Sorcery Monarch

Chapter 86: The Trolls' Warning

 

The reason Matthew said this was because 99% of the income came from the contribution of the blood-replenishing potion.

 

The production of blood-replenishing potions had become inseparable from Mountain.

 

And the birth of Mountain ultimately stemmed from arcane power.

 

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the adventurers, the most important raw material for making the blood-replenishing potion, the trolls, had already been captured—678 of them.

 

The area underground, just for imprisoning them, spanned thousands of square meters.

 

Luckily for Matthew, digging underground was as simple as breathing for the kobolds.

 

Otherwise, letting these trolls be seen by the public would surely draw unwanted attention.

 

For now, to avoid over-"consumption" of the trolls and ensure sustainability.

 

Matthew had divided the trolls into four groups, each taking turns to "donate" blood, allowing Mountain to produce 6,200 bottles of blood-replenishing potion every day.

 

After setting aside a reserve for adventurers and soldiers, the revenue from the potion contributed around 3,000 gold coins daily.

 

Handling about 170 trolls per day still hadn't reached Mountain's production limit.

 

Matthew hoped the adventurers would continue their efforts, catching even more trolls.

 

After all, the territory's development required continued financial investment.

 

Matthew's own arcane growth would also need money—a great deal of money.

 

Financial struggles would persist for a long time in the future.

 

However, thanks to Adam Smith's consistent promotional efforts across various places.

 

Many adventurers had already teamed up with friends to hunt trolls, sharing their experiences.

 

Over the course of about ten days, hundreds of adventurers had been drawn to Bay Village.

 

Except for a dozen or so unlucky greedy fools, most adventurers who survived made significant gains.

 

Seven or eight gold coins was the bare minimum.

 

Some earned twenty or thirty gold coins or more.

 

Many adventurers had already accumulated 100 contribution points and received custom magical equipment.

 

Once this news was confirmed.

 

The enthusiasm for capturing trolls soared even higher.

 

More and more adventurers, having heard the news from passing merchant caravans, were making their way to Bay Village, eager to join this seemingly endless feast of riches.

 

The trolls of the Dark Forest faced unprecedented eradication.

 

Over fifty troll camps had been destroyed, with hundreds of trolls captured.

 

The kobolds and gnolls in the Dark Forest were also facing hard times.

 

The kobolds’ misfortune stemmed from the fact that when they were discovered, they were attacked by kobolds led by Gold Tooth and Silver Tooth. Disobedient ones were killed, obedient ones were recruited.

 

The gnolls’ misfortune stemmed from the occasional trolls appearing in their camps, cooperating with them.

 

The adventurers’ frenzy originally could have lasted much longer…

 

In the Dark Forest.

 

At the valley’s edge.

 

From the distant towering forest, a faint and chilling roar echoed.

 

The sound reverberated through the valley, sending shivers of fear and dread down one's spine.

 

On both sides of the valley, white rock cliffs and reddish ground were exposed.

 

A small river meandered out, winding through the forest and eventually flowing into the Silvermoon River outside the Dark Forest.

 

At the riverbank near the entrance to the valley, over a hundred soldiers stood in neat formation, the atmosphere tense.

 

The thick scent of blood filled Matthew’s nostrils, his dark eyes reflecting a scene that made the soldiers seethe with anger.

 

Over twenty human heads were impaled on bamboo stakes, arranged at the valley's entrance.

 

The faces, bloody and disfigured, were twisted in fear and pain.

 

“That’s level 8 warrior Carket—only his head remains?”

 

“Next to him is level 7 archer Zachel. He used to be so arrogant…”

 

“Isn't that level 6 rogue Tepka? Even he couldn’t escape…”

 

“Twenty-six of them, all killed so gruesomely…”

 

“I heard it was the trolls?”

 

“Seems like it…”

 

“…”

 

The adventurers following behind recognized the horribly mutilated victims, their faces turning pale.

 

In the deep ditches on both sides of the valley, bloodied bones covered with bite marks revealed the grisly fate of the dead.

 

One shivering adventurer spoke to Matthew, recounting the harrowing experience:

 

"The trolls… Hundreds of terrifying trolls… There were too many of them…”

 

"They ate people… My teammates…”

 

“I saw them surrounded… There was no way out…”

 

“…”

 

Through the adventurer’s broken and trembling account, Matthew pieced together the story.

 

As more adventurers poured in, the bounties grew increasingly lucrative.

 

Most of the small troll camps near the Dark Forest’s outskirts had already been cleared out.

 

The options were to either search to the east or west or delve deeper into the Dark Forest.

 

Despite the map’s clear warnings, a party of adventurers, led by three mid-tier professionals, ventured straight into Troll Valley.

 

The outcome was predictable—the group of troll-hunters encountered a massive troll hunting party.

 

They were wiped out!

 

It wasn’t hard for Matthew to infer that these trolls had brutal, cannibalistic tendencies, were numerous, and possessed formidable combat strength.

 

Many of the adventurers who came to investigate were shaken by the horrific sight and began to feel uneasy.

 

Though they were adventurers willing to risk their lives for gold, it didn’t mean they were eager to die.

 

If the enemy was too fearsome or the mission too dangerous, they would choose to back off.

 

The ease with which they had captured trolls these past few days had almost made them forget just how deadly and dangerous these creatures could be.

 

“Wait a minute—aren't trolls usually scattered in groups of three or four, maybe five or six?”

 

“Are you joking? Could their team have been defeated by just a few trolls?”

 

“Did you not hear? There were at least a hundred trolls!”

 

“Are you saying that the trolls in the Dark Forest live together in large groups?”

 

“That’s impossible, right?”

 

“…”

 

Matthew could clearly see the adventurers’ growing fear, but he wasn’t in any particular hurry.

 

The trolls in the Dark Forest weren’t just clustering together; they even had their own cities and, in some cases, kingdoms!

 

The vast expanse of the Dark Forest stretched across thousands of kilometers, filled with countless rivers and valleys.

 

The Rotten Moss Trolls, one of the five great troll clans, resided in this region.

 

This was just the outskirts of the Dark Forest, still nearly a hundred kilometers from the Rotten Moss Trolls' hunting grounds.

 

Greedy adventurers who delved too deep and stumbled upon a densely populated troll tribe—well, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

 

However, Matthew knew the habits of trolls very well. Although they were cruel, murderous, and even cannibalistic.

 

They rarely dared to leave the Dark Forest in large numbers.

 

For thousands of years.

 

The Netheril Empire’s constant expansion wasn’t just about clearing land and building cities.

 

Large-scale wars and destructive measures were all too common!

 

These trolls had no intention of leaving the valley en masse, giving Matthew time to prepare.

 

If some adventurers still refused to heed warnings and insisted on courting death, he wouldn’t be able to stop them.

 

"Have the bodies gathered, and the others stay alert—watch out for troll ambushes."

 

Matthew instructed Angela, raising his gaze towards the distant dense forest, feeling as though unseen eyes were watching from the shadows.