Chapter 398 361 – The Ogres’ Misunderstanding

Looking at the six Ogres before him, Takumi was rather surprised.

Even though he already knew that the monsters in this world were different from those in more traditional settings, actually seeing them in person still felt strange.

Take goblins, for example. In most worlds, they were among the most hated monsters, but here they were merely ordinary low-level creatures.

And the Ogres of this world looked almost no different from humans with horns growing from their heads.

Every one of them was dressed neatly and properly. They did not look like monsters at all, but rather wandering samurai or adventurers.

Then again, even goblins in this world could trade with dwarves. Naturally, Ogres would be no exception.

As Takumi studied them, the Ogres were also observing him.

The moment they met Takumi's gaze, the hearts of the two female Ogres began pounding.

Still, they suppressed the strange stirring in their hearts and forced themselves to remain wary and nervous.

The pink-haired Ogre in particular was the mage who had cast the illusion spell. Her clothing was also more elaborate than that of the others.

Upon closer inspection, she had a dignified yet adorable face, and every movement she made carried a graceful air.

She was dressed in something resembling shrine maiden robes, making her look almost like a princess.

With tension written across her face, she immediately shouted,

"Everyone, be careful! Don't let this evil monster's handsome appearance fool you. He's definitely trying to bewitch us!"

"We can't allow ourselves to be charmed. Stay alert!!"

Her nervousness immediately spread to the others.

The remaining Ogres all revealed expressions of fear and vigilance.

Black lines practically covered Takumi's forehead. This was the first time he had ever encountered a situation like this.

"Hey~ Calling me an evil monster is going too far. Aren't you the monsters here?"

"Hmph! Are you trying to divert our attention and confuse us?"

"The girls under your command are all overflowing with bloodlust and killing intent. There's no way they're human."

"You've merely put on a human skin and suppressed your demonic aura, then tried to fool us with a few cheap tricks!"

The pink-haired Ogre snorted twice, looking as though she had seen through the entire truth.

The black-haired and white-haired Ogres beside her immediately chimed in together.

"Exactly! Don't even think about deceiving Her Highness. Reveal your true form!"

"The mastermind has shown himself. That works in our favor."

"He doesn't have many people with him. If the six of us attack together, we still have a chance."

All of them looked filled with righteous indignation.

The Ogres had originally been living peacefully in the Great Forest of Jura.

But the Orc tribe's invasion destroyed their village, leaving only these six survivors.

Then, after arriving here, they encountered Takumi, who commanded such powerful subordinates.

Having lingered on the edge of life and death for so long, their nerves were stretched to the limit, so they naturally viewed Takumi and his people as evil enemies.

Among the six, the most muscular was a red-haired Ogre with a katana at his waist. He shouted furiously,

"Enough! Since he refuses to tell the truth, we'll force it out of him!"

"We'll make him explain exactly what connection he has to the evil Orcs who attacked our people!!"

He glared at Takumi, clearly prepared to fight to the death.

Looking at the united Ogres, Takumi let out a quiet sigh.

"As expected of Ogres. Or rather, as expected of monsters."

"The truly intelligent ones are always in the minority."

"If I were in your position, with only a handful of survivors left, I would focus entirely on preserving my strength and avoid making enemies unnecessarily."

"Choosing to attack someone whose strength clearly surpasses your own is, by itself, an act of stupidity."

Takumi looked at the six Ogres with pity.

Their strength ranged roughly from B to A rank, with the red-haired Ogre being the strongest.

That level of power might have been enough to fuel their impulsiveness, but Takumi only found them excessively foolish.

And clearly, his words failed to persuade them.

The six Ogres, none of whom were particularly sharp, merely felt that Takumi was insulting and mocking them.

"You're looking down on us far too much!"

"Whether you truly possess the strength to act so arrogantly or are merely bluffing, let us see for ourselves, you evil majin!!"

The red-haired Ogre drew his katana and charged forward with unstoppable momentum.

Facing the attack head-on, Takumi only needed to focus slightly for the speed of the world around him to slow by more than a thousandfold.

Once he concentrated, his thinking and reaction speed completely surpassed those powerful monsters.

"Pretending to have an ordinary person's reaction speed all the time is surprisingly exhausting."

Now that he had focused his mind, Takumi actually felt much lighter.

Looking at the red-haired Ogre charging toward him, Takumi felt no killing intent.

He understood perfectly well that the man dared swing his blade at him only because of ignorance.

Takumi regarded such fools much as humans regarded ants.

Sometimes, a person in a good mood might toss crumbs of food to ants.

At other times, if they were irritated, they might crush them underfoot.

To a human, the actions of an ant could never truly provoke them.

From beginning to end, everything depended solely on the human's mood.

And Takumi was in a fairly good mood right now.

Having already understood the naming mechanism, he intended to take these Ogres in as subordinates.

Of course, his true goal was the two women among them.

As for the others, they could serve as laborers and useful tools.

After standing there and thinking all of that through, Takumi finally looked directly at the red-haired Ogre, who appeared almost frozen in place.

Even though Takumi had spent so long thinking, time itself seemed not to have moved.

"Combat technique is far too fragile before genuine speed and power."

"Blade Blacksmith: Frozen Demon Sword."

Takumi murmured softly and casually created a frozen demon sword in his hand.

He twirled the blade once, then leisurely walked past the red-haired Ogre and slashed.

His katana shattered instantly.

The blade formed from magical ice passed across the red-haired Ogre's torso.

In an instant, freezing magic spread through his body, crushing his armor and completely freezing half of him.

After passing the red-haired Ogre, Takumi turned toward the black-haired and blue-haired Ogres standing farther back.

Their eyes moved at an excruciatingly slow pace, as though they had come to a standstill.

From their perspective, all they saw was a black shadow flash past their young lord and instantly appear before them.

The speed was simply too great.

Their brains had not even had enough time to fully receive and process what had happened.

In the next instant, Takumi swung the demon sword and slashed through the air.

Bone-chilling cold froze the ground and completely encased both Ogres.

After finishing, Takumi once again suppressed himself, reducing his thinking and reaction speed back to normal.

It was as though time had begun flowing again, and the outcome of the battle was already clear.

The black-haired and blue-haired Ogres had been frozen instantly, transformed into human-shaped ice sculptures.

The red-haired Ogre remained trapped in place with half his body frozen, his face deathly pale.

The remaining three Ogres—two women and an elderly man—stared at Takumi in utter disbelief.

Everything had ended so quickly that they had not even been able to react.

...

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