Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Weaknesses Can Be Found in Unexpected Places. (8)
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Troll assault had begun.
Naturally, as a non-combatant, I headed to the shelter along with the guild staff.
The shelter was filled with townsfolk.
There were also a few sub-species who had been staying in Hassler for travel or other purposes.
Even knights and soldiers had come to prepare for any emergencies and to manage the shelter.
Those with the means had already evacuated Hassler, heading south—the opposite direction from the north gate where the trolls were advancing.
So, compared to the city's size, there weren't that many people gathered in the shelter.
Those who remained were the ones who couldn't leave Hassler.
They might get ambushed and killed by some random monster if they ventured out carelessly.
Or they were people whose entire livelihoods would end if they abandoned this place.
"Oh dear, oh dear... How could I abandon this place and flee?"
"Our family has nowhere else to go anyway. We'd just end up as wolf food if we left."
Even if you told them to flee because their lives were precious.
They were people who believed the lord, adventurers, and heroes would hold the line.
Otherwise, they figured it was the same whether they died here or out there.
"The lord will protect us."
"Yeah! The heroes are here too! That's what they do, right?"
"Yeah, I heard there's even an S-rank adventurer?"
Right... Veronica and the adventurers.
And the knights and hero parties too.
In theory, it was more than enough elite force to stop a Troll Lord that had only just begun its activity.
But that was just in theory.
Even if they had the troops to face the Troll Lord, if they couldn't find it, it was game over.
Adventurers, knights, heroes.
They had combed through the Ode Swamp for over a week, pooling their strength.
...The hero parties had slacked off partway through because it was a hassle, but whatever.
Considering the possibility that it had already expanded its territory in the Ode Swamp, they had searched the surrounding forests too.
But even so, they hadn't found the Troll Lord.
Of course, there were still plenty of places they hadn't checked.
There were probably quite a few spots they'd missed.
Or it couldn't be ruled out that the Troll Lord had moved around in between.
There were historical cases where it had dodged around like that to buy time.
But...
"...This feels off. It's not just that kind of issue."
This Troll Lord's advance was a bit different from typical Troll Lord outbreaks.
Normally, the assault began within 4-5 days at the latest after the anomaly appeared.
This time, it had taken twice as long before the advance started.
"...Did it have a lot to prepare?"
To hide its lair more securely?
Or to expand its territory without us noticing, creating more places to hide?
Let's think this through carefully.
There has to be an answer.
Recall the places where Troll Lords have hidden throughout history.
In the swamp, underground, in the trees, constantly on the move, secretly expanding territory in caves...
No, that's not it.
The Parein family knows those historical cases better than I do.
One of the Troll Lord hotspots is right near their territory, and they've actually been attacked by one before.
Cases from around the world, solutions, Troll Lord characteristics.
Anything I could learn from books, they already know.
And yet, after searching for nearly 10 days based on that?
Where the hell could it be?
If it can't be solved with known knowledge... then use external knowledge from outside.
"Right... I shouldn't limit my thinking to just the Troll Lord. This case is definitely different from the others. So then..."
"H-Hey, you okay?"
I must have muttered that out loud without realizing.
People were talking to me.
I ignored them and kept thinking.
That's not important right now.
It's different from before, twice the prep time, underground... treetops... where the hell is it hiding? External knowledge... external... outside... outside...?
"Huh?"
No way... it didn't hide...?
Yeah, if that's the case...!!
"Excuse me, sir. Are you alright?"
Before I knew it, one of the soldiers had approached me and spoken up.
Perfect timing.
After the evacuation order, solo actions without an escort soldier are illegal.
"Come with me for a sec!"
"W-What?!"
As I said that and started to dash off, the soldier panicked and grabbed me.
Whoops, too little explanation?
But no time for a long talk right now.
Just the key points, short and sweet.
"I've figured out how to find the Troll Lord!"
"What?!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Hey, are we still far?"
Hanson, an ordinary soldier of Hassler, asked in an anxious voice.
"We can't stay out too long on personal business..."
This was the adventurer guild's records room.
He had been dragged here by a man who had suddenly declared himself an adventurer instructor and claimed to have figured out how to find the Troll Lord.
He'd only gone to check because someone seemed to be muttering to themselves like a lunatic.
'Damn it... I should've just sent him to my superior... Am I gonna get chewed out for this too?'
He finally couldn't hold back and called out to the man in an irritated tone.
"Hey! We need to get back to the shelter now!"
Then, suddenly.
"Ah, sorry. There are so many troll-related records lately..."
The man—the one who had introduced himself as Instructor Kane—emerged holding a thick stack of papers.
Shuffle─
"Record from 8 days ago."
"...Pardon?"
He spread the papers out across the table and started mumbling to himself.
"B-rank party, 'Cat Knife' testimony. Location: forest outside Ode Swamp. 'We missed one troll, but it didn't even properly join the fight from the start. Once the rest were down, it bolted. And for a troll, it was kinda fast.'..."
"What does that have to do with—"
Hanson tried to say something about Kane's sudden behavior, but he was cut off immediately.
"Record from 6 days ago, C-rank party 'Iron Wall.' Full party wipe while troll hunting in the outer forest. Might not seem like a big deal on its own, but it lines up perfectly with the path of the troll that Cat Knife let escape."
"......"
By this point, even Hanson sensed something was off and shut his mouth.
And Kane's tirade continued.
"Finally, yesterday's record. C-rank party 'Black Axe' testimony. Discovered an area in the forest before Ode Swamp with an unusual concentration of trolls. Requested support from A-rank or higher adventurers."
And then, one day later—today.
"An A-rank adventurer was scheduled to be dispatched to that location."
"......"
Something was wrong.
A troll that didn't join the fight and fled unusually fast.
Two days later, a party wiped out somewhere along that troll's escape route.
Finally, right before the troll advance, an area with an abnormal gathering of trolls.
"Individually, none of it seems that suspicious. Trolls can be fast sometimes, parties wipe by coincidence, and trolls gathering just before an advance is normal."
The problem was that all these events shared a common thread linking them together.
"Outside the swamp..."
Hanson muttered, grasping what Kane was getting at.
Yes.
All of it had happened outside the swamp.
So Kane was saying.
"The Troll Lord wasn't in the swamp all this time—it was outside, pretending to be a regular troll without even hiding...?"
"Exactly."
Kane nodded.
That would explain why no one noticed.
People assume a Troll Lord is holed up somewhere, not brazenly wandering outside the Ode Swamp like a normal troll.
Its appearance is said to be almost indistinguishable from a regular troll anyway.
It was the epitome of "to hide a tree, put it in the forest."
But even so, that seemed too risky.
"B-But isn't that way too dangerous for a Troll Lord? They searched outside the swamp too. If it ran into a hero, Veronica, or the knight captain, combat would've broken out immediately."
True enough.
"Hide the tree in the forest" is one thing, but right now, every troll was a target for extermination.
Hiding among them didn't make it safe.
Kane nodded as if in agreement.
"Right. That's why it dragged things out. Acting like it was deeply, deeply preparing something."
By buying time like that, people would naturally think—based on past records and experience—that it was hidden deep somewhere.
Or secretly expanding its territory to some unknown spot.
"So the manpower scatters, some head to completely unrelated lands, others probe deeper into the swamp."
In fact, starting from day 6, the lord and everyone else had done exactly that.
Which made it even more comfortable for the Troll Lord.
Now that the troll advance had begun, people would search even deeper into the Ode Swamp or hunt in entirely different areas.
"B-But why didn't anyone else notice? The records are right here..."
And this was just the guild's records. If you checked the knights' and soldiers' logs from the troll subjugation efforts, there'd probably be a few more cases that looked connected in hindsight.
"...Because no one connects the dots like this."
Records and reports had never been that crucial for adventurers.
Just minimal evidence for potential future issues?
Viewed separately, none of them even hinted at a Troll Lord.
Besides, everyone's focus was already on the deep swamp or possible other territories.
Who'd notice these minor records?
Honestly, Kane wouldn't have either if he hadn't pondered deeply in the shelter.
Why would anyone else?
And even if someone had noticed and swept the outer areas, killing every troll while searching.
The outcome would've been similar.
"A monster that intelligent would've played dead if attacked. Troll Lords have far superior regeneration to normal trolls. Even decapitated, it can reattach its head."
If discovered by Veronica or a hero during the delay, it would've used its absurd regen to fake death, then gotten up and moved elsewhere once they left.
"No way a troll is that smart..."
"It is. That's how it manipulates human psychology and hides."
Exploiting human thinking to delay the advance, diverting key forces elsewhere.
Then comfortably seizing Hassler.
This specimen was a freak with that level of intelligence.
"Th-Then right now, the Troll Lord is...?"
"...Yeah. Right now, that thing is..."
With key forces dispatched elsewhere, only enough troops left to barely hold the troll advance.
"...smack in the middle of the troll army."