Hitting Them After the Fact
At the entrance to Bojedo Village, the trolls poised to attack were as hungry as wolves. It was not because food had been scarce. For trolls, going into a hunt with an empty stomach was part of the ritual.
A troll with a full belly was not desperate. Without desperation, they grew weak. And once they grew weak, they died.
That was the one value these creatures, who otherwise had little sense of kinship, shared in common.
- Trooo....
Rotten breath seeped out between their tusks. It was the stench of sour stomach acid, rising from a gut hollow with hunger, climbing the esophagus and mixing with saliva. Their senses sharpened. Their movements grew quick. A brutal killing intent surged through their veins and spread through every part of their bodies. For them, extreme hunger was the ideal condition.
- Trotroool!
The trolls spotted the village houses and charged with battle cries.
- Boom, boom, boom.
At the rear, a troll shaman beat a drum to raise their morale. The drumhead had been sewn together from human scalps. The drumsticks were made from thigh bones. The cords were sinew and hair. The decorations were teeth. Humans, all of them, every last part.
- Ssssshhk.
Suddenly, a poisoned arrow flew from the brush and struck the shaman’s neck, paralyzing him. A goblin had sniped him with a crossbow from the undergrowth.
Even if Poghog had endured through sheer vitality and poison resistance, a shaman weaker than even the troll warriors had no chance of standing long. The drum slipped from his hands with a dull thud, but even that sound was swallowed by the trolls’ roar.
- Gob-gob! (Take them down!)
- Greem! (Greem!)
The gremlin sprinted in at once, whipping out a dagger. The shaman, numbed to the point that he could not even scream in his death throes, had his throat slit before he could react.
- Boom, boom, boom.
Next, Goblin 10 grabbed the dropped drumstick and began beating the drum with practiced ease.
It was an instrument made from a human body, so ordinary people would have been unable to even lay a hand on it, but goblins, who practiced cannibalism among their own kind, had no qualms whatsoever.
We have to take out the shaman first. Quietly. And thoroughly.
The small monsters that had flawlessly carried out the assassination wore proud expressions.
The troll shaman was physically unimpressive, but he was an excellent magical unit, capable of applying all kinds of buffs and removing status effects and debuffs. If he was not eliminated first, the battle would become difficult, so Ho-yeong had given the order in advance.
- Trooo!
Hearing the drumbeats with no buffs riding them at all, the trolls surged forward.
The Linja-line monsters followed a little behind them. The gremlin carried the drum, and the goblin held the drumstick. Polymorphed into a meerkat and a monkey respectively, they looked exactly like a circus band.
“Are you all right, Mage?”
Senior Soldier Hendry asked with concern, looking at Meyril, who was visibly tense.
As the senior-most man among Bojedo’s defenders, he could not help worrying about the mage, who was the operation’s key element and tactical coordinator. In truth, suspicion outweighed concern in his heart.
Could a girl who looked this frightened really pull it off? Last time she had only trembled until the Border Count came to save her. Why on earth had he entrusted tactical command to such a young girl?
“I’m fine.”
The core of Bojedo’s defense plan was Meyril’s magic.
Last time I was too frightened to do anything....
Meyril had faced the same monsters in the same place before.
The last time, she had been so scared of the trolls that she had failed to contribute at all.
But this time I have to show them I’m different. Today, I’m going to do it no matter what.
When the defense preparations were underway, Ho-yeong had come to Meyril and said,
“Meyril, I’m leaving this place to you.”
“A-are you going to stay here, my lord?”
“I can’t protect three battlefields by myself. So I’m entrusting the defense of this place to you. The current you can handle it.”
Meyril’s magical skill had clearly improved beyond recognition, but she was still uneasy.
When my lord watches over me, I always feel confident. But can I really manage on my own without him?
“Don’t worry, and trust me. I trust you.”
That was what he had said as he took her trembling hands.
The warmth of those hands, joined with hers in that moment, felt as though she would never forget it for the rest of her life.
Even in the tense air before battle, that warmth had not faded. If anything, it burned hotter.
Right. It’s fine if I can’t trust myself. I trust my lord! And if my lord says he trusts me, then I can do this!
Ho-yeong’s Communion had not only made conveying the plan easier; it had also become the catalyst that awakened Meyril’s resolve.
Just as my lord protected me last time, this time I’ll protect the village.
Hendry, still unable to relax, asked again.
“Are you certain you’re all right? If this is too hard, we can still change the plan....”
“No, there’s no need. No, we mustn’t change it!”
Meyril cut him off and looked him straight in the eye.
“I’m fine. I appreciate your concern, Senior Soldier, but right now, please focus on the trolls’ movements.”
“Yes, y-yes! My apologies.”
There was a hard edge of resolve in her orders.
- Trooo?!
Once the trolls entered the village, they sensed something was wrong.
Why were there no humans? Not a single one in sight.
- Trooo? Troot. (Strange. There were plenty until last night. Only the non-warriors.)
Trolls were not exactly brilliant, but they were sly. Learning from their previous failure, they had even sent scouts at night after thinking things through in their own way.
- Trotro. (Go ahead for now. Toward the center.)
Following the priority set by the Totem of Unity, Stone Hammer Troll #001 tried to head for the square.
- Troo, tro? (Who are you to give orders?)
- Troor. Troll. (Let’s just die. The houses.)
On the other hand, Stone Knife Trolls #002 and #003 seemed eager to rummage through the homes.
“Oh dear, it looks like they’re in conflict. If this goes wrong, the whole plan could fall apart....”
Hendry was on edge.
According to the plan, they had to wait until the trolls reached the central square. Meyril had prepared a magic circle with mana soil there, and troops were lying in ambush along every route into the square.
In other words, once the magic circle activated, the troops would spring from all directions. That was the core of the plan.
“There’s no problem.”
Recalling the instructions she had been given, Meyril answered calmly.
* * *
“They’ll gather in the central square. They’ve already been subtly guided to do exactly that.”
“But... what if something unexpected happens? Like if the trolls notice something strange and stop halfway there?!”
Always cautious, Meyril voiced her concern carefully.
“Ah, I’m not doubting your insight, my lord! But up to now, so many unexpected things have happened, so I can’t help worrying. O-of course, if it were you, you’d probably just handle a variable like that with your usual brilliant improvisation! But this time you won’t be here, so what should I do.... Am I worrying too much?”
The lord answered her gently.
“No, you’re not being timid. You’re worried about the soldiers and the villagers. That’s admirable.”
He lifted a hand.
Meyril secretly hoped he might pat her head, but instead he pressed his fingers to his temple and continued.
“Being cautious is a hundred times better than being reckless. Meyril, you really do think deeply. The trolls might stop, huh... I hadn’t considered that. Yes, not everything goes according to plan. That could definitely happen. From their point of view, they’re attacking what they believe is a village full of civilians, and then they find it completely empty. It would be natural for them to get suspicious.”
“Th-then what should I do?”
“Hm? Well... you need to think that through yourself. I said I was leaving the defense of this place to you, didn’t I? I’m sure you can solve it. In your own way.”
The lord said it as if it were obvious. It did not feel as though he was dumping the problem on her because he had no answer. At least, that was how Meyril felt.
“My own... way?”
“That’s right. You just said I was good at improvising, didn’t you? Thanks for the compliment, but being good at improvising really just means you weren’t prepared enough. Improvisation alone won’t carry you through every crisis. You need a Plan B, and if possible a Plan C as well. In that sense, careful and intelligent Meyril, you seem exactly like the type who’d make a tactical commander. You’d be able to think up all sorts of contingencies.”
“Contingencies....”
* * *
Just as the lord had said, Meyril had imagined all kinds of situations and prepared responses for each one.
“Senior Soldier, take Squads One and Two and swing around now. Hit the trolls from behind.”
“B-but without the magic circle’s help....”
“Yes, this operation absolutely needs magic. But in the end, it’s the soldiers who will bring the trolls down. So we have to trust each other!”
Meyril looked up at Hendry and pressed him with her words.
“Leave the magic to me, the mage. Leave the sword and spear to you, Senior Soldier.”
“Yes, ma’am! Everyone, obey the mage’s orders!”
Hendry gathered himself at the changed look in the girl mage’s eyes.
Meyril had gone through several layers of mental growth. Her leadership was gentle, but under it lay a backbone made of iron.
Don’t worry, and trust me. I trust you.
Meyril’s faith in her lord was soon magnified into faith in herself.
+1 enhancement effect: Not only monsters, but every race including humans can now act as an evangelist and cast Influence. Its power also increases in proportion to the caster’s charm and edification.
The Influence cast by a Meyril who had truly been edified seeped into everyone’s hearts.
“Squads Three and Four, hold position and charge when I give the signal.”
“Yes!”
The soldiers and militia forgot their unease and came together as one.
- Troooo! (Advance to the center!)
- Trool, trorol! (You go yourself! I’m not taking orders!)
By contrast, the trolls were beginning to sprout the seeds of discord. Their fierce aggression showed no mercy even to their own kind, and the power of the Totem of Unity was being weakened.
If the shaman were still there, they would have charged without a fight....
- Troo. Troo! (Let’s not fight. Let’s ask the shaman!)
Just before the Stone Knife and Stone Hammer trolls were about to swing at one another, the comparatively mild Stone Club Troll #005 offered a reasonable suggestion.
- Trool! Troooo! (Good! Let’s follow the shaman!)
- Troor, tror! (Shaman, make the decision!)
The trolls all turned around at once.
- Boom, boom, boom.
The shaman was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a monkey and a meerkat were beating a drum.
- Uki?
- Kkweek-kkwik?
Sensing that things had gone wrong, the performers hurriedly turned and fled. The drum and drumstick tumbled onto the ground.
- Thud.
The dumbfounded trolls stopped fighting.
The drum, now without its expert player, naturally fell silent too.
---