Assault on Tor'watha (2)

A squad of three troll headhunters moved silently through the jungle. There was no conversation, save for the faint rustling of bushes brushing against their bodies, and their dark skin tones blended almost perfectly into the surrounding gloom.

Once the troll patrol vanished from sight, the dim light beneath the tree they had just passed suddenly twisted silently, and the figure of an elf became increasingly distinct.

Lanlos glanced at the departing patrol and fixed his gaze deep into the mountain range.

These troll headhunters felt very wrong to him. According to his memories and historical records, while these trolls possessed a degree of darkvision, it would quickly atrophy without training.

So much so that troll night patrols, like ordinary people, required light sources such as torches to assist them. Clearly, the troll squad that had just passed possessed darkvision comparable to torchlight. Yet, as far as he knew, training such a squad required more than just time.

Using such elite and stealthy hunters for patrol duty made Lanlos almost one hundred percent certain that the camp Lor'themar spoke of truly existed!

Could it be...

A distant and vague memory surfaced in Lanlos's mind: a dungeon once abandoned by the developers, located in the ruins of the trolls in the southeast corner of the Eversong Woods.

Tor'watha.

No, the current timeline was roughly twenty years before the opening of the Dark Portal; logically, the Forest Trolls shouldn't be this arrogant, right?

The trolls had indeed brought great trouble to Quel'Thalas, but ever since the decisive battle between the High Elf and the human empire over two thousand years ago, the thoroughly scattered Forest Trolls had basically ceased to be an opponent the elves could take seriously.

Small tribes like the Darkpine and Vilebranch were nearly extinct, and the only ones left with any real threat were the Amani trolls huddled in Zul'Aman.

Aside from the abandoned dungeon, there was nothing in his memory related to Tor'watha. Lanlos couldn't help but feel a pang of regret; if he had completely devoured Tregra's soul when he killed him, perhaps he could have obtained the answers he sought.

However, that was just wishful thinking. A qualified necromancer, while drawing upon an enemy's soul, only absorbed the energy and essence within. Unless the opponent's soul had already given up resistance, it was almost impossible to fuse the consciousness and memories contained within the soul.

The consequence of doing so would likely cause the caster to develop schizophrenia or even have their own identity usurped by the enemy's soul. He still felt a lingering fear regarding that 'inner demon' from back then.

"Can't hold it... toilet..." A low, hoarse voice reached his ears. Regaining his focus, Lanlos immediately hid in the shadows. After 'eating' those Amani troll soul fragments, Lanlos had gained some understanding of these instincts rooted in the soul's subconscious; this was Troll Language.

Sure enough, a dark shadow darted out from the bushes ahead, looked around, and arrived at a clearing not far from Lanlos.

A brief silence followed, then the sound of rustling water left the elf mage's forehead covered in black lines, followed by a nauseating, pungent stench.

Damn it...

Lanlos tightened his grip on the Windrunner Blade at his waist. After hesitating for a moment, he chose to hold his breath and endure it.

However, the opponent's perception seemed to exceed his expectations.

"Strange... smell..." The troll muttered something under his breath, then actually unslung the spear from his back and began to walk slowly and cautiously toward Lanlos's position.

Discovered? Damn it! Without the ability to cast spells silently, he had no way to cast Invisibility without being detected. It seemed...

Gripping his scimitar tightly once more, Lanlos gradually tensed his muscles.

Ssh!

A faint sound of flesh tearing echoed. In Lanlos's surprised gaze, the tall figure standing inches away swayed and collapsed straight to the ground.

"Halduron?" Lanlos exclaimed, staring blankly at the ranger who had appeared before him.

Making a shushing gesture, Halduron's face revealed a hint of guilt: "Sorry, I didn't notice this troll when I arrived."

The rally point after Invisibility ended was supposed to be a blind spot for the troll patrol. No one could have predicted this troll would happen to come here to relieve himself; Halduron's exposure was, in a sense, excusable. Lanlos shook his head to indicate it was fine, then glanced suspiciously at the ranger's empty back: "Where is Lor'themar? Isn't he with you?"

"Not sure. I think he should have already broken through the blockade? That kid has always been rather aggressive." Using a smile to mask his embarrassment, Halduron was about to ask Lanlos to continue casting when the clamor of trolls drifted from not far away.

"They will discover their companion's death soon. We must..." Lanlos made a throat-slitting gesture; his intent could not have been clearer.

Although Halduron had a gentle personality, his judgment on the battlefield was decisive.

The two exchanged a look and, with tacit understanding, retreated back into the shadows. Not far away, two more tall figures slowly approached.

"He... is gone..." One of the trolls stopped not far from the corpse, clearly having noticed something amiss and preparing to fight or signal at any moment. As for the other, he unslung his spear and walked step by step toward the source of the bloody scent.

Just then, a low voice accompanied by obscure, tongue-twisting incantations echoed in the surroundings. The alert troll immediately snapped to attention, turned around, and raised his spear to attack the enemy in the darkness, but he was a step too late.

A beam of dim white light suddenly shot out from the shadows, darting into the troll's chest at a speed that left no room for reaction.

The next moment, endless exhaustion surged like a tide. No matter how much he resisted, his leaden eyelids slowly closed.

Thud!

Hearing his teammate collapse into a deep sleep, the other troll immediately tried to send a signal.

Slash!

The scimitar, like a willow leaf in the wind, lightly grazed the enemy's throat. As blood soaked his body, the troll, drained of strength, fell heavily into a pool of blood.

Wiping his blade clean with the beast fur on the opponent's body, Halduron came to Lanlos's side and glanced at the troll who had fallen asleep under the influence of the Sleep Spell: "How do we handle this one?"

Unexpectedly, Lanlos fell silent. Under Halduron's puzzled gaze, he spoke slowly: "Halduron, do you trust me?"

"What?"

"I feel like something is very wrong here, as if something we don't know is lurking behind us..."

"How is that possible? You're overthinking it." For the optimistic Halduron, the situation of being plagued by intuition like Lanlos would never happen to him; he only believed what he saw with his own eyes.

With a self-deprecating smile, Lanlos seemed to set down a burden: "Perhaps you're right. I might really be overthinking it."

"Alright, get ready. I'll cast Invisibility on you soon. Find Lor'themar; don't let him get caught by the trolls."

"Ha, don't worry. That kid is as slippery as an eel. These trolls won't be able to catch him!"

As expected of A-Qiang's eternal bottom... no, adjutant. Halduron had considerable confidence in Lor'themar's abilities. If there were little stars appearing in his eyes, he would be just like a fan meeting their idol.

Watching that blurred silhouette vanish once more, Lanlos slowly turned his head to look at the troll snoring soundly at his feet.

The resilience and strength of his soul granted Lanlos powerful perception, and he had accomplished many extraordinary feats by relying on it; this was his strength. Coupled with an incredible understanding of this land, he had every reason to believe that these trolls were here with ill intent.

Crouching down, Lanlos raised his right hand, feeling a bone-chilling wind sweep past as wisps of black-purple energy rose in his palm. It was like fire, yet it brought no light to this world.

Taking a deep breath, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Lanlos's eyes, and his hand, wreathed in black-purple flames, slammed down toward the troll's forehead.

Cold shadow energy slithered across the skin. Sensing the danger, the sleeping troll began to tremble, appearing as if it were about to wake from its slumber at any moment.

However, it was too late!

Transforming into sharp blades, the erupting shadow energy tore through flesh and rooted itself deep within the troll's brain. Soul and flesh felt as if they were being gnawed on by ants; the heart-piercing agony made the troll want to wail and roar, but Lanlos's other hand had already driven a scimitar down.

Blood splattered across the ground. The troll's wide eyes stared straight at Lanlos, as if they might pop out at any second, while low, muffled sounds emanated from its ruptured throat—like the growl of a vengeful spirit, hair-raising and gruesome.

Database updated...

Language: Troll Language

Talents:

Soul Harvest: Use a standard action to touch the target and utilize shadow energy to forcibly harvest the soul. Failure of a Will save results in immediate death; helpless living creatures or fresh souls require no save and are harvested directly. Casting requires concentration; if interrupted or if the save succeeds, the caster suffers 30-80% of their current health as damage and is silenced. Harvesting soul fragments restores a portion of mana and mental energy; harvesting a complete soul allows for the reading of partial memories and abilities, though there is a very high probability of side effects.

Basic Regeneration: Increases resistance to bleeding damage and slightly improves health recovery (Upgradable: 10/100).

Status:

Berserking: Attack, casting, and movement speed increased by 20%, casting success rate -30%, duration 2 hours 58 minutes, followed by exhaustion upon expiration.