Troll.

Along with the ogres, they were one of the most ferocious and dangerous of all monsters.

A fully grown troll could grow to be over 30 feet tall, and they reached thousands of pounds. They possessed a tremendous force capable of tearing apart large animals with a single motion.

Although they were not very intelligent, the trolls were capable of utilizing simple tools. Ordinary predators simply could not measure up to such creatures.

Their firm muscles were so tough and thick that it resembled a layer of iron, and ordinary weapons were unable to penetrate through the surface to seriously injure a troll. Above everything else, their most frightening ability was to regenerate and recover beyond imagination.

Small wounds healed in the blink of an eye, and they were able to recover from fatal injuries within a day or two. They would not die unless their heart was completely destroyed or their heads were completely decapitated.

Trolls usually resided deep in the mountains or the valleys, but if they happened to appear near a human settlement, hundreds of troops had to be recruited to simply drive them out, as it was near impossible to kill them with ordinary measures.

As such, trolls were among the fiercest of monsters with their terrifying power and regenerative abilities, and they were truly a horrifying nightmare for humans. In addition, trolls tended to travel in small groups, except for special cases, which made them even more frightening.

“Damn…!”

Raven gritted his teeth after seeing the trolls.

As far as he knew, this was not the territory of trolls. They usually resided in deeper, more rugged mountains or valleys, and rarely showed themselves near a river.

Most alarmingly, the trolls in front of them were not from the wild, and it had not appeared because its territory had been invaded. The rough-textured leather armor proved it.

Kwwwoooooghh!!!

After making their way through the dense forest, the trolls let out a long roar from the other side of the river. Just as orcs emanated Orc Fear along with their battle cries, top-level monsters like trolls and ogres were able to unleash their unique spirits along with the cries as well.

“…..!”

The soldiers of the scouting party froze on the spot.

Some of the weak-willed members collapsed on the spot, and even the ill-tempered, aggressive assiah crocodiles hurriedly crawled into the water as soon as they heard the ferocious roar of the trolls.

But not everyone became dazed.

Fwoosh!

“Everyone, get it together!”

In an instant, Raven raised his voice while evoking the Spirit of the White Dragon. The soldiers shook themselves from the instinctive fear and came to their senses.

“Each unit will get into formation!”

“Squadron! Battle formation one! Just do it like we did in the training!”

“Raise your shields! Prepare the crossbows!”

The commanders shouted at the top of their lungs, carrying out Raven’s orders.

The soldiers quickly moved as they had practiced over the period of their training. Dozens of shields were erected to defend the front like a turtle’s shell, and long spears poked out from the gaps between the shields.

Kwooh!

Trolls jumped into the river, holding huge wooden clubs embedded with sharp bones. Their weapons were made by trimming entire trees, and they looked menacing in the trolls’ elongated arms.

Seeing the monsters take action, Raven shouted while looking back towards the scouting party.

“We will surround them on three sides! 3rd and 4th squadrons on the right! 5th and 6th squadrons on the left! 1st and the 2nd squadrons will take the front along with the slave squadron!”

The 3rd and the 4th squadrons belonged to the 11th regiment, and the 5th and the 6th squadrons were made up of soldiers from the southern nobles and the landlords.

Finally, the 1st and the 2nd squadrons were from the 7th regiment, and they were troops with abundant experience in the field. They would be in charge of the main attack.

“Elkin! Karuta!”

“Yes!”

“Keung! Do not worry!”

Isla had mounted his griffon as soon as the trolls appeared, and he ascended into the air with the rest of the griffons following behind him.

“Krrrrr!”

Karuta and ten members of the Ancona Orcs also prepared themselves for battle and emitted Orc Fear from behind Raven.

Kuwooooh…

Was it because of the majesty of the battle formations, the griffons, and the orc warriors?

Trolls stopped crossing the river and were now looking towards the group with probing eyes. But their caution was not entirely due to the scouting party and the orc warriors.

The reason for their pause was the Spirit of the White Dragon.

There were no dragons in the South.

The trolls in front of them had never seen a dragon in their lives either, and as such, they did not run away in the face of the Spirit of the White Dragon.

However, they were living creatures as well. They hesitated due to instinctive fear when they faced a dragon’s spirit, the exudation of the strongest creature on earth.

For Raven and the scouting party, it provided a great opportunity.

“Fire the crossbows!”

The soldiers pointed their crossbows towards the trolls and pulled the triggers at Raven’s command.

Tung! Tung! Tung!

In an instant, dozens of quarrels soared through the air. However, the trolls curled up as soon as the crossbows were fired, and the quarrels were unable to penetrate through the leather armors.

Furthermore, even the quarrels that managed to sneak through the gaps in the armors were not very useful. Compared to the longbow arrows, the crossbow quarrels were relatively short and small. They only pierced a finger or two’s depth into the skin of the trolls, which was barely comparable to being stung by bees for the trolls.

Kuwwwwoooooh!

The trolls stretched out their limbs after a loud roar, then the quarrels fell from their bodies. The trolls glared at the scouting party with eyes full of killing intent.

“Keep shooting! Do not give them a moment to rest!”

Quarrels continued to fly through the air at Raven’s command.

Kuwooh! Kuwoh!

The trolls began to cross the river once more, swinging their large club with one hand, and covering their face with the other.

“All squadrons, prepa… Huh?”

Raven paused in the midst of giving an order.

Across the river, hundreds of smaller figures were beginning to appear from the shadows of the thick forest like a wave.

“Dammit…!”

Raven’s eyes trembled. As soon as they appeared, the creatures jumped into the river without any hesitation. They belonged to a race called lizardman.

***

Just as their names suggested, lizardmen had a similar figure to humans, but they had the head of a lizard and a long tail. They possessed better strength and stamina compared to humans, and they were as warlike and intelligent as the orcs.

In addition, they gathered in hundreds or thousands to live together in tribes. Unlike orcs, who did not care much for human affairs, lizardmen had a deep hatred toward humans.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why lizardmen had rarely posed a major threat to humans throughout history. They were sensitive to temperature changes, and they could not function in colder climates. Moreover, they were only able to survive in locations near a lake or a river.

For such reasons, lizardmen lived only in the south, specifically in some parts of the Great Forest, which was water-rich, hot, and humid throughout the year, and they rarely collided with humans.

But now, such creatures had appeared along with the trolls

”Kieeeeeh!”

Hundreds of lizardmen jumped into the river with mud splashing all over their body, letting out screams as they dived in. And soon, the lizardmen began to quickly cross the river while utilizing their tail to support themselves. Even if the water was shallow, it would have been quite difficult for humans to cross, but the lizardmen navigated through it all too easily.

Kuwooooooh!

Boom!

“Ugh!”

On one side, several trolls collided with the 1st and 2nd squadrons after crossing the river, and on the other side, three trolls made a reckless dash towards the other squadrons. They headed straight for the formations made of shields and spears.

Kuwoooooh!

“Everyone, prepare for impact!”

As the trolls advanced, a commanding knight clenched his teeth and gave the orders.

Kiyaaaah!

With a shrieking cry, griffons fell from the sky and attacked the trolls.

Kiyaaak! Kiyah!

“Kuwooooh!”

Griffons were quite large as well, but they were much smaller than trolls. Nevertheless, a troll became flustered when three griffons charged towards it.

The trolls were unable to advance easily with the griffons circling around them at high speeds, attacking with their beaks and talons whenever they spotted a gap.

However, there was something even more threatening…

Woooosh! Thud!

An object sliced through the air and penetrated the lower left chest of a troll.

Kuwoooh!

The troll screamed at the intense pain. It had never felt anything like it before. A five-foot long spear stuck out of the troll’s lower left chest, which unfortunately was a little lower than its heart.

Shiiing!

Soon, another spear pierced through the air with a sharp sound, and this time, it penetrated the shoulder of a troll.

Kuwooh! Kuwoughh!

The knights and the soldiers of the scouting party looked towards the origin of the spears as the trolls cried out in distress.

Their expressions brightened.

“Sir Isla!”

Isla had thrown a spear from while riding on his fast-travelling griffon. He cried out while aiming another spear towards the monsters.

“Now! Everybody, attack the trolls!”

As soon as Isla shouted, the commanders hurriedly raised their voices.

“2nd squadron! Third attack formation! Third attack formation!”

Many of the soldiers were flustered because they had never seen a troll before, but they managed to change into the ordered formation with agility and accuracy.

It was the result of long, arduous, repetitive training.

“Uwooh!”

The shield bearing soldiers split to the sides, and the spearmen stepped up and stabbed the trolls. The giant monsters were unable to come to their senses due to the griffons’ attack.

Thwack!

However, due to their tall height, the spears only penetrated the abdomen or lower bodies of the trolls.

Kuwoogh!

Nevertheless, it was effective.

Unlike their well-developed upper body, which was covered in leather armor, the trolls possesed a rather weak lower body. Their bent waists and long arms had also evolved into such shapes because they had difficulties moving fast using only their legs.

Kuwooogh!

The trolls kneeled or reeled after suffering injuries to their abdomens and lower bodies. But they intuitively swung their arms in anger, and huge wooden clubs swept through the approaching soldiers.

Boom!

A roar rang out as the weapons collided with the soldiers, and about a dozen soldiers flew away without even having the chance to scream. Furthermore, the trolls’ fearsome ability to regenerate began to repair the wounds caused by the griffons and the soldiers’ attacks.

“Uwah…”

The soldiers began to slowly back away, their faces filled with fear and despair.

“Do not back down! Attack! Keep attacking!”

The commanders shouted at the top of their lungs, and the soldiers attempted to attack once more.

“Kuwaaaaaaaahhh!”

Roars as intense as the trolls’ roar, or rather, an even more intense roar shook the earth. Several dark, red shadows fleeted towards the trolls along with the roar.

“Kukakakak! Finally, some worthy opponents have shown themselves for the first time in a while!”

The Ancona Orc warriors burst towards the trolls who were several times bigger than themselves.