Free Web NovelChapter 20: Manifestation of a Fourth-Stage Troll
Seeing Ryven suddenly stop midair, Arianna scoffed in dissatisfaction.
"Who did that?"
She demanded while frantically scanning the surroundings. It didn’t take long before her gaze landed on Hans.
"Hmph, brat. Looks like you need to be teach you some manners."
"You should learn not to interfere in other people’s affairs so casually."
Just as she was about to leap from the wall, Lawrence’s voice suddenly resounded behind her.
"Don’t act recklessly. There are more important problems ahead. And he’s the chief’s only son, the only person here who awakened an S-Class rank system."
Instructor Lawrence said, giving her a serious look to signal that it was time to stop throwing a tantrum.
Since there were more important matters ahead.
Arianna merely scoffed in response.
She looked away with an irritated expression.
Instructor Lawrence could only sigh helplessly.
Although Arianna had contributed greatly to the village, she was extremely unrestrained. Whenever she became displeased or got into conflict with someone, she preferred resolving things through violence.
After a few moments of silence, Hans finally let out a sigh of relief and released Ryven from his gravity manipulation.
Thud!
Having awakened the Archmage System, with Gravity Manipulation as his first ability, Hans had managed to save Ryven from being thrown into the middle of the troll horde.
After a while, Ryven regained his composure.
"I owe you one for that."
Ryven muttered in relief. Hans simply responded with a brief nod, clearly showing that he had helped willingly.
After all, anyone thrown into the middle of that horde would have died.
A few seconds later, Instructor Lawrence suddenly shouted.
"Fire all long-range attacks!"
The moment the command was given, the sky turned red from countless arrows.
At the same time, numerous long-range abilities erupted across the battlefield. Bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, enormous tornadoes swept through the trolls, and even two massive floating boulders came crashing down into the advancing horde.
Immediately, the first wave of trolls was heavily weakened.
The bombardment continued for several more seconds, slaughtering more than a hundred trolls.
However, due to their overwhelming numbers, the remaining trolls eventually reached the front lines.
The hunters and guards were already prepared. Taking the lead, Instructor Lawrence stepped forward while holding his sword.
His sword illuminated the surroundings with a golden-yellow light, with every swing, the heads of abominations flew through the air.
At the same time, everyone fighting on the battlefield suddenly felt their strength increase.
"It’s Instructor Lawrence’s ability!"
At that moment, the moral of the frontline fighters reached its peak. Even Ryven could feel just how profound Lawrence’s ability was.
He felt his overall strength increased by thirty percent.
No doubt... He’s at least Level Sixty... or maybe even Seventy?
Ryven fully understood the gap between their strengths. The chances that Lawrence had already unlocked two or three additional abilities were incredibly high.
And that didn’t even include the skills he had collected, his mid-level Treasured Weapon, and his vast battle experience.
As the wave of trolls crashed against the guards and hunters, their monstrous physical strength immediately became apparent.
The First-Stage and Second-Stage trolls possessed massive arms twice as thick as those of ordinary humans.
The First-Stage trolls had pale white skin, while the Second-Stage trolls possessed light blue skin.
Although they lacked the massive body, sharp fangs, and devil-like horns of the Red Troll, their sheer physical power alone made them terrifying opponents.
Watching the battle unfold, Ryven wisely chose not to charge into the first line of the front lines. Doing so would simply be suicide.
Instead, he secretly activated his second ability, manifesting a transparent palm-sized box, no bigger than a small candy.
Since she is the strongest here... Copying one of her ability would surely help me.
He glanced toward Arianna, who was silently observing the battlefield. Strangely enough, the Fifth-Stage Red Troll was doing the exact same thing.
Ryven couldn’t help but thought that this a two was like, kings watching their armies clash.
He sighed inwardly before throwing the transparent box toward Arianna. The box moved so quickly that she didn’t even notice it.
Although it was successful, his mood is still slightly gloomy. The fact that he still had to wait thirty minutes before the ability activated felt painfully long, especially since the battle had already begun.
Arianna noticed that Ryven was merely standing around watching the fight.
She scoffed exaggeratedly before glaring at him coldly.
"Go fight already, or I might throw you out there again."
Sensing the intense pressure radiating from her, Ryven’s brows twitched slightly.
Dammit... Does she expect me to fight out there without a weapon?
Ryven complained inwardly. However, saying that directly to a lunatic like Arianna would obviously be suicidal.
Instead, he cautiously replied.
"Excuse me... But I currently don’t have any weapons with me."
Arianna’s frown deepened.
"What kind of idiot goes into a battlefield without even bringing a weapon?"
In the next moment, Arianna manifested a low-level Treasured Weapon.
It was a sword roughly a meter long. The handle was obsidian black, while the blade itself was bronze-colored.
"Here. Imbue it with your Mana. Once you pour Mana into it, it’ll release a sword slash."
"The slash is strong enough to cut through steel. Now go fight before I throw you out there again."
This time, her tone sounded genuinely irritated. Noticing that Ryven was still hesitating, she suddenly added.
"Remember this. If you lose your sword, then use your limbs. If you lose your limbs, then use your teeth. And if you lose your teeth, then use your willpower and soul."
"It’s better than dying without fighting."
She spoke calmly, yet her tone carried pride and seriousness.
Ryven was left stunned by her words. Truly, only a lunatic could wholeheartedly believe in advice like that. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Other than that, he was also shocked that she had casually handed him a low-level Treasured Weapon.
Those things cost a fortune, yet she gave one away so easily.
He originally wanted to ask for a spear instead, but seeing Arianna’s irritated expression, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Oh well... I need experience using my new skill anyway.
After holding the sword for a few moments, Ryven recalled the fighting style Fred had displayed while battling the Blood Skull Spiders.
Fred’s fighting style was unique. Before attacking, Fred would first analyze the enemy’s weaknesses. The moment he noticed one, he would struck it to deal a fatal blow.
After attacking, Fred would immediately defend himself before quickly stepping back.
By the time Ryven entered the battlefield, the trolls had already launched their third wave of attacks.
"Their numbers are decreasing! Maintain this pace!"
Lawrence’s voice reverberated across the battlefield.
The second wave of trolls hadn’t caused
many casualties. There were injured people, but the situation remained manageable.
Ryven fought alongside the others, though he intentionally stayed within the second line of the formation. While fighting, he copied Fred’s style against the trolls.
"Iron body."
The moment he activated the skill, Ryven felt his durability increase dramatically. In exchange, some of the portion of his Mana was drained away.
After activation, the sensation was strange and unfamiliar. It felt as though the skin covering his body is quite incompatible.
Ryven couldn’t help but think that skills themselves probably possessed different levels of mastery, allowing them to become stronger the more they were used.
Shaking off the feeling, Ryven focused on the battlefield. His skin gradually turned gray, because of the skill Stone Body.
As the fight continued, Ryven carefully observed the trolls. After only a few minutes, he realized one of their weaknesses.
Their eyes reacted slightly slower than the rest of their bodies.
If he make a deceptive move in one direction before changing his attack at the last second, the trolls would fail to react in time.
Eventually, the casualties among the trolls became enormous, with more than two hundred already slaughtered.
Seeing this, the Fifth-Stage Red Troll seemed to frown.
Suddenly, it began chanting something under its breath. Because of the distance, no one could hear the words clearly.
However, as it chanted, one of the pale white trolls, that was initially a First-Stage Troll, slowly began to change.
Its skin first turned light blue, then dark blue, before finally becoming deep green. At the same time, its body expanded at a terrifying rate until it eventually reached the height of a two-story building.
Suddenly, the troll unleashed a deafening roar.
The scream was so powerful that everyone on the battlefield felt their souls tremble painfully.
The sound reverberated throughout the entire village, causing even the ordinary civilians hiding inside their homes to shiver in fear.
"It’s using an ability...?! Soul Scream!"
"Keep fighting and ignore the pain as much your will power can!"
Instructor Lawrence shouted loudly. Although he had also been affected by the attack, his condition was far better than the others due to his overwhelming willpower.
However, despite his command, the formation still fell into disarray.
The sudden appearance of a Fourth-Stage Troll had become a massive problem. Earlier, they had held the advantage, but now that advantage had completely vanished.
The third wave of trolls caused immediate casualties.
With the Fourth-Stage Troll leading the charge, the attacks of the normal trolls became far fiercer.
