ATAPOW Chapter 90
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Chapter 90: Strange【Magic】
“They pretended to be strong but are just weak inside! While acting like they’re working with us, they set up an ambush and lured us in to take the bait. It was indeed a great interlocking stratagem!” The troll leader angrily hammered a fist on the tottering wooden table.
“That’s not the main point. That puny human troops are unable to stir up any large wave. Relying on two hundred elite troll foot soldiers, we should have been able to exterminate them as easy as stepping on ants… The crucial point is, what exactly is the agreement they have reached with the dark knights?? Why did the dark knights dispatch their troops to help them??” The third troll brother beat his chest and stamped his feet in a grieving and sorrowful manner. The dusky street lights swayed and illuminated his bloody eye—This eye of his had been rendered useless by an enchanted wood-lacquered arrow of the dark knights.
“…Where’s second brother and fourth brother?” The troll leader slightly knitted his brows.
“The whereabouts of Fourth Brother are unknown while Second Brother has been slain. His corpse’s flesh was sucked dry, leaving only skins and bones behind… This is definitely not something a human could accomplish.” Explained the third troll brother in a heavy tone. He had a gloomy expression on his face.
The troll leader remained silent, only his lips began to tremble slightly.
“Less than half of the two hundred troll foot soldiers we’ve brought with us remain. The most important thing is that Ol’ Fourth is a relative of the clan leader. Although he is only a distant relative with no importance whatsoever… If the higher up shamans were to use that to impeach us, we’d be backed into a corner. In every sense of the word.” The wrinkle-filled face of the troll third brother was as gloomy as the sky during a thunderstorm.
“…The humans have actually managed to invite the dark knights and demons as their helpers… That group of repulsive traitors, why do they help those frail worms? Do they not understand the logic behind natural selection?” As he thought of the troll that had thrown him down the ladder while yelling ‘The Magical Girl sitting on a plane’, the troll leader covered his forehead. Anger began to radiate from his entire body.
“I will definitely repay… this debt!”
“But we lost a good amount of generals and soldiers and our morale has hit rock bottom. What’s more, the human side will definitely have some sort of precautionary measures after this surprise attack. It would still be manageable if the dark knights have left, but if they haven’t…” The third troll brother opened his mouth, yet didn’t finish his words.
“Commander, there’s a human looking for you outside the tent. He said that there’s something he wanted to give you?” A troll foot soldier walked into the tent while holding a worn out kraft paper.
“What?! The humans have discovered our hiding spot? Then why have you not taken him down? What the heck have I kept you around for?”
“Your subordinate wished to do that too… But that masked guy disappeared after putting this kraft paper on the ground.”
“What is it? Bring it over and let me have a look.” The troll leader knitted his brows slightly.
The foot soldier handed over the roll of worn-out kraft paper, whose yellowing surface was littered with densely packed and obscure runes. Even so, every single one was extremely clear and visible.
“What sort of gibberish is this??” The troll leader flipped the paper back and forth, yet he was unable to understand the specific race that had written those words.
“That human had said that you needed to set the paper on fire if you wish to see its content.”
The troll leader narrowed his lion-like eyes and breathed out traces of dark-green raging flames from his mouth, setting the seemingly incomplete piece of kraft paper on fire.
Blazing flames spread rapidly and turned into the shape of a human.
“I trust you have been well since we last met, Mr Troll.” The mouth of the human-shaped flame was opening and closing, turning the scene into an incomparably bizarre sight.
“…It’s you?!” The troll leader stood up, his lion-like eyes wide open as he stared at the figure before him.
That familiar tone had instantly made him recognize the figure before him.
“You c*nt! You still dare to put up a mysterious front after setting up a plan to ambush me?!” The troll leader fell into a fit of rage as he looked at the human-shaped flame mysteriously burning before his eyes. Picking up a spiked club besides him, he swung it towards the apparition.
“Whoosh!” The body of the human-shaped flame was smashed into two pieces who reconnected so rapidly it seemed like nothing had happened.
“May I ask that you calm your anger and listen to me, Mr Troll? The situation that had transpired this time wasn’t done to intentionally deceive you. It’s just that there were changes happening that went beyond our expectations, that’s all. I didn’t think that the dark knights would kill their way into the middle…” The human-shaped flame flickered between brightness and darkness in the wind, as if it was expressing its apology to the trolls.
“So you want us to continue believing in you and send us to our deaths once more, right? Haha!” The third troll brother laughed sarcastically.
“Do you know how much armed troops we lost just to cooperate with you? We even lost two of our sworn brothers! You still wish to make use of us even at this point?? Dream on! Once we breach this lousy city, the first thing I will do is to blow your head off!”
“Haha, the two of you are truly joking. May I ask if the two of you have the ability to deal with the dark knights hiding in this city with the military strength you currently possess? What’s more, a new barrier has already been generated and the barrier projector you have stolen will soon be reduced to a clump of scrap metal. As long as the barrier still exists, you will be unable to take even half a step in here… It would certainly be a difficult task to explain to your superiors if you return with a broken army, don’t you agree?” The fire on the human-shaped flame rose as if it was shrugging its shoulders.
“…What about you? It’s not only us that are in the heart of the struggle. A section head like yourself must presumably not be doing any better than us too, right?”
“Precisely. As of now, we’re grasshoppers tethered to the same thread. We will either bath in glory or be doomed to damnation together. There’s no other way out than to continue our partnership, don’t you think so??”
“Hmph! Don’t think of getting us to be your stepping stone! We’re not that stupid…”
“So… What do you want us to do this time??” Asked the troll leader as he looked at the bizarre human-shaped flame with a grave expression. He had waved his hand and interrupted the third troll brother’s speech earlier.
“Very simple… Just coordinate with me.”
“What’s the deal with this human-shaped flame of yours? Is it witchcraft?” The knowledge demons possessed regarding【Magic】was far beyond what any human could imagine. This was also one of the reasons why they were vastly stronger than them.
【Magic】. This type of unique and mysterious form of energy existed in all living beings. Even the delicate mankind possessed that energy too. However, the amount contained within them was so excessively scarce that it was almost negligible.
On top of that, the names the various factions addressed it by were different.
Humans have labeled this miraculous strength as【Sacred Abilities】,while demons addressed it as【Magic】.
By using【Magic】in a special manner, all sorts of【Magic skills】could be born. The sword skills of humans and their series of techniques were of the same logic as well; All of them ingeniously made use of the【Magic】inside their bodies.
【Magic Skills】were classified by their might as such: Common-class, Crushing-class, Destructive-class, Disaster-class, Despair-class, Impeccability-class, Divine-vein.
However, as the【Magic】in human bodies was excessively sparse to the point of being negligible, being able to use【Crushing】class【Magic Techniques】was already their limit.
This knowledge was something humans were completely clueless about. Even if they knew, they would still be incapable of understanding why their bodies were far inferior in using【Magic】compared to demons.
The troll chief had quite a bit of knowledge regarding this subject. But he was somewhat clueless about the exact composition this human-shaped flame was made up of, and the methods in which humans utilize【Magic skills】like this one.
“Haha…”