Chapter 399: The Evolution of the Recruits
Despite the trolls charging ferociously, all that could be seen were their vicious faces.
But warfare isn't as simple as charging in headlong.
The cold arrowheads gleaming with a sharp chill pierced mercilessly into the trolls' bodies.
The immense impact instantly pierced them through, slamming the trolls into the ground.
Some crossbow bolts, along with the troll bodies, crashed into those behind them.
One pierced two, one pierced three.
After enduring the barrage of crossbow bolts, numerous fallen trolls finally reached the moat.
In the half-filled moat, over thirty massive swamp crocodiles fixed their cold vertical pupils on the trolls.
Next to the swamp crocodiles, hundreds of murlocs stared with their bulging eyes.
Hiding beneath the water, Bobo and Old Six muttered in anticipation:
"If we manage to kill 3,000 trolls, we'll earn ourselves a glorious evolution."
"Make sure to warn these fools not to eat the meat."
Bobo, having grown through battles in Bay Territory and learned much knowledge, was grateful for his and Old Six's luck and had become even more cautious.
With a golden path laid before them, why would they stray down some crooked path?
The trolls had no good way to cross the six-meter-wide moat, while the crossbow bolts kept raining down, continuously reducing their numbers.
The hesitant trolls in front were pushed into the water by their impatient comrades from behind.
Dozens of trolls were obviously insufficient to fill the moat.
Hundreds of trolls were "pushed" in, easily drowned by the swamp crocodiles and murlocs.
Occasionally, a few trolls with a bit more wit managed to place their long ladders across the moat, successfully making their way over.
Before the rest could imitate them, a rain of crossbow bolts precisely covered that section.
The sound of flesh being torn, the wails, the trolls' howls, the splashes of water, and the roars of the swamp crocodiles.
All these chaotic noises merged together, narrating the trolls' tragic failure in their siege attempt.
For nearly an hour, the trolls took hit after hit, leaving almost 3,000 corpses, filling one section of the moat.
Only after paying such a high price did they finally reach the walls.
The soldiers defending the walls, initially tense, fully regained their composure after seeing the trolls' chaotic, one-sided defeat, becoming even more confident.
They now believed these "foolish" trolls were inferior even to the orcs from the Carl Plains.
At least the orcs had prepared for the siege before they began fighting.
The trolls with wooden clubs and spears were more like untrained hunters than soldiers.
It's not that troll hunters lacked combat prowess, but that they had no idea how to fight a war!
With Bull Fort fully prepared, when the trolls began climbing the walls, the defenders displayed remarkable professionalism.
Against the ladders the trolls set against the walls, the defending soldiers dropped blocks of falling stones.
These stones, left over from building the fort, brought significant trouble to the exposed trolls below.
Trolls climbing up were easily knocked off if struck.
Even if they used their arms to shield their heads, they were likely to have those arms broken, rendering them useless even if they did manage to climb up.
Nevertheless, as the trolls pressed on heedless of their losses, more and more of them began appearing atop the walls.
"Teams 1 to 10, step forward!"
Jifan shouted, giving the command to attack.
The veteran soldiers advanced with their shields. Upon hearing the command, they immediately pushed forward against the trolls climbing onto the walls.
The recruits with spears followed, nervously gripping their poles, thrusting hard under the veterans' encouragement.
The first thrust missed, but their comrades quickly followed up with another stab.
The trolls, who had neither the power nor the killing prowess to their advantage, were swiftly cut down by the veterans, their heads split open.
Before the recruits could reflect on their mistakes, more howling trolls climbed up.
Gradually, the recruits, immersed in the chaos of battle, unknowingly underwent their baptism in blood.
Five minutes later.
Jifan immediately shouted, "Teams 11 to 20, step forward!"
The brief order spread across the walls.
The recruits had barely come to their senses when they heard the veterans shouting:
"Alright, it's dead. Time for us to fall back."
The recruits, pulled away from the front lines by the veterans, looked longingly as the others took their place.
Just as they were about to say something, they suddenly felt exhaustion take over, realizing they were drenched in sweat and feeling weak.
The veterans led them back to the resting area, picked up a nutrition potion from the center, took a sip, and handed it over, saying:
"Ha, tired already? Take a sip to refresh yourself, then get some sleep."
"All that bragging before, now you know how dangerous the battlefield is, huh?"
The recruit opened his mouth slightly, recalling how the veteran had shielded him several times, and blushed. He took the nutrition potion and gulped it down.
The surrounding team members all gave knowing smiles, refraining from interrupting as they listened to the veteran teach survival skills for the battlefield.
"Don't think too much about the enemy; focus on your own condition."
"If you're injured, shout out. Don't grit your teeth and endure, or you'll harm yourself and others."
"Don't exert yourself continuously; it's easy to get overly tense and wear yourself out."
"Think about the enemy's weaknesses and vulnerabilities, stay calm, and use your head if you want to survive."
"..."
Similar scenes played out in every resting area.
Hundreds of small squads with veteran-led recruits rotated to the front, while heavily armed elites stood by.
This, too, was Angela's arrangement.
While the number of trolls climbing up was still manageable, the rotations ensured the recruits had plenty of exposure to battle.
This approach had several benefits—it maintained the pressure on the walls.
It allowed all soldiers to rotate through combat, keeping them sharp and ensuring their growth.
It also prevented the trolls from suddenly increasing pressure and overwhelming the soldiers.
After this battle, the new recruits would finally be considered initiated.
More training would increase their strength.
Next time they faced combat, they might not yet be pillars of their units, but they'd at least be competent soldiers.
This is how recruits became veterans.
First, you had to survive to grow well.
Though the trolls seemed to have scaled the walls, Angela maintained control over their numbers.
Whenever too many trolls reached the top,
She would order an increase in crossbow and stone attacks, using alchemical oil and blazing fire oil to burn some of the ladders.
By managing the level of threat posed by the trolls, Angela held the initiative in this battle.
"Turns out defensive warfare doesn't mean defending everything..."
"Letting them reach the wall might reduce the number of long-range spell attacks from them?"
"I should try that next time..."
Watching the battle, Annie's eyes glinted with anticipation as she turned to Parise beside her.
The latter was focused on the rapidly growing recruits.
Training elven recruits was also a major challenge!