The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 12

……

The troll, having devoured all the meat, stuffed a green lump it held in one hand into its mouth and chewed.

It was the corpse of a goblin.

‘So that’s why the goblins were collecting corpses.’

Aden finally understood.

A troll could live for half a year without eating anything, but its innate appetite required an enormous amount of food.

This place was its feeding ground.

By increasing the number of highly reproductive goblins, it could easily and continuously eat meat and eventually hunt humans.

The troll didn’t seem to intend to move until it finished its meal.

He spoke to Carl and Lowe, who had turned pale at the troll’s appearance.

“Run away immediately.”

“B-brother?”

“There’s no time to hesitate. Take everyone and run. I’ll handle this.”

“I’ll stay behind and buy some time, Sir Aden.”

Lowe said with a hardened expression.

But he immediately refused.

“You can’t.”

With Lowe’s skills, he would surely die soon.

He’d be lucky to last even ten seconds.

“And you have something else to do.”

Just then, a threatening figure appeared in front of our group.

-Krutulara!

A hobgoblin, accompanied by several goblins, blocked our path.

It seemed they intended to prevent the ‘sacrifices’ they had captured for the troll from escaping.

The hobgoblin and goblins would desperately block our way; otherwise, they themselves would be eaten next.

To escape with these tired and injured people, Aden needed Lowe.

Lowe understood this and just bit his lower lip.

“……Understood.”

Lowe began to move, leading the estate soldiers to escape.

Carl, the last to remain, spoke in a trembling voice as if he couldn’t believe it.

“B-brother, you’re going to die.”

“I won’t die.”

I said it as if it were obvious, confident that I wouldn’t die.

Carl, staring into Aden’s eyes, hesitated.

In his eyes, there was no fear or agitation, only calmness.

‘How can he have such eyes?’

Carl couldn’t help but wonder, forgetting the current situation for a moment.

Just seeing this made his legs tremble, yet his brother had such an expression.

Carl made a complex expression.

“Go.”

At my urging, Carl gritted his teeth.

“……Please, stay alive, brother.”

Leaving those words, Carl ran off with the others.

-Inseruh! Kurtilara!

The troll roared in its troll language.

Translated, it meant something like ‘Kill the humans!’

It tried to catch the fleeing people.

That was when it happened.

Thud.

A stone flew and struck the troll’s nose.

Instinctively grimacing and looking in the direction the stone came from, it saw Aden rolling another stone in his hand with a smirk.

“Where are you going? Your opponent is me.”

* * *

At the appearance of the troll, the knights of the second search party were initially horrified.

“Goodness.”

“A troll in the Monster Mountain!”

“Damn! How did this happen!”

The knights were agitated, and Sir Spele, covered in blood, yelled at them.

“Don’t lose your focus! Are you going to die disgracefully to goblins!”

But even the deputy commander, who was shouting, was severely agitated inside.

‘Impossible! A troll has appeared!’

Moreover, it appeared in front of Aden, the son of the lord they were supposed to protect.

Seeing the young master narrowly dodge the troll’s punches, his heart sank.

‘It’s all my fault!’

He should have returned the young master to the ducal household, even by force.

But he didn’t.

One reason was the difficulty in providing protection, but somehow, a sense of trust and belief came over him every time he saw the young master.

Like the ease he felt when looking at experienced senior knights during his own days as a young apprentice.

That inexplicable sense of ease emanated from the young master, who was only eighteen.

Because of that unfounded feeling, he entrusted the task and caused this great crisis.

He wanted to rush over and buy time with his life, to save the young master from the troll.

-Kyaaaah!

-Kiyaaah……!

But with the goblins still numerous and the hobgoblins leading them blocking the way, no one could go save the young master.

Even if they ignored those creatures and broke through, they would be attacked by the goblins from behind while fighting the troll, which would be the end.

So, there was only one option left.

Shiiik. Chaak!

-Kuhuuu……!

Sir Spele decapitated a hobgoblin and held its head high as he shouted.

“Fight to the death and finish this battle! Kill them quickly and go save the young master!”

They had to handle the goblins here and then join forces to deal with the troll.

Sir Spele prayed earnestly in his heart.

‘Master Aden, please hold on a little longer!’

* * *

-Kurtilaraaaa!

The enraged troll roared and swung its fist at him.

Anticipating its move, Aden dodged and moved closer to its body.

Boom!

The ground, struck by the troll’s fist, shook as if hit by a cannon.

Its power was terrifying.

But Aden had already approached its body.

Swish!

He slashed the troll’s abdomen with all his might.

Then he rolled on the ground and slipped between its long legs, standing behind it.

-Kraaagh!

The troll screamed.

Originally, with Aden’s current skills, it would have been tough to cut through the troll’s hide.

However, thanks to the title of Unbeaten Swordsman he had acquired.

The feature of this title was an increase in attack power during one-on-one combat.

This added slight power to my attack, enabling him to cut through the hide.

Interestingly, the titles given by the system recognized most humanoid species as people.

The troll suffered deep wounds, exposing its bones from my sword strike.

But….

Chiiiiik.

As if time were being reversed, all the wounds healed.

Seeing this, I clicked my tongue.

‘As expected, trolls are troublesome.’

With powerful muscles and bones as hard as steel, the troll had incredibly fast movements for its size, a tough regeneration ability that healed injuries quickly, and an insatiable appetite.

Even a single wrong hit could be fatal, and dodging its attacks was challenging due to its speed. Furthermore, any injuries inflicted on it would heal almost immediately.

Except for its somewhat low intelligence, it was a perfect species for combat.

‘But high trolls were a disaster because they possessed superior intelligence.’

High trolls were the superior variant of trolls. Fortunately, they were extremely rare. If they had been more reproductively prolific, high trolls might have become the rulers of the world.

‘At least this one is a dropout below the average.’

A dropout meant a troll that had fallen behind and been expelled from its group. That’s why it lived alone in Monster Mountain.

‘Even so, a troll is still a troll.’

A monster that even dozens of knights might struggle to defeat. In my current state, there was no way to bring it down.

‘If things went as usual.’

A meaningful smile spread across my face.

-Klururara!

The troll’s wounds had healed, and it glared at me.

Whoosh!

Something flew towards the troll’s face again. The troll assumed it was another stone and ignored it, focusing on attacking me.

That was its mistake.

What I had thrown wasn’t a stone but a glass bottle filled with some liquid.

Crash!

The bottle shattered on the troll’s face…

Sssssssss!

A white, smoky flame engulfed the troll.

-Kraaaaaa!

The troll screamed in agony as its flesh burned. Watching this, I smirked like the cunning monster Talos from the underworld.

I had prepared just in case, and it proved that being prepared was never a waste.

The ‘White Devil’s Flame Potion.’

White Devil’s Flame was an extreme fire that only a skilled alchemist could produce. Once caught in these smoky flames, they couldn’t be extinguished, even with water, until they had burned flesh and bone for a certain amount of time. The only way to remove them was to scratch and tear off the burning skin.

It was a dangerous potion, strictly regulated and used only in special monster subjugation missions in the empire. Both preparing it to defeat goblins and Cassie, who had made it on the spot when asked, were out of their minds.

-Krrrrraaaaak!

The smell of burning flesh and the troll’s agonized screams filled the air.

Even so, the troll couldn’t die. As the White Devil’s Flame burned its flesh and bones, its regenerative ability kept restoring its body.

-Krrrrraaaa!

The troll, having lost its sanity, charged at Aden through the pain. It wanted to kill him, the one who had inflicted such agony.

With incredible speed, the troll, despite its massive size, rushed at Aden and…

Whoosh!

…swung its long legs like a whip.

It seemed impossible to dodge.

But in an instant, Aden disappeared from the troll’s sight.

Boom!

The troll’s attack struck the ground, sweeping it clean.

Aden was already standing beside it, and the troll momentarily hesitated upon seeing him.

With the speed boost from the Ring of Swiftness and the footwork of a free knight, Aden had dodged the attack. He had only about ten seconds of enhanced speed.

But that was enough for him to finish off the troll.

‘If my speed doubles, so does the power of my attacks.’

He quickly circulated mana throughout his body.

Flash!

He leapt into the air, aiming to deliver the final blow to the troll.

Mana gathered not only to strengthen his entire body but also concentrated on his sword.

Hummmmm!

For a moment, the sword hummed with a resonant sound.

Fwoosh!

A blue, flame-like intangible aura enveloped the sword.

This was the power of sword aura, the level beyond sword resonance, a force he hadn’t been able to use due to lack of mana. Even now, he could only maintain it for about ten seconds, but that was enough.

Swish!

His sword sliced through the air.

The sword aura could cut through rock like tofu.

With the additional power from the title of Unbeaten Swordsman and the doubled speed from the Ring of Swiftness, everything combined…

Slash!

His sword sliced through the troll’s neck, severing its head.

Thud!

The troll’s head, with its half-burned face from the White Devil’s Flame, rolled on the ground, a pained expression still on it.

Boom!

The headless body lost its strength and collapsed.

Ssss.

He deactivated the sword aura and took a deep breath.

“Phew.”

Just then, a system message appeared.

The system informed Aden of his new achievement.

<[Troll Slayer]>

A title awarded for defeating a troll single-handedly. Increases attack power by 10% and reduces damage received by 10% when fighting trolls.

It was a kind of judgment from the world.

A one-on-one battle between a troll and Aden.

The result was his victory.

* * *

-Kieeek!

Sir Spele defeated the last, eighth hobgoblin. Covered in goblin blood, he gasped for breath and was about to shout.

“Everyone, to the young master immediately…!”

At that moment,

-Kraaaaaa!

The troll’s agonized scream echoed.

Sir Spele and the knights, turning towards the troll’s direction, were astonished.

The troll was engulfed in white, smoky flames.

“What on earth is that…?”

What followed was even more shocking.

Young master Aden dodged the burning troll’s kick and…

Swish! Slash!

…instantly beheaded the troll.

Even the blue, intangible aura on the young master’s sword was visible.

“Sword aura…?”

The aura, an advanced state beyond sword resonance, was a realm of dreams even he, the deputy commander, had been stuck behind a wall, unable to reach.

Yet that light was in the hands of the once-disgraced young master.

Shortly after, the sword aura dissipated from the sword.

Then suddenly, Aden collapsed to the ground, lying spread-eagle.

“Sir Aden!”

Having ensured the safety of Carl and the estate soldiers and assisted the knights in defeating the goblins, Lowe rushed over to Aden.

Grasping Aden’s shoulder, Lowe urgently asked,

“Sir Aden! Are you hurt?”

“Shut up.”

“We need to get a doctor… What?”

“I’m tired, so don’t talk to me. Don’t you understand?”

As Aden frowned and glared in annoyance, Lowe sighed in relief.

“So, you’re really okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. What do you want?”

Using sword aura for even a moment had exhausted my mana. My body felt overworked from dodging the troll’s attacks, like after an intense scarecrow training session.

“Lowe, you have a task.”

Aden stared at Lowe with a very serious expression.

Lowe’s expression also turned serious.

“What do I need to do?”

“Carry me.”

“…What?”

“Carry me back to the ducal household. I have no strength left to move.”

“…”

Lowe was at a loss for words.