NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 220: We’re Not Getting Involved
“Rumble!!” The ground trembled slightly, along with the nearby houses, as if announcing the impending arrival of a storm.
Arranged in columns, the formidable and expansive army advanced with tremendous momentum. Consisting of more than 200 troll soldiers, the formation surged into the outer city like a torrent of water breaching a dam.
A sudden gust of wind sent particles of ash, sand, and smoke soaring roughly half a meter into the air, while causing a black flag with red stripes to flutter.
“Halt!” A military command rang out, carrying an air of unbreakable authority, like a steadfast mountain. Following the resolute and authoritative order, the formation of over 200 troll soldiers came to an abrupt stop in perfect unison. Their unwavering marching discipline was thoroughly put on display at that moment.
The area became quiet in an instant. The silence was so profound that one could hear the sound of a pin hitting the floor.
The outer city, which the trolls regarded with disdain, remained as still as ever.
Everything looked as it did before – The severely dilapidated wooden houses, the crumbling walls riddled with cracks and cobwebs, and the unevenly paved streets and alleys.
However, what distinguished it from its usual state was the absence of its lifeless and listless atmosphere. The present silence resembled a serene pond, where fierce and deadly creatures laid hidden.
The dissonance was clearly not lost to Kamron, who narrowed his eyes and sized up the dilapidated huts before him.
Had this taken place in the past, the little mice hiding in those broken wooden logs would have probably pissed their pants in fear upon hearing such a huge disturbance. They might have even been able to hear the sounds of crying children from miles away. What was going on today?
Did the little mice give up on the city and flee? That was implausible, considering the guards stationed at the city gates; It was impossible for them to slip away without generating some noise.
The gentle wind seemed to blend in with the thoughts of the people at the scene, as it gradually subsided and caused the raised flag to slump down gently.
“What are you little vermin scheming? If you little pests don’t get your asses out here and force me to personally catch you all myself, things will take a different turn!” A booming shout echoed through the air, but the only response he got was his own words reverberating back.
“Good! You can see how I’m going to ransack and turn your nest outside down then. I’d like to see…”
“Thud, thud, thud…” A string of heavy footsteps interrupted Kamron’s tirade.
Shattering the silent atmosphere.
Like an emotionless statue, a figure in dark-silver armor and wielding a pair of longswords — one dark and one silver— advanced step by step towards the dense crowd of troll soldiers.
The frigid gaze that flickered from the visor of his helmet held a stillness reminiscent of death.
“Oh? So you must be the one standing up for these wretched cityfolk.” Kamron ferociously spat those words out. The armored figure’s silence had only stoked his fury further.
‘You bastard, how dare you put on airs when you’re all by yourself. I swear I’ll gut you!’
“You all, attack him! Whoever cuts off his head will be heavily rewarded!”
“Don’t worry, Sir Governor. There’s no need for anyone else to get involved. I’ll handle it myself. Let’s see if this guy’s head can withstand a hit from my club.” A lower-ranking leader volunteered, displaying his eagerness to fight while gearing up for battle.
“Hyah! You little thief. Your life is mine!” Veins erupted on his explosive muscles as he wielded his club filled with sharp spikes and swung his shoulders around.
His unrestrained tyrannical strength was capable of turning even the indestructible Catalpa Metal walls of the Human Alliance into rubble.
“Clank!” The armored figure’s gauntlets trembled slightly as the overlapping pair of longswords intercepted the spiked club screaming towards them. The friction that ensued as a result produced a flurry of sparks along the edge of their blades.
[Demon Slayer — Gradual Rapture]
A deafening boom filled the air as the troll, wielding his massive spiked club weighing a thousand pounds, was forcefully driven back. He struggled to maintain his balance and came dangerously close to falling.
Before he could react, two longswords intertwined with a black aura swiftly crossed paths. They effortlessly cleaved through his thick, steel-like skin, causing green bodily fluid to splatter from the gaping wound in his chest.
“Ahhhh!” The situation had unfolded extremely rapidly. Despite his punctured heart, the robust vitality inherent to the troll race ensured that he still had a glimmer of life remaining.
However, before he could muster his last bit of strength and snap the armored figure’s neck…
Two longswords cut through the air from separate angles, leaving a dark trail in their wake. They converged like a pair of scissors, chopping his massive head off.
While piercing their hearts might not cause a resilient species to die immediately, decapitation would swiftly bring an end to their current actions. That was true for all living creatures.
“Charge, everyone! Rip him to shreds! Don’t let him catch his breath!” Kamron’s booming and frenzied voice snapped the stunned trolls back to reality, as though they had just awakened from a dream. Angrily roaring in unison, they raised their weapons and formed a dense encirclement around the armored figure.
Kamron was one of the few individuals in the troll race who knew how to adapt. Had it been someone else, the coercion from the vampire race would have driven them to choose a heroic death over a life in dishonor.
As someone who was meticulous in managing affairs and had a propensity for prioritizing his personal safety over principles, he was acutely aware of the disparity in strength between the opposing forces. Since the other party was willing to give him a way out, he intended to make the most out of it.
His approach to handling matters stood in stark contrast to that of other troll generals.
Eagerly challenging an opponent to a duel, even when fully aware of their formidable abilities, was a foolhardy act. However, this flaw was widespread among many trolls — A trait which definitely did not apply to Kamron.
To him, there was no need to make things more complicated than they already were. If someone genuinely desired to engage in a fight, they should hold nothing back and fight to the death, even if it meant attacking as a group.
“Rear team, allocate some men to scour this city. Leave this area to me!”
“Understood!”
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“Creak…” A door swung open. A troll foot soldier had scanned the interior with his lion-like pupils before deciding to barge its way into the building.
The inside was nothing more than a deserted stud barn. Save for the mound of hay at the center, the rest of the area stood vacant. The absence of horses spoke volumes about its impoverished state.
“Where the heck did those little kittens scamper off to…? Ugh, All the houses I checked were empty. Have they managed to slip away through an underground tunnel?” The troll foot soldier grumbled, intending to take a short break at the stud farm.
Just as he opened the door completely, a green washbowl came crashing down from above and covered his head.
“?! What on earth?…”
“Ah! The chance for payback has come!”
“Let’s go and beat these despicable and savage barbarians to death!”
“Hey, I recognize him! Isn’t this the jerk who thought he could dine for free before? Looks like fate’s on my side — I’ve caught you!”
The flurry of shouts reaching his ears caused the troll to be stupefied. Right after that, he felt his balance give way and his body crashing heavily to the ground.
Just as he pushed the basin away, a heavy and elongated spiked club forcefully struck his face.
“Bfft…” Before he could even let out a wretched cry, multiple other spiked clubs began to smash his face in.
His face severely mutilated by the series of harsh blows, he lost consciousness.
“Hahahaha! …What a rush! To think that those death-deserving barbarians are finally getting their due today. The feeling of beating someone is simply sublime!” An Asiatic Cat man wiped the sweat from his forehead and tossed the spiked club aside before sitting down on the ground.
“Keep it down! Hurry up and find somewhere to hide this guy. If the other trolls spot him, we’re toast!” An Asiatic Cat teenager emerged from the haystack and called out to the group kicking and trampling the troll soldier.
“Alright!”
“Who knows which jerk will appear next… If it’s the one who hurt my daughter, I’ll castrate him!”
“Quickly, quickly! Help me shove this knucklehead into the horse latrine!”
“I wonder how Sir Knight is faring right now…” A flicker of worry appeared on a young mother’s beautiful face as she heard the sharp sounds of battle cries and clashing weapons resounding from the city outskirts.
After a series of rustling, the stud farm settled back into silence, giving the impression that no one had visited the place.
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The clamorous wind carried a strong fishy scent as the sonata of clashing weapons drowned out the silence.
“Aaaah, die!” With eyes bloodshot from battle, the trolls resembled an incessant torrent of waves as they surged forward to fill the gap left by their fallen ally.
The sound of metal colliding reverberated off the silver and black longswords, creating shockwaves that impacted against the dark-silvery armor.
A faint black aura enveloped the latter, with every move of its wearer leaving an ink-like trail in the air.
The dark aura had engulfed the two longswords, transforming them into harbingers of death and incessantly claiming the lives of the trolls nearby who had recklessly came into contact with them.
Every cut was accompanied by bodily fluid or a mangled limb of a foreign race, their splattering blood serving as ink for this unsettling scene.
The black and silver longswords began to dance, forming a deathly bladestorm and rendering the trolls’ thick skin completely useless.
“Clank!!…” The gauntlet-covered arms seemed to possess the strength of a thousand pounds, as they transformed the multitude of descending spiked clubs into a gentle drizzle of raindrops.
[Crimson Memorandum]
“Swoosh!…” The dark and silver whirlwind swept past, causing the troll soldiers directly encircling the armored individual to collapse to the ground.
“Clank!” Their grand maneuver seemed as if it was completely flawless. The two longswords swiftly transitioned to a defensive stance, intercepting the spiked club that had been directed at their wielder’s back.
The frosty glint that emanated from the crevices of the dark helmet flickered before they instinctively sent a sword strike towards the assailant who attempted a sneak attack on them.
“Stop, stop, stop! I yield, valiant hero! All of us will yield!” The aggressor rapidly employed a tactic that unfolded faster than his opponent could react — Tossing away the spiked club in his hand and begging for mercy in a low voice. All of these were executed with extreme proficiency and occurred in the span of a single breath.
Ji Bai briefly froze and retracted his strength just as the tip of his sword drew to within an inch of his nose.
“Stop fighting! I want all of you to lower your weapons!” Seeing Ji Bai pull back his sword just in the nick of time, Kamron seemed as though he had ventured through the depths of hell. As if a heavy burden had been released, he let out a sigh and immediately gave the order for his subordinates to cease their actions.
“Governor… What do you mean?” Their eyes bloodshot from battle, the troll soldiers stared at their leader with expressions of confusion. .com
“You don’t know shit!” Kamron glared fiercely at the soldier who had posed the question. Without delay and with a face filled with deference, his gaze shifted to the blood-soaked figure in front of him who resembled a war deity.
“Valiant hero, your strength and might is unmatched. We surrender and cease our resistance. We’ll even give up control of this city, so let’s end the battle here, shall we?”
“…” The figure concealed by the dark-silvery armor did not respond.
In accordance with the knight’s creed, he would not take the lives of those who surrendered or were defenseless.
The reason he had fallen into deep thought was solely because the scene before him had surpassed his expectations.
“We’re honestly bargaining in good faith! I’ll swiftly gather my army and secure our valuables before withdrawing from this city right under your gaze. How does that sound, milord?” Seeing the armored figure descending into deep thought, Kamron spoke without pause, for fear of refusal.
“Governor Kamron, this…”
“Shut up!”
“…” Ji Bai chose to set aside his thoughts and eventually sheathed his longsword as a sign of agreement. “Remember to honor your word.”
“Certainly, certainly! Assemble the troops, we’re leaving!” Kamron’s voice rang out loudly. Right away, he rallied the remnants of his vanquished army and initiated a withdrawal toward the outer city.
These forces actually served as his leverage to abandon the city. If he couldn’t even hold onto this meager group of soldiers, he would be unable to deal with the aftermath of his transgressions…
Or so Kamron thought.
This monstrously powerful creature must surely belong to a higher-tiered species… if the battle continued on, they would be completely wiped out.
‘Since the vampire army is about to show up, I’ll leave it to those two immortals to duke it out amongst themselves! I’m out of here!’