Sorcery Monarch

Chapter 95: The Shadow Hunter

 

"No... Huh?"

 

Arnold’s frantic shout abruptly halted as the Matthew who had been impaled by the spear vanished into wisps of light, disappearing completely.

 

It was merely an illusion!

 

Even so, Arnold remained on high alert, glancing toward the direction the spear had come from and shouting:

 

"Watch the left flank, there’s a high-level troll hiding there!"

 

As he spoke, Arnold noticed the markings on the dropped spear, which made him shiver with recognition. He yelled:

 

"That’s a Shadow Hunter’s mark! Beware of its thrown spears, rogues, find its position!"

 

A Shadow Hunter?

 

Hidden in the shadows, Matthew raised an eyebrow, recalling information about the Shadow Hunters.

 

They were an advanced class for rangers and hunters, and a particularly powerful one at that.

 

Not only did they possess formidable ranged assassination skills, but they were also exceptional in close combat, and proficient in the use of poisons.

 

Some of the best Shadow Hunters even had some degree of spellcasting ability.

 

Facing such a profession’s assassination attempts could be almost impossible to defend against.

 

Just like what had happened to Matthew earlier—if it weren’t for his decades of adventuring experience and the innate instinct of an arcanist to avoid direct danger...

 

He could’ve easily been killed by that sudden spear!

 

Normally, after encountering such a deadly opponent and narrowly escaping with their life, a spellcaster would retreat from the battlefield to safety, prioritizing survival.

 

But Matthew wasn’t panicked; in fact, he found the situation almost amusing.

 

"It wasn’t for nothing that I set this whole scene up. Finally caught the real threat!"

 

Just then, a chorus of roars echoed from the right as over a hundred trolls, large and small, charged forward with various crude weapons.

 

Matthew glanced at the now-faded "-3" mark and couldn’t help but smile as he said clearly:

 

"So, everyone’s here now..."

 

Tom shouted to psyche himself up, but then came a dull, whistling sound as something rushed towards him. He quickly raised his shield.

 

Clang! The terrifying impact left his shield slightly dented.

 

Tom staggered back a step, feeling a wave of pressure in his chest. His blood churned, and his right arm holding the shield was so numb he could barely lift it.

 

The massive troll soldier roared in excitement, raising its hammer again to strike!

 

Feeling faint with fear, Tom grit his teeth and braced his shield, though his legs wobbled and his hands trembled.

 

He had no confidence left to block such a ferocious blow.

 

"Crossbows!"

 

A clear voice cut through the air, and a series of whoosh sounds followed!

 

Tom, in disbelief, saw the troll, its body riddled with arrows, which had been withstanding the blows, suddenly stagger back with a scream.

 

He focused and realized that the arrows in the troll's chest were as thick as thumbs!

 

The force of the arrows was immense, their destructive power tremendous. The troll's armor had been pierced, and the arrows embedded themselves deeply.

 

The troll shuddered as it tried in vain to pull the arrows out.

 

Moreover, the barbed arrowheads continued to make the troll bleed, and a strange numbness began to spread from the wounds.

 

The wounded troll was clearly weakened.

 

Seeing this, Tom’s spirits lifted, and he raised his shield again, surging forward.

 

The barrage of arrows gave the soldiers a much-needed morale boost.

 

The giant trolls made excellent targets.

 

Even their extraordinary regeneration abilities couldn’t ignore the damage from the crossbow bolts.

 

At that moment, Angela pulled out her final prepared scroll and tore it open without hesitation.

 

A bright green light flowed into every soldier, rapidly healing their internal and external wounds.

 

Even their depleted stamina was quickly restored by the verdant light.

 

The soldiers, now back to full strength, cheered and not only held their lines but began pushing back the injured trolls.

 

This potent magic was one of the battlefield’s most renowned spells!

 

The 7th-tier high-level spell—Mass Cure Wounds!

 

The market price of this single scroll was a staggering 7,800 gold coins!

 

This was last month’s largest expenditure for Bay Village, aside from paying troll bounties to adventurers.

 

Angela had felt a pang of regret as she cast the spell, but seeing its miraculous effect, she quickly put her feelings aside and ordered the nearby rogues to switch to more powerful crossbows.

 

In an instant, the trolls fighting the soldiers began to be pushed back, with several struck in the head by bolts and dying on the spot.

 

Finally, effective damage was being inflicted on the trolls!

 

And yes, so far, the one who had inflicted the most damage on the trolls was Matthew, the arcanist lurking in the shadows!

 

He had taken down 26 trolls, leading by a wide margin!

 

Second was Besib, the barbarian warrior with extraordinary strength who could overpower the trolls.

 

He could decapitate a troll with a single blow, rendering their regeneration useless!

 

Even so, Besib had only taken down 8 trolls. After witnessing his power, the trolls stopped fighting him one-on-one, opting instead to attack in groups of two or three.

 

That was the difference between games and reality—all sentient creatures had their own thoughts.

 

They could retreat, they could flee!

 

The adventurers nearby were stunned to see that the soldiers of Bay Village were actually holding their ground against so many trolls.

 

“Are these soldiers really this strong? They’re holding off an equal number of trolls?!”

 

“They won’t last much longer. Over a hundred more trolls are about to join the fight on the right flank. Outnumbered like that, there’s no way they can hold.”

 

“If it weren’t for the trolls, maybe they’d have a chance…”

 

“No helping it. Trolls have that insane regeneration.”

 

“As long as it’s not a fatal wound, they can heal even in the middle of battle…”

 

“The soldiers aren’t the same. Even though the Lord’s rich and is throwing around potions and healing scrolls, that can only keep them going for so long.”

 

“Exactly. Once they tire out or get injured again, the pressure’s going to mount...”

 

“It’s a shame. If there were twice as many soldiers, they could focus their forces and take the trolls out bit by bit…”

 

“Let’s wait for the right moment and focus on rescuing the Lord.”

 

“Maybe we should set some traps to slow the trolls down when the soldiers retreat…”

 

“Not a bad idea…”

 

“…”

 

The experienced adventurers, having analyzed the situation on the battlefield, made some clear judgments.

 

Though they were impressed by the strength of Bay Village’s soldiers, they still doubted the Lord would achieve victory. Many adventurers grumbled:

 

“Wouldn’t it have been better just to defend the camp?”