Children of the Holy Emperor Chapter 221

221. Heart of Ice (2)

Glatzer Troll.

It is a huge ice monster that is said to be over 10 meters tall when standing upright. Verne claims to have seen something over 12 meters tall, but he’s just bluffing for a day or two.

They have a strange life story where they go into a state of pseudo-sleep in the depths of the demon world during the summer, then wake up in the cold winter and slowly begin to become active.

It moves alone, and nothing is exactly known about its population or breeding period.

It usually wanders around the deep glacier area encompassing the northern part of Lake Salz, but on rare occasions, it comes down to the border between the territory and the demon world.

In that case, if they are not subdued in time, the territory will suffer a great loss, as they attack people indiscriminately and their very existence brings severe cold damage.

It is unknown why they were named ‘trolls’. Because they look completely different from the trolls handed down in stories from the era of the three ancient dragons.

okay. Why is this a troll? Is it even a living thing in the first place?

Disagreements as to whether this is truly a living demonic beast have been raised consistently since ancient times, but the position of the Orthodox Church on this has always been firm.

Your Majesty, the Great Emperor, according to the children of Verne, there is an inside story to this.

If you deny that they are living demon beasts, you will naturally be classified as a member of the devil who makes dead things alive, but at that moment, you will have to dispatch a large group of holy knights to subdue demons?

However, none of the cardinals have any intention of dispatching the paladins under their command. While they are busy keeping each other in check, why would they do something that undermines their own power?

Of course, Vern, who causes divisions among the cardinals and starts fights, is the worst guy.

Anyway, common sense tells us that this absolutely cannot be a living thing.

Unlike Lycanslopes, who overcome the cold with their hot body temperature, Glacher Trolls do not try to overcome the cold. As the name suggests, it has a body made of ‘ice’ and only moves actively in the cold.

They don’t even have proper internal organs!

The heart, shining and beating in the chest, will be its only organ.

Of course, it is questionable whether it functions as a heart as its name suggests, but there can be no argument that it is at least as deadly an organ as the heart.

As soon as the heart is taken out of the body, the hard ice body, which is almost indestructible, disintegrates in an instant, and eventually completely melts and scatters into the air.

-From Granius’ [Exploration of the Miraculous Continent], a banned book designated by the Holy See

* * *

Seongjin received immediate medical attention. Of course, amid Masain’s storm-like nagging.

While Sir Valery and Sir Sharon diligently poured divine power on him, the resident knights diligently collected firewood and scooped up clean snow. As it is not enough, I am trying to heat the bath water to wash away the blood.

‘Being able to clean one’s body on the front line is probably a luxury that a prince can enjoy.’

No matter what, power is the best.

Seongjin, who was sitting leisurely with Masain’s nagging in one ear, suddenly looked to the side, feeling a chill running down his spine.

‘… uh?’

Was it because of my mood? At that moment, it felt like Sir Sharon’s eyes turned cool and flashed silver.

And Seongjin soon realized that it was not an illusion.

Neither Sir Valerie nor Sir Sharon had exceptional healing powers, and their recovery was slow. But right after that happened, the pain suddenly disappeared as if it had been washed away, and vitality surged throughout his body.

Above all, Seongjin did not miss the moment when Sir Sharon’s right hand moved.

Of course, it’s just a fleeting moment. Sir Sharon soon returned to her usual self.

‘and… … .’

Seongjin was able to realize it right away.

‘If there weren’t people around, I would have had a great night!’

They said it would be difficult to come to the North for a while, and it seemed like my father possessed me for a short time and then disappeared right away.

Of course, there would have been time to hit the night. However, Sir Sharon would not have been able to attack the prince in front of others.

Seongjin was greatly relieved.

‘Okay, we’ve passed the critical juncture. At least by the time he returns to the imperial capital, his father’s anger will have completely subsided, right?

Because he is the type of person who cools off his anger quickly.

Then the Demon King looked dumbfounded and said sarcastically.

[Are you relieved that you didn’t get hit now? uh? Where on earth did the reflection go, reflection?]

Shut up! You nagging demon lord!

Don’t you and Sir Martha think this is too much?

And that night, a large tent was erected at the guard post. This was to accommodate the suddenly increased number of people at once.

The abundant supplies that Orden and his party had prepared were also piled up on one side of the tent.

Considering that we rushed like crazy, not even eating, the preparations were quite thorough. I guess this is all experience accumulated while defending the border of the Demonic Realm for a long time.

Thanks to this, a rare and rich dinner began at the front line post.

Seongjin and his party felt relieved that they had found the prince safely, and the soldiers guarding the guard post felt a crowded atmosphere for the first time in a long time.

Everyone was excited and a quite lively atmosphere was created.

“Thanks to Prince Mores, we can enjoy all these luxuries, hahaha.”

“But what happened to you that caused you to be so isolated in the demon world? Ah yes. “I won’t ask.”

One of the soldiers who had been casually asking a question was startled by Masain’s rapidly becoming depressed expression and changed the topic.

“Haha, by the way, the prince is truly amazing.”

“You must have been very surprised, but the young prince seemed so resolute!”

“I heard you even cut down the devil’s beast on your way here?”

“That’s it! How thoughtful you are to be considerate of lowly soldiers like us! “I was very impressed!”

Simple compliments without any special rhetoric follow.

“When I return to the estate, I will definitely tell my son! “The prince of the theocratic empire is so great even at such a young age. Shouldn’t you follow his example?”

Then Masain’s face, who was listening, became subtle.

It feels good to hear the prince’s praise, but since it is something I cannot agree with with my heart, my feelings are complicated in one way or another.

Of course, Seongjin, who looked neat, was moving the dishes in an ever more polite manner.

“Look at how he’s acting like a fool. “As expected, our poker face is amazing!”

“Is that something you would call amazing? “Isn’t he just a swindler?”

“Uh-huh! “And unless you are willing to drink a bowl of Edith’s Melbourne tea, keep your mouth shut, Lord Calmen!”

“Huh. This is something that people in the monster task force are familiar with. “You have great potential.”

“… Even Lord Sharon?”

The irreverent whispering next to me was a little annoying.

Uh-huh! I can hear it all, you guys!

It was around that time that Seongjin spoke to Orden about [Ice Heart].

“Are you saying the Lycanslope Lords are trying to mobilize the Glacher Trolls?”

Orden asked with a doubtful look.

“And this is proof of that?”

“okay. “You don’t think Lycanslopes would carry this around for no reason, right?”

Seongjin said as he handed Orden a piece of ice that was still not melting and was still dripping cold.

Even now, using the demon king’s spiritual eyes, Seongjin could clearly see faint letters. There are even instructions written in Korean.

〚Glacier Troll’s Ice Heart〛

〚@#Vera%d Dungeon boss, □□ obtained from the Glacher Troll King. You can set the activity conditions of the registered entity and give commands with simple sentences.〛

〚Item grade: A〛

〚Number of entities that can be registered: 3/25〛

〚*Current status#;aoie& server cannot be confirmed.〛

Is it because this is not a normal world? The letters themselves were faint, and various sentences were overlapped here and there. Because of that, it took Seongjin quite a while to understand a few sentences.

What’s surprising is that the devil bastard can’t read this at all. Since he says it’s a letter he’s never seen before, it probably isn’t really Hangul as it appears.

I could only guess that this was probably something that occurred in the process of processing the information obtained with the spiritual eyes into visual information.

“Certainly, the shape has some similarities to the heart of a glacier troll. But it’s so small, and the light is still vivid. “It won’t be the heart of a glacier troll.”

Orden looked at the ice sculpture closely for a while and then said.

“Is it originally bigger?”

“Yes, sir. The Glacher Troll is a monster that can reach a height of 10 meters. The heart is also larger than the human head. And the moment that heart is removed from their body, it loses its luster and shatters.”

“hmm… … .”

In fact, this piece of ice has a strong feeling that it is a small control tower that controls the Glacher Troll, rather than the heart itself.

However, it was frustrating because there was no way to explain these letters that only Seongjin could see.

“Grand Duke, you saw it too, right? The lycan slopes of the ice wall were clearly waiting for something. “Maybe it’s the Glatzer Troll.”

“However, Glature Trolls are mindless magical beasts that wander aimlessly through glaciers and snow fields. They just wander around as individuals and do not form groups. “For a demonic beast to follow the orders of a demonic beast of another species, that is also unprecedented.”

“So you’re saying there’s absolutely no chance of a Glacher Troll appearing on the front lines?”

“yes. They don’t move until mid-winter. “By now, he’s probably asleep somewhere in the devil’s eye.”

“… … .”

It certainly makes sense.

Since they are the ones who have always guarded the boundaries of the Demon World, they are probably right about the habits of the Glacher Trolls.

Even if you can see the explanation, there is no guarantee that it will function properly in the real world of Delcross.

‘But since it works, wouldn’t they want to use it?’

The same goes for the magic stone given by Sisley. Although it is an item from the normal world, it works well as a hand warmer.

Additionally, there were some parts of the explanation that were particularly confusing.

〚You can set the activity conditions of the registered entity and give commands with simple sentences.〛

According to this sentence, wouldn’t it be possible to configure the Glature Troll to ignore its habits and move at higher temperatures?

‘Anyway, there’s no harm in being prepared.’

Seongjin came to that conclusion and gave instructions to Orden.

“First, contact the ice base. “So that we can prepare for an attack by the Glacher Troll.”

Then he nodded obediently.

Although he thought it was a pointless worry for the prince, he decided that there was no harm in strengthening security.

“I understand, sir. “I will contact the ice base early tomorrow morning.”

But at that moment, Seongjin felt an eerie feeling passing through his chest.

Wait, wouldn’t that be too late?

“no. Send it right now.”

“… yes?”

“I want you to take action right away so that we can reach the Margrave by tonight.”

“… … .”

Orden looked at Seongjin with a puzzled face.

However, when I met his eyes that seemed to shine unusually brighter than usual, I answered with a slightly more serious expression.

“yes. I will do that. Lowering.”

* * *

“Glatcher Troll? “What is that all of a sudden talking about?”

That night. Old man Vincent asked the Margrave after checking the urgent letter from the canyon guard post.

Then Margrave Hendrick closes the letter with an embarrassed look on his face.

“It appears that Prince Mores has mentioned the possibility of Glatzer Trolls appearing on the front lines. “This is Orden’s request to prepare for this.”

“Why the glamor troll in late summer? Even if that guy shows up there, do you think Vincent will just let it go? Bullshit… … .”

Then the Margrave’s eyes deepened.

“What Prince Mores pointed out is something else. Due to the structure of the ice base, it is difficult for large troops to secure a retreat route, so they told us to prepare in advance. It’s not wrong. “There is no other fortress with such a narrow entrance, other than the Ice Wall Base of the Demon Lord.”

Then the old man snorted.

“If that were true, it would be a pointless worry. Are you saying such nonsense even after looking at the height of the third ice wall? Even if a Glature Troll really comes, it can’t jump over an ice wall that is over 40 meters high. “There is no need for us to retreat.”

This was the reason why they leisurely gathered their troops without being overly nervous even in the face of large-scale swarms of Lycan Slopes.

but.

“Today, the third force sent by the guard commander joined us, and over 700 troops have already gathered at this base. Even if the battle ends safely, isn’t it a big deal to send them all back to their territory?”

“so?”

“If the third ice wall doesn’t break through anyway, I think it would be a good idea to slightly widen the entrance to the second ice wall.”

When will that thick ice wall be dug up and widened? Even if construction is carried out, it freezes little by little and eventually becomes narrow! It’s all useless!

Although old Vincent was grumbling behind his back, the Margrave called the night guard and ordered them to work all night.

There was nothing good about offending the prince, who had a tough personality, and he thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare in advance for his return.

And at dawn the next day.

A soldier who was crossing the ice wall to change duties was caught by an uneasy feeling, so he stopped and looked at the snowy field.

Strangely enough, it was an unusually quiet night, with none of the lycanthropes that usually hang around near the ice wall in sight.

“That… what?”

After staring ahead for a while, he suddenly noticed something strange and used his aura to sharpen his eyesight.

Dreaming and dreaming.

Am I half asleep? The white snow field of the snowy field was gently shaking as if it were alive and moving.

“Hey, what on earth does that look like?”

“huh? “What is it?”

As they observed the strange horizon gradually approaching the ice wall, their eyes widened at the reality of the horizon gradually revealing its outline in the darkness.

“Am I dreaming right now…?” … .”

That’s right too.

They were now faced with a strange sight that they could not even imagine in their dreams.

Oooooh-

Ooooh-

“… Glatzer Troll… … ?”

Surprisingly, the identity of the white things covering the long horizon were dozens of Glacher Trolls crawling forward in a line.

fantasy,