How to Live as a Wandering Knight

It seemed twice as painful as before. The troll swung its club at Johan’s head with hatred and venom in its eyes. With the longsword already broken, Johan discarded any hesitation and swiftly dodged backward. The spot where he had just been standing shattered, sending chills down his spine.

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‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.’

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Grateful for having prepared multiple longswords, Johan drew another one. Though his attack failed, it had an effect. Two weapons were now stuck in the troll’s body, too deeply embedded for its regenerative abilities to push out. They needed to be pulled out manually.

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Of course, he didn’t plan on giving it the time to do so.

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Johan feigned a charge. The troll, grinding its teeth, kicked to prevent him from getting close, but it was just a bluff by Johan. Realizing it had been tricked, the troll roared in frustration.

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“Bring me my weapon! We must aid Sir Johan!”

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“Milord, you’re injured!”

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“Shut up! Can’t you bring it immediately? I’ll cut you down!”

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“No! Milord! Better kill me instead!”

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‘𝘈𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴.’

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Johan found the chatter of the distant elf knights and his men even more annoying.

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Just buzz off, you sons of b*tches!

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‘Doesn’t seem like an uncatchable one, though.’

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Johan calmed his anger and thought hard. The most threatening strength of the troll was its unique defensive capability and regenerative power. It was no ordinary challenge, as the creature not only rarely got hurt but also healed quickly.

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However, with Johan’s superhuman strength, it was possible to inflict damage. Continuously attacking would eventually wear the troll down and weaken it. Moreover, the situation was in Johan’s favor. The Holy Knights’ Order, experienced in hunting trolls, would soon arrive.

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‘𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?’

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But the troll, with two weapons stuck in its belly, seemed to have a different idea. Preferring quick resolutions, the troll charged at Johan with a roar as soon as it realized he was just buying time.

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It felt like a massive boulder was flying at him, but Johan dived low. Being intimidated by size was a thing of the past for him. Dodging to the side, he precisely aimed and stabbed at the troll’s leg this time.

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If the creature kept attacking despite being stabbed in the torso, targeting its legs seemed a better strategy.

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‘𝘉𝘶𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦!’

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. . .Johan thought, but a too tempting opportunity arose. His longsword deeply pierced the troll’s thigh muscle, forcing one of its knees to the ground. Simultaneously, the longsword broke apart. The remaining blade, of course, stayed in the troll’s body.

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“■ ■■!”

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By this point, even the elf knights, overwhelmed by the heat of battle, realized something was off.

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How can any creature be so monstrously strong?

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“Give Sir Johan a weapon! Quickly!”

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“Y-Yes!”

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Thinking they could finally end the troll’s life, the excited elf knights shouted. Normally, knights wouldn’t lend their weapons to others, but they didn’t hesitate to throw theirs to Johan.

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But there was no time for Johan to leisurely receive a weapon while fighting the troll. Without a chance to draw a weapon, he pounced behind the kneeling troll. A strong kick to its back made the troll lose balance and fall. Johan stepped on the troll’s back, gripping one of its arms.

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“????”

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“????????”

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‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?’

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One of the slaves, in shock, thought irreverently. Was this a wrestling match against a troll. . .???

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That was something you’d do when you were too close to swing a weapon, not something feasible against a troll.

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“■■!”

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The troll, encountering an opponent who dared to engage in a physical struggle for the first time, was bewildered. When Johan tried to pull its arm, the troll, incredulous, resisted. It planned to throw this contemptible human off and stand up to kill him.

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But it didn’t break free. Instead, its arm was pulled even more.

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“■■! ■■?!”

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𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤!

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Johan was expressionless, but inwardly surprised.

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‘. . .𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨?!’

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Just like the elf knights and his subordinates, who looked at him as if he was insane, Johan regretted grabbing and pulling the troll’s arm.

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Strangely, in battle, his instinct and reason worked separately. Logically, he thought, ‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦,’ but his instinct boldly went ahead.

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Especially with such actions!

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The troll, losing the struggle, thrashed around, but if it couldn’t win with strength in this situation, there was little it could do. Gradually, its arm was pulled back, and a strange sound started emanating from its thick shoulder.

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“Oh, oh, oh. . .?”

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“My God. . .!”

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A sight where even those who weren’t particularly devout call upon the name of the deity!

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Muscles tore and skin ripped with a sound, followed by splattering blood. Then, the troll let out the loudest scream of the day. Johan felt a tingling loss of strength in the muscles of his arms and legs. That was the effort he had exerted to defeat the creature.

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Johan, having thrown one of the troll’s arms aside, shouted,

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“Weapon!”

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“Sir, catch!”

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One of the subordinates quickly regained their senses and hurled a weapon towards him. The voice was filled with reverence. After witnessing such a fight, no one could face Johan with a clear head.

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Johan raised his sword, aiming at the troll’s thick neck. Even a troll with great regenerative abilities couldn’t survive with an arm torn off by sheer force. The creature was unconscious from pain and blood loss.

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Like an executioner beheading a prisoner, Johan swung his sword in a calm and orderly manner. It was hard to believe he had just been in such a brawl.

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𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐩!

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The sword glinted, and its well-forged steel blade shattered the troll’s neck bone.

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Then, belatedly, the St. Iena Holy Knights’ Order paladins arrived on the battlefield, carrying blazing torches.

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“Everyone, stand back! We will handle this!”

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“. . .It’s already been taken care of.”