Chapter 402: Clearing the Trolls
Matthew, brimming with murderous intent, stood atop the city wall.
This time, Matthew made no effort to hide his power.
Wave after wave of dark clouds drifted to the center of the troll camp.
Accompanied by a biting cold wind, countless sharp ice shards rained down like a torrential storm.
Crack!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The lethal ice shards instantly tore through the tattered tents of the troll camp, piercing the defenseless trolls within.
The transparent ice shards sliced through the trolls' defenses, embedding deeply into their bodies.
Exuding a chilling frost and possessing incredible hardness, the shards greatly inhibited the trolls' regenerative abilities.
Just one hit, and the frigid cold would spread through their entire bodies.
The trolls could only watch helplessly as the remaining shards fell toward them, unable to dodge.
In just three rounds, the trolls' lives were extinguished.
Some trolls didn't even have time to scream; the "lucky ones" died in their sleep, hands covering their ears.
All trolls within the spell's range, if not dead, were severely injured.
The magical damage from the blizzard significantly hindered the trolls' ability to regenerate, leaving them incapable of returning to combat in the short term.
30 Intelligence + 4th Circle Blizzard LV3 (Damage Enhancement 60%) + Spell Empowerment LV5 (Spell Circle +1) = Destructive Power of a 6th Circle Spell!
Matthew paid the price of 50 mana points to cast this spell!
Then, one Blizzard killed over 30 trolls, and with LV5 Mana Drain, Matthew instantly recovered 30 times the trolls' class levels in mana points.
With just this, Matthew's mana was fully restored.
At the beginning of the massacre, not many noticed the details.
The gathering dark clouds grew denser and denser.
The blizzards raining down became brighter and brighter.
Initially, hundreds of trolls perished; within a dozen breaths, the count reached over a thousand.
Even the Gurubashi trolls, driven solely by a lust for killing, began to awaken their buried fears as the deadly snow fell from the sky, fleeing madly.
But Matthew had no intention of letting them go this time.
A massive cluster of storm clouds surrounded the center of the troll camp, gradually closing in.
As the white frost cleared, the ground was left covered with frozen troll corpses and towering ice shards driven deep into the earth.
The trolls' tragic fate lay vividly before everyone's eyes.
The adventurers couldn't help but widen their eyes; the familiar scene from days ago played out once again before them.
That day, the terrifying spellcasting abilities of the Arcanist lord.
It had left an indelible impression on countless adventurers and soldiers.
This was true power, capable of altering the tide of an entire battlefield single-handedly!
And now, this young lord suddenly revealed the same overwhelming might!
How could they not be shocked?
How could they not be thrilled?
Matthew temporarily turned off the dense stream of kill notifications.
At this point, Matthew's thoughts were simple.
"They're determined to destroy me anyway. No matter how much I pretend or hide, they'll pull every trick in the book."
"In that case, I'll fully showcase my true strength and abilities and secure the goddess's favor!"
Calming his chaotic thoughts, Matthew surveyed the lifeless scene at the center of the troll camp.
The trolls' frantic fleeing made one thing clear to Matthew.
He had eliminated the troll shaman, causing the troll soldiers to lose all control.
The outskirts of the troll camp were now completely open; whether running out or charging in, everything was visible.
"It seems they're as patient as ever," Matthew remarked.
Aside from demonstrating his strength, Matthew's goal was to draw out the mastermind possibly lurking near the troll shaman.
However, whether the shaman had already been abandoned or some unknown method was used to escape, the mastermind did not reveal themselves during Matthew's large-scale attack.
So, while Matthew had dealt with the shaman, he didn't gain any further clues.
Determined to spare no troll, Matthew knew the overall flow of fate wouldn't change.
As for why these trolls were controlled by the Netheril Empire or the Cole Elf Kingdom, Matthew dared not delve further.
The waters ran too deep, and any misstep could be fatal!
Absolutely fatal!
Even gods could die!
Seeing the troll soldiers descend into madness, even attacking each other,
The adventurers waiting nearby immediately sprang into action.
Their chance to strike gold had arrived!
They wasted no time moving in.
With the trolls in chaos, they only had to avoid massive groups while setting traps and waiting for the trolls to walk into them.
It was practically like picking up money!
Many adventurers felt "uneasy," worrying that killing too many trolls might make Bay Territory renege on their rewards!
After all, everyone saw it clearly.
Without the lord's direct intervention, wiping out the troll shaman in one strike,
They would never have had this opportunity.
As if sensing their concern, Matthew issued an order before resting:
"The remaining troll soldiers are to be handled by the adventurers. The reward rates remain unchanged."
Hearing the lord's promise, all the adventurers erupted with excitement.
They sang praises of the lord's generosity and strength while happily competing for kills.
However, they received a new directive from Bay Territory: all troll corpses must be burned on the spot. No weapons, equipment, or other loot could be taken from them.
Witnessing the trolls' "bizarre" nature, no adventurer would risk offending Bay Territory or losing a large reward by violating the rules.
It simply wasn't worth it!
Everyone knew trolls were incredibly poor!
Without Bay Territory's bounties, no adventurer would bother with trolls!
Bay Territory's shower of gold drew cheers from countless adventurers and soldiers.
On average, each soldier and adventurer earned at least 30 gold coins.
With this sum, they could buy a fine set of weapons and armor or fund basic specialty training.
Soldiers typically saved for a year to amass such wealth.
Adventurers usually needed at least two months.
All in all, everyone profited significantly from this battle.
Many began eagerly anticipating whether the orc coalition in two days would bring them even greater rewards.
Bay Territory.
Inside the vast nest under construction.
Yaya, lying atop a mountain of gold, sobbed as she deftly counted coins with her tiny claws:
"The treasury only has three million gold coins left…"