Chapter 79
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 079
Chapter Title: New Threat
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The pork wasn't all that plentiful, but it was enough for each of the trolls to get a taste.
Yet food has a way of being far more torturous when you've only had a tantalizing bite compared to never tasting it at all. Having sampled the meat, the trolls smacked their lips repeatedly, clearly disappointed by the meager portions.
Woojin watched them, deep in thought.
'Should I hand out some jerky?'
But if he gave away preserved rations too, the delegation's own supplies would run short. He'd have to make do with promising more for later. Just as Woojin reached that conclusion...
Splash.
Cecilia scattered seeds across the ground. The saintess then tilted her watering can, pouring holy water over the sown earth.
Shaaaa—
A shimmering green energy rippled across the soil. Moments later, the seeds split open, sprouting numerous buds. Like frost creeping across a winter windowpane, green blades of grass pushed through the dirt.
Stems extended, flowers bloomed and fell, and fruits formed. It was as if the entire growth process of the plants had been accelerated dozens of times over.
Before long, five raspberry bushes and five blackberry bushes had sprouted.
—I prepared a little snack.
Cecilia timidly gestured to convey her intent. She seemed embarrassed by all the attention. Knartash, who had been standing nearby, eyed the bushes with curious fascination.
"What are these plants with their strange colors?"
The troll queen asked.
Come to think of it, this was probably the first time the troll tribe had laid eyes on plants with green leaves. After all, they were beings born and raised in the Demonic Realm.
"You pick these fruits and eat them. But don't damage the leaves or branches."
"Simple enough."
Knartash grinned confidently and reached out. Her fingers grasped a fruit.
Squish!
The raspberry burst right in her hand. The troll queen's grip was simply too powerful.
Woojin chuckled at the sight.
"Simple, huh?"
"...They're more delicate than I thought."
Knartash muttered sheepishly by way of excuse. She then sniffed the juice on her hand. Licking her finger once...
Knartash blinked in astonishment. The fruit, blessed by the saintess's holy power, was so sweet it made her tongue tingle.
"These fruits taste incredible. Is the land beyond the horizon filled with things like this?"
"You see them pretty often."
"What a land of abundance... It's almost regrettable, since it's the exact opposite of the direction our tribe must head."
The tribes of the Demonic Realm avoided heading south.
The further south one went, the weaker the beasts became, and settling for such feeble prey led to complacency. Over generations, the tribe's strength would inevitably wane.
Proof of this lay in the fact that most tribes attempting to migrate south had gone extinct not long after. The sloth born from lingering in safe lands proved the greatest danger of all.
In that sense...
"...We must reclaim our lands quickly."
Knartash mumbled as she chewed the fruit. The troll queen seemed to feel a deep sense of responsibility for losing the territory handed down from her ancestors.
Woojin had something to say about that.
"We should get moving. The sun's about to set."
He had planned to head to the northern front and assess the situation, but distributing food to the trolls had distracted him to the point he'd half-forgotten.
Knartash rose readily. She issued an order to her subordinate.
"Bring the rhinoceroses."
It seemed she intended to provide mounts, at least.
Three rhinoceros beasts charged northward. Astride each were troll warriors, Knartash, and Roland along with the Holy Knights.
Woojin rode his usual red wolf. Four wolf beasts galloped alongside the rhinoceroses.
Cecilia had wanted to come along too, but...
Without the saintess, the berry bushes wouldn't bear fruit. The trolls had gazed at her with longing eyes, and Cecilia couldn't ignore them, so she stayed in the city, busy infusing her holy power.
'What an enviable ability...'
Whipping up food like that on the spot was a priceless skill. Woojin coveted it, but he'd heard that even within the Church Alliance, people with such potent power were rare.
No point mimicking a cleric now—he could never gain that kind of ability. Shrugging it off, Woojin focused on the mission.
"How much farther to the destination?"
"We'll arrive soon."
Knartash replied promptly. Sure enough, a stone wall soon came into view in the distance. Far grander and larger than the troll gateway to the south.
It wasn't as tall as the Alliance's human-built barriers, but that height still secured ample tactical advantage.
As they approached the troll wall, a troll commander overseeing the site spotted the incoming rhinoceroses and came over.
His face was familiar.
'Braknak.'
The great troll warrior who had crushed humanity's Second Expeditionary Force. He approached and paid his respects.
"I see the chieftain and guardian."
"You're doing good work today as well."
Knartash encouraged the great warrior's efforts, then scanned the surroundings as if searching for someone.
"Where is Ulzog?"
"He's recovering from injuries. It's a minor wound; he'll be back on his feet soon."
"That's fortunate."
Ulzog was the third-ranked great warrior. With him sidelined by a small injury, Braknak had stepped in to take command.
Knartash stated the purpose of their visit.
"We intend to share the battlefield report with the allied forces."
"A welcome development."
Braknak nodded with evident relief, smiling as if glad for the successful alliance between humans and trolls.
To survey the situation, they needed to climb atop the wall. Braknak shouted something, and several thick ropes descended from above.
Grabbing two ropes in each hand, Braknak tugged sharply a couple of times as a signal. Those above pulled, hoisting his massive frame effortlessly upward.
Roland watched in admiration.
"Whoa, those ropes are sturdy! To hold up that bulk..."
"They're made with beast tendons mixed in."
The trolls' civilization lagged behind humanity's, but certain items crafted from beast byproducts outperformed human equivalents.
Woojin, Roland, and the Holy Knights gripped the ropes. Surrendering their weight, they were quickly pulled up to the top.
Knartash didn't bother with a rope.
Thwang!!
The troll queen coiled her legs and leaped with all her might. Like a compressed spring unleashed, her enormous body sprang high into the air.
Thud!
She landed lightly atop the wall. The knights gazed at her in awe.
"...A monster through and through."
"She's the leader representing her entire tribe, after all."
Just as exceptional geniuses arose among humans, the Demonic Realm teemed with beings innately gifted with extraordinary prowess.
Troll Queen Knartash was a mutant blessed with freakish strength from birth. A warrior who could stand against the ancient ones. Subduing her would require the Church Alliance to brace for heavy losses.
'But... even with that power, the troll queen couldn't defend her territory.'
What was the reason?
To gauge it, Woojin peered down from the wall. Scanning the surroundings carefully, he spotted several grotesque creatures.
Beings shaped from dripping flesh. Their eyeballs rotted and oozed black pus like tears.
Abominations.
Common sights for anyone operating in the Demonic Realm. Woojin had butchered countless ones without batting an eye...
But these felt off.
In the distance loomed a massive abomination. A crawling mass of flesh on four legs, with long horns protruding from its head.
It resembled a stag. Which struck Woojin as odd.
'...It's not humanoid.'
Every abomination Woojin had encountered mimicked human form. Yet these took on various beast shapes: oxen, deer, boars, bears...
Then he spotted a familiar silhouette. A hyena walking on two legs. Woojin's eyes widened.
'A troll-shaped abomination?'
A bad feeling stirred within him.
Woojin shot Braknak a look demanding explanation. The great troll warrior sighed heavily before answering.
"...Those used to be warriors of our tribe."
These abominations were once Denomic Realm natives. Even seasoned Woojin had never heard of such a thing.
"How did that happen?"
"Being corrupted by abominations causes that mutation. It never happened before... but suddenly, the dead started turning into them."
The longer the battles dragged on, the more trolls fell, and the enemy's numbers swelled accordingly. A hopeless stalemate. The troll tribe had no choice but to abandon their long-held lands and retreat south.
Why had this come to pass? There was only one clue so far.
"You said they carry the scent of the ancient ones... Are you certain?"
"Yes."
The trolls' keen sense of smell had detected the ancient ones' aura clinging to the abominations. An unusual situation all around. Woojin crossed his arms, lost in thought.
'Where did these things come from?'
The Old Ones Woojin had faced bore no connection to abominations. He couldn't fathom why this was happening now.
As he pondered...
The abominations sensed the living presences. They turned and let out guttural roars.
"Grraaaawr—!"
Four or five charged. But there was no need to respond.
Woojin glanced below the wall. A moat encircled it—deeply dug, studded with sharp stakes and bone shards.
The charging abominations tumbled into the trap. Impaled and shredded by the stakes, they writhed in agony.
Soon, two troll shamans bound by ropes rappelled down the wall.
Whoosh—!
The shamans spewed flames, incinerating the abominations. The creatures flailed desperately but had no escape. Before long, they crumbled into black ash at the moat's bottom.
The abominations dealt with, the troll warriors above hauled the shamans back up via the ropes. Woojin nodded in approval.
"What a well-built fortress... I had no idea troll craftsmanship was this advanced."
As Woojin murmured, Knartash smiled awkwardly.
"We didn't design it. We just repaired an ancient abandoned fortress."
Long ago, built to halt the Demonic Realm's southward advance—an ancient bastion. This wall and moat were remnants of humanity's desperate stand.
That clicked something for Woojin.
'...Leventor Kingdom.'
Duke Edwin had launched his expedition to rebuild the fallen kingdom. Thus, where Woojin now stood was the capital walls of Leventor—the ultimate goal of the Second Expeditionary Force.
The retreating trolls had claimed this abandoned land. Sparking conflict with the Second Expeditionary Force.
'Duke Edwin's ambition was doomed from the start.'
Even victory over the trolls would have pitted them against far deadlier foes in greater numbers.
Only a handful of abominations were visible now. But masses more seemed to have infested the area. Woojin could tell because...
Grrk, grraawr—
The distinctive abomination cries echoed repeatedly. Like frogs croaking by a lakeside on a rainy summer night.
'...A real headache.'
They needed a plan.