Chapter 60: Twinhead Ogre’s Fall

A tall and rugged hill.

Beneath it lay countless corpses of Ogres.

And atop a high valley stood a village built of wood, their own settlement.

An Ogre Dungeon.

There, Evan and the knights faced off against a massive Ogre.

The shadow of a colossal giant blanketed the area.

[Boss Monster Twinhead Ogre has appeared.]

Two heads, two weapons.

About one and a half times larger than a normal Ogre, the creature exuded an intimidating aura befitting its size.

‘Ah, I knew this would happen… I shouldn’t have been swept up by the atmosphere and come all the way here.’

Celia muttered silently, glaring at Evan.

In truth, the process had gone smoothly.

Despite the disadvantageous terrain that couldn’t accommodate many troops, Evan demonstrated unbelievable skill and excelled, and they had discovered the enemy’s stronghold.

‘So far, so good.’

They had secured the location; now all that remained was to call for reinforcements.

With only fifty knights present, it was impossible to assault the enemy’s base alone.

Moreover, the knights were exhausted from continuous fighting.

Therefore, Celia naturally assumed reinforcements would be requested before launching an attack.

But Evan’s opinion was the opposite.

“The number of knights Tallin can mobilize is limited right now. And calling for support takes too long. We’ll breach it with the troops we have here.”

He recklessly declared, preparing to charge into the enemy’s stronghold.

‘He has skill, I’ll admit that, but this isn’t the time. Overconfidence blinded him to his limits, and now he’s brought us to the edge of danger.’

In Celia’s eyes, Evan’s motive was clear: Vanity.

If he achieved results and gained recognition, he could transfer away from this dangerous border area to the central region.

Especially as a noble’s heir, he wouldn’t want to remain here.

In any case, his reckless ambition put everyone at risk.

The most absurd part was that despite this, they still had to protect Evan.

Celia bit her lip.

Meanwhile, Evan stared at the Twinhead Ogre, calmly assessing the situation.

A reconnaissance standoff.

A fleeting silence where the slightest movement could trigger chaos.

‘This guy… Normally, he’d be rampaging wildly, but…

He’s under the effect of the Ogre Slayer Effect.

That’s why he’s not going berserk.’

Evan drew the Sword of Jormungand’s Fang.

It was too difficult to handle the Ogre with a normal sword.

“He doesn’t seem interested in fighting. Then I’ll strike first…”

Evan took a step forward toward the Twinhead Ogre.

“W-what are you doing!”

Celia rushed to grab him in panic, but Evan shouted firmly.

“Don’t come. You’ll just get in the way.”

“Eh?”

Ignoring Celia’s confused expression, Evan continued forward.

At the same time, the Twinhead Ogre began to move.

Thud.

The creature dropped its club.

Then it picked up something hanging around its neck and brought it to its mouth.

Its enormous size made it hard to tell, but it was definitely…

“A horn trumpet?”

‘Why would an Ogre have a horn trumpet?’

The Ogre began blowing into the horn with all its might.

Brrrruuuuu.

“What’s that guy doing?”

Celia asked Evan with a bewildered look.

But Evan didn’t answer.

Because a warning message flashed before his eyes along with the loud horn blast.

[Boss Monster Twinhead Ogre has used the: Commander’s Horn Trumpet]

[All scattered Ogres are assembling at the Boss Room.]

Evan’s expression hardened as he gave orders to Celia.

“Immediately, take the knights and defend the village entrance.”

“Huh?”

“That guy has called the scattered Ogres. Hold them back at the entrance as much as you can. I’ll handle this one.”

Everything.

Celia’s face twisted at the continuous string of bad news.

“What are you waiting for! Hurry!”

Evan shouted urgently and commanded the knights.

***

“Grrk! Grrroooaagh!”

The Twinhead Ogre roared, swinging its club wildly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The heavy wooden club struck the ground, echoing loudly.

Evan easily dodged the Ogre’s attacks, ruthlessly slashing its body with his sword.

Each blow from the Ogre was certainly deadly.

But Evan wouldn’t be caught by slow, clumsy strikes.

Sometimes the area attacks like stomps or smashes were dangerous, but Evan had already anticipated them.

Naturally, he had fought this guy many times in his previous life.

Knowing all its attack patterns, the Ogre was a puppet in Evan’s hands.

‘I’ll finish this in one decisive blow.’

He gathered his aura into the sword.

The Third Form of Lee Han.

Moreover, the Ogre was already poisoned by the Sword of Jormungand’s Fang effect.

Buffed with increased movement speed, Evan dashed toward the creature.

The Twinhead Ogre’s limbs were already badly slashed, making it even slower.

It made a final desperate punch, but Evan dodged lightly.

He pierced deep into the creature’s torso and slashed the vital spot on its chest.

Kraaaang!

Aura exploded, dealing massive damage.

Everything.

“Grrraaaagh!”

The staggering Ogre collapsed face down on the ground.

Evan climbed atop the fallen beast and sliced its throat twice.

Shck! Shck!

***

At the finishing moment.

[Boss Monster Twinhead Ogre has been: defeated!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

The message window popped up, signaling its death.

“Finally over.”

Evan quickly grabbed one of the two heads rolling on the ground and moved swiftly.

Though the boss was slain, the problem wasn’t solved yet.

The knights should be holding the line against Ogres at the village entrance.

There was still a way to turn the crisis around in one fell swoop.

When Evan arrived where the knights were fiercely defending the entrance, he ran up and threw one of the Twinhead Ogre’s heads.

Thunk!

The knights and Ogres fighting nearby all turned their gaze toward it.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Celia looked back in surprise.

“L-lord? Could it be?”

Evan smirked.

“This will definitely crush their morale. Let’s clean up the remaining scum.”

While Celia was still flustered, a voice called out from ahead.

“T-the enemies are fleeing!”

Those stupid and nasty brutes were running scared.

No one could say a word, only stare in astonishment.

***

Evan entrusted the knights with cleaning up the Ogre corpses.

“That’s it for today’s mission. Request support for corpse disposal and return as soon as the site is cleared.”

Reynold shrugged his shoulders and took the lead in hauling the Ogre bodies.

Heard it was quite profitable.

Their blood and magic stone skeletons had many uses.

This hunt would likely fatten the Order of Knights’ coffers considerably.

While everyone was busy, Evan began investigating the Boss Room.

‘I need to find and destroy the dungeon core for this to be truly over.

Usually, boss monsters serve as the conduit, but continuous-type dungeons have separate cores.’

Before searching for the core, Evan approached the Twinhead Ogre’s corpse.

The knights could gather the remains and magic stones, but this was something he had to check himself.

‘What is this?’

Evan picked up the horn trumpet and checked its info window.

[Grade: A]

[Category: Instrument]

[Durability: 30/30]

[No usage restrictions]

[Effect: Effects change according to the user’s race. When blown, increases all allies’ HP and morale by 30% within a 20m radius for 30 minutes. Attack power increased by 50%. The trumpet’s effects and radius scale with the user’s level.]

[Others: A finely crafted horn trumpet for commanders. This alone can sway the morale of soldiers.]

Evan’s eyes lit up as he read the details.

‘This is a buff-type item! This will be useful moving forward! Leading knights with this buff can accelerate my plan for territorial expansion. A very valuable item.’

But at the same time, Evan felt uneasy.

‘I don’t think a mindless brute like an Ogre made this item. It’s surprising even that it knows how to use it.’

More strangely, despite having this item, it hadn’t attacked the Order of Knights.

Ogres are known for impatience and ferocity.

For such a creature to wait around their base armed with this item?

That alone was suspicious enough.

“Something’s off.”

Evan felt like he was missing something.

‘If they’re waiting here and strike the knights upon signal…’

Suddenly, Evan recalled something and grabbed a knight who was gathering remains.

“Do you know when the Ogres first appeared?”

The knight’s face paled.

“Don’t mention it. They once ambushed a large-scale reconnaissance team.

Several high-ranking officers were among them, and over half the Order was dispatched as rescue.

That’s when we first learned of their existence.”

Evan could guess.

‘That must have been when Velled’s Resurrection Army of the Dead started their invasion.’

These Ogres were controlled artificially.

Some preparation was necessary for an invasion from outside into the Order’s interior.

If they used these Ogres, it made sense.

‘The Nervan Cult might have lent their power to Velled for this.’

Evan recalled another objective besides the main quest’s monster eradication.

Everything.

“We were told to gather clues.”

It was a collection condition alongside the main quest’s monster hunt.

There might be more traces here.

“Got it.”

Evan dismissed the knight and resumed investigating the Boss Room.

He decided to ask Andre directly about the incident.

‘Anything here that could be a clue…’

Evan expanded his sensing and examined the surroundings.

Not wanting to miss even the slightest hint.

Then he found a small wooden ornament.

“A totem? Could it be…?”

Totems were common among Ogres.

If something were to be hidden, using a common totem would be a perfect disguise.

And Evan, who knew the Ogres well, was suspicious of this deception.

‘They know one thing but not two. These guys don’t leave totems in the Boss Room.’

He knew their traits imperfectly.

That confirmed someone else was behind this.

Evan walked slowly toward the totem.

From it emanated the same sinister aura he had sensed from the twisted chalice.

‘I feared it… Could it really be them?’

The moment Evan reached for the totem.

Crack!

Black sparks scattered around it.

A warning message popped up before Evan’s eyes.