Chapter 182

Lorcha gritted her teeth. Before she knew it, she had ventured deep into the forest, and it seemed like she had stumbled upon a gathering place for the Black Round Table, as hundreds of them were gathered there. Among them were Boars, a senior official of the Black Round Table, followed by lower-ranking officials like Urien, Geraint, and Lohengrin. Not to mention the roughly 500 miscellaneous soldiers accompanying them. This was no small nuisance.

One senior official, three lower-ranking officials, and 500 grunts—if you focused on one side, the other two would intervene. Naturally, this forced her into a defensive stance, and being defensive in a one-versus-many situation only meant things would get progressively worse.

“Kuhaha, she’s quite the looker, isn’t she?”

“Half? More like half of her got chopped off by an axe, so she’s only half a looker…”

Lorcha, wielding a high-pressure whip, defended herself while responding to the relentless, low-tier provocations. She would’ve preferred to create a rotating high-pressure dome, but there was a reason she couldn’t.

It was because of Boars, the senior official, and her unique constitution.

“I told you, water is my worst match.”

As soon as Boars grabbed the water whip, it froze and shattered before the high-pressure water could tear through her hand.

“See? If you surrender quietly, I might just chop off your arms and call it a day. Of course, I’ll still carve up that pretty face of yours.”

Boars’ smug voice pissed Lorcha off, and for the first time in a while, she unleashed a torrent of curses.

“You pig-like bitch! Did you freeze your parents and turn them into ice cream to eat, you fat-ass? You’re so fat that if you skip a single meal, the food market crashes. When you step on a scale, instead of numbers, it just says ‘To be continued.’”

“What did you say…?”

“I said you’re a fat pig. Why do I need to say more? You’re so fat that when you shower, your feet don’t even get wet. You’re so massive that ships mistake you for an island and come looking for you. You were born so fat that it took your mom two months to give birth to you, you fat pig… Must be nice having a birthday party that lasts two months, huh?”

Lorcha’s mouth wouldn’t stop. The harsh social life she endured because of Werner had turned her mouth into a monster.

“I heard that when you go home, your belly button arrives 15 minutes before your head… But looking at you now, it’s probably 30 minutes ahead, huh?”

The lower-ranking officials and grunts stood there, mouths agape, watching Lorcha’s tirade. Once your soul leaves your body, it’s not easy to get it back.

“I’ve seen guys who spew fire from their bodies… Are you ice? Do you store food to eat later? But do you even have any food to store? You’ve probably exchanged it all for fat and wrapped it around your belly like a belt, you fat pig.”

Lorcha delivered the final blow, raising her middle finger. It was a moment of catharsis for her, releasing all the stress she’d been holding onto. But for someone else, it was a moment of unprecedented anger and stress.

“I’ll capture her alive! I’ll chop her into pieces and kill her! I swear on everything I have!”

“Maybe swear on losing some weight first, huh?”

“That bitch will pay!!!”

Boars charged at Lorcha, but Lorcha wasn’t soft enough to fall for such a simple and heavy move. From her fight with Tristan, she had learned the importance of basic martial arts and had practiced magic-enhanced techniques enough to easily dodge such clumsy movements. Besides, compared to Tristan’s speed, Boars was… embarrassingly slow.

“Are all of you, except Gaius, the Tower Lord, this simple and stupid in your movements? Or is being an idiot some kind of family tradition? Is that fat also…?”

“Shut up!”

Boars’ ice shards grazed Lorcha’s shoulder. While Lorcha wasn’t weak, the situation was still unfavorable. The difference in numbers was still overwhelming, and having three lower-ranking officials was still a nuisance. While she could dodge most of Boars’ attacks, it was hard to both counterattack and avoid the sharp ice shards flying at her.

“Give up! The situation hasn’t changed in your favor! Look at the numbers—504 to 1! You can’t turn this around! Tremble in fear and die!”

“No, I think I need to correct that statement.”

It wasn’t Lorcha who spoke. She was looking at the owner of a massive shadow that had blotted out the sun. A giant black bird with six wings and three legs, its glowing eyes fixed on the 504… no, 505 people, including Lorcha.

“What is that giant bird…?”

[Shadow Puppetry – Prologue.]

At that moment, black spears—no, shadows—shot up from beneath the feet of the Black Round Table grunts, piercing their hearts, livers, eyes, throats, and other vital points. Boars and the other lower-ranking officials barely dodged, but if they hadn’t, they would’ve been skewered and died screaming.

“It’s not 500 to 1. It’s 4 to 2.”

The giant black bird landed safely on the ground, taking on Damian’s form.

“Now, it’s time to correct who should be trembling in fear.”

Lorcha, seeing Damian, was furious. She had just barely released her stress, and now the source of that stress was here, giving her new stress.

“I told you to get lost, you damn bastard!”

“In the distant future… you were suffering from frostbite scars on your face. You’re not the type to fall to such trash, but you were overwhelmed by sheer numbers and met that fate. Cleaning up this trash before that happens… was that wrong?”

“…Tch.”

Lorcha quietly turned her gaze back to Boars.

“That Boars or Boss or whatever is surprisingly strong. Plus, the other three are annoyingly disruptive, so I can only stay defensive.”

“I see. But I have one question.”

Damian also turned his gaze to Boars.

“Boars or whatever… do you give names to lumps of lard? I didn’t know that.”

Everyone except Damian and Boars nearly burst out laughing. After all the insults Lorcha had hurled, being called solid pig fat was the last straw for Boars, who was naturally furious.

“I’ll fry you all to death in oil!!!”

Lorcha got into a serious stance, but Damian remained relaxed.

“For the sake of your belly, maybe you should reconsider frying as a cooking method.”

Continuing to mock, Damian turned his gaze to the three lower-ranking officials.

“I’ll leave the thawing of the lard to you. Sadly, I have no talent for cooking. Instead, I’ll deal with the pests. And didn’t you say you’d act alone?”

Lorcha was about to retort, but Damian used his demonic abilities to teleport the three lower-ranking officials to another part of the forest.

“You damn bastard…”

Lorcha had no choice but to face the raging Boars alone.

“I’ll kill you first! Then I’ll deal with that bastard later!”

—

Suddenly teleported, the three lower-ranking officials began to threaten Damian.

“Whatever ability you have… do you think you can win against the three of us?”

“Yeah, without the Tower Lord, you’re nothing. We easily dodged your attacks earlier.”

“Do you think you can fight the three of us alone?”

The response to their taunts was eerily calm.

“Indeed, this won’t be a fight.”

“What…?”

In Damian’s hand were three squirming, grotesque lumps of flesh… something resembling sausages.

And those who recognized what they were instantly lost strength in their legs and collapsed. The tendons that should’ve been in their legs were gone, leaving them powerless.

“From now on, this will be a one-sided execution.”

Damian pointed to Urien, who had threatened to teach Lorcha a lesson.

“For you, hundreds of heated daggers will be plunged into you, roasting you to a crisp.”

Damian pointed to Geraint, who had made all sorts of lewd remarks to Lorcha.

“For you, a skewer will pierce you from behind, running through your entire body.”

Finally, Damian pointed to Lohengrin, who had wounded Lorcha’s hand.

“For you, your blood will be squeezed out until you die.”

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

“Tremble in fear, trash.”