NOVEL SIMPLE 181. The Unbreakable Shield.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Barely audible footsteps echoed in the corridor.
A person with their face covered, wearing a black hood, emerged from the darkness and moved toward deeper shadows. But the Witcher wasn't intimidated by the thick, oppressive darkness.
He was enveloped in a sea of chamomile and cedarwood, walking lightly, like a cat, toward his destination.
"Nightshade is truly useful," Allen muttered softly.
Francesca had underestimated it. At Allen's level, he could use "Nightshade" for far more than fifteen minutes. Since leaving the illusion, he had been using the invisibility function, and ten minutes had already passed. The magic stored in Allen's body hadn't even been depleted by a quarter yet.
This meant that he could stay invisible for at least forty minutes continuously, and even with the silencing feature, he could use it for twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes!
Allen could be invisible and silent while simultaneously using signs and magic in combat.
"Francesca's 'Nightshade' is practically an assassin's artifact!" Allen couldn't help but praise it in his heart.
No wonder it's from the elves; even a random artifact is this impressive.
At this moment. Allen suddenly sniffed, instinctively glancing into the distant darkness. A faint stench of rotting flesh was coming from the end of the corridor ahead.
"That's the smell of decaying meat," Allen thought to himself.
The rock troll camp wasn't far.
The Witcher involuntarily slowed his steps.
After passing through the corridor and turning a few corners, the stench grew stronger, occasionally mingled with a faint scent of blood.
"Victory... meat... meat..."
"Giant Troll... meat... humans... dead..."
The dull cheering sound, mixed with the stench, came from ahead.
Out of caution.
The Witcher slowed his pace again, took a deep breath, and channeled his magic, syncing his mental energy with the hood.
In an instant.
Allen felt like he had disappeared from the world.
Footsteps, breathing, heartbeat...
Even the sound of his clothes rustling. There wasn't a sound.
"…"
He exhaled, but no sound emerged. This disoriented the keenly perceptive Witcher. After a few seconds, using his powerful bodily control, he adjusted back to normal. He had underestimated this magical artifact… Allen thought.
He originally believed that with his Cat School dual swords at Level 5, he wouldn't need "Nightshade," which only had a silencing effect. But…
Allen had to admit, the difference between the two was significant.
"Even if I swaggered across the rock troll's cave, they probably wouldn't notice me," the Witcher thought, feeling a bit overconfident.
"Meat... slurp... tasty... slurp..."
A faint flicker of firelight shimmered at the cave's entrance at the end of the corridor. The strong stench, mixed with the satisfied sounds of eating, filled the air. The rock troll's den had arrived.
Peeking out, Allen saw the Giant Troll sitting near the entrance, holding a large plate, distributing rotting meat to the rock trolls. The strong stench came from there.
Wait!
That wasn't a plate!
Allen's eyes suddenly widened.
Weren't those the magical tower shields?
In the next second.
The Witcher instinctively glanced at another cave entrance.
At least ten human corpses, dressed in proper leather armor and helmets, lay not far from the entrance.
Looking closer.
Every visible face of the corpses carried an expression of shock and fear. As if they had witnessed something unbelievable. The crushed flesh, tread marks, and blood flow. The Witcher mentally simulated how these humans died in his unique way.
In just a moment, he came to a conclusion. Without a doubt, the rock trolls, now well-fed and satisfied, had given the soldiers and knights of Kaedwen a big surprise. Tower shields with cooperative effects, combined with the deaths of dozens of elite soldiers...
And the cost was just a heap of rotting meat.
Worth it!
It was so worth it!
Allen felt a rush of excitement.
At this moment, he had no sorrow for the dead. The more people that survived here, the more elite human enemies there might be in the future battle for Kaer Morhen's defense.
He could lose a familiar face.
Allen's compassion certainly wasn't overflowing.
At least, none was spared for his enemies.
Clang!
Allen's attention was drawn to the sound. Giant Troll had finished distributing the rotting meat and casually tossed the shield onto the ground. The Witcher, although tempted by the shield, knew he didn't have any space for it. The Witcher's journal's inventory could only store system-related artifacts and potions.
So.
He waited until the rock trolls finished eating and drinking and went back to sleep before sneaking into the den to explore the camp.
Step by step, Allen moved cautiously, adjusting to the wind direction to prevent the rock trolls from smelling his scent. In just two minutes, he silently reached the center of the den.
A few times…
Allen was so close to a rock troll, almost within two meters, that he had to press his body flat against the wall as he passed. But the rock troll continued to snore.
"Nightshade is indeed a divine tool for stealth!"
With only half the distance left to cover, surrounded by the chamomile fragrance, Allen couldn't help but marvel again.
Just then…
"Witcher!"
A heavy voice suddenly came from behind him, very close. The stench of rotting meat followed, driving away the chamomile and cedarwood fragrance in an instant, filling the air around the Witcher.
Allen's body froze.
The intense aura of the troll's focus wrapped around him, pressing on him, immobilizing him…
A chill ran down Allen's spine, from his tailbone to his scalp.
Damn it!
When did it…?
The Witcher cursed inwardly.
In the next moment, though, the intense focus of the aura weakened. But Allen didn't dare make a move to escape. He stiffly turned around.
Sure enough!
Giant Troll was standing three meters away on the open ground. Bending forward, its large, blood-red eyes, bigger than Allen's head, stared at the Witcher. The stench that had just swept through wasn't cave wind at all!
It was Giant Troll's breath!
At this distance, the Witcher had nowhere to run.
However.
At this point, Allen actually calmed down. Though he couldn't understand how Giant Troll had detected him, the fact that it hadn't smashed a rock at him immediately meant things hadn't reached an irreparable state.
"Was it because of the rotten meat?" Allen speculated inwardly.
So.
He took a deep breath and dispelled his invisibility and silencing effects.
"Witcher... bad... troll... house broken..."
"Witcher... bad... Green Stone... seriously injured..."
"…Witcher… bad…"
The familiar dull, noisy voice instantly sounded.
"…Shut up…Giant Troll talking…Little Troll, shut up…"
The massive body turned and roared.
All the rock trolls fell silent.
"…Witcher… bring food for trolls… why?"
The stench of rotting meat mixed with large droplets of spittle came at him.
Although Allen felt a bit more confident upon hearing this, he dared not move, fearing he might provoke the large rock troll in front of him.
"A gift!"
"…What gift?" Giant Troll growled.
The enormous face, as hard as green stone, showed no expression or emotion. Allen carefully chose his words and said cautiously: "Apologies and goodwill."
"I apologize on behalf of my fellow Witchers for what they did in the past."
Although, to this day, he still didn't know what Vesemir had done to these rock trolls.
"I'm here to…"
Before he could finish, one of the rock trolls suddenly shouted: "…Witcher… kill… broke… house…"
"…Shut up, Little Troll… or… Giant Troll's fist… will wait for you." Giant Troll roared again.
The rock troll immediately fell silent.
"…Witcher, continue."
Allen took a deep breath to calm his wildly beating heart.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so I think we can become friends, after all…"
"I already have three rock troll friends, so I am also here for friendship."
The Witcher looked up, coincidentally meeting Giant Troll's gaze.
Allen's heart once again began to race uncontrollably.
Giant Troll stared at him for a long time, seemingly thinking, but its dumb expression made it hard to tell. After a while, Giant Troll seemed to suddenly wake from a dream and asked: "…Witcher… troll friends… what are their names…"
"Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone. They all live near the Witcher's fortress—Kaer Morhen, and they have always gotten along well with us, the Wolf School Witchers…"
Before he could finish, the aura of care surrounding the Witcher suddenly withdrew.
There's hope!
Sure enough, Giant Troll and the others knew these rock trolls.
Allen thought to himself.
"…Before I left Kaer Morhen, I often brought food to visit them… uh… brought this meat."
He motioned with his eyes toward the mountain of meat not far away.
"Gulp~"
A sound of swallowing echoed in the spacious cave.
"…Often… Witcher says… often…"
Some of the rock trolls began to drool.
Although Allen had brought a lot of rotten meat, all of it was under Giant Troll's control. Giant Troll might not understand rationing during wartime, but it certainly wouldn't let them eat until they were full.
"Bang! Bang!"
"…Giant Troll… Big Rock… family… Witcher… friend…"
The second-largest rock troll came over and tapped Giant Troll on the back.
Giant Troll's enormous body turned to look at the other rock trolls. After staring at Allen for a few seconds, it gently shook its head "warmly."
"…Big Rock's friend… is Giant Troll's friend… a friend's return gift…"
A return gift?
In a daze, the Witcher suddenly remembered the first time he met Big Rock and the others. At that time, Big Rock had also been strangely polite, giving him a chunk of raw ruby ore. That ore still rested on the southern side of Kaer Morhen's main fortress.
As he spoke.
"Boom~ Boom~ Boom~"
Giant Troll turned and picked up the tower shield that was used as a serving tray. Seeing this, Allen's heart pounded. He hadn't expected a pile of worthless rotten meat to have such value. He had seen the effects of these shields earlier. With the effects of three tower shields stacked together, even Giant Troll's powerful attacks could be blocked.
"Clang! Clang!"
Three heavy shields fell to the ground.
The Witcher immediately appraised them, his gaze sweeping over one ancient, dusty shield.
[Name: Unbreakable Shield]
[Type: Magical Artifact]
[Functions:
1. Shield Wall: Consumes magic gems to create a magical shield wall that absorbs physical damage.
2. Unbreakable: When similar items are placed next to each other, resonance is triggered, and the amount of damage they can block multiplies!]
[Note: Three tower shields are like a thick city wall!]
Excited about the powerful new item he was about to obtain, the Witcher's interest in the shield instantly dropped by half as soon as he saw its functions.
It consumes magic gems to create a shield wall?
Are you kidding me?
If this were fifty years ago…
No!
You'd have to go back at least two or three hundred years, back when monsters were rampant, and before the Witchers existed, during the time when Conjunction of the Spheres occurred frequently.
Back then, humans relied on technology learned from the elves.
They used all sorts of magic gems to harness chaotic magic and protect their homes. But ever since the Conjunction of the Spheres stopped, Witchers appeared, and monsters decreased, this technology became scarce.
The biggest issue was that magic gems rich in power were too rare. Nowadays, the primary use for these magic gems was for wizards' staffs and sorceresses' magical accessories…
Mainly to help wizards channel magic and expand their magical awareness, all in a sustainable manner. But the tower shield before him…
The Witcher glanced at it, noting that the ancient shield's gems were already a bit dim. These gems were consumed irreversibly.
"No wonder the king of Kovir was so wealthy!"
The Witcher couldn't help but exclaim. But he didn't have that many magic gems to spare.
In fact.
He didn't even have a single gem.
"…Witcher friend doesn't like?"
Giant Troll noticed Allen's hesitation.
"No, I like it very much!"
Snapping out of it, Allen nodded.
Although it was far from the magical artifact he had imagined.
However.
The strategic value of the Unbreakable Shield was undeniable, especially in siege defense. This would be very useful for the Wolf School, especially with the potential Kaer Morhen defense battle looming!
Besides…
With him mastering the Conjunction of the Spheres, could he not find a way to obtain these magic gems in the future?
"…Witcher… friend… friend's gift… return gift…"
Giant Troll nodded, its hard mouth opening and closing. It was looking at the Witcher, but Allen felt that Giant Troll's gaze penetrated him, as if it were looking at someone—or something—else entirely…
For rock trolls, famous for their low intelligence, Big Rock and Giant Troll's manners had surprised Allen. The Witcher thought there might be a story behind this. But now was not the time for storytelling, as there were many problems in front of him, waiting to be solved.
The most obvious one was: "How was he going to bring these three massive Unbreakable Shields, each larger than him, back to Kaer Morhen?"
The Witcher looked at the dusty shields on the ground and thought. But in the next moment. He no longer needed to consider this problem. Because…
"…Humans are coming… Trolls… kill!!!"
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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