"Kill you scum, you fucking scum!" The human was raving mad, cursing wildly as he swung his hand axe. The Trolls were taken aback and dared not get close enough to face his fury.
Watching the man, surrounded and raving senselessly, Tian Sang felt a surge of inexplicable anger. He shoved aside a Troll blocking his way, then flicked his wrist and hurled the short spear in his hand at the frenzied figure.
The spear pierced the man's side, checking his movement. Tian Sang seized the opening, rushed forward, and grabbed the arm swinging the hand axe. Then he clamped a hand around the man's neck and lifted his stout, six-foot frame effortlessly before him.
"Ugly freak, kill me! I'm a hero of the Alliance." The six-foot-tall human looked at the blue-gray face before him. His bloodied face twisted into a sneer of contempt.
"Die." Tian Sang looked at the contemptuous human. The tusks at the corners of his mouth shifted slightly as he twisted the three fingers gripping the man's neck and snapped it like a chicken's.
"Why did you kill him? Wouldn't it have been better to take him back and sacrifice him to the goddess?" Lostro watched Tian Sang hold the limp corpse like a chicken. He pushed aside a fellow Troll and spoke. Offering a sapient being as a sacrifice to the Loa could grant them power.
"You forgot. My teacher forbids blood sacrifices." Tian Sang dropped the corpse and glanced at him with mixed feelings. He refused without a second thought. A living sacrifice could indeed grant power, but he couldn't stomach the process: gaining strength by consuming the body left behind.
"Take their weapons and armor. Leave the bodies here." Tian Sang didn't want to dwell on the subject of sacrifices. He looked up at the towering Troll and spoke.
"Why?" Lostro watched the man, who seemed somehow different after killing someone. Many people had gathered in Zul'Aman, and the corpses could be taken back as food—or fed to the Raptors if the Trolls wouldn't eat them.
"We can't retreat any farther. Zul'Aman is just beyond Battleaxe Ridge. These bodies can show the enemies behind us what happens if they come any closer." Tian Sang made up an excuse. He hated the human's insults, but he also hated the Trolls' cruel customs.
"Your call." Lostro's eyes shifted as he studied Tian Sang, but he said nothing more. He didn't hold Tian Sang's failure on the battlefield against him, either. If Tian Sang had had magic, he might have been able to stop the teleportation—but what would that have accomplished? They might have killed five more Elves and saved three more Trolls.
"How did you recognize them just now? Can you tell where they came from?" Tian Sang looked at the big man's somber expression, then glanced at the corpses on the ground. A question suddenly occurred to him: how had Lostro recognized them?
"From their gear, they looked like Farstriders from the Pale Ones—a band of elite rangers who specialize in hunting us. But I can't figure out why there were humans among them. As for how I recognized them..." Lostro paused.
"None of them were wounded, old, women, or children. They weren't panicking, and their skin, height, and features were too similar. Most importantly, the Farstriders have used this kind of shapeshifting magic to ambush our forces before."
"..." Tian Sang blinked and lifted his chin slightly as he watched the observant big man. Then he turned to look at the corpse nearby, whose armor the other Trolls were stripping off and whose weapons they were taking. A human among the Farstriders?
"All right, enough talk. We should get moving." Lostro saw that Tian Sang was still looking grim and patted him on the shoulder.
The group quickly gathered up the spoils, leaving several corpses in their underwear on the forest path. After weighing it over, Lostro decided to leave a scout behind to keep watch before leading the rest of the group away.
"You left a scout behind to watch them?" Tian Sang asked Lostro as they headed back.
"Of course. We have to keep an eye on those Pale Ones and the humans. Actually, we don't need to worry too much about them attacking Zul'Aman." Lostro looked at Tian Sang, who was pressing him for answers, and raised his tusks.
"Why?" Tian Sang looked at him, his tusks raised and his expression smug. He didn't quite understand.
"Are you an idiot? Because we have the Loa! With the Loa here, the Pale Ones won't dare attack our city. They'll go as far as Battleaxe Ridge at most, then turn back. They won't dare venture deeper." Lostro gave a derisive laugh.
"Are they afraid of being cursed? I don't think my teacher ever mentioned the Loa cursing any race besides the Trolls." Tian Sang blinked and spoke without thinking. Then he realized that might sound blasphemous, so he changed the subject.
"Do you know how those Elves transformed?"
"I don't. They probably used some kind of magical item or had a spell cast on them. We Warriors don't know the first thing about magic." Lostro shook his head. He had fought the Farstriders, but he knew little about their magic.
"Then can I take a look at their gear?" Tian Sang looked at the Elven equipment a Troll was carrying nearby.
"Of course. If you find anything, be sure to tell me." Lostro nodded.
With Lostro's permission, Tian Sang stepped forward and took one of the Elves' curved swords. The double-edged blade was light as a feather in his hand, far lighter than he'd expected. It was made of steel, but its weight was strangely low.
"Arcane?" Tian Sang looked at the nearly weightless curved sword and its gleaming edge, and a thought struck him. Had the blade been enchanted with Arcane magic?
Enchantment was an important branch of magic. It imbued an object—or even a person—with magical power, strengthening a weapon or giving it special properties.
For instance, an enchantment that reduced a steel sword's weight or increased its wielder's stamina could make the blade light as a feather. One that increased its damage against Trolls or sharpened its edge could let it cut through Trolls like vegetables.
Tian Sang wasn't sure, so he tried touching the edge of the Elven sword. The blade gleamed coldly. As soon as his finger made contact, a sharp sting shot through it, and the skin split open. The edge was sharp enough to slice through hair.
After testing it with his finger, Tian Sang tried striking a rock with the sword. With a sharp clang, the rock split—but the thin blade was nicked, too. Even so, the results showed that these weapons had indeed been enchanted to deal extra damage to Trolls.
Tian Sang then examined the Elves' armor and personal belongings. Without a doubt, every piece of their equipment had been enchanted to some degree. Even their packs held more food and arrows than they should have been able to contain. Their contents exceeded the limits of the materials they were made from. That was magic.
"Whew." Tian Sang drew a shallow breath. That Farstrider squad had been exceptionally well-equipped. It was hardly surprising that the Forest Trolls had lost to the Elves.
Before you continue