Chapter 380: The Powerful Effects of Surgery
The leisurely cold wind blew, scattering the yellowed leaves.
Spring in the Dark Forest came a bit late.
A faint stench mixed with the cold breeze wafted over from the lakeside.
In the stone houses built from piled rocks, a faint bloody smell emanated.
A few sturdy trolls, ignoring the crimson moonlight, made their way toward the largest stone house.
Soon, the desperate cries and roars of a bison could be heard from inside.
They carried the massive bison carcasses, each weighing hundreds or thousands of pounds, into the various stone houses.
Soon, fires were lit inside, and the aroma of roasting meat began to drift out.
The trolls were making jerky, evidently preparing food supplies.
This was not common among trolls, as they usually only cared about their current meal and seldom thought about the next. At times, they'd even laze around for a day or two, going hungry.
Preparing jerky like this certainly meant they had received some kind of order.
Just then, a blazing red light shot out from the darkness.
With a loud "boom," it shattered the rickety wall.
It also destroyed two or three stone houses in its wake.
Amid the explosion's roar, panicked trolls fled in all directions.
Before they could react, a rain of pitch-black crossbow bolts fell upon them.
Whizzing!
"Ah...!"
"Run!"
"Where are the enemies?"
"Fight back!"
"Charge!!"
"..."
The unsuspecting trolls were immediately suppressed and couldn't get out.
Occasionally, a brave one would charge out, only to be struck by crossbow bolts coated in paralyzing toxins, collapsing on the ground in a few steps.
Before they could see who was attacking them, heavily armored soldiers, fully equipped, had already charged in.
Each wielded a hammer, tearing down the obstructing stone houses in a few strikes.
The trolls inside hadn't even reacted before they were hit by the crossbow bolts fired from behind the heavily armored soldiers.
The trolls fell one after another, unable to put up any significant resistance.
The Bay Territory soldiers didn't rush their advance; they methodically demolished every stone house and captured every troll inside.
They worked quickly, their movements skilled and decisive.
The commotion naturally caused unrest among the trolls.
Many trolls, unable to contain their fear, tried to flee in all directions.
As soon as they rushed out of their homes, they were struck by bolts from the shadows.
They struggled briefly before collapsing unconscious.
This proved that the era of relying solely on innate talent and individual abilities was long gone.
The trolls fell like wheat before the Bay Territory soldiers, who packed them into cages.
The overwhelming pressure left over a thousand trolls hiding in fear, not daring to come out.
The Bay Territory soldiers did not wait; they pushed forward steadily, eliminating nearly half of the stone houses in just half an hour.
Observing this scene, Matthew's eyes fell on the nimble soldiers.
With the cover of night, they each wore cloaks and masks to conceal their identities.
They were taller and more muscular than before, with a fighting style vastly different from their original one.
This partially concealed their true identity.
That's right; these soldiers were from the same batch as Old John, Arnold, and Field, who had undergone the enhancement surgeries.
They volunteered for the surgery due to their older age or previous severe injuries.
The first two surgeries had already been completed, and they had fully adapted to their new bodies, so naturally, real combat data needed to be collected.
To gather sufficient data, they had to engage in actual combat.
This troll outpost, with only around a thousand members and less than half capable of fighting, was perfect for practice.
The results were quite impressive; with their advantage in strength and constitution,
ordinary trolls were no match for them, and even elite trolls could not pose a significant threat.
Just as Matthew thought the battle was about to end,
a fierce roar suddenly echoed around them.
A strange crimson aura began to spread outward.
The trolls hiding in their homes seemed to be affected by some stimulus, howling like wild beasts.
The Wild Aura.
It greatly boosted the morale of all allied units within a 200-meter radius.
If morale was too low, it would instead trigger their wildness, causing them to lose their reason and go berserk!
The red-eyed trolls roared and charged out of their stone houses, rushing forward under the crimson moon.
The sudden charge couldn't even be stopped by the paralyzing crossbow bolts fired in the first moments.
Beelzebub, at the forefront, sneered coldly and shouted loudly:
"Raise your blades and charge with me!"
The heavily armored soldiers immediately put down their hammers and drew the long falchions from their waists, charging forward like a storm.
As soon as they got close to the trolls, they swung their blades in unison.
The uniform swing of the blades looked like streaks of white silk.
The charging trolls fell like wheat being cut.
Trolls without proper armor or weapons, at most holding a large wooden club, were no match for them.
However, because of the large number of trolls charging at the beginning, the smaller group of soldiers could not block them all.
A few stray trolls flanked them from both sides, their eyes red and filled with a beastly rage.
Before they could get close, the Bay Territory elites led by Leon had already swarmed them.
With an average challenge rating above 10+, the Bay Territory elites were far stronger than they had been a few months ago.
They didn't use crossbows or paralyzing toxins; instead, they employed their own favored combat methods, swiftly ending the fight.
Half an hour later.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky as the Bay Territory soldiers returned triumphantly, leaving the troll outpost in ruins.
This wouldn't attract the attention of other trolls since the noise they made while curing jerky was similarly chaotic.
In the following days.
Matthew's special unit systematically eradicated troll forces and outposts throughout the area.
Using elite troops to sweep ordinary enemies was essentially just a matter of pushing forward.
Even when encountering troll elites, they were easily subdued and became Matthew's captives after some struggle.
The stronger the enemy, the more valuable the contributions they made to Matthew's 'experiments.'
However, this time, Matthew didn't appear as himself but as a mysterious Arcanist who had been in seclusion for a long time.
After all, Matthew needed to remain stationed at the troll fortress to oversee the war and manage logistics.
Interestingly, the illusion Matthew created of himself stood at 1.9 meters tall, reflecting his enhanced physique after the surgeries.
His tall, strong build was clearly different from before.
It was only then that the enhanced elite soldiers realized the truth.
"No wonder the Lord knows such extraordinary enhancement techniques; he himself has undergone them!"
"It's completely different from before; I never imagined I could become this strong in my lifetime!"
"Haha, this feels amazing. I can now fight trolls head-on."
"The surgical effects are fantastic. How many more surgeries are left?"
"Not sure, but the next surgery might be in just over a month."
"That means it probably won't be during this war..."
"Perhaps this war will be used as a benchmark for everyone's surgery standards?"
"That could very well be..."
Matthew, while flipping through the map, listened to everyone's excited discussion and felt a vague sense of realization.
"Indeed, enhancements can solve all problems..."
"But psychological guidance should not be neglected..."
"After all, it's just a few surgeries, power that most people can eventually obtain."
"..."
At that moment, an urgent spell communication arrived. Matthew opened it to find:
"A force of 5,000 trolls is currently heading southeast..."