Chapter 7
Many transmigrators hesitate to interfere with the native they are inserted into. They believe that either the cosmic retaliation of fate or the loss of absolute knowledge is to be feared. This reaction is reasonable depending on the setting but often leaves the many isekai travelers overcautious. Alric did not fear derailing the story. Alric wasn't being brave…he just didn't care. As much as he loved proclaiming his intelligence, he wasn't an intellectual powerhouse. He fit in as a troll rather well.
He knew that what he was about to do would change the way things go in a rather large way. Alric wasn't built for planning and scheming for how to take advantage of the plot. Alric was straightforward. He was straightforward as a human and now as a giant slab of meat made as a living siege machine he was just as forward. These things meant little to Alric as he charged straight at the three of the most infamous trolls of the Tolkin's world.
He put his shoulder forward and charged like he was trying out for Middle-earths first troll linebacker. His thundering steps echoed into the night like a war drum. The Troll talking to the hobbit had enough time to turn and scrunch up his face in confusion. Alric slammed into the fifteen-foot Troll.
Alric had misjudged the size of the Trolls, while they were larger than him, it wasn't nearly as much as he thought. In addition to the momentum he had built up, his already dense muscles were on the edge of superhuman. As a result, the sheer power of the body check he delivered was far beyond his expectations. With a crack of breaking bone, the first Troll learned to fly. Its heavy form soared gracefully for all of a second before another booming impact echoed out.
Alric stumbled from the impact but managed to remain standing. He didn't manage to block the massive fist of the second troll from smashing into his face and sending him to the ground. The blow hurt. He didn't see his ancestors or anything, but he felt it rattle his skull. Surprisingly his body seemed to drink in the pain and pump out pure adrenaline. Using his extensive bar brawling technique Alric proceeded to exchange blows with his new foe. They rolled and slammed into each other with wild fury.
Alric barely felt the many bruises and cuts he was rapidly accruing. His mind was a chaotic mix of anger and joy. The thrill of a body working perfectly for its intended purpose and the heady mix of battle. His fists rose and fell over and over. His grin was bloody but little actual damage had occurred. The second troll wasn't faring nearly so well. The bruises were larger and the damage deeper. The fight went out of the second Troll slowly. It was tenacious.
Alric wasn't sure if it was dead or just knocked out as it finally slumped. He was considering hitting it some more to be sure when.
"Die! Y' bas'erd!"
A searing pain exploded in his side. Alric roared as the first serious damage snapped him out of his battle fugue for the first time since the start of the battle. The third Troll had stuck a massive pigs-sticker into his side. He realized this was totally his fault. He hadn't been paying attention to the rest of the battlefield. The other two trolls had recovered and attacked. The first Troll was sneering at him from behind the one who had stabbed him. One of the first Trolls arms was badly broken, the new joint dangling its arm at a sickening angle.
The Trolls in true bully fashion took the time to gloat. They leered at him as if the one stab wound was some inevitable mortal wound.
Why aren't they attacking?
Just as the newly emboldened Troll was about to start what was doubtless going to be a taunting diatribe on par with the legendary "Yo Mamma!" he was cut off. While the Trolls were polite enough to pause after their attack Alric was not. After a quick unsheathing of the crude dagger in his side, he quickly ensheathed the blade into the open mouth of the blades owner.
For a second everyone froze. The Troll slowly toppled forward. The first Troll which had been hiding behind the now corpse looked wide eyed between him and the dead Troll.
" Wai'! Sa'y back! No."
Alric grabbed the crippled Troll. Feeling petty he lifted it from its sprawl, slowly letting it panic. He decided to try something he hadn't tried in a fight before. He silently leaned down, opened his mouth and took a massive bite out of the Troll. The first bite took a massive chunk but wasn't quite deep enough to be instant death. Alric swallowed and bite again.
The taste was a mix of salty pork and something vaguely sour with a texture like a tire. It was not a pleasant flavor.
Worth every bite. Ahh, satisfying.
Alric looked into the dying Trolls' eyes. The light in the brown orbs reluctantly faded. A life snuffed out in a visceral and brutal fashion. The pumping of blood was already slowing as Alric took a third more measured bite.
I should probably be more concerned with the fact I just killed these guys. But I mean they sucked ass. They were definitely monsters…the action type of monster not just by birth. I'm definitely the heroic rescuer in this picture. So it's probably fine to add them to my protein goals. I can't wait to find out what I get from the system for this. This is cannibalism technically, but I mean I kind of don't care. I should probably try to say something to the group soon. Eating once own species is probably not the best first impression…I'm sure my brilliant personality and winning charm will shine through. It'll be fine.
(Bilbo Baggins POV)
Bilbo regretted leaving his home. He was a Baggins of Bag-end. He had, at the meddling of a wizard, reawakened the desire to adventure. Bilbo longed to see the world…or he thought he did.
This is not what I wanted to see!
Bilbo scuttled away from the clashing Trolls. He had thought himself clever for distracting the Trolls before. Now he realized the limits of what wordplay could achieve in front of raw power. He scrambled away from the impact. The force nearly tossed him aside when the new monster had rammed into the Troll he was talking to. The collisions struck with force sounding like thunder. The tumbling giants shook the ground as the hobbit made his way to the dwarves.
The new Troll was laying into their three captors. Bilbo cast a wide-eyed glance at the fight. The new combatant was brutal. The predicament of their previous would-be devourers was less than comforting. Either side would still likely eat them. He felt like a mouse scurrying around the fire before the mammoth size of the Trolls.
Finally making it to the group of piled up Dwarves, Bilbo began trying to free them.
"We have overstayed our welcome."
A chorus of grumbling and cries of "Just get us out." Replied.
The dwarves weren't a polite bunch, but they had come to his rescue earlier. They had also thrown him out as bait in the first place, but still, Bilbo was not going to leave without them.
I am a Baggins of Bag-end!
Bilbo heartened himself on this conviction and set to work.
Another glance at the battle had Bilbo freezing in horror. The strange new Troll had just mauled the last troll by eating its throat and shoulder. The dark blood ran over its face and chest. The grotesque scene got worse as its maw opened and devoured two more large chunks of flesh with apparent relish.
"What the plague! It's eating them.