Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 156: Armour Troll Gang-up Fight II

CH156 Armour Troll Gang-up Fight II

***

”Scorching Ray!”

A beam of searing heat ripped through the air.

The troll abruptly halted its attack and flung itself sideways with a guttural roar.

Lieutenant Cross let out a shaky breath as two Shieldbearers reached him, dragging him out of harm’s way just in time.

But the troll didn’t even glance their way. Its eyes locked onto the one who had fired the spell.

Alex.

The troll’s three glowing eyes flared with rage as it set its murderous gaze upon the mage.

Alex smiled faintly. ’Good. Just as planned.’

The troll now saw him as the biggest threat on the field and immediately abandoned its previous target. Neither the lieutenant nor the Shieldbearers mattered anymore.

Grade 4 spells were notoriously mana-hungry for an Intermediate Mage to cast—and Scorching Ray was one of the worst of the bunch in that regard. Under normal circumstances, Alex wouldn’t have used it.

It simply wasn’t efficient.

But this time, he’d made an exception.

It was the only fire-based spell in his arsenal, fast and lethal enough to interrupt the troll’s killing blow. If he’d used Fire Bolt, the Wildkin might have taken the hit and powered through to smash the lieutenant regardless.

Now, he had its attention.

Body Strengthening Magic! Dragon Kumite: Burst!

Without waiting for a response, Alex turned on his heels and dashed away, the troll bellowing behind him.

Had it been smarter, it might have noticed Alex was deliberately controlling his pace—just fast enough to lead it, just slow enough to keep it enraged.

Whenever the troll drew too near, Alex unleashed bursts of mana from his feet, propelling himself forward in a short dash. When the gap grew too wide, he’d ease up, taunting the monster to keep it focused on him.

When all three of the troll’s eyes turned a wrathful bloodshot red—an unmistakable sign that it had fully given in to its rage—Alex’s face eased into a smile.

He swerved, circling the beast around toward a particular section of the battlefield, just south of the troll’s makeshift throne of bones.

”Phase Three!” Alex called out.

Featherflight!

His body instantly lightened, and he moved with the grace of an eastern martial artist or cultivator using qinggong. Each step barely disturbed the blades of grass beneath him.

The troll barrelled after him, but the moment it stepped onto that patch of land, its enormous foot plunged through the grassy surface.

”Graahh!”

A sharp cry rang out.

Hidden spikes beneath the grass drove through its leg. Furious, the troll yanked itself free—its wounds steaming as they rapidly closed.

It raised its gaze again, only to see the human standing ahead with an expression that could only be called mockery.

Roar!

Another roar—another reckless charge.

Continuously, it was met with a gauntlet of traps: slippery oil, shallow spike-lined pits, and even massive swinging tree trunks that smashed into its sides.

The traps were triggered by Alex and all sprung in sequence.

If one paid close attention, they would notice something subtle.

The troll was slowing down.

And more importantly... so was its regeneration.

Despite its monstrous healing factor, there was one fatal flaw to this trait.

It required vast amounts of energy to sustain.

And now, after healing through countless wounds inflicted by the platoon’s ambush and Alex’s trap-filled pursuit, the troll’s internal energy reserves were dangerously low. Its regeneration faltered. Even the ancestral runes glowing on its body began to flicker and dim.

The boost granted by those markings had to come from somewhere—and now, that somewhere was nearly depleted.

Alex watched it all carefully—every step, every reaction, every flicker of its glowing patterns.

His eyes narrowed.

”Phase Four!” he shouted.

Whistle!

A sharp signal pierced the air—short and shrill.

Alex’s gaze snapped westward from the savagery of the troll’s makeshift throne. That sound was the cue.

Everything was in place!

The troll, already suffering the backlash from overexerting its Ancestral Markings and healing factor, was starting to stumble. Each breath it took was ragged, its hulking frame struggling to keep pace.

But still, it followed Alex with blind, primal hunger—drawn by the surging energy Alex deliberately radiated.

It wasn’t thinking anymore. It was instinctively chasing a meal. As long as it could consume Alex, it believed its energy reserve would recover significantly.

Unbeknownst to the beast, Alex had led it into another trap.

This time, an ambush.

They breached the treeline—and the moment the troll entered the designated chokepoint, the forest came alive.

”Now!”

From the flanks, the platoon’s spearmen surged forward with precision. Their long metal spears drove into the troll’s thighs, piercing its hamstrings.

”AAARGHHH!!!” The troll howled in pain, stumbling forward.

It clawed at its own legs, trying to rip the spears out of its fatty muscle tissue—but the next wave came before it could.

Swoosh!

A rain of flaming arrows rained down from the Fury archers, all aimed at its face. The troll threw up an arm to protect its eyes, batting at the barrage with its other hand.

It worked—partially. The flames scorched its dominant arm, badly burning and blistering it. Worse, the flaming wounds had cauterised on contact, making its natural healing slow and somewhat ineffective.

It snarled, lowering its guard for just a second.

Fireball!

A perfectly timed spell from the rear ranks struck the beast square in the face.

BOOM!

The explosion engulfed its upper head. Its screech tore through the forest—a mix of agony and rage.

”AHHHHH!!!”

It thrashed in place, stumbling in circles as its vision was burned out. But Alex and his unit didn’t let up.

Lieutenant Cross charged, shield up. He rammed into the troll’s legs with his full weight, halting its movements. At the same moment, Laura appeared at its right, sword flashing, while Fen leapt in from the left, claws glowing with icy mana.

Shlick!

Their blades slashed behind the troll’s knees in perfect sync.

The frost from Fen’s claws spread rapidly over the wounds, freezing the torn muscle and preventing any healing response.

Thud!

The beast dropped to its knees with a crash that trembled the earth.

Lieutenant Cross rolled away.

Alex arrived a moment later. His Beta Bracer’s wristblade flicked out with a shing, glowing faintly with mana.

He stepped up to the kneeling troll, raised his left arm, jumped and rammed the blade up into the troll’s jaw—piercing through flesh and bone until it lodged inside the skull.

Even now, despite being brought low, Alex had to look over head to gaze into the troll’s eyes.

There was shock in its dying eyes. Confusion. Reluctance.

Alex simply snorted.

”Humph.”

He channelled a surge of mana through his wristblade—pure, explosive force.

Dragon Kumite: Blast.

BOOM!

The troll’s head detonated.

Blood, brain matter, and shattered skull fragments exploded in a gory arc, spraying upward in a fan.

Much of it splashed back down onto Alex, painting his upper body in red.

He stood there, unfazed, as gore dripped from his hair and shoulders, making for a brutal savage sight.

”The bigger they are...” he muttered, lifting one foot.

With a forceful thrust kick, he slammed his boot into the headless troll corpse’s chest.

Boom.

The heavy body fell back and crashed to the ground, motionless.

Silence fell.

The surrounding soldiers stared at the youth standing over the fallen Elite-rank troll. Even the direwolves—scattered among the treeline, guarding the perimeter—paused, gazes locked on Alex.

He stood tall, cloaked in blood, his cold eyes fixed forward.

”...the harder they fall.”

**