Chapter 221
Chapter: 221
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 221
>Chapter Title: Heart of Ice (2)
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>Glacier Trolls.
They're massive ice monsters said to stand over ten meters tall when upright. Bern claims he's seen ones taller than twelve meters, but that kid's bragging is nothing new.
They enter a state of suspended animation deep in the Demon Realm during summer, then slowly begin stirring as the harsh winter sets in. They possess this bizarre life cycle.
They roam alone, and nothing is precisely known about their population or breeding seasons.
They usually wander the deep frozen zones spanning the northern reaches of the Salts Lake region, but rarely, they venture as far as the border between territories and the Demon Realm.
If they're not exterminated in time when that happens, the territory suffers greatly—not only because they attack humans indiscriminately, but because their mere presence intensifies the bitter cold damage.
No one knows why they're called 'trolls.' They look nothing like the trolls from tales passed down since the era of the Three Ancient Dragons.
Yeah. So why the hell are they called trolls in the first place? Are they even living creatures?
Debates have persisted since ancient times over whether these things are truly living magical beasts, but the Holy Church's stance has always been firm.
According to that rascal Bern, His Holiness the Great Saint Emperor has his reasons.
If they deny it's a living magical beast, it'd naturally be classified as one of the demons' minions animating the dead—and that would require dispatching large-scale Holy Knight orders to exterminate them.
But none of the cardinals want to send out the Holy Knights under their command. They're too busy checking each other to waste their own forces like that.
Of course, Bern—the guy who stirs up discord and pits them against each other—is the worst of the lot.
In any case, common sense dictates they can't possibly be living creatures.
Unlike Lycanslopes, which endure the cold with their hot body heat, Glacier Trolls don't resist the cold at all. True to their name, their bodies are made of 'ice,' and they only move actively in frigid environments.
They don't even have proper internal organs!
The only organ is that heart in their chest that glows and pulses.
Of course, whether it actually functions as a heart is questionable, but there's no denying it's every bit as vital as one.
Just extract that heart from the body, and the rock-hard ice frame—unbreakable under normal circumstances—disintegrates in an instant, eventually melting away completely into the air.
-From the Holy Assembly's designated forbidden text, Granias's [Wonders of the Continental Expedition]
* * *
Seongjin received immediate treatment. Amid Masain's storm of nagging, of course.
While Baron Valery and Baron Sharon poured their divine power into him, the resident knights busily gathered firewood and shoveled clean snow. They were heating bathwater to wipe away the bloodstains where supplies ran short.
'To think I can wash up on the front lines like this—must be the perks of being a prince.'
Nothing beats power, after all.
Seongjin lounged back, letting Masain's scolding go in one ear and out the other, when suddenly a chill ran down his spine. He turned to look.
'...Huh?'
Was it his imagination? For a split second, Baron Sharon's eyes had turned icy, flashing silver.
And Seongjin soon realized it wasn't his imagination.
Neither Baron Valery nor Baron Sharon were particularly gifted in healing, so his recovery had been sluggish. But right after that moment, the pain vanished as if washed away, and vitality surged through his body.
Above all, Seongjin didn't miss Baron Sharon's right hand twitching for an instant.
It was over in a flash, of course. Baron Sharon quickly returned to his usual demeanor.
'Whoa...'
Seongjin realized it immediately.
'If no one else had been around, I'd have gotten a solid knuckle-rap!'
He'd said it would be a while before he could come north, but it seemed Father had briefly possessed him and left.
He probably had just enough time for a knuckle-rap. But he couldn't very well do it in front of others using Baron Sharon's body.
Seongjin breathed a huge sigh of relief.
'Alright, crisis averted. By the time we get back to the capital, Father's anger should have completely cooled, right?'
The man cools off quickly, after all.
Then the Demon King chimed in with exasperated sarcasm.
[You're seriously relieved you dodged it? Huh? Where's the reflection? Where's the remorse?]
Shut up! You and your nagging!
Don't you and Masain think you're overdoing it?
And that night, a large tent was erected at the outpost. To accommodate the sudden influx of personnel all at once.
The ample supplies Orden's group had brought were neatly stacked in one corner of the tent.
For people who'd raced here like mad with barely any meals, their preparations were surprisingly thorough. Must be from years of defending the Demon Realm border.
Thanks to that, the front-line outpost enjoyed a rare lavish dinner.
Seongjin's group felt relief at safely finding the prince, while the outpost soldiers savored the lively bustle after so long.
Everyone was excited, creating quite the boisterous atmosphere.
"It's all thanks to Prince Mores that we're enjoying such luxury, hahaha."
"But what accident left Your Highness isolated in the Demon Realm like that? Ah, never mind. I won't ask."
A soldier who had blurted out the question flinched at Masain's rapidly darkening expression and quickly changed the subject.
"Haha, in any case, Your Highness is truly remarkable."
"To remain so composed despite the shock—such poise from our young prince!"
"And on the way here, he even cut down Demon Realm beasts himself?"
"And that's not all! His thoughtfulness in considering lowly soldiers like us—we're deeply moved!"
Plain, heartfelt praise flowed without fancy words.
"When I get back to the territory, I'll tell my brat of a son all about it! 'The prince of the Divine Empire is this outstanding at such a young age—you should take after him!'"
Masain's face grew subtly complicated as he listened.
He was pleased by the prince's praise, but since he couldn't fully agree with the content, his feelings were mixed.
Of course, the now-clean Seongjin was handling his utensils with unusual decorum.
"Look at him playing it cool like that. Our prince's poker face is something else!"
"Is that impressive? Isn't it just con artist vibes?"
"Hey! Unless you're ready for a full cup of Edith's Melbourne tea, shut that mouth, Baron Carmen!"
"Heh heh heh. The beast-slaying squad knows that look well. Remarkable potential."
"...Even you, Baron Sharon?"
The impudent whispers from the side were a bit annoying.
Hey! I can hear you all!
It was around then that Seongjin brought up the [Ice Heart] to Orden.
"The Lycanslope Lord is mobilizing Glacier Trolls, you say?"
Orden asked with a skeptical look.
"And this is supposed to be proof?"
"Yeah. The Lycanslopes wouldn't carry this around for no reason."
Seongjin handed Orden the ice chunk, still not melting and emanating cold.
Even now, borrowing the Demon King's demonic eye, faint letters were clearly visible to Seongjin. In Korean, no less—an instruction manual.
〚Glacier Troll Ice Heart〛
〚@#Obtained from Veraa%d Dungeon Boss, Glacier Troll King □□. Set activity conditions for registered entities and issue commands via simple sentences.〛
〚Item Grade: A〛
〚Registrable Entities: 3/25〛
〚*Cannot verify current sH#;aoie& server.〛
Maybe because this wasn't the regular world—the text was faint, with overlapping sentences scattered about. It had taken Seongjin a good while to make out a few lines.
The strange part was that the Demon King couldn't read it at all. He'd said it was in characters he'd never seen, so it probably wasn't actually Korean as it appeared.
He could only guess it was how the soul crystal processed the demonic eye's info into visual form.
"It does resemble a Glacier Troll heart in shape. But it's far too small, and the glow is still vividly alive. This can't be one."
Orden examined the ice chunk closely before speaking.
"Originally bigger, then?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Glacier Trolls are monsters towering ten meters high. Their hearts are larger than a human head. And once extracted, the heart loses its light and shatters."
"Hmm..."
Truth be told, this ice chunk felt less like the heart itself and more like a small control tower for commanding Glacier Trolls.
But with no way to explain the letters only he could see, it was frustrating.
"You saw it too, didn't you, Grand Duke? The Lycanslopes on the ice wall were clearly waiting for something. Maybe Glacier Trolls."
"But Glacier Trolls are mindless beasts that roam aimlessly through ice fields and snowplains. They wander solo and never form packs. A magical beast obeying another species? Unheard of."
"So there's zero chance of Glacier Trolls showing up on the front lines?"
"Yes. They don't stir until deep winter. Right now, they're holed up asleep somewhere in the Demon Realm."
"..."
He had a point.
These were people who'd guarded the Demon Realm border for years—their word on Glacier Troll habits should hold.
Even if the description was visible, there was no guarantee this would function properly in the main world of Delcross.
'But it activates, so maybe that's why they're using it?'
Take the magic stone Sisley gave him—it was from the regular world but worked fine as a hand warmer.
Plus, one line in the description stuck out.
〚Set activity conditions for registered entities and issue commands via simple sentences.〛
If that's the case, couldn't they override the trolls' habits and set them to move in higher temperatures?
'In any case, preparing won't hurt.'
With that conclusion, Seongjin instructed Orden.
"Contact the Ice Wall Base for now. Prepare for a Glacier Troll assault."
Orden nodded readily.
He figured it was needless worry from the prince, but tightening security couldn't hurt.
"Understood, Your Highness. I'll contact the Ice Wall Base first thing tomorrow morning."
But in that instant, Seongjin felt a sharp premonition tug at his chest.
Wait, isn't that too late?
"No. Send it now."
"...Pardon?"
"Make sure it reaches the Margrave tonight. Take measures immediately."
"..."
Orden looked at Seongjin with a stunned expression.
But meeting his eyes—which seemed to shine unusually bright—he replied with a more serious face.
"Yes. I'll see to it, Your Highness."
* * *
"Glacier Trolls? What nonsense is this out of nowhere?"
That night, old man Vincent questioned the Margrave after reading the urgent letter from the canyon outpost.
Margrave Hendrick folded the letter with a troubled look.
"Prince Mores mentioned the possibility of Glacier Trolls appearing on the front lines. It's Orden's request to prepare accordingly."
"Glacier Trolls in late summer? And even if they did show, you think I'd let them waltz in? Ridiculous..."
The Margrave's eyes deepened.
"What Prince Mores pointed out was different. Given the Ice Wall Base's layout, securing retreat for large forces would be difficult—he advises preparing in advance. It's not wrong. No other fortress has such a narrow entrance besides the Demon Realm's Ice Wall Base."
The old man snorted.
"Even if true, it's needless worry. After staring at the third ice wall's height, he still spouts that? Even if Glacier Trolls really came, they couldn't scale a forty-meter wall. We won't need to retreat."
That was why they weren't panicking over the massive Lycanslope buildup and leisurely gathered troops.
However.
"With today's third contingent from the guard captain joining, we've already over seven hundred troops assembled here. Even after victory, sending them all back to the territory is no small task."
"So?"
"If the third ice wall holds—which it will—perhaps widen the second ice wall's entrance a bit."
Thick as it is—when would they even excavate and widen it? Any work just refreezes and narrows again! Pointless!
Old man Vincent grumbled from behind, but the Margrave summoned the night guard shift and ordered all-night work.
No sense irking the temperamental prince needlessly, and preparing for return in advance wasn't a bad idea.
And the next dawn.
A soldier crossing the ice wall for shift change paused, an uneasy feeling gripping him as he scanned the snowplain.
Strangely, none of the Lycanslopes that usually prowled near the wall were in sight—an unusually quiet night.
"What's... that?"
After staring ahead for a while, he spotted something odd and enhanced his vision with aura.
Twitch twitch.
Half-asleep? The white snowfield undulated gently, as if alive.
"Hey, what do you make of that?"
"Huh? What is it?"
Observing the strange horizon creeping toward the ice wall, their eyes widened as its shape emerged from the darkness.
"Am I dreaming...?"
And rightly so.
They were witnessing a bizarre sight beyond even their dreams.
Uwoooo—
Uwoooo—
"...Glacier Trolls...?"
The white masses stretching along the horizon were, astonishingly, dozens of Glacier Trolls advancing in a single file on all fours.