Chapter 164: Ten Greats (2)

Donchich lived in peace.

He ate when he wanted, slept when he wanted, and destroyed when he wanted.

That was Donchich’s daily life.

Among the ogres of the north, there was none as large or as strong as him.

He became the chief of his race even before reaching adulthood, and though many ogres banded together to challenge him out of fear, he crushed them all without exception.

Donchich became the Lord of the Ogres and ruled over the northern forests.

Until that so-called emperor of the little humans appeared.

“Donchich, you said? The north is my territory.”

“You… speak nonsense. This, my land.”

The ogres used the continent’s common tongue.

Though their intelligence was not high and communicating precisely was difficult, ever since a former Lord of the Ogres learned the human language, they had continued using it.

“Oh, you can speak the human language?”

“Ogres… have no tongue. Use human tongue.”

“I see. How smart you are, Donchich.”

“Thank you… for words.”

Normally, true to his nature, Donchich would have crushed every human who stepped into his forest. But he couldn’t—for one reason.

Because of the two humans standing on either side of the Emperor.

“Grrrr…”

He growled instinctively, but neither reacted at all.

There was no need to fight to sense that both possessed strength equal to his own.

No, perhaps even greater.

To Donchich, it was as if the world had turned upside down. How could such small and frail humans be so strong?

To him, power was directly tied to size. As the biggest ogre in existence, and never having seen anyone more imposing, Donchich firmly believed he was the strongest being in the world.

And yet, these humans—smaller than even a newborn ogre—exuded such a fearsome scent… he couldn’t comprehend it.

The human Emperor spoke.

“The north is my territory now, Donchich. Any objections?”

“Objection, exists. This, my land.”

“Well, now it’s mine.”

“Grrrr…”

One of Donchich’s peculiar traits was that, for an ogre, he had a very sharp mind.

Thanks to his strength and ability to make rational decisions, he had risen to absolute dominance as Lord of the Ogres.

Donchich understood that he had to cooperate with the human Emperor. He couldn’t defeat him.

And besides, obeying the strongest was a natural instinct among ogres.

They had no concept of pride.

“Very well, Donchich. If you become my vassal, I’ll entrust you with the northern forests and provide you with regular food. What do you say? In exchange, you’ll just have to accept my requests when I have them. It’s not a hard deal, is it?”

“Food… what kind?”

“Bring it!”

At the Emperor’s gesture, several humans brought carts and set them before Donchich.

“I’ll let you eat this as much as you want.”

What they brought were black bulls with thick, glistening meat. Donchich had hunted small livestock that sometimes wandered into the forest, but he had never seen anything this massive.

Saliva dripped from his mouth as he struggled to resist devouring them on the spot.

The Emperor laughed heartily.

“Wait, Donchich. I’ll make it even tastier.”

“Want… tasty.”

Then, a human mage appeared and began roasting the whole meat.

He sprinkled it with some powder of unknown origin. In no time, the meat was golden and charred, ready to eat.

“Try it.”

With trembling hands, Donchich took a piece. The aroma was so tempting, he could barely stay sane.

And with the first bite, his eyes shot wide open.

Donchich muttered,

“Supreme delight. I am… very excited.”

“If you become my vassal, you can eat things like this whenever you want.”

“Great dilemma… Donchich eat… and think.”

“Yes, yes. Eat as much as you want while you think.”

As he chewed the meat, Donchich didn’t take his eyes off the two humans beside the Emperor.

One wore a mask, so his face wasn’t visible. The other watched him with a mocking grin.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we beat him up to calm him down?”

“No need, Yalta. Donchich is a smart ogre.”

The mocking human spoke so arrogantly that Donchich wanted to crush him, but he was wise enough to hold back.

He knew that if the masked one got involved, he’d be at a disadvantage.

And besides… he might never taste such delicious meat again.

Donchich made his decision.

“Majesty… loyalty.”

“Ohh… Donchich, you truly are wise!”

“Extremely honored.”

“Eat up!”

“Shameless… ask for two.”

“Granted. Give him another!”

“Loyalty, loyalty!”

Donchich swore allegiance immediately.

He had always been good at flattery. Thanks to that, the previous Lord of the Ogres had taught him combat techniques and forest knowledge.

“Very well, eat to your heart’s content.”

Then Yalta spoke again.

“Majesty… this isn’t an ogre. Looks more like a pig.”

Donchich responded. This time it was hard to hold back.

“You, human. Very rude.”

“Yalta. That’s enough. Donchich will calm down.”

“An ogre gossiping…”

“You, crushed.”

“Wanna try?”

“Now… yes.”

Donchich and Yalta growled at each other until the masked knight stepped in to mediate.

“You are in His Majesty’s presence. Both of you, show respect.”

Donchich could instinctively tell that the masked knight was stronger than Yalta.

In any case, that was how Donchich became a vassal of the Emperor.

“Then, Donchich, next time I’ll invite you to the imperial palace. Until then, take care.”

“Majesty, long life.”

“Yes, yes! Hahahahaha!”

The Emperor left with a booming laugh. After that, Donchich’s life didn’t change much.

He still ate when he wanted, slept when he wanted, and destroyed when he wanted.

Only now he ate black bulls sent periodically by the Emperor, and from time to time, when orders arrived, he would go to human cities to wreak havoc. In return, he received even more exotic foods.

Being a vassal of the Emperor was quite satisfying. Thus, Donchich led a peaceful life.

Until one day.

He felt an unpleasant energy outside the forest. It instinctively repulsed him. He planned to stay away, but then he caught the scent of the crown prince.

The Emperor’s son was, in essence, the Emperor himself. Therefore, he had to show respect.

Donchich uprooted an apple tree as a gift and went to find him. But something was off.

The crown prince wasn’t the same. Something about him felt wrong.

Donchich felt uneasy but forced himself to remain composed. He was a vassal of the Emperor and an ogre who knew etiquette.

“Donchich. I have a task for you.”

“I… emperor… loyal… if I can… I will.”

“It’s not hard. You just need to stay still.”

A strange energy emanated from the prince. Donchich, terrified, stepped back.

His sharpened senses screamed that he needed to flee immediately.

“That… danger. Very dangerous.”

“Look.”

“Don’t want to look.”

“Donchich, loyal ogre. This is an order. Stay still.”

Before Donchich could react, the prince pulled something out. A piece of parchment.

In that moment, his vision turned black. A towering structure appeared, rising to the heavens. And at its peak, a crimson red eye stared straight at him.

It was immense. And power was directly proportional to size.

Compared to that tower, Donchich was nothing but an insect.

A black mist erupted from his body. His eyes turned dark red.

“Grrrrrr…”

Donchich realized he had changed. He was still strong and intelligent, but now he had become an incredibly violent ogre.

Uncontrollable madness boiled inside him.

“Donchich. Where are your friends?”

“Friends… in forest.”

“Won’t you bring them?”

Donchich brought two of his ogre friends. At first, they were scared of him and tried to flee, but Donchich, as Lord of the Ogres, defeated them and dragged them back by force.

The crown prince, pleased, showed them the parchment as well. And they too became as violent as Donchich.

“My loyal three ogres. Sleep for now. Only wake after.”

The prince folded the parchment.

And the consciousness of Donchich and his two ogre friends faded completely.

Donchich had a dream. He dreamt of running freely through the northern forest.

But every dream must end.

When he opened his eyes again, Donchich and his two ogre friends were in a land they had never seen. In front of them stood a massive castle.

At the sight of it, an immense fury surged within him.

‘Destroy it without restraint.’

That voice echoed within him. Donchich and his two ogre friends charged without waiting for any order.

The wall was tall, but Donchich was taller. He rammed into it, and half the wall came crashing down.

The humans, panicked, fired arrows, but they only tickled.

Donchich kept pounding the wall until he grabbed the top edge and leapt over it.

Beyond lay a massive city filled with human structures. Seeing so many tiny humans gathered reminded him of an anthill.

‘Destroy it.’

Donchich obeyed the voice echoing inside him. After all, aside from the Emperor, all humans were trash to him.

They weren’t big, they weren’t strong. Their skin was so weak he could crush them just by stepping on them.

And still, those weaklings swung their little weapons like toothpicks, which triggered an unstoppable urge within him.

He ate when he wanted, slept when he wanted, destroyed when he wanted. And now, he wanted to destroy. And he wanted to devour.

Donchich let out a roar. His two ogre friends roared with him. They weren’t as strong as Donchich, but in the northern forest, they walked with pride.

“Humans… weak.”

They trampled the human soldiers who approached. Their bodies were reduced to crushed smears of blood.

Then, the strongest humans appeared—the so-called knights.

“Damn ogre bastard!”

One stabbed him in the thigh. It hurt a little. Donchich got angry.

“Bad words… no.”

And he struck him with his fist.

That human flew straight into the wall and was shattered upon impact. Fear spread quickly.

The humans began to flee. Donchich grew even angrier.

Why did they approach if they were going to run away so easily? Creatures like that wouldn’t last a single day in the northern forest.

Donchich and the ogres unleashed total chaos. Every time they stomped on the ground, human bodies exploded in all directions.

Donchich grabbed a chunk with a good amount of meat and shoved it into his mouth. The taste of blood as he chewed was exquisite.

“Inform the King! A crazed ogre has appeared…!”

Donchich grabbed one of the screaming humans. His eyes were filled with terror.

Donchich looked at him with a twisted smile.

“Sa… save…”

“Grrrr…”

“Please… save me…”

“Human… fly.”

And he hurled him straight into the sky. He flew very high.

He ascended for quite a while until, reaching the highest point, he began to fall, twisting through the air.

He died smashed upon impact. The two ogres burst into roaring laughter.

“Let’s bet, let’s bet!”

“I throw better!”

“Last one loses.”

“Ready?”

They began grabbing nearby humans and tossing them into the air. Some they crushed before throwing like balls.

Others they hung by their feet and spun before launching. In this grotesque game of the three ogres, humans died in horrific ways.

To the humans, these three ogres were living disasters. It didn’t take long.

In just one day, an entire city was destroyed. Enraged, the King sent the knightly order.

But by then, the ogres had already razed the city and all surrounding villages.

“Grrrr…”

And days later, upon waking, Donchich found himself surrounded by a human army.

“Too many… very dangerous.”

“Only humans… we can.”

The ogres exchanged words. But Donchich remained silent.

He was a smart ogre.

He knew it wasn’t worth fighting when at a disadvantage. It would be better to retreat and strike back by surprise.

But then he felt a strange urge in his chest. The image of the towering structure and that eye at the top pushed him forcefully.

A fierce violence coursed through his veins. Donchich beat his chest and roared.

“KRAAAAAAAA!”

That roar, steeped in overwhelming brutality, triggered primal terror in the humans.

Fear.

That was what it radiated. The army, confident just moments before, instantly cowered.

For Donchich and his two ogre companions, that was the moment to charge.

As soon as they smelled fear, they rushed forward and crushed the humans without mercy.

***

One of the Ten Greats, and vassal of the Emperor, Donchich, was destroying Liberta, and the news spread across the entire continent.

The Empire completely washed its hands of the matter.

Not only that—it blamed Liberta. The messenger continued.

“They’re saying Liberta kidnapped Donchich… and mistreated him. Since they laid hands on a subject of the Emperor, they say they have no choice but to consider a military response.”

Yuri blinked.

“Are they really that shameless?”