I Pull Out Excalibur

36 – Crimson-eyed Mercenary Band (4)

What emerged from the twilight forest was a colossal monster. Its body seemed three times the size of a human, with thick arms and legs, and a neck so robust that it seemed impervious to any blade. Even its aura differed from the widely scattered monsters.

A troll. That was the name for such a creature.

Among adventurers, it was classified as a blue-rank monster, and the prevailing assessment was that a group of about five blue-rank adventurers could hunt it down. So, the gathering of blue-rank adventurers here could have handled it, but…

“That thing…”

No one moved hastily.

“A Crimson Troll. Why is it here?”

Well, because what appeared before them was no ordinary troll.

A Crimson Troll.

It was a variant of trolls, notorious for massacring fifteen blue-rank adventurers a few months ago, and had since gone into hiding, becoming a wanted monster. Unlike typical trolls, this one was malevolent and had a higher intelligence as a special variant.

The Central Guild of Cambria assigned the grade ‘Red’ to the Crimson Troll.

Black, Self, Blue, Green, Red, White.

Among the six classified grades, it ranked high, and it was considered a monster worthy of confronting only when more than eight green-rank adventurers gathered. Knowing this, adventurers refrained from moving recklessly.

It was beyond their level.

That was true even for Marsen, the highest-ranked green-rank adventurer in this place. If the assembly gathered here were a punitive force convened in advance to hunt the Crimson Troll, she might have taken the lead.

“But…”

Marsen glanced around.

Everyone was stepping back, preparing to flee. It was only natural. They were adventurers and mercenaries, prioritizing their own safety above all else. Marsen was no exception.

Not venturing into danger.

Not challenging potential losses.

The most important thing was always one’s own life.

That was the unwritten law of this city.

Someone might mock them as selfish, but those living in this city were not knights or heroes risking their lives on dangerous battlefields; they were adventurers or mercenaries.

“Tch.”

With a click of her tongue, Marsen took a step back.

Even the strongest here was preparing to escape. Seeing that, the adventurers slowly distanced themselves from the troll. The Crimson Troll gazed in their direction but had not yet made a move.

hehehe.

However, the troll’s movement changed after a while.

As the adventurers began to step back, a crimson troll, raising its tail, started to walk forward. With a thud, making the ground tremble, the adventurers turned around and started running.

“Run!”

“Mercenary band, the Red Eye Mercenary Band! What are they doing? That’s a monster that the Mercenary Band should be dealing with!”

Chaos spreads.

Amidst the adventurers cursing and fleeing, a pushed adventurer stumbled to the ground.

“Hey, what the…!”

The adventurer’s words didn’t last long.

The crimson troll was a skilled hunter and didn’t miss the opportunity to catch its prey. With a thud, the troll began to rush towards the fallen adventurer.

“Hu, huaaargh!”

A club resembling a tree, pulled out by the roots.

The moment the club was about to swing towards the adventurer, someone rushed in, grabbed the back of the fallen adventurer’s neck, and threw them backward.

Kwaaang!

The club struck the ground, and a cloud of dust rose.

As the dust settled, revealed was an adventurer facing off against the crimson troll. The fleeing adventurers watched from a distance.

Who is this lunatic? What crazy person volunteers to be the bait?

Standing there was an adventurer of black rank. A complete rookie, who hadn’t been in the city for long and was oblivious to the city’s lawlessness. The young man who captured the attention of this cleansing battle was standing there.

Clang!

He drew his sword from the scabbard.

As if preparing to fight the crimson troll.

“Director.”

Jin Na looked at the director standing on the platform as he drew his sword. The director, seemingly flustered, was signaling for reinforcements and preparing to escape, but under Jin Na’s momentum, he stopped in his tracks and looked at Jin Na.

“How many points would you give that one?”

“······What?”

The director couldn’t answer Jin Na’s question.

Even the adventurers gathered here didn’t understand Jin Na’s words the moment he uttered them. Asking for points? Here?

“Just looking, it seems a bit bulky.”

With the tip of his sword pointed at the troll in front of him, Jin Na grinned.

“How about 30 points?”

Adding 30 points to Najin’s current score results in 65 points.

It was a score surpassing the record of 57 points held by Barge, the deputy commander of the Crimson Eye Mercenary Corps, in the historic Dochenberg Forest Subjugation Battle.

… A historical high score.

Before participating in this commission, what Najin confirmed was not the number of participants in the punitive expedition but the highest score in the history of the Dochenberg Forest Subjugation Battle.

Although the first place was already confirmed.

Najin had no interest in a mediocre first place.

He had no intention of being satisfied with a first place snatched by a narrow margin from second place. What Najin aimed for was an overwhelming first place, a perfect victory that no one could undermine, surpassing the all-time high score.

“I appreciate the extra points.”

Saying that, Najin smoothly leaped to the side. The troll’s club struck the ground once again. Dust rose high once more. However, this time, there was no need to wait for the dust to settle.

Crack!

A sword swung through the dust, parting it.

Najin’s blade cut through not only the dust but also the crimson troll’s skin, albeit shallowly.

Splattering blood.

However, what drew the attention of the adventurers gathered here more than the splattering blood was something else. Najin, emerging from the parted dust, holding a sword. Adventurers focused on the gleam of Najin’s extended blade.

A radiant white glow.

The color, akin to darkness, emitted its own hue in the twilight-stained forest.

2.

The city of opportunities, Cambria.

Najin, who had come to this city, had not yet experienced a battle with a formidable opponent. He had sparred with Volcman, but that was only a duel, not a life-or-death battle. Therefore, Najin was hoping for an opponent.

Someone equal to him or more.

A battle for life against a superior opponent.

Najin knew that this was the fastest way to improve his skills. There was nothing as valuable as the experience of battling a strong opponent.

‘Of course, I should be careful and assess the opponent…’

Najin glanced at the crimson troll in front of him.

Certainly, it was an incredibly powerful adversary. With Excalibur and the complete darkness of the platinum-colored sword concealed, victory was not assured.

‘But.’

Even without using those.

It didn’t seem like it would be a total loss. After all, the mercenaries stationed in the center of the forest would come to support soon, so retreating in the worst-case scenario wouldn’t be a bad idea.

That’s a story for when things go awry.

Right now, Najin was focused on victory. Najin opened his eyes wide. The crimson troll’s movements were read through the bloodshot eyes. Reading the club’s movements, Najin pounded the ground and began to run.

“Hu…,”

Najin exhaled a long breath.

As he prepared to swallow the exhaled breath again, Najin absorbed the mana scattered around him. The amount of mana accumulated in Najin’s body was extremely small, but at this moment, that figure held no significance whatsoever.

Originally, it was just residual matter.

Merlin’s taught mana cultivation technique.

This technique didn’t prioritize accumulating mana as its primary goal. Instead, it aimed to strengthen the pathways through which mana flows, enhancing the physical body to create an physique optimized for mana.

Therefore, the mana accumulated in Najin’s body was merely residual, strengthening the body and nothing more. The moment when Najin revealed the amount of mana he could handle was when he took a ‘breath.’

Kwaang!

After finishing his breath, Najin accelerated in an instant.

The widened pathways and a body adapted to mana. The resulting speed, when combined, did not lag behind sword experts who had reached the level of mastery for over a dozen years.

A perfected sword expert, movements beyond that.

Najin’s sword flashed in the moment of acceleration. He dodged the troll’s club and slashed its tough skin. However, the moment he swung the sword, Najin felt it. It was too shallow.

‘It’s not cutting properly.’

– Well, of course.

Merlin muttered.

– Troll skin is tough. Even with magic, it’s not easily burnt. It inherently has high resistance. You need skill to cut through with a sword, you know?

She said.

– Shall I show you?

‘Not necessary.’

Najin refused.

Moving his pupils rapidly, Najin predicted the next action. Anticipating the troll lifting its club and being conscious of its steps, Najin moved.

‘I think I know as well.’

Najin tightened his grip on the sword.

He had seen it recently. The mid-rank priest Volcman’s sword, which he wielded without drawing the blade while slashing through orcs. Of course, troll skin was tougher than orc skin, but…

Wasn’t there a blade on his own sword?

If that was the case, he should be able to cut through troll skin. Najin adjusted his stance.

Kwung!

The moment Najin placed his foot, the momentum reversed.

Not a nimble hunter seizing gaps, but a force akin to a priest of the sword who had honed his skills for many years.

Swish.

The enhanced physique and the power of swordsmanship displayed by the sword adorned with a sharp blade are incomparable to the past. A swordsmanship unfolded from a perfect stance. The flashing blade brushed past the side of the troll’s club.

The only resistance it possessed was the troll’s leather.

The club was just a wooden mallet.

Naturally, it couldn’t withstand the sharpness of the blade.

With a concise sound of cutting, the club split in half. The smooth cut surface caused the club to fall. In an instant, the weight of the disappeared club created a gap in the troll’s posture, and Najin did not miss the opportunity.

“Shaaak…”

Najin’s footsteps landed disorientingly.

Like sliding or dancing footsteps. It was the swordsmanship of the mid-level priest Volcman. An application skill that only mid-level priests who had completely mastered the four basic postures could inherit.

With that swordsmanship, Volcman struck down an orc in a single blow.

Thinking of Volcman’s movements at that moment, Najin bent her knees that had been bowed. She swung the sword as if springing up. The accumulated flow of steps, the accumulation of strength, was released through a single swing.

“Shaaak!”

This time, the sensation of cutting was felt. Blood splattered as Najin tore through the troll’s skin. A deadly blow that would make an ordinary troll scream and crumple. However, the blood-red troll was different from ordinary trolls.

“Grrr!”

The troll roared as it swung its fist.

Twisting in mid-air for a moment, Najin parried the fist with the sword, but the impact couldn’t be completely erased. Najin flew like an arrow and slammed into a tree with a sharp thud.

But Najin immediately stood up.

As if it was nothing. Najin, who had blood on her lips, wiped it away with the back of her hand. Instead of distorting her expression with pain, there was a smile on Najin’s lips.

Well, she got the hang of it.

How to cut through that thick skin.

3.

The adventurers who had been trying to escape stopped in their tracks and watched Najin, who was fighting the blood-red troll with a short sword.

At first, they had planned to use Najin as bait to escape, but now they just silently watched Najin’s battle. An unbelievable scene was unfolding before their eyes.

A creature of danger level red, the blood-red troll.

A young man confronting it with a short sword.

Najin and the troll were in a standoff. It was an unbelievable sight. Just because she had a black rank didn’t mean she had the skills of a red-rank. The gazes of the adventurers were wavering.

“…Shouldn’t we help?”

Someone spoke up and tried to move forward, but the chilling gaze of Najin, who turned around abruptly, stopped the adventurer in their tracks.

Don’t interfere.

This is my prey.

A sinister gaze that seemed to shout this out. It was taboo to intercept or interfere with someone else’s prey. It was also an unwritten rule among adventurers. In the end, the adventurers silently watched Najin’s hunt without saying a word.

“Ohhh!”

The troll roared as it swung the uprooted tree with a mighty force. By the time the swung tree struck the ground, raising a cloud of dust, Najin was already gone from that spot. Najin, who had dug in like slipping sideways, leaped and planted his foot on the tree held by the troll.

Riding the slanted tree, Najin sprinted forward.

Perched on the troll’s neck, Najin held a sword in one hand. With the other hand, he swiftly thrust the dagger he grasped into the troll’s eye socket.

————!

The troll’s scream echoed.

The unprotected eyeballs pierced easily through the sharp dagger. Relying on the dagger deeply embedded in the troll’s eye sockets, Najin, hanging on the troll’s neck, swung the sword in his hand.

Swoosh, shwack, shwaaack!

The imperfect swordsmanship flickered continuously.

The constantly swinging blade scratched the thick neck of the blood-red troll several times. The thick neck skin tore apart, and blood splattered in all directions.

Even as the troll violently shook its body, Najin did not fall off, and when the troll reached out to grab, Najin did not get caught. Eventually, the troll screamed and repeatedly rammed its body into the tree. Only then did Najin, using the momentum, leap off the troll’s shoulders.

Gruk, grugrugru···.

The blood-red troll foamed at the mouth and glared at Najin.

One eye had a dagger stuck in it, and the neck skin was torn apart, allowing blood to flow freely. Perhaps one or two more swings of the sword would completely sever it.

Watching this scene, the adventurers felt a sense of eeriness.

At times, he displayed movements like a seasoned swordsman who had wielded a sword for many years, and at other times, he showed a sinister appearance like a hunting dog tearing apart the neck of its prey.

Overwhelming.

In the overwhelming presence of the young man, the adventurers sensed it.

He was by no means a novice, despite still being of the black grade. Not a rookie. Like those who had reached the pinnacle of this adventurer city, he was a rising star in an instant.

A new star in this city.

Not only the adventurers were watching over this star, but also one of the five peaks of Cambria, who had just arrived here with the rescue signal, was also observing.

“Ha.”

Roselin Ascalon let out a bitter laugh.

“That guy is insane.”

A smile crept onto Roselin’s lips as she muttered. It was the laughter of someone who had found a kindred spirit. Watching Najin’s movements, Roselin laughed with an understanding of that stance.

Najin poised himself.

Preparing for the final strike.

The most powerful blow he had ever seen. As Najin assumed the stance to replicate that strike, Roselin widened her eyes. She knew that stance.

She wanted to observe a bit more, but now she couldn’t.

That young man might not be aware, but…