Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: 68. Ten Strongest (2)
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Donchichi was living peacefully.
He ate when he wanted to eat, slept when he wanted to sleep, and smashed when he wanted to smash.
That was Donchichi's daily life.
Among the ogres living in the north, there was no individual as large and strong as him. Before reaching adulthood, he had become the leader of his tribe, and when several ogres who feared him banded together to challenge him, he crushed them all.
Donchichi became the Ogre Lord, the chieftain of ogres, and ruled the northern forest.
Until that puny human emperor showed up.
"Donchichi, was it? The north is my domain."
"Nonsense. This... my land."
Ogres used the continental common tongue. Their intelligence wasn't high enough for precise communication, but ever since one ancient Ogre Lord learned human speech from a human long ago, they had continued using it.
"Oh? You speak human tongue?"
"Ogre... no language. Use human language."
"I see. Quite clever, aren't you, Donchichi."
"No need... for flattery."
If it had been up to his original temperament, Donchichi would have charged at the humans invading his forest and stomped them all flat. But there was a reason he couldn't.
It was because of the two humans standing at the emperor's sides.
"Grrr..."
He instinctively let out a threatening growl, but the two showed no reaction whatsoever.
He could tell without fighting them. They possessed power on par with his own.
No, they might even be stronger.
It was a world-shaking shock to Donchichi.
How could these small, weak humans be so strong?
To him, strength was proportional to size.
He was the largest among ogres, and having never seen anything bigger than himself, Donchichi believed he was the strongest in the world.
Yet he couldn't comprehend how humans smaller than newborn ogre pups could emit such a powerful aura.
The human emperor spoke.
"The north is my domain, Donchichi. Do you have any complaints?"
"Complaint... exists. This... my land."
"It's my land now."
"Grrr..."
One of Donchichi's defining traits was that, for an ogre, he was extremely intelligent. His strength combined with rational judgment allowed him to reign as an absolute Ogre Lord.
Donchichi realized he had to cooperate with the human emperor.
He couldn't beat these humans.
Submitting to the strong was simply ogre nature anyway.
Pride meant nothing to him.
"Very well, Donchichi. If you become my vassal, I'll entrust the northern forest to you and periodically provide you with food. How does that sound? In return, you'll carry out my requests when needed. Nothing difficult."
"Food... intriguing."
"You there."
With a wave of the emperor's hand, humans pulled a cart forward from behind, right in front of Donchichi.
"Eat your fill of this."
What was loaded on the cart was a black cow, plump and fatty.
He occasionally caught and ate cattle wandering into the forest, but he'd never seen one this large.
As Donchichi drooled, barely restraining himself from devouring it on the spot, the emperor burst into laughter.
"Hold on, Donchichi. I'll make it even tastier for you."
"Want... tasty."
Then a human mage appeared and began roasting the meat whole. He sprinkled some mysterious powder all over it.
Soon, the charred beef was complete.
"Try it."
Donchichi picked it up with trembling hands.
The aroma alone made it hard to maintain his reason.
The moment he took a bite, his eyes flew wide open.
Donchichi muttered.
"Taste... supreme. Extremely... exciting."
"Become my vassal, and you'll eat things like this to your heart's content."
"Deeply... considering. Eat first... then think."
"Yes, yes. Take your time and think it over."
As Donchichi ate, he glanced warily at the two humans beside the emperor.
One wore a mask, hiding his face, while the other grinned mockingly at him.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we beat him once to make him obedient?"
"No need, Yalta. Donchichi's a smart ogre."
The grinning human's insolence made Donchichi want to give him a thrashing, but he was a clever ogre who knew restraint.
He knew he'd be at a disadvantage if the masked human joined in.
Plus, he might never taste this miraculous food made by the human emperor again.
Donchichi made his decision.
"Your Majesty... loyalty."
"Oh, as expected of Donchichi. So clever..."
"Deeply honored."
"Eat up."
"No need for modesty. Request... two."
"Fine. Bring out one more!"
"Loyalty... loyalty."
And so Donchichi submitted to the emperor right away.
He had always been skilled at flattering since he was young. That's how he learned combat techniques and forest knowledge from the previous Ogre Lord.
"Yes, eat your fill."
Then the insolent human called Yalta spoke again.
"Your Majesty, it's not an ogre—it's more like a pig."
Donchichi spoke up. He couldn't hold back anymore.
"You... human. Extremely rude."
"Yalta, enough. Donchichi will get angry."
"Even the ogre's tattling."
"You... smash."
"Try it."
"Now... good."
As Donchichi and Yalta growled at each other, the masked knight stepped in to mediate.
"This is before His Majesty. Both of you, mind your manners."
Donchichi could instinctively sense that the masked knight was stronger than Yalta.
And so, Donchichi became the emperor's vassal.
"Then, Donchichi, I'll invite you to the imperial palace next time. Stay well until then."
"Your Majesty... long life."
"Yes, yes. Hahaha!"
The emperor departed with a hearty laugh.
After that, Donchichi's life didn't change much.
He still ate when he wanted, slept when he wanted, and smashed when he wanted.
Only now, he periodically received black cattle from the emperor, and when orders came occasionally, he went to human cities to wreak havoc. In return, he got even more varied foods.
Life as the emperor's vassal was satisfying.
Thus, Donchichi lived peacefully.
Until one day.
An unwelcome aura emanated from beyond the forest. It instinctively repulsed him.
He tried to leave far away, but then he caught the scent of the crown prince.
The emperor's son was as good as the emperor himself. He had to show respect.
Donchichi uprooted an apple tree as a gift for the crown prince and went to meet him.
But something felt off.
The crown prince was different from before.
He felt somehow unpleasant.
Donchichi felt uneasy but held back. He was the emperor's vassal, an ogre who knew manners.
"Donchichi, I have a task for you."
"I... loyal to emperor. Will do... what I can."
"It's not difficult. Just stand still."
An aura he'd never felt before rose from the crown prince.
Donchichi recoiled in fear.
His keen senses screamed at him to run away.
"That... dangerous. Dangerous."
"Watch."
"Don't want... to see."
"Donchichi, loyal ogre. This is an order. Stay still."
Before Donchichi could react, the crown prince pulled something out.
It was a scrap of parchment.
In that instant, his vision went black. A colossal tower appeared, overlooking the world from unimaginable heights. At its tip floated a blood-red eye staring down at Donchichi.
It was enormous.
Strength was proportional to size.
Compared to this tower, Donchichi was mere vermin.
Black smoke poured from his entire body. His eyes turned dark red.
"Grrrrr..."
Donchichi realized he had changed.
He was still strong and clever, but now he had become an utterly, violently savage ogre.
Uncontrollable madness boiled within him.
"Donchichi, where are your friends?"
"Friends... in forest."
"Won't you bring them?"
Donchichi brought two more ogre friends. At first, they were startled by his sight and tried to flee, but as Ogre Lord, he beat them down and dragged them along.
The crown prince happily showed them the parchment too.
All of them became utterly, violently savage like Donchichi.
"Loyal three ogres, sleep for a while. You'll wake up soon enough."
The crown prince folded the parchment.
Then Donchichi and the two ogres' minds plunged into abyss.
Donchichi dreamed.
A dream of frolicking freely through the northern forest.
But dreams always end eventually.
When he opened his eyes again, Donchichi and his two ogre friends were abandoned in unfamiliar lands. A massive castle loomed before them.
Just looking at it filled him with rage.
'Smash it to pieces.'
A voice echoed from within.
Donchichi and the two ogre friends charged without a word.
The walls were high, but so was Donchichi. He rammed his body into them, crumbling half the wall.
Panicked humans shot arrows, but it was merely a tickle. Donchichi pounded the wall more, then grabbed the ramparts and leaped over.
Countless buildings where humans lived appeared.
These tiny humans clustered together like an anthill.
'Smash.'
Donchichi obeyed the voice within.
Anyway, all humans except his master the emperor were insignificant.
They weren't large, weren't strong. Their skin was soft, crushing easily underfoot.
These things hurling toothpick-like weapons infuriated him beyond endurance.
He ate when he wanted, slept when he wanted, smashed when he wanted.
Now, he wanted to smash... and eat.
Donchichi let out a roar. His two ogre friends roared too. Weaker than him, but they were ones who strutted proudly in the northern forest.
"Humans... weak."
He stomped approaching human soldiers to death as he said it. They flattened into puddles of blood.
Then stronger humans called knights appeared.
"You damned ogre bastard!"
One stabbed his thigh. It stung decently. Donchichi grew angry.
"Swearing... troublesome."
He backhanded him with a fist.
The human flew straight into the wall, embedding there before breaking into pieces and sliding down.
Terror spread.
Humans began fleeing.
Donchichi got even angrier.
If they were going to run so easily, why had these weaklings bothered clustering around? Creatures this ignorant wouldn't last a day in the northern forest.
Donchichi and the two ogres rampaged wildly.
Every stomp shattered human bodies, limbs flying everywhere.
Donchichi snatched a chunk with plenty of meat and shoved it in his mouth. The blood gushing with each chew was a exquisite treat.
"Report to His Majesty! A mad ogre has appeared..."
He grabbed a shouting human. Terror filled his eyes. Donchichi grinned at him.
"S-save... me..."
"Grrr..."
"Spare me, please."
"Human... fly."
Donchichi hurled him straight up.
He soared incredibly high.
After rising for a long time, the human flailed at the peak before plummeting down.
He splattered miserably on impact.
The two ogre friends burst into laughter.
"Bet, bet."
"I throw... better."
"Last place... loses."
"Start?"
Chattering away, they grabbed nearby humans one by one and tossed them skyward.
Some crushed into balls before being thrown, others dangled by the ankles. In the three ogres' game, humans died gruesome deaths.
To humans, the three ogres were no different from a natural disaster.
It didn't take long.
In a single day, an entire city was demolished.
The enraged king dispatched knight orders in haste, but the ogres had already razed the city and surrounding villages.
"Grrr..."
A few days later, Donchichi awoke to find a human army encircling them.
"Numbers... too many. Very... dangerous."
"Just humans. We... can do it."
The ogre friends conversed.
But Donchichi stayed silent.
He was a clever ogre. He understood there was no need to force an unfavorable fight. Retreating and ambushing would be far better.
Yet a strange impulse stirred in his chest.
The colossal tower and its eye atop kept pushing his back.
Fierce violence surged through his veins.
Donchichi pounded his chest and roared.
RAAAAAWRRR!
The overwhelming savagery in that roar instilled primal fear in the humans.
Fear.
It poured forth.
The human army, brimming with morale moments ago, shrank in an instant.
To Donchichi and the two ogres, that was the signal.
The moment they smelled weakness, they charged forward, trampling humans at will.
News spread across the continent that Donchichi—one of the Ten Strongest and the emperor's vassal—had demolished Liberda.
The Empire denied it.
No, they even condemned Liberda.
The messenger continued.
"They say Liberda kidnapped Donchichi and has been tormenting him. Since they touched the emperor's vassal, they're considering military action."
Yuri blinked.
"What the hell, so shameless?"