Chapter 246 The Ice Troll's Cauldron
is fighting in the mountains of Skellig. If it is a head-on encounter, the effect that thousands of people can play is not much different from that of hundreds of people. If it is a special terrain, even a thousand people will not be as effective as a few dozen people.
After listening to Fetov retelling the crisis of the Todaroch family, East originally thought that the ice giant had arrived on the plains. He planned to use a large army to surround and kill this monster, so he called other families to send troops to support him, hoping to deal with the ice giant once and for all.
Unexpectedly, this monster born in the ice, snow and mountains has returned to the mountains. If ordinary soldiers want to go into the mountains to encircle and suppress them, they will really die as many as they go. It is really not as good as a few demon hunters. It can play a big role.
Theoretically speaking, the best strategy now is to use bait or other tactics to lure the ice giant out at some cost. As for how to lead and what bait to use, the demon hunters of Lann and the druids of Oak Ring need to brainstorm together, and they can always come up with a solution.
It's a pity that Harold has been captured by the ice giant now, and there is still a possibility of survival. East can't just die in this situation.
After thinking for a moment, East left Halma and Caris behind and asked them to continue cleaning the battlefield with a small rescue force, and to prevent any sporadic monsters nearby from attacking again while he and others were leaving. The wounded and victims here caused secondary losses.
And he himself took the remaining people deep into the mountains to find the missing Todaloch family patriarch-Harold Hoznot.
...
While waiting for Lan to meditate to restore his magic power, Yuna seemed to suddenly remember something. She rushed into the ruins of her family with her guards, searched for a long time, and dug out a cold and sharp sword. .
The blade of this sword is like a single piece of brass, with a deep color, but it also gives people a bright and bright feeling, like the last dazzling sunset at dusk; the spine and hilt of the sword are very simple, as if it is a half-finished sword. , and I haven’t had time to inlay gems and carve patterns on it.
But if you look closely, you can make out tiny runes on it, shimmering with light. It's just that the original color of the sword is too dark, covering up these runes that should be dazzling.
There is only one decoration on this dazzling and simple sword, which is the weighted ball on the hilt made in the shape of the Tursek family buckler emblem - which also shows the identity of the sword's owner.
Yuna solemnly took out the sword with both hands and presented it to East.
"Legend has it that Tyr, son of Hamdol, came to the small island of Skellige at his father's request. In order to settle on the island, he had to kill a giant bear like a mountain. So he walked into the deepest part of Skellige. In the cave, a magical weapon was forged using the flames in the center of the earth as a furnace. Its blade was sharp enough to cut a hair straight in the middle, and powerful enough to chop down a century-old tree with one blow. "
Yuna lowered her head and just raised the sword: "When my father knew that you planned to attack the ice giant and received your commission to forge weapons, he summoned the craftsmen of the entire clan and forged this sword [ Blade of Tyr], I hope to help you cut off the head of the ice giant and gain glory beyond your ancestors." "
It's a pity that when the ice giant attacked us, this sword had no chance to be unsheathed..." Unaton After a pause, he took a deep breath and said, "[The Blade of Tire] is the highest masterpiece in the history of our Todaloch family. Please use it to save my father!" Not only
East, but all the eyes around him at this moment Anyone who touches this [Blade of Tyr] is glued to their sight and unable to move.
The Todaloch family are top swordsmiths who are no less inferior to the dwarves and gnomes. The steel swords they forge can definitely cut through ordinary long swords without any effort; in addition, the Druid of the Islands helps with rune enchantment. , this sword has reached an unprecedented height and is a treasure that can be passed down for thousands of years.
Although there has not yet been time to carry out carvings that suit his identity, for the king of the archipelago and for East, this is the best state.
"The Blade of Tyr." East repeated this long sword that bore the name of the ancestors of the Tursek family, and stroked its spine with his fingers, saying solemnly, "I will never let it get dusty!"
...
I don’t know when the ice giant gained the ability to travel in blizzards, and it has a certain concealment of its whereabouts.
Fortunately, it was not long before it left, and there were five more demon hunters in the team who turned on their demon hunter senses. They soon discovered the traces left by the giant and followed them all the way up the mountain.
Even though he had gone deep into the mountains once before to encircle and suppress the Wilka people, Lan still had to marvel at the ruggedness of Skellig at this moment.
Less than half of Skellig's land is plains, and more than 70% of Udvik Island is made up of mountains, which are rich in minerals and also hide a large number of monsters.
The stairs with artificial traces have long since disappeared, and everyone is currently climbing between the original rocks and trails; the temperature drops below zero, and the air becomes more and more biting and thinner.
"stop"!
After advancing for a while, the demon hunter at the front of the team suddenly made a gesture prohibiting advancement, and the entire team immediately stopped neatly.
East brought all the elites of the Tursek family, and before entering the mountain, he also delegated part of the command to the demon hunters, so the soldiers were quite obedient to Geralt's instructions.
Of course, it was the demon hunters who had won the trust and respect of the soldiers in these several battles with the Tursek family. Even if East had no orders, this might not happen in the absence of the commander. Soldiers will also spontaneously follow the advice of witchers.
However, Geralt, who was at the front of the team and had just given the stop command, suddenly felt something strange in his heart. This could be said to be the first time he had encountered such a forbidden soldier while leading a team.
"Geralt, what's wrong?"
East stepped forward and looked at the witcher squatting on the ground, picking up a handful of dust from the ground.
Snow covered it, but after the surface was cleared by the witchers, a giant footprint was revealed underneath. The soil was also mixed with a dark red color, as if something on the ground had been stepped on by a huge figure.
"Human blood, and it's quite fresh." Kolgrim also came closer, his snake eyes shining slightly as the demon hunter's senses were stimulated. "We are close." Gede looked at it for a few times and found that the blood was emanating from it
. The pheromones were quite mixed and he commented: "There is more than one person's blood here. It seems that the ice giant also kidnapped many other 'hostages' on the road." East nodded solemnly: "I only hope that it will be true.
" They are 'hostages', which means we still have a chance to rescue them." "
In addition, we have new troubles." A voice attracted everyone's attention. It was Cohen, and a few steps away, he also made a new discovery.
There is also a huge footprint in front of the griffon school demon hunter, but in addition to the human blood mixed in it, several other much smaller footprints can also be seen covering it.
These footprints were not wearing boots, which is very unreasonable in such a freezing environment. What's even more unreasonable is that these footprints seem to be missing several toes, and the edges do not have the smooth arcs of normal soles. Instead, they are bulging out, as if... there are stones growing on the soles of the feet.
"Troll." Geralt said firmly, "If you live in this environment, you will be an ice troll."
"Also." Cohen squatted down and looked at the small footprints that still existed around him. They looked like the soles of a half-grown boy's feet, but the toes were long and twisted. "Scavenger." East squatted down
. Looking around, he found that he was better at naval combat and was not very familiar with this kind of situation in the mountains and outdoors.
"Can you tell how many they are? How far are they from us?"
Geralt said without hesitation, "It's very close. Maybe we can meet them if we walk a quarter of an hour further."
As soon as the demon hunter finished speaking, there were suddenly something on the mountain road. Hundreds of weapons made a clanging sound of steel. Fortunately, there was wind in the mountains, and the sound was swept away and disappeared.
The soldiers who were originally on alert entered a fighting state at the same time. "In terms of quantity...it's hard to say."
East hesitated: "Will there be overwhelming numbers like the previous Kraken?"
Geralt shook his head: "The Kraken's habits are different. They themselves are lairs formed by large groups, and it is convenient to gather in the sky. This ice giant might have gathered all the nearby sea monsters when it wandered around the surrounding islands." "The Carrion Eater Demon does not have this mobility
. , the terrain in this mountain range also limits their large swarms. There may be more than a dozen, but no more than fifty." Looking at
East's slightly relieved expression, Geralt emphasized: "But the rotten demons It is a monster that will explode and kill the enemy together. The damage caused will be several times that of other monsters. It is especially powerful in group battles and can easily cause unnecessary casualties." Lann is not as good at tracking as other demon hunters, so there is no one for the time being
. The ability to identify the monster's body through its footprints. I had just been listening to the analysis of these seniors with East.
At this time, he asked aloud: "Then if you freeze them, can the explosion be mitigated?"
Geralt choked, remembering Lan's previous exaggerated [Sign of Alder: Bone-piercing].
"None of us have tried it before, you can try..."
...
Following these traces, an abandoned mine soon appeared ahead.
The mine is huge and deep, with wooden frames made of solid pine wood and fixed to each other with thick hemp ropes to support the ceiling and side walls. Rusty iron pickaxes and mineral waste are scattered nearby, and broken and weathered bones can be seen from time to time.
This used to be Todaloch's mine, but now the resources here have been exhausted, so it was abandoned. This is a good lair for monsters in the wild, but I don’t know who is currently occupying it.
The complex terrain is like a spider web maze. Every few steps, there are oilcloth torches hanging on the side rock walls. They can still be lit after so many years.
Korn and Geralt used the [Igni Sign] to create flames and lit the torches one by one. For demon hunters, a bottle of [Cat] is enough for them to travel unimpeded in a dark environment, but with Skellige's soldiers acting together, light becomes a necessity.
However, this mine is not very long and narrow, and from time to time, cold wind from the other side of the exit rushes in. Soon, the eyes suddenly open up, and the light that is far brighter than a torch makes everyone's vision clear.
At the same time, an unexpectedly rough voice came from the source of the light.
...
"Meat! Meat!" Along with the dull footsteps, a dull voice seemed to be singing, "Soup! Soup!"
This was a huge figure about two and a half meters tall, with broad shoulders that were longer than his height, and a belly that was She was as round as a pregnant woman, and her back seemed to be covered with armor like a turtle shell, making her body stooped.
It's a troll, an ice troll.
Compared with the rock trolls Lan met in Kaer Morhen, the skin surface of these ice trolls is greener and whiter. The rocks covered with the skin are also covered with broken ice, exuding a billowing cold air, and their temperament is more simple and honest. The "Troll" family has become more ferocious than I know how many times.
There are also more of them, five in total. At this moment, they were gathered around a huge forging furnace. They seemed to regard the container used for smelting iron as a soup pot, setting up a high fire and simmering something underneath.
There was so much stuff in the pot that the lid couldn't be covered, so it was just left to stir. From time to time, pieces of meat would be splashed out by the boiling water. At this time, dancing trolls would excitedly rush forward to grab them and stuff them into their mouths.
"Little man! Little man!" the singing voice kept saying, "Broth! Broth!"
Jumping, an ice troll whose head was slightly larger than that of its companions suddenly stopped and revealed its A melancholy look that shouldn't be shown for its species.
"Little man, can you not give the broth to the big man?"
As soon as these words came out, the dancing ice trolls stopped, and their faces became sad.
A leader-looking ice troll punched the big-headed ice troll hard on the head.
"Little man, the big man gave it to you!" it scolded dully, "It's not from the Ice Troll. You can only drink soup, not meat!" The
Ice Trolls seemed to have selectively ignored that they had no food. After being reminded of the fact of dominance, he could no longer be happy. They just gathered around the forge eagerly, expecting a few more pieces of meat to be splashed out by the boiling soup.
The place where they live is an important location in the intricate mines, with four or five tunnels connecting them. But at this moment, an ice troll's nose twitched fiercely a few times, and it suddenly looked towards the widest corridor.
"Stinky smell, there are little people! More little people!"
The ice troll's eyes burst out with light again, this time it was as ferocious as its race should be.
"Ice Demon, catch the villain yourself! Broth, make broth!"
In their hungry eyes, two demon hunters with amber cat eyes came out of the corridor first, and then came a fully armed demon hunter wearing iron armor. Tursek soldiers.
Then came several more witchers armed with twin swords, and then more Tursek soldiers.
more and more.
The eyes of the ice trolls gradually changed from surprise, excitement, ferociousness, and hunger to dullness, confusion, panic, and even began to think.
...
Lann and East looked at the ice trolls and the boiling iron pot behind them with expressionless faces. They had listened to the words of the ice trolls just now.
There was a weird aroma wafting out from the iron pot, which was strange nuts, herbs, alcohol, and most importantly, meat. A variety of complex ingredients are mixed and boiled to create a subtle aroma and a sock-like stench, which when mixed together can only make people feel nauseous.
With a "Gulu" sound, the soup boiled, and a piece of meat rushed out and hit an ice troll on the head. The other party showed dexterity completely inconsistent with its size and caught the piece of meat from mid-air without looking back. , stuff it into your mouth.
And Lan En's face was even more ugly because it was a toe.
(End of chapter)