In response to Lann's question, the old witcher spoke very tactfully, but the meaning of "apprentices trained by the Wolf Cult are not so bad that they can't even deceive the trolls" was already very clear in his words.
Vesemir thought for a moment and added, “There are quite a few apprentices who got hit on the head, but it's not a big deal.”
This way Lan En would have a clear idea in his mind, and everything would be easy without any grudge.
The three-headed troll is still roaring.
Lann patted Lambert's shoulder to calm his killing intent, stepped forward and said, "Don't kill them, I have other uses for them."
…
Trolls are a pretty happy race.
There was a legend in ancient times that trolls were creatures born from the earth and their bodies were made of rock. People believed that trolls hated sunlight and only moved at night because sunlight would turn them into lifeless stones.
However, after research, it was found that this was just a "legend". Later, people learned that trolls are also creatures made of flesh and blood, but their skin is more "natural".
Later, there were legends that trolls were degenerated giants - because of their huge size compared to humans, and the same simple abilities: strength and defense.
An adult troll is about two meters and five meters tall. It can easily lift wooden stakes or even rocks that are larger than itself. Its fists are heavier than hammers and its flesh is stronger than shields.
The most interesting thing about trolls is that they can be socialized by humans. It is said that in some villages and rivers, trolls often build bridges and live under the bridges to collect tolls from passers-by. Nowadays, many villages and towns will specially invite trolls to build bridges - compared with hiring professional craftsmen to build and maintain bridges, the tolls collected by the trolls under the bridges are much more economical.
In addition to the bridge repair troll, there are also soldier trolls, boxing champion trolls, and blacksmith trolls. They are not very smart, but they are particularly capable in some areas that require strength, and they are honest and loyal.
There was a trend among nobles and wealthy merchants to raise trolls to guard the treasury. After all, guarding does not require intelligence, and trolls are so stupid that they can't even think of "betraying their employers". Their remuneration is just food and wine, and at most occasionally chatting and singing with them.
Of course, any race has two sides. Just as there are both "crazy cats" and "knight-like griffins" among demon hunters, there are also honest guards and man-eating monsters among trolls.
In short, this is a powerful, dangerous creature that can be won over by trickery. Their military strength in the charge and their talent for infrastructure construction are what Lann wants to obtain.
That was why Lann had asked Vesemir in advance whether these trolls were the kind of ogres that fed on human flesh, and only decided to take action after receiving a negative answer.
The other demon hunters crossed their arms and prepared to watch Lann's performance. Reso moved his fingers slightly, ready to take action when Lann got into trouble.
The snake sect is good at poison, while the trolls are weak at it. The trolls have a very fast metabolism, which comes with a very strong regeneration ability. This is why such a body will use the extremely fast blood flow rate to spread the poison that enters the body to every blood vessel, and it will be "dead" in an instant.
…
"Troll, the demon hunter is not obedient." Seeing that Lann and his group did not move, the troll who had hit the leader before hitting him on the head again, smashing a stone on the other's head.
The beaten troll leader scratched his head, and seemed to be venting his anger at the witcher: "The trolls don't go to the castle, and don't want beautiful stones. The witcher, don't come to the troll territory either. Let's go back to the castle!"
Listening to what these trolls said, it seemed as if the demon hunters and trolls had reached some kind of agreement not to interfere with each other.
The wolf-faction witchers looked at each other for a few seconds, then confirmed their target and turned their gaze to Vesemir.
"Don't look at me." Vesemir curled his lips. "At least I haven't heard of anything like this in all my years in Kaer Morhen."
“Is it possible,” Geralt guessed, “that this was a trick used by an apprentice to complete the trial. And then these trolls thought they had signed an agreement with the entire Wolf Clan?”
Vesemir was silent. It was really hard to say.
On the other side, Lann estimated the distance between himself and the trolls. His magic power had not recovered much yet, so it was a bit difficult for him to [Flash] at such a long distance.
So he opened his arms and made a hugging gesture to show his friendliness, and also wanted to tease these fools a little.
Lann shouted as he approached the trolls, "But trolls, the demon hunters came from the Ring of Elements, and we are heading back to the castle. If you want us to return to the castle, why are you blocking our way?"
After hearing what Lann said, the three trolls were stunned at the same time.
"Troll, the demon hunter said he wants to go back to the castle." The troll who punched the leader seemed confused by what Lann said.
"Troll, you're so stupid!" The leader troll raised his arm as if he wanted to punch back, but then he put it down as if he had muscle memory.
"Monster hunter, come from the castle and go to the Ring of Elements." The troll leader pointed to the direction of the Ring of Elements with confidence, "The demon hunter came from there, it's the castle."
"Over there is the elemental ring." The leader troll pointed in the direction of Kaer Morhen Castle, revealing a look of seeing through everything. "Monster hunter, you say one thing and do another!"
The troll known as "Giant Mama" was immediately convinced, and he flexed his palm, which only had three fingers, and said in approval: "Occasionally there is a third set!"
Seeing this scene, Lann twitched his lips. He suddenly understood why the Wolf School apprentices were able to survive without death when facing these trolls.
Judging from the conversation between the two trolls just now, the name of the leader troll is "Troll Mo", and the troll that repeatedly hammers it is called "Giant Mama". Pretty simple names.
"No, Troll, Troll Mama." The troll who had been silent all this time suddenly said, "Monster Hunter, we are indeed coming from the Elemental Ring and heading towards the castle. The direction is correct!"
This troll hadn't spoken since just now, but it seemed to be the most intelligent one among the three trolls - at least it had memories. The other two trolls also agreed with what it said, and immediately fell into a vicious circle of self-doubt.
"The Demon Hunter comes from the Elemental Ring? Why?"
Lann estimated the distance between himself and the trolls, took a few steps forward, and answered the troll's question: "Because we just came out of Old Spearhead's cave this morning. Were there still you blocking the way here at that time? Where did you go?"
Unexpectedly, when Lann said this, the three trolls on the hillside became panicked after hearing the three words "Old Spearhead", and for a moment they forgot to continue swearing their sovereignty over the territory to the witchers.
Old Spearhead has always been the top predator in the Blue Mountains. Even the trolls can defeat it with just one punch. Fortunately, the trolls are extremely sensitive to the vibrations of the ground and rocks, so in the past, as long as they heard the footsteps of the Cyclops, they would immediately take a detour, and they lived in peace for hundreds of years.
The noise caused by the Demon Hunter's battle against Old Spearhead today really scared the trolls. The deafening explosion and the series of roars and screams made them hide in their territories without even caring about them. That was why Lann and his party did not encounter any trolls blocking their way when they passed by for the first time.
At this time, Lann, who was quick-witted, could basically guess the reaction of the trolls. While the trolls were in a panic, he kept closing the distance with them, which was enough for him to use his skills to rush in.
【Flash】
Lann's body disappeared in a burst of emerald light, and then a golden light flashed behind the three-headed troll, revealing his smiling figure.
The three-headed troll was dazzled and almost jumped up in fright. Looking at the troll who was rubbing out stones like a magic trick and was about to throw them at him, Lann was not panicked at all.
He flipped his left hand, and suddenly a huge head appeared in the open space in front of him, taller than his waist. It was covered with burns, knife marks, and poison erosion. The single eye, which was larger than the troll's entire face, was wide open, full of anger and unwillingness.
It was the head of the old spearhead that Lann had chopped off before.
Even though the giant one-eyed monster was dead, it still exuded a terrifying aura, and the three trolls dropped the stones in their hands on the spot. They screamed and retreated, and they stepped on empty air and rolled down the hillside.
The golden light flashed again, and the trolls rolling on the ground opened their eyes, still seeing the head of the old spearhead with his eyes wide open. The three trolls were so scared that they almost hugged each other and huddled back, and soon they had their backs against the rock wall and could no longer retreat.
"Troll, Troll, Old Spearhead is dead." The troll named Giant Mama hid behind Troll, trembling constantly.
"Monster hunters hunt monsters, and Troll is also a monster. The demon hunter is going to hunt Troll." Troll closed his eyes in fear, but blocked the two companions behind him. "Old Spearhead has been killed, and Troll will be killed too."
Seeing the reaction of the three-headed troll, even Lann couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Old Spearhead is really useful.
Now that I'm scared enough, I can get down to business.
"Hey, trolls, what are you talking about?" Lann suddenly laughed, "I heard that Old Spearhead always bullied you, so I brought people here to hunt Old Spearhead. How could I draw a sword against you? Now you are safe, there is nothing else in this area that can bully you."
As he said that, Lann patted the old spearhead's head with his left hand and put the terrifying item back into the [Inventory]. Without the shock of the head, the three-headed troll had the courage to slightly open his eyes, and after hearing Lann's words, he repeated in disbelief.
"Monster hunter, kill Old Spearhead so that the trolls won't be bullied?" The trolls seemed to have a hard time understanding the meaning of this sentence, "Monster hunter, a good person?"
The giant hemp was also in disbelief. It glanced at Lan secretly and said, "No, demon hunter, you say one thing and do another. Sometimes..."
The third troll suddenly interrupted. It was the only one in the troll team who had analytical ability: "But, without Old Spearhead, there is really nothing that can bully the trolls!"
This sentence made a lot of sense. The troll was instantly happy after hearing it, and the previous doubts disappeared in an instant: "Nothing can bully the troll, demon hunter, good man!"
This series of drastic emotional changes was too abrupt. Even though Lann was mentally prepared, he was still choked at this moment.
Would it be...too easy?
"Monster Hunter, good man!" The troll suddenly stretched out his hand and slapped Lann.
This was the trolls' way of expressing friendship, but it was a burden that Lann could not bear at the moment.
He quickly cast a layer of [Quen Seal] on himself, and was immediately hit with the effect of [Explosive Shield]. The three trolls were pushed back several steps by the shock wave with him as the center, and they were in a state of confusion.
"Demon Hunter, strong!" The troll had never seen the demon hunter's methods, or even if it had seen them, it probably couldn't remember them. It thought it had just hit Lann, and now it was amazed at Lann's physical strength and even gave him a thumbs up.
Lann wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, forced a smile, and continued, "Troll, you see I have killed Old Spearhead for you, so we can be considered friends, right? But as a friend, I think it is not enough to just clear out Old Spearhead for you, I want to continue to help you."
The troll's eyes widened in surprise, "Monster Hunter, continue to help?"
Lan said gently, "Or maybe you are helping me. You have been living in the mountains, with only stones - of course, stones are beautiful things. But I have a place with more stones, a place with countless stones, and I need to use these stones and wood to build bridges, houses, walls, and even castles."
Troll's eyes widened: "Countless stones? Bridges? Houses? Castles?"
In a trance, it seemed that the soul of infrastructure was awakened in the troll's body.
The troll other than the troll demon and the troll demon suddenly began to think and said in confusion: "But, there are a lot of stones here too."
Lann answered confidently: "There are more stones there, and there is also wine!"
"Wine?!" *3
Lann turned his left hand and took out a bottle of vodka. He opened the cork and the tempting aroma immediately filled the air, causing the three-headed troll to twitch his nose.
He turned around and stuffed the bottle of wine into the troll's almost uncontrollable hand, then Lann flipped his left hand and stuffed each of the three trolls with a bottle of wine.
For a moment, the only sound in the field was the sound of "gulp gulp". The vodka was finished in just two or three breaths. The troll turned his face up and shook the bottle violently. When he found that not a drop of alcohol could be poured out, he simply threw the bottle into his mouth and swallowed it into his stomach with a few "crunches" like chewing a biscuit.
"Monster hunter, my friend!" Troll's voice was full of joy this time, "Numerous stones, to build bridges and castles, and wine, Troll will follow you!"
Before Lann could show a surprised expression, the companion behind the Troll, whose name he still didn't know, suddenly pulled it and said incoherently while chewing the bottle in his mouth: "Troll, but what about the stones here? This is the Troll's territory."
The troll hesitated.
Lann sighed, knowing that things would not be so easy, but he had no intention of saving any more, so it was a good opportunity to buy insurance all at once.
He took out another bottle of vodka and handed it over: "Troll, drink."
"Gudong, gudong..."
"Troll, we are friends, right?"
"Of course!" the Troll shouted, "Monster Hunter, good man! Friend!"
Just when the troll was in the highest spirits and had the highest favorable impression of the demon hunter, Lann gently placed a hand on the troll.
【Follower】, contract.
Fortunately, I have the habit of saving skill points, so I am always ready to deal with such emergencies.
A skill point was silently erased, and the experience value jumped down by double digits, but the consumption was not much more than that of a loyal follower or a lady who had a crush on him.
[Follower: Troll
Gender: Male
Race: Rock Troll
Level: 1
Talent: Barrier
Experience value: 0/1000
HP: 8430/8600
Mana: 500/500
Inventory: Vodka
Skills: Rock Bloodline, Fast Metabolism, Advanced Throwing, Advanced Construction
Mission: None]
[Shared Follower Talent: Barrier]
[Barrier: Increase the upper limit of health by 50%]
Lane found that he particularly liked this talent for simple and crude descriptions and simple and crude effects.
In an instant, he felt the muscles all over his body begin to swell, and the blood flow suddenly accelerated. The rocks rolling in his blood vessels seemed to have turned into a landslide, so powerful that it was unstoppable.
Glancing at the system: [Health: 4050/4100] → [Health: 6100/6150]
Fortunately, this feeling came and went quickly, and then Lann felt the muscles in his body begin to contract and relax again, as if the power just generated was just an illusion.
But Lann knew that his muscle strength had actually increased. The increase in health points would bring about an improvement in his physique. His thick health bar was mostly brought by the Demon Hunter mutation and blood awakening. Normally, upgrading one level only brought an increase of 100 health points. The sharing of this talent could be said to have increased his physique by nearly 20 levels in one go.
Lane felt that he could now actually physically box with the troll.
…
Contracting the trolls was something Lan had planned long ago. Even if the trolls agreed to go with Lan, Lan would still spend skill points to contract them.
Although they would become simple and honest after establishing friendship with the trolls, it was Lann who established friendship with them, and it was only Lann. If they were brought back to Cintra, who knows if they would hurt the people there due to some misunderstandings. After all, no matter how simple and honest the trolls were, they were still classified as monsters in the [Ogre] category in the illustrations.
Therefore, Lann needed to provide an insurance policy for the trolls, elevating the relationship between them from "friends who help each other" to "subordinates who obey orders." This would also make it easier for Lann to summon them as thugs through [Teleport] whenever he needed them.
After Lann successfully signed the contract, the troll suddenly felt a surge of pride in his heart that he had never felt before.
"Monster Hunter, tell the troll your name!"
Lan raised his eyebrows. Indeed, this was the first time he forgot to introduce himself during a conversation.
"My name is Lan."
It threw the bottle away and shouted to the sky:
"Troll, help Lanlan! We don't want the territory anymore!!"
…
The three-headed troll was temporarily left by Ran in the cave where the old spearhead lived. Although Vesemir was easy to talk to, he was not reasonable enough to let the troll live in Kaer Morhen.
Lann made an agreement with the trolls that when they returned to Cintra, they would take them away through the portal of Mossak. Before leaving, Lann also left a lot of wine in the cave, enough for them to drink happily.
When they returned to the castle, the first thing they saw was still a mouse-gray little whirlwind. Looking down, Ciri threw herself into Lan's arms and touched him nervously, worried about whether he was injured.
Looking up, I saw Yennefer and Triss smiling by the window, but the smiles on their faces were not of the same meaning.
Dinner was prepared in an orderly manner, and everyone sat around the fire drinking and chatting. Ciri blinked her crystal green eyes and listened curiously to everyone's hunting during the day, especially when she knew that Lann was going to take the three trolls back to Cintra, she was particularly excited.
Lambert drank the wine in his glass in one gulp and sighed to Lann: "I used to think that only idiots could have a common language with trolls, but I didn't expect that smart people could also communicate with trolls. You really opened my eyes."
Ciri felt as if the man was scolding Lan, and immediately glared at him.
Lambert was in a much better mood than the night before. He laughed out loud and didn't care about the child's emotions at all. He turned around and started drinking with other Wolf Faction companions.
Mossak and Vesemir sat close together, reviewing their new knowledge. "The leader is called 'Troll Mo', and 'Giant Mama' is its mate. The remaining one is called 'Giant Mama', and she is a daughter. There is indeed a certain social structure among the trolls, and it is a monogamous system..."
Lann patted Ciri's head gently to make her turn her eyes away from Lambert, and rubbed it hard.
His attention was slightly diverted to Vesemir, and when the two old men's discussion came to a temporary halt, he suddenly spoke up:
"Vesemir, I want to tell you something, and I want your opinion."
The old witcher raised his eyebrows and made a gesture of listening attentively.
Lan patted Ciri's head and said, "For the next period of time, I want to keep Ciri with me. One of our marshals has returned and needs to meet with Ciri to swear allegiance. I also want to go to Skellige with her to visit Uncle Easter."
The little girl's eyes lit up immediately.
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