Chapter 16 - The Rat and the Fur (5)

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As Russ tried to comfort me with encouraging words, Laurel, unable to hold back any longer, interjected.

"Laurel. You always have a problem with your mouth. Please try to be at least half like Russ. Please, and you said today was good, right?"

"Young Master, didn't I tell you that Laurel does that because she loves you? She's definitely inside... wait."

Russ, who had been mediating between me and Laurel with a smirk on his face, suddenly interrupted and raised his hand.

When I turned to see what was going on, I saw Russ's face deep in thought; it was strange to see him with such a serious expression on his face.

Russ was looking at the direction the wind was blowing and trying to read something in it.

Why is he doing this all of a sudden? I shifted my focus back to Laurel, who, like Russ, was now sporting a stern expression, revealing her animosity toward something lurking in the darkness.

"Laurel."

"I felt it, too. It's there. Something was hiding. But... how on earth?"

As Laurel responded to Russ, she drew her sword, ready for whatever might come.

"Tasha. This is an emergency. Send a signal to gather the soldiers. If we remain scattered like this, significant damage could occur. Russ, what about the tracking?"

As Laurel gave her instructions, the mage behind her conjured a firework in her hand and shot it into the sky. Laurel watched her signal, then turned to Russ.

"Wait a minute...that's it. It's not that far from us. Young Master, come closer to this side. From now on, you can't be more than five steps away from me and Laurel. Colin, Laura, come this way. You are to watch Young Master's rear from now on."

At Russ's command, the two knights approached and began to stand guard, their backs to me and their eyes on their respective quadrants; they seemed to be trying to remain calm, but their faces showed the nervousness and fear they could not hide.

"Maybe it's a good thing he's so close; if me and Laurel can find him before the other soldiers do, we might be able to cut down on the casualties, right...?"

—Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Before Russ could finish his sentence, a pitiful scream of someone echoed through the mountain.

The echo of the chilling death knells made those who heard them feel fear to the bone, and we all ran to the source of the screams without knowing who was first.

The place where Russ's tracking magic led us was a small gorge nestled between mountains; and in the area where the torches in the dense trees could reach, the identity of the darkness began to gradually reveal itself before us.

It was the shadow of a giant monster.

The monster's height, which was at least three times that of an adult male, naturally made the beholder feel oppressive, and the long, dark hair that covered its body added to its repulsiveness.

Its bulging eyes, large hawkish nose curved at a near-perpendicular angle, and sharp teeth that protruded from its mouth torn to its ears — all gave me a good idea of its viciousness.

Before me was a sight that I would never forget for the rest of my life.

* * *

Behind the monster, two soldiers were lying on the ground; one had his neck snapped at a grotesque angle, and the other was sprawled out on a large rock with his limbs literally torn off.

The one with the snapped neck was motionless, as if he'd died instantly, but the body of the soldier with his limbs torn off was still twitching and writhing on the rock, as if his nerves were still alive.

The sight of it was enough to make me nauseous, but unfortunately, the most horrific scene was only just about to begin.

The troll ripped another soldier he was holding in his hands into two, separating his upper and lower body, then tilted his head back and raised the soldier's upper body to his long, torn mouth.

Needless to say, the soldier was still alive during all of this.

The moment the soldier's spine was severed, the screams that echoed through the mountains stopped as suddenly as they had been, and the monster began to squeeze the victim's body with its giant hands.

Blackened guts, blood, and bone spilled from the lower section of the dismembered torso, and the monster ate the remains with a look of ecstasy.

The victim's torso now rustled like a hollowed-out shell, with only a small portion of intestines that hadn't fallen out dangling beneath it.

Before me was a monster with the happiest expression in the world.

* * *

"Soldiers, fall back more than 30 paces! Knights, forward! Form a defensive line!"

"Mages, stand 10 paces behind the defense! Begin casting a binding spell, and on my signal, cast it on the designated areas. Ash, Kyle, Sophia, left arm. Tyrone, Norton, and Haley, right arms. I'll take care of the legs. Young master! Young master, please also retreat to the back and join the soldiers!"

Unlike me, who stood frozen in disbelief at the unreal sight, Laurel and Russ moved quickly. The gathered knights had formed a formation according to Laurel's instructions, and the mages took their positions a short distance behind them.

If my memory serves me correctly, trolls have a resistance to mana, so they are not directly damaged by low-tier ranged magic. And Russ seemed to know this, and he was not going to attack the monster directly with magic, but to restrict its movement by casting a binding spell.

As people gathered and made a commotion, the troll, who was enjoying his meal, also came to his senses and recognized us.

The monster's lips curled into a hideous smile and started walking towards us, emitting a red glow from its eyes.

In its right hand it held a vicious club, hewn from a large boulder, and the grisly sound of its tip dragging on the ground filled the canyon.

"Ah, of course it's a monster with a weapon. What bad luck...," Laurel grumbled as she took a stance.

Perhaps she was regretting a bit that she had dismissed the mountain ranger's testimony as a joke, and she wasn't the only one, everyone here was. Including me.

None of the knights besides Laurel had ever faced a troll before, and even from where I was standing, I could see their tension. Their hands on their shields were shaking, and their pupils were dilated to the point of covering their whites.

"Don't worry. Just remember what you've been training for, and respond calmly."

Upon hearing Laurel's words, the knights, who had momentarily been shaken, quickly regained their composure, dispelling the wavering atmosphere.

Laurel, who didn't even flinch in front of the monster, and the knights, who swiftly regained their focus after a single word from her, seemed remarkably impressive.

"It's coming!!!"

—Kaaaah!

The troll walked slowly toward us, seeming to probe a bit, and when he was within striking distance, he suddenly charged. It swung its right arm wildly, striking down the stone club, and Laurel leapt forward alone to meet it with her sword, shattering it in an instant.

When its weapon was smashed by Laurel's sword, the monster swung its left arm at the knights this time.

—Kakakang!

As the troll's arm collided with the knights' shields, a screeching sound, akin to iron scraping against iron, echoed throughout the gorge. Though they were no match for Laurel, the knights were brave enough to stand up to the troll without being pushed back.

"Disperse!!! Russ!" Laurel shouted when she confirmed that the monster's two attacks were in vain, and when her order was given, the knights scattered in unison to create a path for the magic to reach.

Seeing Laurel and the knights' movements, Russ immediately ordered the mages, "Shoot!"

The mages simultaneously cast mana threads at the troll, and the threads hit the monster's arms and legs without missing a single one. Then they dug into the ground and firmly bound the monster's limbs to the ground.

—Kwaaaaah!

"Ugh!"

"Ack!"

"What strength...!"

The troll writhed, relentlessly exerting itself to break free from the restraints. With each struggle, the mages were dragged in a little closer, and one even stumbled backward, crashing into a tree and losing consciousness.

Observing this, Russ shouted to Laurel, "Laurel, we can't hold on for long! This one's resilient!"

"I know without you telling me! Patrick, Terrence!"

—Fwoosh! Thud! Thud!

As Laurel's command echoed, two knights circled around to the troll's flank, starting to mercilessly hack at its ankles. Sensing something amiss, the troll intensified its struggles, and its attacks were met by the shielded knights and Laurel.

For a moment, the troll seemed to hold out, but the relentless slashing eventually caused cracks to appear on the tough troll skin.

The knights took advantage, striking harder and harder at the center of the crack, until the tendons in the troll's ankles were severed, and it sank to the ground.

"It's almost done! Ropes!"

At Laurel's command, the knights threw thickly braided ropes at the troll's neck and pulled from both sides.

With his tendons severed, his arms bound by binding spells, and a noose around its neck, the monster was rendered completely immobilized, resembling a condemned prisoner awaiting execution.

"You son of a bitch."

Laurel stood before the troll, spewing curses. Then she reversed her grip on the sword, leaped up, and plunged it into the troll's left chest without hesitation.

The pain from the critical strike made the monster wail and bellow in agony.

—Kwaek! Kweeeeeek! Kweeek!

The impact of the monster's desperate screams alone was overwhelming. Soldiers, even though they were at a safe distance, trembled all over, and I, too, exerted all my strength to keep my legs from giving in. On the contrary, Laurel, who was closest, merely furrowed her eyebrows slightly, showing no outward signs of being affected.

—Kiiiiieeek...

Landing on the ground, she immediately leaped again, thrusting her sword into the troll's right chest. After piercing both hearts, the monster, exhausted, collapsed backward.

A huge thud sent a cloud of dirt flying in all directions, and Laurel could be seen standing on the troll's massive torso.

After a moment of silence, she raised her right hand, sword in hand, high in the air and shouted, "We have won!!! The extermination is over!!!"

"Waaaaaah!"

The soldiers shouted in response to Laurel, while the knights and mages collapsed to the ground as if drained of mana.

Laurel stepped down from the troll's torso, grinning as she clapped hands with Russ.

Somehow, it felt like the end of the monster extermination.

If you want to read the first 25 chapters for free and read up to the final chapter for a cheap price patreon.com/Makima02