Unlike Orcs, ambushing trolls didn't work unless the attacker was a skilled assassin. Trolls were highly sensitive to mana fluctuations.
If Vlad wanted to ambush it without alerting it, he would have to rely on pure physical force. But he was aware that his muscles alone wouldn't be enough to break through the troll's thick skin, so he decided to use Sword Aura from the beginning.
And just as he had predicted, the troll immediately woke up the moment it sensed the mana fluctuations from the high branch of the tree.
---
"KRAGHHH!!!!" The troll screamed in pain as almost half of its upper body was cleanly severed. Yet its first instinct after being critically wounded was to attack Vlad with its remaining arm.
Even though the flashing light had temporarily blocked its vision, its wide fist, nearly the size of Vlad's torso, thrust toward him like a cannon.
Vlad firmly placed one hand against the flat of his blade, the other still gripping the hilt.
