Chapter 111: The Petrified Ogres
There was no need to hesitate, Matthew stared at the ogres and tore open the "Fireball" scroll inside his robe.
The spinning fireball "boomed" down, instantly enveloping the ogres, who had been under continuous attack, in flames.
The fierce impact of the fireball, combined with the intense burning of the wall of fire, instantly turned seven or eight ogres into charred corpses.
The other few, with their bodies ablaze, screamed and ran wildly, rolling on the ground in agony, yet they survived due to their tenacious vitality.
Listening to the pleasant sound of the kill notifications, Matthew looked at the remaining eight or nine surviving ogres.
He gestured for everyone to rush in, silently muttering in his heart:
"As long as you're willing to spend money, with an organized and planned way of fighting, you can almost always win."
As long as they weren't outnumbered, Matthew, with his vast combat experience, wasn't at all worried about these disorganized ogres.
More than ten male ogres didn't even have time to launch a decent attack or resist before they were slaughtered by the soldiers, who were high on morale.
Matthew left these ogres for the soldiers to practice on, aiming to boost their confidence.
"See, these big, brutal ogres just look fierce."
"Hurry and pull out the arrows, at least they can still be used three more times!"
"The crossbow bolts didn't even fully penetrate, their bodies are too tough!"
"They're just like us, two shoulders and one head, kill them and they'll die!"
"Phew, these ogres are so poor, they don't even have decent weapons or armor."
"If the ogres had those weapons, they wouldn't have been killed so easily. It would be us in trouble then!"
"Heh heh, lucky for us the arcane master stepped in. Otherwise, if those ogres rushed over, I wouldn't know how to deal with them..."
"Idiot, they're so slow, we would just keep wearing them down..."
"Quit talking, hurry and drag the corpses over, toss them into the fire ahead and be done with it..."
"Can we burn it all?"
"What kind of joke is that? Such a big chunk of meat, how could it all burn?"
"This is just to show the other ogres that we're not to be messed with..."
"..."
While the others were cleaning up the battlefield, Matthew returned to the carriage, sat cross-legged, and quietly picked up a water bottle, sneaking a sip of "Mana Potion."
From entering the Troll Valley until now, he had gained 4 precious skill points, and his experience points had soared to 70,000!
Matthew planned to save the level-up mana restoration for a crucial moment.
The stench of burning flesh spread, and the crackling fire sounds made the more than twenty tied-up female ogres extremely terrified.
They stared in horror at the gradually blackened corpses, their minds blank.
They couldn't believe it—those normally invincible, tough-skinned, thick-fleshed male ogres.
At this moment, before the humans, they were so vulnerable.
The female ogres looked at each other, too scared to make a sound.
"So quiet? That's not good!"
Matthew waved to Alice and whispered something in her ear.
Alice walked over, glaring fiercely at the female ogres, and shouted loudly in the common language:
"Keep shouting!"
The female ogres looked bewildered; their not-so-bright minds couldn't comprehend Alice's demand.
Without hesitation, Alice picked up her crossbow and shot an arrow in front of the female ogres.
Seeing the arrow quiver slightly, they started screaming again in fear.
At first, the adventurers were puzzled, not understanding why the captain was doing this.
Until another group of male ogres charged in, howling.
They crashed straight into the ambush again.
After enduring a barrage of paralyzing arrows and another round of bombardment from Matthew,
The severely wounded male ogres, only seven or eight of them alive, managed to charge up to them.
Once they realized what was happening, they finally delivered the killing blows.
The second group of male ogres fell.
They posed no real threat at all; it seemed too "natural."
Everyone felt quite puzzled!
While finishing them off, hacking off the ogres' heads took considerable effort, proving these bodies were real.
But why did the ogres run so willingly to their deaths?
"Could it be that this was all part of the arcane master's plan?"
Seeing another group of male ogres fall, the surviving female ogres, more desperate than ever, screamed even louder.
The bizarre scene made everyone look at Matthew with changed gazes.
That sense of mystery and power was unconsciously magnified by their own minds!
Self-imagination, self-strategy—most dangerous of all!
Naturally, Matthew didn't explain the principles of knowledge, tactics, or understanding the enemy; he calmly looked toward the ravine in the distance and issued an order:
"Keep moving forward!"
His plain voice seemed to carry an undeniable authority and some mysterious force, causing everyone to instinctively obey.
The bound female ogres screamed as they were marched toward the ogre camp.
They didn't dare make any sudden moves, not even daring to run faster!
As the ogre camp loomed closer in the distance, the soldiers gradually became more tense.
To their surprise, there were no burly male ogres standing guard outside the camp; instead, the place was in chaos.
At the entrance of the camp, a group of indistinguishable male and female ogres were constantly fighting over things, even breaking into violent brawls.
Only a few chubby ogre cubs stood by, confusedly watching the chaotic adult ogres.
Their big black-and-white eyes showed no anxiety, only a hint of curiosity.
The approaching screams made the ogres even more frightened.
Some of the male ogres gave up what they were fighting over and fled pitifully toward the back of the camp.
Others picked up weapons again, standing menacingly at the chaotic entrance of the camp.
However, their trembling legs showed that their hearts weren't as strong as they appeared.
The soldiers and adventurers exchanged bewildered glances.
They had prepared for a tough battle, only to be met with this scene.
The fleeing ogres were male, while those huddled together in the camp were female.
Even though they were the same species, their behavior was completely different.
Taking advantage of their scattered strength, Matthew pointed at the fleeing ogres and softly said to Alice:
"Shoot at them from a distance, drive them toward the troll camp a few kilometers away."
If the troll camp was still strong, they would surely be eager to capture or even hire these male ogres.
If the two joined forces, they'd be even more troublesome.
But since the troll camp had recently suffered heavy losses and was being harassed by adventurers deep in the Troll Valley, they would certainly be on edge and sensitive.
When they clashed, a battle was inevitable!