger.

And its skin was dark red.

While a troll’s skin should typically be rough like stone, this troll’s skin resembled snake scales.

A body several times larger than a normal troll and dark red skin reminiscent of snake scales.

And then.

[[GRRR….]]

Chills!!

…Its entire eyeballs were stained red as if filled with blood.

“Hnngh…!”

The mage barely resisted the fear emanating from the creature, but his legs were trembling.

Too terrified.

And then he remembered.

‘Th-that’s right, I… I know what that is….’

The contents of an ancient document he had read in his master’s room full of old books when he was young.

The nightmarish accounts of an ancient species from that old book, which seemed like nonsense among various collected legends.

“O-Ogre King….”

Troll….

No, the moment he uttered the title of this being that could hardly be defined as a troll.

Splash!

He could see it rising from the lake.

Despite the lake being quite deep, only half its body was submerged, and every time it raised its body and flailed its arms, water overflowed as if flooding, rippling like waves.

It moved as if water resistance didn’t exist, and the mage gradually backed away as he confirmed its appearance.

“Ogre King?”

The knight questioned the mage who was trembling like an aspen tree.

Asking if he knew about that troll.

King, huh….

“Seems like a grandiose title for a troll.”

“D-don’t say such foolish things! The O-Ogre King is not an ordinary troll!”

Ogre King—it seemed like an arrogant name to give to a mere monster, but considering what this troll had accomplished, the mage’s terror seemed justified.

“W-we must flee! It’s not just a simple monster! It’s the Ogre King! A thousand-year-old troll!”

“…?”

“The champion of trolls! A monster that devours ogres! A creature said to possess immortal power! It’s a kingdom slayer!”

About a thousand years ago, a kingdom more prosperous than Pendragon was destroyed overnight.

Since it was an event that existed only in documents, no one knew if it was true, but as time passed and relics of the destroyed kingdom were discovered, the record gradually became closer to established fact.

And what destroyed the kingdom overnight was none other than.

“It was a catastrophe caused by a single troll…”

It was an incident caused by a mere monster, and surprisingly, that monster was said to be a troll.

However, that monster was not a simple troll.

A troll that lived for a thousand years.

Just as trees with mysteries, lakes, winds, and volcanoes gain spirituality through long existence, even monsters can become catastrophic beings beyond definition if they survive for a thousand years—this was what ancient humans had to learn through the disaster of extinction.

“A-a creature that achieved evolution through a thousand years of mystery, the king of all trolls and simultaneously the pinnacle of monsters—that’s what it is…”

Black skin dyed with dark red scales.

A body about twenty times larger than an ordinary troll.

Regenerative abilities akin to immortality—wounds inflicted by swords, fire, magic, or any weapon would not kill it.

Ogre King.

It could rightfully be called a Demon King, but it was nicknamed after its ghost-like appearance,

and it was a living natural disaster that humans should never disturb.

Therefore.

“W-we must flee! Right now…!”

The mage’s fear was merely the survival instinct that any living being should have.

And after hearing all this explanation, the knight.

“Twenty times? It looks like only five times bigger to me.”

He merely wore an indifferent expression.

It wasn’t that the knight ignored or dismissed the mage’s explanation.

Nor was he underestimating the monster.

It was just that to be afraid.

‘It doesn’t look that impressive.’

Despite the grandiose description, it didn’t appear to have the power to destroy a kingdom.

Instead of trembling in fear at the mage’s explanation, the knight narrowed his eyes and assessed the [enemy].

The knight asked.

“It does look bigger than a normal troll, but it seems smaller than what I’ve heard. What do you think about that?”

“I-I think it might be due to lack of nutrients. The Ogre King is said to take long hibernation periods of hundreds of years at the edge of the continent where humans cannot reach. It probably wouldn’t be efficient to maintain such a massive body constantly, so I predict it sleeps for long periods. And now, the Ogre King has been forcibly awakened from its long hibernation by summoning magic and brought here against its will. This means…”

[[-GAAAA!!!]]

“…it must be extremely angry from not getting enough sleep, and due to the stress of being forcibly awakened, it’s experiencing tremendous hunger.”

This was an analysis based on evidence.

However, the mage’s analyses were rarely wrong.

It was a specialty of mages who read the world through magical power.

Moreover, if the mage’s analysis was correct, it undoubtedly meant that this troll needed a large amount of nutrients due to anger and hunger, and the target containing those nutrients was probably.

“So despite its grand name, it’s fundamentally still a troll.”

All monsters eat humans.

But among them, those that particularly devour humans more than others are trolls, monsters known as man-eaters.

“W-we’re all going to be eaten…”

The mage’s mind calculated against his will.

How many humans the Ogre King would need to consume to restore its original body, compared to the documents.

And the result of the calculation.

‘All the citizens in the royal capital—!’

The moment that thing escaped from the lake, nothing would remain in the royal capital.

“Haha, it’s all over, the Ogre King, the legendary Ogre King…”

The mage revealed a hollow despair, giving up.

Being a quick-calculating mage, he was also quick to give up against an opponent he couldn’t defeat.

The mage lost his will to fight, unable even to summon magical power.

…However.

“So, that thing. It’s in an extremely weakened state, right?”

“…?”

“Good, that’s all I needed to know.”

Thud!

The knight boldly approached the lake, leaving behind the mage who was arbitrarily despairing and feeling dejected.

He downed five potion bottles at once and jabbed a syringe filled with potion directly into his leg.

Crack!

Normally, the daily dosage of potions is two.

Drinking more would cause symptoms of poisoning and hallucinations, but the knight ignored this.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about pain or side effects.

Moreover, fortunately, troll genes were circulating in his body, so the side effects would be less than expected.

Rather.

“Whew, now I feel a bit better.”

The effect was almost too good.

Crack, crack.

His body gradually became lighter.

Forced awakening effect.

The bones in his two broken legs mended, and his skin regenerated.

It seemed his blood was also somewhat replenished, and so the knight.

“A troll is still just a troll, no matter what.”

[[Grrr-!!]]

The Ogre King doesn’t understand human language.

So it couldn’t comprehend what this insignificant being had uttered.

But one thing.

Suddenly, the Ogre King’s sense of smell caught a scent.

That scent was none other than.

“Oh, this potion? It’s made from hunting your offspring. What do you think, is it well-made? It’s a bit disappointing that it’s diluted by 30%, though.”

The scent of its kin carried by the wind—.

[[GR-R-!]]

The Ogre King didn’t know that it was merely a potion created by alchemists who had replicated troll blood, but that wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was that it was a provocation.

How dare mere prey provoke a king—!

The Ogre King was furious and wanted to immediately grab and tear apart the limbs of the insignificant being before it.

After killing it painfully like that, it wanted to chew slowly and kill the one who dared to provoke… no, provoke itself.

Just as the Ogre King, already heated to the top of its head from not completing its hibernation, was about to charge.

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to sacrifice a leg just to make you fall into the lake?”

The knight welcomed a rapidly approaching dot in the sky.

“I-Instructor! I-I brought it!”

“Drop it just like that.”

“B-but.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“Nngh!”

With a groan, Irene Windler unleashed dozens of large harpoons carried by telekinesis.

Thirteen large harpoons used for whaling.

Thud.

“Thank you.”

The knight caught the falling harpoons and briefly thanked Irene Windler for bringing them here, then.

Hnngh!

He gathered all his strength and threw the harpoon with all his might.

Kwang!!

[[Grr!!]]

“In your era, humans probably couldn’t hunt whales yet.”

But this isn’t a thousand years ago.

“Let me show you how far human cruelty has evolved.”

The harpoon that cut through the river water struck the Ogre King’s shoulder, and the Ogre King felt pain.

It couldn’t pierce through its hard scales, but.

Crack.

—With one collision, cracks formed in the scales that were like armor.

[[Gaa-.]]

Only then did the Ogre King realize.

That this prey was not an easy hunt.

The thousand-year-old man-eater versus a human modified by human malice—they clashed like that.

* * *

Do you know what happens when you fire a harpoon like a cannon?

It’s simple.

A cannon in the shape of a harpoon is fired.

Its power is ferocious and cruel enough to hunt even the Blue Whale, also known as the white-bearded whale.

It was once a weapon invented by various kingdoms during the Age of Exploration for whale hunting, but.

After several kingdoms were submerged by the sea guardian <Leviathan>, who was enraged by the death of its kin, and humans first begged for mercy and forgiveness, it was rarely used.

However, humans are not the kind to leave their inventions unused.

They either modified large harpoons to catch large monsters or modified them to catch marine monsters that had become monstrous.

Thus, cannons in the shape of harpoons were still well-used in the field, and their power and ferocity were rather…

Crack!

Even more vicious than when used for whaling.

[[Gaaa-!!]]

The Ogre King was in an excited state.

It wanted to escape from the river, yet harpoons continued to rain down on it like restraints.

The power of the harpoons flying straight and true was something even the Ogre King couldn’t ignore.

If its condition were normal and it had consumed even one source of nutrition, it might have been different, but unfortunately—.

“Don’t open your mouth there!”

Just as the Ogre King was about to consume a fish, Ihan Turtle lodged a harpoon right into its open mouth.

Incredible accuracy, speed, and power!

Kwang!

The Ogre King’s jaw twisted once.

Hiss….

[[G…R…!]]

But true to its legendary status, the Ogre King reacted to the harpoon, showing the feat of catching harpoons flying like shells with its teeth.

A strength no less than Ihan’s, no, a terrifying bite force.

However.

“You fool. That’s why you’re just a troll.”

[[!!!!]]

Urrrgh!

When the liquid coating the harpoon entered its mouth, the Ogre King felt an indescribable pain in its tongue and throat.

An excruciating pain like thousands of needles stabbing.

While most poisons don’t work on trolls, this one had to work.

A special extreme poison made by alchemists, rarely produced even in the kingdom.

He had obtained it after throwing a tantrum—no, after dramatic negotiations with a certain princess sister who didn’t want to give it to him.

“I told you I’d show you how far human cruelty has evolved.”

Ihan kept his promise.

The human desire to reign at the top of the ecosystem through survival competition has created countless products over long years of development.

Lived for a thousand years?

Called the king of monsters with immortal regenerative abilities?

All insignificant.

“We hunt things like you.”

Humans are creatures who will someday use even the moon as a resource.

Ihan drove the Ogre King into a corner with an extremely composed attitude, and seeing this, a certain young female mage.

‘What is this? Who is the evil one?’

[…Could it be us?]

…Just as she said.

‘What a sorry sight for humans…’

It was Irene Windler who was shocked, unable to distinguish who was good and who was evil.

—However.

Crunch!

“Huh?”

[H-he’s chewing up the harpoon…?]

As if proving that even the good and evil that the girl was questioning were merely human arrogance, the pinnacle of monsters called the Ogre King, the Demon King equipped with ferocity, with a murderous aura.

[[[I… will… kill.]]]

It charged while speaking language.

Enduring all the flying harpoons.

And finally, it.

Thud!

Stepped onto land.

[[You, I… kill.]]

“Damn, it’s huge.”

It’s as big as three elephants combined.

Not only is it enormous, but it emanates an overwhelming presence and murderous intent filled with malice.

A pressure so intense that even a battle-hardened veteran would clutch his chest and cough blood.

This was the impression of facing it directly, and although he shook his head as if this wasn’t a creature meant to be defeated.

Shing.

For some reason, despite his daunted expression, Ihan was drawing his sword.

“…I was feeling a bit off just doing ranged attacks anyway.”

After all, how long could a knight act like infantry?

After swinging his sword through the air a few times with a refreshing smile, he.

“If I keep cutting until it bleeds out, it’ll die eventually, I guess.”

No retreat.

In both Go and battle, the moment you retreat, only defeat remains.

Without the slightest retreat, he simply moved forward, calmly stating his resolve.