Chapter Forty-Five: Act When Action Is Needed

After leaving the Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo retraced his steps along the original path. However, by the time he was halfway back, daylight had fully broken. When Han Shuo arrived at the location where they had previously camped, relying on his memory, he discovered that the necromancy students had already withdrawn.

Just as Han Shuo was about to curse aloud, he suddenly noticed something odd about the surroundings. The remnants of the campfire, judging by the ashes and charcoal, did not look as if they were from the previous night; rather, they seemed to have been there for several days.

Where Han Shuo's tent had once stood, along with many supplies, now everything was gone. Only a few stones remained, piled in a triangular formation.

Sensing something, Han Shuo hurried to the spot, drew his dagger, and carefully prodded the center of the stones. Soon, he fished out a piece of yellowed paper.

"Bryan, on the second day after you left, we discovered traces of those two ogres nearby again. Fearing they might return to seek revenge, we decided not to wait for you any longer. If you find this note, return to the academy by the original route on your own. Perhaps we’ll meet on the way. I hope you stay safe. — Fanny."

Fanny had left the note. After reading it, Han Shuo smacked his forehead, inwardly exclaiming that things had gone awry. Now he realized that while cultivating his demonic arts, far more time must have passed than he realized—it had definitely been more than a single day.

Apparently, the appearance of the two ogres had frightened Fanny and the others. Now, deep in the southern reaches of the Dark Forest and without Clark’s protection, they had been compelled to withdraw along the original route.

At present, Han Shuo’s slave status had not yet been lifted. Besides, in the Babylon Academy of Magic and Force, there were still women he desired, as well as tomes of necromancy he wished to obtain. For now, he could not leave the academy.

With six magic wands in his possession, Han Shuo could come and go from the Cemetery of Death at will. Once he returned to Babylon Academy, he could use the teleportation array to treat the cemetery as his private domain, turning the entire southern Dark Forest into a personal training ground. Whether for demonic arts or magic, cultivating in such a place would yield twice the results with half the effort.

After a brief consideration, Han Shuo decided to follow Fanny’s instructions and quickly made his way out of the Dark Forest along the original route.

After traveling all day without rest, Han Shuo felt no fatigue at all. He darted through the uneven forest paths like lightning, as swift as a magical beast pursuing prey.

By dusk, Han Shuo reached a rocky area where his group had once camped. Before he could get close, the clashing of metal weapons rang out from ahead.

Startled, Han Shuo wondered if Fanny and the others were being besieged by ogres. With that thought, he quickened his pace, darting toward the source of the sounds.

Along the way, many forest trolls with oily green skin, wielding knives, forks, and clubs, their tall, savage forms menacing, repeatedly tried to attack Han Shuo. Yet he easily evaded them all.

Forest trolls were a race native to the Dark Forest, mortal enemies of the elves, regarded as marauders and constantly hunted by them.

Within the Dark Forest, trolls were even more fearsome than ogres. Not only were they strictly disciplined, but they also imitated human military tactics—divided into troll warriors, troll hunters, and troll priests who could use simple magic.

It was said that forest trolls had evolved from plants and trees, and like humans, possessed advanced intelligence. In the forest, they enjoyed unique advantages, using them to plunder resources from other races and passing merchants. Like ogres, they were notorious bandits and villains.

Han Shuo listened carefully to the sounds of battle and sped toward the direction from which they came. As he ran, several long spears whistled toward his back, thrown by troll hunters. With heightened senses, Han Shuo changed direction swiftly, easily dodging the projectiles.

A number of troll warriors, wielding massive axes, shouted as they charged at him from the side. But before they could get close, Han Shuo had already slipped past them, heading straight for the heart of the battle.

After a few dozen seconds of sprinting, Han Shuo finally reached the center of the conflict. There, a dozen or so people armed with longswords were holding off the trolls' assault. Judging by their dress, these were clearly members of a mercenary band. All of them were wounded to varying degrees.

Surrounding them were dozens of forest trolls. In front, troll warriors pressed the attack in close combat, while behind them, a dozen troll hunters hurled spears and javelins. At the very back, five troll priests cast simple healing magic and invoked the Mindfire to harden their allies’ bodies, tending wounds and boosting stamina.

From the look of things, the battle had raged for some time. The human mercenaries fought bravely, but the trolls had the advantage of both numbers and coordination—warriors for melee, hunters for ranged attacks, and priests for healing—making them overwhelmingly superior to the mercenaries, who were all mere fighters.

Behind the mercenaries, a short, fat man with a face full of flesh cursed loudly, his beady eyes darting about as if searching for a way to escape.

So it wasn’t Fanny and her group after all. Realizing this had nothing to do with him, Han Shuo decided not to interfere and planned to bypass the battle and continue toward the forest’s edge.

However, although Han Shuo had no intention of helping, the forest trolls seemed unwilling to let him go. Several especially burly troll warriors at the front, wielding huge axes, charged at him, while sharp javelins flew his way.

“Sorry, I’m just passing through. I’ll be on my way now—go on robbing them, it’s got nothing to do with me!” Han Shuo called out, not wanting to get involved, and tried to sidestep the trolls.

“Humans are the most cunning and evil race—kill him,” suddenly shrieked the troll chieftain, standing beside the priests and speaking in the common tongue.

The troll warriors, momentarily distracted by Han Shuo’s words, hesitated no longer at the chieftain’s command and charged with their axes.

Damn it, courting death! Han Shuo flared with anger. After dodging a few thrown spears, he saw the troll warriors bearing down, clearly intending to dispatch him as well.

Grabbing a spear from nearby, Han Shuo hefted it in his hand. Before the troll warriors could reach him, he leapt forward. The spear in his hand moved so fast it seemed to flash through the air—there was a soft, wet sound as it pierced through the chest of the foremost troll warrior and pinned the one behind him as well.

The two trolls managed only a brief, agonized cry before the spear skewered them both, killing them instantly. Han Shuo snatched up a battleaxe from one of the fallen and shouted, “If you want to die, don’t blame me!”

Having experienced the ogre incident, Han Shuo no longer felt the slightest fear when killing. In fact, he felt a strange exhilaration.

For such villainous bandits, Han Shuo knew mercy and pleas were useless; only ruthless and brutal action could cow them. The more timid and weak you appeared, the more brazen they became. So this time, Han Shuo struck with savage ferocity, confronting them with bloodthirsty violence.

As expected, after witnessing Han Shuo’s brutality, the other four troll warriors drew back in panic, their green faces showing fear. The troll chieftain also looked at Han Shuo with apprehension and hesitation.

“Brave warrior, please save me!” At that moment, the short, fat man behind the mercenaries cried out in excitement, looking at Han Shuo as if he were his savior.

“Not interested!” Han Shuo replied coldly, gripping the axe and preparing to leave.

Seeing Han Shuo about to go, the fat man panicked and shouted, “Brave warrior, if you save me, I’ll pay you handsomely—enough to satisfy you!”

Hearing this, Han Shuo paused, turned with a smile and asked, “Esteemed sir, how much are you willing to pay?”

The fat man froze, hesitated, then gritted his teeth and shouted, “Fifty gold coins!”

“Sorry, you’d better find someone else,” Han Shuo thought to himself. Fifty gold coins might have tempted him in the past, but after entering the Dark Forest and realizing he could hunt Windblade Demonwolves alone, he no longer thought it worth risking his life for such a sum.

Seeing Han Shuo about to leave, the fat man grew anxious and shouted again, “Seventy at most!”

Han Shuo didn’t even look back, continuing on his way.

“Eighty, one hundred, one hundred and twenty, one hundred and fifty, two hundred—two hundred gold coins!”

Han Shuo abruptly stopped, turned, and quickly rushed back. “All right, two hundred it is. I’ll take a loss and make a friend.”

“Heavens, two hundred gold coins? You’re just as much a robber as they are! Two hundred gold coins could buy dozens of slaves. Damn it, just get me out of here!” the fat man wailed, his face twisted in pain.