Chapter 227: The Troll Attack

If it were said that the stones he had moved might have been pushed back to their original positions by animals, then surely the tree bark he had slashed could not possibly have repaired itself automatically! There must be some supernatural power existing within this.

Being able to make slashed tree bark recover, and even having the turf and stones return to their original state as if time were flowing backward, left Xia Duo feeling deeply incredulous.

Just as he was preparing to go and look for similar situations, the Magic Alarm he had set up about 200 to 300 meters to the east of the Temporary Camp was triggered.

"It's a large creature! And there's more than one!"

Xia Duo's expression changed, and he immediately used the Communication Artifact gifted by Niya to issue an order to the camp—

"Jibu, two large creatures have intruded about 300 meters to the east. Retreat to the camp immediately, switch to Standard Shields, and defend in place."

"Ximeng, return to the camp immediately and coordinate with Jibu for defense."

After giving these brief instructions, Xia Duo could no longer concern himself with discovering any abnormal states; he gripped his sword and prepared to return.

However, before leaving, Xia Duo slashed the tree in this "grid" area once more, leaving a very deep mark, and then left without looking back.

……

At the same time, Jibu and Ximeng at the Temporary Camp also took action immediately upon hearing the order.

Jibu took out a Bone Whistle and blew it sharply, emitting the pre-agreed signal, while Ximeng relied entirely on his voice to gather the people in the squad.

Fortunately, the place where Ximeng and the others were working was not far away and was right by the edge of the camp. By the time the members of Jibu Squad returned to the camp one after another, Ximeng and the others had already changed their equipment and were defending themselves with Long Spears.

"Ha De, Pi Er, Wu De, you three switch to shields, everyone else be ready at all times," Jibu ordered, while he himself also switched to a Savile Territory Standard Shield.

Afterward, he divided Ximeng's squad into two groups, each following two shields; facing large creatures, Jibu did not dare to be careless.

It was true that Ximeng and the others had been Adventurers, but ordinary Adventurers had almost no experience dealing with large creatures, and most importantly, they rarely had experience using large shields.

Dealing with large creatures was not just a matter of holding a shield and taking the hit; it required skill, experience, and Courage. Jibu could not yet see these in Ximeng and the others.

He could only let them hold Long Spears and provide supplementary attacks alongside his own team members.

Soon, Jibu and the others had set up a temporary defensive line within the camp, and at this moment, they could already hear the rustling sounds coming from the bushes not far away.

Everyone's heart rose, and they stared nervously in the direction from which the sound came.

"What is that?" someone asked in a low voice.

"Like some kind of giant?"

"So tall!"

Through the gaps in the bushes, the blurry shadows of the arrivals could already be seen. The team members whispered to each other, especially those in Ximeng's squad, whose hands holding the Long Spears had already begun to tremble.

"Quiet, everyone!" Jibu barked in a low voice, taking a deep breath at the same time.

If he had not misidentified them, these two large creatures walking toward them should be—Trolls? Looking at their bodies, which were nearly half a head taller than his own, Jibu also felt a bit daunted; anyone would feel fear toward such near-legendary creatures.

Just then, the two Trolls had completely emerged from the bushes: green skin, arms hanging past their knees, hair twisting eerily on top of their heads, and those cold, chilling gazes that made one feel intimidated at a single glance.

Jibu's side took a step back almost in unison, but Jibu had no heart to blame them at this moment, because he himself had retreated as well.

And more importantly, the Trolls seemed to want to attack them!

"I remember now! Those are Trolls! I saw them at the Lion and Fire Circus; they can't be killed, they can't be killed!" A member of Ximeng's squad was already on the verge of a breakdown.

Hearing his words, the fear in the others' hearts rose another level. The height alone was enough to make people afraid, and coupled with the reputation of Trolls, their morale dropped almost to the extreme.

Some even let their spearheads, which were pointed forward, droop down.

Slap—slap—slap—

Jibu turned and delivered three slaps in a row, lowered his voice, and said through gritted teeth: "Do you want to wait for death! Listen well, no matter if that is a Troll or something else, if they want to attack us, they must lose a piece of flesh."

"Hold your weapons tight; we must hold out until the Lord returns. The Lord is a Mage!"

After finishing, Jibu glared at the person who wanted to speak, then turned and stared fiercely at the two Trolls.

It seemed the Lord's Magic really did boost their morale; the momentum of these twenty people gradually condensed. Looking at the Trolls again, although there was still fear, there was also a bit of desperate ruthlessness.

And those two Trolls, seeing these little people go from fear and near-collapse to showing the Courage to fight, looked at each other and let out sinister laughs.

Subsequently, a slightly thinner Troll raised its long, thin arm that hung past its knees, stabbed its thorn-like weapon fiercely into its other arm, and then pulled down violently! Flesh and blood turned outward! Immediately after, this Troll used the wound on its arm to paint its face, but after only two strokes, it seemed dissatisfied, cut open another wound, and continued painting.

It did this until its entire face was painted a ghostly green—distinct from the mossy color of the rest of its body.

Opposite them, Jibu subconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and once again encouraged everyone by saying the Lord would return soon, but this time, the fallen morale was hard to recover.

After all, having seen the cruelty of the Trolls and their powerful regenerative ability with their own eyes, the legend was no longer just a legend at this moment, but had become reality.

And the words "Trolls cannot be killed" spoken by the team member earlier echoed in their hearts once again.

If not for the fact that there was no way out and Jibu's suppression, these people would have scattered long ago.

Soon, the Trolls launched their attack. Jibu's eyes narrowed; he knew the critical moment had arrived. At this moment, the four shields could not bring them much sense of security.

"Ha De and I will entangle the sturdy one; Pi Er, Wu De, you entangle the thin one; everyone else attack when there is an opportunity!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jibu felt as if he had been rammed by a giant bear. Although he dissipated most of the impact, what remained still made his arms shake violently.

"Everyone be careful, this thing has immense strength!"

At the same time, when the Trolls rammed into the shields, several Long Spears thrust out fiercely, but the Trolls seemed completely indifferent, knowing only how to wave their thorn-like weapons and beat the shields desperately, as if they were playing.

Jibu held his shield with both hands, trying hard to block the Troll in front of him, while the others agilely adjusted their positions along with the shield.

It was just that Ximeng's squad, after all, had not undergone long-term team cooperation training. At first, they could keep up with Jibu Squad's pace, but later they became very uncoordinated.

And the Troll, after several attacks were blocked by the shields, seemed to lose patience. It seized a gap in the defense and hurled its thorn-like weapon away violently.

Ah—

A scream came, but no one else turned back. Jibu shouted even louder: "The injured, step back a little yourselves, don't disrupt the formation! The Troll is already injured! Everyone else, hold the line for me!"

The Trolls were indeed injured and were continuously receiving attacks, but the wounds on their bodies were also healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It seemed that the attacks from Jibu and the others, besides making the Trolls bleed a little, had caused nothing at all!

(End of chapter)