CH 131

Episode 131 – Strange Troll

I looked back, expecting to see joy on their faces, but unexpectedly, they looked rather perplexed. I wondered to myself if I had perhaps done something strange without realizing it…

“Umm… errrr… shall we move on to defeat the next monsters?” (Lewin)

I called out to them, unable to bear the awkward silence as they stood there stock still with stiff, frozen expressions. Lyra finally reacted with a start upon hearing my voice and ran up to me with gusto.

“Lewin…! Just now, that fight!! What the heck was that?! You killed those four ogres instantly!!” (Lyra)

“I’m also completely stunned… Ogres are supposed to be D-rank monsters, but you just slaughtered them without even giving them a chance to do anything…” (Nina)

“I mean… I’ve been training more for anti-monster combat than anti-personnel combat lately, so I think the fact that the Ogres were also humanoid produced synergistic results. Plus, there was Porta’s [Bravery]! …Wait, we need to go and defeat the next monsters!” (Lewin)

Following behind us, Nina was doing a great job of continuously launching [Anti-Heal] towards the skies, having already culled about half of the monsters flying in the sky. We fought our way through at an overwhelming pace, routing the enemies both on land and in the air… But we finally stopped once we reached the public square at the center of the city, where we saw a Troll standing there with a daunting pose.

Though we had killed several Trolls on our way here, they had been a pretty big nuisance to deal with. Even if they received slashes from us, they had a fast self-regeneration ability that allowed them to quickly close their wounds back up. They also had a muscular, hulking body that allowed them to perform full swings that covered massive areas with their clubs. Getting too close to a Troll was dangerous, so the three of us had to surround each one in order to defeat it… But this Troll in front of us looked different from the Trolls we had fought thus far.

Instead of the green-colored skin that most of the Trolls had, this one had purple skin. And while it was slightly smaller than the green Trolls, it had a strongly built torso that made its physique look more balanced in comparison. In terms of the attire, instead of having just a loincloth wrapped around their lower body, it was dressed up in proper clothes.

There was such a marked distinction between this purple Troll’s figure and the rest of the Trolls we had fought so far, which made it hard for us to approach. Perhaps…this monster was an Executive of the Demon King’s Army?

The moment I thought that, the purple Troll broke the silence and ‘spoke’.

“Guhehehe. What’s up with ye, are ye comin’ at meh or not?” (Purple Troll)

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard words come out of the Troll’s mouth. Instead of a grunt or groan, it spoke clear, intelligible human words. I couldn’t hide my shock at the fact that a monster could speak human language.

“Haaah? What’re ya surprised ‘bout? C’mon, hurry up ‘n come at me!” the purple Troll taunted with a vulgar smile. This being was so far removed from any image of the monsters I knew that I couldn’t even find the words to respond. It wasn’t just me either. Byrne and Lyra were in a similar state, and I could hear them breathing hard.

“……Should we retreat? This one is dangerous.” (Byrne)

“I agree. For now, let’s run away… I think it would be better to wait for reinforcements.” (Lyra)

But based on what those two had already said, we should probably avoid fighting at this rate. Just when I was about to nod to agree with them― in the corner of my eye, I saw the figure of a little girl emerge from a side street. She must have been running from a monster of some sort, as her head was turned, looking behind her as she fled. She hadn’t noticed the purple Troll right in front of her.

I could tell that the purple Troll had also noticed the little girl, as a smirk appeared on its face. Byrne and Lyra called out loudly to the little girl, but with a monster possibly chasing her from behind, there was no way she could stop.

When that thought crossed my mind, my body moved forward on its own.

With my sword at the ready, I ran as fast I could towards the gap between the purple Troll and the little girl. At the edge of my vision, I could see the Troll swinging its greatsword down at her.

Please make it in time, please, please!!

Screaming inwardly, with the sole thought of blocking the Troll’s greatsword occupying my mind, I slid to a stop in front of the girl just in the nick of time. I immediately put up my steel sword and braced myself as hard as I could as the purple Troll’s greatsword came plummeting downwards.

The moment the Purple Troll’s blow collided with my steel sword, an ear-splitting bang echoed out like an explosion— but I succeeded in canceling out the attack. Without a moment’s delay, I pushed the attack off, turned around to scoop up the little girl, and got out of there.

The purple Troll wanted to give chase, but Lyra and Byrne blocked its path and stood their ground.

Phew.

I thought I wouldn’t make it in time, but I was glad that I was somehow able to rescue her. But now, the battle with the purple Troll was no longer avoidable.