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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Roooar!!”
The troll stumbled backward, clutching its severed arm. The wound sizzled, but the limb didn’t regenerate. Even a troll’s regenerative abilities couldn’t restore a completely severed limb.
‘Was it really that easy? A troll?’
I recalled the troll I had fought in the dungeon. I wouldn’t have been able to defeat it without exploiting the gimmick that forced it to prioritize attacking fleeing humans. Now, I had inflicted a critical wound with a single swing of my sword.
Of course, there was a price. A large chunk of my sword’s blade was missing, and the blade itself was warped, throwing off its balance.
In fact, I was lucky. Most swords would have shattered before even cutting through the troll’s arm, unable to withstand my full strength.
Putting aside these new realizations, I drew another sword. I had been carrying spare swords for a while now, heeding Andrei’s advice.
“Roar!”
Realizing the permanence of its injury, the troll charged again. The ground trembled with each of its heavy steps.
The notion that large creatures were slow was a misconception. While its movements were large, its speed was faster than a horse. It attempted to kick me with the momentum of its charge.
Its calloused foot, packed with force, would have delivered a blow more devastating than a sledgehammer. A direct hit would have meant certain death.
‘If it connected, that is.’
In my slowed perception, the troll’s movements were sluggish, like a caterpillar’s crawl.
I sidestepped diagonally, slipping between its legs. Dodging its foot by a hair’s breadth, I swung my sword.
This time, I controlled my strength. I couldn’t afford to break another sword.
“Graaagh!”
Of course, what I considered moderate strength was still superhuman by normal standards.
A deep gash, exposing bone, appeared on the troll’s calf.
It stumbled, dropping to one knee, and swung its arm blindly.
-Whoosh!
The rush of displaced air sent a chill down my spine.
I spun in the opposite direction, anticipating the attack, and carved another gash into the remaining leg that supported its massive frame.
After a few repetitions, the troll could no longer support its weight and collapsed to its knees.
Finally, its face, more than three meters above me, was now within reach. I had been waiting for this moment.
I dodged its horizontal swing and closed the distance further.
The troll desperately tried to retract its remaining arm to protect its face. But…
I was faster.
I channeled my reserved strength into my sword. I heard the metal of the hilt twist as I swung, the blade sinking into the troll’s neck.
The blade cut through the skin, offering slight resistance, then forced its way through the thick bone, emerging from the other side.
I felt the troll’s hand, which had been reaching for the back of my head, fall to the ground. The troll’s headless body followed.
-Thud!
A cloud of dust billowed outwards in concentric circles.
I discarded the shattered blade and plunged my remaining sword into the troll’s skull, lifting it high. Its face, contorted in a grimace of pain, was still vivid.
“I, Allen, have slain the troll! Exterminate the remaining monsters!”
“Wooo!”
“Troll Slayer! He’s a true Troll Slayer! He killed a troll single-handedly!”
“Three battles, three victories! The Undefeated Knight! The Giant Slayer!”
Another nickname had been added to my collection. It was the same nickname my father had earned. A strange feeling stirred within me.
The morale of the few cavalrymen who had followed me, and the troops who had joined us later, soared.
The goblins, witnessing the troll’s death, despite outnumbering us several times over, didn’t dare to resist and began to flee.
“Screech!”
Taking advantage of the chaos, I carved out the troll’s chest, revealing its still-beating heart, the size of a human head.
I retrieved a bloodstained sheet from the bag attached to my saddle, wrapped the troll’s heart, and secured it. Then I retrieved another sword and mounted my horse, charging after the fleeing goblins.
The goblins, their ranks broken, scattered in all directions, each trying to save themselves.
While their numbers were still considerable, time would solve that problem. Having reached this conclusion, I left the remaining goblins to Muel and Dreng and entered the dungeon alone.
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“No experience points, huh?”
My level was too high compared to when I had first entered this dungeon. Thanks to that, retrieving the crystal was much easier this time.
Observing the collapsing dungeon, I retrieved the troll’s heart.
Then i unfolded the bloodstained sheet, placed the crystal on top of the heart, and tied them together. I then took another sword, only the hilt remaining, from my bag and pierced the bundle.
A red light pulsed from within the sheet. The heart, the bloodstained sheet, and the crystal began to shrink, as if being consumed by the sword.
Moments later, they vanished completely, as if they had never existed.
In their place was a two-meter-long greatsword.
Lifting it, I felt its immense weight. An ordinary person would struggle to even lift it.
‘The Trolls Blade.’ It wasn’t supposed to be this easy to create.
The hilt, which served as the base, was located in the royal treasury, and one of the required materials was witch’s blood.
According to the game’s storyline, the Seven Witches were the final enemies. Therefore, this item could only be crafted in the late game.
‘I need to test it.’ I needed to verify if it possessed the same abilities as in the game. Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself.
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I turned towards Phalanx. Having dealt with the branches, it was time to fell the tree.
It took only half a day to drive the goblins out of the city.
Of course, some might still be hiding within the city. I had dispatched Muel and Dreng to search for them. Meanwhile, I met with Baron Debussy.
He sat at the far end of the grand hall, on a slightly raised platform, in an ornate wooden chair with intricate carvings.
Seven fully armed vassals lined the walls on either side of him, and his only child, a daughter, sat beside him.
She had been staring at me since I entered the hall, her face flushing when our eyes met. She then turned away haughtily, scoffing.
‘Sir Powell was a pragmatic knight.’
I was impressed by the late Powell Osborne. While I considered myself quite greedy, I wouldn’t have shared a bed with that woman even if I were offered the title of Baron.
In any case, she didn’t seem to resent me, even though she knew I had killed her husband, Powell Osborne.
While such indifference was common in noble marriages, it was still unexpected.
There was another thing that puzzled me. Baron Debussy’s reason for bringing his daughter to such an important meeting.
He tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair and spoke first.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from a knight of Baron Rasino?” As he spoke, the seven fully armed vassals surrounded me, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
The cold, hard glint of metal on polished armor flickered menacingly in the candlelight.
Their wariness was understandable. I was, after all, their infamous enemy, the one they called the devil. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment.
“I expected to be greeted with gratitude…”
“Gratitude? Why would I be grateful to the man who killed my son-in-law and my soldiers?”
“Because I saved your life.”
“I didn’t need your help. We could have handled those goblins ourselves.” Baron Debussy lied without a change in his expression.
I chuckled.
“Weren’t you about to flee with your vassals?”
“You insolent cur! How dare you speak to me with such disrespect! Watch your tongue!” One of the vassals, a young man with a boyish face, raised his voice as Baron Debussy’s expression soured.
He was dressed as a knight, but his face was still youthful. Most of Baron Debussy’s knights had died by my hand, along with Powell. There were only two knights among the seven who surrounded me.
“Very well. Let’s get straight to the point.” I didn’t bother arguing. There was no point wasting my breath on those who were about to die.
Unaware of their impending doom, Baron Debussy and his vassals smirked.
“Speak.”
“You illegally occupied our rightful territory, and then, refusing to acknowledge your transgression, you invaded our lands. You also sided with the rebels and interfered in our family affairs, which resulted in Lord Segeric’s death. It’s time for you to pay the price.”
“You wretch!!! I warned you to watch your tongue!” The young knight, his face flushed with anger, drew his sword.
Perhaps he thought this was an opportunity to impress the Baron? He might have even had some connection to those I had killed.
In any case, this was the second time he had challenged me.
“This isn’t a matter for a mere knight to interfere in. And if you were going to interfere, you should have done so before abandoning your city and fleeing. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“What! You bastard!!” Provoked, the young knight charged at me, his face crimson.
Baron Debussy and the surrounding vassals paled. This seemed to be an unexpected outburst. They were about to intervene when
I stepped forward and swung the Trolls Blade.
The air crackled with a sound unlike any ordinary sword.
“Gasp…!”
The young knight, having acted recklessly, raised his sword to block the blow. It was a miscalculation.
-Bang!
With an explosive sound, the Trolls Blade shattered the young knight’s sword and continued its arc.
His face, contorted in pain, his eyes wide with shock, began to cave in. The devastation spread throughout his body.
His body split in two, as if cleaved by an unseen force. Blood and viscera spilled onto the floor, staining it crimson.
“Gasp!”
“Agh!”
Screams and cries of horror filled the hall. The remaining vassals drew their swords, pointing them at me.
I calmly wiped the blood from my sword. Despite having used my full strength, the Trolls Blade was unscathed.
It was just as described in the game: an unbreakable sword.
While I would have preferred a sharper blade, it was still an unparalleled weapon.
‘I’ll need to get used to it.’ The problem was its weight. The momentum of the swing had almost caused me to lose my grip.
Fortunately, I had plenty of practice targets around me.
The vassals, meeting my gaze, flinched and averted their eyes. It seemed the young knight was the only one foolish enough to challenge me.
“Enough!”
Baron Debussy, having finally regained his composure, raised his voice.
He glared disapprovingly at his retreating vassals, then turned to me.
“What do you want?”
“I want Melbourne.”
Melbourne, a renowned wine-producing region, was one of Baron Debussy’s primary sources of income.
It was a fitting price for the justifications I had listed, and considering I had saved his life, it was even a concession on my part.
“Hmm…! Do you think I’ll agree to that?”
Despite this, Baron Debussy’s expression remained stern. Humans were truly fickle creatures. And I, too, was human.
“I anticipated your refusal, so I’ve prepared an alternative.”
“A reasonable alternative, I hope?”
“Yes. You’ll abdicate in favor of your grandson.”
Baron Debussy had a young grandson, the son of his only daughter and Powell Osborne. I intended to use the boy as a puppet to seize control of the entire territory.
Baron Debussy, stunned, was speechless. His vassals, however, erupted in outrage.
“You wretch! What preposterous nonsense!”
“You’re not a knight, but a bandit!”
“There’s nothing more to discuss! I’ll take his head!”
They were all talk. They had seen what happened to their comrade who had challenged me. I hadn’t provoked him and displayed my strength for nothing.
Baron Debussy, realizing they were all talk, frowned.
“Enough-! Silence! I’m speaking with our guest!”
He silenced his vassals with the authority befitting his age, then turned back to me, his eyes sharp and calculating.
“Ahem. Is there no other way to settle this matter?”
I gestured for him to continue. He frowned at my arrogance, but quickly composed himself, forcing a smile.
“I’ll give you my daughter.” He gestured to his daughter, who was sitting beside him. So that was why he had brought her. He intended to use her as a bargaining chip.
The Baron’s daughter glared at me haughtily, as if saying, “I don’t like you, but I’ll accept if you insist.”
I stared at her, dumbfounded, and she, misinterpreting my reaction, smirked smugly.
I shook my head and turned back to the Baron.
“Do you really think your daughter is a more valuable offer than the previous ones?”
“Not to the new Baron, perhaps.” The Baron smirked.
“I’m not offering my daughter to the Baron of Rasino, but to you.”
It didn’t matter to Baron Debussy who his daughter married. She would be marrying into the family, so the heir would still be a man from his lineage.
Moreover, I was a far more valuable knight than Powell Osborne.
Using his daughter as a pawn to achieve his political goals was typical of a nobleman.
Seeing my feigned surprise, the Baron’s smile widened.
“You’re betrothed to the new Baron of Rasino, aren’t you? But is that really necessary? If you marry my daughter, a territory far greater and richer than the Barony of Rasino will be yours. And you won’t have to wait long. I’m not long for this world.”
“So you’re asking me to betray Lady Usebia?”
“If we join forces, we can easily conquer the Barony of Rasino.” His words weren’t wrong. The Barony of Rasino, weakened by the recent wars, wouldn’t be able to withstand a combined assault from Baron Debussy and me.
He continued,
“My forces are far more formidable than the Baron of Rasino’s. And the vassals I summoned are approaching even as we speak.” It was a warning, a threat that I would be in danger if I refused his offer.
In one hand, the Baron held a tempting bait, and in the other, a whip.
He was indeed far more capable than the late Baron Rasino.
The problem was, I had no intention of accepting his offer.
“I refuse.”
The Baron looked bewildered.
“Why? I thought it was an offer you couldn’t refuse…”
“Asking me to share a bed with the woman whose husband I killed is dangerous enough, but dying in bed would be a great dishonor.”
“I’ll guarantee your safety. My daughter would never do such a thing.” The Baron’s daughter nodded meekly, playing the role of the damsel in distress. She even managed to squeeze out a tear.
Her theatrics disgusted me. My patience was wearing thin.
I had listened patiently, hoping for a unique offer, but it had been a waste of time. I decided to be honest.
“There’s another reason. In fact, it’s the most important reason.”
“And what is that? Speak.” Baron Debussy seemed willing to meet any condition. However, this was a problem he couldn’t solve.
“Frankly, your daughter is too ugly.”
A heavy silence fell over the grand hall.
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Well, Aaron is picky sometimes 🤣
Dayum, flamethrower to the face and all their family