An ogre appeared far across the plains.
Much to Han Se-ah''s dismay, it wasn''t a mechanical ogre, a ragged ogre golem, an undead giant, or a giant suicide bomber ogre - just an ordinary berserk ogre casually walking around in the distance.
In other words, not finding any ogres until now just proved Han Se-ah had shit luck.
"Wow, it''s been a while since we''ve seen one of those. But look at its gaze - it seems fixed on something."
"Its gaze?"
"Yeah. Even though it looks like it''s just strolling around, something''s caught its attention."
I jumped up onto the barrier wall to get a better look. The others scrambled up after hearing my shout, but the ogre wasn''t looking at us.
Though we''d only hunted one before, its senses were about on our level. If it noticed a bunch of tiny humans gathering to stare at it from the palisade, it gave no indication.
Instead of charging at us on sight like usual, it was slowly walking at an angle past our outpost, like a predator stalking its prey. Since we weren''t its target, we could watch comfortably.
"Hmm, what''s over there?"
"It''s just outside detection range... ah, I see. Looks like it''s sensed a hidden centaur unit."
The 9-meter giant was crouching down, creeping forward on all fours like a gorilla about to pounce. If humans were the targets, we''d need to rush out and help. But since it was just some hidden centaurs about to get ambushed, we could enjoy the show. The ogre was gradually getting closer, presumably heading back to its outpost.
Seemed like a hidden centaur unit was heading straight for the outpost, with the berserk ogre trying to flank them.
"Hope it doesn''t suddenly charge at us instead."
"Given how it''s completely ignoring us, we could probably head out to meet it."
"I''ll rush out if it turns this way. If our tents and sleeping bags get wrecked, we''ll be homeless. The plains weather might be nice but I''d rather not sleep on bare ground with just clouds for cover."
"Ah, Roland''s right about that. Even with good weather, I don''t want to sleep in the dirt."
We joked around watching the ogre, which seemed to care more about numbers since it showed zero interest in us.
As terrifying as a berserk ogre might be, the worst damage it could do to us now was mess up the outpost grounds Han Se-ah had carefully leveled with magic.
Since we probably wouldn''t be fighting anymore today, I considered using the holy sword to clean up after the ogre ambushed the hidden centaurs. Its 5-minute daily limit made it wasteful on trash mobs, but a berserk ogre seemed worth it.
''Last time fighting one normally was such a pain.''
The holy sword lasted 5 minutes with a one-day cooldown. For a ground-bound tank who couldn''t project aura, it was an armor-piercing burst damage skill that extended range past 10 meters when infused with mana and holy power.
No point wasting such a powerful technique on mere goblins, but I hadn''t gotten to use it on named elites like berserk ogres either since we never encountered any.
"Amazing that we can''t sense anything from this distance - those centaurs'' stealth ability is no joke. How about you, Grace? Can you see anything?"
[Honestly, constantly seeing that would be a bit much for viewers too]
As I drew on holy power, my warhammer and shield dissolving into light while skipping the whole "Blood of Hector" spiel, a message flickered across my vision.
...Goddess, you can send messages without using game system energy? You''ve been making little comments lately.
"Whoa! Is that the holy sword, hero?!"
"Looks like Roland wants to wrap this up quickly and rest."
As I felt that surge of divine power while pondering the Goddess''s cute comment, I clearly heard both the camera flying overhead and the knights'' awed voices behind me.
Holy power enhanced my senses along with my body. Before me stood the growling ogre, behind me the knights radiating religious reverence.
But I''d have to disappoint the knights hoping for an epic battle - this fight would end quickly.
GRAAAAH―!
Sensing the holy sword''s terrifying power, the ogre slammed the ground again, trying to stop my approach. Unfortunately for it, the holy sword empowered by divine energy had already extended to nearly 15 meters.
The ogre''s fist sent waves of earth flying at me, but a natural 6★ tank''s body was different from centaurs scattered by mere aftershocks.
My foot plunged deep into the plains like a pillar. Using that planted leg, I twisted my torso, wringing out my back muscles for a horizontal swing of the 15-meter mass of holy energy.
The blade''s tip transmitted a subtle sensation as it carved through the deadly wave of earth like it wasn''t there. Unlike smashing zombie heads with my warhammer, it felt more like a hot knife through butter.
Thinking it would take more force to cut tofu with chopsticks, I heard the ogre''s agonized scream.
"Wow, taking down something that huge in one strike... Now I see why he doesn''t use it on regular monsters."
"Kuh, so this is Sir Roland''s true power?"
That subtle feeling was the holy sword cleaving through both the ogre''s arms as they hung exposed after striking the ground. Two massive limbs more like support beams than appendages crashed to the ground, cleanly severed through flesh and bone.
GRAAAGH, GYAAAH, KRAAAAH―!!!
The ogre immediately entered berserk state... but no amount of muscle pumping or size increase would restore its severed arms.
All it could do was kick out with its legs, trying to keep me away. But I still had over 4 minutes and 45 seconds left with my 15-meter holy sword.
Another simple, brutal swing. Stepping forward, I swept the blade from right to left, feeling that cutting sensation again. The leg muscles were thicker than the arms - more like firm tofu than silken.
Lost in such idle thoughts, I watched the ogre roll across the plains, wailing pitifully after losing both arms and its right leg in two strikes.
Its HP must be quite high to survive losing three limbs.