Level 1 Strongest Sage ~

Book 8: Chapter 32

Im an ogre that has lived for around a thousand years.

I had fought off heroes in the past.

Three times, at that.

Thats the tale of my bravery.

The first time was around 900 years ago.

The sword of the hero couldnt pierce this body that had been forged for over a hundred years, and it also repelled the magic of the sage.

The hero escaped during the battle with me. Afterward, he slayed the Demon King of that era without fighting me ever again.  

That hero avoided fighting with me.

The second time and the third time was also with that same hero.

It was around 300 years ago.

I was sure that I ended the life of that hero.

However, he was revived, and he reappeared once again in front of me.

The third battle had been a fierce one.

That hero had become unbelievably stronger.

However, I still triumphed once again.

As if a mere existence that unexpectedly borrowed the power from the deities could surpass the 700 years that I devoted in mastering the art of war!

The hero that I supposedly killed slew the reigning demon king once again.

Rumors said that the hero could be revived thanks to the skill that had been bestowed by the deity. 

That hero guy avoided fighting with me once again.

I never thought I was stronger than Demon King-sama.

I would have surely lost if the heroes came to me after getting enough power to challenge the Demon King.

But, that hero who became strong enough to defeat Demon King-sama wanted to avoid battling against me.

I regret not being able to protect the Demon King-sama, but all the monsters worldwide regarded me highly for being able to force the hero to abandon our fight.

And today, Demon King-sama called out to me.

She was Demon King Sitri-sama.

Sitri-sama told me that she wanted a few ogres from my tribe to join the Demon Kings Army.

There was no one as powerful as me, but they were all elites that I had trained since they were little.

I decided to send them out with confidence. They would surely be of use for Sitri-sama, as well as Evil God-sama, I was sure of it. 

Afterward, Sitri-sama invited me to become part of the upper echelons of the Demon Kings Army.

I was ecstatic.

I had failed to protect Demon King-sama time and again, and yet she reached out to me.

However, my pride, being the one who repelled the hero three times, didnt allow me to shout Yes, gladly! , so I was a bit modest in refusing.

Thats when Sitri-sama told me that she would create the strongest Demon King Army of all time, and that she would prepare a seat for me among the leaders.

I was about to cry back then.

I wanted to pledge my life in service to this esteemed person.

And that oath had been put to test right away.

We met that thing when Sitri-sama and I stepped outside so I could introduce the villagers youth to her.

How could we miss this Bakemonos presence, when it was hiding such enormous mana within it?

That thing annihilated my entire tribe.

The lookouts, the warriors, and even my sons.

Everyones presence had vanished.

That things words must be true then.

Overflowing with hatred, I wanted to rush towards it, but Sitri-samas figure caught my eye, so I calmed myself.

I had to protect Sitri-sama from this Bakemono!!

I punched that thing.

Even if I already repelled the hero 300 years ago, I never stopped training.

Perhaps, everything that I did back then was in preparation for today, the day I had to protect Sitri-sama.

That Bakemono easily stopped my blow, even though I poured all I had in that strike.

We started exchanging blows, and thats when realization hit me.

No matter how tough the bodies of the ogre clan were, if it wasnt me, they wouldnt have the chance of crossing swords with it before getting killed.

Thats just how monstrous this Bakemono was.

His swordsmanship was trash if compared to the skills that I learned through a thousand years.

But then, the way he wielded the sword exuded that feeling as if it had already massacred tens of thousands of demons using this swordsmanship. 

It was a sword technique that could slay demons efficiently.

It made me wonder just how this thing that resembled a human didnt look like it reached adulthood, had managed to master this kind of swordsmanship.

He also had a jet black stick on top of that sword skill.

This was bad.

Just one blow from that black stick and my beloved orichalcum sword had been destroyed. 

I got that sword when I beat an adventurer that attacked me. 

This sword that had survived all those centuries without a nick in the blade and had endured my strength had been smashed too easily.

However, if I brace myself and make my body harder with all my might, it would become tougher than orichalcum.

I threw the hilt of my beloved sword the only thing that remained of it, gathered energy onto my fist and struck him.

That Bakemono remained undaunted, easily blocking my punches that could shatter even a lump of mithril with its jet-black stick.

The bow also hit me from time to time and it had been really painful. If it was someone else, he would have probably died with just a single blow from it.

I was desperately fighting over here, but Sitri-sama didnt budge. She didnt even attempt to flee.

No, she had been unable to flee.

Somebody had prevented Sitri-sama from teleporting to the Demon Realm. 

The Bakemono had increased to two.

I managed to find a gap, and we escaped from the Bakemono. I grabbed Sitri-sama and forcefully carried her, but this was an emergency situation, so I hoped she would forgive me.

At any rate, Sitri-sama was probably way older than me, but she looked like she could be the same age as my grandchild.

This grandpa will definitely protect you, Sitri!

I threw her towards the air when their presence had become far enough.

If its the demon Sitri-sama, she would definitely escape.

I misjudged.

Another Bakemono appeared behind the airborne Sitri-sama.

Her wings had been cut off, so she spiraled to the ground. I hurriedly caught her.

And now, 5 Bakemono surrounded us.

I thought the end had come for us.

There were 5 Bakemono that were stronger than me, even if I gave all I got.

At that moment, I could feel Sitri-samas mana rising within her.

Thats right, Sitri-sama hadnt shown her true strength yet!

I stopped Sitri-sama in a fluster. If she seriously released her power, she could probably defeat 2 or less of these Bakemono and she could escape.

We had to endure.

I decided to do so.

This decision of stopping Sitri-sama I regretted it to death.

Thanks for the hard work. So theres a monster that even 5 of you cant tame, is that it?

The boss of the Bakemono appeared.