"Circular formation! Circular formation! Surround the wagons!"
"Use the wagons as cover to block the attacks!"
"No! If this batch of goods is destroyed, do you think the employer will let us off?"
"Damn it... they have over twenty explosive crossbows! The mage's shield won't last long!"
Shouts of killing, roaring, and screaming mixed together came from not far away. Kruma, who chose to return after all, was currently hiding behind a thick ancient tree, his face pale, body stiff as he peeked at the purgatory scene on the road.
The originally orderly caravan had already become a mess.
Attackers draped in gray-brown camouflage, moving as swiftly as wolves, swarmed out from the dense forests on both sides of the road, encircling the convoy tightly. At a rough glance, there were surprisingly two or three hundred of them, almost three times the number of caravan guards!
The first wave of arrow rain and magic had already laid several guards on the outermost perimeter in pools of blood.
That senior Horned Demon who was enthusiastically talking about taking Kruma to see the world not long ago had now turned into a scorched black carcass lying by the roadside.
Under the command of the guard captain, who was also Kruma's big brother, the guards suppressed their initial panic, rapidly closing in on the core heavy wagons to form a defensive formation and beginning to counterattack.
Honestly speaking, the average strength of the caravan guards was even above that of the attackers, and their combat experience was more seasoned.
However, the absolute disadvantage in numbers, plus the equipment gap brought by the enchanted explosive crossbows, still plunged the guards into an obvious disadvantage.
"What to do... what to do?" Kruma clenched his fists tightly. A rush of hot blood surged to his head, wanting to rush out recklessly to fight to the death side by side with his big brother, but his legs felt filled with lead, nailed in place by deeper fear.
He was just a fledgling kid. Although having Silver-rank strength at this age was quite impressive, in the battle before his eyes, he would count as cannon fodder at best even if he pushed himself to the limit.
Let alone helping the convoy, rushing out now, whether he could even pass through the enemy encirclement was uncertain.
He suddenly remembered that book again and hurriedly flipped it open. Sure enough, a few more lines of writing appeared on it:
[Told you earlier not to come back, why didn't you believe me?] [Looking at this posture, don't tell me you still want to stick a foot in?]
"Do you... do you have a way? A way to save my brother?"
[Even if it's very dangerous?]
Kruma watched the distant defense line crumbling under another volley of explosive crossbows, his big brother's figure submerged in the rising dust.
His heart beat wildly, but eventually, he nodded fiercely.
[Hahahahahaha]
A large patch of flamboyant handwriting suddenly bloomed on the page, as if seeing some rare toy.
[Look what I found? Self-sacrificing for others?] [Kid, are you really a pure-blooded Empire demon? Could some strange thing have mixed in?]
"Cut the crap!" Kruma growled low, eyes bloodshot. "If there's a way, say it quickly! They can't hold on for much longer!"
[What's the rush? At this rhythm, they can still hold on for a while] [So rude, making it seem like I owe you] [But, who made me kind-hearted?] [Now, turn around, go west. There is a cliff, and at the bottom of the cliff, there is a large cave covered by vines] [Inside there are some good things that can save... can help you guys]
"West, big cave?" Kruma looked west but didn't see any cliff.
[Believe it or not, up to you]
The writing stopped here, no longer increasing.
Kruma hesitated for a while, gritted his teeth, abandoned the shouts of killing behind him, and rushed toward the west.
Relying on his fairly agile skills, it didn't take long for him to really find that cliff.
"It's here..." He panted heavily, using both hands to tear open those tough plants violently.
A pitch-black cave entrance was exposed. A cold, damp aura mixed with a strong smell of blood and rot rushed to his face.
Kruma couldn't care about much else; he bent down and drilled inside. The interior of the cave was more spacious than imagined, but the scene entering his eyes almost froze his blood.
Several trolls with huge bodies and dark brown skin were sitting around the center of the cave.
In their midst was a small hill piled up with the remains of various monsters. Kruma even identified with horror that among that pile of food, one or two demon corpses seemed to be mixed in.
The trolls were burying their heads and gorging themselves; the sound of fangs tearing meat echoed in the cave.
The commotion of Kruma breaking in made these few diners stop their actions simultaneously, staring in unison at this fresh food delivered to their door.
"Roar—!" A roar full of greed and excitement rolled from a troll's throat.
Half a leg bone of an unknown monster in its hand dropped to the ground with a clatter.
Clearly, compared to these stocks that had already begun to rot, the fresh flesh of this young Horned Demon before its eyes was more attractive to it.
"No!" Kruma was scared out of his wits, turning around to flee outward.
Vines blocked the trolls, but couldn't block them for too long. Soon, violently tearing open a large patch of vines along with attached rubble, five trolls chased out!
"This is... is this the 'good thing' you mentioned?" Kruma roared hoarsely toward his bosom while sprinting wildly, his lungs burning with pain. "This place is so close to the Giant Beast Bone Field! How could there be a wild troll tribe?!"
[Who said they are wild?] [Don't you know that noble lords of the Empire have a habit of keeping some little pets near their territories?]
Kruma had no strength or mind to refute or question further.
All his will was used to drive his legs. The roars behind him got closer and closer, mixed with the trolls' excited grumbling sounds.
Fortunately, Kruma's agility was decent. Finally, perilously grabbing the moment before being caught by the trolls' fan-like big hands, he rushed back to the edge of that battlefield, scrambling and crawling.
When he led the five trolls, like moving mountains of meat, to crash into the battlefield with a boom behind him, the chaos caused far exceeded imagination.
The first to suffer were naturally those attackers on the periphery.
These attackers, originally focused on besieging their prey, never expected these violent predators to suddenly charge out from behind.
The momentum of a troll's charge didn't stop at all, like a giant rock, directly smashing two crossbowmen shooting at the caravan defense line until their bones broke and tendons snapped, flying out screaming.
Another troll extended a long arm, casually scooped up an attacker who turned back in astonishment, and stuffed him into its bloody maw without looking. With a teeth-aching crunch, only half a body remained hanging limply.
"Behind! It's trolls!"
"How could these beasts appear here?"
The attackers' formation fell into chaos instantly. A portion of hands began to counterattack against these uninvited guests.
Explosive crossbows burst into balls of firelight and blood flowers on their thick skin.
The pained trolls let out deafening roars. Their charging momentum slowed, even staggering backward from the impact force of explosions.
Swords and sabers slashed on their bodies, leaving wounds one after another. However, the trolls' vitality was astonishing; wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Pain instead thoroughly stimulated the ferocity of these colossal monsters. After a brief retreat came even more vicious slaughter!
"Now! Everyone, take the wagons, charge out! Forget the formation, charge!" The caravan guard captain, Kruma's big brother, although equally shocked by the appearance of trolls, would absolutely not let go of this fleeting chance for survival.
He roared hoarsely, taking the lead, swinging his war hammer like the wind, fiercely smashing down an attacker who was at a loss due to the chaos in front.
The guards, finding life in a desperate situation, burst out with their last strength, no longer defending statically but clustering around the core few wagons, charging desperately toward the gap torn open by the trolls.
However, in the chaos, a blood-crazed troll seemed to find the wagon blocking its way troublesome. Roaring, it swung a thick tree trunk picked up from somewhere and smashed fiercely onto one of the carriages fully loaded with goods. Wood chips mixed with scarlet liquor splashed everywhere.
Heavy losses!
However, the surviving guards dared not stay, fighting their way out of the encirclement wretchedly.
Watching his big brother's figure disappear into the dust and smoke at the end of the road along with the remnant caravan, Kruma leaned back against a tree trunk, sliding slowly to sit on the ground.
Only until this moment did the sense of prostration after surviving a disaster surge up like a tide. Hands trembling, he pulled out that Yellow Codex that saved him from his bosom and slowly flipped it open.
"Actually... really saved us..." His voice was hoarse, carrying a trance of disbelief. "You... what exactly are you?"
Even with Kruma's fledgling vision, he realized incomparably clearly how extraordinary this book was!
Just not long ago, he was still thinking about taking it back and handing it to his experienced big brother for identification.
But for some reason, this thought evaporated quietly at this moment.
Only a vague thought close to instinct remained: This book cannot be given to anyone.
On the page, handwriting emerged stroke by stroke:
[What am I?] [I am your chance to change fate, a friend to help you realize your wishes]
"Fate... wish... friend..." Kruma repeated murmuringly, his eyes somewhat glazed.
Not far behind, the trolls' roars, attackers' angry curses, sounds of weapons clashing and flesh tearing could still be heard faintly, constituting a cruel background noise.
But all this seemed separated by a partition; his attention was completely captured by the handwriting on the page that seemed capable of sucking away the soul.
[Yes, my friend]
The handwriting on the page became gentler.
[What you desire is far more than surviving today, isn't it?] [Wealth enough to fill warehouses, a name spread throughout the Empire, power to protect everything you want to protect... including your big brother's safety and happiness!] [As long as you follow my guidance... all this will be in your bag]
The content on the Yellow Codex was like the sweetest poison, dripping into Kruma's heart field. Before numerous desires, the little vigilance and resistance remaining in his heart melted like spring snow.
He looked at those few lines of words: "I... will listen to friend."
The instant his voice fell, an invisible force connected to Kruma's spirit.
[Charm · Moderate (Trust the caster completely)]
[Hahahahahaha] [Good, my good friend, let us go seize the future together!]
Kruma closed the Yellow Codex. With a few leaps, he chased in the direction the convoy left. And further away, an invisible Knight Puchi stood atop a tree branch, quietly observing everything happening.
(End of Chapter)
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