Chapter 253: A Bloody Storm
Bean-sized raindrops poured down with a "splash."
The drops splattered on the pale corpses floating on the water, quickly shattering and merging into the Silvermoon River.
Tens of thousands of murlocs frantically burst out from the water, charging at the surrounding trolls like rabid dogs.
The trolls, with nowhere to hide, were completely helpless.
Even though they struggled desperately, after taking down a couple of murlocs, they were quickly surrounded by even more.
The murlocs, wielding daggers, stabbed the trolls wildly or used their combined weight to drag them underwater.
Even with floating logs for support, the trolls couldn't withstand the pressure from so many murlocs.
The result was obvious; trolls dragged underwater died swiftly.
As more murlocs swarmed, the thousands of trolls that had jumped into the Silvermoon River gradually met their end.
The chaotic cries of the murlocs and the trolls' desperate screams intertwined, creating a terrifying atmosphere.
The entire Silvermoon River was shrouded in a dense, bloody glow.
Watching the river full of corpses, the troll priests, standing just outside the range of the crossbows, exchanged a mad, knowing glance.
They raised their staffs simultaneously, and a vast wave of magical power rippled outward.
They chanted eerie and strange incantations, giving off an air of mysticism.
From the sky, Matthew "saw" what was happening.
The four troll priests were using the trolls who died in the Silvermoon River as sacrifices, jointly casting a terrifying spell.
Matthew had studied the spellcasting methods of these troll priests and had even spent time conducting in-depth research.
Of course, what Matthew valued was not the crude, bloody magic of the troll priests, but their strange ability to communicate with evil gods.
Matthew vaguely remembered.
Even when he was at level 35, with power comparable to that of a mid-tier deity's saint form, studying these strange evil gods nearly got him into trouble.
So, Matthew naturally wouldn't repeat his mistakes this time and immediately ordered:
"Retreat!"
Seeing the message on the communication scroll, Bobo and Old Six, in the Silvermoon River, also sensed the deadly threat.
Following their instincts, they swiftly retreated without hesitation!
During their retreat, Bobo remembered to call out to the other Dragonblood Murlocs, telling these smarter underlings to leave.
For those obedient murlocs, Yaya was usually patient, as they could communicate and follow commands better.
As Bobo led his subordinates away, a terrifying power descended upon this section of the blood-drenched river.
The blood in the river rapidly converged toward the center, and the corpses floating on the surface began to shrivel.
Hundreds of murlocs who didn't leave finally sensed that something was wrong.
But before they could escape, their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.
Blood within their veins started to churn, vessels burst, turning into twisted blood mist.
"Ding, your murloc soldier has been attacked by an unknown force and has died..."
"Ding, your murloc soldier..."
"..."
With the death of hundreds of murlocs, Matthew could confirm that this group of troll priests was the same as those he encountered in the game.
The difference was that these priests could only borrow power from evil gods to cast highly restrictive blood spells.
Around two to three hundred remaining troll warriors were also engulfed by the bloody glow, gradually losing their life force amid their anguished howls.
At this moment, a strong wind blew, quickly spreading the dense smell of blood.
Glancing back at the bloody glow, Matthew led the soldiers to retreat, contemplating another issue:
"Could it be that sacrificing these troll soldiers was the troll priests' plan all along…?"
If it were any other intelligent creatures, Matthew's guess wouldn't hold water.
But when dealing with trolls brainwashed and controlled by evil gods, irrational actions suddenly made sense.
After all, having witnessed many evil gods, Matthew had seen countless foolish deeds by their followers.
Not bothering with the carnage behind, Matthew turned away without regret.
He knew that no matter how grand it seemed now, without enough sacrifices to sustain it, the evil gods, who never do business at a loss, would immediately withdraw their power.
On the contrary, forcing the troll priests to reveal one of their trump cards here delighted Matthew.
Since the Silvermoon River could no longer stop these trolls,
Matthew needed to figure out how to eliminate the remaining 6,000-plus troll soldiers.
The retreating soldiers enthusiastically discussed the murlocs that had made a significant impact earlier.
Many soldiers still felt as if they were dreaming:
"Were those really murlocs? I caught one myself before!"
"Wow, these murlocs are so fierce; they even dared to attack the trolls?"
"Heh, don't be fooled by how strong these trolls look; once they're in the water, they're no match for a few dozen murlocs!"
"Are those murlocs controlled by the lord? Will they turn out like the kobolds?"
"I'm not sure about that. Maybe the lord used some kind of magical spell."
"Murlocs fighting alongside us are good murlocs, and the ones causing us trouble are bad murlocs."
"Haha, that's one way to put it."
"Let's hurry back to the designated spot and rest…"
"So, we're not returning to the castle?"
"That's right, once the castle is surrounded, even with communication scrolls, it's impossible to fully grasp what's happening outside."
"True, we're better off staying outside so we can keep harassing the trolls and disrupt their rest."
"I wonder how many trolls we killed earlier. If it's a lot, our defensive pressure will be greatly reduced."
"There's really nothing to worry about. You must've noticed; some of the trolls are only physically strong but lack even basic weapons and gear, let alone complex and powerful siege equipment..."
"That's true; let's rest up quickly!"
"..."
Matthew sensed the chaos behind gradually fading, and as he petted the curious Yaya, he said with anticipation:
"Once we deal with this batch of trolls, our territory won't need to worry about funds for a while."
"However, with the increasing production of 'Vitality Potions,' relying solely on our territory's adventurers and those from Bloodmoon City won't be enough to consume such a large quantity."
"Therefore, we'll need to open up new markets!"
Having learned quite a bit before, Yaya immediately caught on, her big curious eyes gleaming with anticipation as she asked:
"Finding new markets will definitely clash with existing interests, right? Does that mean we'll have more fights?"
Simple and straightforward!