The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

43 – Giant Monster Hunter, Handro

“You sunflower-like wench!”

The one glaring at the queen with a boiling rage akin to molten lava was none other than Handro.

Having just been revived by a potion, he now charged towards her with an intent to kill, his eyes filled with white-hot fury.

“Handro! Get a hold of yourself…”

Handro, lost to reason, squeezed the queen’s throat with all his might, beginning to suffocate her.

“How could you cruelly… this dog-like wench who knows nothing!”

“Ha… Handro…”

“Die! Die! This is how you repay the grudge of my child and my people!”

Even as Rosalia, gripped in Handro’s powerful grasp, felt her consciousness slipping away due to lack of air, she found his words puzzling.

Firstly, Handro had no children. His wife was unable to conceive, regardless of any alchemical attempts, leaving them childless.

The mention of a grudge held by the people was equally baffling. What grudge could the citizens, jubilant from winning a war, possibly harbor? Unless it was the defeated Latvians from the war who might hold such resentment.

Amidst the agonizing suffocation, the man staring intently at Rosalia managed to address all her doubts in one fell swoop.

“Hmm, Khan’s pretty furious. At this rate, even if you die, you won’t be able to rest peacefully for a while.”

Rosalia, her eyes now deeply flushed with anger, glared at him.

“Nice to meet you, Rosalia, Queen of Terosa. I’m Dominic, the enchanter who, I’d like to believe, is merely a story concocted by your kind.”

With a smirk, the man approached Rosalia.

“Do you know what our pitiful Latvians, defeated in the war, did? They came to find me. They’re willing to offer everything they have if I seek revenge on their behalf.”

Brushing off the dust from his clothes, the man gestured towards the soldiers he had revived.

“And now I’m doing exactly as they wished. Channeling the vengeful spirit of a Latvian burning with revenge.”

Handro’s grip around the queen’s throat tightened further.

Rosalia’s consciousness stretched thinly like a delicate thread, ready to snap at any moment without it being out of the ordinary.

Shortly after, darkness enveloped the queen’s vision.

In that darkness, the man’s voice faintly echoed.

“Farewell, Your Majesty. I’ll make good use of the lands you’ve prepared. Terosa seems just the right size.”

Despite the final sound of gasping, the queen showed no sign of reaction.

And so, the queen’s life slowly faded away.

“Your Majesty! Please wake up!”

Rosalia, feeling intense headache, opened her eyes at the familiar voice that woke her up.

Upon seeing the face of the man in front of her, Rosalia almost fainted again.

“Ha… Handro!”

“Thank goodness! … What on earth is all this chaos?”

‘Once again, events from the past…’

The queen had been experiencing significant discomfort lately due to symptoms that vividly replayed events prior to her regression every time she lost consciousness.

This time, it was during the third death that she experienced again.

Shaking her head, the queen tried to focus on the current situation.

Behind Handro, who was wearing a relieved expression, Peppe was seen leaping around.

The troops Handro brought back, with his quick assessment and orders, assisted the palace guards who were setting up the giant weapons of mass destruction within the palace.

In an instant, all the weapons revealed their true forms to function after a long time.

Dozens of cannons with giant harpoons attached to the end were arranged around Peppe’s legs.

The cannons, in their positions, were swiftly secured to the ground with wheels removed and firmly fixed to the floor using large nails.

Amidst the tumultuous movement, all the cannons were anchored.

“Fire!”

One of Handro’s subordinates commanded, and the cannons simultaneously shot out their menacing harpoons.

The harpoons fired from the cannons were impaled in various places around Peppe’s legs.

“Pull!”

Again, following the command of the subordinates, soldiers turned the handles next to the cannons.

The ropes attached to the harpoons were pulled tight.

Next in line was the giant ballistae.

Ballistae, as huge as the pillars of the Grand Cathedral, equipped with giant spikes, were placed on the rooftop of the palace.

The protective barrier surrounding the palace, defending against external attacks physically, didn’t block attacks from allies within the barrier towards the outside, meaning attacks aimed to defend allies within the barrier were not magically obstructed.

So, the massive ballistae firing spikes towards Peppe’s feet posed no problem.

“Fire!”

Once again, at the command of a subordinate, the ballistae were fired simultaneously.

Dozens of sharp and sturdy massive spikes poured down like rain onto Peppe’s feet.

They were embedded in Pepe’s instep, piercing through and anchored to the ground.

Pepe, rendered immobile, screamed loudly, swinging his arms towards the soldiers on the ground and the buildings around him.

Amidst the soldiers shouting and giving orders, the tumultuous noise caused by Pepe’s rampage, and the sporadic sounds of buildings collapsing, echoed from all directions.

“You’re not too late. Handro.”

“I apologize for not coming earlier. Is this Tendrial’s doing?”

“It seems like he ingested a potion that allows the use of command magic… Somehow, he went berserk and suffered the consequences. Oh! By the way, what about the Forest fellows?”

“Most of them seem to be dead. We’ll have to investigate the exact number of casualties, but it looks like only a small number survived and escaped to Tessa. Tendrial seems to have fled too.”

“Those cockroach-like beings…”

“For now, let’s move to a safe place…”

As Handro supported the queen and helped her up, Pepe’s previously unruly gaze turned towards them, and a massive fist immediately flew in their direction.

While the queen’s protective barrier could block a direct impact, the shockwave felt like an earthquake that shook the entire palace.

Losing his balance, Handro quickly made the queen lie down to prepare for the impact, and he himself lay down beside her.

“That monster seems oddly obsessed with Your Majesty…”

Upon Handro’s words, the queen recalled the scene just before losing consciousness.

The moment she locked eyes with the giant cyclops.

The monster seemed to move its mouth as if trying to speak.

‘Chick…’

With a displeased expression, the queen spoke to Handro.

“That creature… is Khanth.”

“That name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

“It seems that command magic can imbue a different soul into the flesh. It looks like he was revived in that way.”

“Hmm… A cyclops with the soul of the leader of the fallen nation we annihilated… How did Tendrial know?”

“He seems to have suffered the consequences. Probably just thought it was a potion that simply resurrects the dead.”

“I see.”

‘Where did that potion go…’

Rosalia stared intently at Handro’s face.

“Hmm? Why are you looking like that?”

“…No reason.”

‘She must have been really scared.’

Handro felt a subtle emotion towards the queen for a moment.

“Commander! We’re ready!”

At the lieutenant’s shout, Handro stood up, stretching his body as he gazed at the queen.

“It’s about time we wrapped this up. There’s much to do, including meeting with Wonsu.”

“Thank you, Handro.”

“It brings back old memories; the former king always entrusted me with finishing the hunts.”

Lost in reminiscence for a moment, Handro closed his eyes and a faint smile crossed his face.

“It’s been a while since my blood boiled.”

A lance prepared by the subordinates was clenched in Handro’s hand.

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“I’ll be off. Your Majesty.”

With a greeting to the queen, Handro, with an excited heart for the colossal monster hunt, ascended to the palace rooftop.

Feeling the rush of adrenaline, Handro signaled the ground forces below.

The lieutenant, confirming the signal, shouted, “Prepare the flash bombs!”

Soldiers standing beside cannons slightly larger than ordinary ones hurriedly adjusted their aim.

“Fire!”

With a deafening sound, the flash bombs exploded in front of Fepe, emitting a massive light.

Fepe couldn’t make out anything in the sudden burst of light.

“Hahaha!”

Confirming the effective impact of the flash bombs, Handro, with hearty laughter directed at Fepe’s face, leaped down.

As the distance between Handro and the monster diminished, his heart beat faster.

A thrill he hadn’t felt even in battles with demons, one he thought he might never feel again, engulfed him.

Before he knew it, the gap between Fepe and Handro was reduced to the length of a spear.

Fepe was still blinded by the flash.

Handro exerted force on the lance he held, thrusting it towards Fepe’s head.

“Hahaha! Die…”

In an instant, something happened.

Fepe’s fist struck Handro forcefully.

Handro’s body shattered beyond recognition, turning into several splatters of blood that scattered through the air.

“Handro!!!”

The queen screamed.