“Grrrr.”
A voice mixed with the low-frequency rumble peculiar to monsters flowed from the troll’s mouth.
At the cry that seemed to rise from a pit in hell, the soldiers’ bodies went rigid.
They had trained countless times to fight monsters.
But facing the king of the forest head-on was not something mere practice could prepare them for.
Sniffing at the air, the troll slowly approached the soldiers.
One step, then another.
Each time it moved, a tremendous boom shook the surroundings, and the soldiers’ bodies trembled along with it.
A soldier who came to his senses at the sound shouted loudly.
“It’s a troll!”
A desperate cry mixed with bewilderment and terror.
That became the signal for the soldiers.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Save me! Save me!”
Most of the soldiers broke from the line and scattered in every direction.
At least they were the ones who still had their wits about them.
“Uwaak!”
A small number of soldiers, having lost all reason, charged at the troll instead, as if denying their fear.
Seeing this, the monster laughed as though it found them pathetic.
If they had formed a proper formation, perhaps it might have been different.
But the charge of ordinary soldiers could not harm it.
Most of the spears the soldiers thrust could not even pierce the troll’s skin.
Only one or two spears managed to puncture the monster’s hide.
But that was all.
Without shedding even a drop of blood, the troll glared at the soldiers who had stabbed it.
At those blazing eyes fixed on them, the soldiers took a step back.
At the same moment, the spears that had pierced its skin fell to the ground.
The soldiers’ faces turned to despair as they looked at the troll’s body.
Not even the smallest wound remained on the monster’s skin.
Regeneration.
The ability that had made the troll the king of the forest.
“Grrrrr!”
The troll immediately stretched out its massive hand and seized the soldier closest to it.
“Uwaaaah!”
Was he still only a young soldier?
The soldier was caught by the troll without even thinking to run.
Just as the troll’s mouth was about to gape wide—
The tip of the arrow Lena had drawn glowed with the color of a burning sunset.
“Kraaaak!”
At the sudden pain, the troll dropped the soldier and retreated.
An arrow was lodged in its yellow left eye.
Lena shouted loudly at the soldier who had barely escaped danger.
“Run back right now!”
At her voice, the frozen soldiers hurriedly fled.
Drawing the two short swords at her waist, Lena looked around.
‘This is the worst.’
She had expected a powerful monster to appear.
But she had never imagined it would be a troll.
That alone was enough to be hopeless, but the soldiers’ actions were even worse.
If they scattered and ran like this, they would only be hunted down one by one by this monster.
If nothing else, it might have been manageable if the captain were here.
“The captain’s gone!”
“Damn it, did that bastard run away first?!”
Judging by the shouts coming from among the soldiers, it seemed he had been the first to flee.
‘Tch! He ran off all by himself.’
Clicking her tongue quietly, Lena raised her swords.
‘Can I stop it?’
Impossible. The answer came immediately.
Just now, that sunset-colored arrow had been the strongest attack she could use.
And yet the troll had only suffered for a moment before regenerating.
It was a situation filled with nothing but despair.
Even so, Lena did not run. She stood there.
Only if she held out would the other soldiers live.
That was the sole reason she stood in this place.
Soon, having finished regenerating, the troll approached Lena.
Perhaps because she had tormented it a moment ago, the monster’s face was clearly twisted with rage.
The troll raised a fist larger than most grown men.
What would happen if that hit her?
Lena swallowed dryly and kicked off the ground.
Boom—!
With an explosion, that enormous mass slammed into the ground, but Lena slipped away from the spot with movements like a dance.
‘If I hadn’t dodged, I’d be dead.’
Looking at the crater where she had just been standing, Lena let out a low groan.
The troll did not stop and swung its arm at Lena again.
Continuing her dance-like movements, Lena narrowly avoided its attack.
The problem was that the more she did so, the farther back she was forced.
If she retreated just a little more, its attacks would reach the other soldiers.
In the end, realizing there was a soldier right behind her, Lena crossed her two short swords and blocked the troll’s attack.
Clang—!
The two blades, forged from high-quality steel, snapped as easily as rotten branches.
Along with that came a dark green hand.
Looking at it, Lena squeezed her eyes shut.
In that instant, her life flashed before her eyes like lightning.
There were countless memories, but among them, the most precious were the ones with a certain man.
‘Ashen, I’m sorry.’
I don’t think I can protect you anymore.
Just as Lena thought that and was about to give up—
Boom—!
“Kraaaak!”
With an explosion, the troll’s hand that had been aiming for her was pinned to a rock.
Lena stared in shock at the spear fixing the enormous mass of dark green flesh in place.
Rather than an ordinary spear, it looked like a giant stake.
It was a form she had never seen before, but the red energy contained within it was something she had seen before.
“Sorry I’m late, Senior.”
At the sight of Ashen in unfamiliar red armor, her golden eyes widened.
“Ashen, you—”
“I’m sure you have a lot to say, but let’s do that later. For now, it looks like we have to deal with this monster.”
No sooner had Ashen finished speaking than the troll pulled out the spear pinning its hand and charged toward him.
Thud—!
Another tremendous explosion rang out.
It sounded as if a castle wall had collapsed, but Ashen did not retreat.
Holding the stake-like spear again, as if he had retrieved it at some point, Ashen took his stance.
“Then, Senior. Please run!”
Lena looked at Ashen’s back as he charged forward.
There was no trace of fear to be felt from it.
‘That idiot.’
He was always doing reckless things like that.
And yet, with a smile somehow rising to her lips, she shouted loudly toward Ashen.
“You’d better win, Ashen!”
**
A little earlier, when Lena was facing the troll—
I frowned at the line of soldiers blocking my path.
If I unleashed the power of Red Blood as I was, I could force my way through the soldiers, but then they would all be badly hurt.
‘What do I do?’
As I thought that, my gaze fell on the trees beside me.
‘That’s it!’
With a red flash, I leapt high from where I stood and landed on a tree branch.
When I immediately looked toward Senior Lena and the troll, I saw her two short swords snapping apart.
At this rate, she would be caught by the troll.
‘Like hell I’ll let that happen!’
From atop the branch, I took a javelin-throwing stance toward the troll.
As Red Blood responded to my will and seeped into the spear, sharp thorns sprouted along it.
‘I’m throwing it like this!’
When I hurled the spear infused with Red Blood, I saw the troll’s hand pierced through with a noise like a ballista striking its mark.
‘Good!’
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Concentrating Red Blood into my legs, I kicked off branch after branch and landed in front of Senior Lena.
“Sorry I’m late, Senior.”
If I could, I would have liked to talk at length right then and there, but there was no time.
Because only a few seconds later, the freed troll’s hand was coming for me.
‘Come on!’
Holding the stake-shaped spear that had returned in response to my will—Thornwood—I blocked the troll’s attack head-on.
Crrrunch—!
An impact that felt as if my entire body were being crushed swept over me along with immense pressure.
I was forcibly holding out with the power of Red Blood, but from the sensation, I was certain some bone somewhere had cracked.
‘Was blocking it after all a stupid move?’
But from my current position, it was the only choice I had if I wanted to protect Senior Lena.
Leaving behind the presence of Senior Lena as she gradually moved farther away, I checked the creature’s life force.
A red flame smaller than before, but still enormous.
On top of that, I could see that even the size it had lost was steadily recovering.
‘So with my current strength, I can’t completely seal the troll’s regenerative power?’
Gritting my teeth, I thrust the spearhead toward its chest.
Crack—!
With the sound of flesh bursting, the spear lodged in its right arm.
The troll had a head on its shoulders too, so it must have realized that Thornwood’s regeneration-suppressing power was dangerous.
I immediately retreated and dodged the monster’s massive hand as it came toward me.
After the giant hand swept past, I heard the sound of trees breaking.
Using that brief opening to put distance between us, I immediately looked down at my own body.
Half its size.
The life force that had been burning fiercely until a moment ago was now only half remaining.
Because I had consumed too much life force with the thrown spear that saved Senior Lena and the defense just now.
‘A prolonged fight is bad for me.’
The troll was recovering slowly, even if sluggishly, while my life force was being shaved away in real time.
If this became a battle of attrition, I would absolutely lose.
‘Then what should I do?’
The moment I thought that, a massive fist once again dropped toward me.
Boom—!
I dodged it by a hair’s breadth, but at the same time, the sound of destruction rang out.
If I took that head-on, even if my equipment remained intact, my body wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
‘Damn it.’
Barely avoiding the troll’s attacks, I looked at its body.
Though less than before, its still-heavy right arm was covering its chest.
If I could pierce its heart from there, then maybe…
‘I can kill it, or at least deal a major blow.’
But how was I supposed to break through its defense?
Fwoosh—!
Even as I agonized over it, the flame of life was gradually dwindling.
At this rate, I would lose even if I did nothing but defend.
‘Should I take a gamble?’
In the end, deciding there was no other way, I charged into the troll’s reach.
As though it had been waiting, its fist moved toward my head.
At the same time, the troll’s left arm moved.
It was probably planning to grab me the moment I dodged the punch.
‘Not yet.’
Without dodging the oncoming fist, I continued forward.
And just before its fist touched my head—
I quickly turned my head.
Slash—!
Perhaps my timing had been just slightly late, because the right side of my vision was dyed red.
Along with it, the flame of life shrank rapidly.
What remained now was at most a tenth.
Still, thanks to that, I could aim straight for its chest.
Perhaps because it had not expected me to move while sacrificing one side of my face, the troll’s movements dulled slightly.
I did not miss that opening and thrust my spear with all my strength toward the monster’s pectoral muscle.
Thud—!
With the sound of flesh tearing, Thornwood, covered in red thorns, pierced straight through the troll’s chest.
What followed was a tidal wave of dark green blood.
It was proof that I had pierced the troll’s heart exactly.
If it were any other monster, that would have been the end, but a troll was an exception.
Looking into those yellow eyes still blazing with fighting spirit, I pushed power into the spear tip.
The troll’s chest muscles, already beginning to regenerate, desperately seized the spear, but I advanced with everything I had.
However, that monster wasn’t about to die so easily either.
Thud—!
A fist larger than most grown men slammed directly into my head.
“Ashen!”
I heard Senior Lena scream from behind me, but perhaps because of the impact, I could not properly understand it.
The troll looked at me as I staggered and raised the corner of its mouth in a grin.
It probably thought this was the end.
But this was precisely the situation I had aimed for.
Crimson liquid surged from the armor covering my body.
The armor of the Blood Scripture, Dracul.
Its ability was to block a fatal blow once per day.
That effect had just activated.
Fwoosh—!
The flame that had been going out ignited once more, and life returned to my eyes.
Of course, even so, my current state was no better than a living corpse.
But that much was enough.
“Grrk?!”
When the spearhead began advancing again, the troll thrashed in panic, but I did not stop.
“Die!”
Responding to my will, a wave of Red Blood burst from my entire body and rushed toward the troll’s heart.
Normally, it would have moved at lightning speed, but to me right now, it looked extremely slow.
The troll’s fist swung toward me once again.
I had no strength left to dodge, and Dracul’s effect was gone.
If I could not avoid it, there was only death.
Then at the very least, I would kill this thing and die with it.
Just as I made that resolve and put strength into the shaft—
Thwack—!
“Kraak!”
A sunset-colored flash struck the troll’s hand as it came toward me.
“Idiot, I told you to win!”
I could not see her, but Senior Lena’s voice reached me from afar.
Smiling at those words, I immediately poured every bit of remaining life force into the creature.
The blood-red torrent advancing toward the monster’s chest accelerated violently and aimed for its heart.
The troll thrashed again and again to escape the blood-red torrent, but it was already useless.
Red thorns continuously sprouted, stirring through the troll’s insides, and the monster’s body rapidly withered.
At the same time, my life force, gradually recovering, began to blaze fiercely.
Predation.
Just as Red Blood had first tried to devour me, it was now devouring the king of the forest.
And when everything was over—
The king of the forest was no longer there.
Only the remains of dried-up bone and hide were left behind.
I simply stood there blankly atop the troll’s corpse.
Perhaps because I had absorbed its life force, I did not feel like I was about to die, but a heavy fatigue pressed down on my entire body.
‘Ah, I don’t think I can hold out.’
I tried to stand straight, but my body slowly tilted.
Just as I gave up and was about to collapse, a warm hand caught me.
Forcing open eyes that felt as if they would shut at any moment, I saw Senior Lena’s golden eyes looking down at me.
“Ashen, are you all right?”
“Senior Lena, I did it.”
“What?”
“I protected everyone.”
With those words, I slowly closed my eyes.
“Well done, you idiot.”
Senior Lena’s scolding praise seeped into my ears like a lullaby.
I answered her words with a smile and lost consciousness just like that.