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Chapter 1

Makai Hongi 魔界本紀 ー 下剋上のゴーラン

もぎ すず

Gekokujyo no Golan

(Demon World History – Giant-killing Golan)

Magic came flying from the enemy formation, and the head of my comrade went flying.

It was the guy who pushed his way forward during the charge.

Blood and brain fluid splattered on my face.

I wiped the warm stuff off with my left hand and flung it on the ground.

(Ah, mother. Your son is now in the Demon World battlefield.)

As the sounds of explosions rang in my ears, I could hear a cheerful voice shouting, ‘Gahaha! Advance! Advance!’

To my left, someone was growling, ‘Arrghhh!’ as they raised a club.

I stepped over the body of one whose legs had been blown off and continued forward, my legs moved back and forth as if a machine.

This was a battlefield in the Demon World.

If you didn’t want to be blown apart by the magic that soared through the sky, then you had to advance.

“Advance! Advance!”

All I could hear was that word. It was as if an idiot had learned a single word.

The magic had been targeting us for a while now.

And so he was right. We had to keep moving.

If we stopped, our lives would end… 

Once you got past the magic, you would reach the enemy base, which was made of stone and wood.

For us ogres, it might as well have been nothing.

All we would have to do was swing our clubs as we marched, and then it would fall.

“…However…”

The leading group that had started the charge was now in disarray. Again.

I looked through the cracks between the giant bodies of the ogres and saw that wraiths had appeared.

The enemy had positioned a gang of them in front of their base. They were waiting for us.

As they were semi-transparent, it was hard to see them unless they were moving.

And if they lay low on the ground and stayed still, well, you would hardly see them at all on the battlefield.

“Advance! Advaaance!”

I listened to the order that had repeated so many times today. And I sighed quietly.

(We’re going to lose again today, regardless.)

As expected, a band of orcs appeared from the enemy base in order to take down the confused ogres. That battle became chaotic.

There was no formation now. ‘Advance? What’s that?’

There was no recovery once the chaos started.

The fighting would stop when the sun came down, and we would retreat.

Once again, we were unable to take the enemy base. In fact, we hadn’t even reached it!

My name is Golan. A demon. An ogre.

Three days ago—we arrived at this hill.

I was fighting as a common soldier under Commander Guden.

In the Demon World, ogres were just meatheads who couldn’t use magic. We were the expendables.

It was because we had physical strength, that we were destined to be used and crushed in the charge.

In fact, I was only participating in this fight because too many had died, and they needed more of us.

Drafts were sent to my village again, and in spite of being a third son, it was my turn to go.

After all, my two older brothers had already been turned into pieces of meat.

I might have even stepped on their remains today.

Comments 2

  1. Offline
    Bootis
    + 20 -
    The rest of the chapter:

    In ogre tribes, it was not custom for the oldest son to become the head of the family.

    In every household, children were sent to the battlefield as soon as they were old enough.

    Sixty of us were taken from three separate villages as part of the re-draft. And in just three days, ten of us were already dead.

    That included the one whose head was blown off in front of me today.

    I didn’t even learn his name.

    But he had suddenly pushed me and moved to the front.

    I didn’t really care about what order we lined up in, and so I left him be. But had he not done that, it would have been my head that was blown off.

    In any case, ogre warriors were meatheads. It wasn’t something that needed to be repeated, but it could not be helped, because it was true.

    Also, there was no kind system in which we were trained so that we wouldn’t die on the battlefield.

    We weren’t even given proper weapons and armor, so everyone had different equipment.

    We just grabbed our weapons, the ever-popular—iron or wooden club, and charged at the enemy base.

    There were some among us who picked up boulders with both hands as they ran.

    But as both of their hands were full, they generally ended up getting speared by the orcs.

    In my case, I didn’t have a weapon or any armor. And so I picked up some wire and wrapped it around my arms.

    It was probably from one of the destroyed anti-cavalry fences.

    I just thought that it was better than nothing.

    Regardless, I had survived another day. Somehow.

    “Golan. Good work.”

    The person who talked to me with a satisfied expression was my comrade of the past three days, Edbas.

    We grew up in the same village.

    “There was nothing good about that! We keep losing. Why do you look so refreshed!”

    Upon hearing me say this, Edbas looked at me with a puzzled expression.

    “We just need to win tomorrow.”

    “Bah! We’ll lose tomorrow as well!”

    “Then we just need to win the day after that.”

    “…Hah…”

    This is why we ogres were known as meatheads.

    We are used as expendable pawns, and no one complains.

    Damn, it was pathetic.

    “Hey, Golan… Where are you going?”

    Another one from my village called to me. His name was Rimobo.

    “I can’t take this anymore. I’m going to see Commander Guden.”

    “Hey, Golan. Do you mean…?”

    “Are you going to declare Gekokujyo?”

    Edbas and Rimobo suddenly looked very excited.

    ‘That’s right!’ I shouted back angrily. ‘Hyahoooo!’ they came back cheerfully.

    This wasn’t anything to be happy about, you guys.

    There were no strict rules in the Demon World.

    Things were simple. The strong dominated the weak.

    The weak could challenge the strong and attempt to take their seat.

    The strong would challenge those who were even stronger.

    In the Demon World, such battles to determine rank, in other words, determine your superiority, were called Gekokujyo(Giant-killing).

    “Golan is going to declare Gekokujyo!”

    “Out of the way. The Gekokujyo is going to start.”

    Without exception, the residents of the Demon World enjoyed a good Gekokujyo. They loved it.

    No, I just lied. Because I hated it.

    They could do it as much as they wanted as long as it was out of my sight.

    I would stay quiet as long as they didn’t involve me in it.

    “Here he comes! Commander Guden!”

    That was fast. The superior officers had already heard the news.

    I could hear them laughing loudly, ‘Gahahaha!’

    “So, you are the one who challenged me. Gahahaha!”

    “I’m Golan. Too many of us die for no reason when you are in command. And so I declare Gekokujyo.”

    “Very well. I, Commander Guden, accept your challenge!”

    “It’s decided!”

    “The Gekokujyo is going to begin!”

    “Yahoooo!”

    The crowd of spectators exploded with cheers.

    (Dear mother, I was reincarnated into an ogre. And now I’m about to challenge a really strong guy.)
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  2. Offline
    Mich14_0
    Mich14_0
    + 00 -
    I might have even stepped on their remains today
    Me: Hahaha! Intriguing!

    I might have even stepped on their remains today
    Me: Hahaha! Intriguing!
    Read more