Chương 23: Troll war (2)

Rayne felt like he had been hit with a sledgehammer. His lungs burned. His muscles screamed and his legs wobbled as he tried to stand. Up ahead, the troll stood, knocking away the formation like they were dolls. Soldiers circled around it, striking with their weapons, but each wave of its massive hand threw them backwards. Its eyes burned with hatred and bloodlust as it crushed through their ranks.

"Are you okay?" Rayne saw Kesh offering a hand. He took it, hoisting himself up, eyes never leaving the troll.

"We need to go help them." Rayne saw hesitation in Kesh's eyes before he nodded. He gripped his sword tightly, made sure his shield wasn't broken, and rushed at the troll. It roared, baring its teeth as more soldiers came at it. One spearman got close enough to thrust his spear into its calf, but it barely lodged itself in the flesh before the troll gripped and crushed it. It took a step forward toward the man, hands moving to grab him. Rayne made his move then.

He lunged with his sword, aiming at the back knee of the troll. Unfortunately, it saw the strike coming, turning just in time. Rayne ducked, wind whipping past his head, and stabbed the troll's knees. It cried out in pain, kicking at him. He rolled on the ground, dodging again. Taking advantage, more soldiers rushed in. Sword, spear, axe, arrows—all of them hit the troll in succession. It swatted away the arrows like they were nothing and roared at the soldiers.

They flinched at the sound, but some still closed in on it. John made a line across its chest before dodging away from a strike, and an arrow lodged deep in its back. Another pair of shrieks took his attention away from the troll, and he saw more goblins rushing at them.

"Fuck," he cursed, looking back at Bran and the other archers in the back.

"Bran, handle the goblins. I will kill the troll!" He didn't wait to see if the man heard him. Rushing forward, Rayne stepped out of the way of another strike that passed by his left, taking another soldier out. He balanced his body and swung his sword straight at the injury John had made. It seemed to already be knitting together, and more ichor sprayed out as he cut deeper through it. The troll yelped in pain, fist coming down at him like hammers.

Rayne rolled between its legs, pushing himself up and jumping straight at the arrow lodged in its back before it could turn. He landed a foot on it and felt it crack, and hoisted himself up to the troll's neck. His blade came down right at it. Nate and another soldier slashed at the knees just in time as he twisted his blade, shoving it deeper into the troll's neck. A weak, painful noise came out of its throat. Rayne heard a "fuck" in the goblin's tongue as the troll smashed to the ground.

Everyone was upon it before it could turn around. Swords and spears stabbed through its body everywhere as disgusting, wet blood pooled on the ground beneath it. It thrashed beneath them, one last attempt at survival, but soon went limp. Rayne took out his sword only once he heard the notification. Cheers erupted all around him as a few crashed on the ground while others moved to check on the fallen. He saw Kesh and Nate checking on Heins, who seemed to have cracked his bones but was alive.

Rayne turned his eyes away from them and saw goblins on the ground, arrows embedded all over their bodies. More stood at a distance, but weren't coming closer after the death of the troll. But the battle still raged on everywhere else. Smoke and death were everywhere. Dozens of trolls fought hundreds of soldiers while goblins took advantage of it and broke through formations. As he had heard before, shield lines seldom worked against monsters that could break through them with a swat of their hands.

He saw no signs of the warlord still, but Casper and Edran fought three trolls themselves at the edge of the battlefield. The squad leaders and veterans did the same. But the ordinary recruits and forsakens died every few seconds. Looking at the trolls, he didn't only see enemies, but opportunity. He hadn't gotten the regeneration skill yet, and knew it was the best opportunity. With so many trolls, at least one of them would drop a skill. That alone, other than wanting to save men, made his decision.

"We need to go help the others. Battle isn't over yet," he shouted over the other hushed conversations.

"Let's go!" Rayne only saw a few head nods before he charged at another troll that was in the process of sweeping through soldier ranks with an axe. It heaved through them, swinging in a half circle as blood and body parts flew in the air. He felt bile rising at the sight. Still, he rushed in, closing onto the troll's right hand. Just as it swung the axe again, his blade bit into its flesh. It screamed in pain, the grip on the axe loosening for a second. But its left hand swatted him away.

Rayne tumbled across the ground, tightly holding his shield and sword before hitting the earth. His vision shook for a second and the ground trembled beneath him as the troll charged at him. He panicked, taking out his daggers and throwing them. But the troll ignored them even as they cut through its flesh. It held the axe with both hands and swung down. Rayne rolled, barely missing the steel edge. The hairs on his back rose as another strike came, but met his shield.

He stood up the next second as the troll rushed in again. Fury burned in its eyes as Rayne kept dodging the strikes, trying to put distance between them. More arrows and daggers embedded in its back, but it ignored them for one single target. Rayne cursed as ducking and dodging got harder and harder. The other soldiers seemed convinced that getting closer would end in a swift death and kept aiming at it from afar. One arrow even passed by Rayne's right, almost hitting him.

If not for the troll's rage that made it put too much strength into every attack and hinder its speed, he might have already been minced meat. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. But as he dodged another strike that passed above his helmet, an idea struck and he grabbed a handful of dirt, then jumped back as the axe crushed the earth where he had been standing. He let the dirt fly through the air, straight at the troll's eyes.

To Rayne's surprise, it didn't shield its eyes, but let out a loud sneeze. Rayne jumped at the troll, taking the opportunity. His blade came down at its knees, taking a large piece of flesh. He did the same with the other knee before the troll could attack again. Ichor sprayed at him, but he only grinned. He moved back as he felt the troll shift, but he hadn't taken three steps back when a punch hit him straight in the chest. He flew back, landing on his back. Pain washed over him like rain and he groaned.

He looked down at his armour, a slight dent, but it had held. Feeling like asking Edran for the troll armour was the best decision of his life, he shakily stood up, eyes looking for the troll. But he saw it already on the ground. The other soldiers finally seemed to realise their job as they ganged up on it. The troll swung its axe, but only touched dirt. A spear stabbed through its eyes as it went down on the ground. It must have hit the brain as notifications rang in the back of his mind.

He had levelled up, but yet again, no skill graced his status.

"Thank you for the assist. May I know your name?" A soldier's voice took his attention before he could curse out his luck. He looked confused for a second before standing and nodding.

"Rayne Frayser." He saw the soldier's eyes widen under the helmet, but didn't stand there for long. Every second he wasted, more trolls and men died. He soon found his squad close by. They seemed to have gotten stuck with goblins when he had been dealing with the troll. Bran nodded at him in appreciation before pointing down at two trolls at the centre of the fields. A group of goblins were in between. Without wasting more seconds, they raced toward them.

The goblins saw them as they got close, but to Rayne, they were no more than easy mobs. He swung his sword in a wide arc when they clashed. The goblins jumped, but fell at his strike. Others swarmed in and died under the blades of the soldiers. He kept cutting through their ranks, their claws and weapons making no more than a scratch on his armour. Until finally, they reached the two trolls.

They seemed to be in the process of carving through a formation of soldiers who hadn't realised shields weren't going to work. He saw three of them get their heads busted by a punch and his heart skipped at the gruesome sight.

"Motherfucking bastards of whores!" Nate cursed. Rayne shared the feeling as one of the trolls met his eyes. He charged right at it, ready to have his revenge.

Casper's throat burned from muttering incantations, each syllable draining her mana reserves. The air burned with smoke and ash, every breath scraping her lungs. The forest blazed right behind her, towers of smoke rising high up in the sky. Her [Firestorm] spell had devoured the trees, burning dozens of goblins. The screams of the monsters still rang out from the ashen forest, yet they still jumped out of the flames.

Goblins and trolls poured out like a never-ending tide, and she wondered if it was ever going to end.

"Casper, a little help here?" Captain Edran's voice rang out, bringing her focus back to the trolls he faced. Two of the massive, ugly monsters raced at Edran who jumped out of the way of their strikes. Her eyes could barely catch his blade as it carved blood through the trolls' flesh. Her gloves flared up with mana as one of the trolls swung a greatsword at the captain. Runes lit up in front of her and they burned through the air to form the spell matrix.

She muttered each word of the incantation with utmost focus and the matrix burned brightly before hundreds of infernal ropes lashed out at the trolls. They swept across the plains, burning grass and latched onto the two trolls, blackening their skin and keeping them in place as they cried out. Edran took the chance, racing at them, blade glowing red hot. She saw him jumping straight for their necks and in two strikes, the trolls lost their heads, bodies falling on the ground with a thud.

She took back the infernal ropes just as another cry rose behind her. She turned just in time to see another troll burst through the fireline. Its green skin smoking, eyes filled with the same hunger and hatred as the other trolls. The monster stood half charred, looking across the plains before it turned to match eyes with her. The next second, it charged, roaring like a demon. Casper curled her fingers, another matrix forming in front of her right hand. Blazing balls of flames shot out of it.

The troll dodged one, but two of them hit it straight in the face. It tumbled backwards, crying and falling on its back. Another spell matrix was already at the tip of her fingers, a bigger, more compressed one. She used both of her hands to keep it contained.

"[Lance of Destruction]," she muttered just as the matrix flared with mana. A lance of flames punched clean through the troll's chest, exploding and bursting from its back in a shower of sparks. The creature staggered, coughing black smoke, blood bursting out before collapsing in the dirt. Her chest heaved. One troll down. Dozens more to go.

"You did well," Edran's voice made her turn.

"Unfortunately, there seem to be far more trolls than the scouts reported."

"And goblins," she added, looking across the plains. If she had to describe what she saw with one word, it would be chaos. Death and blood were in every corner of the plains. Goblins and trolls killed soldiers every second while they themselves died in a shower of blood. It was almost hard to say who had the upper hand. Amongst the chaos, she saw the squad leaders and soldiers facing the trolls. Axel moved like lightning, dodging every strike while Gregory took a troll head-on, axes clashing with each other.

Out of all of them, her eyes stayed on Rayne Frayser for the longest. He took on a group of trolls with his party, being the only one to close in to their guards, carving a line of blood and dodging back. He moved with almost a suicidal tendency, yet his approach proved successful. She saw one of the trolls collapsing as his blade took both of its eyes. Despite that, he looked only frustrated as he jumped towards the next one.

Casper didn't keep looking, turning her eyes towards more of the massive beasts that burst out of the forests. Yet even as she hurled [Fireballs] and [Blazing Walls] towards the trolls with Edran closing into them, she saw no signs of the warlord. Was it aiming to exhaust them? She couldn't be sure, but kept it as a possibility as three more trolls died to her and Edran. One lost its legs with a [Fireball] blazing its face. Another died to another lance while Edran took the neck of the third one.

All died with painful screams. Among them, they had already killed dozens of trolls. And there were more waiting for them. But as she and Edran rushed towards another pair of them, they halted. A wave of mana swept through the battlefield and a roar pierced the sky. Casper's heartbeat quickened. The remaining goblins and trolls let out their own roars. The ground shook and her eyes locked with the firelines, just as a massive foot stepped out of it.

The axe showed itself next, then the hands and legs, and finally, it emerged fully. Flames curled harmlessly across its hide and its mismatched eyes glared across the field, tusks gleaming in the firelight. If the trolls were massive, the warlord stood as a behemoth. Another massive wave of mana rolled out of its body, causing fear and anxiety in her heart. She matched eyes with Captain Edran who looked equally terrified.

"Do you think we have a chance?" he asked, looking down at his blade, dripping with troll blood. Casper didn't reply for a second.

"We will just have to find out. But you know we can't afford to lose." Edran nodded, taking out a vial of grey, simmering potion and charging right at the warlord. Casper followed him, another matrix forming in her hands. It was time to end it.

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