Chapter 80 Chapter 79: Slaying the General
Strong and burly, the bald-headed warrior stood atop the second stone wall, his back adorned with a “head banner,” bearing the severed head of a troll that wore a face of terror, still opening its mouth as if speaking, blood staining its black armor. It emanated a strong aura of fear.
Even outside the range of this aura, a troll locked eyes with him, causing its heart to race with fear, leading most trolls to lower their heads and avert their gazes from his form. It was as if a dark deity was standing on the stone wall.
Manipulating the showmanship of the bald-headed warrior was the puppet master—Ji Ma, who was currently busy smashing “Flame Bottles,” hurling them onto the troll corpses. This ungraceful method was merely to conserve magical energy; sustaining the bald-headed warrior’s existence alone drained her power.
After the fourteenth troll corpse—also the last—had a Flame Bottle smashed onto it, Ji Ma wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead and walked to the edge of the stone wall. She saw that at the breach of the first city wall, trolls were stepping onto the rubble left by Eve Frostleaf’s newly erected stone wall and were pouring in. Their numbers were so vast, it looked like a flood gushing from a breached dam.
The fear emanating from the bald-headed warrior was of no use; it could not even slow the trolls’ advance by a fraction.
Ji Ma glanced back; the dwarves were cursing as they climbed down from the wooden ladder, still yet to finish their descent. Since there was no gate in the third stone wall, Eve Frostleaf could not create a more complex defense.
Even though the “Savior Squad” boasted an average of platinum-tier warriors, turning the tide was still difficult. With so many trolls, if they charged all at once, they could easily break through the third stone wall in one fell swoop, and after that, there would be no second chance.
The Savior Squad could only retreat, watching the trolls kill everyone from a distance.
Suddenly, she felt a sense of relief; at least she had tried her best. If this group of people died, she might find herself at ease.
A flashing “flower” bloomed at the breach of the first city wall.
Upon closer inspection, it was a blazing mass of light taking shape above the thick heads of the trolls at the breach, slowly moving, scorching their skin. Bubbles formed on their brown-yellow skin and soon turned charred black. The trolls shrieked and scattered like a startled herd of cattle.
Ji Ma noticed many trolls with scorched skin escaping from the light mass, yet not a single troll fell. The light mass drifted randomly to the sparse areas among the trolls, and the saint, Jenna, was unable to control it.
She glanced at the stone wall where George and Jenna were trapped. Shield-bearing Jenna was under siege by at least three trolls; there was no way she could maintain focus under such conditions.
Perhaps Jenna should have been standing on the third stone wall, Ji Ma thought. But then, George would be in danger all alone on the first stone wall.
The only effect of the light mass was to create chaos among the trolls, buying them at least ten minutes of time.
Ji Ma looked up at the sky filled with leaden grey clouds, wishing for sunlight. If only the sun were shining, they would only need to protect Jenna, so she could harness the sunlight to kill the trolls one by one, using much less magical energy.
One troll was just escaping the light mass, nearly out of its edge, when “whoosh,” an arrow struck its knee, sending it crashing to the ground, and the hot light mass engulfed it, making it the first and only troll killed by the light mass.
Ji Ma traced the arrow’s trajectory and saw a silver figure leap across the stone wall, landing nimbly beside her with only the sound of its scaled skirt making a noise as it fell.
“What’s the plan?” Eve Frostleaf asked, drawing her bow taut and releasing it with a crack.
“I’m thinking about how to retreat.”
“Curses?”
“That requires timing,” Ji Ma replied. “I can make them weaker now, but even a weak biscuit needs someone to crush it. I’m waiting for that power.”
Eve Frostleaf pondered while shooting arrows.
At that moment, a fully armed dwarven engineer rushed up to Eve Frostleaf’s side, quickly aiming a matchlock, and pulled the trigger: “Bang!”
A loud noise startled Eve Frostleaf’s long ears, and the smoke billowed towards her. However, an invisible wind blew the smoke back.
The dwarven engineer cursed as he walked away, grumbling, “Everywhere there are long-eared nuisances.”
The butcher following behind patted his shoulder in appreciation.
Eve Frostleaf glanced at the dwarves’ short legs and said, “Agreed.”
Ji Ma understood her meaning; if they tried to escape, the dwarves’ short legs would surely become the trolls’ black bread.
Ji Ma was waiting for the moment.
Jenna’s blazing light mass had not bought much time, as with the trolls’ River Witch’s magic, a new breach appeared in the first city wall, through which at least a hundred trolls surged in, centered around the blue troll king, tightly united.
At this moment, George and Saint Jenna burst forth from the stone wall, leaping from one pile of trolls right into another.
The troll river witch shouldered a bag filled with fishing nets containing numerous decayed human heads, grabbing one out, with pus dripping down her cheek, murmuring incantations as she tossed it toward George and Saint Jenna.
A shower of ashes fell upon the two, and George’s previously smooth movements stumbled as they became completely ensnared in the trolls’ mire.
Ji Ma squinted her eyes.
With the space being relatively broad, the trolls were able to leverage their numbers, and the troll king, under the protection of his kin, joined in the assault on George, who was at a severe disadvantage.
So why didn’t they directly attack George? They should have rushed him, stupid trolls.
As Ji Ma thought, she fixed her gaze on the troll king, who bore solid ice upon his body; inside his chest was a thick, dark mass representing greed.
Would greed help him attack George, or would he continue to batter the stone wall?
Ji Ma’s doubts were soon answered. The troll king pointed his large ice staff at the bald-headed warrior on the stone wall, bellowing. The ground trembled as he slammed the ice stick, causing ice pillars to shoot up and nearly topple the wall, forming an icy slope.
The trolls rushed toward the second stone wall, with chunks of rubble from the wall falling down.
Ji Ma felt somewhat dejected; if the trolls had chosen to deal with George and Jenna first, the situation would have been much better. Because throughout the encounter, George and Jenna had not demonstrated the prowess of diamonds; they were not so easily taken down.
Eve Frostleaf shot a fire arrow, embedding it into the ice pillar stairs. The flames erupted, catching onto the ice pillars, not melting them but causing a horde of trolls to slow their advance involuntarily.
The troll king roared, charging ahead, swinging his staff with great force against the ice pillar stairs, extinguishing the fire on top in an instant.
The dwarves joined forces with the humans to block the breach, but the troll king unleashed a torrent of blue frost, comparable to dragon’s breath. Armed refugees were caught off guard and engulfed in frost; with the dwarves shielding them, their upper bodies turned to ice statues while their legs remained soft.
As the cold dissipated, they all fell, frozen hands and heads rolling off in retreat. The dwarves found their steel shields momentarily frozen to the ground, and they struggled to pull them free. The only good news was that no dwarves had fallen, as their sturdy physiques and innate magical resistance held firm.
The troll king bellowed, “Charge!”
The trolls climbed the ice pillar stairs.
They were too cautious. If he could lead the charge, it would have been a prime opportunity to slay their general.
Ji Ma felt another pang of regret.
Suddenly, a dazzling red sphere of light rose from within the troll horde—this was George, issuing the slaying command as the captain.
A larger, brighter light formed, scorching the trolls beside them. Under the intense glow, those trolls that failed to escape fell limply within moments, their bodies charred black and burning, effectively “lighting” a path.
Now, George and Jenna were visible and full of vigor, showing no signs of weakness whatsoever.
George sprouted wings of light and leapt over twenty meters high, aiming for the troll king, shooting forth as a beam of light.
Jenna radiated light, lifting her hands as a human figure formed from it, flying at incredible speed across the battlefield, instantly landing behind the dwarves and raising her hand to dispel the ice blocks trapping them.
The butcher raised his axe, shouting, “Charge!”
A burst of light illuminated the scene as George flapped his wings, soaring through the air, delivering a Holy Slash toward the troll king. The king reacted instantly and reflexively exhaled at George, but nothing came out; he swung his ice cudgel instead, targeting George.
Ji Ma clasped her hands together, uttering a loud pop.
The trolls, including the troll king himself, froze momentarily, their muscles drained of force.
George’s Holy Slash effectively struck the troll king’s neck, causing the ice covering his skin to explode, repelling the sword’s force. Blue ice shards enveloped George, instantly forming a layer of ice on his surface.
Even so, the troll king felt a sting at his neck as the sword sliced him. He tried to roar, but his windpipe was severed, producing a hissing sound. However, this did not hinder his battle spirit.
His heart leapt with joy; this armored man’s attack was surely a trump card, something that could not be cast again for a while, so he آورد his cudgel smashing down on George without hesitation.
Who would have thought that George would shake himself free, shattering the ice, and another Holy Slash would come cleaving down? The white light filled his vision, leaving the troll king quaking in fear. This blow cleaved through the troll king’s chest and solid ice, severing his ribs and injuring his heart.
But that was all.
The troll king’s cudgel struck George forcefully, akin to hitting a baseball, sending George flying. All he could do was adjust his direction with his wings and crash into a troll, cushioning the impact and toppling three trolls as he came to a stop.
Without uttering a word, the troll king turned to dive into the horde of trolls, even with his chest wide open and heart nearly exposed, he pressed down and the wound knit itself roughly, not hindering his movements.
But in front of him stood a six-meter high stone wall, blocking his retreat and preventing many trolls from following.
In that moment, the troll king’s heart sank. Although his guards surrounded him, he still felt a wave of panic and cold. Glancing over, he saw George turning into a beam of light rushing towards him, with the dwarves protected by light charging closely behind.
The terrifying warrior in black armor leaped down with a weighty presence, pressing down upon him.
Meanwhile, his troll river witch finally reacted, hurriedly throwing a head at George, cursing him, but the next instant was dispelled by Jenna.
Under the assault from the dwarves, Eve Frostleaf, and the bald-headed warrior, trolls fell in batches to the ground. Jenna summoned a light star to shine upon everyone, and under its radiance, all wounds healed rapidly.
In just a few minutes, it seemed the slaying of the general was within reach. The troll king was quickly becoming an isolated figure, all the brave trolls that had protected him were either dead or scattered, leaving only a stupefied troll river witch by his side.
With no one to stop him, George raised his massive sword, swinging down in a fury. The bald-headed warrior slashed from another angle, and several glowing arrows aimed at the troll king’s eyes. Moreover, Ji Ma had cursed him, rendering his limbs sluggish and his solid ice weakened.
Just as George’s Holy Slash was about to strike him.
The troll king suddenly curled his body, deep blue solid ice forming around him out of thin air, encasing him like a sea-blue amber.
All attacks against the solid ice only succeeded in adding more cracks to it.
At that time, the stone wall trembled precariously, the temporarily erected wall couldn’t hold for much longer. When it finally collapsed, the trolls would surge in, and their numbers alone would ensure the failure of the slaying.
This solid “ice amber” could not be broken in such a short time.
Ji Ma felt a sharp pain in her chest; her magical energy was running low, and she could only hold on.
The troll river witch couldn’t help but burst into laughter: “Hahaha, no one has much in the way of life-saving abilities! Once the stone wall collapses, you will all fall! You will fall!”
George, the bald-headed warrior, and the butcher all turned to look at the troll river witch, who had just realized.
If they could not kill the troll king, how could they not kill you?
