Chapter 60 Chapter 59 Untitled
There wasn’t much information from the child Dagji. Jima asked for twenty minutes and finished her inquiries. She walked in the direction of the meeting point with big strides, while the two children hurriedly followed, taking turns carrying the blanket, afraid of being left behind.
In the distance lay a small town surrounding the freshwater lake, all of which had fallen. It was broad daylight, and the sunlight fell on the snow, shining white. The brown woods nearby were one of the few different colors, the branches twisted at the ends, circling around like springs.
As the two children hurried along, they looked left and right, fearful of being spotted by trolls.
Jima was too lazy to tell them that from such a distance, the trolls wouldn’t be able to see their group, as a layer of “lies” was concealing them.
The journey was long. After walking for another sixty minutes, Dagji could no longer bear the fatigue. His legs went soft, and he fell into the thin snow.
Jima stopped and glanced at him. For a child who looked around ten years old, trekking through the wilderness for half an hour was quite impressive, which was also related to his good physical condition. After all, he had grown up in a land rich in magic.
The child Dagji looked at the black-haired Jima, noticing that her face wasn’t flushed and she wasn’t out of breath. Using all his strength, he wobbled to his feet and gasped, “I’m fine, I can keep going.”
“We’re almost there,” Jima pointed to a small slope ten meters ahead. “We’ll wait here.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Dagji let out a sigh and fell to the ground, bracing himself with his hands. His sister quickly grabbed the blanket and set it down before sitting down to rest. Meanwhile, Dagji had already lain on the ground, spreading his limbs out.
Jima pulled out a pile of pre-tied firewood from her dimensional bag, sprinkled it with black alchemical powder, and with her “simulation” ability, simulated Eve Frostleaf’s elemental fire. With a snap of her fingers, a cluster of flames fell onto the firewood, igniting it as black smoke rose slowly into the sky.
Even from a distance, the black smoke could be seen, including by the trolls.
Jima wasn’t worried that the trolls would become alert; it was just a plume of black smoke. Besides, the trolls should have already seen the bodies of two of their companions placed not far from the entrance this morning.
As long as the strength of the four of them remained undisclosed, that was sufficient.
During the wait, the two children couldn’t help but chat. Although they had experienced dark and cruel events, the nature of children remained.
“Sister, how did you take a cold shower today?”
“I didn’t take one.”
“Then how did you wash?”
“Last night, after you fainted, the demon queen took me to her palace and gave me a hot bath.”
In an instant, an indescribable dissatisfaction rose in Dagji’s heart.
At that moment, Jima, who was on lookout atop a tree, swooped down and said, “They’ll probably arrive in about ten minutes. Remember what I said, don’t interfere with my plans.”
The two children nodded again.
Dagji couldn’t hide his curiosity and asked, “Is your servant a demon?”
“No,” Jima replied. “At least half of the demons obey me, while the other half fear me. Among three, two are humans, and one is a high elf.”
“Humans?”
“Yes.”
“Are those humans just doing odd jobs?”
“No, they are warriors,” Jima said. “Together, they are barely half as strong as my true form. In my thousands of years, I seldom praise mortals like this.”
Dagji’s eyes widened. In his understanding, humans were the prey of trolls.
“You look surprised, child.”
“Can humans be that strong?”
“Let me put it this way: he can catch a troll’s full-strength blow with his bare hands, leap up, twist the troll’s head off, and smash it into its chest cavity.”
Dagji was half-convinced. He had seen warriors in the town, all muscle, turn into a pile of mush under the trolls’ attack. He witnessed despair, heard his mother being eaten alive.
So even if the “demon queen” told him so, he couldn’t fully believe it.
A sound of hoofbeats approached from behind the slope. Jima said, “Remember what I said.”
The two children chimed in unison, “We remember.”
Jima clapped her hands decisively, dissipating the “Silent Concealment Barrier” so that Eve Frostleaf couldn’t overhear their conversation.
Dagji and his sister curiously looked up the snow slope, waiting for the legendary human warrior who could smash a troll’s head into its chest to appear.
They first saw a high elf with silver hair dressed in white, floating gracefully in the air like a snowflake. Following that, a knight riding a sturdy white warhorse appeared at the top of the slope, his armor gleaming and heavy. Behind him sat a woman in white robes, who held onto his waist, while he held a rope leading Eve Frostleaf.
One end of the rope was tied to Eve Frostleaf’s belt so she could keep pace with the slower group.
The celestial warhorse galloped to the campfire where George dismounted, loosening the rope and stepping onto the ground, leaving behind a prominent footprint.
Jenna, who was seated sideways on the horse, jumped down and greeted Jima.
Dagji’s eyes widened; he was transfixed, unable to look away from George, staring at his gleaming heavy armor, the flail at his waist, and his gait.
His sister was also stunned, gazing at the tall high elf, admiring her silver hair, long ears, and unblemished armor. Eve Frostleaf shot her a glance before she turned her attention back to Jenna with the oval face.
Her skin was so pale, it almost glowed—so beautiful.
Eve Frostleaf untied the rope at her waist, formed a loop, and handed it to George, who slung it around his waist and raised his visor, revealing his handsome face.
Dagji scrutinized his features, concluding that he was indeed human.
“George, it’s been a day since we last met.”
Jima smiled and approached, also removing her veil from her face.
Dagji couldn’t help but think of the dog from Uncle Tom’s house next door, which would run out with its tongue hanging out to greet its owner as soon as they entered the house.
George said, “After half a day, these two are the survivors you rescued?”
“Yes, this boy is quite clever, having escaped from the fallen town. The trolls set a trap, and even the adults fell for it. But he identified the opportunity and managed to escape amid the chaos, carrying his injured sister.”
George looked at him, wanting to say something comforting but not knowing what words to use, he simply said, “You’re a brave child.”
Dagji opened his mouth to speak, but Jima, fearing George would waste precious time, said to settle Dagji, “I’ve already asked about the situation. Is there anything you want to know?”
“Everything.” George turned to Jenna, saying, “Could you display the map of the fallen town?”
Jenna replied, “Sure.”
“No need,” Jima interjected. “Didn’t I draw a topographical map for you?”
“Not detailed enough,” George pulled out a folded map. “It’s better for everyone to see it with their own eyes.”
“I clearly wrote it in enough detail,” Jima huffed, almost like she was being petulant.
Dagji took a glance at the drawing George had unfolded, feeling it was similar to his own scribbles with stones by the riverbank.
Suddenly, the surroundings darkened. Dagji looked up in alarm at the sky, seeing no clouds, only the entire sky transformed into night, dark and thick.
He felt terrified, glancing around, realizing that the demon queen and her three “servants” were completely unfazed. He only saw his sister looking as frightened as he felt.
Jima didn’t care about the feelings of the two children.
George reassured them, “Kids, don’t worry, it’s just Jenna adjusting the light to make it dark here.”
They didn’t understand what that meant.
“Adjust… the light?”
“Changing the path of the light.”
Dagji’s eyes widened in horror. “You mean turning day into night?”
Jima said, “You only need to know it’s not dangerous; just watch obediently.”
Dagji and his sister immediately closed their mouths.
The surroundings darkened, as if the sun had set, and the sky was pitch black.
Jenna made a gesture, and a beam of light was cast upon the slope, clearly revealing the image of the fallen town, as if seen from above in the air. Dagji recognized it immediately; it was his hometown.
The town was built on the shore of the eye socket-shaped lake, familiar houses stood quietly within the log-built walls. However, the residents inside had been replaced by towering monsters who bent over as they came out of the human houses, congregating together.
Dagji heard low cries and turned his head to see his sister covering her face, crying. He wanted to cry too, but as the older brother, he couldn’t.
Jima said, “Last night, there were one hundred and two trolls.”
George estimated, “We have a chance to crush and eliminate them.”
“Mobile warfare?”
“Exactly.”
Even they, facing a group of over a hundred trolls, would find it challenging. Killing the trolls wasn’t the end; they would also need to burn the bodies. But they could use their mobile advantage to draw them out; one troll could sprint quickly but a group would certainly struggle to keep up.
Once some trolls were separated, they could rush in and kill, burn them, little by little.
“That’ll be quite an effort, and we’ll need a lot of supplies.”
“This is the safest approach,” George said. “As long as we rescue people, there will be someone to guide us.”
“Indeed,” Jima said. “But this is ten towns, with nine other towns to consider. Jenna, enlarge the map.”
The projected image on the slope zoomed in, and Dagji’s hometown shrank, becoming as small as a shoe. At this point, they could see the ten towns along the lake shore.
“No need to count how many trolls are in each town,” Jima said. “There are over three hundred trolls in total. While we engage in mobile warfare to grind the opponents down, the trolls from the other towns will come running, and we might only be able to escape.”
George sighed, “We can only attack at night and rescue the survivors… Jenna, find the concentration point of the trolls’ captives.”
The image shifted again, first locking onto Dagji’s hometown, revealing many trolls gathered outside the town, and when zoomed in, they saw what they were doing.
They were having breakfast.
Humans were being herded like sheep from crowded houses to open spaces. Those who wouldn’t move or tried to escape were struck down by nearby trolls.
The image was very clear; Dagji recognized a neighbor who helped repair their roof, crying out, “It’s Uncle Tom!”
Dagji’s eyes widened as he saw the kind Uncle Tom attempting to flee. A troll brought down a heavy blow, causing him to collapse, his legs convulsing, as the troll picked him up and tore off his clothes…
Dagji couldn’t help but cry out.
Jenna kindly applied a “mosaic,” instantly making the scene far less gruesome.
After viewing the ten towns, Jima summarized, “We can rule out the first town; there are too few people left to have been eaten.”
“No,” Dagji wiped his tears and said, “Our town is the largest. People have gone into the mountains to hunt, and I saw an old hunter earlier.”
George said, “That’s a lie.”
Jima said, “As those incapable of protecting themselves, you should keep quiet and not lie.”
Recalling Jima’s earlier intimidation, the two children turned pale and immediately shut their mouths.
George said, “It’s normal to lie in this situation. Tell me, child, are you sure someone from your town went into the mountains to hunt?”
“Sure.”
“Then are there any survivors who could guide us?”
Dagji held back his sorrow and carefully replied, “I’m not certain, but… there definitely will be.”
“From a probability standpoint, I suggest finding a town with more survivors,” Jima said. “This child is only thinking of using us to rescue his acquaintances. As for whether there’s a guide inside, he doesn’t care. He’s never thought about how he could be here speaking. So whatever he says, you needn’t listen to.”
Dagji’s sister opened her mouth but found no words to say.
“Jima,” George said, “After the destruction of homes and the consumption of acquaintances, no one can remain rational. Don’t blame him.”
Initially ashamed, Dagji felt warmth upon hearing George’s words.
Jima replied with a noncommittal “hmm” and fell silent.
“Let’s start divining,” George said. “We need to confirm the number of survivors in the ten towns.”
“Okay,” Jima replied.
Jenna switched the screen, examining each town as Jima performed divinations while George recorded the number of survivors. Fortunately, the trolls were clustered in three towns, so the magical energy and time consumed weren’t excessive.
For child Dagji, there was bad news: his town had the least number of survivors.
His little face turned pale. “Why?”
Jima said, “It might be because you escaped yesterday, and I killed two trolls while rescuing you, which angered them.”
Perhaps Jima should save people rather than avoid conflict.
But Dagji didn’t think like that. He stared at George, enviously watching his armor, his steed, and his companion… it was just that such a powerful warrior was merely a servant of the demon queen.
Suddenly, the image changed, switching to a group of trolls, with a few large red characters appearing beside them.
“They’re heading toward our position.”
There were a total of eight trolls.
Without hesitation, George said, “Prepare to dodge, we cannot alert the trolls.”
The screen gradually zoomed out, revealing three towns with labeled numbers, and a few trolls started to walk out of the towns.
“Wait,” George said.
After observing for a while, it was clear that the originally scattered trolls were starting to congregate.
Jima reminded, “If the trolls gather together, we will have far fewer opportunities.”
“Prepare to attack Village Two.”
Dagji felt disheartened; his hometown was Village One.
George continued, “… Before we attack, we will eliminate these eight trolls. Jima, can you take advantage of the situation?”
“I can; just leave me two.”
George looked at the two children, pointing to a celestial warhorse about twenty meters behind them: “You two hide behind that warhorse; Old White will take care of you.”
The two children nodded.
The projection darkened, and Jenna touched her overheated forehead. Jima threw George’s dual-handed greatsword to him. George caught the sword and said to Jima:
“Open your barrier, reveal Old White and those two children; once they come close, we’ll launch a surprise attack.”
“Okay.”
George drew his sword, tossing the sheath to the ground: “Everyone prepare for battle.”
The heads of the trolls appeared at the top of the slope.
