Chapter 70

Chapter 70. I Do Not Know How to Fight on Horseback

Even though he had grown so strong, it seemed Balun’s heart had not grown stronger. Otherwise, it would not be pounding this hard.

His heart was racing. Truly racing like mad. It would have been wonderful if this heartbeat came from excitement, but unfortunately, it was a physiological reaction caused by tension and fear.

When the monster stared at Balun, a chill ran down his spine, and his whole body trembled as if goosebumps had risen all over him. Even so, Balun did not step back.

Was courage suddenly welling up inside him? No. Separate from that physiological reaction, he knew he had a decent chance of winning.

No matter how absurd a Troll’s regenerative ability was, it was not invincible. If it suffered a fatal wound, such as having its heart destroyed or its neck severed, it would die.

‘Aim for the neck. If I take off its neck, I win.’

Balun recalled the battle from his coming-of-age ceremony. Back then, Balun had won by completely crushing the Troll’s heart. Its neck bones and the hide wrapped around them had been far too tough to target its neck. There was also the fact that the Troll was so tall that aiming for its neck was difficult.

However, he felt he could do it now. His strengthened power, and the absurd performance of his Ego Weapon that could draw out that power completely, would make it possible.

If there was one problem, it was that this Troll was far taller than the Troll he had caught during his coming-of-age ceremony…….

‘How am I supposed to aim for that neck? It is too high……?’

GRAAAAAAH!

Balun stared blankly up at the Troll as it let out a monstrous roar. Its neck was high. Far too high.

Just how high would he have to leap to reach it? No, could he even leap that high?

Even if he could leap, it was still a problem. Even if he jumped high, it would not be easy to put enough force behind his strike to sever the Troll’s neck. That was because it would be difficult to use techniques like putting his weight into the blow or adding rotational force.

Of course, if he used Enhancement Art to the limit, it seemed he might somehow manage it, but would it be over just because he could sever the neck?

What about his defenseless body?

The Troll was not an idiot. Would it really fail to hit one fool who had jumped toward it?

If he got hit once, he would meet the grim reaper on the spot.

‘No matter how I think about it, a leaping attack is not it. Then the only thing left is a dogfight.’

Balun squeezed his eyes shut. It was a method he truly did not want to use, but it was the only one left.

What could he do? The difference in size was too great.

“No! Why are you getting off the horse?”

“Balun does not know how to fight on horseback.”

“Wh-What?”

“Hurry up and run. You are in the way. Ah, take care of my horse. Keep him safe. If you run off with him, you know what will happen, right? Balun will chase you to the ends of hell.”

After notifying the people, Balun ran. The roaring Troll looked at Balun, then charged toward him with thundering steps.

The Troll’s fist shot out as if it had been waiting for him. Balun lowered his posture to avoid the fist and slid along the ground.

As he slid, he drew Crimson Moon from his right waist and immediately cut off the dangling thing hanging above him between the Troll’s legs. At that moment, Balun’s right arm holding Crimson Moon bulged fiercely.

SLASH!

SPLURT!

The dangling thing was cut off in its exact shape and dropped to the ground with a thud, and a fountain of blood erupted. The Troll let out a mournful scream, but it did not collapse. Instead, it went berserk.

GRAAAAAAH!

The Troll bent its waist and swung its hands wildly below, but Balun had already completely slipped through between its legs.

Balun quickly got up, and the sight of the Troll’s back entered his eyes as it bent over and flailed its hands downward.

It looked exactly like someone squatting after taking a dump and wiping himself with toilet paper.

Balun did not hesitate. He grabbed the Troll’s broad back and climbed onto its body.

GRAAAH!

The Troll flinched at the weight it felt on its back, then twisted its body. It swung its arms behind its back with all its might to shake Balun off, but Balun stubbornly clung to its back and did not let go.

Despite the shaking caused by its desperate thrashing, he merely climbed up its back without being moved at all.

“Wow…….”

“Th-That is…….”

Leaving the faint exclamations behind, Balun succeeded in climbing up. He wrapped both legs tightly around the Troll’s body, drew Blue Moon as well, and struck the back of the Troll’s neck.

THUD!

It was a dull sound that could hardly be called a neck-severing strike.

There was blood, but only a little.

‘Wow, this is seriously damned hard.’

They said the skull and neck bones were the hardest parts of a Troll, and now he felt he understood why.

‘Still, I do not think I need to use Awakening yet……?’

“Haaap!”

Soon, Balun hacked away. His two hand axes struck the back of the Troll’s neck mercilessly, and long cuts formed on the Troll’s neck.

“Die! Die!”

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The axe blows continued indiscriminately.

He persistently targeted only the wounds he had opened.

“Drop dead! Drop dead!”

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

He had been striking down like a madman, half out of his mind, when he suddenly realized that the thrashing had stopped.

For some reason, he could no longer hear the monstrous screams it had been letting out either.

When Balun finally came to his senses, the Troll’s head had fallen to the ground and was rolling there.

Only then did Balun realize that the Troll was dead. When he landed on the ground, the headless Troll collapsed with a heavy thud.

‘Whew, I barely caught it.’

As he calmed his rough breathing and brushed off the blood splattered all over him, he suddenly felt gazes on him.

They belonged to the people who had been fleeing from the Troll.

“Are you all right? Is anyone injured?”

“M-Monster.”

“What?”

Their mouths hung open as they looked at Balun, and their eyes were filled with awe.

***

“I apologize. That was rude of us. To call our benefactor, who saved us, a monster…….”

A man dressed in luxurious clothes kept bowing his head as he apologized. His name was Nathan, a merchant belonging to the Mirehal Merchant Guild Association, and he said he was currently the representative of this group.

“It is fine. That can happen. You were out of your mind.”

Balun readily accepted his apology. To begin with, he had not even been angry. Their statement that he was a monster had not been meant to demean him.

“That truly was not what we meant. It was because your martial prowess was so astonishing, sir knight. Truly.”

“Balun is not a knight.”

“Pardon?”

“Balun is a mercenary.”

“Ahh, you are Mercenary Balun. You were so strong that we thought you were a knight, sir. Yes? You are not a knight?”

“That is right.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. He was not even a knight, yet he had caught a Troll so easily?

He recalled the memory from earlier. The sight of Balun boldly clinging to the Troll and hacking away at it like mad was still vivid in his eyes.

That appearance, as if he had lost all fear, had made him feel the sort of courage one would expect from a knight. And yet he was not one…….

Only belatedly did Balun’s appearance enter his eyes. His exotic features, his handsome face, and his clumsy way of speaking the Common Tongue. Only then did Nathan realize that Balun was a Barbarian.

“By the way, why were you being chased? Were you hunting monsters or something?”

“As if that could be the case. We simply encountered it while traveling.”

“I see.”

“Our luck is truly miserable. To think we would encounter Trolls while traveling. Four times, no less.”

“What? Four times?”

“Yes. Over two days.”

Balun clicked his tongue. This truly was miserably bad luck.

“Then how did you survive the first three times?”

“We ran as if our lives depended on it. This time, we nearly died, but fortunately, Lord Balun helped us.”

“I see.”

“Something seems strange. There is no reason for us to encounter Trolls four times around this area. Trolls do not roam around here.”

“Then where did these Trolls come from?”

“I do not know, but I suspect they may have flowed in from somewhere else.”

Balun nodded. Whether that was true or not, Balun did not know, but if a local said so, it was probably so.

“This makes me uneasy. I wonder if perhaps war is going to break out.”

“What do Trolls have to do with war?”

“Well…… because monsters running rampant is a sign of war.”

Balun tilted his head.

Why did it become that?

“Anyway, thank you. Truly. I will repay this favor somehow.”

“Understood, so come help too. All of you. Do not just stare.”

“Pardon? What are you going to do?”

“Balun will draw the Troll’s blood.”

“Pardon??”

The merchants’ eyes widened. He was going to draw the Troll’s blood?

“Why are you drawing that?”

“Do you ask because you do not know? Troll’s Blood is expensive.”

“Pardon? What are you talking about?”

“Does Troll’s Blood not sell for a high price?”

The merchants looked bewildered at Balun’s words.

“I have been on trade journeys for twelve years as of this year, but I have never once seen a merchant deal in Troll’s Blood.”

Balun tilted his head. Why did they not deal in Troll’s Blood?

‘Do they not normally draw Troll’s Blood and make things like Healing Potions?’

It was always like that in games and such.

Could there be no Healing Potions?

It seemed like there should be.

There were Priests who healed and Mages too, so why would there not be potions?

“Then it must have been Balun’s misunderstanding.”

Balun shrugged. Now that he thought about it, it made sense that they would not deal in it. Even if Troll’s Blood truly had an effect, how would they distribute it? To begin with, it was unknown whether they could even catch a Troll.

‘But what if it really does have an effect?’

His idea of selling Troll’s Blood and earning a fortune had fallen through, deflating him greatly. Even so, just in case, he thoroughly extracted the Troll’s Blood and poured it all into empty containers.

When he filled empty canteens and empty metal food containers, there was quite a lot.

“A Subspace Pouch! You possess something precious!”

“It is Balun’s treasure. Do not think of stealing it. Balun will split all your heads open.”

“I will not steal it. Why would I be insane enough to do that?”

***

Very fortunately, Nathan’s group was headed to Mirehal. Thanks to that, Balun was able to accompany Nathan’s group and go to Mirehal.

In any case, it was fortunate. He had already been worried that he would wander around because he did not know the way to Mirehal properly, but now he had guides.

Of course, even if Nathan’s group had not been going to Mirehal, Balun would have forced Nathan’s group to take him there.

It was difficult because it was not in the direction they were going?

Why should that matter?

If they had survived thanks to him, they should at least serve as guides. Was that not obvious?

However, fortunately, since they were headed in the same direction, Nathan’s group was able to avoid becoming victims of Balun’s tremendous violence.

“Whew, we finally arrived. That is the Free City of Mirehal.”

Balun, who had been riding his horse absentmindedly, looked at the place Nathan pointed to.

Several days had passed since he began accompanying Nathan’s group, and beyond the winding road, a city came into view. Even from a distance, it looked fairly large. Almost the size of Feldraum?

No, was it even larger?

“Now we can be at ease. We will not have to see those wretched Goblin groups anymore.”

“I suppose so.”

Balun recalled the past few days. Throughout their journey, they had encountered Goblins so strangely often that they had to fight constantly.

At least they were weak Goblin groups, so it was no more than a post-meal walk, but the act of fighting itself was still tiring.

Once they entered the city, that would not happen anymore. He would rest well, find a Rogue Guild, and learn Stealth.

‘Hehe. I am looking forward to it.’

Balun’s chest swelled with anticipation. He wanted to run there in one step and learn it.

Invisible Axe Technique!

“W-Wait. What is that?”

Suddenly, one merchant walking ahead pointed forward with startled eyes.

“Hey, everyone! Look at that. Am I the only one seeing that?”

“What?”

“Th-That thing over there! Are those not monsters?”

“Hm?”

Balun tilted his head and looked in the direction the merchant’s finger was pointing. Soon, his eyes narrowed.

Because there really were monsters.

Green things were running wildly around every corner between the tightly packed houses, and the faint sound of clashing metal could be heard.

He could not see clearly, but he felt he understood what was happening.

“Goblins! It is an attack by Goblin groups!”

“Damn it! Why does it have to happen when we are returning……!”

“Could it be a Monster Wave?”

“Judging from the scale, that seems highly likely. Damn it!”

As Balun listened to the merchants speak with startled expressions, he thought,

‘Did I make a mistake by traveling with these bastards?’

Traveling with unlucky people made him feel as if even his own luck had become bad.