The carriage moved slowly along a snowy path; the entire area seemed desote. Adeline seemed annoyed by the cold as she held onto the thick bnket made of fur. Alfred and Tymon, on the other hand, seemed unbothered. They silently sat next to each other, their eyes closed as if in deep sleep.

  “Oh wow, here I am struggling, and the two of you are sleeping.”

  “I am sorry, master, but there is nothing we can do to help.”

  Alfred spoke in a low, tired voice. He had spent the majority of his time taking care of the eggs. Tymon spent most of his time with Lathan; the old elf liked him so much he, too, got a branch of the world tree. Every day, he would accompany the old elf and other elves as they instructed him on how to take care of the two young trees. He ended up learning a lot about their culture and traditions and earned each other's respect.

  Adeline spent most of her time sleeping, recovering, and training. She was developing at an astonishing rate; she even started to incorporate her blood magic, a name Gena came up with. She described mana as a manifestation of people's cardinal desires or passion. For Adeline, it was blood since she enjoyed bleeding and fighting.

  They slowly moved northward with little to no opposition until a sudden snowstorm emerged. It forced them off their carriages, which put Adeline in a very bad mood. They finally found a cave to take refuge in as Joseph made a small fire while Tymon prepared the food. They ate their food and silently went to sleep. Adeline decided to keep watch because it was too cold for her to fall asleep. Silently cursing, she sat there with her greatsword. Suddenly, whispers could be heard. Adeline held her sword tightly as her instincts took over.

  ‘Come this way, this way.’

  Adeline looked around the cave but saw nothing of note as the whispers continued. Her greatsword suddenly melted in her arms as her vision was suddenly turned upside down.

  ‘You are special, no you’re not special. Come this way, yes, this way.’

  Adeline, who was already upset, had no time for whatever this was. She closed her eyes and, in one burst, released her mana. The illusion shattered in an instant. She opened her eyes and came face to face with a troll. In an instant, she grabbed the troll by the throat and then smmed it on the wall, causing a small earthquake. The huge troll was effortlessly lifted up by Adeline as she scanned the cave. The rest were woken up by the impact and took defensive positions, but it was only the troll in the area.

  “I am in a really bad mood, and I did not appreciate your stunt.”

  “I was trying to save you three from the human, but unfortunately, I can only save one, so I chose you.”

  “Does your pn involve putting me under a spell?”

  “Yes, most of the time they wake up screaming.”

  Adeline let out a sigh as she dropped the troll.

  “We do not need saving; he is my companion, but thank you for the thought and sorry for my reaction.”

  “No need to worry; I should be back to full strength soon.”

  Tymon sat down and faced the troll without averting his gaze, then spoke,

  “I do understand, so you can save the apologies. What I do need to know is why you are here.”

  The troll’s eyes widened; he could understand the human.

  “You can understand me too?”

  “Yes, I can. I know it is a weird experience, but it seems to be an after-effect of the world tree.”

  “You have been in the city of elves! Then why are you so deep in the north? Are you lost?”

  “No, we are actually looking for trolls.”

  The troll adjusted itself and stared at the odd group. Adeline stepped closer and stared at the troll.

  “We already met with the orcs, dwarves, and elves; all that remains are the trolls and the dragon. I am trying to unite all the monsters in this part of the forest so we could have a better chance against the empire.”

  The troll was very confused by this, and he knew only the chieftain had the authority to deal with this.

  “I cannot speak on this matter, but I can take you to the chieftain. Our camp is a day away from here, but we will have to wait for the storm.”

  “I would appreciate that. Why are you even here to begin with?”

  “The humans have grown more fierce and powerful; they occasionally come up this path, so I thought it would be easier to ambush them in this cave.”

  “Alone? Isn’t that a bit too careless?”

  “My chances are better alone. I am also very skilled with illusionary magic. They are usually small bands of ten humans, so it’s also easy.”

  “I see. That’s not actually a bad idea, now that I think about it.”

  “Thank you.”

  The troll chuckled as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

  “We will have to wait until the storm passes, then I will take you there.”

  Everybody nodded as they returned to sleep. Adeline and the troll kept watch. It was a bit awkward at first, but the troll decided to break the silence.

  “Do you think it’s possible to convince the chieftain to join the others?”

  “It isn’t a matter of convincing, but it’s a must if you want to survive or prosper.”

  “The chieftain will not accept easily.”

  “I am very persuasive. What’s your interest in this?”

  The troll turned to Adeline, whose eyes were closed.

  “To be honest, things have not been looking good. The humans have increased their assault, and the casualties are ramping up. I hope you are successful so we could get more help.”

  “As far as I am concerned, they are intruding in my territory, and they will all die if they do not leave.”

  Adeline’s casual threat was filled with killing intent as the troll swallowed dry saliva. There was something very ominous but comforting about this demon. He wondered if this is how they are supposed to be. The troll shaman painted them in a different light; they were more dignified and caring. They spent the rest of the night in silence, and when day came, the weather had cleared as the troll led them to their camp. They took an unconventional route because of the different guard patrols; they crossed frozen rivers and walked through dense forests. There were weird frog-like monsters the size of a horse, but the troll warded them off. Darkness fell, but they did not stop their journey. It was then the sound of footsteps could be heard. The group got ready to attack, but the troll stopped them. Shortly after, several rge trolls appeared carrying rge axes and a makeshift shield made of wood.

  “They are here to help. We need to speak with the chieftain.”

  “They will have to leave their weapons behind.”

  Adeline stepped forward and stared up at the rge troll. Its crooked face and rge fangs could intimidate many people, but not Adeline.

  “Take me to your chieftain, and we won’t leave our weapons behind. I would like to be able to protect myself if something happened.”

  The troll made a grunt, then turned and walked away.

  “The human stays.”

  Adeline was content with that and gave Tymon a gnce. He stood next to a tree with some trolls watching him intently. Adeline, Alfred, and Joseph followed the troll as the forest seemingly disappeared and a castle-like fortress appeared in front of them. Several troll shamans could be seen uttering different words on pedestal-like structures with weird markings. A rger troll in armor jumped down from the rge wall, kicking up the snow as the rge door opened and several hundred trolls appeared carrying weapons.

  “I was not expecting visitors; we were just about to do a raid.”