Chapter 254: Taking the Initiative
After the soldiers retreated to the designated position, Matthew and Yaya returned to the upper reaches of the Silvermoon River.
The two of them hid stealthily and found Bobo and Old Six, who were pretending to be dead in hiding.
"Great Master, that scared me to death just now."
"What kind of power was that? It looked terrifying."
"I almost died earlier; luckily, Lord's signal came just in time..."
Bobo, who had just narrowly escaped death, showed fear and panic in his eyes, along with a newfound desire for more power.
Smiling as he watched Bobo ramble on, Matthew waited until he noticed the awkward atmosphere and fell silent before speaking:
"Don't worry, as long as you contribute enough in battle, you can get whatever you desire, matching your contribution value."
Hearing the lord's words, Bobo began calculating how many trolls he and his murlocs had killed in the recent battle.
After arriving at an astonishing number, he couldn't suppress his excitement and laughed out loud.
He then became full of energy, grinning from ear to ear, and said excitedly:
"Respected Lord, do you have any further orders for us?"
"My murlocs and I will give our all, no matter the cost..."
Hearing this, Matthew couldn't help but recall the scene when Bobo sent his murlocs to their deaths, making him chuckle.
Seeing Bobo's eager face, Matthew pondered for a moment before assigning him a task:
"Your task is to stay hidden upstream and downstream of the Silvermoon River."
"Don't actively attack the trolls unless you're certain of victory; otherwise, don't waste other murlocs' lives."
"If you spot trolls, find a way to alert the nearby patrolling soldiers and work with them to eliminate the trolls!"
"If you encounter a large group of enemies, report it to me or the Troll Castle immediately and try to delay their crossing as much as possible…"
"As long as you complete this task well and achieve certain results, I will teach you more advanced skills!"
Hearing about tangible benefits, Bobo's enthusiasm was immediately sparked, and he nodded eagerly.
Watching Bobo skillfully command a large number of murlocs, Matthew felt a slight sense of satisfaction.
"As expected, everything has its unique and effective use; the key is how to develop it..."
With the influence of murlocs, Bay Territory's reach could quickly extend along rivers and water systems.
Perhaps, this promising little guy Yaya might even become the ruler of many murlocs.
A King of Murlocs!
That title sounds different altogether.
Though it's still about murlocs...
Seeing the human soldiers retreat and the murlocs return to calm, the troll priests resumed their preparations to cross the river.
They stuck to the previous method: the trolls would float across the river on logs from upstream.
Using ropes tied to their bodies and temporary long rafts, they set up a floating bridge.
Naturally, the troll priests wouldn't be the first to cross.
They waited until two to three thousand trolls had safely reached the other side before moving.
They then continued south through the Dark Forest, heading straight toward the Troll Castle.
They didn't notice that all the tools left behind at the Silvermoon River had been taken away.
Interestingly, the trolls, who started resting during the day, were once again harassed in entirely new ways.
And the closer they got to the Troll Castle, the more outposts and cavalry patrols Matthew had set up, making attacks even more convenient.
Fortunately, the trolls had grown accustomed to these disruptions over the past few days, though many had lost a significant amount of "fat."
The soldiers had become adept at these harassments, quickly achieving their goals and then retreating.
Compared to the soldiers' restrained methods, Matthew had far more options.
With Yaya's help, Matthew flew overhead, dropping various stones and scrap iron on the trolls below.
From a sufficient height, fist-sized rocks and iron scraps could become lethal weapons.
When a few unlucky trolls were struck down by the falling debris, panic quickly spread through the troll camp.
Trolls didn't fear strong enemies, nor did they fear death in battle.
But they couldn't accept the idea of dying unexpectedly from falling stones.
Yaya had initially found running back and forth tiresome.
But once Matthew showed her how to use her storage space to achieve her goals,
the little one had a blast.
What intrigued Matthew the most was the troll priests' indifference to their soldiers' deaths, leading him to two bold assumptions.
"Either the troll priests are suffering from the backlash of their terrifying magic and can only watch as their trolls lose morale without doing anything."
"This is possible but not very likely, and Matthew never liked relying on luck."
"The other possibility is that the troll priests simply don't care about the deaths of these troll soldiers."
"Maybe their initial goal was even this…"
Could it be:
These troll priests were planning a grand blood sacrifice outside the castle to achieve their aims.
The more Matthew thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he couldn't help but rub his chin.
Yaya, who also sensed this possibility, didn't disturb him and began thinking proactively.
Matthew looked at the chaotic troll camp below, recalling the previous scene where the evil god's power indiscriminately attacked, and his eyes gleamed with an intense light:
"There's no way I'm letting these bastards get what they want!"
"Tell everyone to rest immediately and wake up four hours early to prepare for an all-out battle!"
Hearing this, Yaya widened her eyes and asked in surprise:
"Daddy? Are we not defending the castle anymore?"
Matthew calmly shook his head, rubbing his staff, and had Yaya take them to a spot near the troll camp. He casually threw two Fireball spells before leaving with her.
The explosion and the trolls' screams echoed together, and chaos spread rapidly in the troll camp.
This time, Matthew didn't hold back; with Yaya's help, he unleashed his firepower freely.
His only goal now:
To weaken the trolls' numbers as much as possible before taking the initiative and seeking a decisive battle.
Reduce their combat effectiveness across the board!