Chapter 198
Chapter 198
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Operation Antman (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the end, the trolls had retaken Hushkan Castle.
But in the process, they lost one High Master, nearly twenty Masters, and three thousand Class Expert-level soldiers. Even though Rokan had focused his efforts solely on breakthroughs, the damage was immense.
This was equivalent to wiping out the combat forces of one major rear stronghold.
‘Idiots.’
If the former lord and the other five High Masters had moved out together, they might have killed Rokan. But their impatience to retake Hushkan and their fear of traps inside had split their forces.
Instead of gathering for a unified assault on Hushkan, they engaged in scattered battles, prioritizing speed to reclaim the castle—which only made them easy pickings, costing them even a precious High Master.
On top of that, Rokan had pocketed a fortune and escaped unscathed.
It was a one-sided victory for the trolls, nothing less.
“Casualties?”
“Two Masters and thirty Experts dead. The wounded are already recovering and will be back on their feet soon.”
The humans hadn’t emerged completely unscathed either.
Compared to the trolls, it was minor, but humans had fewer high-level fighters, so even small losses hit harder.
Delas answered joyfully at the massive victory, but Rokan’s expression remained stern.
He’d won battles like this plenty of times before. Rather than celebrating wildly, he needed to look one step ahead.
“We’ve stripped them of their resources. We can’t give them time to recover. But charging in recklessly will get our heads smashed. Troll Hunters are ready to hunt any race.”
“Then…… what will you do?”
Talran and Delas swallowed hard at Rokan’s cautious words. With the full army already assembled here, what now? Just go hunting and call it a day?
“What else? We loot them carefully.”
A wicked grin spread across Rokan’s face as he turned to them. In truth, the plan to conquer Hushkan was already in motion.
“Catapults ready!”
“Ballistae ready!”
“Moving to designated positions!”
Rokan’s chosen method was surprisingly straightforward: a direct assault.
Use siege weapons to pound the already battered walls and gates, hunting as many trolls as possible in the process.
The enemy had no defenses or siege weapons left. Even if they scraped together coin for new ones, that came with its own problems.
“Fire.”
*Whoosh. Boom!*
Their firepower and range had the edge.
The weapons, enhanced by Reinforcement Mages and supplemented with a few airlifted from the dwarf front, packed a punch.
The dwarves were at war too, so acquiring them wasn’t easy—but a handful could be bought at a premium.
And that money was now proving its worth.
“Kraaak!”
“Block it! Somehow……!”
As projectiles rained on the walls and beyond, chaos erupted inside Hushkan Castle.
Like the dwarves before, they summoned stones with Stone Edge to fire back, but now fire potions, explosion potions, and poison potions were flying too.
Trolls specialized in life force recovery, but that didn’t make them immune to multiple damage types.
[Troll Hunter Hifurak has been poisoned by refined death venom.]
They could shrug off low-level poisons with their vitality, but anything beyond their limit hit harder and faster.
Rapid regeneration meant rapid circulation—which made poison their natural counter in a way.
As the toxins bloomed like mist and engulfed them, the trolls couldn’t just sit there. They’d be picked off passively at this rate.
“The gates are opening!”
“Battle stations, everyone!”
Finally, the trolls poured out through the gates. Better to risk some losses and force a field battle than get pummeled.
But it wasn’t their full strength. Burned once before, they split forces inside to guard against Rokan sneaking in again.
They hunkered down in the inner keep, concentrating all troops there for defense—and sent out four of their six High Masters.
Nearly fifty Masters accompanied them, so even accounting for approach losses, they figured they could wipe out this ragtag human force.
Excluding the wildcard Rokan, they had nearly double the power.
“Charge! Slaughter them!”
But there was another wildcard: the users.
Rokan unleashed the users he’d gathered through various quests.
The force from Kazantia neared 40,000, but the users topped 20,000—double what the dwarves had lured with items.
And this was without prior notice; if he’d planned ahead, it could’ve been 30,000 or even 40,000.
Users were catching on that wars meant big gains and jumping in eagerly.
“Woooah!”
“A few less or whatever, they’re all the same! Let’s level up while we’re at it!”
“That guy’s gear looks sweet—mine!”
“Heh, no AoE defense on these guys, right? All dead!”
The users charged with gusto at the knights’ orders.
This let the soldiers keep operating the siege weapons, some slamming into the trolls’ rear as they advanced.
“Cockroaches!”
The trolls snarled at the fearless, reckless users—but couldn’t sweep them away easily.
Most trolls were Class Expert-level, like the users, and with enemy Masters and High Masters intact, they couldn’t spam Master skills freely.
“Woooaaah!”
A fierce melee erupted.
The trolls, with superior Master numbers and humans holding back their elites, seemed to overwhelm the 30,000-strong force at times. But the zombie-like user momentum didn’t break easily.
Plus, users leveraged humanity’s specialty: cooperation—to cover their weaknesses.
Small, tight-knit user groups that could topple Masters with good teamwork started forming, slowing the trolls’ advance to a crawl.
They ground to a near halt.
That’s when Rokan appeared on the battlefield.
“Miss me, friends?”
Shockingly, he emerged far behind the troll lines—right under the gates.
“When?!”
“Block him! No, kill him! He’s alone!”
‘They’re still at it. Just got looted by one guy 2-3 hours ago.’
Kai had enabled another stealthy maneuver. He could’ve reached the inner keep entrance if he wanted, but didn’t—for one reason: to rattle the trolls already outside.
As expected, the trolls who spotted him hesitated—retreat or push? That split second, the human main force moved.
“Advance! Send the so-called hunters back to the hills—Soul Hill!”
Rokan’s appearance was the signal.
“Fire!”
“Keep them from the inner keep!”
The trolls inside the keep panicked too.
Spotting Rokan, they bellowed, nocking arrows and unleashing combo skills and Master skills without restraint.
As if catching him would end the war, they emptied everything.
“Kai!”
*Skreee! Boom!*
What crashed into them was Kai’s massive bulk.
Even Rokan marveled at Kai’s life force in great peng form. It tanked their attacks and smashed the inner keep’s first-floor entrance.
*Rumble!*
The noise was deafening, shaking the battlefield—as if the keep itself might collapse.
Trolls firing from upper windows lost balance, tumbling out or falling.
No real damage, but that was enough. Rokan just needed a moment.
[Soul Collector’s Authority][Epic]
A ring containing the Soul Collector’s power to wield miracles by squeezing soul energy.
-Souls Collected: 5,042 / 10,000
-Can collect souls from kills.
-Cannot collect souls 20 levels or lower than you.
-Can expend collected souls for miracles.
-Miracle [Enhance]: 100 souls
-Miracle [Soul Clock Rewind]: 1,000 souls
-Miracle [Soul Legion]: 5,000 souls
-Miracle [Transcendent Awakening]: 10,000 souls
Time to summon the Soul Legion.
“Soul Legion, summon.”
*Woooom. Keeeaak!*
A wail echoed from Rokan’s ring.
With it, 1,000 of the 5,000 sealed souls were randomly selected and manifested as spirits.
They became Rokan’s loyal minions, gleaming with murderous light.
[Ruler’s Aura applied to Soul Legion.]
“Silver Lion’s Radiance.”
[Silver Lion’s Radiance applied to Soul Legion.]
That wasn’t all. Rokan activated his rare but powerful legion buffs.
The Soul Legion—minimum level 280, including Masters—was supercharged.
“W-what the hell?”
“Damn it! He’s a summoner too?!”
The trolls panicked harder at the unknown, but Rokan assessed and deployed swiftly.
“Uwooo!”
First out the gates: one hundred ‘Ancient Zombies Deprived of Life.’
Master-level monsters firing Life Drain beams from their mouths. Enhanced, they targeted troll backs, craving vitality.
“Kraaak!”
The beams had insane range.
They struck distant trolls in the melee—backs, rears—making victims shudder and weaken.
*Splurt!*
Predictably, others exploited the openings for crits. It looked like freebies for them, but Rokan was siphoning solid EXP too.
“Time to go.”
Excluding the zombie rear guard, the remaining 800 spirits charged the inner keep.
The outer castle was a firestorm laced with poison fog—but meaningless to spirits. The enhanced horde carved a path.
[Immune to all effects due to Hundred Poison Immunity.]
Same for Rokan.
‘So this is how ancient emperors felt.’
Watching the path clear, Rokan understood why they let minions handle most fights.
Spending all those souls—barely 3-4k from 10k kills—stung, but hoarding could backfire.
Toppling this place would turn the war in their favor, so he invested boldly. And the results were unfolding.
Hushkan Castle was truly falling.