Theoric and the others received little sleep when they started to hear the trolls in the area smashing rocks.

Vott sounding exhausted roused himself- "Alright lads time to get up, that 2-hour refresher is more than enough for us, seems the trolls know we're around here somewhere, they will most likely be in small groups again searching so we'll have a bit of fun when they arrive in front of us."

The Asgardian physiology helped immensely when taking a short break compared to a human, but with the constant running and fighting that's been going on, their bodies were still far from peak condition not to mention the mental exhaustion from it all.

The men were not the only ones irritated from the lack of sleep, Theoric didn't earn any new upgrades that he was hoping for, he didn't know if it was because he needed more sleep or if he couldn't keep relying on quick gains from each night rest.

His abilities were far better now than when he first arrived, unlike his physical abilities which had little in the way of improvements.

It seemed to him like his body was adjusting to his blessings first which slowed down the physical improvements he knew the Acanti soul still needed to do in order to complete the merge fully.

The sun had long since fallen leaving a very dark almost pitch-black room underneath the rocks they were hiding in. The chill creeping in, leaving a room full of cold unhappy Asgardians who fumbled around for their weapons as they waited for the trolls to approach.

That disgusting stench was the first thing to hit their nostrils before the yapping trolls began breaking rocks around them.

Vott whispering- "Steady men, wait till they're right on top of us."

"Stupid Assgins hiding like rats." one troll said swinging his club at a rock face.

"Tired swinging club at stupid rocks." another said.

"Keep working, when find Assgins, I eat flesh from bone and poop on remains." The last thing the troll leader managed to say as Vott angrily shouted out- "Now!" smashing through the wall, swinging his ax down with such force he bisected the last troll who spoke.

The other Asgardians came out in a fury of their own as they took the trolls off guard quickly cutting them down.

A troll group about twice their size was soon reduced to the same size leaving the trolls scared stiff as the ones in the back turned to leave only to find an orange force shield blocking their escape.

Vott happily watching some of the trolls trying to claw their way out laughed- "Hahaha nice one Theoric, finish them off men we can't waste time here."

After dispatching the rest with ease Vott gathered the men- "Alright good no one was hurt, let's finish this before the sun rises, the supply depot should be just beyond this area in another open field, no time to waste someone could have heard us, move out."

As soon as he finished speaking the howls started again, echoing through the area, putting the men on edge as the already massive force in the surrounding area sounded that much larger and more intimidating, playing on the men's psyche.

Vott understanding spoke in a calming voice- "Steady men, it's better to die amongst brothers, amongst family on our way to Valhalla."

Theoric thinking he spoke wrongly in his attempt to calm the men found it strange when the heavy mood lifted.

Forgetting how seriously some Asgards take their warrior path, even these men who consider themselves outsiders to Asgard now, still had very deep connections to the Asgardian way.

Theoric on the other hand never bought into the whole Asgardian warrior lifestyle, he fought for very different reasons, that didn't include honor or death on the battlefield where many Asgardians hoped to reach Valhalla.

While he did like fighting like any good Asgardian would, honor and seeking death in battle was not among his goals.

His goals included the path of strength so he could protect those that he loves, protect the things he cares about not to mention he now had to save the Acanti. Dying would defeat the purpose and honor would only get in the way.

To everyone's relief, they didn't come across any trolls the rest of the way to the supply depot.

Being the leader Vott was always considering things, not liking the way things were going- "Hey Theoric, what are your thoughts on why we haven't seen another troll in a while, if only I could understand their incessant howling, I'm starting to think they actually communicate that way."

Theoric- "Maybe they do, as for why we haven't seen a troll, while you might think that something is up, I can still only think of this as being good for us as we grow closer to our goal, at least now we don't have to fight the whole way."

Vott seeing his point of view agreed- "Your right, trolls are stupid, this only helps us." He soon changed his mind though when they peeked over the next bin as it opened up to their goal.

Vott looking dismal- "Then again maybe it really is bad." he said looking at the more than 1000 trolls waiting for them.

Theoric- "Naw this isn't bad, did you really think we were never going to face a force this big, considering their numbers it was only a matter of time, we've been lucky so far at how stupid and unorganized they've been, even now I'd say this was poorly executed, they should have been wearing us down on our way here to meet certain death."

Vott still hearing the howls behind them thought otherwise- "Well maybe your right, but now they have us surrounded with no way to escape."

Theoric chuckled- "Are you sure about that, look over there." he pointed towards the far end where a ship was docked at the supply depot which was pumping water from an underground aquifer, an important resource on this mostly barren planet.

Vott eyes went wide denying it- "No, there is no way they will keep that ship around long enough for us to steal."