Troll Provocation
Darckovo Village. Some time before the trolls appeared on the grassland.
“To think we’re being ordered around by that bastard.”
Gunter, a first-class soldier, scowled as he looked at Shrakhim.
“Exactly. A proper special-class soldier ought to be the one in command, yes sir.”
The dispatch guards assigned to Darckovo’s defense chimed in with him.
Unlike senior soldiers, who would be promoted sooner or later, no one could simply slap on the insignia of a special-class soldier. One had to prove not only personal strength, but also the minimum tactical sense required to lead a squad.
“Uh... may I ask why you’re all so worked up about that associate knight, Shrakhim?”
The question came from a rookie soldier who had only recently enlisted.
“Come to think of it, the youngest one hasn’t seen him yet. Don’t even start. He acts like he’s not an associate knight but an associate marquess. At least an associate marquess would be a rightful heir. He’s only the nephew of a baron, for heaven’s sake.”
“The noble family he served, whether it was Kihara or Pihara or whatever, was decent enough, though.”
“Not just him. His two younger brothers were trash too. The whole lot of them were rotten from head to toe.”
The soldiers all began tearing into the Shrakhim brothers in earnest.
‘Listen to this one, with a mouth so refined it ought to be in the nobility. Make sure my bed is properly prepared with only the finest, evenly dried hay.’
‘This is where I’m expected to sleep? In a room worse than the stable at my own estate!’
‘Honestly. Is this what you call food? Even the swill our cattle eat at home is better than this broth!’
‘Bring me wine and women from every village nearby!’
The rookie soldier, hearing those glorious lines, was horrified.
“Good heavens... an associate knight actually pulled that kind of nonsense at a public relay station? Even the real knights, no matter how strict they are, don’t make a fuss over a meal...”
“Knights care about honor. They wouldn’t do something like that. If they caused trouble for no reason, they might end up stripped of their armor.”
“Associate knights are mostly like that. They swagger around because they’ve got a noble behind them. That pig was just especially bad.”
Associate knights were usually appointed as a noble’s vassals. Since their main duty was protecting their own domain, they weren’t, strictly speaking, placed in a direct military hierarchy over the soldiers. But they were still knights, and rank was rank; the soldiers had no choice but to obey them, and that only made the resentment pile up.
“So Guard Captain Rio stepped forward bravely. He told them if they hated the relay station so much, they could sleep under the open sky or find an inn. We’re soldiers guarding the road, not servants fetching drinks for drunks. Man, that was awesome.”
“Wow, that’s amazing, sir. So what happened after that?”
“You know what that bastard said? He claimed they were traveling on official business and couldn’t waste their own money. Can you believe it? Then Special-Class Soldier Gunter here and Senior Soldier Hendry both blew their tops and shouted at him.”
“The two of them together? What, what did they say, sir?”
The rookie swallowed hard at the mention of veterans famous for becoming terrifying when angry.
“Official business, my ass! Do you not care that the blood and sweat of the people around here is being wasted because of trash like you? What, bring wine and women? I’ll bring you ropes and dog kennels, you good-for-nothing son of a bitch!”
The middle-ranked soldier imitated Gunter and Hendry’s tone astonishingly well.
“After that, it turned into a full-blown mess. The pig threw a punch in a rage, and a fight broke out. Luckily, before it got any worse, Baron Kihara came and apologized. They settled it by agreeing to bury the whole thing for the night and leave at daybreak.”
“Wow, even our squad leader was cool, sir.”
“Hey, hey, enough of that.”
Listening from nearby, Gunter waved a hand at them, as if his ears were itching.
“So who won the fight, sir? Since it was two against one, surely...”
“Didn’t I tell you to stop talking?”
“Ah! Sorry, sir!”
Gunter flicked the rookie soldier on the helmet.
He had gone off to smoke a cigarette, but...
“But listen. That pig was insanely strong. Even against the two of them, he didn’t get pushed back. He was choking, throwing them around, going wild.”
“What? Then our veterans lost, sir...”
“I can hear you, you punks!”
He came back and flicked the middle-ranked soldier too.
“Yeah, he was strong as hell, probably from stuffing himself with greasy food all the time. In that fight, I was the one who lost in the most embarrassing way!”
Gunter’s eyes were bloodshot. But what made him agitated wasn’t shame.
“What the hell does that matter now?! So what if that bastard is strong? Is he planning to single-handedly mow down a whole troll pack? Are the trolls going to line up one by one and ask for duels? This isn’t a brawl, it’s a battle. You need proper tactics and command to win! And that’s the bastard you expect to lead us? Us, and the militia too? Who the hell would listen to him!”
“Well, yes, that’s true enough... Huh? Special-Class Soldier Gunter, isn’t that Shrakhim coming this way?”
Shrakhim was walking toward the soldiers. But unlike before, he wasn’t striding in with his already overgrown belly thrust out in self-important swagger.
“What’s with him? Why is he suddenly acting all awkward and out of place?”
The soldiers’ hair stood on end at his hesitant steps.
“Hmph. Probably his knees are shaking just thinking about facing the trolls.”
Gunter returned a perfunctory salute, the kind that was hardly better than none at all.
“Knight Shrakhim. It’s been a while. Well then, let us hear your grand strategy, my lord of the associate knights.”
“...Before that, may I ask you all to accept an apology?”
At Shrakhim’s words, the soldiers froze.
“You want an apple?”
“There are apples in season, yes, but... Come to think of it, you were asking after apple wine last time too.”
“I said I want to apologize.”
The associate knight, having shed all his former arrogance, bowed his head.
“I have reflected on my past mistakes. So please... would you gather the militia here as well? I beg it of you.”
“What exactly are you plotting? The militia are the villagers of this town. They remember every rotten thing you did to them too, so what are you planning to do? You going to kneel and beg for forgiveness?”
“If that is what you and they desire, then I shall do so.”
“...You’re serious? Fine. Hey, bring everyone over.”
Gunter remained suspicious, but he called the militia together.
“They said a knight was taking command, and it turns out it was you?! ”
“That bastard! He harassed my daughter. What kind of filthy old man, stuffed to the gills in his forties, goes after a twenty-year-old girl...!”
“Let’s throw that trash to the trolls for food!”
As expected, public sentiment hit rock bottom.
The militia were a group of sturdy men, and they looked ready to beat him senseless on the spot.
“Your anger is only right. All of this was this man’s fault. I sincerely apologize.”
Shrakhim dropped to his knees and lowered his head.
“Huh?”
“What’s this little trick supposed to be?! You think we’ll forgive you just because of that?”
“Yeah. Show it with your actions, not just your mouth, you bastard!”
Of course, one apology on his knees wasn’t enough to dissolve old grudges so easily.
“You planning to just stand there and take a beating until we feel better? Then maybe we’ll let this slide.”
“...I cannot do that.”
“Ha. See? I knew it. All show, no substance...”
“I am presently on an assignment, so I cannot submit to punishment. But after the trolls are driven back, I shall gladly and humbly accept whatever beating you deem fit.”
“What... what did you say?”
As the militia stood stunned, Shrakhim cast Influence / Edification Level. He himself, of course, had no awareness that he was using his skill.
“Just as you said, I was trash. But thanks to the Byeonbangbaek, I have repented. He told me that even a man like me could still help hold back the trolls if I had your support. So I ask you to trust not this man, but the Byeonbangbaek... and lend me your strength with one arm’s worth of effort.”
Just before this operation, Ho-yeong had designated Shrakhim as the deputy leader of the dispatched guard force. As a result, all of Shrakhim’s stats rose, and the power of the Influence he cast was strengthened as well.
“Villagers, let’s put our trust in the Byeonbangbaek. I still don’t trust that bastard completely either, but if the Byeonbangbaek trusts him, then we ought to give him a chance. We can beat him senseless after we drive the trolls off, just like he said.”
Gunter, the very man who had traded blows with him earlier, was the first to be moved and stepped forward to persuade the villagers.
What determined the success or failure of this operation was the command structure. No matter how powerful the troops were, without a center to rally around, they would fall apart in disarray.
The most important thing in building that command structure was training. But training was useless unless there was a will to follow.
“Fair enough. I’m sure the Byeonbangbaek has some grand purpose in mind.”
“I hate obeying that bastard, but... for the sake of our families, we’ve got no choice but to fight.”
“The Byeonbangbaek says he trusts in our help. Let’s repay that faith!”
The villagers held back their anger at the sight of the converted Shrakhim. Whatever doubts remained were washed away by their trust in the Byeonbangbaek who had changed him.
“Set aside your anger toward that man for now, and unleash it on the monsters threatening our homes! Let’s protect our village!”
“Let’s drive off the trolls!”
At last, the militia of Darckovo Village had united in purpose.
* * *
And now, with all preparations complete, Shrakhim stood straight as a spear among the grasses swaying in the high wind.
‘What in the world am I supposed to do? The militia only ever swung iron flails and pitchforks...’
‘Use the two things you’re best at. The militia too.’
Remembering what he was best at, Shrakhim prepared his plan accordingly, drawing on the experience he had gained while taking part in the Byeonbangbaek’s own strategies.
“You dumb monsters! If you thought no one was here, you were wrong! I, Shrakhim, have been waiting to teach you a lesson!”
He taunted the trolls visible in the distance.
“Grooo? Grooooh. Horse rider. Knight.”
“Grooooh. Seems like nothing much.”
“Grotrol! And just one at that. Kill him. Now!”
As the monsters lumbered closer...
“Grot! Grooh-grooh.”
The smartest of the seven, Rockhook Troll #001, raised a hand and stopped the others.
“Groohtrol. Might be a lure. Be careful first. Trap.”
“Grooh?”
“Grooohtro-ro.”
“Yes. Charging in is bad. Watch carefully. Surroundings.”
The others, agreeing with him, spread out and kept their guard up.
Watching from far behind, the soldiers grew anxious.
“Damn it, did his taunt just backfire?”
“Looks like it. Instead of provoking them, he seems to have calmed them down.”
But Shrakhim did not give up and kept at it.
“So the one with the hook is your leader?! You must be scared of me, huh? The level of your underlings is obvious if they have to follow some coward like that!”
Trolls absolutely hated being interfered with or ordered around. They had no hierarchy and no command structure. If anything, the shaman was roughly the equivalent of a staff officer, and even that was closer to an adviser than a commander.
“Grooo?! Grooool!”
“What do you mean, underling and leader?!”
“Grooool! Coward? The only one scared here is you!”
That made Shrakhim’s second taunt land perfectly.
“No, it’s not that. You’re the ones listening to the hook-wielder’s orders! Then why are you walking around sniffing the grass, huh? Right. You’re too scared to hunt anything, so you’re thinking of grazing instead. How pitiful. You’ll probably offer the grass to your boss first, then go lick up whatever the hook-wielder spits out after chewing it. Tsk, tsk.”
Shrakhim was expertly rubbing salt into the trolls’ raw nerves. The information Ho-yeong had passed along through Voliv’s notes proved invaluable. Combined with Shrakhim’s own talent for needling people, it produced a perfect synergy.
He might have reformed, but his nature was still that of an insufferable nuisance. He could no longer poke at people carelessly, but monsters were another matter entirely. He could let loose to his heart’s content.
“Groooooh! I’ll kill you!”
The trolls lost what little reason they had and charged.
“Groo, gro...!”
Rockhook tried his best to rein them in, but...
“Groooool! Don’t act like the boss!”
The troll beside him swung a stone axe and smashed him in the head. He wasn’t dead, but he was out of the fight for the moment.
“Unbelievable. They haven’t even started the battle, and they’re already fighting among themselves and knocking one of their own flat!”
“As expected of Shrakhim. He’s got a real gift for turning not only people, but monsters, inside out.”