Chapter 5: Troll

A circus manager soliciting customers nearby saw this and immediately understood that these were more people drawn in by the Troll publicity. He hurriedly greeted them, "Two guests, there are definitely Trolls here. Would you like to buy some candy? I can tell you where the Trolls are. Even Elves say my candy is delicious."

While saying this, the manager waved a handful of candy in front of Xiao Nier, but his eyes were fixed on Xia Duo, seemingly wanting Xia Duo to pay. But how could Xia Duo possibly pay?

No matter how playful Xiao Nier was, he knew better than to lose his sense of proportion. Don't look at how the manager only grabbed a handful of candy; just this handful cost at least 3 Silver Coins. If one were to buy coarse sugar with 3 Silver Coins, it would be enough for him to eat slowly for a whole day.

He tried hard not to look at the candy that even Elves supposedly said was good, and looked at Xia Duo. Of course, it wasn't to ask Xia Duo to pay, but to let Xia Duo make the decision.

Xia Duo smiled, "Boss, I have seen Elves. I really cannot imagine a scenario where an Elf would spit out sand."

It was true that there was sugar inside these candies, and one couldn't tell the quality, but for the convenience of storage and transport, they were wrapped in a layer of roasted flour. In this era, there was no milling technology like on modern Earth, and mixing in sand was a common occurrence.

How could an Elf possibly eat this kind of thing?

According to Xia Duo's understanding, when Elves came to human society, they basically did not eat local food unless it was raw materials, which they would process themselves before eating. Some Elves would not even drink the local water.

"Hehe." The manager gave two dry laughs. He had originally thought the country bumpkins would be easy to fool, but he hadn't expected them to be worldly. Seeing that the two were not buying anything, he waved his hand, pointed to the east, and stopped entertaining Xia Duo and the other.

……

Continuing to walk east, Xia Duo discovered that these tents were roughly arranged in a ring, enclosing an open space in the middle. Perhaps that was where the actual circus performance was held; he imagined one would have to pay to see it.

Today was the Midsummer Festival, and there were many people, but there were not as many people watching the circus as he had imagined. Xia Duo listened carefully and could only hear the roar of a lion coming from the center of the tents from time to time; there were no cheers from the crowd.

Walking and stopping along the way, there were actually quite a lot of things being sold in these outer tents. Xia Duo saw a puppet that could talk; he didn't know how it was made, but the manager asked for 50 Gold Coins.

This kind of sky-high price was not something Xia Duo could accept.

There was also a silk handkerchief said to be from Cormanthor. It looked quite like silk, but whether it was truly from Cormanthor was hard to say. The shopkeeper asked for 200 Gold Coins, and Xia Duo could only shake his head repeatedly.

Walking along this path, he had gained quite a bit of knowledge, even more than he had in the half-year at Old Neil Inn.

Walking to the far east, this was the place the circus manager had pointed out earlier to see the Troll. The tents here were different from the ones seen before; the previous tents served as temporary stalls and walls.

But the tent here existed more like a prison, with a metal structure inside, like a giant metal cage.

Inside the prison was a tall, thin, grey-green creature, nearly twice as tall as Xia Duo. This brought him a lot of pressure. According to the game he had played, Trolls had immense strength, possessed regenerative abilities, and were fearless in every battle.

That the Lion and Fire Circus could use a living Troll for display was truly exceptionally bold.

As for why it was a living one and not a specimen or something, hadn't he seen this Troll gnawing on a Goblin!

The air outside the Troll's display tent was foul. Besides the smell of the Troll and the Goblin, there was the lingering scent of the onlookers' vomit.

Xia Duo also felt a bit like vomiting. It wasn't that the scene was particularly cruel, but that the smell here was too unbearable. Xiao Nier could no longer hold it back and vomited with a "wah" sound.

"So stinky!"

Besides Xia Duo and Xiao Nier, there were several other Adventurers watching. Seeing Xiao Nier unable to handle the smell and vomiting, they immediately let out mocking laughter.

"Everyone, the Troll is too ugly and too stinky. Would you like to try shooting a few arrows at it? 1 Silver Coin per shot, arrows are 5 Silver Coins each. You can bring your own bows and arrows. Anyone who can kill the Troll, our Lion and Fire Chamber of Commerce will reward them with 500 Gold Coins."

A manager chimed in at an inopportune time. Xiao Nier was already feeling disappointed; so this was what a Troll looked like. Xia Duo looked at the bows and arrows provided by the Lion and Fire Circus; they were all crude and shoddy.

The bow was just a piece of wood tied with thin hemp rope, and the arrows were just a pile of sharp wooden spikes that still had a curve to them. Could equipment like this kill a Troll with super recovery abilities?

Xia Duo didn't believe it. This could only be a money-grabbing scheme. However, 500 Gold Coins was not a small amount after all. Some of the surrounding Adventurers carried bows and arrows with them, and although they knew it was a trap set by the circus, they still couldn't help but want to jump into it.

"I'll give it a try!"

An Adventurer wearing half-body Leather Armor and carrying a bow and arrows couldn't help but step forward. Of course, he wouldn't use the bows and arrows provided by the circus; with his own bow and arrows, he could kill a wild boar weighing hundreds of pounds.

Seeing someone willing to give it a try, the group of Adventurers also became interested and watched the archer perform.

After paying the money, the archer drew his bow and shot an arrow. His movements were skillful and refined. A refined Iron arrow hit the Troll's chest straight on, but the Troll just pulled it out casually, threw it aside, and continued gnawing on the Goblin, as if the attack just now had only scratched an itch for it.

The archer was unwilling to give up and shot another arrow, this time aiming for the Troll's neck.

It hit!

But the Troll still pulled it out casually. The arrowhead brought up a spray of green blood. This time everyone saw it clearly; the wound on the neck healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Everyone gasped.

Many people had heard the legends of Trolls, but almost no one had seen one in person, because the vast majority of people who had seen a Troll had ended up inside the Troll's stomach.

He hadn't expected that the Troll really had super self-healing abilities!

The archer was somewhat unwilling to give up and drew his bow again. This time he was aiming for the Troll's eyes.

It hit again, but the Troll still didn't die. This time, it still casually pulled the arrow out of its eye socket, curled its tongue, and swallowed the eyeball that was on the arrowhead. Almost at the same time, another eye grew in the eye socket.

Compared to before, except for some bloodstains on its face, there was almost no change.

"Roar—"

Having seen the Troll's astonishing self-healing ability, everyone was startled by this roar. The archer even took several steps back; he felt that the Troll's roar was directed at him.

Xia Duo noticed that several Adventurers subconsciously placed their hands on their waists. Those people had leather cylinders hanging from their waists; Xia Duo knew those were Scroll Cases, containing Spell cards that could be used in a crisis.

At this moment, the manager appeared again, "Everyone, don't be nervous. This Troll has already been tamed by our Chamber of Commerce. It is guaranteed not to hurt anyone. Everyone can attack to your heart's content."

Perhaps because they had just been frightened, several more people stepped forward, preparing to shoot a few arrows for fun. However, none of them used the bows and arrows provided by the circus, but instead rented bows and arrows from the two archer Adventurers present.

1 Silver Coin to shoot an arrow was not a very expensive pastime for Adventurers, but that was only the opportunity to shoot. A good arrow cost at least 5 Silver Coins each, and the people in the circus would not be so kind as to help them pick up the arrows they shot.

If you want to pick them up yourself, you can, provided you aren't afraid of the Troll.

A trap, it was all a trap. After watching for a while, Xia Duo prepared to go back. It just so happened that Xiao Nier didn't want to stay anymore either.