Although Xiao'en had an unlikable personality, his mastery of the arcane was extremely solid.
Compared with the other two mages, his Blizzard not only covered a wider area, but also had a noticeably stronger slowing effect.
The Troll warriors charging at high speed abruptly slammed on the brakes upon entering the storm's range. The Trolls behind them could not stop in time and crashed into those ahead.
The chaos in the Troll formation was plain to see. Naturally, Charlemagne and the other rangers did not let this opportunity slip by, sending arrows raining down on the Trolls.
Commanding from the rear, Halazzi let out an angry roar when he saw the battle turning against them. Encountering these mages was the biggest headache for the Trolls whenever they attacked the elves.
Frost spells could slow the Trolls' advance, while fire spells could scorch their skin and muscles. Any creature of flesh and blood would inevitably fear fire.
With the great volleys of Arcane Missiles that emerged from time to time and the rangers' rains of arrows added to the mix, the Trolls, with their small population, still found it extremely difficult to inflict damage on the high elves outside Zul'Aman.
Since this was only a probing attack, Halazzi did not order his subordinates to continue forcing their way forward. Once the Blizzard ended, he used the brief lull to order the Trolls to retreat.
In truth, very few Trolls had actually died in that charge. Aside from a few unlucky ones struck in vital spots, most had only suffered injuries that were very minor by their standards.
With their rapid regeneration, they would be full of vigor and ready to charge onto the battlefield again before long anyway.
This was also what the high elves found so sickening. Unless they dealt sufficiently lethal damage to the Trolls in one go, these thick-skinned, fast-healing brutes were certain to appear again in the next attack.
Having experienced the Trolls' toughness and regenerative abilities firsthand for the first time, Charlemagne also frowned.
He had just personally driven an arrow deep through a Troll's chest with the force of an Aimed Shot. Although a slight error had put it a little wide of the heart, a hole that large would certainly have instantly put an elf out of action.
Yet that Troll had continued charging as though he felt nothing. Even when Halazzi ordered the retreat, Charlemagne could still see him picking up two more seriously injured companions from the ground and carrying them off.
"Gave you a fright, didn't it? That's the terrifying vitality of the Trolls. As long as this savage race isn't hit in a vital spot, they can easily escape. We suffered quite a bit because of it during the Troll Wars, too."
After the Trolls' left and right wings both withdrew, Charlemagne and Yawen returned to meet up in front of Farstriders Camp.
Seeing the young man's tightly furrowed brows, an old hand like Yawen could hardly fail to understand what he was thinking. He walked over with practiced ease and offered him some guidance.
He had explained the same things to the rookie rangers on the way back. Most of these rangers, who had never seen actual combat before, had looked deeply troubled after the probing attack ended.
Fortunately, some veteran rangers had survived the last great war. These old hands, who had been through similar experiences themselves, began guiding the rookies just as their own predecessors had once done.
After the two sides tallied their results, they found that only a little over ten Trolls had been killed. Although some of the Trolls carried back would certainly fail to survive, this was already quite astonishing.
So these are Trolls? Experiencing them firsthand is nothing like seeing them in the game in my previous life.
The Trolls' height of two and a half meters and their powerful bodies had both challenged Charlemagne's perceptions. Combined with their long tusks and savage faces, they were enough to frighten many elves without combat training to tears.
No wonder so many of the things high elves said to scare children involved Trolls...
"If you don't behave, I'll let the Trolls take you away and eat you!"
This was the most widespread saying, and strictly speaking, it merely stated a fact.
Trolls... actually had a tradition of eating sapient beings. In some versions, their name had even been translated directly as "man-eating monsters."
Among these savage peoples, almost no sapient race was spared a place on their menu. It was only later, after the Darkspear Trolls joined the Horde, that they became the first Troll tribe to abolish the vile custom of eating people.
When Charlemagne and Yawen led their teams back into camp and found Sylvanas, the battle report from the main front arrived as well.
The Trolls on Lireesa's side had not engaged in small-scale skirmishing like this flanking force. They had committed more than three hundred troops directly to the assault.
Besides large numbers of warriors, their ranks included some ranged headhunters, spellcasting witch doctors and hexers, and even raptor cavalry, which had become extremely scarce among the Amani Tribe.
Raptors, the mounts favored by Trolls, were far fiercer than hawkstriders. These vicious lesser dragonkin were pure carnivores, and the Trolls preserved their wild nature while taming them, allowing them to help their masters attack the enemy in battle.
However, the Amani Trolls' severe food shortage naturally kept raptor numbers from growing. This time, the Trolls had committed substantial resources, determined to take a vicious bite out of the high elves.
But in positional warfare, Lireesa had already set up defensive barricades. These few cavalry units could only prowl around the perimeter and could not assault the high elves' positions at all.
Once the fighting moved into the open field, however... the situation would be harder to predict. And to drive the Trolls back into Zul'Aman, taking the offensive was an inevitable stage.
During this time, Lireesa had also drawn up plans for this localized war. The primary task in the early stages was defense, while also allowing these newly trained rookie rangers to familiarize themselves with the realities of the battlefield.
After wearing down the Trolls' fighting spirit and reducing their numbers, the high elves would begin their counteroffensive.
Events unfolded just as the seasoned Lireesa had expected. After a few days of adjustment, the rangers began rapidly familiarizing themselves with battlefield conditions. After all, actual combat was always the best way to train troops.
Halazzi and Nalorakk were also growing extremely anxious over their repeated failure to break through. Zul'jin, the leader of the Amani Trolls, had already made his dissatisfaction and anger clear.
Such a rare opportunity to strike while the elves were weak, yet these little fellows had still managed to drag the fighting into their own rhythm. How could Zul'jin not be furious? Had his subordinates not dissuaded him, he would have come out to oversee the battle himself.
This Heroic-rank berserker headhunter was no gentle soul. Although he possessed outstanding leadership ability and strength, his explosive temper was also quite famous among the Trolls.
Halazzi and Nalorakk had no desire to return like this and face Zul'jin's wrath, so the two made their decisions almost simultaneously: launch an all-out assault!
(End of chapter)