Chapter 138: Aydin

Carefully avoiding the traps and making sure not to make any sound, Aydin knew at this distance any mistake would alert them.

It took some time, but Aydin got around the traps and began moving closer to the Gnoll. Shadow was his best protection. A cold glint flashed in Aydin’s eyes. Then…

“Backstab!”

“Kidney Shot!”

“Cut Throat!”

A cold flash of light went out almost as fast! The Gnoll clutched its throat, the light in its eyes fading rapidly. Its shocked look froze forever as dark red blood slowly seeped from its body. The Gnoll twitched a few times, then completely stopped moving.

Gently pulling out his dagger after dealing with this hidden lookout, Aydin slowly approached the mouth of the cave. Using the faint light coming from inside the cave, he saw three figures remaining inside.

The cave mouth wasn’t very large, and there was nothing providing cover. Sneaking close without a sound would be very difficult, but it wasn’t impossible. Aydin took a finely crafted hand crossbow from a pouch, drew its string, and loaded a bolt. Making sure nothing was overlooked, Aydin walked directly into the cave.

“Fang, didn’t I tell you to keep watch outside? Did you not learn your lesson well enough?” Seeing the shadow suddenly appear at the cave mouth, the lead Troll roared angrily.

But the shadow completely ignored his words and kept walking deeper inside.

“Something’s wrong! Enemy!”

Just as he sensed something wrong, Aydin suddenly raised his left hand. A flash of cold light flew instantly. At such close range, the bolt streaked through the air and disappeared into the throat of a nearby Gnoll. That Gnoll had no time to dodge. Clutching its throat, it fell to the ground.

Another Gnoll grabbed its weapon and started to attack upon hearing the noise. But Aydin didn’t draw back after firing the crossbow. Instead, he charged forward faster. He pulled a scimitar from behind his back and instantly swung it at the Gnoll closest to him.

The sudden fight exploded into a life-or-death struggle. There was no battling for hundreds of rounds; much more often, life and death were decided in moments. The Gnoll subconsciously raised its weapon to strike, but unfortunately, the prepared fighter caught the unprepared one off guard. Its movement was a full beat slower than Aydin’s.

When it finally brought its weapon up to attack, Aydin’s long blade was already slicing towards its neck. The sharp blade severed its windpipe. Stinking blood sprayed out. The Gnoll felt strength rapidly draining from its body; the weapon it could once swing easily became increasingly heavy.

Whoosh!

Facing the attack, the Troll reacted very quickly. Its counterattack began while Aydin was killing the two Gnolls. A javelin flew instantly. Aydin only had time to twist his body slightly before the javelin grazed past his ear.

The Troll moved swiftly. After throwing the javelin, it didn’t even pause to see if it hit its mark. It grabbed its weapon and charged straight in. Aydin rolled aside, dodging the Troll’s follow-up attack. While rolling, he pulled out another scimitar and swung it at the Troll’s legs.

Dodging several times in a row, Aydin didn’t panic at all. His scimitar kept parrying blows. The blade in his left hand slashed across in a backhanded motion, while the one in his right hand parried the Troll’s weapon.

Clang!

A tremendous force hit Aydin, sending him stumbling backwards. The Troll’s strength was much higher than his. However, Aydin’s left scimitar sliced across the Troll’s belly during that same moment.

Using the force of the Troll’s blow, Aydin retreated several steps, only to immediately leap forward again. Trolls healed very quickly; waiting for one to bleed to death was practically impossible.

Aydin’s blades left trails of afterimages as he attacked. The Troll roared and fought back without backing down. Ding-ding-dang-dang sounds of metal clashing filled the narrow cave. Countless blade flashes crisscrossed as neither side gave an inch. More and more wounds appeared on their bodies.

“Shadow Strike!”

The firelight flickered, changing the light and shadows inside the cave. At that very moment, Aydin’s body instantly merged into a patch of shadow. The next second, he reappeared at the Troll’s side. Aydin’s eyes were ice cold, showing no hesitation at all. His long blade slashed fiercely toward the Troll’s head.

Too late to dodge, the Troll could only try to block with its raised arm!

Thump!

A severed arm fell. Stinking blood spurted out heavily. After losing one arm, the Troll was no match for Aydin at all. In just a short while, its other arm was also chopped off.

Aydin didn’t kill the Troll outright. After pausing to catch his breath and recover his tired body, he began questioning the creature. As a Drow Elf, Aydin was also skilled in various tortures. Before long, he got what he needed to know.

With a casual swing, Aydin severed the Troll’s head. Then he threw the Troll’s body straight onto the fire to burn. Trolls recovered very well; without elemental magic, fire was the best way to kill them completely for good.

Under the dark night sky, the Drow Elf moved swiftly through the Wilderness. The night gave him perfect cover, and his night vision fully ignored the darkness. Following the information gotten from that Troll, the Drow Elf continued scouting ahead.

…

Bruce finally woke up after sleeping for a whole day and night. Su Lun personally freed him from being a slave. As a blacksmith, after a burst of work a few days ago, Bruce finally became a master blacksmith. Gaining the status of a Freeman, Bruce also swore loyalty to Su Lun. Then, he became a new Hero under Su Lun’s command.

As a reward for Bruce crafting a Supernatural Weapon, Su Lun gave him a house and one hundred acres of farmland. Having his own property, Bruce’s loyalty to Su Lun shot up to ninety points. This also served as publicity. It told the other slaves to work harder, showing them that here, hard work could indeed change their lives and give them a better one.

Bruce still worked in the Blacksmith Shop, but from now on, Su Lun had to pay him a monthly salary. Of course, crafting any Supernatural Weapon would earn him extra rewards – piecework payment, where you get paid by how much you get done. After understanding these terms, Bruce happily accepted.

With a master blacksmith staying in town, Su Lun could get a steady supply of Supernatural Weapons. Finishing matters with Bruce, Su Lun headed to Heatherway’s Laboratory. Based on the time set earlier, the Purple Dragon Halberd was scheduled for completion today.

Entering the laboratory, Heatherway had the Purple Dragon Halberd ready. After Enchanting, many runes covered the halberd, making the Purple Dragon Halberd look less shiny than yesterday. Su Lun reached out and picked up the Purple Dragon Halberd. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and a flash of Lightning Glow arced across its surface.

[Purple Dragon Halberd: Type: Polearm +4, Item Classification: Magic Item, Crafted using Hundred-fold Steel, Meteor Iron, Tungsten Steel, and Amethyst as its core materials. Quenched in Frost Wyvern blood and masterfully forged before being enchanted by an Alchemist to become a powerful magic weapon. Equip Requirement: Strength 14+, Additional Effects: Sharpness +3, Resilience +3, Armor Penetration +3. Enchantments: Thunder Power, Slow]

Thunder Power: Each attack deals an extra 20 Lightning Damage. Damage stacks. When dealing damage, also causes a Stun effect. Any target failing its Constitution saving throw will be stiffened for 1-3 seconds.

Increases Lightning-based damage output by 30%, and reduces Lightning energy cost by 30% when using Lightning energy.

Slow: Having been quenched in Frost Wyvern blood, each attack deals an extra 5 Frost Damage and reduces the target’s speed by 10%.

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