Chapter 100: The Devil's Double?

“Dardara! Dardara!”

With the forest trolls’ repeated cries, even the trolls farther out around them dropped to their knees in reverence and shouted along.

“What, what is going on?” Not only Han Shuo, but the dwarves and several elves nearby were stunned by the sudden change. One dwarf could not help blurting out in surprise.

“That winged skeleton warrior seems somewhat like the demon the forest trolls worship. That demon is born evil and loves to plunder everything. I heard the elders of my clan say that the forest trolls’ demon is called Dardara!” At that moment, Bennett seemed to recall something and cried out.

Not far away, an old forest troll priest who looked as though he could be buried at any moment was using his knees to drag himself swiftly toward the little skeleton. To Han Shuo’s surprise, he actually moved quite fast, and in no time at all he had reached the little skeleton’s side. The old troll priest chattered away in the forest trolls’ language.

The little skeleton, bone blade in hand, stood there in a daze. Its empty left hand scratched its smooth skull as though it had no idea what was happening. Then it turned to stare at Han Shuo with its hollow gaze, as if waiting for Han Shuo to give it an order.

Hearing Bennett’s explanation, Han Shuo roughly understood that something extraordinary had happened. These forest trolls must have mistaken the little skeleton for the demon they worshiped. The old priest seemed to be trying to take the little skeleton somewhere, and at this point all the forest trolls behind them were prostrate on the ground, motionless. No one was mentioning the invasion of the dwarf village anymore.

“Han, what is happening? What should we do?” one of the dwarves asked Han Shuo blankly.

Thinking rapidly, Han Shuo felt a headache coming on when he heard the question. After a moment’s hesitation, unable to be sure what would happen next, he said, “I’ll find a way to hold these forest trolls here. You all leave this valley at once and go with the village chief, Bennett, and the others to find a safe place. I think I’ll be able to find you again.”

“Will you be in danger?” The dwarf was somewhat uneasy about Han Shuo and said reluctantly.

“Don’t worry. I have a way to deal with them. Bennett, I think you should leave too. My skeleton warrior is a bit strange, but I don’t think he is the demon the forest trolls worship. I can’t predict how things will develop from here, so it would be safest for all of you to leave with them.” Han Shuo looked at the dwarves and the few elves and slowly urged them on.

“We’ll go. This place is very dangerous. I think we should inform the elders first.” Bennett considered it, then nodded and said that before retreating with the other elves.

At Han Shuo’s urging, the dwarves also withdrew slowly into the valley, though with obvious reluctance. One of his demon souls, which had been watching the forest trolls the whole time, suddenly split off and followed the dwarves, allowing Han Shuo to clearly see where they would exit from later.

In no time at all, apart from Han Shuo and the little skeleton, there was no one left at the entrance to the village. Han Shuo’s demon soul watched the dwarves’ movements and found that they were crossing a cold river and leaving through a slanted fissure in the valley.

“Does anyone here speak the common tongue of the continent?” Han Shuo stepped forward from behind and, once beside the little skeleton, asked in human speech.

The old priest, who had been kneeling before the little skeleton and babbling in the forest trolls’ language all this time, suddenly looked up at Han Shuo and said in somewhat awkward human speech, “You are with the great Dardara. Why are you a cunning human?”

“You’re certain he is your Dardara?” Han Shuo found it almost laughable and, shaking his head, asked with a strange expression.

The old forest troll priest had a ghastly green face, and his skin was dry and wrinkled like the bark of a tree that had endured years of wind and rain. At that moment he wore a look of utter disdain. “Of course I could not mistake him. This is surely the divine Dardara’s avatar in the mortal world.”

As he spoke, the old priest reverently took out an ancient scroll from a leather pouch. With his yellowed hands unrolling it carefully, the ancient scroll slowly spread open. Aside from some unreadable forest troll characters that looked like tadpoles, it depicted a giant skeleton with wings on its back. The bones were a jade-white color, and the wings on its back were bare and featherless, indeed bearing an eight- or nine-tenths resemblance to the bony spines behind the little skeleton.

At the feet of this huge white skeleton stood a bare mountain peak, piled high with all sorts of gold, silver, and jewels, including some stones that seemed extraordinarily precious. One of the white skeleton’s eyes was empty, while the other was covered by a black eyepatch, making it look like a pirate who had pillaged and slaughtered his way across the seas.

“This is the form of our great Dardara. We could never mistake it. He is the great Dardara’s avatar in the mortal world. He will guide us in seizing more gold and silver, mountains of jewels, and food enough to last forever. The mighty Dardara will lead our tribe to plunder the cunning human kingdoms!” The old forest troll priest cried out excitedly.

Other than being somewhat smaller and not quite white, the little skeleton’s appearance was indeed strikingly similar to the Dardara depicted on that scroll. No wonder these greedy forest trolls had mistaken the little skeleton for the earthly avatar of Dardara, the plundering demon.

Although this bizarre situation surprised Han Shuo, after thinking it over carefully, his eyes suddenly flickered with interest and a sly smile curled at the corners of his mouth. He issued an order to the little skeleton.

The little skeleton, which had been standing there in a daze with its bone blade in hand, suddenly waved the blade in its grasp. Its empty left hand made a gesture telling everyone to rise.

“Oh! Dardara has heard our summons!” The old forest troll priest immediately grew excited and flapped about wildly. His thin, clawlike hands waved as well, and he said something in a solemn, low forest troll voice.

All the forest trolls who had been kneeling in worship cried out in unison and stood up from the ground, each of them taking the pouch at his waist and shaking it forcefully.

When all the forest trolls had risen, the little skeleton, following Han Shuo’s command, pointed with its empty left hand at Han Shuo. Then, under the trolls’ puzzled gazes, it used the finger bones of that same hand to point to itself.

“What he means is that I will serve as his envoy and speak with you.” Han Shuo straightened up and said very smugly to the old priest. As soon as he finished speaking, and under the command he had given, the little skeleton nodded in perfect time, as though confirming Han Shuo’s words.

“W-why would Your Excellency choose this cunning human as your envoy?” The forest troll priest clearly could not accept this fact and immediately asked in confusion.

The moment the old priest finished speaking, the little skeleton extended its bone blade and pressed it against the man’s throat. Standing on tiptoe, the little skeleton did its best to seem taller, its two hollow eye sockets fixed on the priest while the sound of its teeth grinding together rang coldly in the air.

The old forest troll priest was so frightened that his body went limp at once, and then he fell into another full prostration, both hands raised high as he cried out, “I would never dare question your decision again. Please do not take away everything we have!”

The forest trolls nearby watched as the most respected elder priest of the clan was being openly threatened by the little skeleton, yet none of them dared move. They merely stood there with their heads bowed, speaking among themselves in the forest trolls’ language.

“Get up, get up. Your Lord Dardara has already forgiven you. I suppose now you can accept my identity as his envoy?” Han Shuo laughed inwardly, though his face remained solemn as he spoke to the old priest.

Head drooping, the old priest looked unwilling but still nodded and said, “Please, Lord Dardara, come with your envoy to our tribe. We have some things we wish to present to Lord Dardara!”

“Were you not here this time to plunder these dwarves?” Han Shuo was slightly taken aback and asked.

“No. Last time, after I heard the tribe’s description of Your Excellency’s appearance, I immediately sent people to search for you. Those annoying dwarves are only a village of a hundred people. They are not worth sending so many of our elite to deal with. We heard that Your Excellency had appeared nearby, so this time we dispatched so many of our people specifically to escort Your Excellency back to the sacred land.” The old forest troll priest shook his head and explained to Han Shuo.

“The sacred land? What sacred land?” Han Shuo asked in surprise.

“The palace our tribe built especially for Your Excellency. Inside are also ancient relics passed down through the generations, said to have originally belonged to Lord Dardara. This time, we will all present them to Your Excellency.” The old priest looked at Han Shuo with some disgust, but he did not dare disobey the little skeleton’s command and explained impatiently.

“Excellent, excellent. Then let us set out at once!” Hearing this, Han Shuo was overjoyed. He burst into laughter and urged the forest trolls to depart quickly.

The old priest said nothing more. He beckoned, and the fiercest forest troll leader in the distance approached the old priest in humble fashion. After a series of chattering instructions, the leader immediately gave the order. The five or six hundred forest trolls no longer bothered with the dwarves and marched grandly into the depths of the Dark Forest.

A splendid black jade sedan, inlaid with bright gemstones and lined with soft feathers, was carried by four tall and sturdy forest troll warriors, bearing the little skeleton into the depths of the Dark Forest. It seemed these forest trolls had come fully prepared.

The little skeleton lounged comfortably inside, looking around at everything with curious eyes. As the envoy, Han Shuo could not enjoy such treatment and could only walk on foot like the others. Along the way they encountered many magical beasts, but faced with five or six hundred forest trolls, ordinary beasts did not dare come near. Even some fierce second- and third-level magical beasts, upon seeing such a vast procession, chose not to hunt and instead stayed far away from this numerous and vicious tribe.

On the outskirts of the Dark Forest, the forest trolls, by nature greedy and fond of plunder, had long been notorious and feared by all. Whether it was the few scattered races living on the fringe of the Dark Forest, or adventurers and merchants who came into the forest, anyone encountered by these forest trolls was certain to be robbed.

Aside from a few even more powerful beings deeper in the Dark Forest, these infamous rogues on the forest’s edge were indeed hated and feared by everyone. The elves, as the forest trolls’ bitter enemies, had fought them many times without ever achieving a decisive victory, and no one could stop their innate lust for plunder.

As they gradually pressed deeper into the Dark Forest, even these forest trolls, who had been so arrogant and ferocious at first, began to act more cautiously, as if afraid of causing any disturbance.

“Why do you all become so timid the farther in we go?” Han Shuo noticed the forest trolls’ odd behavior and could not help asking the old priest beside him.

The old priest glanced left and right, then explained, “We have now entered the middle reaches of the Dark Forest. There are many higher-level magical beasts here, as well as some special races. Humans who appear here are not easy to provoke either. We do not wish to offend them, or there will be trouble.”

A thunderous rumbling came from up ahead. A white stone giant, six or seven meters tall and terrifyingly huge, was carrying a great tree on his shoulder as he strode farther and farther into the forest. A low cry sounded from the sky, and a massive black shadow passed overhead; cast upon the ground, it showed two long necks.

“That one, covered all over as if in lime, is a mountain giant. He has a gentle nature and dislikes fighting, but if you provoke him, it would be nothing short of a disaster. The thing that just flew overhead was a pair of lowly two-headed dragons. They are not really dragons at all, merely second-level magical beasts, but they can spew venom and are not easy to deal with.” Seeing Han Shuo’s surprise, the old priest explained.

Han Shuo nodded and said with deep feeling, “Now I finally understand why you only dare to be arrogant on the outskirts of the Dark Forest!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *