Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Words Can Be Chains or Salvation. (4)
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Enraged Ferocity.
Berserk Mode.
🔥 BERSERK MODE ACTIVATED 🔥 Abandoning even instinctive defenses,
attacking solely with the will to annihilate the enemy.
A double-edged sword.
Normally, trolls revert to ordinary trolls once they lose their Troll Lord.
They'd suddenly snap back to their senses, milling about in confusion, only to get wiped out or flee into the swamp in the meantime.
But as the Troll Lord died, it cast berserk on the entire troll legion.
The bastards lost their reason once more, turning back into rampaging monsters.
Even so, without their infinite regeneration, the over 30,000 troops encircling the tens of thousands of trolls could hold them off calmly enough.
The problem was that this Troll Lord's berserk wasn't ordinary.
Sacrificing its own life force and the regeneration of every individual troll.
Boosting the trolls' combat power to the absolute limit.
That was the berserk the Troll Lord had unleashed on its legion.
Trolls are classified as C-rank monsters, but their actual combat prowess is around the level of D-rank average orcs.
They're rated C-rank purely because of their absurd regeneration, their habitats being mostly hard-to-traverse swamps or jungles, and the difficulty in harvesting sellable byproducts.
That's why even D-rank parties could handle one or two trolls if they knew the tricks.
It was also why they could face an absurd undead horde of over 100,000 with just over 30,000 troops.
But if they sacrificed all that regeneration to boost their combat power?
And on top of that, received the Troll Lord's dying death throes buff?
How strong had those bastards become?
"Wh-what? Those fuckers are turning redder?"
"What the hell... something's off..."
Just moments ago, they'd been like puppets with cut strings, heads drooping limply.
Everyone thought maybe taking down the lord had ended it.
"Grk, grraaah...!!"
"Kweeeek!"
The trolls heated up bright red, their bodies swelling to nearly 1.5 times their size.
And soon...
"Kweeeek!"
They charged at the encircling soldiers and adventurers.
"Uwaaak! Block them!"
"Fuck, these bastards are weird! They're different from before...!!"
They were attacks that could've been blocked before.
Attacks that could've been dodged.
For some reason, they couldn't dodge now.
Even blocking, the fists broke through.
Kwajik!
"Kuhk?!"
The damage from hits felt wrong too.
Before, it was just a dent in the armor.
Now, it crumpled the armor completely and shattered bones.
Clearly different from the trolls up until moments ago.
"Kweeeek!"
"Grraaah!"
"Fuck! You motherfucking...!!"
It wasn't just specs—the feel was entirely different.
Before, they were emotionless puppets; now, they rampaged in frenzied rage.
Which was more annoying?
Obviously the wildly rampaging ones.
Unpredictable.
Kwajik! Peok!
"Kyeok?!"
"S-save me...!!"
Even with the improvised bomb tactics drastically reducing casualties,
they couldn't hold back the berserk trolls, and people started getting flung aside or crushed to death.
"Fuck...!!"
A-rank and higher adventurers,
and Hasler's knights were holding out as best they could, but there were over 100,000 of them.
With the soldiers and C-rank adventurers—90% of the forces—unable to fight back,
even the strongest had no way to handle those numbers.
"Throw all the bombs you've got! Buy as much time as you can!"
"Don't let them reach Hasler!!"
All they could do was hurl the remaining improvised bombs to slow their advance even a little.
Fortunately, the berserk trolls no longer regenerated wounds quickly,
and their numbers were steadily dwindling from the key fighters.
But with such overwhelming numbers, it wasn't enough to make a dent.
And they pressed toward Hasler without a care for their own deaths.
It was a crisis.
A true crisis.
"Nngh... Heroes! Miss Veronica! Hurry back! The trolls are berserking! We need support as soon as possible...!!"
Viscount Strau urgently called for Veronica and the heroes upon seeing the scene.
Of course, the heroes had been rushing back since hearing about the Troll Lord, and Veronica was already en route after sensing something off.
But the trolls' advance was fast.
And it would take them some time to arrive.
Crisis.
An absolute crisis.
"K-Kane Instructor! What should we do?!"
Viscount Strau unwittingly called for Instructor Kane instead of his own advisors.
Because he knew it was Kane's ingenuity that had seen through the Troll Lord's scheme and led to its downfall.
He saw Kane as the most reliable person in this situation.
But even Kane didn't have a flash of genius ready.
'...I figured it'd pull some final desperate struggle on death, but not to this extent.'
He was impressed.
By the Troll Lord's meticulousness and the scheme that had anticipated even its own death to create this scenario.
"I didn't expect a monster to pull something like this. Real combat really is on another level."
"What...? What do you mean..."
Viscount Strau despaired at Kane's words,
thinking even he had no solution.
But while Kane himself had nothing,
he'd already prepared for this.
"...About time they got here."
Kane said that and glanced toward the Ode Swamp.
Waiting for Veronica or the heroes?
No.
His gaze pierced beyond the Ode Swamp.
As if looking straight at the capital, Carmen.
"They said they'd be here soon."
Kane muttered.
And right then.
Swaeek—
Something.
Something invisible to the eye.
Shot from the Ode Swamp like a streak of light.
Pabat—!
It passed the berserk trolls in an instant, reaching near Hasler's walls.
"...?"
The adventurers and soldiers it streaked past beside them.
Viscount Strau and the staff who saw it from afar.
All were baffled by the sudden event.
"Phew... a bit late."
Only Kane let out a sigh of relief and smiled faintly.
And at that moment.
Puhwaaak—
"Kweeeek!"
"Kieek!!"
"Kweeeuk!"
The trolls where the light had passed suddenly spurted blood and split in half.
The number? Hundreds.
Just grazed by the light streak, hundreds of trolls dropped dead.
Someone's magic?
But who could cast such powerful magic?
Magic that one-shot hundreds of upper C-rank monsters.
A few A-rank adventurer mages pooling their efforts?
Or an S-rank adventurer, court mage, or magic-type hero?
The last one was right.
"Big Brother Kane~! Sorry, I was a little late, right?!"
Where the light streak stopped.
There stood the daughter of the late Marquis Harkur, currently active as a hero... Jenny Harkur.
#
"No, it's fine. You arrived right on time, Miss Jenny."
Perfectly timed, in fact.
An absolute crisis that even all-out effort might not resolve.
They could hold it off.
But not without massive casualties in Hasler... that kind of situation.
A hero appearing to save them.
The perfect hero timing, right?
When I contacted her at the battle's start, I honestly didn't think we'd need her.
Thought we could handle it ourselves.
But no.
Berserk was a pattern I hadn't anticipated.
Phew... still, really glad.
Good call contacting Jenny.
But I can't push her too hard.
She rushed here after wrapping up her mission as fast as possible.
...I was thinking of not calling her for that reason.
But it worked out in the end.
"Don't overdo it. You must be tired already."
"Psh, don't worry, Big Brother. I'm still full of energy."
Jenny flexed her arm playfully.
Well... yeah, someone like Jenny should be fine with this.
Especially since she wasn't alone; plenty of helpers around.
"Berserk trolls, huh. Well... this much is nothing. Thanks to who taught me."
She said that and assumed a stance.
A fierce aura crept up, enveloping her body.
And soon, it took form.
The form of swords.
They multiplied.
Two, three...
Soon, aura swords wrapped her body like a porcupine.
That form and trait... Severing Enchant?
Shaping aura, then enchanting it.
...Is aura normally like that?
Okay, cladding the body, sure.
Rare, but battle aura cladding exists.
But mass-shaping like that and enchanting on top? Overkill much?
She probably charged in like that on arrival.
Is that even human?
Ah, not in a bad way.
Just praising the insane talent.
In all my life, I've only seen two people pull that off.
The late Marquis Harkur and Jenny.
...Of all people, father and daughter.
The late Marquis used it against weak but numerous foes.
Just charge in blindly like that.
Anything colliding with those shaped auras got sliced apart.
Then? Done.
Especially with Severing Enchant.
Trolls, hydras, whatever—no regen, just clean cuts.
Ah, isn't Severing Enchant just for better slicing?
Didn't know either, but at mastery, it severs all bodily influences like mana or regeneration.
Though I've rarely seen it in action.
Anyway, I saw it and thought only Marquis Harkur could do that.
But here?
Jenny had the same talent.
...Come to think, I taught her.
Paat—!
As I thought that, Jenny moved.
Speed, as seen earlier, absurdly fast.
Swift aptitude plus top-tier Haste self-buff? No contest.
Veronica's fast too... but can't beat this monster.
Puhwaaak!
"Kweeeek!"
"Kieek!"
Every time she streaked by like light, trolls bled out and fell.
Too fast, too destructive.
How ridiculous must she be for even berserk trolls—fueled only by rage and destruction—to falter?
Yeah, right?
You guys flustered too?
Even I've seen it multiple times and it's mind-blowing; first-timers like you?
And you're the ones taking it directly.
Chilling just thinking about it.
"...I-Instructor Kane."
Then, Viscount Strau sidled up to me.
"Yes? What is it?"
"D-Do you... know Miss Jenny Harkur...?"
Ah, that.
Yeah... Jenny's the rising star shooting up the ranks right now.
They say she'll be the continent's top hero after her late father.
No wonder he's curious how a mere adventurer instructor like me knows her.
Wait, why the sudden formal speech?
"Yeah, just from the past..."
No need or energy to explain, so I brushed it off.
Viscount Strau didn't pry, just nodded like he accepted it.
Then he asked one more thing slyly.
"...But, are heroes normally like that...?"
He pointed at Jenny, who had already diced up nearly 10,000 trolls solo.
Ugh, don't say such scary things.
If all heroes were like that, evil hordes would've gone extinct already.
"She's special. Very, very special."
"...I-I see."
Jenny's special.
Even among heroes, she stands heads—five heads—above.
Not bias because I see her as a little sister or the student I taught.
Objective fact.
Think about it.
No hero in this world could do that.
...Except the late Marquis Harkur.
Anyway, that father-daughter duo.
Strongest I've ever seen, hands down.