Chapter 63 Unexpected Events
The Long-Horned Troll led the “Savior Squad,” a four-member team, boldly toward Village No. 2, making their presence particularly noticeable as they walked across the shallow snow.
George was still worried that the Long-Horned Troll would realize he had been tricked and feared that other trolls would see this poorly executed deception. Ji Ma held onto his sword, the hilt angled toward George, ready to draw his great sword at a moment’s notice.
Yet Ji Ma showed no concern that the ruse would be uncovered. Instead, he poked the tip of his spear at the Long-Horned Troll and shouted, “Run faster! If you dawdle, the blessing won’t wait around for you like a fool!”
The Long-Horned Troll opened his foul-smelling mouth and shouted a few times at Ji Ma but obediently started running; trolls are quite fast when they take off, much faster than ordinary humans.
The four scrabbled to keep up (Ji Ma was flying).
They ran along the shoreline of the freshwater lake, passing by the hometown of the child Dagji. Several bloodstains were present beside the collapsed wooden doors, along with chewed-up leather boots and longswords. There were no bones or scraps because trolls eat humans, digesting everything, bones included.
George felt uneasy.
At the entrance of the town, many trolls pointed at this strange group, just as Ji Ma had thought: as long as there was a troll leading the way, they wouldn’t immediately associate them with enemies or food.
Everyone’s worries were considerably eased.
Thus, this odd group of five ran along the road toward “Village No. 2.”
A large crowd of foul-smelling trolls emerged from the dirt path at the town’s entrance, with a conservative estimate of over thirty. These trolls formed a formidable fighting force that an ordinary village like Kisri could hardly withstand.
“Stop!” shouted a larger troll, likely a mutated troll, visibly marked by twisted blessings from the Dark Four Gods.
He looked like a man in his forties with a fat belly, a large mouth chewing something, three curved horns on his head, and blue eyes on his shoulders.
The blue eyes… Blue, eyes, are characteristics of the Lord of Deformity’s blessing, which meant this mutated troll probably possessed a brain smarter than that of an ordinary troll.
The multi-eyed mutated troll blocked their way, and all five stopped.
After the Long-Horned Troll explained their intentions, the multi-eyed mutated troll squinted his five eyes at the four members of the Savior Squad and raised his voice:
“How can there be fully armed humans and high elves together?”
It was in perfectly pronounced Kisri language, with a calm and firm tone that didn’t sound like a foolish troll.
“Let me explain,” Ji Ma smiled as he stepped forward, “I am a messenger of the Dark Prince Se Nie…”
“Don’t explain first, everyone surround them.”
The three-meter-tall troll stomped on the black soil, raising a bloodied club, preparing to close in.
George’s heart tightened, and his hand lifted slightly, sensing that conflict was inevitable. He glanced at Jenna, who could distort light and see the surroundings from high above, clearly understanding the situation. He didn’t know if it was convenient to act directly here.
But Jenna showed no intention to act. She shook her head slightly, and George trusted her judgment, refraining from taking action.
Ji Ma lied, “We don’t have any humans here, not a single orderly race.”
The multi-eyed mutated troll looked at Ji Ma with disdain.
At this moment, the Long-Horned Troll spoke up, saying, “What she said is true; she is a blessed mother troll suffering from skin disease.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the nearby trolls preparing to encircle them immediately took several steps back.
The Long-Horned Troll pointed at the four-member group and said:
“He wields a great axe, a black orc; she is the elder goblin archer, and this one is also a mother troll.”
Delivered as a rumor through another, Ji Ma quietly invoked the power of lies to enhance its persuasiveness. Many trolls nodded; the more they looked at these people, the less they resembled humans.
But the multi-eyed mutated troll snorted:
“Do you think I’m a fool? Look at that armored fellow; there’s a note stuck on the armor. He’s definitely a knight of some god.”
Ji Ma remained composed and said, “Black orcs wear armor; he wears armor too. Orcs shout loudly ‘Waaaaagh—’ George, shout ‘Waaaaagh.'”
George felt it was absurd, but out of trust in Ji Ma, he made an effort to look like a green-skinned orc and shouted with his head held high: “Waaaaagh!”
“So…” Ji Ma coaxed, continuing to ask, “What do you see him as?”
According to Ji Ma’s experience, people tend to believe conclusions they come up with themselves. Guiding the other party to think is much easier than directly lying or fabricating a conclusion.
The multi-eyed mutated troll fell into thought, rubbing his chin with his large hand, saying, “Hard-shelled black orc?”
Ji Ma clapped his hands, saying, “Exactly.”
“But he’s not black.”
Ji Ma smiled without answering, pinching his nose to block the horrible stench from the surrounding trolls, while pointing to the clean, white snow in the distance that had not been desecrated by trolls.
The multi-eyed mutated troll suddenly understood, wisdom gleaming in his blue eyes: “To hide in the snow and not be discovered?”
Ji Ma grinned and gave a thumbs-up: “You truly are the smartest troll I’ve ever met.”
The multi-eyed mutated troll laughed: “Almost misunderstood you.”
George, Jenna, and Eve Frostleaf exchanged glances, looking at the multi-eyed mutated troll as if he were foolish. George had rarely seen Ji Ma lie so directly to deceive someone, as he usually preferred to take things out of context and trick himself.
Now he had gained new insight into how absurd Ji Ma could be in using extraordinary power to deceive others.
“I’ve never seen a goblin archer that’s not green,” the multi-eyed mutated troll said, gazing at Eve Frostleaf and taking in her smooth skin, long legs, and the silver hair drawn into a long ponytail. He concluded, “So ugly.”
Eve Frostleaf’s hand holding the bow slightly trembled.
Ji Ma stated seriously, “Then you better chase after the blessings you’ve been given quickly. Otherwise, if other trolls find out, it won’t be as easy to grab them.”
A whole bunch of gilded and jeweled human children were waiting for everyone to snatch them, and the news quickly spread through Village No. 2.
The trolls couldn’t sit still, and humans no longer cared, wanting to rush inside the houses, lock up, and first chase after blessings.
But the multi-eyed mutated troll insisted on keeping half of the trolls behind to escort the “two-legged sheep,” gathered together as food on the way.
Ji Ma suggested, “We can help you watch the humans.”
Some trolls shouted, “Great! You’re a good troll!”
But the multi-eyed mutated troll skeptically scrutinized Ji Ma, waving his hand and saying, “No!”
Then he arranged for half the trolls to pursue the so-called blessings while keeping the other half in the village to escort the humans out of town, supervising personally.
The fortunate trolls selected were excited as they left. Originally planning to lead them, the multi-eyed mutated troll kept a close eye on the four unexpected guests.
The humans were again driven out of the houses, mostly women, looking dejected, with blank eyes and noticeable tear streaks on their faces. The trolls only needed to wave their clubs; sometimes even raising a club wasn’t necessary. The notoriously violent Northerners, subdued like sheep, formed a flock and followed the trolls toward an unknown slaughterhouse.
The total number was around two hundred, but the trolls left to keep watch were less than fifty.
Some trolls complained, saying ten trolls were enough to escort these people, yet they left so many behind.
George looked at the group of pitiful souls and sighed. They had witnessed their hometown being overrun, warriors defending it being crushed and eaten, and seen neighbors splattered into pulp while trying to flee, with bits hitting their own pants.
These people’s spirits had long been killed by the trolls.
But he could still bring them back to life.
However, now was not the time to act; the half of the trolls had not gone far yet, and as walking two-legged sheep and backup food, the crowd had not yet left the town.
According to the original plan, they intended to act midway, ambushing the trolls, and escaping with the people.
The multi-eyed mutated troll walked ahead of the “Savior Squad,” his back eyes constantly observing the four.
Eve Frostleaf approached and came to George’s side to whisper. George removed his helmet and leaned in to listen. Eve Frostleaf’s exterior was very “cold,” but her warm “tone” when speaking whispered in his ear, drilling into his ear canal.
“The multi-eyed monster just secretly called someone to notify the other trolls.”
George glanced at the trolls scrambling to grab their blessings; he could still see their figures and estimated their speed, realizing they would need ten minutes to return. And the route from the town to here might take around twenty minutes, given the trolls’ speed.
George nodded and put on his helmet, preparing to wait a few more minutes before acting.
But then, a voice arose from the crowd: “You… you are a paladin, here to save us, aren’t you?”
A man walked over, his face full of hope. He lowered his voice to avoid being discovered by the trolls.
But he didn’t realize that the nature of George quietly chatting with his companions was different from this.
“Do you know him?” came the voice of the multi-eyed mutated troll, who turned his head to look at George with all five eyes.
