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Chapter 38 – part 7

Life is not something to be thrown away, and I think that running away is a part of the 36 Strategy is also true.

Moreover, the Ogre Emperor, a giant monster, commands twelve Ogre Kings and over a hundred Ogre Generals.

「Well then, Captain of the Knight Order?」

In the face of the dire situation, I asked the Captain of the Knight Order, who seemed to have lost his composure and resigned himself to an inevitable death.

「What is it? A villager? Or rather, aren’t you running away? Even proper knights would flee in an instant from such an abnormal situation.」

I started walking briskly toward the Ogre Emperor.

「It’s true that Cordelia defeated monsters that were originally unbeatable or had overwhelming numbers. That’s why they’ve pinned it on a magical outburst, right?」

「I’ve heard that, but…」

「However, she’s never once caused a magical outburst.」

「…?」

「Shall I explain the reason?」

「What are you trying to say?」

「Have you read the report about Cordelia?」

The Captain of the Knight Order tilted his head as if in doubt.

「Oh yes, I have. Even this march was part of Cordelia-sama’s growth program. Well, that’s only natural.」

「Wasn’t it written in the report? She stood against goblins to protect a childhood friend, a young villager… and with the death of the boy, a magical outburst occurred…」

「Indeed, it was written that way. During the incident with the Evil Dragon Amantha, it was also written that the trauma of the boy’s death triggered the magical outburst.」

「I see. Because Cordelia is an idiot… She probably testified that the young villager took care of everything as it happened. Then, things got twisted around… and that’s how it ended up in the report about Cordelia. Right, Captain of the Knight Order?」

「What’s your point?」

「Cordelia has never caused a magical outburst even once. However, she defeated superior monsters. Do you know why?」

「…?」

「—The young villager didn’t die.」

With that, while waving my hand behind me towards the Captain of the Knight Order, I said this.

「Whether it’s goblins or Amantha, that young villager—I took care of everything.」

With those words, I started to run towards a monstrously powerful creature with a difficulty level classified as S-rank.

At a speed surpassing sound, I closed the distance of just over two kilometers in a matter of seconds.

Changing the topic a bit, in adventurer guild terms, the difficulty level ranges from A to H.

Starting with H-rank, which is practically the weakest of the weak like goblins, and can be defeated with ease even by an ordinary person armed and in a one-on-one fight.
Around E-rank is where fledgling adventurers belong, while around C-rank is equivalent to a seasoned adventurer, around the level of an Ogre General.

And when it comes to A-rank level, it reaches the level commonly referred to as tactical weapons, capable of individually obliterating even the knight orders of border lords.
Ogre Kings and the lowest-tier evil god Amantha, who caused me trouble a year ago by meddling with Cordelia, would likely fall within this range as well.

By the way, the reason why Amantha was considered a calamity on its own is largely due to its ability to become god-like in the mortal realm, resurrecting repeatedly.

And beyond that, all ranks are generally categorized as S-rank.

In other words, they become individuals classified not as tactical weapons but as strategic ones.

For humans, this means possessing power that is not constrained by national boundaries, with individual strength guaranteed, in essence, allowing them to engage with nations on an equal footing as individuals.
And for monsters, it designates dangerous creatures with the potential to destroy nations.

By the way, let me explain the difference between tactical and strategic class in an easy-to-understand way.
If we liken it to chess, let’s consider the reigning strongest master as a tactical weapon.
A strategic-class weapon can overturn the chessboard itself or possess abilities like moving pieces three times in a row while the opponent can only move once during their turn.

In other words, it signifies a cheat-level power that can transcend even the rules.

So, I… Lute Mclane, naturally possesses an S-rank level of power with ease if I were to be introduced to the guild rank system.
And the Ogre Emperor, who calmly walks before me, also belongs to the S-rank level, just like me.

「Come at me, you monster.」

「Uboo――Guh――Gaa――Gaa――Gaaahhhhh――」

A massive roar resonates through my whole body.
Enhanced with the skill of intimidation and the magical effect of confusion, it’s the kind of thing that could make lower-ranked monsters faint just from that roar alone.

One could also call it the roar of an emperor――a roar of a true ruler.

「Do you think intimidation like that will work on me? In the end, you’re just a beast.」

I slowly advanced toward the Ogre Emperor.
The distance between us is close to about 10 meters.

At that moment, the Ogre Emperor leaps.

From above――a massive fist that can only be described as monstrous approaches me.

The upper arms have a diameter similar to that of an ancient tree… yes, about 3 meters in diameter.
The size of his fist is about a meter square, closer to resembling a major accident at a construction site than an attack.

In reality, the current battle is not exaggerated or fantastical, but closer to the imagery of a monster movie than a fantasy.
And there, I calmly observe the incoming fist.

As I thought, its movement is sluggish.

I immediately used the advantage of being lightweight and kicked the ground, jumping about 15 meters to the left in one swift motion.

At the same time as I jumped, a powerful explosion resounded from the right.
And shortly after, a rain of dirt fell all around.

「…As expected, your strength is no joke.」

In the space where I had been just moments ago, a crater with a radius of about 5 meters had formed.
Seemingly satisfied with the results of his attack, the Ogre Emperor nodded vigorously and grinned.
And then, as if to showcase his power to the surroundings, he leisurely started walking towards me once again.

Immediately, the distance closed, and I found myself within the range of the Ogre Emperor’s fist.
He swung his left arm back and the Ogre Emperor proceeded to slam his fist into the ground.

With a blast and once again, a crater was formed in the ground, just like the repeat of before—or so it should have been.
The reason being that I had caught the Ogre Emperor’s left fist with the palm of my right hand raised above my head.

「Hey, Emperor-san?」

If I had done it normally, the ground beneath me would not have been able to withstand it, and I would have ended up buried underground.
However, I achieved this feat by applying a defensive wall-type magic to disperse the pressure surface that came into contact with the ground over an area of about 20 square meters.

As the enemy approaches the S-rank level, various complicated situations arise where the environment itself cannot endure the battle, making things quite troublesome.

「Ubwa?」

With a bewildered expression, the Ogre Emperor had a foolish look on his face.

It’s not that surprising.

He had just thrown his all into an attack, and I, who was about the size of a speck of dust, had caught it head-on.
For the Ogre Emperor, it’s only natural that his mind would be filled with question marks.

「Sword of Annihilation (Excalibur).」

Simultaneously with my words, I manifested one of the swords that existed in the dimensional rift… into the mortal world.

Then, I leaped gracefully and landed on the Ogre Emperor’s fist.
Through his arm, I raced across his skin.

Yeah, the bumps and irregularities were working as great footholds, making it much easier than climbing a cliff.

「Indeed, you and I both belong to the S-rank, which is the same realm. But that’s a very rough categorization. For example, from the perspective of a tick, wouldn’t it be hard to distinguish between the size of a human and the size of an elephant? As a result, to the tick, both would be categorized as very large creatures. And then—」

As I reached his shoulder, I raised the greatsword that exceeded 1.5 meters in length.

「Of course, there’s a clear hierarchy even within the S-rank.」

I then plunged the sword into the right side of the Ogre Emperor’s neck area and jumped off.

Smoothly, like thrusting a hot knife into butter, I sliced through his flesh, correctly performing a diagonal cut from the right side of his neck to around his left flank, in a diagonal motion, and descended along with gravity’s pull.