Chapter 115: Hunting the Eastern Giant
Deep in the eastern reaches of the Tob Forest.
Pandora's Actor — though in this moment he should be called Momon — stood in a clearing that had been carved out of the forest by violence.
At his feet lay two ogre bodies, both killed with a single sword strike through the neck.
"This is the place." Narberal stood a half-step behind him, one hand indicating the cave opening at the far end of the clearing. "According to Lady Aura's intelligence, the Eastern Giant's lair is in there."
"Mm."
Momon answered briefly and stepped toward the cave.
He crouched and let the gaze beneath his full-face helmet move over the rough claw marks at the entrance and the bone fragments scattered across the ground.
A stench drifted from inside — rotting flesh mixed with animal grease — thick enough to feel almost solid.
"Disgusting." Narberal's nose wrinkled.
"Trolls." Momon rose, tone certain. "Those claw marks were made by trolls. The Eastern Giant — it seems to be a troll variant."
Not a rare or particularly valuable creature.
But at least useful for raising the team's rank.
"Let's go." He drew the two black greatswords from his back. "Watch for traps inside. Trolls aren't likely to have set up any actual mechanisms, but don't get careless."
Narberal gave a slight nod and drew her own sword.
The two descended along the sloping passage.
The cave was considerably more spacious than expected — the ceiling nearly four meters high, leaving even a large troll room to move freely. The walls bore occasional marks where rough tools had been used on the stone, and the floor was scattered with bones gnawed completely clean, some still showing the crack patterns left by teeth.
"These bones..." Narberal's gaze moved over the remains. "Most of them are goblin."
Momon didn't respond.
Heavy footsteps and low, rough growls came from deep in the cave. Several blurred shapes emerged from the darkness, drawing closer.
Ogres.
Two of them stood at the foot of the slope, crude clubs in hand, bodies smeared with dried blood, chunks of meat still hanging from the corners of their mouths, not yet fully swallowed.
Behind them, more footsteps closed in.
"Enemy!" One of the ogres let out a raspy roar. "Metal-skin! Enemy!"
Momon stopped walking and sighed.
He raised a hand to hold back Narberal, who was already moving to engage.
"I want to speak with your boss." His voice came from beneath the helmet. "Get the Eastern Giant."
The two ogres exchanged a look, clearly not having fully grasped the meaning. But the words "Eastern Giant" seemed to trigger something instinctive in them — they retreated half a step, their throats producing threatening low growls.
"Don't understand?" Momon shook his head. "I'll say it again. I. Want. To see. The Eastern Giant."
He deliberately slowed each word and planted one of the greatswords point-first in the ground.
This time the ogres understood.
They turned and lumbered away into the depths, their clumsy footsteps making dull thumping sounds on the stone.
Before long, heavier footsteps approached from deep within the cave.
Leading them was an exceptionally large troll.
Nearly three meters tall, its muscled body clad in patchwork hide armor stitched from several animal skins, one hand gripping an enormous sword. The blade was larger than either of the greatswords Momon carried, and a viscous liquid seeped continuously from the groove running down the center.
Behind it came five more trolls and around a dozen ogres.
The demi-humans' eyes mixed hostility with curiosity, but more than anything, there was an appetite barely concealed — they were appraising the intruders' bodies the way one looks at two pieces of walking meat.
"So you're the one." The lead troll's voice was rough as two rocks grinding against each other. "I, who rule the eastern lands — Gu — permit you to give your name."
The helmet tilted slightly.
Gu. Pandora turned the name over once in his mind. Impressively straightforward naming sense.
The thought passed in an instant.
"Momon." He answered briefly.
Among troll-kind, the length of a name was taken as proof of courage. The longer the name, the weaker.
Gu's expression shifted.
Something that looked like clear displeasure moved across that ugly face — probably because the name was equally short, leaving nothing to mock.
"Momon?" Gu repeated it, staring at the full-face helmet for a long moment, then finally settled for a heavy snort. "Whatever. No matter what you call yourself — what are you here for?"
He tightened his grip on the enormous sword and showed two uneven rows of yellow teeth.
Momon sighed. His tone took on a quality that was almost an order.
"Submit to me. I'll let you live."
Silence.
Gu's face twisted with instant fury.
"Idiot!" He raised the enormous sword, the blade catching a cold glint in the dim light. "Why would we follow our food! I'll eat you right here!"
Behind him the trolls and ogres surged into motion, swinging clubs and crude weapons and loosing deafening howls.
The roaring filled the cave and mixed with the nauseating stench of rot and animal grease, the whole scene collapsing into chaos.
Momon shook his head.
"Expected result."
He turned his head toward Narberal. The battle maid stood a few paces back, expression as cold as ever, but the hand holding her sword was already positioned.
"Momon... Lord Momon. How should we handle this?" Narberal asked.
"No point negotiating." Momon turned back toward Gu. "Kill them all."
He said this in a flat, level voice.
But that flatness only made Gu's fury burn hotter. He could feel it — the thing in the black armor had genuinely placed no value on him whatsoever.
"RAAAUGH!"
Gu let out a manic bellow, raised the enormous sword with both hands, and brought it crashing down toward Momon's head.
The nearly three-meter blade descended with enough force to split stone, viscous liquid spraying from the groove along its center.
Momon didn't move.
The blade connected squarely with his helmet.
CLANG—!
A deep metallic impact rang through the cave. Gu felt an enormous counter-force travel back up the sword's body into his wrists, numbing them.
He stared.
The black warrior was still standing exactly where he had been. Not a single step displaced.
"Impossible..." Gu stepped back several paces, looked at the sword in his hand, then looked up at the figure before him. Then he abruptly turned and swung his sword at the troll standing beside him.
40+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces