My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 187

§ 187. Megingjörð (2) [Megingjörð is the belt of the Norse god Thor, which doubles his strength when worn.]

From the darkness, a chilling, murderous intent erupted.

Thump! Thump!

In an instant, a roar shook the earth.

With a steady rhythm, it was immediately clear that this reverberation came from a living being.

Something enormous, violently shaking the ground.

Then, KWAH-ah-ah-ahng!

One section of the dark forest was unconditionally smashed to pieces.

And a monster revealed itself.

A massive frame reaching 8 meters [~26 feet].

A face twisted into something beyond hideous, utterly ferocious.

“An Ogre…?”

Ogre.

Among the monsters that walk the earth on two feet, the most vicious of all.

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

A tremendous roar spread through the dark forest.

The apex predator of the land, the Ogre.

The Ogre sits at the very top of the monster food chain, its strength comparable to that of a mid-to-high-level Expert knight.

And for good reason, as it was a monster that only a mid-to-high-level Expert knight could handle.

A single Ogre could devastate not only an entire city,

but even a small territory.

In the mercenary world, a mercenary who completes an Ogre mission is called an ‘Ogre Slayer.’

And now.

A massive monster charges forward, smashing through the forest debris.

“It’s an Ogre!”

At someone’s shout, people’s eyes widened.

But no one was frightened or ran away.

Ruben was attacked by magical beasts almost daily.

It wasn’t as if they had no experience fighting Ogres.

Above all, the Royal Knights were here.

The strongest knight order, all reaching Expert level.

No matter how strong an Ogre was, before this force, it was nothing more than prey, not a predator.

However.

Kroooar—!!

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

Another loud roar came from inside the forest.

As if echoing the previous roar, chilling screams erupted several times.

And it wasn’t the sound of just one.

At least several dozen.

Sure enough, more Ogres revealed themselves from behind the shattered debris.

And again, it wasn’t just one or two.

Just what they could see numbered over 20.

Adding those they couldn’t see, there seemed to be at least twice as many.

“This is insane!”

One of the Royal Knights shouted at the sight of the Ogres.

Because Ogres, as generally known, did not live in groups.

Ogres almost always lived alone.

In the first place, forming groups was to protect the weak.

But Ogres had no need for that.

The apex predator of the land, the Ogre.

They had no need or reason to form groups.

Therefore, they had no concept of kinship.

Only the concept of male and female existed.

Thus, to an Ogre, another Ogre was either a mating partner,

or an intruder who had invaded their territory.

But what was this sight before them…?

“H-How could this…?”

“We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

Even the knights of Ruben widened their eyes in surprise at the sight.

Having been in Ruben and experienced Ogres,

they had never seen Ogres grouping together like this either.

People stared at the Ogre horde with wide, astonished eyes.

But only for a moment.

“What are the Ogres’ weaknesses?”

A quiet voice was heard.

And from that voice, the Royal Knights regained their composure.

They didn’t know what the situation was.

They didn’t know why the Ogres were living in groups.

But the fact that they had to face the Ogres right now remained unchanged.

The Royal Knights gripped their swords and steeled their resolve.

However.

“There aren’t any.”

The answer that came back was unexpected.

“Ogres don’t have any weaknesses.”

Their very existence was a disaster.

Moreover, this was none other than the Dark Forest.

A region where monsters turned into magical beasts due to Overdrive [a state of heightened aggression and power].

These Ogres were not mere monsters.

They were terrifying magical beasts swallowed by a frenzied instinct.

They were natural disasters that even Expert knights could not easily handle.

And there were dozens of such natural disasters.

“Everyone, fall back! Get up to the ramparts!”

A desperate voice was heard from behind.

Looking back, Ruben’s captain of the guard, Lucas, was shouting at the top of his lungs.

At his words, Ruben’s knights and soldiers hurriedly entered Ruben.

“We must retreat! A full-scale battle with the Ogres is impossible!”

And a shout was heard directed at the Royal Knights.

The Royal Knights did not insist.

Courage and recklessness. Confidence and arrogance.

The two must be clearly distinguished.

Even though they were called the strongest knight order in the Empire, the Royal Knights.

They could not face these dozens of magical beast Ogres without taking any damage.

The Royal Knights hurriedly headed inside Ruben’s ramparts.

As those ahead were entering Ruben,

“Close the gates and raise the moat when the knights return! Mages, pre-cast your spells!”

Lucas was reorganizing the front lines.

Ruben’s captain of the guard, Lucas.

Lucas prepared for battle quickly and accurately.

A full-scale battle with the Ogres was impossible.

Then, currently, there were only two things that could inflict effective damage on the Ogres.

The Dark Elves’ magic.

And…

“The Singijeon [Korean multiple rocket launcher]? Is the Singijeon ready?”

The Singijeon, which could devastate a target area with multiple volleys of arrows.

“They are still being prepared!”

At the soldier’s shout, Lucas clenched his fist tightly.

The Singijeon unleashed tremendous firepower, but it required a preparation process.

The work of loading arrows and inserting magic stones inevitably took time.

And until then, the Ogres would not wait.

Of course, Ruben’s sturdy ramparts would withstand the Ogres’ attacks, but…

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

With dozens of Ogres, the situation was slightly different.

So, they had to buy time until the Singijeon was ready.

But there weren’t many who could buy time against the Ogres.

“Commander Kendrick, may I ask for your help?”

-I shall prepare.

At Lucas’s words, Kendrick nodded slightly.

With a dark blue light flickering in his eyes, he unleashed a jet-black darkness.

“We’ll help too!”

“If we need to buy time, we can be of assistance as well!”

At the same time, shouts were heard from below the ramparts.

None other than the Royal Knights’ commanders, Yale and Philip.

Unlike the others, they were not entering the ramparts.

Lucas did not stop them.

Both were mid-level Masters [a rank of skilled knight].

They would be able to buy enough time against those Ogres.

Lucas nodded and asked the soldier next to him.

“Where is Leah? Where is she currently?”

“I believe she is with His Highness the Crown Prince at the Lord’s Castle!”

At those words, Lucas hesitated for a moment.

But given the situation, he had no choice.

“Go and tell them the situation and ask for help. And report to the Lord as well!”

“Understood!”

At Lucas’s command, the soldier ran off hastily.

Lucas turned his gaze back to the front.

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

Kroooar—!!

The Ogres were approaching, roaring loudly in his forward view.

At the sight, Lucas was lost in thought for a moment.

It wasn’t that Ogres hadn’t attacked Ruben before.

But there had never been a case where dozens of Ogres had come together like this.

They didn’t live in groups.

That was something that didn’t suit the strongest predators.

But the dozens of Ogres he saw now.

What this implied was just one thing.

There was a reason why they had to do this.

There was a reason why the strongest predators had to band together.

He couldn’t know what that was at the moment.

And Lucas shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Whatever the reason.

Stopping the Ogres’ attack was the priority now.

Thud! Kwa-thud!!

Dozens of Ogres indiscriminately destroyed the surrounding forest debris.

The sight inspired an overwhelming sense of dread, as if a massive natural disaster was approaching.

“They’re coming!”

At Lucas’s shout, Kendrick dashed forward, tearing through the ramparts.

Soon, Yale and Philip followed behind Kendrick.

And.

Swish—!

Crunch—!

Along with an eerie slicing sound.

Thump!

Thud—!

Two Ogres collapsed to the ground.

Kendrick’s slash at the moment of impact felled one Ogre.

Following that, Yale and Philip’s slash resulted in the felling of another.

A truly astonishing display of force, bringing down two Ogres in a single blow.

However, the number of Ogres remaining was still large.

The gazes of dozens of Ogres shifted simultaneously at the death of their kin.

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

Frenzied instinct, ferocious rage.

Ogres, who had no concept of kinship.

Yet, that scream, which shook the eardrums, contained such emotions.

At that terrifying sight, Lucas clenched his fist tightly.

There were too many Ogres.

Kendrick, Yale, and Philip were drawing their attention, but there was a limit to that.

Right now, their attention was focused on them, but it was only temporary.

Again, there were too many Ogres.

Even now, some of the Ogre horde were turning their backs to look at Ruben, perhaps losing interest as they were blocked by the Ogres in front.

There was no time.

“The Singijeon’s preparations—!”

Just then.

Tap! Tap!

Something brushed past Lucas.

Dashing out in front of the ramparts.

His gaze involuntarily turned.

There, two blonde men were dashing towards the Ogre horde.

#

Amidst the gaps between dozens of Ogres.

Yale and Philip calmly looked around.

Dozens of Ogres looming around them.

The intense murderous intent emanating from the land’s strongest predators.

That in itself came as a form of violence.

At that overwhelming violence, Yale and Philip involuntarily swallowed hard.

As commanders of the Royal Knights, it wasn’t that they hadn’t faced Ogres before.

They had personally beheaded Ogres dozens of times.

But this was different.

These Ogres were different.

Not just different, but it was fair to say they were completely different entities.

-I will draw their attention.

Kendrick’s voice was heard quietly in their forward view.

Kendrick unleashed the darkness he possessed, with a dark blue light flickering in his eyes.

At the same time, the Ogres’ gazes, which had been focused on Yale and Philip, turned towards Kendrick.

An action to draw their attention, as he said.

On the one hand, it was an action to protect Yale and Philip.

It was a blow to their pride, but… they had to accept it.

This was not a situation to be reckless.

Just facing them from the side, it already felt like they had reached their limit.

And then.

Kroooaaaaaaar—!!

With a tremendous roar, the Ogres began to attack indiscriminately.

The Ogres’ attacks were simple.

They had no weapons, just attacks using their bodies.

But that was no different from the ultimate weapon.

A chilling power exploding from their overwhelming physique.

That one power overwhelms everything.

Kwa-ah-ah-ahng—!!

The ground was crushed with a single, simple punch.

And if their reaction had been a little slower.

It wouldn’t have been the ground that was crushed, but Yale and Philip.

A speed that only the senses of a mid-level Master could barely keep up with.

A tremendous speed that didn’t match their massive size.

‘No.’

Yale shook his head at once.

The very statement that it didn’t match was absurd.

Thinking that they were slow just because they were big was a huge misunderstanding.

That was the kind of thought that only those who hadn’t faced Ogres would have.

If you face an Ogre directly, you immediately realize how foolish that thought was.

The destructive power, agility, speed, and reaction speed that come from overwhelming strength.

The words “the strongest predator on land” are not just casually attached.

Kwa-ah-ah-ahng—!

Fragments of the earth that had burst out in all directions scattered.

Each punch they threw delivered a shock like a huge explosion.

Yale and Philip quickly moved their bodies to avoid the Ogres’ attacks.

The earlier incident of slashing an Ogre no longer occurred.

They were too busy avoiding the Ogres’ relentless attacks.

If Kendrick hadn’t drawn their attention right now.

They would have already been crushed and lying somewhere over there.

And it wasn’t much different now.

Thud! Kwa-thud!

The Ogres’ fierce, continuous strikes shook the earth.

And perhaps because of the impact.

Stagger.

In that instant, Philip lost his balance.

As if seizing the opportunity, one of the Ogres lunged at Philip.

“Philip!!”

Yale shouted urgently and rushed forward.

However, he had to halt his advance due to an incoming Ogre’s fist.

Kwa-ah-ah-ahng—!

The ground caved in.

He hurriedly raised his head to look.

The Ogre’s fist was almost right in front of Philip’s nose.

At that distance, even Yale couldn’t help.

Kendrick was engaged in a fierce battle against nearly seven Ogres.

It was a display of power that could only elicit admiration, but even he didn’t seem to have any leeway.

In short, there was no one to help Philip.

Even now, the Ogre’s fist was getting closer and closer to Philip.

“Philip!!!”

Yale’s scream burst out.

Right then.

Swoosh—!!

A chilling slicing sound was heard.

It wasn’t the sound of Philip’s flesh being crushed by the Ogre’s fist.

A gruesome slicing sound, as if something was being cut, pierced Yale’s ears.

“······?”

Yale’s thoughts froze for a moment.

And then he looked over there.

There stood a man with golden hair like sunlight.

“Your… Highness?”

It was the Crown Prince, Conrad.

Why? And how?

Such questions weren’t allowed.

Krooooaaaaaaar—!!!

Such questions were buried and disappeared before the roaring sound that erupted.

The Ogre, whose hand had been cut off, screamed and unleashed terrifying murderous intent.

And that target was solely directed at Conrad.

“Your Highness!!”

Yale threw himself towards Conrad.

Philip also regained his senses and threw himself towards Conrad.

But perhaps because of the grotesque power distorted by anger,

That explosive speed was faster than Yale and Philip.

Moreover, they couldn’t pick up speed easily due to the attacks of the Ogres rushing in from the surroundings.

A speed that even a Master [a highly skilled warrior] would find difficult to react to.

As expected, Conrad was unable to respond at all.

“No!!”

Yale shouted as if screaming.

But the shout didn’t stop the Ogre’s fist.

And so, when the Ogre’s fist finally came right before Conrad’s eyes.

Kwa-ah-ah-ahng—!!

A huge explosion erupted, filling his vision.

At the same time, a thick cloud of dust rose.

“Your Highness!!!”

“Your Highness!!!”

Yale and Philip cried out in despair.

And after a little time passed, when the dust cloud slowly subsided.

What appeared was not Conrad’s mangled corpse.

Nor was it Conrad’s body flying through the air, battered and bruised.

It was a human blocking the Ogre’s fist.

Another golden-haired man besides Conrad.

“Count… Cyan?”

It was none other than Cyan.

Cyan was blocking the Ogre’s fist aimed at Conrad.

Thud!!!

The tremendous force pressed down on Cyan, but Cyan stood firm.

No, it wasn’t just standing firm.

Crackling!!!

A strange sound was heard, and Cyan took a step forward.

At the same time, the Ogre’s fist was gradually pushed back.

“······!!!!”

“······!!!!”

At that sight, the eyes of Yale and Philip were distorted with astonishment.

The scene they were witnessing.

Cyan pushing back the Ogre’s fist.

“He’s… overpowering the Ogre’s strength…?”

That was the only way to explain it.

But that didn’t make sense.

It couldn’t make sense. It shouldn’t make sense.

Of course, the words themselves could make sense.

People would sometimes say to someone strong, ‘You’re as strong as an Ogre!’

But that was just words.

It was literally just saying that.

It was just an exaggerated expression.

It was just an exaggeration that their strength was enormous.

The grotesque power that Ogres possessed.

That was not the kind of thing that a human being could reach.

It wasn’t just humans.

Even the dwarves, who were known as the epitome of strength.

Even they were helpless before Ogres.

There was no being that could stand against the Ogre’s strength.

Therefore, the scene before their eyes was something that could not exist in reality, something that could not happen.

But… but now…

Crackling!

Once again, a strange sound was heard, and the Ogre was pushed back even further.

And perhaps thinking that it was losing in the battle of strength.

Krooooaaaaaaar—!!

The Ogre let out a ferocious roar and increased its strength.

The explosive muscles of the Ogre twitched, and tremendous power erupted.

But it didn’t budge.

Cyan stood firm, resisting that force.

And after a while.

Soon, along with the slicing sound of swoosh—!

The Ogre’s wrist was cut off again.

The sight visible through the cut was Conrad.

Conrad had somehow cut off the Ogre’s wrist again.

Krooooaaaaaaar—!!!

The Ogre’s scream of pain erupted.

And at that moment.

The Ogre was no longer a predator.

It was just a living being struggling to survive.

The Ogre with both wrists cut off.

In the meantime, Cyan’s body floated into the air.

At the same time as Cyan’s body moved, the sword flowed.

A jet-black sword cutting through the darkness.

Swoosh—!

The Ogre’s head was cut off helplessly by the swung strike.

All these movements were connected like a single flow.

‘Fast!’

Yale shouted inwardly without realizing it.

He couldn’t even follow it with his senses.

There was only one thing Yale could recognize.

That Cyan had moved.

Thud—!

The Ogre, with its head cut off, fell to the ground.

Yale was jolted awake by the shock that shook the earth.

Conrad, who had cut off the tough and tenacious Ogre’s wrist.

And Cyan, who had overpowered the Ogre’s strength and finally beheaded it.

The combination of the two was truly amazing.

But it was just one.

There were dozens of Ogres lurking here.

It was not a situation that could be resolved by dealing with just one.

Krooooaaaaaaar—!!

The frenzied roars of the Ogres shook the earth.

Yale clenched his sword tightly.

First, he would protect Conrad.

Philip, who had grasped Yale’s thoughts, followed closely beside him.

Right then.

“Everyone, get down!!!”

Cyan’s loud shout erupted.

Get down?

At this moment?

Numerous questions arose in Yale and Philip’s minds.

But contrary to their thoughts.

Yale and Philip’s bodies were already lowered.

Only then did they look at the field of vision.

There, Cyan was holding the jet-black sword tightly, with his eyes closed.

A darkened field of vision.

The Ogres’ roars penetrated into the invisible field of vision.

Terrible murderous intent covered them, and every hair on their bodies stood on end.

Their breathing stopped for a moment.

In the stopped breath, flash!

Cyan’s eyes opened, and jet-black darkness erupted.

And in the field of vision stained with darkness.

The Ogre’s attack became infinitely slow.

The Ogre’s attack was by no means slow.

It was just that the speed of time Cyan was stepping into was faster.

A world of different speeds.

And a world he had experienced once.

The incident in the North the other day.

The fleeting world he had experienced when using to the extreme.

It was nothing compared to that time.

The fleeting moment when even time was split.

He couldn’t approach that moment.

Even so, it was slow.

The appearance of the Ogres running towards him.

The fists of the Ogres rushing in.

The breath he exhaled.

The eyes that were opening.

The exploding magic power.

All those moments.

Crackling!!!

It felt infinitely slow.

#

A giant strike that cut across the world.

It wasn’t just cutting through the scenery.

Everywhere the sword strike reached.

From the end of the field of vision to the end, from the end of the scenery to the end.

The entire Forest of Darkness was cut.

And the dozens of Ogres contained within the Forest of Darkness.

Thud—! Thud—!

Those Ogres collapsed all at once.

Each with different parts bisected, they all collapsed to the ground.

“······!!!!”

“······!!!!”

“······!!!!”

At that unbelievable sight, people’s mouths dropped open.

With expressions distorted by astonishment, not a single sound escaped from their mouths.

Not only Conrad next to Cyan.

Yale and Philip, and Lucas and the soldiers watching the battle from the ramparts.

And the Royal Knights.

-······!!!!

Even Kendrick, and.

-Wh-what…?!

Even Leia, who had just arrived.

Shock, impact, fright, horror, fainting, surprise, disgust.

No matter what expression they added, they couldn’t explain the feeling they were experiencing now.

In the silence that had fallen with such astonishment.

“······ Huh?”

Cyan blurted out such a sound without realizing it.

That was because of the scenery he was seeing now.

That is, the scenery where the Forest of Darkness had been logged all at once.

“What is this…?”

Cyan had no idea that this level of power would come out!

Of course, this time it wasn’t just a simple strike.

He had drawn out the power of the Elixir.

And he had also used ‘Extreme – Asura Heavenly Slaughter’ [a powerful sword technique].

But it wasn’t to this extent.

Not to the extent of logging the entire Forest of Darkness.

Not to the extent of bisecting the Ogres all at once.

But the scene unfolding before his eyes now.

“Could this be….”

One thought flashed through Cyan’s mind.

None other than Megingjörð [a belt that doubles the wearer’s strength in Norse mythology, here likely a magical item].

A fraudulent item that doubles the wearer’s strength without any conditions.

It seemed that this situation had occurred because of the power of Megingjörð.

But even so, it was strange.

Even if it had only amplified his strength by two times, the power before his eyes was truly absurd.

Besides, even the fact that he had overcome the Ogre’s strength earlier.

“This isn’t double…?”

No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t double.

He couldn’t have unleashed this level of power just because his strength had increased by a mere two times.

It was at least ten times.

In other words, the scene before his eyes was the result of a power equivalent to ten times the strength Cyan possessed being exerted.

That was truly.

“This is totally OP [overpowered]─.”

…Just as that thought crossed his mind.

Zzzzzz—!

Suddenly, a strange sound was heard throughout Cyan’s body.

At the same time, his muscles began to convulse violently.

‘Wait, could this be…!’

Cyan widened his eyes at the thought that flashed through his mind.

The Megingjörð sold in advertisements.

The Megingjörð sold in the Mileage Shop.

The difference between the two was the power they emitted.

The counterfeit sold in advertisements was double.

The genuine product sold in the Mileage Shop was tenfold.

That meant.

That there was no big difference in other aspects.

And to say this again.

That the side effects were the same for both the counterfeit and the genuine product.

That the body had to withstand the backlash of the emitted power.

That the buyer had to bear the side effects of using power they couldn’t handle.

And the multiple of power Cyan used was tenfold.

Crackling─!!!

At the same time as that thought, the muscles throughout his body convulsed greatly.

And before Cyan could respond to anything.

Crackling!!!

“Kuaaaaaaaack!!”

All the muscles throughout his body ruptured and were torn apart.