Yu Lin Bloodhawk was watching the crystal ball. How could he spare any attention for their pointless betting? He told his adjutant, "Make sure to include this in the soldiers' future training. Endurance is a form of fighting strength too. That includes enduring fear, like this Troll here, as well as loneliness, soreness, pain, and many other things. In battle, emotional fluctuations can sometimes have very serious consequences."
The adjutant nodded in agreement.
Seeing him speak, the elves stopped to listen to their conversation.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk noticed and smiled. "Even holding back laughter counts. Think about it. If the elf fighting down there saw the Troll's nervous expression the way we do and couldn't help laughing, what would happen?"
"The enemy would definitely spot her," the adjutant said.
"Exactly. At that point, the advantage might reverse, and the elf would be chased all over the place," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "Every advantage could vanish in an instant. That Troll's prolonged fear will build up enough anger in him. Once he finds his target, all that accumulated fear will turn into fearlessness. He would rather die fighting to his heart's content than endure endless torment from fear. Even if someone else stabbed him from behind, he would ignore them and attack only the person who brought him that fear. It would be an utterly frenzied attack."
The officers felt their hair stand on end, but on reflection, they thought it made a great deal of sense.
"Sir, the corners of that Troll's mouth are twitching harder and harder," an officer called.
"Quick! Quick! Bring over the other crystal ball recording the whole scene and put them together. That'll give us a clearer view. Adjutant, keep his expression in focus. Something fun is about to happen," Yu Lin Bloodhawk called.
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