59 Walk the Line (1/2)
Maybe if the troll had launched a suicidal attack that disregarded its own life for the sake of killing me or Luca, maybe then it might have succeeded. But a desperate counterattack to try and shift the momentum out of our favor so the troll could escape was never going to work. The Foolhardies were too well-trained.
Regardless, the troll might have thought attacking us would force our troops to break formation and come to our rescue. Unfortunately for it, we already had a blazing guardian angel watching our backs.
A firebolt slammed into the troll's armored chest, causing it to stumble. A second and then a third fireball forced it to a halt.
I spared a glance behind me.
Aura stood there with her staff pointed forward. The orb at its tip glowed a fiery red. The warm heat radiating out of it was similar to the kind felt when one puts their hand close to a campfire.
It made me think of nights spent camping with my family, of marshmallows and hotdogs roasting by the open fire. I felt a pain in my chest then that had nothing to do with the current fight. It didn't help that aura's face, even hidden behind her golden half-mask, seemed more enchanting as the light bounced off her.
I quickly turned away from Aura for fear of losing my battle sense. Tonight was not a time to reminisce happier days. Tonight was reserved for the butcher's work.
My gaze returned to the troll, who for the moment, stood stalk still while its eyes darted between me, Luca, and Aura behind us. It was then that I saw the fear in its eyes, and I just knew the fight was already finished.
”Let's do this,” I said although to my ears it was almost a whisper.
I raised my falchion high and charged. Beside me, Luca did the same.
The troll defiantly raised its broken steel pole to defend against us. Its remaining hand ready to smack me and Luca out of the way.
Then the firebolts came again. One, two, three, four, like a boxer performing a combination of jabs and straights, Aura's firebolts struck the troll in the gut, in the chest, and in the face. It didn't matter that it wore steel-tier scale mail. Aura's firepower packed enough punch to render it useless.
In my head, I thought that she'd gotten much stronger than before. It wasn't just me and Luca who gained new strength from using the mana pool a few months ago.
The firebolts pummeled the troll down to its knees. It was almost too easy when both Luca and I sent our shadowblades sliding across its neck from opposite sides. And we cleaved the troll's head in scissor-style execution.
”Yo~~osh!” I yelled in delight.
It wasn't often, but I did have those moments of pure joy. Usually, it happened whenever one of my plans went perfectly.
”Chill out, Dean,” Luca admonished. ”There's still plenty of time for things to turn sideways on us...” Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
I scowled at him. ”Why would you want to jinx us like that?”
Despite Luca's words, the plan continued to work like a well-oiled clock. Not only did we learn that the troll we defeated was actually a five-hundred man commander, but we were well on our way to claiming more officer heads.
I spent the brief reprieve activating Fool's Insight so I could get a better grasp of the battlefield around me with a birds-eye-view.
The first thing I did was seek out the rest of my unit. Most of them were close to my location.
Qwipps' and Varda's squads held court just outside Ashley's infantry square formation. They were doing a good job thinning the crowd of enemies surrounding us and giving Ashley's squad time to rest.
The Qwipps' Talons, as if channeling their squad leader's inner nastiness, deftly assaulted the scattered enemies with their bows and their daggers, keeping them from regrouping and forming a counterattack.