Chapter 96
Chapter 96
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Trolls from the Great Desert
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“You… what’s your connection to the Sea King? Who the hell are you?”
Ian could instinctively sense that the lizardwoman before him was no ordinary figure, so he pressed her for answers.
But instead of responding, the lizardwoman urgently scanned their surroundings.
“Kerruk! That’s not important right now. We can’t stand around chatting—we need to get out of here first, then…”
Booom!
No sooner had her words trailed off than the ground shook with thunderous footsteps.
The bone-rattling booms sent small animals scurrying for cover, trees swaying as perched birds took panicked flight in all directions.
“Finally found you, you rat-bitch.”
A troll towering a full head above the others lumbered forward, a massive battle axe slung over his shoulder matching his enormous bulk. He glared at the lizardwoman with raw killing intent.
“…What the hell’s going on here?”
Mysterious trolls had the lizardwoman surrounded and cornered.
Trolls, alongside orcs, were one of the most widespread races in the Great Deluge.
Some, like the Black Rock Trolls of the birch forests, had carved out independent territories, while others served under Gold Heaven’s shadow—their vast numbers made it impossible to identify these ones by appearance alone.
Whether due to that knowledge or reluctance to stir trouble near Aslan Kingdom territory…
“Kruk! You humans are lucky. Normally, I’d make a meal of you…”
Olga, the troll who had tracked her here, addressed Ian and Ryu An.
“But I’ve got urgent business, so I’ll let you go this once. Get lost quietly.”
Yet Ian and Ryu An ignored Olga’s words entirely, conferring with each other.
“Doesn’t feel like Gold Heaven trolls to me.”
“Hmm… good point. This area’s where Gold Heaven and Takryu territories overlap, after all. Excluding the birch forests, I haven’t heard of any other troll groups holding power around here.”
As they discussed, their suspicion hardened into certainty: these were Gold Heaven trolls.
In this region, no trolls bold enough to tangle with a lizardwoman thickly linked to the Sea King existed—except those under Gold Heaven.
“Kerurruk! No!”
Realizing Ian’s guess had veered off course, the lizardwoman shouted desperately.
“They’re not Gold Heaven trolls—they’re from the Great Desert in the north! This is all their scheme to pit Gold Heaven against Takryu!”
“…What?”
Ian blankly echoed her unexpected cry.
Pit Gold Heaven against Takryu…? The Great Desert…?
“Krrruk! Damn… you little humans heard what you shouldn’t have. Sorry, but that offer’s off the table now.”
Thwack!
Before Ian and Ryu An could question the lizardwoman further, Olga gripped her battle axe and spoke.
“Thanks to that bitch’s mouth, you’re dying unjustly. If you’ve got grudges, blame her—not me.”
Her tone feigned regret, but mockery laced beneath it. Ian scoffed in disbelief.
“What the hell have you been blabbering about? You never planned to let us go anyway. Playing games all by yourself.”
“…What?”
“Those two trolls at the back just now.”
Ian nodded toward the forest behind them.
“While surrounding us, they slipped away at the same time. What, planning a backstab if we turned and left like good boys?”
“……”
His words struck home; Olga’s expression slowly chilled.
“Sorry, but I’m not some chump who falls for cheap parlor tricks like that. Hey, lizardwoman.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Looks like we’ve got a lot to talk about later.”
Shring!
Ian calmly drew his two concealed swords from his waist.
“Let’s chat about it all after this.”
“…Krrruk! Looks like I underestimated you. Got some confidence in your skills, huh? But…”
Olga stepped forward slowly, unfazed by Ian’s leisurely demeanor.
“You’re dying here today. That’s not changing, kid.”
Fierce killing intent poured from Olga, sealing Ian and Ryu An’s fates with brutal finality—but Ian brushed it off without a hint of tension.
“Trolls or whatever, they all come at you cocky like that. Fine by me. In that case, let me tell you something.”
Great Desert trolls or Gold Heaven trolls—it didn’t matter.
“If you’re a troll weaker than the Black Rock King, Attila… then you lot are the ones dying here today. No changing that.”
A hell where countless monsters clashed daily in slaughter: the Great Deluge.
In this kill-or-be-killed abyss, which race dominated the widest expanse?
Not the forest’s cunning hunters, the ogres. Not the sky’s territorial lords, the wyverns.
Ironically, the ones claiming the broadest territory in that inferno were the orcs.
Born warriors, yet devoured as mere snacks by ogres and wyverns—how did they become the Deluge’s most ubiquitous monsters?
The secret lay in their overwhelming breeding rate and rapid growth.
Eaten, felled, slain by other monsters though they were…
Orcs sustained their numbers through sheer reproduction.
And those swiftly maturing orcs blossomed into hardy warriors in short order.
Yet each tribe’s warriors bore sky-piercing pride, scattering their vast potential like sand grains—reduced to punching bags for other monsters.
That was, until just a few decades ago.
Gold Heaven.
Birthed by the peerless warrior Golden Eye, this force swiftly unified the orc tribes that had never coalesced before, seizing control of the Great Deluge’s southwest.
Now, transcending orcs to encompass trolls, gnolls, goblins, and more into a singular horde, they were undisputed hegemons of the southwest.
The colossal Sargus Mountains loomed majestically, scraping the heavens.
At its heart stood Heaven’s Peak, the grandest and most vast—the stronghold of Gold Heaven’s ruler, Golden Eye.
As the first site where Golden Eye united the orcs in the Deluge’s long history, this mountain was their sacred spiritual peak.
Usually serene and reverent, evoking peace amid the Deluge… yet today,
Heaven’s Peak bustled like a raucous marketplace, shouts echoing uncommonly.
Inside the vast tent at its center, prepared for guests.
Bam!
“Chwiik! We must march now!”
Jorg, chieftain of the Blue Lightning Tribe, slammed the table amid gathered tribe leaders, bellowing relentlessly.
“Haa… Elder, please calm down. Nothing’s confirmed yet.”
Iron Mask, a Gold Heaven executive, sighed and tried soothing Jorg—but
“How long are we supposed to sit here twiddling our thumbs, Iron Mask?!”
His rage at its peak, Jorg’s ears were deaf to it.
“I held my tongue even when lizardman corpses littered villages on our border tribes. Local skirmishes with Takryu happen all the time—thought it might just escalate. But!”
Bang!
Jorg smashed the table again; it splintered in two from the impact.
“Even Turka’s White Wind Tribe on Mist Mountain got wiped out the same way! And you still think it’s not Takryu?!”
‘Haa… this old coot. Yapping away clueless as ever.’
Iron Mask ground his teeth inwardly at Jorg’s clamor.
He itched to draw his greatsword and cleave the old orc’s skull—but no.
Crude, ignorant hothead or not, Jorg—like Turka—was a battle-hardened veteran from the Silver Wolf generation, revered by countless young orcs.
Butchering him would embarrass even Golden Eye, their boss.
Besides, crucially…
‘These geezers… what the hell do they eat to stay so spry? He’s even bulkier now.’
To split Jorg’s head, Iron Mask would need serious effort himself.
Though a touch below Golden Eye, he was among the Deluge’s top orc geniuses.
The previous generation.
Aged they might be, but these were no pushovers.
Surviving to that age in the Deluge’s hell… impossible without true strength.
So Jorg’s outburst wasn’t unwarranted.
No force capable of annihilating even Mist Mountain’s Turka existed in the Deluge—save Takryu.
“We followed Golden Eye because he promised Gold Heaven would become an unbreakable bulwark, bowing to no one in the Deluge! Yet he hides while these atrocities unfold. But!”
Crunch!
Jorg stomped the shattered table to splinters and roared.
“At least give us an explanation!”
His fury spread like contagion; other hot-blooded orcs began raising their voices.
“Chwiik! Right! How long does the boss expect us to wait?!”
“Haa…”
Worn by their tirades, Iron Mask rubbed his face, scowling.
A whole week already.
He’d been placating these fossils alone that entire time—frustration inevitable.
‘Haa… Boss, help a guy out. I’m dying here…’
Flutter!
As if his desperate prayer reached Golden Eye, the tent’s rear flap parted amid thickening tension. Two orcs entered.
The newcomers cut striking figures.
One orc’s bulk dwarfed Iron Mask’s—ogre-like in stature. The other, squat and stunted, barely topped goblin size.
“Chieftain Jorg.”
Thud!
The massive orc advanced a step, his grim face thrust forward as he growled Jorg’s name lowly.
His innate menace made even ogres seem ready to retreat.
“The boss is busy. Speak to us.”
Noting the massive orc’s gleaming silver ears, Jorg—who’d been shouting—eased his bluster slightly.
Iron Mask’s words didn’t land; this one’s didn’t negotiate.
“…Chwiik! Atrocities everywhere screaming Takryu—why isn’t Gold Heaven acting?! We should bathe them in blood vengeance now!”
“Kikik!”
The squat orc burst into laughter at Jorg’s words.
“Elder, that’d be disastrous. If it blows up into all-out war with Takryu… you sure you can win without losses?”
His copper fangs glinted as he spoke.
“…If we cower from casualties, how can we call ourselves warriors?”
“True, elder’s right. If it’s really Takryu, we smash that lizard punk Sea King’s head right now. Gold Heaven doesn’t dodge or hide. But…”
The small orc nodded along, then countered.
“If it turns out not to be Takryu… can you bear the guilt for all the Gold Heaven blood spilled?”
“……!!”
“Even wagering your whole Blue Lightning Tribe wouldn’t balance the scales. Fine, if you’ll stake every life, we’ll tell the boss.”
“……”
Silver Ears and Copper Fang’s logical pressure—beyond Iron Mask’s solo reach—forced the old orcs back a step.
Recalling Gold Heaven’s birth through sacrifice and trial sobered them belatedly.
Lose most of that hard-won power fighting Takryu…? Unbearable sin.
“Chwiik… fair point.”
“…Let’s wait a bit longer, Jorg.”
With Silver Ears and Copper Fang persuading, other orcs began withdrawing one by one.
All but one.
Bam!
“…Since when do orcs bicker like this?!”
“Jorg, even Silver Ears and Copper Fang said it. Boss’ll speak soon.”
“I don’t wanna hear it! Bunch of cowards!”
Other warriors tried calming Jorg, but he shook them off violently and stormed from the tent.
“Tch, that guy… damn temper.”
Embarrassed, the others coughed awkwardly and trickled out, leaving the tent in swift silence.
“Haa…”
Iron Mask sighed, finally addressing Silver Ears and Copper Fang.