No expected night raid came, and everyone was in high spirits the next morning.
"Fortune be praised, we've made it to Quel'Thalin in one go," Halduron-明翼 encouraged his men. He did not forget to cozy up to Shane either, sending over fine food and fresh milk.
It was not the hard bread gnawed on by ordinary men, but rather sponge cake dotted with meat floss, kept quite well preserved by a preservation spell.
The convoy pressed on, with another two days of travel remaining before they would reach Quel'Thalin, where they would rest for a day before continuing south. Good fortune rarely stayed by one's side for long, however, as the axle of one of the wagons snapped. Halduron-明翼 immediately had his men transfer the cargo and then shove the wagon down beneath the roadbed.
Shane saw that the cargo consisted of weapons and armor, bearing faint traces of magical aura. Judging by his own experience, they were all 'green gear'. The word 'smuggling' instantly popped into his head. If he were a more despicable person, he could seize the opportunity to extort them. Still, what did that have to do with him? Sitting atop the magic Construct, he had tea at his elbow and a book in his hand.
Halduron-明翼 made no particular remark, and the convoy moved on.
The further they got from Quel'Thalas, the scarcer the magical energy grew in the air, yet the atmosphere held a different kind of ease. Compared to Silvermoon City's cloyingly thick sensation, the air here felt normal.
For the first time, Shane felt such refreshing air, and he breathed it in deeply a few times. It truly was different; the magical energy was primitive and clear. Closing his eyes to meditate, his mana replenished smoothly. Compared to the radiation beneath the Sunwell, it was scarce like a trickling stream, yet it never broke off.
"User, a large number of humanoids detected one thousand meters ahead."
Opening his eyes, he saw a mountain pass ahead where the road was sandwiched between two rolling hills. For some reason, Shane was reminded of Capernian's cleavage. Dense broadleaf forests covered the hills on both sides.
"Can you determine the quantity?" Trolls, Shane judged-it could only be trolls.
"Distribution exceeds detection range; unable to determine."
At a time like this, the best course was to halt the convoy and set up defenses. Shane searched the ranks for Halduron-明翼, who happened to ride a Hawkstrider right up to the foot of the Construct.
"Master Mage, we will make camp after we pass the pass. We've been delayed quite a bit by the accident on the road, so it might be a little late."
"If it's only that, I don't mind," Shane looked down at him from above. "However, you'd better stop right now and send someone to scout the pass ahead."
"Is there a situation?"
Naturally, Shane could not expose his secrets. "Your force is only seventy or eighty strong?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"Transporting special goods?"
"Yes."
"Then I can't imagine any reason for the trolls to let you pass."
Halduron-明翼 dispatched two scouts to ride ahead for reconnaissance. The wagon train made camp on the spot, slowly forming a ring; they would travel no further today. The two scouts rode up to the edge of the forest and stopped to observe inside. One of them unslung a short bow, nocked an arrow, and loosed it. A piercing 'chirp~~~~' sound traveled far into the distance.
Shane had read about that in books; it was a ranger's signaling arrow, shot into the forest to startle the snakes in the grass.
"If there are trolls, with their level of discipline, they can't hide," Halduron-明翼's voice sounded beside his ear in explanation.
Just as he finished speaking, the two scouts tumbled off their Hawkstriders, and immediately afterward, the two riderless mounts were pinned to the ground by javelins.
"They're here," Halduron-明翼 leaped, hastily sounding the alarm and telling everyone to take up their weapons and prepare for battle. Shane's position was the highest, and the trolls down there were laid out in full view-green-skinned, rolling out from the forest like a green carpet. They wielded all sorts of weapons, even wooden clubs and stone knives. Almost none of them had complete clothing. As they walked, they roared or brandished seemingly massive weapons to display their martial prowess.
"Three hundred, four hundred, four hundred ninety-eight. Quantity confirmed at four hundred ninety-eight. Three peculiar individuals discovered, containing special energy," the Eye of Truth reported the numbers. "User, prepare for combat. Aside from the three anomalous individuals, the rest cannot effectively defend against the user's spell attacks."
At this moment, Halduron's men climbed atop the wagons, drawing swords and bows to prepare their defense.
"Do you mind if I take a spot here?" Hawkins-炎鹰 appeared. He had spent the entire day cooped up in a wagon letting his two female retainers comfort him.
"Of course I don't mind."
Hawkins-炎鹰 stood upon the Construct's hand, being hoisted up to the same height as Shane.
A thousand meters was very short for trolls. Just as the defenses were set, they charged close. The first volley of arrows rained down, dropping a dozen or so. Arcane brilliance fell in succession: Sharpened Weapons, Sturdy Armor. Hawkins-炎鹰 channeled his mana continuously as Arcane energy formed in his hands, and most of the men received enhancements.
His primary specialization is Transmutation.
Shane also cast Level 4 Summon Monster. A giant boar fell from the sky, slamming into the ground and crushing a few enemies who failed to dodge in time, then went on a wild rampage with its target set on one of the three witch doctors.
The second volley of arrows flew out, with better results than last time as over twenty were shot down.
Immediately afterward, a Pyroblast exploded on the outer perimeter, clearing out an open patch of ground. Hawkins-炎鹰's cheeks turned purplish; he had activated Icy Veins. While the metamagic buff still lingered, he continued to cast Pyroblasts, driving forward with one breath and actually preventing the trolls from closing in.
The situation did not seem all that difficult.
"Look!" Shane signaled for them to pay attention to the troll witch doctor. His boar broke through several layers of obstruction and, seeing it was about to overturn a witch doctor, a flash of smoke later, the boar turned into a frog and was cleaved in half by a passing troll with a single blade.
The trolls seemed to have grown cleverer; they stopped charging the front and began circling around to the flanks.
"Lord Shane, we've dragged you down. If I survive this battle, I'll agree to whatever demand you make," Halduron-明翼 said, thoroughly dejected. Surrounded, everything was finished, yet a feeling deep in his heart told him that the seemingly more reliable Shane might just have a chance to turn the tables.
The trolls surrounded the convoy without rushing to attack. A few roars echoed from within their ranks, and the trolls parted a path. Three witch doctors stepped forward, followed closely by dozens of subordinates wielding metal weapons.
"They're warriors. Pay attention to the throwing axes at their waists; those are the fatal things," Halduron reminded Shane.
The foremost witch doctor gibbered a great deal at the convoy, laughing smugly and prompting hundreds of trolls to howl with laughter together.
"What are they saying?" Hawkins-炎鹰 asked Halduron.
"Don't understand. Probably that if we surrender without a fight, they won't eat us, hahaha."
"This joke is too terrifying. If I survive the battle, I'm heading back home to marry my two retainers," Hawkins-炎鹰 said.
"That being the case, if I survive too, I'm going to join the Farstriders," Halduron-明翼 said.
"Then what about you, Mage Shane?"
If the two of you die, it'll be entirely your own fault, Shane thought derisively. The strength of the three witch doctors had been roughly calculated by the Eye of Truth; their power tiers were basically on par with Shane's, and the odds of winning were high.
"I neither want to die, nor will I die. The two of you had better cherish yourselves properly."
Shane commanded the Eye of Truth in his mind. Eye of Truth, allocate trajectories and assist with hits.
"Understood, executing."
Shane activated his mana to the absolute limit, pushing his output to an unprecedented peak as forty times the seal glowed brilliantly. The Arcane Blaze on his head spread to his shoulders, its light spiking up by a meter. The three tri-elemental orbs that had been spinning above his head instantly blanketed the background sky in the blink of an eye.
Fortyfold casting, Frostfire Arcane Missiles!
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