In fairy tales, a master, a powerful warrior, a demon king, or a final boss was usually defeated by some cockroach that couldn't be killed, smashed, or worn down. In the end, they would fall in despair, collapse, and disbelief—or leave behind some tough-guy line like, "I'll be back!" before turning tail and fleeing. That sort of thing shouldn't happen in real life. At most, you might get a classic "the villain dies because he talks too much" reversal.
Chen Jinyang felt like he was trapped in the fairy-tale villain's predicament. He, the righteous defender, had become the "demon king" about to be defeated, while the evil monster had taken the cockroach's place. Chen Jinyang had tried every method he could think of: crushing its skull, breaking its bones, tearing off its limbs, and torturing it. Yet he still couldn't kill the monster. Though the rather clumsy creature couldn't get the better of him for now, Chen Jinyang didn't think he could wear it down and win through sheer stamina.
The relentless, brutal attacks had drained Chen Jinyang's strength. Facing the increasingly violent monster, he was already thinking of retreating. At worst, his whole family could just move away and leave this broken-down village to the creature. But before leaving, Chen Jinyang needed to limit the monster's ability to move.
Chen Jinyang had realized long ago that the monster would go after any severed limbs first. He grabbed its left arm, twisted its joints to throw it off balance, and brought it to the ground. Then, with some effort, he wrenched off the monster's arm and threw it far away. Next, he severed its right leg and pinned it to a high tree trunk with a javelin.
Having lost half its limbs, the monster couldn't keep its balance. It repeatedly tried to retrieve its severed parts, but the tall tree thwarted its attempts; it couldn't climb up. In despair, the monster finally gave up on reclaiming its limbs and attacked Chen Jinyang again. Its missing limbs had greatly slowed its movements, but the madness and savagery in every move shook Chen Jinyang to the core. And then the last thing he wanted to see happened: the monster's severed limbs were rapidly healing and growing back. It would probably have a new limb within ten minutes or so.
Chen Jinyang watched the frenzied monster, bitterness filling his mouth. How could such a terrifying creature exist in this world?!
Dizzy, Chen Jinyang instinctively glanced back toward the village—and spotted something that infuriated him. Three uninvited spectators, one big and two small, were squatting on the wall, eagerly watching the show. Alos and Phinia were sharing a large piece of soft, freshly baked bread, while little Mishaer hugged an enormous Frozen Blue Lettuce and crunched away happily.
The three of them were laughing and chatting as they watched him fight below.
Chen Jinyang was shocked and furious. He broke free of the monster and ran a few steps to the wall, pointing at the three and roaring in exasperation, "You idiots! Get out of here! It's dangerous!"
To his surprise, the three clueless spectators remained where they were, still laughing. The little girl gnawed at the lettuce skin like a groundhog, spitting bits down the other side of the wall. Seeing how furious Chen Jinyang was, she cradled the Frozen Blue Lettuce, which was half the size of her head, in her left arm and waved her free fist, her flushed face full of excitement. "William, you're amazing! Go, big brother! Woo-hoo! Crunch, crunch!"
Then the little girl lowered her head and continued devouring her treat. Thanks to Chen Jinyang's example, this vegetable, which had usually been cooked, had become a fruit that could be eaten raw. The whole family had gotten hooked on crunching Frozen Blue Lettuce. Their supply had been rapidly depleted, and there wasn't enough left. Now, only Mishaer could eat as much as she wanted; everyone else rarely got even a bite.
Little Alos took a bite of bread and struggled to swallow it. Then he said admiringly, "William really is amazing. He actually dares to play a wrestling game with a 'Trill' here! Mishaer, my dear little sister, could you let me have a bite of your Frozen Blue Lettuce?" The bran mixed into the bread scratched his throat. Little Alos put on a fawning smile and begged the girl sweetly, his eyes fixed on the tuber in her hands.
"What did you say? Playing a game with this monster? You idiot! I've been busting my ass and still can't kill it. What the hell is this thing?" Chen Jinyang shouted from below, half angry and half amused.
Perhaps the monster was starving. Seeing that it couldn't catch Chen Jinyang, it suddenly turned away and went to eat the wild ox carcass.
Alos's little scheme failed. He cleared his throat and explained, "'Trill'—a troll. It means an unkillable giant. You spent all that effort trying to kill it? Don't tell me you don't even know how to kill a troll. 'Even a fool knows trolls can't be beaten to death.'" It was a Faerun saying, like how we'd say, "Even a fool knows you have to eat when you're hungry." At this point, little Alos awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. He'd only just remembered that big brother William used to be a fool.
Chen Jinyang watched the troll finish off the wild ox carcass and start running toward them. He asked impatiently, "Quit wasting time! Tell me how the hell to kill this thing!"
Little Alos didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Mishaer and said, "Dear little sister! Let me have a bite! Just one bite! Only one!" But the girl raised her Frozen Blue Lettuce high, keeping her greedy brother away.
Chen Jinyang turned to Phinia. The giantess was engrossed in finishing her bread and didn't have time to pay him any attention.
In the end, Alos got his way, and took a huge bite out of her Frozen Blue Lettuce. She glared at him and made a face, then eagerly called out to Chen Jinyang, "I know! I know how to kill trolls! Burn them!"
"Burn them?" Chen Jinyang's expression clearly said he didn't believe her.
The little girl pouted. "That's mean! William, you don't believe me!"
Chen Jinyang kicked away the approaching troll. As he watched the monster struggle back to its feet, he hurriedly asked, "How do I burn it?"
Alos cheekily slid down from the wall and scampered over to Chen Jinyang. He swallowed his food with some effort and said, "Watch this!" Then, full of himself, he turned to face the troll. Its limbs had already grown back. When it saw Alos approaching, it let out a savage roar, startling the boy into taking several steps back.
Alos strained and grunted for a long time before finally squeezing out a little ball of fire about the size of a ping-pong ball. He waved his hand, and the fireball drifted slowly toward the troll. To Chen Jinyang's great surprise, the troll, which had been relentlessly chasing him without a hint of fear, now backed away. Like a mouse that had spotted a cat, it scrambled to dodge the fireball. But the little fireball still struck its big toe.
The monster's foot immediately caught fire. Then the flames spread up its leg and over its whole body, as if it had been doused with oil. In just a few breaths, the enormous creature had turned into a blazing torch. The troll wailed and thrashed as the flames grew fiercer, leaving Chen Jinyang staring in shock.
"It's that simple?" he murmured, staring blankly at Alos. The monster that had been so tenacious it had nearly given him a complex had met its death in such a theatrical fashion. It felt unreal, like he'd fallen into a dream. Chen Jinyang stared vacantly at the burning creature, then turned to look at Alos.
"I'm pretty amazing, aren't I?" The boy stuck out his belly and raised his chin almost to the sky, his face practically begging for praise.
Chen Jinyang's expression turned serious. He grabbed Alos by the ear and scolded him, furious and embarrassed. "You idiot! Who told you to come down here?! What if the monster had hurt you? Hm?!"
He really did twist hard. The boy grimaced and yelped, "Ow, ow, ow!" Meanwhile, the little girl on the wall piled on, fanning the flames. "That's right! William, give Alos a good scolding! He stole such a big piece of lettuce while I wasn't looking." As she spoke, she held up the Frozen Blue Lettuce, now missing half of it, for Chen Jinyang to see.
After a bout of laughter and teasing, Chen Jinyang hoisted Alos onto the wall, ready to leave. The boy asked in a strange tone, "You're not just going to leave, are you?"
"What? Do you want to stay here all day?" Chen Jinyang asked, half puzzled and half indulgent, as he patted his younger brother's head.
The boy was back to his usual swagger. He cleared his throat with an air of importance. "Ahem! Looks like I'll have to explain a few things about trolls to my poor brother." Then he began showing off what he'd picked up from gossip at the tavern.
Trolls were terrifying carnivorous beasts found everywhere, from the polar regions and deserts to tropical jungles. Most creatures avoided them. They knew no fear, and whenever they were hungry, they attacked and hunted without pause. Trolls had insatiable appetites. They ate everything from maggots to Brown Bears and all sorts of humanoids. They usually hid near human settlements and hunted every resident until there was no one left.
Trolls didn't fear death. They threw themselves into battle without hesitation, madly attacking the nearest enemy. Even when confronted by flames, they would try to go around them and attack. Trolls feared neither swords nor hammers. Wounds inflicted on them healed at once. If a troll lost a limb or any part of its body, it could grow back within minutes. Even a severed head would quickly grow back. If you put a severed limb against the body, it could reattach immediately. Though trolls usually reproduced normally, just like humans, when they gave up looking for a missing limb and grew a new one, the discarded limb would grow into a new troll a day later! Countless cheetahs, wolves, and other beasts had supposedly eaten pieces of troll and then had a new troll grow inside their stomachs. (That was just something people said.)
Only fire and strong acid could truly harm a troll. Strong acid could suppress its regenerative ability and keep it from healing, while only fire could actually kill it. Any body part burned by fire could never grow back, and a troll killed by fire was dead forever. A troll's dry, rubbery hide was as easy to ignite as an oil-soaked kindling stick. An experienced warrior could even defeat several trolls with nothing but a torch.
After hearing little Alos's explanation, Chen Jinyang let out a long breath. What a terrifyingly brutal species: tremendous strength, a fearless fighting style, horrifying regenerative abilities, and an appalling way of reproducing. If they weren't extremely afraid of fire, and if their intelligence weren't so limited, trolls would absolutely be the greatest disaster in this world. The saying "everything has its balance" was indeed true. Even the mightiest beings had flaws they could never overcome.
But the purpose of martial arts was to overcome flaws—to make up for, and even transcend, humanity's weaknesses by breaking through limits, achieving a power akin to biological evolution. It was hard to imagine how difficult that was. Generation after generation, their ancestors and predecessors had passed down and refined these arts. The merit they had earned by leaving behind such defiant, wondrous techniques was truly immeasurable.
"Let's go! We'll talk about it back home!" Chen Jinyang glanced wearily at the burning troll corpse. The nauseating stench of burning flesh in the air made everyone wrinkle their noses.
Alos asked reluctantly, "What about the troll's severed arm and leg? If we leave them, by this time tomorrow, they'll have turned into two new trolls."
Chen Jinyang tapped the boy on the forehead. "We'll deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow!" With that, he climbed over the wall and left with the others, who had already had more than enough of the stench.
Chen Jinyang glanced back at the troll's severed limbs pinned to the distant tree and thought, Unkillable, indestructible, and immensely strong—what a perfect training dummy!
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