touchnovel Chapter 28 Troll Butcher
Chapter 28 Troll Butcher
Clues to the shapeshifter can't be rushed, but killing Anthony can be done quickly.
We should press on with our remaining strength to pursue the fleeing enemy!
Mission: Kill Anthony
Difficulty: Medium
[Reward: Regeneration Potion *3]
[Status: In Progress]
Tenor focused his consciousness on the "regeneration potion" and obtained relevant information.
Similar to tranquilizers, the medicine does not come in the form of a liquid in a reagent bottle, but rather as individual rubies.
Although it is a disposable item, it has an extremely powerful effect—it can immediately heal injuries after being swallowed, and even if someone is on the verge of death, they can instantly return to a healthy state.
It's like a trump card to save my life.
In this dangerous world, you can never have too many ways to save your life.
After finishing his meal, Tenor left the city through the south gate, walked through the woods and along the river, searching for the village of Pusala.
Because the port ban has not been lifted, there is little fishing activity. There are still people in the logging villages near the city, but the population thins out a kilometer to the south.
No hunters ventured deep into the forest; it was said that monsters had been roaming the depths of the forest recently—Tenoor guessed they were out-of-control half-humans who had escaped from Pusala village.
There are no roads in the forest, only corners everywhere, and you could be ambushed at any corner.
Concentrating intently, Tenor smelled an unusual odor and realized someone was approaching, but when he looked up, he saw no one.
He remained on guard, and the signs of life stopped in the bushes. Tenor hid behind a pine tree, only three meters away from him, and he could clearly hear heavy breathing.
A runaway half-human? Or a beastman?
He gripped his weapon tightly and leaped forward. The monster on the other side seemed to have the same intention, roaring as it swung its long-handled axe and leaped down. "Ha!"
Tenor raised his shield to block the attack. The heavy forces collided, and the attacker's strength was slightly greater than that of Tenor in his human form.
At this point, both sides could see each other clearly.
He wasn't a monster, but a rebellious dwarf covered in tattoos and with orange hair styled into an exaggerated, towering mohawk—no wonder I couldn't see him earlier.
"You should have spoken up before you made your move!" Tenor tried to let go, but the dwarf showed no sign of relinquishing his grip. In the midst of the struggle, he shouted to the dwarf in the common language of the Empire.
Including the crown-like hair, the dwarf only reached up to Ternor's chest, but the dwarf's entire body was a mass of muscle, and each dwarf was heavier than an average adult man.
Anyone who underestimates them will suffer because of the power that bursts forth from their short, stocky bodies.
The dwarf sneered, his remaining left eye blazing with terrifying fury. His bare upper body muscles bulged as he stomped on Tenor's foot, yelling, "Mutant!"
Tenor dared not take the kick too seriously, so he quickly lowered his shield, allowing the dwarf to kick the moon shield instead.
With a muffled thud, the dwarf felt no pain. Taking advantage of the shifting moon shield, he slid the axe pressing down on the shield from the side towards Tenor, nearly beheading him.
Tenor was secretly annoyed; this dwarf really was looking down on people.
As a long-established dwarf race, can't they distinguish between half-humans and mutants?
He used his burning sword to block the axe, his voice tinged with anger:
"Watch your mouth! Dwarf, I advise you to look at your opponent carefully before you fight! Do you see everyone as a mutant in your dog-like eyes?"
The dwarf seemed deaf to reason, the axe blade scraping harshly against the shield. As the struggle continued, the dwarf raised his face closer, a mad glint in his single eye, and retorted:
"Humans, you weak race! Look at your deformed bodies, the mark of chaos is etched into your bones!"
You think you can threaten me? Swallow your dog teeth!
I am Gottri! Son of Bardeen, descendant of Grimnil! I am the Butcher! I am here to die!
"Now, stick your dirty hands out from behind that shield and chop me with your knife! Let me see how many arms you have left. I bet you've hidden one behind your back, haven't you?" Gottlieb Bardinson laughed wildly, showing no fear of the mutant's sneak attack.
He had already tested the opponent's strength and knew he could kill him in one more round.
Upon hearing this, Tenor's anger turned into mockery; it turned out he was an illiterate dwarf.
He sensed that the dwarf was making a new move, and seeing that the dwarf wouldn't listen to him, he dared not hold back any longer and immediately entered his alienated form.
As Tenor's body swelled, a blue-green, scaled, cold-blooded creature instantly appeared, its apron becoming a belt and its cloak a cape.
From his vantage point, Tenor looked down at the dwarf with his vertical pupils, making the previously difficult struggle much easier. Caught off guard, the dwarf was suddenly pushed aside.
The dwarf tumbled and rolled, getting up covered in dust and dirt, his only remaining left eye wide open.
"...Not a mutant?"
Hearing this, Tenor sarcastically remarked—it turns out this dwarf isn't entirely illiterate.
He was also worried that he would be mistaken for a dragon monster after becoming Thoros.
Even if the dwarf race were visitors from another world, coming from the world of the lizardmen three thousand years ago, due to the great distance in time, records of the lizardmen would be extremely rare and would be considered non-essential knowledge.
The distinction between half-humans and mutants should be a general knowledge course for dwarves and elves, as it is well known that their education is more comprehensive than that of humans.
As a third-tier mutant, Tenor is no longer easily confused with other mutants as he was when he first awakened; now, his abnormal characteristics are very obvious.
It seems this shorty doesn't pay attention in class, but he's very attentive when it comes to stories outside of class!
Gotley, through some kind of witchcraft, had stuffed a southerner into a human body.
He had heard the elders tell ancient stories and seen ancient runic images, but he didn't know much about this creature.
Seeing that Thoreau did not pursue, he slammed his battle axe into the ground with a dull thud, signaling that he had also stopped.
He wiped the mud off his beard with the back of his hand, the murderous intent in his tone fading, but without a trace of shame. "You were the one who jumped out first in that sneak attack, Southerner—or whatever you are—you have to admit we both made the same mistake!"
Tenor remained noncommittal; he didn't want to argue with a fool, as it would be beneath his dignity.
He gave the dwarf a cold look and asked bluntly, "Why are you here?"
"Ha! A cold-blooded creature, in the human forest, asking a dwarf why he's here?" The dwarf looked up at the lizardman's motionless reptilian head, scoffed, and muttered under his breath, "Not bad strength."
His low, muttering voice was as loud as a human speaking.
Gotley, with his one eye, glared fiercely at the cold-eyed lizardman from below. "I came here because death awaits me in this damned forest!"
I am the Troll Butcher! I will either kill Beastmaster Kazzar Bloodhoof or be killed by the Beastmen.
Tenor, having broken free of his alien state, realized that the dwarf had come to the beastman tribe to die.
But Gotley is indeed quite capable. Tenor doesn't care where the dwarves die, but the village of Pusala is full of monsters, which might attract the dwarves... and relieve Tenor's pressure to assassinate Anthony.
"Do you know where the Beast King is?" Tenor put away his weapon and headed south.
"Where is it? Ha! Is your brain filled with beer foam?"
If I knew where it was, it would be cut in two by my axe right now! I wouldn't be wasting my time listening to your nonsense.
Gottlieb, fueled by senseless rage, gained the upper hand and spoke with an air of self-righteousness:
"It can't escape—death will always find it, or it will find me; I don't care which comes first."
Of course, Gottlieb couldn't admit that he had lost sight of the target; wouldn't that make him look incompetent? Wouldn't he have any pride?
No dwarf would ever relinquish his dignity; otherwise, he would have been a butcher out of sheer gluttony—a butcher must swear an oath to die in battle to wash away his shame.
Tenor calmly turned his head, unaffected by the dwarf's trash talk, "So you can't find the target at all? Then why don't you come with me to kill the black wizard? He's taken over the fishing village, and there are a lot of monsters in the village. I'm going to wipe out all the unclean things."
"If you have the guts, and you can't find the enemy, why don't you go together?"
Gottlieb turned around, his single eye fixed on the person who had spoken.
His fingers tightened on the axe handle, his knuckles making a sound like rocks being squeezed.
"Can't find it?" He repeated the word as if chewing on a piece of rotten flesh and spitting it on the ground. "Watch your tongue, Southerner, you talk as if I'm some lost miner's donkey!"
I know where my enemy is—he is where all evil hides, where all darkness breeds, and he is in the direction from which my axe will finally fall!
As for which specific direction—" Gottlieb really didn't know, but he said confidently:
"That's a problem for the prey, not for the hunter!"
Gotley sized up the person who was speaking, his eyes darting around as if he were assessing how many gold coins a chop of his axe was worth.
"So are you coming or not?" Tenor paused for a moment, showing a hint of impatience, secretly laughing to himself. Judging from the dwarf's behavior, he was definitely not going to be provoked.
Anthony was, after all, a seasoned mage of much higher rank than him, and he was playing on home turf. Going into danger alone could indeed lead to an unexpected defeat.
If the dwarves can be tricked into becoming henchmen, then Tenor will have a target to shift the focus of his attacks, and he can simply use the Shadow Cloak to infiltrate.