Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Words Can Be Shackles or Salvation (2)
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"......"
The heroes and knights scattered to search the Ode Swamp.
They had no intention of moving stealthily, so the Troll Lord must have spotted them by now.
Come on, show me what you've got.
This is where the real fight begins.
It wouldn't reveal its true colors right away.
Not if it truly understood human psychology and tactics.
It would know we have communication devices linking us to those far away.
So it would probably drag things out, buying time until we couldn't retreat in time.
"I'll head to the front lines for now. No point in just standing around anyway."
"Understood. We'll contact you if we need you."
With that, Veronica dashed toward the fiercest fighting at the front.
There was no reason for someone of her caliber—one of our top fighters—to stay here.
Thanks to the communication orb provided by the lord, we could call her back anytime if needed.
"Uwaaaak!"
"Kill them! Hold back the trolls!"
"Veronica's fighting with us!"
With Veronica joining the front lines, the battlefield, which had looked a bit unfavorable, began to shift in our favor.
The trolls were still regenerating endlessly and charging, but far more of them were being temporarily disabled now.
One hour, two hours.
The soldiers were starting to tire.
An endless battle until they found the Troll Lord.
No matter how rigorously trained the soldiers were.
No matter how accustomed adventurers were to pulling all-nighters on requests.
Fighting a war with no progress for hours on end was a massive mental and physical strain.
But their foes were an undying horde with no such limits on mind or body.
Or so it seemed. In reality, it was different.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more its stockpiled nutrients dwindled.
If my guess was right and it was nearby...
"Huff, huff! We... we brought everything, even from the general store!"
They'd finally arrived!
Moving such a large quantity must have taken time.
And they couldn't spare many soldiers for transport.
The soldiers, drenched in sweat, set down several large wooden crates in a row.
Inside were vast quantities of grass-scent spray, oil sacks, and ignition stones.
"...500 per box, 11 boxes."
That made roughly 5,500 makeshift bomb kits.
Equivalent to 5,500 mid-tier explosion spells.
An average C-rank mage adventurer could manage about 30 such spells per day, factoring in condition management.
This was like having 180 C-rank mages for the day.
Even against hundreds of thousands of trolls, this would wear them down significantly.
"Let's make them quick."
"Yeah, we need to assemble and distribute them fast!"
They probably hadn't pre-assembled them for safety reasons.
This... assembling them one by one would be a chore.
"Don't worry if you're concerned about the time it'll take."
"...?"
That voice...
"We'll D-rank and lower adventurers help as much as we can, Instructor Kane!"
"Reina?"
Sonya was there too.
And members of the Black Axe party... plus D, E, and F-rank adventurers?
Hundreds of low-rank adventurers had somehow climbed up to the ramparts and the command post.
They'd been excluded from the troll fight.
It was too dangerous.
Soldiers had no choice—they had to defend the city.
But adventurers? The guild had only called up C-rank and above for emergency duty; the rest were sent to shelters.
To them, this was a deadly battlefield.
People who could barely take down one troll.
Yet here they were, believing they could contribute something.
"...Thank you. All of you."
What else could I say but that?
"Alright, let's start on the bombs then..."
"Wait, hold on. Could you make just one first?"
A sudden concern popped into my head.
I hoped I was wrong... but just in case.
"H-Here you go."
A soldier handed me a makeshift bomb tied with string.
...Okay, this range should reach perfectly.
"Left flank, incoming bomb! Everyone, get clear!"
I shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Hey, bomb! Bomb!"
"Makeshift bomb?!"
"Shit, move!!"
The adventurers and soldiers facing the trolls hurriedly scattered, and their positions filled with charging trolls.
I hurled it right at them.
Whoosh─
But at that moment.
"Kreeeeh!"
"Kreek!"
The trolls, who had been charging straight ahead.
Suddenly scattered in panic.
BOOM!!
The bomb exploded, but since the trolls had already dispersed, only a few took damage.
"W-What? They dodged?"
"They saw the bomb and dodged. They definitely saw it!"
"It was like they knew exactly what it was..."
...As I suspected.
The Troll Lord knew about makeshift bombs.
It must have seen adventurers using them.
And it wasn't just bombs.
Observing the battlefield, high-damage spells or area attacks often prompted trolls to scatter preemptively, as if forewarned.
"...It knows our moves."
Bombs, area magic, aura strikes.
It knew exactly what was lethal or dangerous to them.
Because getting hit head-on would burn through its stockpiled energy in one go.
"T-Then what do we do? If bombs don't work..."
"Fuck... Call back the heroes now! This has to mean it's here. Pull the knights and heroes..."
It looked utterly hopeless.
But one thing was clear.
The Troll Lord was definitely among this horde.
Otherwise, it couldn't issue dodge orders for bombs or area attacks in real time.
Hopeless... was it?
No, that was just appearances.
This was actually the key.
"No, wait."
"...? Instructor Kane?"
Yes, this was a golden opportunity.
"If it's feeling 'fear,' we use that against it."
#
"Throw!"
Whoosh─ Boom!
The bomb detonated, and the trolls scattered.
"My mana, become a raging storm of flames! Burn and tear my enemies! Fire Tornado!"
On another front, an A-rank mage adventurer unleashed a wide-area spell.
"Kreeehk!"
"Krek!"
The trolls fled the area magic and bombs, scattering every which way.
Yes, every which way.
They didn't move in unison.
Meaning, no matter how unique this Troll Lord was.
It couldn't micromanage hundreds of thousands individually.
Probably just imprinted something simple like 'dodge dangerous attacks.'
So the solution was straightforward.
"If they scatter, we pick them off one by one. Basic tactics."
What made the troll horde terrifying?
Monsters that regenerated endlessly, swarming as one.
But if they scattered?
Especially while dodging without proper formation?
Taking them down individually was child's play for C-rank adventurers and knights.
"Kuek?!"
"Kreeck!"
And in the gaps between the scattered trolls.
Perfect terrain for an assassin to shine.
Flash─!
Every time a black streak sliced past, troll heads flew, bodies crumpling.
Dozens fell with each pass.
"Veronica's on another level."
S-rank adventurers really were different.
Bang! Pop! Crunch!
Bombs and area attacks erupted everywhere, scattering the trolls.
Then, pick off the scattered ones.
Trolls were dropping into temporary disablement at a much faster rate now.
Contrary to the Troll Lord's intent, its nutrients were draining at an alarming speed.
Its downfall was obsessing over preserving nutrients.
If it had maxed out the horde size and charged regardless, it would've been trickier.
Though it still would've collapsed from bomb barrages and energy depletion.
Bottom line.
"Once its strategy is read, defeat is inevitable."
While pressing the attack, it had only two choices.
Retreat and regroup, or go all-out in a final frenzy.
No other way to escape this war of attrition.
"Not letting it retreat."
Led by high-rank mages with bombs and area attacks, plus knights and mage soldiers, we herded them relentlessly to one side.
I wasn't commanding, just providing ideas—the lord handled on-site direction.
No one would listen to a random commoner barking orders.
Anyway, we encircled them, surrounding the horde.
Absurd as it sounded for hundreds of thousands, we excluded scattered ones, speared regenerating bodies with spears or spare weapons to pin them down, preventing immediate combat.
A common tactic against Troll Lords.
Normally hard because they fought clumped together.
But now, scattered by bombs and threats, pinning them was easy.
We couldn't get every one, but we trapped a huge number.
With their numbers thinned, we fully encircled the rest.
No escape routes left.
"That'll drain even more nutrients."
Speared trolls kept consuming resources, and the trapped ones had nowhere to flee.
Checkmate.
"...Whew."
"Kahahat! Well done, Instructor Kane! Thanks to your ingenuity!"
Viscount Strau clapped me on the shoulder, laughing heartily.
We hadn't slain the Troll Lord yet, but it was only a matter of time.
Probably the first time in history they'd suppressed one with such minimal losses.
But this wasn't really my doing.
"Haha, me? I didn't do much."
"Modest, aren't you? I'll make sure you get a grand reward."
It was because the Troll Lord was smart—and that made its actions predictable.
Whew, tough... but we pulled through... Huh?
Easy? Too easy?
Think about it.
Has this Troll Lord ever made things easy for me?
No.
Meticulous schemes beyond any monster.
Would it really go down this simply?
Yeah, it got too smooth midway.
For a being that intelligent.
No countermeasures during this long suppression?
If it had a winning move, it'd have ordered the horde differently mid-fight.
Otherwise?
...Only two options.
Charge or flee.
"...!!"
This bastard plans to flee and regroup...!!
I scanned the battlefield frantically.
Any escaping?
But we'd mobilized every adventurer and soldier to encircle them.
No gaps...
"Oh."
Encircling the horde with every soldier?
Then... the speared trolls on the ground...?
"Kekik."
That instant.
Far off, right before the dense forest... one speared troll.
"Kekikik."
...Seemed to be laughing.