Chapter 249: Marching by Night, Resting by Day
Matthew immediately understood the current state of these trolls.
Their entire system.
It was entirely reliant on brainwashing by the evil gods, creating a society oppressed by sheer force!
Calling it a society might even be flattering to these trolls; the term 'tribe' fits better.
At the top were the troll priests, exploiting the trolls using the crudest methods.
They never even considered that the more trolls they had,
the more hands and combat power they could control, and the more sacrifices they could offer to the evil gods.
Of course, their minds had already been completely "destroyed," so it's not surprising they lacked such thoughts.
This is why, despite the trolls being individually powerful, their combined combat strength was remarkably weak.
They were good in easy fights, but when faced with tough battles, even when driven by fear, they were just beasts who knew how to wield weapons.
Matthew considered that other factions in this world weren't much better than these trolls, feeling deeply fortunate:
"Luckily, they're all so messed up, each more corrupt than the last, giving me a chance!"
As Matthew reflected, the trolls, who had a noisy lunch, quickly set off again.
They ran forward at full speed, not sparing their energy at all.
At this pace, they would cover three days' distance in two days, reaching the northern side of the Silvermoon River!
Matthew patiently refrained from taking action.
He would not engage these trolls directly until the troll priest made a move.
The sun set, casting a blood-red glow.
The stifling heat of the Dark Forest vanished, leaving behind the coolness of night.
Another day of marching passed.
As the trolls, who had spent two to three times their usual effort just to eat a little food, were about to rest,
they were stunned by the order to continue marching.
They never expected that the priest would demand a night march.
Seeing the rising crimson moon, every troll couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
Unfortunately, they couldn't resist the troll priest's command and could only grit their teeth and push forward.
Watching the trolls below, each wearing cloaks and marching forward, Yaya straightforwardly asked:
"Huh? Aren't they resting? Are they planning to keep going?"
Signaling Yaya to fly higher and move to the front of the troll ranks, Matthew explained as they headed to the designated location:
"They won't march continuously. Even trolls, let alone ogres, can't handle that."
"They're likely planning to march at night and sleep during the day, trying to avoid our advantage of night raids."
"After all, under the crimson moon, resting at night and engaging in large-scale battles is extremely foolish."
"Daytime is different; they can mobilize enough troops to chase and hunt down any harassing soldiers."
"These trolls aren't all fools!"
Thinking about Matthew's plan, Yaya couldn't help but chuckle:
"But they would never expect that so many surprises are waiting for them ahead."
As they conversed, they quickly reached the agreed-upon location.
Beelzebub and others, who had teleported ahead using a magic array, gathered around, looking at Lord Yaya and Lord Matthew with reverence.
Matthew rubbed his forehead, pointed at the fast-moving trolls behind, and said calmly:
"Marching at midnight is a military taboo!"
"Since they look down on us so much, let's give them a harsh lesson!"
Beelzebub pounded his chest heavily and joined the others in shouting excitedly:
"We'll complete the mission!"
Yaya and Matthew closed their eyes, their consciousness returning to Bay Town.
Exhausted, Yaya forced herself to eat most of the food on the table before falling asleep happily.
Matthew had more to do, replenishing food while also helping Mountain complete the automated production line for "Vitality Potion."
Due to the lack of energy sources, they had to consume thousands of gold coins' worth of energy crystals daily.
However, for a production line that could generate 25,000 gold coins of profit per day,
this was undoubtedly a very worthwhile investment!
More importantly, Mountain, now freed up, had started learning to craft higher-tier enchanted weapons and equipment under Matthew's direction.
The strongest "toolman" would soon undergo another upgrade and enhancement!
Let's give some applause to the ever-willing Mountain!
Matthew also briefed Butler Ralph about the situation on the front line.
"Prepare to bring in more adventurers."
"Have them disperse the troll forces under the castle."
"Considering the lack of mid-to-high-level combat power, issue an urgent mission to the professionals at Murloc Castle."
"Catching more trolls is worth a few extra gold coins."
Seeing the territory's income rising steadily in the past two days, Butler Ralph nodded approvingly and reported on the collection and transportation of battle supplies:
"Fifty thousand heavy crossbow bolts have been teleported and positioned; a thousand bottles of paralysis potion are on the way."
"The only issue is with the scrolls; Miss 343 is currently too busy."
343...
After some back and forth, Matthew and Butler Ralph finally discovered that the supplier who had been providing high-quality spell scrolls to Adam Smith was none other than Tower Spirit-343.
She held most of the permissions of a high-level mage tower; making low and mid-tier spell scrolls was no problem.
With enough resources and technology, they could even create legendary-grade spell scrolls!
Of course, doing so came at a significant cost!
"Scrolls..."
Matthew pondered for a moment, recalling the rare yet memorable actions of the troll priests, and specifically instructed:
"Bring those two big ones along!"
Without hesitation, Butler Ralph turned to make the arrangements.
Matthew took a deep breath, set an alarm, and entered a meditation state to rest.
North of the Troll Castle.
The marching troll army began encountering troubles again!
Whoosh!
Crackle!
The raging flames burned fiercely.
In the cleared firebreak, a nearly ten-kilometer-long fire dragon was freely displaying its light and heat.
The fearless trolls were only afraid of flames and strong acids.
Even if the troll priests ordered the "fearless" trolls to charge through,
the thick alchemical fire oil on the ground would still roast them into charcoal.
The red flames illuminated the trolls' angry and fearful faces.
Gritting their teeth and glaring at the arrogant figure behind the flames, the troll priest clutched his staff tightly and commanded viciously:
"Detour! Chase them!"
"Hurry!!!"
****
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