Chương 37: Chapter 36 Break Its Head

Karath had occasionally seen troll corpses brought back by the settlement's hunters. It was one of the monsters that appeared frequently in the fantasy novels and games of his former world. The creature stood roughly as tall as the village's stone wall, perhaps slightly taller. It was around one and a half times Karath's current height. Its shoulders and overall build were equally enormous. However, anyone familiar with fantasy stories knew that a troll's true danger did not come from its size.

It came from its regeneration. Slash! The claws of the gigantic wolf raked across the troll's side. Blood flowed from the wound for only a moment before stopping. Looking more carefully, Karath saw bloodstains and hardened scabs covering several parts of the creature's body. They were injuries caused by the wolf that had already begun healing. The regeneration was not so absurd that the troll could instantly recover from a sword cutting through its flesh, as some novels depicted.

Even so, it remained unnaturally powerful. Because of that regenerative ability, the giant wolf was struggling despite being nearly equal in size. The troll ignored injuries that would have forced another creature to retreat and continued attacking relentlessly. Wounds covered the wolf's body. The battle would end soon. Karath had reached a crossroads. He could ambush the troll the moment it finished the wolf. Or he could escape while the two monsters remained occupied with each other.

The adult hunters occasionally killed trolls and brought their corpses back to the settlement. Every one of them, however, had said the same thing. A troll was dangerous prey that required three or four orc warriors working together to defeat. Karath might have been the strongest orc in the settlement, but attempting to hunt one alone could still be reckless. Thump. Thump. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. His heart pounded fiercely.

Karath had spent fifteen years living as an orc. The blood within him demanded battle. Crack! The troll's thick wooden club smashed into the back of the wolf's skull. Karath recognized the perfect opportunity. He moved without hesitation and charged toward the troll from behind. He needed to finish it with one strike. Considering the troll's size and regenerative ability, attacking the limbs or torso would accomplish little.

A weapon like Roberto's longsword might have given Karath more options, but all he possessed was a stone axe. There was only one way to defeat the creature with it.

"The head!" He had to crush its skull in a single blow. The troll released a hideous roar. Perhaps it had developed an instinct for danger while surviving inside the monster-infested forest. Just before Karath's stone axe struck the back of its skull, the troll twisted its body.

"Damn it!" Karath had already leaped into the air to reach the head of a creature much taller than himself. Changing the axe's direction completely was impossible. Crack! Instead of striking the troll's skull, the axe smashed into its shoulder. The monster screamed in pain and swung its opposite arm toward Karath. Whoosh! Karath landed and immediately threw himself sideways. The troll's forearm passed over his head with enough force to tear through the air.

Even while rolling across the ground, Karath kept his eyes fixed on the creature. The attack had not been completely wasted. Karath had swung with enough power to crush the troll's skull. Although the axe struck its shoulder instead, the impact caused the creature's right arm to hang unnaturally. The shoulder had either been dislocated or shattered. Unfortunately, Karath's stone axe had also broken. The stone blade survived the collision, but the thick wooden handle had snapped apart.

The troll's damaged shoulder made its attacks easier to evade. Its enormous reach and strength remained terrifying. Even with one unusable arm, its blows were far more dangerous than those of Karath's uncles. Compared with Roberto, however, it was painfully slow. During their final battle, Roberto had moved so quickly that Karath had struggled to follow him even with his eyes. The troll was nothing like that. Karath could not allow the fight to continue for long.

Even if the creature seemed slow, his own stamina was not infinite. Once the troll's right arm recovered, avoiding its attacks would become considerably more difficult. He needed to decide the battle immediately.

"Hah!" Karath discarded the broken axe handle. Gripping the remaining stone blade in his right hand like a jagged rock, he charged. Whoosh! The troll swung its left arm as he approached. Karath lowered his upper body, slipped beneath the attack, and stepped even closer. The troll immediately raised the same arm to cover its face. Its right arm still could not move properly, so it relied upon the limb it had just swung to protect its most vulnerable area.

Despite its limited intelligence, the monster had developed that instinct through years of survival. Unfortunately for the troll, Karath was no longer aiming for its head.

"Die!" He slipped past a kick and moved deeply inside the creature's reach. Then he drove the stone blade into the center of the troll's body. More precisely, he struck the most precious area beneath its waist. Crack! Stone collided with flesh and produced a brutally heavy sound. The troll released a weak, deflating groan. Its eyes bulged as far as they possibly could, and foam gathered around its mouth. Both legs pressed tightly together.

The monster brought both hands toward the injured area, even forcing its still-damaged right arm to move. Apparently, that region was an important weakness even for monsters. Karath did not lower his guard. Regeneration was the defining trait of a troll. No matter how much pain it displayed, the injury might heal quickly. Could regeneration even restore that? Karath had no idea whether the troll's ability applied there as well. Regardless, he had no reason to wait and discover the answer.

"Hraaaagh!" While the troll remained bent over and clutching itself, Karath leaped toward its face.

"The head!" He smashed the stone blade into the monster's features.

"The head! The head! The head!" Karath struck without pause, shouting with each blow as he continued pounding the troll's skull. Thud! Thud! Crack! He did not stop until something finally shattered and the creature's head collapsed inward.