The Trolls' Lair
"What kind of crazy bastard is this?!"
Edquil glared at Raon with his brown eyes, face inches away.
"How can you know the location of the trolls just by crouching and looking at the footprints?!"
He shouted, voice cracking with disbelief.
"If you're bored, go back and do some sloppy sparring! Don't act up here!"
Raon tilted his head, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"If you want, we can make a bet?"
"Bet?"
"Yeah. Whether my words are right or yours, just muttering here. Let's make a bet."
"Insane! Who would bet following your words?!"
"Scared?"
He smirked, lips curling.
"Don't spout nonsense from who-knows-where! And why are you using informal speech since earlier?!"
"You started it first. I'm not your subordinate."
"Even if not subordinate, my position is higher than yours..."
"I'm directly appointed by Commander-nim as escort for the scout unit. In terms of affiliation, I'm under the commander, so no need to bow to you."
Edquil's position was indeed high, but since he had been directly demoted by the commander, there was no need to submit to him.
"Brat!"
"If not position, then age? Disgusting."
"Enough!"
Terian stepped forward with heavy strides, blocking the path between them.
"Both of you, restrain yourselves. We don't know when monsters will move—what are you doing?!"
He frowned, glancing alternately at them.
"Edquil. Why are you so emotional today?"
"This brat keeps spouting nonsense!"
"He hasn't spouted nonsense yet. He hasn't said how he found the trolls or where they are."
Terian turned to Raon.
"Are you sure you found them?"
"Yes. In the direction predicted by the scouts, about 25 degrees to the right, near the frozen valley where they are gathered."
"How did you know that?"
Terian's voice trembled at Raon's confident answer.
"I learned the sense to find the location of enemies from someone who moves through forests and mountains like home."
"Sense? You said sense just now?"
Edquil pointed a finger at him and burst into mocking laughter.
"Kukukuk! Sense! You won't believe this crazy guy's words, right?"
"Sense."
Terian watched Raon calmly despite the mockery from Edquil and the Snow Strike Squad.
'I can't believe in sense.'
Everyone here had senses forged from experience, but they couldn't move an entire group with just that, so they stayed put.
'But this kid...'
Leaving aside that he was from Zieghart, some inexplicable trust welled up. Especially those red eyes. Facing eyes that seemed to pierce through everything in the world, he wanted to believe his words.
'He said forests and mountains, right.'
The moment he heard that, one name came to mind. Raon's instructor, Rimer of Zieghart, the blind swordsman. He had probably learned the sense of searching from him.
"Even so..."
"Commander-nim."
Radin stepped forward.
"I reported it before. Ignoring Raon's words led to almost all of us dying."
"Yeah."
Terian nodded. He had heard the warning about Sharkmol approaching, ignoring it, and almost being wiped out, just a few days ago.
"This friend had the same eyes then. Believe once."
"Finding Sharkmol with sense is not a big deal! What decision do you make with just sense! Are all the scouts' heads pierced with holes? Huh?"
Edquil raised a finger and tapped Radin's head.
"If you have time for that, educate that idiot properly!"
"Edquil. That's enough."
Edquil crossed his arms and turned away after Terian's intervention.
"Hmm, I'm a bit interested too."
Beto, the leader of the Wolves Mercenary Corps, stepped forward.
"Raon-nim?"
"Yes."
"How long will it take to get there?"
"Just going, thirty minutes. To set a trap, about ten minutes more."
"Trap? Did you scout the ambush spot?"
"Yes."
"..."
He let out a hollow laugh and looked up at the sky.
"Commander-nim. Thirty minutes isn't even the middle of Sterin Mountain. Before it's too late, how about going once?"
"Beto? Why are you like this too! Did everyone get money from that idiot?"
When Beto sided with Raon, Edquil frowned and stomped his foot.
"Somehow trust comes. Did breaking our group make you think that?"
"Huu."
Terian sighed and turned around.
"Prepare everything. Climb Sterin Mountain."
"Commander-nim! Are you really going?"
"Yeah. When night comes, trolls might attack, it could be more dangerous. If we can remove them, it's better to remove quickly."
"What are you believing in this crazy guy?!"
"I won't hear opposition anymore."
"..."
Edquil tried to protest further, but Terian firmly stopped him, so he had to back off.
"The decision to go has been made."
Raon smiled coldly and approached Edquil.
"We need to continue the bet."
"What bet are you talking about!"
"If I find the trolls, from now on, use formal speech to the scouts, not only carry the scouts' baggage but also the scouts' burdens, and take on odd jobs."
"Otherwise?"
"Whatever you want, I'll grant."
"Good. You'd better be prepared. From now on, you won't be able to open that mouth."
Edquil glared murderously and walked toward the Snow Strike Squad's location.
'Stupid guy. This guy always has tricks. Don't fall for the words—be careful, and careful.'
'Yeah.'
Raon smiled as he heard Wrath call Edquil pathetic. This guy always had schemes.
'But you're the one being fooled too.'
***
The man in the black robe on the middle of Sterin Mountain let out a snort that didn't match his size as he looked down.
'What's going on?'
He narrowed his eyes at the Habun Castle soldiers climbing the mountain.
"Why are they climbing?"
Seeing only traces and climbing this mountain, thinking of Habun Castle commanders who checked bridges and crossed them, it was an incomprehensible action.
'The plan is going awry...'
Originally, the Habun Castle soldiers had been camping, sleeping, and planning to send Ice Trolls to attack at night, but this way everything would fall apart.
'For now, I should retreat.'
The man in the black robe took the Ice Troll Warriors and Shamans a bit higher up, just in case. The other Ice Trolls were hidden in the frozen valley, so there was no risk of being spotted. In fact, the Habun soldiers were moving in a slightly different direction from the valley.
'Hmm, let's see.'
He licked his lips at the climbing soldiers.
Dealing with them wasn't hard, but they couldn't be killed entirely.
He had to send a few survivors to report that Ice Troll Warriors and Shamans had appeared to Habun Castle to complete his plan.
'Come down. You won't find the trolls... eh?'
His eyes, which had been ignoring the Habun soldiers, shook like a blue wave.
"What! Where are those guys going!"
The Habun soldiers moving in the wrong direction turned around and headed toward the mountain valley.
'They knew?'
Moving like that meant they had known from the beginning that there were trolls in the valley. Otherwise, there was no reason to move that way.
'How?'
Even if he had lived here as a mountain scout his whole life, finding trolls in the snowy Sterin Mountain was impossible. He couldn't understand how they had known the location.
'It's too late to take the trolls now, but how... ah!'
When he was pondering what to do, a good idea came to him.
"No."
The man in the black robe bit his lip, looking at the Ice Troll Warriors and Shamans behind him, and drew a thick smile.
"Actually, this might be better."
***
Raon led everyone up the hill at the base of the mountain without making a sound. The pace was fast, but since there was no ice, they could descend without issue.
At the end of the hill, he lay down and looked below. Fifteen trolls were gathered in the frozen valley.
Eleven of them were drawing strange patterns with blood and the corpses of orcs and bearwolves, while the remaining four stood with arms limp, guarding the area. They seemed to be preparing some ritual or spell.
"T-trolls. Real trolls."
"Fifteen?"
"More than what we saw, but they are the real ones."
The 2nd Scout Squad confirmed the troll group and nodded.
"How did you notice the trolls here from below?"
"Th-the sense was real..."
"Are you human? Not a dog?"
All the scouts, Wolves Mercenary Corps members, and Snow Strike Squad looked at Raon with half-empty eyes.
"This, this can't be! How did you find these guys here?!"
Edquil shook his catfish mustache in disbelief.
"I don't know if it's believable or not. Remember the promise, right?"
Raon smiled and approached him.
"After the battle ends, the scouts' baggage and odd jobs are all Snow Strike Squad's responsibility. Even though one group leader, won't say two things with one mouth. Ah, no informal speech either."
"..."
"Another one. I hope you carry my baggage yourself."
"If you do it this way, it won't be fun?"
"I'm very fun, no need to worry."
"This brat will..."
Edquil glared at Raon and ground his teeth.
"Still, my hunch was right. I felt something from this friend."
Beto burst into admiration, egging on Edquil's anger.
"He wasn't just good at fighting."
"Yeah, this kind of exploration ability is the first time I've seen."
"How can we not recruit you into our mercenary band?"
The mercenary members also stuck out their tongues, looking down at the trolls.
"..."
"What, such a guy..."
"Damn!"
Only the Snow Strike Squad and their swordsmen who had been mocking Raon here had the expression of having eaten shit.
"Raon. Really found with sense?"
Terian approached cautiously. His eyes were shaking violently.
"I said the sense is good."
"Hmm..."
"And now there's something more important, right?"
"Yeah. That's right."
He nodded and cautiously approached the end of the hill.
"All in combat readiness."
The scouts held crossbows, while the mercenaries and Snow Strike drew their swords. Veterans made almost no sound, but the trolls, sensing the faint killing intent, looked up as promised.
"Crararac!"
"Kyararac!"
The trolls on the right side let out ear-piercing cries upon seeing the Snow Strike swordsmen on the hill.
"Shua!"
With a sound like a tree falling, silver rain poured down the hill.
Puffuffubuk!
More than five arrows per Ice Troll body hit, but due to tough leather, few arrows dug in.
"Crararac!"
"Kuaaaaa!"
The trolls gnawed the arrows stuck in their bodies and roared with angry mouths.
"Charge!"
"Yaaaa!"
Terian ran like a stallion, raising his aura sword, and the Snow Strike and Mercenaries followed.
"Krue! We're going too!"
The scouts jumped down, holding crossbows in one hand and shields in the other.
"..."
Dorian trembled his lips in fear but didn't forget his duty. He drew his sword and stuck close to the scouts.
'I have to go too.'
Raon, with the 3rd Scout Squad, went down the hill. The battle had already begun, and the Snow Strike and Wolves were pushing the trolls.
"Cut the flesh, tear them apart!"
Beto, despite his polite demeanor, had wild eyes as he swung his sword madly. The sharp aura on his blade hacked at the Ice Troll's upper body roughly.
"Surround and attack! Aim for the neck and heart!"
The Snow Strike Squad, unlike their dirty personality, had outstanding skill. They prepared sword formations and pressured the few monsters with multiple swordsmen, using the optimal hunting method.
"Shua!"
The scouts circled the battlefield and shot crossbows at the trolls fighting with swordsmen.
Shooting from close range increased the leather-piercing rate compared to before, but the impact wasn't great. It only distracted the trolls' attention, making the situation easier for swordsmen or mercenaries to fight.
About ten swordsmen and scouts per troll, it was a chaotic battle, but humans had the advantage.
"Khuk! Young master."
Dorian pushed away an Ice Troll trying to attack him and spat out rough breath.
"Why so quiet today? Normally you'd have jumped out already, right?"
"Our duty is protecting scouts. And my opponent is separate."
No one felt it, but two monsters that looked like troll bosses were running toward here.
'Almost here.'
Raon smiled coolly and looked up.
'My prey.'
"Never approach! Our purpose is to distract attention!"
Radin shouted at the scouts.
"If you've drawn the troll's attention, immediately retreat! No need to face them directly!"
He ran quickly and pulled the crossbow toward the shoulder of the troll trying to grab the Snow Strike swordsman.
Pang!
The arrow only slightly pierced the Ice Troll's shoulder, but that was enough. The gap allowed the swordsman to dodge and counterattack.
"If stamina differs, fall back!"
Radin strung the arrow. The crossbow stringing speed was not slow for a crossbow. He looked more trained than anyone here.
He whirled like a squirrel on the battlefield, helping swordsmen and mercenaries in danger and encouraging tired scouts.
"Haa, haa!"
Radin stopped before the hill he had come down from and caught his breath.
'Best situation.'
The advantage from the ambush continued so far. There were some injured, but no dead, and only ten trolls remained.
'This case is rare.'
In Habun Castle's fierce battle, such an easy tilt was unusual. It was all thanks to Raon.
'When I go back, I'll have to punish him harshly... eh?'
His head hair stood up at a vicious killing intent, cutting off Radin's thoughts.
Swallow.
He swallowed the dry saliva and slowly raised his head. On the hill, two trolls bigger than the head of an Ice Troll stood holding clubs and staffs.
"Wa, warriors and shamans..."
"Krruruk!"
Dense killing intent poured from the two monsters' eyes, feeling like naked chill.
Kwaaang!
The Ice Troll Warrior smashed the hill and leaped toward him and the scouts. Unimaginable power emanated from the blood-stained club.
"..."
Breath stopped. Only death filled his mind. No way to live. The other scouts nearby also closed their eyes, sensing the end of their lives.
'Damn!'
When biting his lips at the club growing larger. In the time when all had stopped, one swordsman moved.
Tung!
He pushed Radin and the scouts back with invisible force and stood alone in front of the Ice Troll Warrior.
He thrust his thin sword toward the troll's club, which held terrifying power. A red flower bloomed at the tip of the blade and waved elegantly.
Kwaaaaaang!
Terrifying impact shattered the thousand-mile valley, and the valley collapsed.
But the swordsman's body didn't shake at all. His legs were firmly rooted like the roots of a thousand-year-old ancient tree, pushing away the human-sized club with the strength of a human body.
"..."
The scouts who had resigned themselves to death couldn't even breathe at this thrilling sight.
"Step back."
Raon turned his head halfway. A clear smile hung on his lips.
"It will end soon."