Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Troll Cave Assault
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The Heavenly Flower Squad had surrounded the cave.
As Leona lowered her raised hand, they hurled pouches toward the cave entrance with such disciplined precision that it seemed almost simultaneous.
Boom! Whoosh! Bang!
White powder burst from the pouches.
It was nothing more than ordinary flour, harmless and non-toxic, but as it lingered in the air before settling, it revealed the forms of those hidden around the cave.
"Grk, grruk?!"
"Graarak! What is this?!"
The trolls, flustered, pawed at their bodies.
Their stealth, used to ambush intruders from the cave's side, had been exposed.
Before the sentries could even collect themselves...
The Heavenly Flower Squad members, who had been lying in wait, charged in unison, thrusting blades into the trolls' vital points.
Stab! Thrust! Stab-stab!
"Grrruuuk!"
They might have ambushed others from hiding, but it seemed they never imagined they'd be the ones caught off guard.
As the sentries collapsed lifelessly in an instant, the squad members sheathed their swords and hidden weapons, then swiftly sprinkled something over the bleeding troll corpses.
Fwoosh!
The liquid devoured the corpses' flesh upon contact.
It was the martial clan's special hydrochloric acid, developed for cleanup.
"When dealing with monsters—especially when assaulting a stronghold—the first rule is to leave no trace of the sentries."
Sophia spoke calmly, as if instructing someone.
She had already turned her gaze to the back, toward the Latent Dragon Squad.
"Monsters have far keener senses of smell than humans. Even a hint of blood will put them on high alert. No need to advertise that we've backtracked here, right?"
"......"
The Latent Dragon Squad was speechless, even if they had ten mouths to speak with.
Back when they'd ambushed the Red Fang Orc sentries on the Mountain of Fire, they hadn't given a second thought to the bodies.
"Impressive. Very good."
Swoosh!
Ian nodded in satisfaction, stepping forward after confirming the situation was under control.
"The Heavenly Flower Squad seems plenty capable for working together."
"...Hmph."
Leona turned her head with a small snort at Ian's words, which could come off as arrogant.
To her, he was still just a half-baked Lichtenauer brat riding high on luck from one successful mission.
But with one of their own kidnapped, she had no desire to waste energy on pointless friction.
Before any unnecessary words could fly, Sophia stepped forward.
"We'll head in right away."
Rewind time to just before the Heavenly Flower Squad entered the Black Rock Trolls' cave.
Munjuk and the trolls, after meeting Attila, headed to another location.
Creeeeak!
A rusted iron door, corroded by the cave's damp, musty air, swung open.
Splash! Splish!
Something dropped into a puddle formed by the moisture, sending ripples across the surface.
The trolls dumped the Heavenly Flower Squad member they carried on their shoulders.
"Grrruk. Stay put. Struggling will only hasten your death."
This was the prison where the magic tower mages captured from the forest had been held until recently.
Though now empty, as they had all become Attila's sacrifices.
It had been less than a week since King Attila claimed the mages as offerings.
He didn't need sacrifices immediately, so they were simply stored until his body recovered enough.
Bound tightly with voodoo-twisted branches, escape was impossible.
Thud, thud!
In the quiet spot the trolls left behind.
Only the three kidnapped women remained in the gloomy, eerie darkness without a sliver of light.
For ordinary women, this would have been enough to send them into hysterics, sobbing and screaming.
No, they would have fainted long before.
Yet none of the three shed a tear in such conditions.
Given the nature of the Heavenly Flower Squad's missions, this was hardly uncommon.
The difference from typical missions was that they had been captured not for interrogation, but as mere food stock.
"Hestia, Fiore. How are you both holding up?"
"Ugh! That damn troll shook me around like crazy, so I'm still dizzy... but no injuries, sis."
"Same here."
Grace let out a sigh of relief upon confirming neither was seriously hurt.
Any injury would complicate their escape plan.
"Good. Listen up. Knowing the captain, she'll charge in recklessly to rescue us."
The other two nodded in agreement.
"Of course she will."
"That's just how she is."
Due to the squad's nature, abandoning comrades was often the rational choice.
Before Sophia's arrival, no one in the Heavenly Flower Squad objected to that mindset.
It was only natural.
But everything changed after Sophia took command.
And the squad members didn't mind the change one bit.
"Then you know what we need to do?"
"Of course, sis."
Crack! Pop!
No sooner had she spoken than Fiore's shoulders emitted dull sounds, her body twisting unnaturally.
Snap!
She deliberately dislocated the shoulder bound by troll magic, slipping her arm free from the branches.
...Pop!
Pressing her arm against the ground, she freed it from the wooden bonds.
"...Ugh! This always hurts."
Even the pain-trained Heavenly Flower Squad wouldn't welcome self-dislocation.
"If it bothers you that much, you should've gotten kidnapped with the youngest too."
"Sigh, forget it. I should've kept quiet."
Grumbling, Fiore maneuvered her arm to draw her shortsword from her bosom.
Scrape! Scrape!
Even against the sturdy branches, her blade showed no nicks.
"...Sis. This is gonna be tough."
"Do your best."
"No time. This won't work. You two need to free yourselves."
"......"
"If the captain finds us like this, lightning will strike."
"......"
Grace and Hestia fell silent for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"Haa, no choice. Hestia, let's dislocate."
Crack-crack-pop!
Soon, eerie dislocation sounds came from their bodies too.
Grind! Scrape!
Moments later, only the sound of shortswords hacking at branches echoed faintly in the troll prison.
Swish-swish-swish!
"Grk!"
"Gurk!"
Trolls on watch from the shadows crumpled unknowingly to hidden daggers.
The Heavenly Flower Squad moved through the pitch-black cave interior like fish in water.
It was only natural.
Darkness was practically an ally aiding their missions.
"Latent Dragon Captain."
Sophia wiped troll blood from her cheek after severing one's throat with her chakram, quietly calling Ian.
"Yes?"
"From now on, we'll make as much noise as possible in here."
Her words came out of nowhere, but Ian grasped the intent immediately.
"Then we'll use the chaos to find and extract the kidnapped members. That right?"
"...Quick on the uptake. I like that."
"Since entering the cave, you haven't bothered cleaning up the bodies."
Exactly.
Unlike the meticulous disposal of sentries at the entrance, once inside, the Heavenly Flower Squad left troll corpses strewn openly, as if inviting all attention.
"...They'll react differently knowing they're being watched versus a sudden ambush."
In this darkness, scattered ambushes would amplify the trolls' confusion.
"I'd love to rescue them ourselves, but the Latent Dragon Squad has limits in stirring chaos. We're counting on you."
Swoosh!
Sophia politely handed Ian a small scent pouch.
"It's our squad's tracking incense. Follow the scent, and you'll locate our members."
"That's how you tracked so quickly. Understood. We'll do it."
"Once extracted, leave immediately. We'll pull out right after you do."
Sophia turned left without waiting for his reply.
"Good luck, then."
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Flower Squad plunged deeper, led by Sophia.
Soon after they veered left, a thick bloody scent wafted in.
Strong enough for the Latent Dragon Squad to notice, most Black Rock Trolls would have too.
"Captain, let's go. Dragging this out won't help us."
"Right."
At Ralph's urging, Ian turned right.
As Sophia predicted, the tracking scent faintly drifted rightward too.
Likely emanating from the kidnapped members.
As he ran with the squad, a thought struck Ian.
...But do we really need to retreat?
If the goal was capturing the troll king anyway...
This chaos from the ambush was the perfect chance to wipe them out.
"Graaaak! Humans!"
"Humans invading the lair!"
Ian's thinking wasn't far off.
Sophia had drawn the trolls' eyes as expected—but retreat was the last thing on her mind.
She just had no intention of sharing credit with the Latent Dragon Squad.
Clang-clang-clang!
"Grrruuuk!"
Another troll exploded and fell to Sophia's chakram.
"Vice Captain, status?"
"Smooth sailing. Seems those who ambushed us earlier were their elites."
Leona, unlike before, handled the trolls with ease, her expression brighter.
"Good. Let's push to the king."
Sophia was confident.
Unlike the squad, patched up with potions, the trolls hadn't recovered from battle.
Victory tilted their way.
"Graaaaaak! What is this?!"
A furious roar echoed through the cave.
Undoubtedly the troll who had retreated from Sophia earlier.
Did it recognize her too?
As their eyes met, its bulging gaze widened further.
"Grk, you...!"
"Oh, we meet again."
Smack!
"We still have unfinished business, don't we?"
Sophia thrust her chakram forward, her eyes gleaming in the darkness.