Chapter 384: A Different Kind of Bait
Lokfar trembled slightly in his heart, bowing his head respectfully as he whispered:
"Whatever the mission is, we will do our utmost to complete it."
In the Shadow Hunter's mind, the Arcane Master's task was likely just to have them turn against the other trolls in the upcoming battles.
At most, they'd serve as cannon fodder for Bay Territory, and perhaps a few would survive.
It was still better than getting caught by the Gurubashi trolls!
Thinking of those companions who failed to escape and chose to end their own lives, Lokfar lowered his head, awaiting his fate.
The illusion clone, now not much shorter than the Shadow Hunter, walked slowly up to him, noticing his trembling shoulders, and smiled:
"Don't worry, as long as you obey, all of you will survive, and you will get enough food to eat!"
Seeing Leon binding the trolls, Matthew said while Lokfar looked on, his face showing a mix of surprise and excitement:
"Pick out the fastest trolls; this time, you will serve as bait."
"If you do well enough, you will earn your freedom."
Freedom?
If it were true, that would be a fantastic outcome!
After all, Lokfar had heard of trolls being hired by humans in the past.
Although he wasn't clear on how those stories ended.
It at least proved that trolls and humans could coexist.
While Lokfar was feeling overjoyed,
Batum had already selected five hundred trolls.
They were generally leaner and were fast runners.
The other trolls were about to be teleported away, and Matthew allowed the selected trolls to have a feast.
The rich aroma of meat made every troll present extremely excited.
The Dark Forest was rich in resources, but it had nothing to do with most trolls, who often went hungry.
The smaller a troll camp was, the better the trolls' quality of life tended to be.
The larger the troll tribe, the more likely they were to see trolls starve to death.
The dark nature of intelligent beings!
"Distribution, is it really such a difficult problem?"
Fish soup, bread, and a piece of jerky.
The standard meal for Bay Territory soldiers.
But for most trolls, they only ate like this during rituals.
Watching the trolls devouring their food ravenously, Beelzebub glanced at Batum, who was scolding the trolls, and speculated about the Arcane Master's intentions:
"Do these trolls think this is their last meal?"
Remembering those trolls training in the past, Old John shook his head and said calmly:
"I don't think they're fools; they're just too lazy to think."
"They must be quite satisfied with the Lord's generosity."
And indeed, for now, it seemed so. After having a full meal, the trolls led by Lokfar and Batum knelt before Matthew.
Matthew wasn't interested in this display but couldn't be bothered to correct them either. He simply motioned for them to follow him.
Initially, Lokfar was puzzled.
After all, wasn't the Gurubashi troll's main force behind them?
Half an hour later.
Dawn was just breaking.
The fierce Bay Territory soldiers had already stormed into a troll camp.
They smoothly took down all the trolls, the entire process taking just over ten minutes.
Seeing the thousand captured trolls bound up, the observing trolls were left speechless.
They could hardly believe that over a thousand trolls had been defeated so effortlessly, without even a decent resistance.
"Good thing we surrendered!"
"Are they dead?"
"Doesn't seem like it, but they are prisoners now. They are probably in a worse spot than us."
"These human soldiers are unbelievably strong, they just swept through without any trouble..."
"Luckily, we followed the orders, or we wouldn't have fared any better..."
"..."
The trolls murmured among themselves, feeling neither sadness nor pity for the captured or fallen trolls, even looking slightly smug.
Until the Bay Territory soldiers headed for the next target.
Once again, the battle took less than ten minutes.
Another troll camp, with over a thousand trolls, was flattened before their eyes!
Trolls lay flat, houses toppled.
Reduced to rubble!
This time, all the trolls were silent, not at all interested in speaking.
They watched in silence as the trolls were teleported away, emotions stirring within them.
Though their intelligence was generally low, it didn't mean they were complete fools.
The overwhelming power of the Bay Territory soldiers gave them immense pressure, the feeling that their life and death was in someone else's hands weighed heavily on them.
In the past, they only had to obey orders.
Then, life and death were left to fate.
Whether they lived or died depended entirely on luck.
But now, those who held their fate had changed.
The Bay Territory soldiers spent about a day uprooting nearly all the troll outposts on the Bison Plains.
Correspondingly, the trolls with them had grown incredibly obedient, not only ceasing to display troublesome "low intelligence" but also behaving more maturely and cooperatively.
The people of Bay Territory gradually understood the Arcane Master's intention:
"This is the Bay Territory version of 'killing a chicken to warn the monkeys.' And if the monkeys don't obey, kill more chickens until they do."
That evening.
The trolls who had been running all day were once again captivated by the food before them.
This time, although the food was delicious, something had changed in every troll.
Lokfar and Batum exchanged glances, seeing an indescribable shock in each other's eyes.
"The Bay Territory soldiers are really strong, not just in combat!"
"That tacit cooperation and trust... Is this what civilization means?"
"It's not too late yet..."
"As long as we survive, we must find out why!"
"Let's hope so!"
Their exchange was quick and brief, careful not to attract the attention of the other human soldiers.
But this time, after Matthew had organized all the information, he directly approached them:
"A troll vanguard of about twenty thousand is heading toward our position."
"Your mission is simple: lure about three thousand Gurubashi trolls to a location of my choosing."
Matthew glanced at the two of them, tossing down two large axes nonchalantly:
"If you complete the mission, you will have proven your value, and you'll be allowed to keep these weapons!"
Overjoyed, Lokfar and Batum quickly grabbed the axes, caressing the beautiful enchanted engravings, and shouted in unison:
"We will complete the mission at any cost!"
Unexpectedly, Matthew suddenly turned his head, a mysterious smile playing on his lips as he added:
"Remember, none of you are allowed to die."
Bait that must not be bitten!