Chapter 247
Chapter: 247
The First Confederation War. Or the so-called Greenskin War is surrounded by various claims.
One claim suggests it was a war to showcase the Romania Kingdom – later the Romania Empire – to other countries, while also allowing those countries to flaunt their own strength… a so-called display of national power.
Another claim states that many countries formed a coalition to warn against the endlessly evolving goblins.
And then there’s the opinion that after demonstrating just how powerful the now-called ogres could become, the push to annihilate goblins grew stronger.
Lastly, there are a few who claim that a god gathered many to start a war to reveal their own powers.
This last claim is pretty flimsy, but there was one thing everyone agreed on.
The black rock giant sent by the god to defeat the ogres. Talos.
Its overwhelming strength was beyond human understanding.
The Goddess of Life, who created and commanded such beings, knew no impossibility.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
KWAANG!!!
Something black falls right between the ogre and the king of knights… no, right in front of the ogre.
The shockwave from the colossal black stone greatsword crashing down sends both the ogre and the king of knights staggering backward, followed by the drop of something huge.
Unlike the greatsword, this enormous presence descends silently, without even a sound.
The giant made of black stone stood before the ogre, the Guardian of the Underworld, Talos.
“Is that… the help the Goddess of Life spoke of…?”
The king of knights couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of Talos standing confidently before him.
A giant equal in size to the massive ogre, wrapped in black armor.
In that imposing silhouette, one could feel an unbreakable will.
“GRRRR….”
The ogre bristled in front of Talos. It must have felt threatened by the sudden appearance of Talos.
Gazing at the ogre, Talos pulled the greatsword stuck in the ground and turned to face the ogre.
Was the red gaze of Talos bothering it? The ogre growled lowly and began to move.
KWAANG!!
Out of the blue, the ogre delivers a punch directed at Talos’ head. The impact created a deafening resonation that echoed around. It was a blow so powerful, it was hard to believe it came from a living creature.
Yet, even after being hit, Talos didn’t budge an inch.
It simply stared down the ogre as if asking, is that all you’ve got?
The ogre withdrew a few steps, pulling back the fist that struck Talos’ head.
Despite having pummeled the scales of the drake, that very fist was now tattered, blood oozing from it.
Just one hit. Striking Talos’ head had punctured the skin.
“GRRRR….”
The ogre growled lowly, then clenched its fist once more and charged at Talos.
KWAANG! KWAANG!!!
Each punch carried the power to shatter rocks and topple trees. The ogre unleashed a flurry of blows filled with brutal intent upon Talos.
In spite of the onslaught. Talos remained unflinching, not even twitching.
As if to say that such light strikes couldn’t do anything to it, it just stood there, taking each punch on its body.
“Goodness….”
Onlookers could only watch in silence, transfixed by the spectacle. They could feel the sheer force of every blow from the shockwaves produced.
Any ordinary creature would have been turned into minced meat by a single attack, yet Talos received them all without any defense.
They could only gaze at it with horrified eyes.
“Is that…. the power of a being personally shaped by a god…”
It was simply astonishing.
The terror of an ogre unleashing such attacks, and the composure of Talos receiving those blows without the slightest reaction.
“AAAAGH!!!”
After a brief moment, the ogre let out a ghastly howl and stepped back.
Its fist, which had been swinging in rapid succession, was a complete wreck, losing all semblance of its original form.
Bones must have been shattered, muscles torn; it couldn’t even make a proper fist now.
The battered arm of the ogre hung limply as it gazed at Talos with eyes full of malice.
Seeing that, Talos…
“….”
Clenched its fist wordlessly.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
“Hmm… isn’t this a one-sided fight?”
“Still, at least it shows the strength of the ogre, doesn’t it?”
The king of knights seemed worried, suddenly tossing Talos into the fray. Hmm… is this really going to be okay?
“Yet the lizardmen couldn’t stop that ogre either.”
“Given the difference in size. Agile enough at that scale, and its strength is also tremendous. It’s stronger than a giant.”
“Yeah. The humans flew around like garbage.”
“Sagarmatha. Try not to use such bad words.”
Being a god means looking down on different creatures is unavoidable, but still, bad language is a no-go.
“Still, I didn’t expect it to be that strong. With that strength, agility, and intelligence all combined, it truly becomes a troublesome monster.”
“Well, there were monsters that showed similar strength before, but most were close to beasts.”
A monster with the physique of a beast but the intelligence of a human… that’s an absolute nightmare.
Traps wouldn’t work, luring wouldn’t either. Clever enough to avoid danger, and they only strike at weak points; regular humans would find it hard to endure.
If that ogre were like that, then humans wouldn’t be able to fathom capturing it.
At least the ogre wasn’t running away thanks to its little kingdom called the Greenskin.
“Why isn’t it fleeing? Mother?”
“Fleeing? Are you talking about the ogre?”
“Yes. With such an overwhelming opponent in front of it, shouldn’t it be able to run away swiftly?”
At the words from Yggdrasil, I nodded slightly.
“If it runs away, all the goblins and orcs would perish. So it can’t escape.”
“The goblins and orcs? In the ogre’s eyes, aren’t they just weak subordinates? I don’t see any problems with abandoning them and fleeing.”
I shook my head at Yggdrasil’s words.
“Right. The supply issue.”
And the answer to that question came from Sagarmatha.
“Supply?”
“Yeah. Supply.”
Sagarmatha said this while looking at me as if asking for praise.
That expression looked so much like when she was younger, I chuckled softly and patted her head.
“That’s right. That’s the answer. The supply is the problem.”
“Supply… food issues right? Wouldn’t it be easier for the ogre to hunt freely without goblins or orcs around…?”
“It’s not about food; it’s about magical power.”
“Magical power?”
I began to explain carefully to the still confused Yggdrasil.
“You know goblins need a lot of magical power to evolve, right?”
“Yes. If enough magical power is shared among the group, one of the individuals will evolve, right?”
“While magical power is needed for evolution, it’s also necessary for maintaining the goblin’s life. If all the magical power is drained, their bodies can’t sustain themselves.”
Having personally experimented with this, I was certain.
Magical power is essential for both the evolution of goblins and for sustaining their bodies.
“The amount of magical power needed to maintain that body tends to increase as evolution progresses. So it’s separate from food.”
If food were the only requirement, the ogre wouldn’t need to maintain such a massive group. With its strength and agility, it could hunt any creature easily. It could survive alone.
But the ogre didn’t do that. It reigned as a king surrounded by countless goblins.
“To maintain its existence, the ogre needs all those goblins.”
If one thinks about the population concept from a real-time strategy simulation, it might be easier to understand.
One goblin accounts for a population of 1 and increases the maximum population by 2.
When 20 goblins gather, instead of taking up a population of 20, they expand the maximum population to 40, creating a surplus population of 20… a rough idea of it. That surplus can be used for one goblin to evolve into a hobgoblin.
The evolved hobgoblin… let’s say it occupies a population of 20 but only adds 5 to the maximum population.
It’s the same for orcs. And the same for ogres.
For these higher greenskin beings, without subordinates, they couldn’t gather the magical power required for their survival and would wither away.
“If they can’t maintain a sufficient number of subordinates, they won’t be able to supplement the necessary magical power and will die off.”
“Um… I think I sort of understand, even if it’s not entirely clear.”
Yggdrasil nodded in agreement as she watched the battle below.
The moment Talos punched the ogre’s head clean off in one blow.
Witnessing the Greenskin kingdom crumble in an instant.
