Carlos stood on the watchtower, looking at the endless Troll camp.
Instead of immediately attacking Gale Highland, the Trolls cut down many trees in the pine forest and made shields. These wooden shields were as thick as door panels and still contained moisture, offering astonishing protection. Of course, their weight was also astonishing; if the Trolls weren't tall and strong, they wouldn't be able to lift them at all.
Even so, the Trolls carrying the wooden shields still moved with difficulty. It took four or five days to transport them to Gale Highland. After reaching Madwind Post, the Trolls' attack speed was as slow as a snail, no different from crawling.
However, this left the Kaldorei helpless.
Even with Wind Power, the Rangers' arrows could not penetrate the wooden shields.
There were no ballistas in the outpost, nor too many mages, so they could only watch helplessly as the Trolls slowly approached. Slow yet pressure-inducing, all the Kaldorei knew that if the Trolls breached the outpost, they would have no way out.
Waiting for death like this, little by little, caused immense psychological pressure.
Everyone, including Star Eyes, looked at Carlos, waiting for his command.
Carlos, however, remained unmoving, as if he hadn't seen the Trolls moving.
As time passed, the Kaldorei grew increasingly anxious. Just as the Troll front advanced to thirty yards from the outpost, a loud bang suddenly came.
"Boom—"
The ground collapsed, and a gully swallowed hundreds of Trolls, instantly throwing the Troll battle line into disarray.
Carlos suddenly waved his hand, "Attack!"
Inside the watchtower walls, hundreds of Rangers stood up, pulled the triggers of their Wind Power, and hundreds of arrows shot into the vicinity of the gully. The wooden shields were too heavy, and the Trolls didn't have time to raise them again, getting hit squarely by the judgment arrow.
Screams instantly erupted. The Trolls' regenerative ability was strong, and if they weren't hit in a vital spot by a judgment arrow, their lives wouldn't be in danger. However, the inhibitory effect of the judgment arrow caused them more severe pain than ordinary arrows.
Not all Trolls were tough. These Trolls holding wooden shields weren't even berserkers; expecting them to endure was impossible.
The screams caused the Chieftain behind them to be displeased, "Make those wastes shut up! If they scream again, I'll sacrifice them to Hakkar!"
Around the Chieftain was a group of Trolls dressed differently from the others. Hearing this, they immediately showed cruel smiles.
The lesser Chieftains couldn't help but shiver, immediately running to the front line, "Wastes, all of you shut up! Re-form ranks, continue the attack!"
Soon, the Trolls re-formed their ranks, enduring the arrows. The Trolls at the front of the gully blocked the arrows, allowing their comrades in the gully to climb out. The Trolls behind the gully bypassed it from both sides, continuing their attack on the outpost.
Just then, Carlos drew his Sanction Blade, "Alpha Squad, charge!"
The outpost gate opened, and the Alpha Squad rushed directly towards the Trolls at the front of the gully. At this point, there were only two or three hundred Trolls at the front of the gully, and the Trolls behind the gully had not yet provided support, making it the best opportunity to deal with the Trolls at the front of the gully.
The thirty-yard distance was covered in an instant, and the Alpha Squad didn't even activate their combination skills. The Ice Imprint Grip hit the wooden shields, making the already slow Trolls even slower. The warriors drew their Sanction Blades, calmly bypassing the wooden shields and stabbing into the Trolls' bodies.
The Trolls watched themselves being attacked but couldn't react at all.
In a short while, all the Trolls at the front of the gully were killed. Those Trolls climbing out of the gully hadn't even found their footing before they were smashed back into the gully by the bodies of their comrades.
"Change formation!"
Following Carlos's command, the warriors of the Alpha Squad immediately moved to both sides, blocking the Trolls who had bypassed the gully and attacking them from the flank. The Trolls had no choice but to change the direction of their wooden shields to defend against the Alpha Squad's attack.
But doing so meant exposing their bodies to the Kaldorei Rangers.
Arrows accurately shot into the Trolls' necks, killing them.
For a time, the Trolls could not advance an inch.
The Chieftain was furious, "Wastes are wastes; I knew I couldn't rely on them."
He looked at the strange Trolls, "Hakkari, send out the Son of Hakkar. Those enemies encased in ice are our biggest obstacle. As long as we get rid of them, we can easily breach this outpost and return to Zul'Saroth."
Those strangely dressed Trolls were the Hakkari tribe. They worshipped the Blood God Hakkar. Hakkar, also known as the Soulflayer, was a loa with immense power.
The Hakkari's favorite thing to do was sacrifice other Trolls to Hakkar. Therefore, other Troll tribes feared them, terrified of being sacrificed and unable to find rest for their souls.
The Son of Hakkar were the wind serpents encountered by the Second Legion. Wind serpents bestowed with the title Son of Hakkar all possessed powerful strength. However, summoning these Sons of Hakkar also required a price.
Fortunately, these prices were readily available.
The Hakkari knelt on the ground, praying rapidly. In the gully, the still-living Trolls were horrified; the bodies of their dead comrades were constantly gushing blood. The blood gradually gathered in the air, forming a vortex of blood. Within the blood vortex, the figure of a wind serpent gradually appeared.
"Son of Hakkar—"
The Trolls shrieked, struggling to climb out of the gully and get away from the wind serpent. But the wind serpent was even faster than them. With a wide open mouth, a suction force fixed these Trolls in place. Then, faint shadows gradually appeared on the Trolls and Troll corpses, floating towards the wind serpent's mouth with the suction.
Taking souls, this was the ability of the Soulflayer. The Son of Hakkar, apparently, also possessed such an ability.
Star Eyes loudly warned, "Carlos, be careful of that strange snake!"
Carlos's expression was solemn. He had already felt the pressure of the Son of Hakkar and roughly guessed its strength. This wind serpent was stronger than many Archmages; he just didn't know if he could actually defeat an Archmage in a real fight.
"Stop it from devouring souls!"
Carlos didn't know why the Son of Hakkar wanted to devour Troll souls, but Gale had told him: whatever the enemy wants to do, we must stop it.
The Rangers immediately shot arrows at the Son of Hakkar. One arrow shot into the Son of Hakkar's mouth, causing it to interrupt its devouring in pain.
The souls of the living Trolls immediately returned to their bodies, and they scrambled out of the gully, crying and screaming, rushing into the Troll battle line.
"Don't eat me!"
"Help!"
The Troll battle line instantly fell into chaos. All the Trolls were terrified by the Son of Hakkar's actions. Some timid Trolls even threw away their wooden shields and joined the fleeing ranks.
"Quickly stop those wastes! I'll kill them!" The Chieftain roared in fury, stamping his feet as he gave orders.
The lesser Chieftains all ran over; those Trolls were members of their tribes. If they died here for nothing, it would be an enormous loss for their tribes. In fact, they were unwilling to send these newly adult Trolls to the battlefield, and even more unwilling to go to battle with the Hakkari tribe.
Because whether they won or lost, their tribes would lose many Trolls.
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