38 – Super Gold Medal Hammer

The Castel Highlands, once renowned as one of the kingdom’s prime summer resorts, had been reduced to ruins. In the original story, Freesia and her perfect partner would visit for a vacation, but now there was no trace of that serene getaway.

Houses lay in shambles, and the remains of livestock, devoured to the bone, were scattered everywhere.

“They really did a number on this place! Omonel, did the peasants manage to flee?” I barked, surveying the devastation.

“Yes, Your Highness. Thanks to the advance units we dispatched, human casualties have been kept to a minimum. However…” Omonel hesitated.

“What is it? Speak up!” I demanded impatiently.

“Some of the people seem to have been left behind in the chaos.”

“Foolish peasants! They deserved to perish!” I spat. 

“And you, Omonel, why haven’t you acted already?”

“The problem is… the monsters are not just numerous, but extremely vicious…” Omonel trailed off.

“Hmph, if that’s the case, then leave them to their fate.”

“Your Highness…” Omonel began again, sensing my growing impatience. “We will defend the Jire Plateau at all costs.”

“As expected,” I said, masking my irritation. “And why haven’t you already moved? Even a child could follow orders faster than this.”

“My deepest apologies, Your Highness! I am ashamed for not anticipating your wishes sooner.”

“Get to it, Omonel. Now!” I commanded, watching as he quickly rallied his subordinates, organizing them with the efficiency of a seasoned officer. I couldn’t help but be impressed by his abilities. As I observed the scene, Kobiwul approached, wringing his hands eagerly.

“Your Highness, the item you requested has been prepared,” Kobiwul said with a gleeful grin.

“The item?” I asked, momentarily confused.

“Yes, Your Highness. The item.”

“Ah, that item,” I replied, still unsure of what he meant but trying to maintain composure. 

“Very well, bring it here.”

“At once, Your Highness!” Kobiwul exclaimed, bowing low.

What the hell is the item, anyway? I don’t remember ordering anything like that…

At Kobiwul’s signal, ten times as many soldiers as those who had delivered Freesia’s painting now pushed a massive wagon up the steep incline of the highlands. Even with several horses pulling from the front, it seemed too heavy for them to handle alone, requiring the added strength of the soldiers.

With great ceremony, as if unveiling something of tremendous importance, Kobiwul pulled back the sheet covering the load.

“Behold, the Judgment Iron Ball, Murofushi. It is most suitable for punishing the fools who dare to defy Your Highness, bofuuu…”

It was unimaginably huge.

It must have weighed at least ten tons—an absurdly massive iron ball.

Suddenly, a memory came back to me.

I remember telling Kobiwul and the others an amusing, exaggerated story about a certain athlete who won a gold medal in hammer throw…

But still!

Isn’t this a bit too much of a wasteful expense?

“I leave the rest to you. I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep.”

“Understood, boff!”

Brad had said to just leave things as they were, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. If Omonel and Kobiwul retreated from Jire Plateau, the highest point in the Castel Highlands, the enemy might not only overrun the surrounding frontier areas but could even charge straight toward the royal capital.

Taking advantage of the fact that Omonel and the others were preoccupied, I headed out to rescue the isolated village.

Of course, I took Murofushi with me.

However, I couldn’t just waltz out with it, or they’d immediately notice, so I decided to disguise myself and make some modifications to the iron ball…

Considering how many people it took to bring it here, I thought it would be much heavier, but to my surprise, it was unexpectedly light and somewhat disappointing. It felt so hollow that I couldn’t help but think it was like one of those cheese snacks that farmers often eat.

I tried to make the massive iron ball with its attached chains smaller, squeezing it between my arms repeatedly. And wouldn’t you know it, it started heating up and kept burning without cooling down…

By the time I had compressed the Murofushi down to the size of a basketball, making it far more portable, I spun it around to cool it off as I dashed down the highlands.

As I spun the iron ball, making a loud “whirling” sound, monsters began to gather around me, curious about the commotion.

Surrounding me were High Orcs, Silver Wolves, and even Demon Bears…

Ah, just as Omonel had said—each of these creatures was so ferocious that even a squad of ten knights from the royal order would struggle to take one down.

But the moment any of them stepped within the range of my spinning iron ball, their bodies simply vanished—there wasn’t even time for them to be minced.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

As I was decimating the monsters, I heard a scream. Thanks to my muscle training, my earlobes could now move on their own, and my hearing had become as sharp as a dolphin’s.

I headed toward the source of the sound and came across what looked like an animal’s den. In front of the hole, a Demon Bear was trying to shove its front paw inside. Its enormous size made it too large to fit into the burrow, so it had resorted to tearing at the walls with its massive claws.

Gwaaah!

“Out of my way.”

I wanted to see what was inside, so I used my speed skill to move instantly next to the Demon Bear. It seemed shocked, as if I had just teleported out of nowhere.

But it was too late.

With a light tap on the Demon’s Bear’s shoulder, the massive creature—standing over ten meters tall—was flung at a speed akin to a tennis smash, crashing into a boulder. No matter how tough a monster is, slamming into a rock at such high speed is never going to end well. The boulder was now stained crimson.

I cautiously peeked into the burrow and found people trembling deep inside.

“A-ah, by the or-ord-orders of Lord Omone-e-e-el, I’ve come to sa-save you…”

My body instinctively rebelled when I tried to speak formally, resulting in a weird, stammering mess of words.